"Recovery" day... :)

 Got airbnb date confirmation from son so I booked my trip to Tampa for January.  3 hours in air versus 20+ hours of driving over 2-3 days...guess this will feel a bit more taxing.  :)  We will see.  Flying with no smart phone and no printer at home to print out any boarding pass - I will be relying on the kindness of strangers in the airport to get me from point A to point B, Me and Breeze.  My flight was not $28 but closer to it than I thought it would be.  I will be traveling with backpack only and let them pick my seat so it was pretty efficient.  My last flight was Jan 2019 with my son to Ecuador...

So with that task in my rearview mirror, I moved on to cleaning the apartment.  Family friend let me know that she and two grandsons were getting a later start but I told her that was fine.  I swung by the library first and got my next Krueger and then met them for our walk.  Then home for EOLD.  Interesting discussion - Betty's Brigade.  Offers services like we had when my father died.  Family takes everything from the house that they want and "a Betty" comes in and the end product is a check and and an empty house ready for sale.  :)  

Talked to sister #4.  She is planning a possible Jan trip to FL so I gave her my travel info in case she wanted to intersect in our travels at any point or to let her know when I would be available to take her to the airport.  

Listened to WBD - from a plane with Gladstein and Booth. Africa, IMF/World Bank malfeasance   Very interesting discussion.  A short Prof G 2024 prediction.  Now listening to Real Vision with Thornton 2024 predictions.  Went back and forth with IOWA facilitator about something that bubbled up in the discussion on Tuesday night.  No old people except me in that discussion so it is always informative to me from younger people navigating the world.  Glad I am old.  Last night Lansing.  Very good discussion.  

Today - Winter Solstice!  Since prehistory, the winter solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures and has been marked by festivals and rituals. It marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun; the gradual waning of daylight hours is reversed and begins to grow again.  This is a time of new beginnings, rebirth, transformation, getting rid of unwanted habits, and creativity.  I am all in on new beginnings, rebirth, transformation thinking...  

I am also completely taken with the "what's old is new again" in my current book.  From a review:  "By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans and left intractable wounds on the nation. After a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term. As the sun emerged, Lincoln rose to give perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history, stunning the nation by arguing, in a brief 701 words, that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors―every drop of blood spilled―might well have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery."  "In indelible scenes, Achorn vividly captures the frenzy in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history and the tension-filled hope and despair afflicting the country as a whole, soon to be heightened by Lincoln's assassination. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time."  The frenzy of the inside the loop life then and now...seem a bit similar.  Opulent life style of those who made so much money from war...insulated by the beltway.  Hmmm....

Today - chores all done, so walk and Coachella.  And putting together some Winter Solstice observance.  :)  

You don't like to be held back. You can't wait quietly until you reach your objectives. Know that occasionally the unpleasant tasks have to be done before you can enjoy yourself. This is the case today. Fortunately, the day promises to be calm with periods of concentrated effort. Now you can prepare for the future.

You'll feel in control of your emotions as Mercury retrograde and Saturn align, dear Libra, making sense of past difficulties by understanding the roles you did and did not play in creating strife. This energy also offers healing when you are productive, so be sure to stay focused on goals that are important to you. Love brings you to life when the Aries moon aligns with the North Node, making it a good time to connect with your nearest and dearest. Themes around commitment and emotional security come into play as the moon enters Taurus tonight, while the start of Capricorn season offers sweet nostalgia.

There is a good cosmic reason why you don’t feel comfortable around certain people, so listen to what your instincts are telling you and keep some distance between you today. You may be sociable by nature but you don’t have to be friends with everyone.

Should be a solitary day today - so I will contemplate that and the Solstice energy.  Any encounter will be totally by chance so I will keep my eye on who may appear while I wander today.  Have a good Thursday.  More sunlight tomorrow and beyond!