Reupholstering

This is for all my pals who made it through Dry January.  Don't worry.  There are tokens for every month, perhaps every day, if you choose to continue.  February is a short month, so it should be easier.  Onward, Christian Soldiers. . . . 

I have to tell you, though, I'm having trouble with the motto.  All three words are nouns, but they don't seem to be parallel constructions to me.  They are. . . but somehow something seems off.  It isn't. . . but it is.  

I'm sure they ran it through grammar check.  

For my part, I did not lose weight this week.  Indeed, I put on a pound.  That makes my decision a difficult one.  What shall I do?  Having a drink tonight is tempting, but the chance of getting another token. . . that's just BIG.  What is life, anyway, if not about recovery.  Recovering what, though?  It sounds a bit like I've become a reupholsterer.  Apparently, that is not a word.  Like someone in the reupholstering business, though, lacks impact.  

O.K.  I just Googled it.  It sounds like I'm an upholsterer.  

This is what you get from me when I get out of bed at 4:30.  A.M.  You know, they say that not sleeping is a cause for weight gain.  It seems there is no winning.  

Spring came yesterday.  Terrifically blue skies and perfect temperatures.  I was out and about and feeling chipper.  I even returned to the gym.  I haven't been since Omicron surged, but cases are down over 50% in my own hometown and I have need of what the gym has to offer.  After my workout, I went poolside and took half an hour of winter sunlight.  Last night, after dinner, I read for a long while before I got antsy and went out.  I just needed to get out of the house.  It was a good sign, I think.  I simply got in the car and took a drive.  Sounds simple, but it was another step toward "recovery."  

I went on Google Maps when I got home and used the street view feature to explore several small towns in driving distance.  I wanted to see what, if anything, was photographable.  I found a place I might want to visit in my effort to be more productive.  

I need to break the chains.  I've been housebound long enough.  I'm ready to be a hero again.  Ha!

That token is hideous.  I can't let that stand as the only visual in this post.  Such things have always led me to rebellion.  They should give those to people when they get married.  They should give them to people every time they have a child.  Hell, priests should hand them out at confession.  Every month that you don't cheat on your husband or wife--ding!--another token.  Tokens for the do-gooders.  

Nothing for the forsaken.  

I took this photo in Berkeley on the edge of Oakland long ago.  I was just exploring and hadn't realized that Oakland and Berkeley abutted.  But you can feel it.  You can feel Oakland coming and in a little while you just turn around.  But the ecotone there is fascinating. Warehouses and whatever this thing is dominate the landscape.  I never know what those things are, but they captivate me.  I took this photo with my early century shoe phone.  People work hard now to get these colors with their Fuji digital cameras.  All I had to do was hit a single button.  Funny how things go.  

The night moves toward the day.  It is six o'clock now.  I guess I will read and see if that makes me sleepy so that I can return to bed.  I always sleep better on restless nights when the sun comes up.  If I don't, this could be a very painful day.  

O.K. One day at a time.  Onward.