Standing Into Danger

Friday, July 31, 2026

Now What???

Just when I think no more men in hardhats with big machines could show up

to work in our neighborhood, they crowd in pulling their fascinating loads.

What's Up Now?

Here Come More Men in Hardhats with Big Machines

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

I knew something was up when a rainbow of flags, marks and numbers

began decorating the neighborhood, first yellow, then red, then orange, then others.

An Intriguing Rainbow

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 28, 2026

When I saw the rainbow spread of colors, I had to find out what they stood for.

Obviously things under the ground,

but what things, and why were they all so carefully delineated?

I began to poke around on a couple of my morning walks, reading the colored flags:

yellow~natural gas lines, red~electric lines, blue~water mains, green~sewage lines, ...

Orange, white, pink ...

Red Electric and Yellow Gas, Side by Side and Snuggled Up to Orange Comcast

No Clue What the White's For - At This Location

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

As the extent of this municipal mycelium was revealed,

I began to feel a distinct sense of vulnerability.

How much of a disaster would it take to knock out our modern infrastructure,

and how many of the thousands and thousands of people

crammed into this densely-populated suburban space would survive?

Likely not me. To quote Cobain, "... I don't have a gun."

Combat that bleak thought with a positive and hopeful one,

the summer blooming of my Grandmother MacDonald's aromatic climbing roses

which have been a source of joy for generations of my family.

My sister Bertie sent me photos last week,

and I swear I could smell the blooms past and present.

Grammie's Climbing Roses

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia

July 20, 2026

It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on in the neighborhood

when I remembered the tag dangling from our garage door handle last week.

"AT&T fiber: Hyper-fast internet is coming your way."

Sure enough, a fiber optic cable-laying crew arrived a few days ago

to begin installing the internet cable in the "public right-of-ways" in our neighborhood.

As far as I can tell our neighborhood consists almost entirely

of "public right-of-ways," even in our own yards.

Laying the Fiber Optic Conduit That Will Contain the Fiber Optic Cable

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

Even though they spoke little English, the crew kindly showed me their work.

They drill a horizontal hole under the ground with a horizontal directional drill.

Then using the same horizontal drilling machine,

they pull a thick, flexible plastic pipe called a conduit through the borehole.

Finally, the fragile fiber optic cable is blown through ~

I didn't see this part of the operation ~ Drats!

Right now they're laying the main cables, and later they will install the secondary cables.

Feeding the Fiber Optic Conduit into the Ground

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

A Horizontal Directional Drill Drilling the Hole for the Fiber Optic Conduit

It drills a precise underground path to install pipes, conduits, or cables without digging a full trench.

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

Good to Know That the Gas Line is 44 Inches Down!

The Cable Line (circled in pink) is Safely Above the Gas Line

Pink is for All the AT&T Fiber Optic Cable Locations and Notes

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

A Block's With of Cable Laying Equipment

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

I can see one of their workmen spraying lines across the golf course right now.

A Worker's Dedication

Locating Municipal Mycelium, Even in the Rain

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 30, 2026

If you're open to people and show interest in what they are doing,

you can learn all kinds of fascinating things.

(And oh, white is most often for the irrigation pipes for our golf club water renovation.)

"Cheese!" He Says!

Feeding Conduit

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 27, 2026

I keep thinking of the quote from Anthony Doerr's book All the Light We Cannot See,

"Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever."

Are you opening your eyes?

Life, like fiber optic cable, is fragile.

I'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.

How many of you saw this amazing shot captured by my Blogging Bud, Roentare?

It's one photo from his Whittlesea Rodeo Series, shared on Tuesday July 21st.

This talented photographer and lyrical writer certainly has his eyes open.

Photo by Roentare

May you have a great weekend filled with open eyes, relaxation and laughs!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be IWSG Day

Wednesday, August 5th, 2026 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, July 24, 2026

How's Life Treating You These Days?

Two crazy busy weeks for me! Coupled with not feeling great.

More than this ADHD person could handle. 😂

But I was determined to post this week, even if it's just a few funnies.

I've been unpacking more boxes that were stuffed our crawl space before our renovation.

And I've been organizing like crazy.

All this crawling around in tight places shifting heavy boxes

is helping me find more hurting places in my body than I could imagine.

I haven't been getting the best sleep.

Too much on my mind in the middle of the night.

And I've been focusing on my exercise program a lot.

I've been going to the grocery store once or twice a week

so I can have a small shopping trip rather than a big one every two or three weeks.

And I can catch more sales and save more money!

I'm getting quicker, but we have one groaning refrigerator and pantry.

And some things I'll never understand.

Meanwhile I continue to deal with my soul mate whose eyeballs don't move.

And I am more determined to get my life together than ever!

I'm not giving up.

How's life treating you these days?

I'd love to hear!

I'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.

