Things have been quiet here, lately, so there hasn’t been much to share. It’s been bitter cold more often than not, and the darkness and cold just can’t compete with a roaring fire, warm cuddly dogs, and a mug of hot tea, cocoa, wine or beverage du jour, so our adventures have been few and far between. However, we have our first trip to Florida (Key West) coming up the second week of March, so the hiatus will be ending soon. Also, the local temperatures are starting to climb and we’ll be jumping from the 20s to the 60s this week, although I doubt that will last long.

I took my official, final trip to the comic store for my last batch of new print comics 2 weeks ago, and I’ve been exploring the world of digital comics ever since.  I’m enjoying the reading experience, and the convenience of it all, but the lack of availability of the older comics I prefer (Golden and Silver age, 1940s – 1980s) means my older back-issue comic collecting will continue for the duration. While I don’t foresee swapping out my entire print collection for digital regardless of how much content eventually becomes available, (e.g. my Green Lantern Comic Collection) I am more likely to dispose of the newer comics that I can obtain digitally and access easily, thereby reducing my collection to a more manageable size. To that end, I am going to begin pouring through my collection – A to Z – and weeding out the “I can live without owning print versions of these” issues over the next year. Ideally, I will sell them and use the money to buy digital versions. We shall see.

In an effort to combat my ever-increasing digestive discomfort and waist size, I have been trying to return to a healthier diet and getting back on the treadmill. It is always hard to get back into a proper diet and exercise routine, but if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Work has continued to be a steady source of stress, but with 8 Years 2 Months and 26 days to go before I retire, I try to find ways to cope. There might (big might) be a promotion and raise in my future, but it remains to be seen if A.) it will happen; or B.) that will make things better or worse. If it does happen, at least I’ll be paid more to be stressed. Stay tuned.

Last but not least, these 2 continue to make me smile and laugh and melt, day in and day out. There are days when they are the only thing that can coax a smile out of me, and their affection is rarely incapable of curing what ails me, or at least anesthetizing my physical or emotional pain.

And so it goes…