Reflections on the day 

I’ve been thoughtful today. Yesterday a friend had a “small” stroke. He’s not much older than me, so there’s that sobering element. I’m thinking about the fragility of life, and similar things. And I’m grateful that “small” seems to be accurate. 

Greg is known by many as Papa Greg. Partly for his wisdom, partly because he holds love in the highest regard. It shows and he’s loved on return. Watching his Facebook feed fill with well-wishes truly was delightful. 

I try to live my life this way. To have love so central that it exudes from my being. 

It’s heartening, in the end. Especially as he’s chatting with us on Facebook again. 

Life moves and changes. It is the way of things. 

My poetry site has been making me proud

I created this site a couple of years ago to be a focus for my poetry.

I didn’t think too much of it at the time. Just was following the advice to focus your content. My writings scatter across many interests, so I broke apart my stuff into more focused sites.

Well, A Poet’s Journey has done quite nicely. 1266 subscribers, and the most stable/solid stats (sessions, pageview, etc).

Funny that another experiment, Not Just Seattle, has taken up most of my vanity SEO. The Carl Setzer who opened a brewery in Beijing, getting featured by Fortune magazine, amongst others, has the lion share of SEO for my name. But my Keller Williams Realty page, and Not Just Seattle are on page 1 as well.

As of today, my namesake page, CarlSetzer.com, is on page 3. Crazy that an experiment took over the whole thing! And the site that’s getting the most action is down on page 3.

 

Well, yesterday’s weather in Seattle was quirky as heck

Yesterday’s weather was certainly quirky. Earlier in the afternoon, it was nice enough in Marysville to get a 20 minute walk in. As my weight’s been creeping up, this was quite welcome

Not too much later the thunderstorm rolled through. My son and I planned to hit the gym, but the weather knocked the power out there. So, we went out for a little ride.

Now, it had cleared up as we were gearing up. But it started to pour as we headed out. We opted to keep going. It was my son’s first real rain ride.

I’ve become a fair weathered cyclist over the years. So it was nice to get out and get wet on the road. I love riding so, and need to get back in the saddle more.

I want to push my fitness higher again. Not get my fitness back. Rather, adapt and create a new life, with a solid center of fitness.

Besides riding, I want to get into kayaking. I’ve a fair amount of experience on the water…and I want more. I’ve dreamt of riding rivers; rapids as well as exploring the shores of the Columbia. Well, and many others. Oh, something else I want to try on kayak: ocean riding! Imagining cutting through the surf, riding the waves…yeah, that sounds cool. Just got to avoid pissing off the surfers.

Also, during the winter I want to get deeper into cross-country skiing. That’s one I really miss.

So, my mind’s afire with outdoor ideas. Should be a fun summer!

A monsoon-like rain squall

In the morning dark

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Rattling gutters 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>I awoke this morning to an intense downpour. More like the Philippines or Florida than Seattle.