—no, wrong character!  Where is momma? 

Well the last four days has been spent playing domestic goddess, reading, lolly gagging, and sitting on the sofa ( I say sofa because coach/couch looks like something you ride in or sit on and I’m too lazy to grab a dictionary and check it out).  While sitting, not riding, the ugly afghan has been spread across my lap being decreased or enlarged slowly by me. (That depends solely on how you look at the progress.)  It is getting tiresome but I will persevere.  (In other words I’m going to get that sucker done come hell or high water).

Why do I choose this place to nest?  Well it is in front of the T V and I can divide my attention between the project and the images on the screen.  Occasionally I can look up and see the loft with the five windows, the fan that runs all the time, and the fish hanging there that granddaughter, Jasmine, made me some years ago.  I look up to remind myself that this is my home.  I live in a unique residence. 

Taking Brandy out a few minutes ago I saw the big thermometer on the porch read 15 degrees and this on the ground.

Yes it has snowed again—lightly and will probably be melted by this afternoon.  But if this isn’t pneumonia weather I don’t know what is.  Our weeks consist of sunshine one day, rain the next, and then snow.  Then the cycle begins again.  Three different jackets hang in the hall closet to match the different temperatures that are turning up almost daily. 

A little drama on the back deck yesterday and I got to play hero.  A small woodpecker hit the french door and fell to the deck.  I naturally looked up and saw a Cooper Hawk with the woodpecker in it’s claws.  I jumped up, started to open the door when the hawk let go of the small bird and both flew away. I think the hawk chased the woodpecker into the glass but I could be wrong.  I like to think I was that woodpecker’s hero for a day. 

A glance outside right now shows the bushes and trees are dotted with color.  The sun is showing off the reds of the Cardinals and the blues of the Jays coming to the feeder.  The Dark-Eyed Juncos, the Chickadees, and the various woodpeckers add the black, white, and gray to the mix.  The sparrows and finches seem to fill out the color palette in my world this morning.

Soon the green will return to my outside world.  Brandy and I will then be roaming the yard looking for the signs of summer.  I smile at that thought. 

Don’t forget look, love, and laugh today!

It is 32 degrees outside this morning.  I know because Brandy, Molly, and me have just been out.  Sleeping shorts and a lined flannel shirt do not make good freezing temperature protection but it does wake you up!  No sunshine yet but then yesterday was a gray, rainy day so today could follow suit. 

Seeing yesterday was such a downer I took the time to satisfy some of my to do items. 

I baked the coffee cake I had mentioned in an earlier post in a parchment lined 9 x 13 inch glass pan.  I will have to improve my technique of sprinkling the sugar and cinnamon but otherwise it was delicious.  In fact I may see an extra pound or two show up on the bathroom scales if I don’t stop emptying the dish.

The second item was to view one of my birthday presents from Les, Anne, and Courtney.  Yes, I watched Neil Gaiman’s NEVERWHERE on DVD and loved every minute of it.  I now have to send it to Les for viewing as promised.

I started a large load of laundry in the washer and two racks of dishes in the dishwasher last evening before sitting down to do a couple of rows on the afghan.  Consequently,  I had to empty and put away the dishwasher contents this morning, but there is still a large pile of clothes on the dining room table waiting for my attention. 

I spent all day yesterday thinking about going to visit my oldest son but then decided to do the aforementioned things instead.  I realize that having his own family brings many extra duties he has to perform so I hesitate interrupting his routine.  Maybe next week end I’ll call. 

Well it is 10:54 am and all my clocks read 9:54 so I have to get busy ‘springing forward’.  Have a great rest of the weekend.  Remember to keep warm if you need to, stay healthy,  and laugh out loud (you know why).

Yes!!! In the gardens around the dome there are signs of Spring.  The fact that snow will probably cover them again isn’t important.  What is important is that I saw them this morning when Brandy and I took a turn around the place.  The big thermometer on the porch reads 62 degrees, the sun is shining, and the fir trees, in the yard, are swinging their branches in the wind like a dancer wrapped in the rhythms of a wild flamenco.

