Yes, another reading challenge for me to try.  This one is all about Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women . It was one of my favorite stories when I was a teenager.  I identified with Jo, the tomboy, the fun sister, the romantic,  the outspoken one, and the writer. Who didn't? So, this challenge, the All Things Alcott Challenge .  What's it about? Click on the link to read the details. Essentially, participants decide how many items related to Louisa May Alcott to read, listen to, or watch that they hope to complete by December 31. My goal is the number 1. Between now and then, I will read at least one book by or about Ms. Alcott. Update of Other Challenges The 200 sit-up challenge . I finished that last week. Did 200 crunches all in a row. Yep, I did. Jumping three times daily . That's on hold. My right ankle is now screwed up.

For more sky views from other places around the world, click on: And, if you're interested in learning more about my hometown, click over to Take 25 to Hollister .

Asking for help can be so difficult for some people. The mama, for instance. The nearly-90-year-old woman  is stubborn about asking me to help her with the harder chores in the garden. But, she gladly takes the help, if I happen to give it without asking, "Do you need help?" It's taken me awhile to recognize how silly that question is.  It's similar to asking a visitor if she would like something to drink. According to the Mama, you don't ask, you just serve the drink. So, I've learned to keep my eyes and ears open to what's going on when she's outside. For instance, when I hear the sound of metal scraping against cement, I head outside to see what the Mama is doing. And, usually she has set up the ladder against one of her many trees to pick some fruits or prune tree branches. "Here, let me do it," I say, as I shove my feet into my shoes. "I can do it," she says, as she's about to climb the ladder. We spar back and forth a coup

I took this photo of the clouds a few days ago. Like the sky, the events of this week have been simply glorious. The San Francisco Giants won the World Series. Yep, indeed! And, no wealthy fat cat was able to buy the governorship in our state. Ha! It's Skywatch Friday and Follow Friday 40 and Over! for me today. Join me, won't you? Click on the links to check out what other bloggers are posting.

San Francisco Giants, that is. Yay, Giants! I admit it. I jumped onto the bandwagon when the Giants won the first game of the National League play-offs. I watched some of the second game, they lost. I missed the third game, they won. I saw a bit of the fourth game, they lost. I decided I was a jinx. So, I stopped watching. I didn't even read Facebook updates on how they were doing, and just read the headlines the next day. Since I stopped paying attention to baseball after the 1995 baseball strike, I had to show my loyalty to the Giants by not watching them win the NL pennant and the World Series championship. Boy, did I miss some good baseball! Between 1986 and the baseball strike, I was a Giants fanatic. Those were great years. Roger Craig was the "Hummmm, baby" manager. What a crew he had.  Together, Craig and team eventually worked their magic to play against the Oakland A's in the 1989 World Series. Unfortunately that series played second fiddle to the 7.0 Loma P