early sunday
I'm awake early while Regis sleeps in for a while. We had such a lazy day yesterday, I'm surprised either of us could sleep last night. Regis did the dishes and made hoagies for dinner. I took naps, read my book, and played iPad games. Seriously, that is about it.
It's cold outside this morning. Cold and damp. I turned on our little faux fireplace to take the chill out of the air.
I went out to the patio to fill the jelly dishes again. If the orioles weren't so beautiful I would be grouchy about filling them three times a day. (I had to get down on my knees to fish out the last two jars of grape jelly at the grocery store the other day. A lot of folks are feeding orioles...or the orioles are shopping at HyVee.) A few grackles and robins sip at the jelly, too, but mostly it's orioles of both kinds, two at each feeder and several waiting in the trees.
One year we had so many gold finches it was like a bright yellow cloud around the feeder. It has eight little perches and they were all filled...with a waiting line in the flowering crab tree. We need a maître d’hôtel for our bird dining area.
I finished Ordinary Grace last night. I'm not much for writing book reviews but I can say I would give this one five stars. It was a wonderful story, the characters were interesting and real, and the writing was lyrical. I almost hated to finish it....and wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. I think it will be on my list of all-time favorite books.
I've been writing about (and to) my friend, Karen on this blog. I'm not sure it was all very clear what was going on (as I tried to write publicly to her and respect her privacy), but her husband of 46 years passed away suddenly. He had been treated for multiple myeloma and Karen has been diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. She had to leave Hugh's side during his last 24 hours to receive treatment herself. It breaks my heart to think about her having to do that.
Karen has written powerfully and poignantly about their marriage and friendship, about their struggles (nuclear wars?) with cancer, and about the loss of sweet Hugh in her life. I go back often to read her emails, her blog comments, and her writing on other sites. Karen started out as an occasional commenter on my blog and now we've become friends and she is important to me. Bless your heart, Karen.
Old Regis and Young Regis went to the primary school in town to spend some time playing games, reading, and having a water balloon toss. They called it Game Day with Dad but Regis called it Bring a Dude to Lunch Day. I like that better. It looks like a good time was had by all.
It's raining lightly here. The very good news is that we got our lawn raked and the grass seed that we bought thrown down onto the dirt. TA DA! Most years, I buy grass seed then forget to use it or can't find it if I intend to use it. Then the mice scatter it around the garage. Last year I left it on the front step for so long that the chipmunks who live under our front steps ate a hole in the bag, grass seed poured forth onto the patio and started to grow in the cracks between the bricks. Hell, it doesn't grow that well in the dirt.
Here's to a rainy day. I can feel a nap coming on soon. I've been awake since 6 o'clock, after all.
It's cold outside this morning. Cold and damp. I turned on our little faux fireplace to take the chill out of the air.
I went out to the patio to fill the jelly dishes again. If the orioles weren't so beautiful I would be grouchy about filling them three times a day. (I had to get down on my knees to fish out the last two jars of grape jelly at the grocery store the other day. A lot of folks are feeding orioles...or the orioles are shopping at HyVee.) A few grackles and robins sip at the jelly, too, but mostly it's orioles of both kinds, two at each feeder and several waiting in the trees.
One year we had so many gold finches it was like a bright yellow cloud around the feeder. It has eight little perches and they were all filled...with a waiting line in the flowering crab tree. We need a maître d’hôtel for our bird dining area.
I finished Ordinary Grace last night. I'm not much for writing book reviews but I can say I would give this one five stars. It was a wonderful story, the characters were interesting and real, and the writing was lyrical. I almost hated to finish it....and wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. I think it will be on my list of all-time favorite books.
I've been writing about (and to) my friend, Karen on this blog. I'm not sure it was all very clear what was going on (as I tried to write publicly to her and respect her privacy), but her husband of 46 years passed away suddenly. He had been treated for multiple myeloma and Karen has been diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. She had to leave Hugh's side during his last 24 hours to receive treatment herself. It breaks my heart to think about her having to do that.
Karen has written powerfully and poignantly about their marriage and friendship, about their struggles (nuclear wars?) with cancer, and about the loss of sweet Hugh in her life. I go back often to read her emails, her blog comments, and her writing on other sites. Karen started out as an occasional commenter on my blog and now we've become friends and she is important to me. Bless your heart, Karen.
Old Regis and Young Regis went to the primary school in town to spend some time playing games, reading, and having a water balloon toss. They called it Game Day with Dad but Regis called it Bring a Dude to Lunch Day. I like that better. It looks like a good time was had by all.
It's raining lightly here. The very good news is that we got our lawn raked and the grass seed that we bought thrown down onto the dirt. TA DA! Most years, I buy grass seed then forget to use it or can't find it if I intend to use it. Then the mice scatter it around the garage. Last year I left it on the front step for so long that the chipmunks who live under our front steps ate a hole in the bag, grass seed poured forth onto the patio and started to grow in the cracks between the bricks. Hell, it doesn't grow that well in the dirt.
Here's to a rainy day. I can feel a nap coming on soon. I've been awake since 6 o'clock, after all.
Comments
thank you for thinking of me, thank you for telling about hugh's and my story. it was so kind and once again, i am so touched by your compassion and so grateful for your friendship.
i save your blog to read last of all each night. i love hearing and seeing the photos of the birds, your dear family, you, the books you read, how you and your darling regis and sweet gus spend your time together.
here is a funny little thing from this morning. at night, i sometimes get hungry for something sweet. a friend brought one of those ENORMOUS trays of cookies from costco, which were devoured by the many visitors that have come to spend some time with me. but i noticed yesterday there were a few leftover hunks of the chocolate chip ones (my favorite). i thought about tossing them, but did not. so in the wee hours i wended my way downstairs, plucked them into my paw, and ate every last morsel, laying down in bed, in the dark. i was just going out the front door with sadie (she brings the paper in for me, but not unless i go to the end of our driveway with her) when i happened to get a glance of myself in the front hall mirror. my god, i had melted chololate all over one side of my face! without missing a beat, after briefly being horrified at the thought that i might have encountered a neighbor, i wiped a big swath of it off with one finger, then licked that finger clean! tonight i am prepared - i put an apple on my bedside table, but i know it won't taste nearly as good as that finger-licked chocolate. then i had to change my pillowcase. sometimes it feels good to just give yourself a tickle and laugh at how funny we humans can be.
much love, XOXO,
karen
Karen, you must have been quite a sight with your chocolate covered face. Maybe you should go to a costume party as a chocolate rabbit.
Teresa, a red breasted grossbeak stopped to see me yesterday and an indigo bunting also stopped to say hello. Beautiful birds.
This weekend has been cold and wet. Somehow I think of Ireland when the weather is like this. I need a little sunshine.
you gave me such a good belly laugh about going to a costume party as a chcolate rabbit! i love your message to teresa about the visits from all the beautiful birds that have been visiting you. what is it about this spring?? we went from drizzly and cold, and now the last 2 days have been a torrid 90 and sloppily humid. my sadie-girl dog spends time on the front porch for hours, then comes in for long, long drinks of water, then flops onto the floor and naps and naps. it hasn't even been cool enough in the evening to take her for a walk/run in the park. just like me these days, she needs diversions; and i feel bad that she isn't getting her share. i hope it's brightened up by now where you live.
love, XOXO,
karen