The ice on our frog pond has started to melt adding a delightful depth to the ready to overflow area shining brightly in this glorious day. 

A Downy Woodpecker is the first to sample the newly filled feeder.  Out there now are three finches hanging upside down on the thistle feeder swinging in the wind. 

As Eric Clapton Unplugged is filling the room I must take time to say yes I am better.  The eruptions have stopped and my arms have decided to give me some well needed peace for a while.  I have a physical scheduled on the 13th so I will be bending Dr. Hukill’s ear then. 

This morning started with a burst of energy that included washing out the litter box, laundry in the washer and now the dryer, filling the outside feeder, unloading the dishwasher, and squeezing in three short stories from Ray Bradbury’s ‘We’ll Always Have Paris’ over a bowl of Special K with Cinnamon for breakfast.  My next step is to make Pammie’s Butter Cinnamon Coffee Cake today.  I’m also going to feed hubby some V8 Butternut Squash Soup with a Lettuce and Tomato salad and some muffins for lunch after dialysis.  I don’t know if we will like the soup but it was time to try it.  I may even pick up the ugly afghan for a while this evening. 

I may not be all better but I’m a heck of a lot ‘weller’ (yes I just made up that word) than I was!!!  I’ll be back to blather again soon—can’t wait can you ( a joke—so smile why don’t you)!!!!

  I received this entry from my daughter Cindy.  I felt I should share it with you. 

  *_SOMETHING WE ALL SHOULD REMEMBER_*

            /Crabby Old Man

      When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in
      North Platte, Nebraska, it was believed that he had nothing left of
      any value./ /Later, when the nurses were going through his meager
      possessions, they found this poem.  Its quality and content so
      impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every
      nurse in the hospital

      One nurse took her copy to Missouri . The old man’s sole bequest to
      posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News
      Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health.

      A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but
      eloquent, poem.

      And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is
      now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet.

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Crabby Old Man

      What do you see nurses? . . What do you see?
      What are you thinking . . . . when you’re looking at me?
      A crabby old man, . . not very wise,
      Uncertain of habit . . . . . with faraway eyes?

      Who dribbles his food . . . . . . and makes no reply
      When you say in a loud voice . . ‘I do wish you’d try!’
      Who seems not to notice . . . the things that you do.
      And forever is losing . . . . . . . A sock or shoe?

      Who, resisting or not . . . . . . . . . lets you do as you will,
      With bathing and feeding . . . . . .  The long day to fill?
      Is that what you’re thinking? . . .  Is that what you see?
      Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . you’re not looking at me.

      I’ll tell you who I am,  . . .. . . as I sit here so still,
      As I do at your bidding, . . . . as I eat at your will
      I’m a small child of Ten . . . . with a father and mother,
      Brothers and sisters . . . . . . . who love one another

      A young boy of Sixteen . . with wings on his feet
      Dreaming that soon now . . . . a lover he’ll meet.
      A groom soon at Twenty. . . . . .My heart gives a leap.
      Remembering the vows . . . . . that I promised to keep.

      At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . . . I have young of my own.
      Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
      A man of Thirty . . . . . . My young now grown fast,
      Bound to each other . . . . . . With ties that should last.

      At Forty, my young sons . . have grown and are gone,
      But my woman’s beside me . . .. . . . to see I don’t mourn.
      At Fifty, once more, . Babies play ‘round my knee,
      Again, we know children . . . . . . My loved one and me ..

      Dark days are upon me . . My wife is now dead.
      I look at the future . . . . . . . . .. . I shudder with dread.
      For my young are all rearing . . . . . . young of their own.
      And I think of the years . . And the love that I’ve known.

