A weekly note

It’s a two shovels week! ☃️

I just got in from the second shovel. Very light snow. 28 degrees. Frosty, quiet morning.

There’s a chance this snow will stick around for a day or few? But there’s also a chance of rain, so…

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It snowed maybe a couple inches on Monday evening, but in a way that made it seem like it could actually add up to a few more if you weren’t careful. I got out there mid-snow and cleared the nice long sidewalk in front of our house and the neighbors.

A friend walked by with dogs and we talked for a bit. As he walked away he mentioned the good shovel job so far and I said, literally: “gotta get ahead of it.”

When I recapped to Michelle, she quickly reminded me of the recent Progressive “Don’t Become Your Parents” commercials. I’m not sure if my parents ever used that phrase, but it fits.

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And you do have to get ahead of it! Otherwise it gets all clumpy and icy and pedestrians come first in this house!

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The Monday night shovel was about 10 hours after my COVID-19 booster shot. I had been feeling pretty good before, with some general tiredness and a sore arm. As soon as I was done shoveling, things started to go downhill. I haven’t looked yet to see if physical exertion can help increase symptoms from side effects, but yeeeeesh.

Big, violent chills and really poor sleep that night. Lazy and tired the next day. Back to maybe 90% the next night and then good as new after another sleep.

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And then! On Thursday morning, when you think everything is over: vaccine rash!

What even. I’ll be happy when it’s gone.

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During the first week of parenthood, I brought out A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and started reading in small doses to A when he seemed interested.

The opening paragraphs made it feel like such a good book to read with a baby:

Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo….

His father told him that story: his father looked at him through a glass: he had a hairy face. 

I think I laughed because I had not shaved and I was wearing glasses. How great!

Anyhow. We made it through the first 20 pages or so over a handful of readings before he stopped seeming interested.

I’ve tried a couple more times and I’m not sure he’s really going to be feeling it unless he’s sleeping. But I’m enjoying the book again! Do I move on without him? Do I make him push through like I did with Joyce?

Parenting decisions!

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I’ve dialed in the beginnings of a publishing workflow with Micropub and I’m feeling happy about it. I have a draft post covering the details that I’m hoping to get up over the next week.

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Other draft posts:

• My first FSE theme, round 2
• Something exploring NFT and probably DAO opinions
• A todo list for this site in 2022
• The books I read in 2020 (hahahahah over 11 months late, but I have to finish it before The books I read in 2021)

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Hey look at that—I’ve finished a post!

Have a great Friday. 🍻