Go away, 2022!

It's been a quiet week.  I spent all my time hanging out with my pack, making sure all seven dogs got some exercise and runs this week.  I spent most of this week focusing on Hansel, Sahne and Fritz, taking them down to the river for walks from 3-6 miles long every morning.  They make a tight pack, but now I have to get them back in the back yard before school resumes on Wednesay, and Fritz has already told me he wants none of that.I never did make it to Tucson to walk the rest of The Loop, or to explore Keystone Peak.

My mornings most days began with a drive to McDonald's for coffee.  I'd get each dog a sausage biscuit and then we'd hit a section either along the river or along the border.  Weather was mostly on the warm side.  I enjoy seeing them run free without restraints.  All three stay close to me, too.

I survived the first year anniversary of Kevin's death on the 27th with just one short outburst of intense grief.

We had an intense wind and rain storm on the 28th.  It was more wind than rain, with no new snow on the peaks and no noticeable saturation in the valley.  (Another storm is forecasted Sunday over Monday, with fresh snow above 7000.')

I was drinking coffee yesterday morning at McD's when I saw on a news website that the suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students has been caught at his parents' house in the Poconos.  He's 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, a PhD candidate at Washington State University in Pullman, near Moscow ID.    Catching him is a relief, but now I want to know what his motive was.  Why did he choose these four students?

We also lost three very influential people this past week. Most annual celebrity death rosters stop listing names in early December, but these three need to be mentioned: Brazilian soccer player Pele died on the 29th from colon cancer.  He played in three World Cups and scored goals in every game.  He had colon cancer.  He was 82.  He was the most popular soccer player during my youth.  Barbara Walters died yesterday at age 93.  She was a trailblazer for female television reporters.  I had always liked her because she always spoke in a calm voice and demeanor, even when her subjects were known assholes.  Nowadays reporters use drama and emotion for ratings, which turns me off to mainstream media like CNN or FoxNews.  And today former Pope Benedict, our first German-born pope, died at age 95.  He had been in failing health.

I spent the Eve alone with the dogs.  The neighborhood was quiet and so was I.