Something to remember

The monkey is from my therapist, a reminder to calm 'monkey chatter' when I'm anxious. The post-it was given to me by my supervisor the day before my surgery when I had a massive panic attack. I need to remember to be mindful. It works for autism meltdowns, too, I'm sure.

Totally unrelated, my to-be-read pile of library books

 I did get some reading done on Belle Brezing, the famous Lexington, KY madam today.

Well, that could have gone better...

So I was really disappointed today. Seven years of keeping up with the 2024 eclipse, making sure I was off work, getting glasses and solar filters over a month ago, planning for things like sunscreen and a tripod, and researching settings that would allow me to take pictures on my cellphone--all gone to nought due to the weather. It was fairly clear this morning, but then it clouded up a little ahead of the eclipse and got worse while it was going on. A couple of hours after the thing was done, it was bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  First is the sky during the eclipse. Then is the sky afterwards, and the black with a tiny orange bit is the best I could do with the few seconds I had a couple of times to try to get a picture with my solar filter on. I did look up once (without the glasses) and caught a glance at the sun with the moon almost covering that was being filtered by the clouds, and that was beautiful. But otherwise, the whole thing was a dud. I would have liked to see totality, but I would have had to drive to Indiana or Paducah, and I have major driving anxiety, so I just couldn't do it, plus I hadn't prepared. Post-surgery, I thought I wouldn't be driving yet, as it's been just a bit over five weeks.

Cloudy, cloudy

After the eclipse was over

Well, I tried

So, there you have it. It did get fairly dark and windy, and the birds sang like it was morning. That was pretty nice.

Once I came in, I waited till the end looking for a break in the clouds to no avail. Then I just climbed into bed, threw a couple of pillows in frustration, and I was really upset. I realise now that it was my autism that basically had me hyperfocusing on the whole thing and then melting down when it didn't go to plan. I am still new to the concept of a meltdown, but it perfectly explains my behaviour at times of my life when I couldn't deal with stimuli, emotions, or especially frustration.

I did try to watch the NASA coverage and got to see this (I think it's from Maine, although I also saw the one from Kerrville, TX), but the running commentary over it just annoyed me to no end, so I only watched it on and off. Here's a snip of that:

I just wish I'd been able to see it in person. :( The next one I might see won't happen till I'm 78, in 2045. [There is one in 2044, but it'll just hit Canada and three northern Midwest states]. Here is the path in 2045:

I may have to live out of sheer spite to see a total solar eclipse, therefor, although I will have to travel to do so because while it goes coast-to-coast in the US, it does not go near Kentucky in terms of totality.

Hey!

Click on Google's Doodle for today...you won't be disappointed. It looks like this:

Eclipse Day!!!!

When it's 7 1/2 hours till the spectacle of an eclipse and you're off work, but you wake up early anyway because you're just that excited.

Sixteen

I'm going to count this even though it's very short.

16. Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper.

It's delightful.

Again, here's hoping

I have sunscreen for both face and body, a chair, a tripod, my cell phone (not the best camera, but still), a solar filter for the camera, and I've tested my eclipse glasses. All I need now is good weather.

If you are in Lexington today or tomorrow morning, I do have three extra glasses. Eclipse glasses are pretty much good for three years, so they won't make it 20 years till the next good one. Just message me or comment if you want one if you can come over here and get them.

Here's hoping

*fingers crossed*

WARNING for you all in Lexington

UK issues warning after campus libraries accidentally handed out fake eclipse glasses

I'm intrigued

I was looking up a historical figure (James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, a Scottish general who was hanged, beheaded, and quartered for supporting Charles I during the War of the Three Kingdoms in 1650)--Battlefield Band has a song called 'Montrose'. Going down that rabbit hole, I found a book by John Buchan [novelist and former Governor General of Canada] called Witch Wood, which sounded promising and put it in as an interlibrary loan request with the Lexington public library. Montrose only makes a small appearance in it, but the story sounded compelling, the story of a clergyman who discovers Scottish witchcraft/paganism being practised and suffers from ensuing politics in the 17th century. It'll probably come from the University of Kentucky, as their library has it. I have a UK library card, but for residents of Kentucky, they expire after a year, and mine is likely expired. The thing I'm most interested in is that in the over 300-page story, a lot of the dialogue is in Scots, which I am interested in, having a lot of Scottish ancestry.

