Thursday Thirteen

1. I woke this morning to an email from my health carrier stating that they'd been hacked. Since this was the second time in less than a month I'd received a notification from a company I do business with that my information had been compromised, I spent an early hour accessing my credit report and placing a fraud alert on my accounts. You can access your credit report for free at annualcreditreport.com, which is the only one authorized by the government. It can be a little confusing to get the thing but if you have never checked your credit report, I urge you to do so.

2. The first thing I remembered this morning, though, was that I had not updated the New Thursday Thirteen website but thankfully and gratefully found that my co-host, Colleen, had taken care of it. That's why there's two of us! Thank you, Colleen.

3. The stuff on my computer is so horrifying anymore that I am grateful all I have to do is look out the window to see a blissful pastoral scene.

4. Cows have a fairly easy life, though they have a lot of babies. And it can't be pleasant to have the children hauled off in a truck when we take the calves to market (though by then the babies are grown). Except for that, and occasionally being scared by a bear, though, they seem to have it pretty nice time.

5. Our blue spruce trees are suffering from a fungus. It developed last year and we sprayed for it. The recent winds have sent little blue spruce pieces all over the yard, though, and I really fear that we will not be able to save these trees.

6. I just ate a Skinny Cow truffle and wasn't all that impressed. I like the caramel filled ones better. Of course, one should not eat such things for breakfast but we do what we must.

7. Yesterday was a pleasant day, with warmer temperatures and little wind. Today the wind blows hard again. Of all the weather types, I dislike wind the most. I can take cold temps if the wind isn't blowing.

8. I am running out of things to say here and I'm only at number 8.

9. A quick glance around my office shows me this: a pile of magazines, a coffee cup that says "Roanoke" on it, an unused drawing pad, a Fincastle Herald newspaper with three of my articles in it, and some Bach Rescue Remedy.

10. The clouds are bouncing across the mountains like the plastic ball in a game of Jacks (or is it Jax?).

11. As metaphors go, that is probably not the best one I've ever come up with but it's early and I'm in a hurry.

12. If you live in the US, have you finished your taxes for 2014?

13. The magic number! What a mess my mind is in this morning.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 381th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.