My Chaotic Realm

On August 14th, after a full day of work, we set off on our trip—a lesson learned: always take the day off before leaving! Our journey started on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, taking us through Louisiana, then up through Texas to visit family in Plano. From there, we continued to Moore, Oklahoma, for more family time, and then ventured through Kansas and Nebraska into South Dakota. We explored Wall, The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Mammoth Park, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park over several days. Our adventure then led us into Wyoming, where we hit a snag in Casper—a flat tire. Thankfully, Les Schwab fixed it for free! We managed to cross Highway 26/287 just before it was closed due to the Fish Creek Fire and arrived at our campsite in the Grand Tetons with plenty of time to relax. We sat back, enjoyed some adult beverages, and watched the sunset—perfect ending to the day. We explored Yellowstone and stopped by the Elk Horn Archway in Afton, where our dog had his stitches removed, and...

 August did not end on a high (unless you are thinking temperatures). On the 29th, Ida came ashore as a Cat 4 hurricane at 11:55am CDT near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. She did so with sustained winds of 150mph,  tying the 1856 Last Island hurricane and Hurricane Laura as the strongest landfalling hurricane on record in Louisiana. Ida is also tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland.   After holding the front door closed for Zeta, which hit us as the latest hurricane on record in the season, and as a Cat 3, we decided to hitch up our antique camper and head for a friend's place in Augusta, GA to ride it out. I had to work Saturday so we did not even get to head out until 6pm. Arrived in Augusta 4pm Sunday... traffic was stupid! Took us 12 hours to get back on Tuesday. Slidell, where I work, is out of power, gas, and groceries. My unit is running on a generator, a gas truck comes every evening to fill up the cars of whoever shows up for work. ...

Oh, how gorgeous are our spring days? Very!  Filled with with singing birds, nasty gnats, fresh blooms, sweeping clouds. Even the occasional cold front coming through (like tonight) can't knock the bloom off of the beauty that is Coastal MS this time of year.  Let me check-in and get that out of the way: ) Blog the 1st of each month:  .a day early since tomorrow is a long-ass work day but here I am! "ON TARGET" 2) Maintain an intentional spiritual practice:  March started with a Pisces New Moon, a week later was the Spring Equinox (Ostara), and then a week after that was a Libra Full Moon. Three weekends of ritual in a row...WOW!  I set out my year-long "Desires" grid under the Libra full moon energies. And I made 7 journal entries. "ON TARGET"            3) Lose one pound each month:  I actually gained 0.9#. Ugh. Looking back on March, I see a week of eating out (nachos) was probably not my best idea.  This is finals...