man, car, ghost, house, abandoned

Britannica—Halloween, contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, a holiday observed on October 31, the evening before All Saints’ (or All Hallows’) Day. The celebration marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints and initiates the season of Allhallowtide, which lasts three days and concludes with All Souls’ Day. In much of Europe and most of North America, observance of Halloween is largely nonreligious. Halloween is celebrated on Saturday, October 31, 2020.

Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. On the day corresponding to November 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin. That date was considered the beginning of the winter period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. During the Samhain festival the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the otherworld. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favourable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. When the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century ce, they added their own festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and of Pomona, the goddess of the harvest.

Royalty-free image from Pixabay
See License

Pixabay image by Syaibatul Hamdi • Age 26 • Banjarmasin, Kal-sel/Indonesia • Member since Aug. 29, 2019 •

halloween, black-cat, haunted-house

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2020 will occur on Saturday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats. History.com

Royalty-Free from Pixabay
See License

image by Gene1870 – English • Member since Dec. 10, 2017

ghost, haunted-house, halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2020 will occur on Saturday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats. History.com

Royalty-Free from Pixabay
See License

Gene1870 – English • Member since Dec. 10, 2017

From Pixabay
See License

Nur Hikmat • Age 17 • TASIKMALAYA/INDONESIA • Member since July 30, 2020

Like many, fogging of my glasses was quite an annoyance when I started wearing a face mask when out in public.  Now it isn’t anymore — unless I need to use my reading glasses.

It’s an unanticipated benefit after cataract surgery.  The implants that replaced the cataract clouded lenses of my eyes have improved my distant vision to 20/20 in the left eye and 20/25 in my right eye — most of the time I no longer need to wear glasses.

I had my last postop exam yesterday.  Afterward, we stopped at a few stores and, while in one of them, I needed to use my reading glasses to read a couple of labels.  When my reading glasses fogged up a bit from the moisture in my breath, I realized that not needing the glasses most of the time had eliminated one of the annoyances associated with wearing the mask.

How cool is that?!

Where I used to need glasses for far vision, I didn’t need them for reading, using the computer, or anything closeup.  When given a choice prior to my cataract surgery, I chose implants that would improve my distant vision.  Now my vision has swapped from what it used to be.  I only need glasses for most near vision uses with my vision overall vastly improved over what it used to be.

And, most of the time, there are no longer lenses to fog up when wearing my mask during COVID.

It’s been 4 weeks since I last posted a Wednesday weight-in.

My progress on losing weight hasn’t been as consistent as I would like, but I am progressing. I regained about 5 lbs twice, but was able to lose what I gained. According to my weight loss app, the predicted target date for getting to my optimal weight has slipped from April 24, 2021 to November 14, 2021.

Last weigh-in post, I was at 278 lbs with a BMI of 34.7.

This morning, I logged 274 lbs, with a BMI of 34.2.  While I can’t complain about losing a pound a week, I would like to do better.

I did have the cataract surgery for both eyes, with the second one week after the first. There were almost no limitations on what I could do afterward, but I held off on some of my outside work as I was supposed to refrain from working in dusty conditions for a week after the surgery.

2020kickstart#22

WednesdayWeighIn#4

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 81 of over 1200 images
Painted Desert Inn, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, October 9, 2011

After visiting the Grand Canyon in October, 2011, we were heading towards Carlsbad, with several stops along the way.  The first was Petrified Forest National Park, where one attraction is the Petrified Forest Inn.

Painted Desert Inn is a historic complex in Petrified Forest National Park, in Apache County, eastern Arizona. It is located off Interstate 40 and near the original alignment of historic U.S. Route 66, overlooking the Painted Desert.

The inn’s main building and associated guest cabins−casitas were designed in the Pueblo Revival style, by National Park Service architect Lyle E. Bennett and others from the Park Service Branch of Plans and Design. Construction was carried out by Civilian Conservation Corps builders and artisans over 1937–1940. A portion of the main building was remodeled from the 1920s inn on the site, nicknamed the Stone Tree House due to local petrified wood used in its architectural elements.

