sunday in pictures mid-march

This is the chair I ordered from Nicaragua on Etsy. I know it's wild colors but I looked and looked and just couldn't bring myself to order it in a neutral color. I am going to hire a professional to hang it from the ceiling. It doesn't come with the pillows which is fine with me. It's a chair that hugs you.

We are dog sitting this puppy this weekend. Ava is a Fox Red Lab and she was born with a spinal deformity so she hops a little bit in her back legs. She is a doll and gets along famously with Woodrow and Gus. Woody likes to tease her by playing with her tail, boxing at her through the bars of her crate, and hiding under the couch.

Gus and Ava were wild for about the first 24 hours, then they settled down. Regis has taken them to the park every day and they run and play and chase balls. Then they curl up for a nap.

Mom sent these beautiful tulips the other day. They are truly the color of spring. I keep them in the kitchen so I can see them every time I walk through the room.

We had a full moon this week and Regis got this wonderful and mysterious photo through the clouds and tree branches. I love to look at the moon. I think I will start staying up later in the summer so I can watch the stars. Or maybe I will start looking for them when I get up early in the morning.

If you are a regular reader here, you know that I have been drawing runes. This is the final rune of the transformation series. Ironically, this rune is akin to the moon, the intuitive part of our nature. The completion of beginnings is what Inguz requires. It marks the time of joyous deliverance, a new life, a new path. I think I am done with tattoos but I did order this as a pendant for my talisman necklace.

Ava's in jail! I think actually, Woodrow is on the other side of the gate boxing at her. I love her furrowed brow. Amber and John are coming back today so it will be quiet at our house when she goes. We are not tempted to have another pet, however.

I went out the other day in my Guinness pajama pants and my red slippers to fill the bird feeder and take a picture of the garden rabbit. I thought it was quite the fashion look in the new snow.

Regis is out blowing snow again. Many people are complaining about the weather but I have refrained so far. If we are going to have winter and I assume we will because we continue to live here...I like this kind of winter. Blue skies, new snow every week...so much better than those brown and gray winters. I'm not fond of 30 below temps but you take what you get.

I have spent a lazy afternoon. I was highly motivated this morning, then ran out of steam about one o'clock when I realized it would probably be snowing in the morning so I could finish my projects then. I made a quick pass through the paperwork, isolated the recipes and the medical notes, found the things that need to go on the calendar, and have a basket full of books. That's enough for one day.

I played some Scrabble on my iPad, read my book The Call, ate some popcorn, and took a short nap. A lovely day.

tulips

Woodrow likes to crawl around the computer in the morning. He is a very needy cat, mostly between 5 am and 8 am. After that, not so much. Rene came to visit yesterday and he rolled on his back and looked at her with his big green eyes, then he did some yoga (down dog and warrior one), and then draped himself over the side of the cabinet like a big cat. He thinks he is a jaguar.

The doorbell rang yesterday and the Fed Ex man left me these beautiful tulips. I was so glad I was home because they suffered a little in the sub-zero temps. I trimmed them, put them in room temperature water with the magic potion that came with them, and this morning they are much perkier. Such beautiful summery colors!

It's warmer today. Regis and I are going to the AARP tax center this morning. I am going to wear my walking shoes so I can stroll around the building between clients. I am subbing the next two days and we are going to a comedy show on Friday night. I wonder how we had time to work. There are six things on our calendar for Thursday. I hate that...but I am grateful that we are able to do it all.

Well, I have to get moving so I am ready to go when the car leaves the driveway. Ha!

monday in pictures

Fifty years since the Beatles first appeared in America. How can that be?

Hey, Joanne...butterfly wings for Halloween!

This is so I remember to take a recipe to class tomorrow night.

I love this picture. I love my little house and my bird feeders.

I love this tiny house. You can tow it with a car, not that I ever go anywhere.

Woodrow drags his bed to the edge of the cabinet and rides it to the floor like a bobsled.

He's some cat.

He doesn't sit still for long, but when he does he enjoys it.