Almost time!!!

[CAVEAT: Some of the information on this post has been gleaned from reading various articles regarding eclipse safety. I'm not a medical person. Don't assume I'm right, although I do truly believe it's a good summation. Make sure you make your own informed choices by reading reputable articles. And if all else fails, view the eclipse indirectly by creating a shadow through a pinhole. Be safe]

On February 26, 1979, when I was 11, our seventh-grade teachers took us outside for the solar eclipse with pinhole cameras. It was total in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, but partial in the Mojave desert, where I lived at Edwards Air Force Base. It captivated me, even though we missed totality. I have always wanted to see a total solar eclipse.. It's one of two things on my bucket list, and the other is seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

In 2017 I really wanted to go to Western Kentucky to see the totality, but my driving anxiety wouldn't allow for it any more than it will this year. For that matter, with the surgery, I didn't even think I'd be driving yet. I remember they handed out glasses at work and those of us could go out to the parking lot got to view the spectacle. We weren't in totality, but it was about 95% coverage, which was still pretty cool but not really that much of a difference in the light or anything. At that time, I had already looked up the 2024 eclipse, swore I took off, and hoped I could travel three hours into totality by going to Indiana or some such place.

But you know, clouds appear everywhere. I didn't want to spend a lot of money to get somewhere only to see nothing. I still don't know if the weather will work for us, as we have scattered thunderstorms in the forecast. I took off from work because in my current job it is busy when the eclipse is supposed to happen I wouldn't have been able to go outside. I'm going to watch it from my own yard, or perhaps the park near here. I have my glasses for me and my solar filter for my phone camera (do not take pictures without one). You will regret it. My roommate does not plan on participating. He's of the old belief, along with certain peoples such as the Hopi and Navajo, that it's a time to go inside and avoid the eclipse altogether, whether solar or lunar. Monday's eclipse will be about 96% coverage in Lexington. Be sure you get authentic glasses or use a pinhole in paper, cardboard, or aluminium foil to view the shadow of the moon over the sun. That's how we did it during the 1979 eclipse, casting a shadow on the light stucco walls of our school. It was still great, and safe. If you're near trees, watching the shadows through the leaves is also fun.

Glasses should definitely say ISO 12312-2 and be printed on them. Use a reputable company's glasses, such as those on this website here. I got some from Amazon and they are Celestron, a maker of telescopes on the approved list. But since anyone could print that, be sure, while inside, you try out the glasses and see absolutely nothing. Then try outside during a normal day and you should see only really bright reflections of the sun, like in a mirror--nothing else. The solar filter I have for my camera I didn't research, but later found out is compliant. It's called VisiSolar. Again, if in doubt, use the pinhole method, as it is safer. Also, if in the path of totality and you do get to take your glasses off for a couple of minutes while the sun is completely covered so you can see the corona, be sure to put them on very soon. The totality time varies. In Mexico it will be over four minutes; in Maine it'll be two. Any sun shining through as the moon moves from covering the sun can damage the eyes. Unlike sunburn, you can't feel pain in your eyes as there are no pain receptors in the retina, and you can't tell how badly you've damaged it. Do not look through magnifying instruments such as telescopes or binoculars without the solar filters meant for them. Be safe.

Still, if you take precautions, it'll be fun, weather permitting. If you can't see it due to the weather, be sure to check out livestreams on the Internet such as NASA's.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington is expected to see a partial eclipse between 1:51 p.m. and 4:24 p.m. The eclipse is expected to be at its peak around 3:09 p.m.

Enjoy!!!