May you have a great weekend filled with relaxation and laughs!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be IWSG Day

Friday, July 31st 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, July 10, 2026

Computer Hell, and a Few Happy Things!

First of all, I apologize to everyone whose comments I haven't responded to

and whose posts I haven't visited back yet.

I've spent this week in computer hell.

It started with a printer that wouldn't print, and I plummeted from there.

Right now I'm stuck in Circle 5 of Dante's Inferno: Wrath and Sullenness ~

floundering around in the muddy waters of the Styx. 😂

Stradanus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This too will pass.

Meanwhile I'm on to happier things, starting with gratitude.

I have no idea where I found this ~

Possibly at my friend Linda's Blog

Linda's Relaxing Lair

It's true. I am a fortunate person, especially this morning

when the Middle East is plunging into further chaos.

There is too much suffering on our ailing planet.

When I'm not on the phone with a technical person, I've continued to unpack and declutter.

It's easier than trying to figure out how the hell to write a book.

I'm paralyzed with despair, feeling overwhelmed,

but I'm going to stare at the damn manuscript on my computer

for a minimum of an hour every day and move forward somehow.

Floundering around in the River Styx again. 😂

Here are a few treasures I've unearthed this week:

1. My First Happy Find! Is this precious or what?

Sara with Dipsy (green) and Laa-Laa (yellow)

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Christmas Day 1998

My adorable niece Sara is clutching her Teletubbies, Dipsy and Laa-Laa,

after a major crisis.

It was Christmas 1998, and our extended family had gathered

at my sister Donnie and BIL Martin's home for Christmas dinner.

In the chaos Dipsy disappeared, and there was no peace until Dipsy was found.

Sara was distraught, inconsolable.

Some forgotten hero ferreted Dipsy out from under

a pile of gifts beneath Donnie and Martin's sparkling Christmas tree.

Crisis resolved!

Donnie and Martin's Tree Many Years Later

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Christmas Day 2016

Sara is the only other person in my family that I know of who has wished for a magic wand.

(See: Wishing for a Magic Wand)

She was about the same age as in her Teletubbies photo, five,

when she asked her dad to make her a magic wand.

And Peter, who would do anything for his girls Sara and Natalie,

crafted Sara a lovely wand and gave it to her.

She raced upstairs and stomped downstairs again almost immediately.

Sara threw the wand on the floor in front of Peter storming, "It doesn't work!"

She had waved the magic wand over a box in her bedroom,

expecting a computer to appear.

Welcome to reality! 😂

But in a way that magic wand did work, because Peter who is a gifted techie,

soon presented Sara with her own computer.

Peter and Sara

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 28, 2024

Now Sara is a fierce advocate for the rights of Indigenous people in Canada,

and she recently emerged from the devastating suicide of one of her Indigenous girls

to pursue a Masters in sociology.

In her first course she did a case study of our extended family

and received a detailed survey back from most of us

containing at least four generations of stories and secrets

followed up by extensive phone calls.

She knows everything, including what we all think about everyone else. 😱

She is one amazing, determined gal, and I can't wait to see what she does next!

Sara and Her Fiancé Justen

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 28, 2024

2. My second happy find!

My American Flag

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 8, 2026

And this really is my American flag.

It was presented to me during my citizenship ceremony

when I became a US citizen on January 22, 1999.

Despite our current turmoil, I love my adopted country, and I am a proud American.

I thought I had lost my flag forever, and here it is!

The Stars and Strips Flying for Our 250th Independence Day

On an E470 Overpass Construction Site Near Our Home.

There are lots of big machines and hardhats in my future. 😂

Aurora, Colorado, USA

July 5, 2026

3. My third happy find!

An Entry in My Journal on Monday, April 12, 2021

"He is so very, very lucky to be alive."

July 8, 2026

On Saturday, April 10, 2021, Terry came home from playing pickleball feeling a little odd.

We decided to go the then Parker Adventist Hospital just to be safe.

I quickly drove the five miles to the emergency room,

and the staff raced Terry up to the Cath Lab.

He was having a widow-maker heart attack.

The skilled and compassionate Dr. Lee MacDonald

literally paddled Terry back to life with a defibrillator.

If Terry had been anywhere else, he would have died.

Dr. Lee MacDonald

South Denver Cardiology

One of my best friends Gary was once a firefighter,

second in command in the Aurora Fire Department.

He handled emergency and triage services for Pope John Paul II's visit to Aurora in 1993.

Gary royally chewed me out for driving Terry to the hospital and not calling 911.

"Our trucks carry equipment that can save your life!

Our firefighters can save your life!

Even if you think it's not life threatening, call 911!"

Point taken!

Everyone, call 911. Don't chance it, like we did.

Terry is very, very lucky to be alive.

Cheri, Gary, and Terry at Thanksgiving Dinner

Magianno's Little Italy

Inverness, Colorado, USA

November 28, 2019

And here's a shout out to our nephew Conor, who is a volunteer firefighter and EMT

with the Cascade Volunteer Fire Department in Cascade, Colorado.