Regis and Gus clowning.

Gus claims the bed for the morning.

Gus and Woodrow both peered over my shoulder as I cleaned the litter box, then followed me into the bathroom and peered at me as I took a bath. I must be fascinating.

Here's the weather forecast...in case you are thinking of vacationing here.

MONDAY: Lung burning cold continues. High: 2. Feels Like: -30F early. Wind: WNW 5.

MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear, cold and quiet. Low: -13F. Feels Like: -25F.

TUESDAY: Raw start. Increasing clouds with light PM snow. High: 12.

WEDNESDAY: Lingering AM flurries. Another clipper arrives late with snow possible in northern MN late. Wake-up: 11. High: 25.

THURSDAY: Clearing and a bit colder. Wake-up: 16. High: 19.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny, still brisk. Wake-up: 3. High: 15.

SATURDAY: Not as bone chilling. Few flakes. Wake-up: 6. High: 20.

SUNDAY: Warmer. Peeks of sun.Wake-up: 14. High: 26.

Stay warm, my friends!

hammock chair and everything's gonna be alright

I have spent a most lazy day. I took a long nap, spent a lot of time reading Patron Saint of Liars, sat in my chair staring into the distance, shopped for a hammock chair, and now I am having a glass of wine and enjoying the dusk.

I don't really like the transition from day to night in the winter. It's lonely and bleak and maudlin. I try to avoid looking at it if I can.

I have spent most of the day (when I wasn't sleeping) shopping for a hammock chair. I have a swing for summer but right now, I feel a need to be hugged and rocked and I think a hammock chair would do it. Regis hugs me several times a day, pats my back, and says it's going to be alright. I listen to Bob Marley's music which has a frequent refrain that everything is going to be alright. It calms me.

I have two goals this week...buy a hammock chair and get another tattoo. Oh...one more...which I can't recall right now. More tomorrow.

winter morning and oh, betty

I checked my blog stats this morning. For some reason, this post: Oh, Betty has been very popular lately and has moved into second place for the month. I wrote it in August of 2007 so it amazes me that suddenly, it's an item. I am almost to 100,000 hits (not counting my own frequent visits) and Regis says we'll have a celebration when I do.

I admire greatly, Woodrow's ability to sleep soundly. He ignores all sounds except the opening of the treat jar. Then he can move across the room at high speed. Otherwise, he curls up and sleeps deeply for hours at a time despite the comings and goings of our house. He is only concerned about his own well-being and he has no worries. A good way to live.

My cousin Deb sent me photos of art in Bisbee, Arizona. I would love to be able to decorate the outside of my house with old sinks, urinals, hub caps, and statues of Elvis but I don't think I have the artistic touch to pull it off.

 

It's been a good week, all in all. I have my sleeping mojo back and I know this because I took a three-hour nap yesterday afternoon and still slept well last night. Ah, sleep. Such bliss.

We've had an active week. We bought groceries and did errands on Monday, then met good friends for dinner at Whiskey River. I went to the Livestrong YMCA class Tuesday and Thursday. We did AARP taxes on Wednesday. I subbed Friday. Betsy came two times...once for coffee and talk, once for an iPad lesson. Rene is coming over today. Regis and Gus have been to the dog park every day at least once.

I think I will bake something this afternoon. My in-house weather man tells me it will be 20 below tomorrow night and Monday night. He says the Twin Cities have had 38 below zero nights since December. That blows.

I don't complain about the weather but I do complain about the fifty pounds of clothes and boots it takes to prevent death by freezing.

Maybe I'll make a loaf of bread. Walnut bread. Pot roast with potatoes and carrots and fresh bread. That is some comfort food!

It's snowing, there is a brilliant red cardinal in the tree, I'm on my last cup of coffee, and we're going to the gym. Life is good, sweet angels.

ah, friday

Last night I went to my YMCA class even though I was tempted to call in sick. I was just tired and suffering from joint pain...and lazy. But Michele sent a message that she was home from Arizona and ready to go. I enjoy our visits over and back and once I get there, I am fine. So, I bundled up, packed my bag with my padlock, a towel., a water bottle...and off we went.