      I’m now an old man . . . . . and nature is cruel.
      Tis jest to make old age. . . . . look like a fool.
      The body, it crumbles . . . . . . . . . . grace and vigor depart.
      There is now a stone . . . . . . where I once had a heart.

      But inside this old carcass . . A young guy still dwells,
      And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
      I remember the joys . . . . . . . . . . I remember the pain.
      And I’m loving and living . . . . . . . . . . . life over again.

      I think of the years . all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
      And accept the stark fact . . . . . . . that nothing can last.
      So open your eyes, people . . . . . open and see..
      Not a crabby old man   Look closer . . see . . . . ME!!

      Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might
      brush aside without looking at the young soul within . .

      We will all, one day, be there, too!/ /PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM

      The best and most beautiful things of this world can’t be seen or
      touched.  They must be felt by the heart./

Sixteen cold degrees grace our sun shiny yard and at 6:30 this morning I decided I had laid under the warm covers long enough.  I had turned in at 9:30 last night because the last couple of days have been wearing me out.  My arms seemed to ache incessantly day and night making it almost impossible to do anything but the domestic duties I have to do and sleep will not come easily.  Once I do manage to sleep I dread waking up.  Each day brings the feeling of not being able to get warm to add to the misery. 
I also feel like Mt. Vesuvius turned upside down.  It is not so much the pain as the feeling of losing control and the stress of having to continually be aware of the possibility of an accident to avoid humiliation.  Consequently I haven’t picked up a project or relaxed, other than a little T V viewing, during this time.  I don’t know what today will bring.  I took some medicine last night that seemed to control it but haven’t taken any more today. 

But enough whining, I’m going to try to do a little house cleaning, bed changing, work on some projects, and take some more medicine today.  I’m almost convinced that dwelling on the situation only makes it worse.  So stay warm, stay in touch, and keep laughing—-I’m going to try.

I took this test at Caroline’s Thoughts and this is my results—What would yours be?

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery – when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

It is 18 degrees and sunny out this morning but I have opened and then closed the blind on the french door after another bird bumped the window.  I think they see the reflection of the outside when the blind is up and try to fly through it.  I will just turn on my little lamp and work by that rather than risk having another accident outside. 

I’ve been away a few days working on the ugly afghan as well as attending to some household chores.  Last night as I picked up the crochet hook and yarn I noticed I had made an error a couple of rows back in my work.  Now a couple of rows doesn’t sound like much unless your row is seven feet long.  So you can understand why I decided to try and fix it instead of correcting it.

It was only a little mistake and with a little finagling I should be able to fix it satisfactorily.  So I proceeded to add another three rows before I put it down for the night.  But every time I passed the spot I had tried to fix I remembered the mistake.  It had been only a few rows back and had I corrected it my conscience would have been cleared to continue.  After I laid down last night I thought that If I had only corrected that spot I wouldn’t feel so bad about working more on the afghan. 

This morning when I got up I decided to rip it out to the mistake and correct it. 

As I pulled the work apart I noticed in some cases I had double crocheted five instead of four stitches that were called for in the pattern.  As I ripped closer to my original mistake I found some loose stitches. I had stopped winding the yarn I was ripping out and the pile of at my feet was growing larger.  I was now within two rows of the last color I had added this to and I decided that it was not time to use this brown combination now.  I ripped out the remaining brown and this was what I had.

I selected this combination instead.

I will pick up my project a little later today, try to forget that I have twice ripped parts of it out, and continue on with a clear conscience.

In searching for some of my Neal Gaiman novels over the weekend I couldn’t find them.  I don’t know if I had borrowed some of them from someone else and then returned them or had loaned them to someone and not gotten them back.  So I decided to reorder them and be more careful about keeping track of them.  I also wanted to obtain Ray Bradbury’s WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS so I ordered that also. 

Now I have one more Gaiman book on pre order and I’ll try to catch up on these before I look for more.

Well it is the the month of the lion and the lamb so we will see how things go for every one.  See you later!