I took this not for the gray on gray but for the oh so subtle winter morning light.

Good thing I didn't have any meetings today. I was exhausted all day. I admit to a modest infusion of caffeine and chocolate after spending 45 minutes on the phone with Credo Mobile customer service doing a master reset on my newish beloved smartphone because it wasn't allowing anyone that called to hear me. I've been having this problem periodically since I got the thing. They are very nice at Credo and you don't have to wait. The annoying thing was I had to save all my contacts to Google before we did the reset.

I've signed petitions from Credo Action in the last few days on banning large assault rifle magazines and to fix the filibuster rules so things can get done in Congress.

I am not crazy about being locked exclusively into the Planet Google platform but I need a working phone... Oh well, now I have a back-up on the cloud.

It took me over an hour and some concerted effort to draw my hamstrings and calves class for tomorrow. I wanted to do it in the Viniyoga way of contracting-relaxing and then stretching as opposed to just starting out stretching as is often the case in leg focused practices. I need to stick a balance in there too. I know just where.

Running through the class on my own felt good though.

Nothing but rain in the forecast. It is a long hall til spring.

Finished the classroom work for teacher training today. Have some practices to develop and a few essays to write and some private sessions with my teacher but the long 20 hour weekend intensives are over!

At least Sammy is feeling better. And I am through the two week course of steroids both cats have been on for their allergies. So maybe things will be a bit calmer around here. Only 5 days until my vacation!

Remember the Stone Angels in Doctor Who? If you blink they move closer until they eventually devour you.

Since I have been treating both cats for allergies with their specially formulated steroid laced chicken treats they have been doing the stone angel thing. Each time I blink they move closer to their food dishes. It is pretty funny. At least they are quiet.

Sammy is better today, clearly more comfortable. These good days are important.

Today's link is about how when it comes to fitness little things matter and will help keep me motivated to do something aerobic in the dark days ahead. Yoga is great but it is not enough to keep the heart healthy and the brain agile. The ancient yogis didn't have cars and computers and smart phones. One has to be realistic about this.

I have a collection of pictures of funky old garages here in Oregon and some in Washington. This one is over by the yoga studio. I took this shot last May. I am most interested in the working of time on things.

When I walked by late this afternoon it was gone.

I was past the absence before I noticed it and went by. Gone.

Just one board left on the ground and a muddy patch in the grass.

Sammy has had a really rough day. Dr. Anderson called to follow up on Stella and she says this is a sign of the kidney disease we knew was brewing in him. She recommended a very small dose of the human antacid Pepcid. I managed to get some during my dinner break at teacher training and he took it in a pill pocket. I hope it helps. Poor guy. Right his moment he is yowling at me in his nightly mighty hunter ritual with the old catnip toy I hide in a shopping bag full of tissue paper for him before I go to bed.

No link today. I am too tired.

After a beautiful but brrr cold morning the clouds moved in. This is a tree in a patio well across the street where the beautiful architecturally designed and built condos are. It is a smallish building. I think maybe 8 condos, all different sizes all unique built into a hill. The same hill my place is built into.

I listened to a "Stuff You Missed in History Class" podcast on subterranean cities last night. I like the idea that Portland and Seattle were mixed in there with Paris.

My link today is of Leslie Kaminoff talking about his teachers. Leslie wrote the Yoga Anatomy book I am using and his teachers in India were the same as Gary Kraftsow's. I found this yesterday when I was doing research for my graduation class.

I actually kind of like the wires in from of this view of Mt. Hood I took this last weekend.

Pretty quiet day. Work, taught class, dinner and provisioning with Kes and Most Honorable. Lazy evening with the cats preparing for my big end of term yoga teacher training weekend. We are having four individuals come in and four of us, not me, are conducting private session intake interviews while we watch. Then I teach. With a bunch of stuff that hasn't been covered yet stuck in there somewhere.

My link today is a Buddhist teaching by Reginald Ray.

We had another gorgeous clear cold dry day. Wow! This is the Willamette from the west side facing south.

I drew out my New Year New Neck class for tomorrow. I am very excited as I am going to have a new student. I also drew out my graduation class for Sunday afternoon. I keep tinkering with my "elevator speech" to make it into something I actually say when someone asks what kind of yoga I teach.

My link today is another one about homemade cat food. Getting them to eat mostly raw food is a challenge Kes says Dr. Anderson mentioned.

I've been catching up on Performance Today too. Fred never fails to cheer me up.