Thank you for visiting my blog today. I was munching chocolate chip cookies, homemade, and still gooey from being warm out of the oven. The chocolate gave me inspiration to check in and share a post with my friends in the blog universe.
I found it interesting how the NFL can advertise some as the “official wings of the NFL”.
Do people really care? Who goes shopping and looks at the little NFL logo and the box and says “I got to buy these!”
Where does it start and end? The official pain relievers, official plunger, official pancake mix of the NFL?
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I live in one of the two cities in the world with a lake at either end. I love riding around and will head out soon for another cruise on my bike.
A few days ago I enjoyed a wonderful bike ride to a high point (Munson Mountain) where I was looking down at Okanagan lake, and I could also look south (9 kilometres) and see Skaha lake down south.
It’s a beautiful spot and looking up the lake I admired the calm spots and where the surface twinkled reflecting the light. Unfortunately my photos are shadows compared to the real experience but I thought you might enjoy them.




What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
It’s an interesting question isn’t it? Would it be a business, career, public speaking, a contest of some type?
But if you knew you could not fail I wonder if it would spoil it? When I would go skiing, there was an element of fun but also risk (I’m no expert) and that’s part of the excitement. Aren’t we most alive when we also have fear of failure? Isn’t that why celebrating a race, a diploma, reaching a goal, is wonderful, because there was uncertainty?
I think it’s important to try new challenges, study language, read, cycle, and venture out and just do our best. When I do attempt challenges I often fall short, but along the way I discover and am introduced to the joys of the journey of life, and even when I falling short of success. I can embrace failure as I am enjoying the attempts.
The real failure is in not even trying.
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Thanks for visiting! – I respond to all your comments ♥ – David







Dave keep enjoying the bicycle riding it is a true positive experience for you and thus you are able to write interesting articles about riding.
Cheers Raymond
On Fri, Mar 18, 2022 at 11:58 AM Life and Random Thinking wrote:
> dfolstad58 posted: ” Thank you for visiting my blog today. I was munching > chocolate chip cookies, homemade, and still gooey from being warm out of > the oven. The chocolate gave me inspiration to check in and share a post > with my friends in the blog universe. I found ” >
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You betcha Ray! Good luck tomorrow in the contest
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Beautiful location. Desolate but beautiful. Good thoughts. It is when we stop trying that we wither within.
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Wither. What a choice and descriptive word. I can imagine slow demise. This area is the northern tip of the Sonoran desert that runs all the way to Mexico, obviously mostly in the USA. We don’t have the big tall cactus which I think are beautiful. It is wine and fruit country with many lakes.
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What would I do If I knew I couldn’t fail? Why I’d go to Mars and because I can do that I might as well take a tour of the Solar System! I’d go to each planet and explore! I’d also visit the moons of each and skip across Saturns rings with my space ship!
On another note, when you went bike riding do you have a normal bike or is it one of those electric?
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Hi Wayne, that is a neat idea – boldly go! I didn’t even conceive such an interesting idea. I like it, that would be amazing. When I ride I tend to use my ebike the most. I have four bikes but I use it the most. I think I might get a new mountain bike or two and gift my two oldest. They are lighter and then I don’t have to think about range. The ebike I have had for four years and love them. When I got them there weren’t many around but now they are the cat’s meow. ♥
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They have some pretty nice e bikes out there David! Have fun!
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David, thanks for taking us on your bike ride! I’ve always wanted to visit your area. It’s absolutely beautiful. Like you, I won’t be buying any endorsed foods. It seems to me they have enough money already anyway? ;-). There was a point in my life in the not so long ago that I didn’t want to attempt anything anymore. Health and so many other challenges. And I’ve wanted to DO a zillion! Last year I decided to write a children’s book about my home state of Missouri and my pup and I in the R.V. I self-published. I never thought I’d try anything like that…but I did. To not fail is equivalent to never really knowing how good success feels. It’s in all my failures that I finally found success (I already knew I was in God’s eyes)…it was in loving myself! Dream away! Take care!