After post-war design revisions by architect and interior designer Mary Jane Colter, it was operated by the Fred Harvey Company as a Harvey House from 1947 to 1963, when it closed.[6] Demolition was proposed in the mid-1970s, but after public protests the building was reopened for limited use in 1976 as a Bicentennial Travel Center after being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987 for its architecture and the distinctive way in which New Deal works funding was used for its construction.

The main building of the Painted Desert Inn was extensively rehabilitated and restored over the years, reopening as a museum and bookstore in the 1990s full time. There was an extensive period of rehabilitation for the complex 2004-2006, reopening as a museum (the park’s bookstores are now at the Rainbow Forest Museum and Painted Desert Visitor Center). Overnight accommodations are not currently available at the inn (not since 1947), but during the summer months it has a nostalgic ice cream parlor.²

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
   • This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay and Flickr as “Winter in the Ozarks.”
   • Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, royalty-free image sharing site.
   • Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
   • All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.
2. Wikipedia

More info

Petrified Forest National Park

• Wikipedia
• National Park Service
• Wikitravel
• ParkVision

Painted Desert

• Wikipedia
• Painted Desert Inn – National Park Service
• Painted Desert Inn – Arizona Highways
• The CCC & the Painted Desert Inn – Intermountain Histories
• Painted Desert Inn Nomination form for National Register of Historic Places (pdf)

2020kickstart#21

After my post-op appointment last Wednesday for the cataract surgery I had the day before, we stopped at Target to get a pair of reading glasses – with my newly implanted lenses, my near vision is not quite up to reading without aid – and, while we were there, flu shots.

We get the flu shot every year, but, normally, it’s later in the year.

This year, though, with the added complication of the coronavirus pandemic, we thought we should get the shots as soon as it was available.

We are on a list to be called when they are available at the clinic we use, but they didn’t anticipate receiving the vaccine for several weeks yet. On Tuesday, while I was at Baker Eye Institute for my second cataract surgery, Karen did a little bit of shopping and noticed that flu shots were available at the CVS pharmacy in Target.

I know that a lot of people are against vaccinations for whatever reason and a lot of people doubt the seriousness of this pandemic.  However, because of our age and medical conditions, we are at higher risk should we be infected with the COVID virus. We believe the vaccinations to be low risk.  The mortality rate for people over 65 who have been confirmed as being infected is 8.3% so the pandemic risk is more of a concern.

With all of our existing complicating factors, we don’t need the additional complication of the flu or our immune systems being weakened by the flu while this virus is still infecting people.

Thus… we’ve had our 2020 flu shots.

2020kickstart#20

My old eyes have been rejuvenated – if only I could do that with the rest of me!

Beeds Lake State Park, near Hampton, Iowa, September 17, 2014

Wow!

I had not realized the true condition of my vision and didn’t really appreciate how much it could be improved by a “minor” procedure on each eye.

Now my distant vision is near perfect as far as I’m concerned.  My old eyes have been rejuvenated – if only I could do that with the rest of me!

My eyesight has never terribly bad, though over the last decade or so it had gradually been changing. I could function without my glasses if I needed to and I normally read books and used the computer without them. While I’ve known I had cataracts for a long time, their impact hadn’t been noticeable until a few years ago when I seeing halos around lights at night.

The cataracts had been getting worse and by late last year, I knew they should probably need to be dealt with in 2020.  Lights and bright reflections fogged up what I was seeing – somewhat like looking through a slightly frosty or fogged-up window.

Then COVID happened and I put off getting an eye exam until the middle of August.

On September 1, I had cataract surgery on my right eye and, then, a week later had the left eye taken care of. The cloudy lenses were replaced with clear artificial lenses that also corrected my distance.

The results are absolutely amazing.

Colors are brighter, whites are whiter, and details are crisp – for everything out past a couple of feet.  Up closer, on the other hand, things tend to be less focused.

Where before I could read without corrective lenses, now I need reading glasses.

I can live with that.

2020kickstart#19