Is This Planet Earth?

At the moment my mind is boggling around the estimate to replace my vehicle key fob. The replacement has to be done by a dealership or locksmith. You can buy a key fob and have it programmed by dealership or locksmith. There are varying reviews about the success of having that done. Best case is to have the dealership do the replacement. 

The estimated cost to replace my vehicle key fob at a Volkswagen dealership is $449.00 US dollars. Yes, four-hundred and forty US dollars. 😱

 $180.00 for the key fob, $180.00 to program the key fob plus $80.00 per hour labor. I said no, that is too expensive. 

I haven’t called a locksmith yet to learn the cost of a new fob being programed. 

My key fob works, no problem there. The spring mechanism that holds the blade sprung, separates blade from the fob. I can glue it in or fix the spring myself by watching a YouTube tutorial. Yes, a free YouTube tutorial.

$440.00 US dollars for a car key makes zero sense to me.  

Suggestion. When you buy a vehicle, insist on 2 keys, and maybe a third.

Update: My solution is to watch the YouTube instructions to take the battery and circuit board from the old fob, and transfer them to my new key fob. I’ve read no programming is requires when transferring to a new fob case.

The key blade in the new key fob case does have to be cut by a locksmith. 

No sob story here, just a pondering this and that

Television competition shows seem to me to be long on the sad story.  So, I’ve been thinking about that subject. 

Many say that tragic events make us stronger, help us get through tough times. I believe that as well. I also believe that experiencing success, that happiness also helps us become stronger. As a matter of fact, stronger without the suffering to get there. I feel confident in saying that because I know from experience,  a lot of the heartache I have endured, I could have done without, and, achieved more without it. 

Where does that leave folks who have experienced the harm of malicious gossip? Many, I believe, become depressed, limit their activities, avoid social events. There are others that don’t. Not because they don’t care or feel bad. They are, I think, more resilient. 

Resiliency versus the sob story is a tough field to judge. Don’t care what others think of you has more limits than the freedom that action suggests. 

Pondering all this stuff has been therapeutic for me. Figuring out how I want what years I have left to be is genuinely a weirdness I did not expect. If I live to 100 years, then that is only 22 years away. I don’t see that many years given my present aches and pains. I think sometimes,  Wow! I’m almost done with this phase of living. 

Then, another birthday rolls around. 

Watercolor 8” x10”
Tree On the Other Side

Decisions: Is there a good formula?

 Oy vey! My guess is the answer is no.

The decision spectrum meanders through a path of frustration on one side and what was I thinking on the other. In the middle of the route is the cow trail of Meh. 

Big decisions can take a long time because there are so many issues to consider. Add emotions as a rich part of the consequences, decision making becomes good weather over our life parade. 

Decisions means change. The recent fun list to write down 5 ways to improve yourself is a light hearted project. 

Procrastination isn’t just about not getting things done. It is also about not thinking about the things that need thinking about. So, when I begin my list of 5, I start thinking about decision making instead. 

Some may say that’s a distraction. Nah. I am clearly putting off listing 5 ways to improve myself. 

Thus, not in order of importance, time is up, here goes:

• Treat paperwork tasks as an office I go to for an appointment. Always open mail on the day received. Calendar all yearly renewals, and due dates. 
• Music. Have at least 2 hours of music playing every day. Set an alarm for serene music to play within 15 minutes of waking up. 
• Radio. During meals and snacks especially, (to create an at table with friends atmosphere), listen to a local public radio station. Make a list of radio podcasts. 
• Food. Make having daily fruit into a small ceremony. Sit at the table, have a place mat, a special dish or bowl, and use a fabric napkin. Tradition grounding, I feel, can enhance confidence.
• Meditate

The list could go on.

😎

Day 228 in Week 33 of August 2026

Well, the local Dollar General now sells banana pops. Banana pops, (frozen flavored sugar water)is my favorite frozen pop flavor. For sherbet, pineapple is my favorite. And for ice cream, since childhood, coffee is my favorite flavor. 

Feeling not so great for a few days, I’m doing better. Except for. My fingertips hit the grocery cart edge, pushing my healing broken wrist hand, (now out of the splint) too far back. It hurt. A lot. 

I saw a male goldfinch land on a long shrub branch, causing it to bounce and bounce. He flew away after a few rides.  I think birds like the bouncing branches

Have a great week!

Mail yourself a thinking of you greeting card

Bake an orange-cranberry drizzle cake

Buy a straw hat

Draw a crowd of people at a county fair

Write down 5 ways to improve yourself

Tell a door knob a funny story

Buy yourself flowers

Summer Time

Summer Above & Below

A storm system that rolled through yesterday had spectacular cloud formations. Along Route 7 going north out of Middlebury, the vista is quite far enough to see a huge sky cloud garden. I waited to stop for pictures until I reached a turn off area in Ferrisburgh, Vermont.

Field and woods
very low clouds moving eastward

Pull over near Rt7 & Rt 22A
I stopped there to take photos.
Looking southward

Looking northward

And then, arriving home the resident toad greets me.

In the summer, subjects to photograph are as good as any perfect autumn day. Yet, when I scan through photo folders, there are far more fall pictures than any other time of year.  

As an amateur photographer, a seasonal balance hasn’t captured my attention. A autumnal moody forest interesting me more than a muddy trail with bare branches in spring, is the balance I naturally achieve. Although I see the beauty in both, the vibe of fall fills my soul. 

However, autumn use to be my very favorite season, but it is giving way to the warmth of summer. Old bones needing life less cold is my guess on that. 

How about you? Does one season over another capture your attention more?