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How awesome! I hope you will do another book. I imagine you learned so much with your first book about the process. It is interesting about children’s books because I love creating stories. My problem was that I was supposed to telling the kids stories so they would fall asleep and instead we would laughing so hard and our ribs hurt. Then we were more awake than ever. I may put that out as a fleece as a challenge to do a children’s book. I agree also about loving yourself first. We can be our own worst critic. My health trials continue but they are also the source of stories of miracles. My recent trips for cancer radiation treatments for a month didn’t weigh me down at all. Finally after over a year of pain I have none, and that’s pretty cool. – David
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David, I’m so happy to know that radiation is over. I’m sorry to hear of your suffering and praise God your pain is gone! Truly it’s these stories of miracles that keep us going. I understand. I love it that your book reading ended up with giggling. I get that too! Keep on keeping on my friend! Karla
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♥ Karla – I appreciate your understanding.
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Absolutely, David! 🤍
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1. What do YOU think makes me want a chocolate chip cookie more? “Still gooey from being warm out of the oven” or ” the official cookie of the NFL?” 😂 If anything, the latter would probably make me walk away!
2. Your pictures are great. Isn’t it still too cold there for a bike ride?
3. Your question about fear of failure is indeed an interesting one. I tried to think of an example to prove you wrong, but I couldn’t quite get my head around it. It is kind of an inverse way of looking at something (keep in mind I am really tired tonight), but it seems that a lot depends on your motivation for doing something, For me, challenge may be an element, but it is rarely WHY I do something. It won’t keep me up tonight, but you pose a good one!
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Big smile Linda ! My smile was like a Cheshire cat as I read your comments. ♥ It is chilly but I bundle up, it isn’t below zero anymore at night and not much snow on the valley walls either. I suspect you are a person who has never stopped learning, it’s a lifetime passion. I admire that quality. Thanks for reading and commenting. – David
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Great photos, Dave. It looks like you’ve seen the last of snow for this season?
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Hi Debra, we were surprised with a little snow but it disappeared. In March a few years ago we had snow but I think we are past it now. Perfect time for Apex mountain though – my son loves his days up there, he might sneak in another one this season.
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Chocolate chip cookies are the key to living a good life.
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Especially if the chocolate is still warm out of the oven. My son surprised me by making a batch of cookies yesterday also – I am going to have live on celery for the whole month of April. Sending you Lorrie a digital chocolate chip cookie for Monday morning. enjoy ♥
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Gorgeous place to ride
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Thanks Sheree, I think riding is the childhood enjoyment I will enjoy my whole life and it is a treat to ride here I agree.
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😎
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I Enjoyed the chocolate with you Dave!
The beauty of our oasis is about to SPRING into life!
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Hi Ernie, I love sharing chocolate and Miso soup with you my friend! Spring is here, and soon we will see blossoms and see robins. – Thanks Ernie
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If I knew I would not fail, I would walk across a tight wire rope at a high height without a safety net underneath. That thought came as my answer to your question, though I’ve never consciously thought about wanting to do so. There are challenges to a number of things, no matter how experienced we think we are, and even the most experienced tight rope walker takes a risk each time he starts to traverse across. In life, I think we conquer fear every time we get brave enough to try something – anything – that makes us afraid. Big or small. And I think all of us do that more than one time in our lives.
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I enjoyed this comment so much I read it twice, and slowly. What an amazing analogy. I agree that we all face our fears during our lives but, this may be because I’m ancient, I wonder if we shy away from trying new things as we get older? As a youngster we just run into the lake, as we get older, we wade in. Wading in is not nearly as fun. – thank you !
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It’s a tricky balance between the fear of failure and needing there to be some form of jeopardy for a thing to be worthwhile. But you’re so right in highlighting that the real failure is not trying. I’m taking a risk in my coaching and found it helpful when my own coach described a state she calls ‘scited – a cross between scared and excited – as the ideal emotional place.
PS: your photos are lovely, how wonderful to live in a place with such natural beauty.
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It is a balance I agree with your comment and I think trying new things, going new places is a way to keep from “coasting” through life. ♥
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Hi David,
You truly live in such a majestic place. I love seeing all the pictures.
It is hard for me to come up with an answer. Nothing came to mind. The potential of failing is what makes something exciting for me. I enjoy challenges, and thrive under pressure, knowing I couldn’t fail it would make me be lazy, and just go with the flow and not really apply myself.
Blessings to you!
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I think that makes you even more exceptional. I think hiking a mountain is awesome because there is that view at the top but then I am tired and I look forward to the easier walk back to the car. The challenge though makes the view sweeter!
I think the same is for you. I imagine new projects are seen by you as the means to new knowledge and experience.
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