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May 5, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

As I live on the west coast as well, just a little farther up from Seattle in Canada, I lived this with you last week. THE SUN AND WARMTH IS COMING ON XX day. We have to DO something! This made me laugh as we were having similar conversations here. Looks like next weekend is going to be good. Any plans? LOL.

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That’s so funny. No plans! Nothing! Well, maybe fertilize the lawn. You?

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May 6, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

Digging fence post holes. :)

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May 5, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

I had no idea RVs were such a presence in Seattle. I can't imagine trying to drive one through all that traffic. I still remember the utter shock at sitting in rush hour with the insane cyclists. In wall to wall traffic on the highway! Do they have a death wish?

RVs take over in the summer here too. They dominate the over populated roadways. Traffic here is interesting because the infrastructure is not designed for the capacity they get three months out of the year. Couple that with Road construction literally everywhere and going from point A to point B becomes a real adventure.

When you come to do your "Alaska by Land" trip, remember the important rule of thumb for small Alaskan tourist towns in July : No left turns. Especially in Soldotna. We all get really good at plotting our route using only stop lights and right turns. May the odds be ever in your favor.

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No left turns? Huh?

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May 6, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

I guess I didn’t word that very well. It’s such an ingrained expression here I didn’t think about how vague it is.

So you never EVER try to turn left onto any road way (out of a parking lot or driveway, side road etc) unless you are at a stoplight/roundabout/stop sign, there’s just so much traffic you will never get out.

So you always turn right on the Highway, pull off further up the road and circle back. Does that make more sense?

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Gotcha.

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May 4, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

I live in Florida where the sun always shines except of course for hurricane season when I leave for four months. For me it is always the opposite. It is when it rains that everyone scurries to be inside and figure what shall we do indoors movie? Theater? Knitting club? Playing cards? Maybe just watch a good movie on Netflix. And then guess what, the sun comes roaring out And we still stay indoors!

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Indoors is underrated.

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May 4, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

Love it!

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May 4, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

We've lived in MN for a long time. Most active lifestyle ever. Extensive bike paths that would make Oregoners blush. More outdoor ice sheets than all of Scandinavia. All quite over the top. A hint of any warmth or premature change of season and the madness commences. I play tennis with a large circle of men who never miss an opportunity to play. Regardless of the weather we seem to be playing April to Thanksgiving. We own two nets and string them if the cities are not on top of things. Leaf blowers, foam rollers, the whole nine yards. If we were to apply such diligence to our own properties they would be showcases. The cities (in the tundra) have OUTDOOR CLAY COURTS that locals maintain as a civic pride thing. All of it is quite wonderful and so foreign to growing up in NY when the snow falls and people collectively say woe is me and make people adjacent to them sad by osmosis.

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MN rocks. I had no idea. Probably why I miss the east coast. If you take part in winter sports it’s fun.

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May 7, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

I have a good friend who's always likely to call to go for a walk even in the depths of the cold. He often says there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad outerwear :)

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I loved taking walks after a snow storm when we lived in Boston. Love your friend's line about bad outerwear.

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May 8, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

I also think, for given communities, it is a mixture of attitude and priorities. People have to embrace the changes and municipalities have to make the right investments. I did a post long ago about the general topic. What I remember was that Washington DC was #1 city for investment in their parks. Minneapolis was #2 and St. Paul was #5 in the US. What I think MA & MN likely have in common are somewhat higher taxes AND higher quality services.

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I’m not alone. Hurray. I remember that you’re a Chiro. Office music can make the mood. What’s your favorite play list?

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May 4, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

Remember last week, or the week before, when you were asking for new friends and I became one (OK, maybe that was only in my head and not actually how it went down!), well I'm also a chiropractor and I'm laughing my head off reading this! From now on I will pay much closer attention to the music I play...

I live in a gorgeous, small mountain town. My entire family and every friend is of the opinion that it's only a good day if they are, literally, hanging off the side of some mountain or running up one or hurtling down one. I just want to read my book, inside or outside. I don't belong! I have the sunny outside guilt for sure, and the snowy or autumn or...any kind of outside guilt.

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And yes, we are buds now.

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May 3, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

Reading of all those beautiful places in WA makes me homesick! That said, my husband and I have perfected the art of Doing Nothing At All when the sun shines. Or worse, we spend it doing mundane (and backbreaking) stuff like cleaning out the garage and a trip to the dump (this was last weekend for us, literally).

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Garage is on our list. Your state is nothing to cough at. WA is a gorgeous state. But so is the glamorous USA. (That was actually written on the labels of Juicy sweatpants and sweatshirt. Made in the glamorous USA. Remember Juicy?)

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May 3, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

haha, yes!

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Thanks so much for the shout-out, CK. You're the best. The pressure to enjoy a warm day (especially after this winter) is real. To do *something* to memorialize it. I'm dealing with the May Gray of Westside LA and over the weekend, I watched AccuWeather to see if/when it would cross 70 so I could enjoy my urban hike in the sun. Welp, the wind off the water while heading west was so effing cold, I started to zig and zag through the blocks to avoid it as much as possible on my way home. I love that we had so much rain in CA. I'm so glad we have a surplus of snow (worried about the flooding, though), but I live here for a reason, and that's nice weather! I'm afraid ours might not come back. xo

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I heard CA is no longer in drought mode. Good news on that front but yes, flood waters lurk. You’re welcome for shout out. I was thrilled that you had a piece about the beauty of small spaces. Its a desirable vacation for me. Respect the decluttering. 👊

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Did we know we both had dogs named Apollo? I mean I have a chihuahua that pretends to be a dog and you have a real actually dog . In Vermont if it is sunny during any month other than June and July we scurry around just like your story. All of the outside things. All of the time. Then we moved to Colorado where the sun is one cocky-ass-extrovert and it was exhausting. It was sunny so we planned picnics and hikes and gardening. It took us a few months to realize that we were exhausted trying to keep up with the sunny days. Think of how restful Seattle is in that way.

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Haha. Snow for six months out of the year in Vermont is appealing. How long were you there? We were in Boston for 12 years. We could have met up somewhere in NH. Yes, we learned early on that we both have goofy Apollos. I have come to enjoy the rain here. By August I miss it.

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May 3, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel

Made me LOL. All very relatable. The compulsion to go outside just because the sun is shining is nearly irresistible. But I resist. I'd rather be writing. Does working on my drip irrigation count as an outdoor activity? I made that very comment about "pay...to drive by some tulips?!" last week when my wife was heading in that direction with friends. And, yeah, word has it that it was a muddy slog. Good stuff, A.G. Keep it up! SR P.S. I moved up her from SoCal in 1990 to get AWAY from the sun.

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Haha. Yes, drip irrigation work counts. Thx for reading. I knew I wasn’t alone in this pressure to enjoy the sun.

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Yes yes working on the drip irrigation counts. Assuming you didn't do it in your living room. Which. Then we would have other things to talk about,

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Haha.

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