"50 First Weeks:" Chinese New Year and Backyard Wildlife

It's still Monday here! (I know I'm late getting my post out today....) Welcome to the second of "50 First Weeks." And Happy Year of the Dragon! Oh, and one other "happy" thing this week: I got a prize for my participation in "6 Weeks of Bliss:" for my "community cheerleading" via Facebook shares! Now I need to get used to the idea of myself as a community cheerleader!

Before I talk about how this week will be a "first week" for me, I want to share some backyard wildlife from up here, together with the joyous pronouncement that the days are definitely getting longer.

This big guy by our outhouse has some vestiges of sunrise in the background, but barely 9am and it's definitely daylight.

But what do you think of this little guy?

 Too cute for words, but he thinks he is the most vicious, dangerous, fearless villain. He's a "least weasel," or ermine, and it's probably not such a good thing that he's taken up residence under our cabin. Weasels have a habit of tunneling through insulation and reducing its effectiveness.

Here's the moose again. This one's a bull--his antlers have fallen off and you can see the stubs, but maybe not in the picture. Somehow that picture (taken from inside the cabin) brings home to me how close to the edge of the bluff we are!

And one more with the sun coming up.

Last week was my "first week" of picking back up on housekeeping and getting the house in order a little better. But it was also my first week teaching, and of course, there were glitches with the new software almost every day, and a whole group of people to get to know through the veil of the internet, and grading, and.... Truthfully, I think every week will be a "first week" picking up on getting the house in order. Which seems apt, given the entropic inevitability of everything ending up in a mess all over again!

Given the many hours I'm spending at the computer, though, between teaching a web-based course, writing, and my other jobs--and blogging, of course!--this week is going to be the "first week" I finally get serious about ergonomics. I've regarded the injunctions to stop and stretch every 20 minutes max, to do my foam roll and other physical therapy exercises, to adjust my equipment to improve my posture, all as things that I'd probably resolve to do "some time in the future." Meanwhile, my back, neck, shoulders and hands continue to be stressed and strained. Why not now? Especially with this "50 First Weeks" idea--if I don't do well this week, next week will be another opportunity to start afresh.

I've already ordered an external keyboard, so I'll be able to put the laptop at eye level and type comfortably. Um, I forgot to order a mouse at the same time. Duh?! Probably not too hard to get one locally. Oh, and lots of hardback books while I was at it ordering, so that I could make a good tower for the computer to sit on and have good reading for when I take a break ;) I spent much of today standing at the counter with the computer perched atop a pile like that.

This is something I've procrastinated taking seriously for so long, it seems seriously daunting. But the "50 First Weeks" idea helps to detract from that apprehension, and really, it shouldn't be that hard to tear myself away and stretch (or pee, for that matter)!

I hope that my choices for the "first weeks" don't seem unrealistic or overambitious. I'll be glad to do better at ergonomics.

I'm going to leave it at that for tonight, but I promise I'll be back by Wednesday, and will even share this Thai-flavored 'slaw (yes, of course it involves carrots!) that was so good it had to be made twice (and I still almost forgot to take a picture)! OK--now I should go stretch!

Much love. What will be a "first" for you this week?