If we were having coffee: Time travel edition

At the NASA Wallops Visitors Center.

Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein’s general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.

~ Stephen Hawking

Rivers of cloud bands surrounding Jupiter. (From an exhibit/film at the NASA Wallops Visitor Center.)

In Einstein’s equation, time is a river.  It speeds up, meanders, and slows down.  The new wrinkle is that it can have whirlpools and fork into two rivers.  So, if the river of time can be bent into a pretzel, create whirlpools and fork into two rivers, then time travel cannot be ruled out.

~ Michio Kaku

Admiring the greens and grays and browns of winter on Assateague Island.

If we were having coffee, I would be delighted to welcome you back to the Wabi-Sabi Ranch.  Big hugs if you’re amenable to hugs.  Come on in!  Let’s go out to the kitchen and see what there is to drink and eat.  I’m sure there is coffee, both caf and de-caf, as well as an abundance of teas from green to black to herbal.  My favorite herbal this week is a lemon-ginger tea.  Sometimes when I’m drawn to a particular tea to the point where it’s almost all I want to drink, I figure there must be something in it my body needs.  Other times, it’s just the taste.  In this case, it might be both.  It’s the time of year when the body wants to cleanse itself of winter.  Lemon and ginger are both good for that.

While admiring the greens and grays and browns of winter, I heard a horse whinny.  When I looked to the right, I saw two wild horses strolling through the grasses.

We have snacks as well.  M baked some walnut-date bread-like things that probably have a name but I can’t remember it.  They have just the right amount of sweetness without going overboard, and they are delicious with tea or coffee.  We also have the usual hummus, pita bread, and veggies, if you’d prefer something savory.  If we rummage around in the fridge, I’m sure we can also find a variety of cheeses.  I’m going to give up dairy for a while soon so if you’d like to help me get rid of the cheese by eating some of it, I’d be most appreciative.  It’s not a special diet or anything like that.  I like cheese.  A lot.  And have been overindulging in it lately.  It’s time for cheese and I to take a little vacation from each other.

They never cease to amaze me with their beauty and grace.

How are you?  What have you been up to lately?  Have you had an interesting week or has it been pretty much the same as it ever was?  Have you gone on any good walks or hikes?  Traveled anywhere?  Treated yourself to something special this week?  Read any good books or watched any good films?

Heading towards the beach.

If we were having coffee, tea, water, or some other beverage, I would tell you that, once again, I have nothing new to report on the book or movie front.  I’ve been spending a lot of time drawing, walking, sorting through photos from the past month, and generally trying to get caught up here at home after visits from friends and trips of my own.  I am slowly making my way through The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge.  Given that it’s not a particularly long book and that the story is compelling, I should have finished by now and might have if I hadn’t been spending my evenings just vegging out.  The story is, I think, your basic hero’s journey.  Without giving anything away (since this much can be found on the book jacket and although it is a work of fiction, there is some historical truth to the story), the main character, Hugh Glass, is brutally mauled by a mama grizzly bear who sees him as a threat to her cubs.  His injuries are so grievous and the time period (1823-24) and circumstances are such that he should die and he is, in fact, abandoned and left to do just that.  Glass’s journey begins as he comes back from the brink of death.  Where it will lead is still up in the air for me, but I can tell you that his journey is fueled by revenge which, as many have found, can be a very powerful force.

The vocal one.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I got a new phone last week before we took off for our weekend trip.  I have finally given up my mildly intelligent phone and acquired a smartphone.  I would have held out longer, but my mildly intelligent phone was having issues with some of its buttons, and the monthly usage cost reached a point where it is cheaper now for me to have a smartphone and a new monthly plan.  It’s not a top-of-the-line phone (it was on sale for $79), but it is enough.  I was astounded at the cost of some of the phones I looked at.  Good grief.  I can’t imagine paying $400 or more for a phone.  I’d be afraid of losing or damaging it.

The follower.

In an interesting twist, I read an article (in the local paper, maybe?  I’m not sure) about how folks are growing weary of being tied to their smartphones and are now dumbing down by buying phones that allow for nothing more than talk and text (which is pretty much all I could do with my mildly intelligent phone since the screen was too small for anything else).  Seems more like a smartening up move to me.  Having had a smartphone for only a week, I can better appreciate why people are always glancing down at them.  The phone is in almost perpetual motion, picking up all the social media sites as well as email and whatever else you want at your beck and call.  I suppose it’s more accurate to say that we are at the beck and call of the phone, if we allow it.  I’m looking for ways to disconnect my phone from all that.  It’s better if I approach Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on my terms and when I feel I have the time for such things.

Perfectly posed.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that this week’s photos are from mid-February when we went to Assateague and Chincoteague with our friend who was visiting.  Hence, the time travel reference since we are going back to the recent past.  I still haven’t sorted through all of the photos from that adventure.  Frankly my dears, I’ve been taking far too many photographs of late, and it might be time to put the camera down for a while.  At least until I get caught up.  There are always exceptions, of course, such as yesterday’s snow.  I didn’t want to miss out on that.

Through the marsh grasses.

If we were having coffee, tea, or something else to drink, I would tell you that there is a side to photography that might be seen as a dark side, if you are prone to splitting things up into good and bad.  It can become a kind of compulsion, the desire to record everything.  In my experience, there are times when the camera helps to pull me into a moment, but more often than not, it takes me out of the actual engagement with the present.  Instead of sitting with the beautiful bluebird who is perched on the fence outside of the window and admiring his gorgeous colors, I find myself wanting to rush off and grab the camera to capture this moment that I will have missed by not being here with it.  Like the little bluebird, the moment flies away before I return.

In the thicket.

If we were having coffee or tea or some other beverage, it would probably be time to turn the conversation over to you.  I’ve rambled enough for now.  If you wore or brought some boots or wellies, maybe we could go for a walk in a little while.  It’s sunny and although not overly warm, it’s not terribly cold either.  It’s in the 40’s.  The snow cover might make it feel a bit cooler.  They are saying we might get more snow tonight and tomorrow, but I think it will be rain.  It will be warming up nicely this week, too.  Into the 70’s.

Behind the myrtles.

Thank you for stopping by and joining me for another coffee chat.  I always enjoy your company.  If you’d like to hang around for sunset, we can go out to the dock.  It’s expected to get cloudy so we might not see much.  Sunset is scheduled for 6:00 PM.  Let’s go early so we don’t miss any of the show.

A glimpse.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

See ya!

This post is in response to Part Time Monster’s #WeekendCoffeeShare.  Thank you to Diana for hosting it.  Put the kettle on, start the coffee maker, open a bottle of wine, or whatever your preference is, and join us.  I’d love to hear all about what you were up to this week.