Conor and I

Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, Monkeypod Kitchen

Waikiki, H USA

July 8, 2026

Cascade Volunteer Fire Department

Here's a rousing heavy metal song I also discovered this week.

It honors our first responders who save lives every day,

"Blue on Black" by Five Finger Death Punch.

YouTube

I've been working on this post yesterday and today,

between online sessions with my amazingly patient Canon tech Jayden.

A solution to my memoir impasse occurred to me this afternoon.

I've been studying Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafasi.

It is a memoir filled with many quotations and references without much documentation.

I've been trying to back up everything I'm writing with historical documentation.

The documentation and footnotes have been making me crazy.

Suddenly I'm realizing that I don't have to do that.

I can just write it without that ~~crap~~ duress. If Azar did so, why not me?

I have a way forward!

What a week!

I hope yours has been easier!

Even when life seems dark, there is always a way forward with gratitude and hope.

I'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.

Note: Never call a firefighter a fireman! 😂

May you have a great weekend filled with relaxation and laughs!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be IWSG Day

Friday, July 17th. 🤞

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

IWSG Day: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 ~ Wishing for a Magic Wand

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are

Rebecca Douglass, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Cathrina Constantine, and Jacqui Murray!

Stop by their posts and thank them for hosting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.

This month's optional question is:

Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy July, Everyone!

I hope that you have had a happy, healthy, and fulfilling June!

I've been home since last IWSG Day, and that has been wonderful.

I've had time to sit out on our deck with Terry and enjoy the long summer evenings.

Almost Mid-Summer's Eve

Looking West Toward the Rockies

Aurora, Colorado, USA

June 16, 2026

Being home has also forced me to confront all that remains

to be done after our major home renovation last year.

"You're still unpacking?" gasped my bought-and-sold-many houses,

moved-way-too-many-times best friend over dinner late Sunday afternoon.

"I'm not you, Cheri." I deadpanned.

Our Amazing Friends, Cheri and Gary

Maggiano's Little Italy

Englewood, Colorado, USA

November 28, 2019

They had recently arrived from their winter home in Arizona

to spend the summer in their Colorado condo on the far side of town.

We get together as often as we can.

Cheri can pack up or unpack a house or condo in two or three days,

and she doesn't have to resort to Swedish Death Cleaning like I must now.

She does not get distracted like I do.

Guaranteed she wouldn't have come across the receipts for her wedding night

like I did while sorting through a stack of papers this week.

She'd have pitched those receipts after her wedding month.

And she wouldn't have been sidetracked like I was

by preserving them in my journal while enjoying a margarita. 😂

My distractibility, okay ADHD, also explains why I'm always racing to finish my IWSG post.

Despite all good my intentions, here I am again madly typing at the last minute.

Really, did our posting day have to land on the first day of the month?

So this month's question asks what I'd like to see changed,

added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry.

What I really want is a magic wand that I can wave over my manuscript mess

and transform it to a published best seller on the New York Times Best Seller List.

I'd be doing a book tour with the planning and financing handled by my publishing company

~ nice hotels and meals please, also a makeup artist and a hairstylist to accompany me.

My publishing company would arrange for me to appear

on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, where the panel and I would discuss

my brilliant expose of Canada's treatment of Indigenous people in my memoir.

And ... well, that ain't going to happen.

So, since I, as a writer hoping to get my memoir published, have to do all the heavy lifting

of marketing ~ like defining my target audience, building an author's platform,

promoting my book online and in live venues, finding reviews, and selling my book,

so I, as a writer who frequently feels like Sisyphus,

want to own the rights to my book and higher royalties.

My Writing Mess

My Father's Students and Classroom

Photo by Donald Blair MacBeath

Lansdowne House, Northern Ontario, Canada

January 1961

But I'll worry more about these things when the time gets closer.

Meanwhile I'll keep plodding along on my manuscript and our house.

Happy Canada Day to all the Canadians celebrating today! 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

Happy Independence Day to all the Americans celebrating on the 4th! 🇱🇷 🇱🇷 🇱🇷

May the US beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup today! ⚽ ⚽ ⚽

I'll be celebrating everything!

Canadian by Birth, American by Naturalization

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada

If you are also a member of our Facebook Group,

I invite you to visit and to provide a link to your IWSG post.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13

Facebook members are invited to answer our July question too.

Happy creating in July!

Take care!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be Friday, July 10th 🤞

Just so you know, I monitor my comments before publishing them. This means your comment won't appear immediately. I will not publish mean spirited or commercial comments.

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Friday, July 31, 2026

Now What???

Friday, July 24, 2026

How's Life Treating You These Days?

Friday, July 10, 2026

Computer Hell, and a Few Happy Things!

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

IWSG Day: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 ~ Wishing for a Magic Wand

Translate