It was fine, of course, once I got there. We did circuit training which means I did this: 60 lunges on each leg, 60 squats, 30 push-ups, 3 1-minute planks, and 40 minutes of cardio. I am a little stiff today but not bad.

In light of my sleeplessness the past week, I took a major nap today. Three hours of bliss. Deep and dreamy sleep. Processing all that old crap in my head. I can see those memories popping like soap bubbles.

This week, I have talked to my mom, my cousin, my son, Jane from Iowa, my daughter...and probably a few people I don't recall at the moment. It's a good sign that I can pick up the phone when it rings.

I am having some thoughts about cancer. I saw a photo on Facebook of a woman with a sign that said "cancer sucks". Yes, it does in some ways, but so does hunger, homelessness, dementia, mental illness, heart disease, and a whole host of other things that afflict us as we live our lives.

Breast cancer gets a lot of attention i.e. the three-day Komen walk, etc. It really doesn't deserve any more attention than all the other things mentioned above. I'm not special because I happen to have breast cancer.

What I do love is the community. I mention breast cancer and people pop out of the woodwork to commiserate. I love that. We have our own language HER 2 positive or negative, estrogen receptors, herceptin, tamoxafin, anastrozole, clinical trials. Not a club you would be eager to join.

Sneezing...must go.

anniversary

Today is the 17th anniversary of our meeting. Regis and I met on a penpal website 17 years ago today which was considered strange then. Many people didn't have computers and the idea of meeting someone online sounded very peculiar. Now we don't even think twice about those who meet on match.com or eharmony or the other online ways of people getting together.

It's been a wonderful 17 years. Not every moment of course, but the whole of it has been grand. We are good companions and friends. We enjoy so many things together and have helped each through tough times. We're 61 years old, we're working on getting healthier in our minds and our bodies as we age and work through emotional baggage accumulated from a lifetime of living life. Not always bad stuff...just stuff. And everybody's got stuff. Happy anniversary to my sweet husband.

I am feeling so good this week, it is just a pleasure to be alive. I went to the Livestrong YMCA program last night. The instructor asked us to think about why we are alive. Her young husband is dealing some serious cancer and she said his doctor sked him that the other day. It's a good question to ask yourself every day. Why am I alive?

One of the young women in our class said she thinks everything happens for a reason. I'm not sure about that but I do think that I can usually find a little bit of silver lining.

It's like I believe about cancer. It was not a blessing but it did afford me some opportunities.

My friend Betsy from down the street came yesterday for a visit and for that I am grateful. We have a lot in common and we can talk for hours. I set the table with my Grandma Elsie's table linens and tea cups. I made scones. We sat by the front window and watched the birds. It was a delight from start to finish.

I'm on my first day of volunteering as the greeter for the AARP Tax Prep program. Every Wednesday, I come here to greet clients, ask them to fill out the intake form, and tell them where to wait until a preparer is ready. I have nothing to do with the actual taxes which is a very good thing. Mostly I drink coffee, chat, and stand around. A job I can handle!

As I am doing a light duty job today, I have plenty of time to write, something I love to do but I suppose for a reader it might be blah, blah, blah. If you are looking for excitement, you might want to  look elsewhere.

Just a note to Mary: I am feeling great since Monday. I am still having a bit of trouble sleeping but it's getting better. I have had vivid and detailed dreams but I can't remember them when I wake up. I feel so much more centered, connected, balanced than I did over the weekend.

I didn't finish that post yesterday so here it is today. Sometimes I forget if I have written something and published it or if I have been composing in my head.

Winter of 2013-14

How it will be remembered...

don't worry

I've decided to adopt Bob Marley's philosophy (but not his rumored affection for marijuana) and not worry about a thing because everything is going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright, all my friends.

You can see how much Woody has grown. He has almost outgrown the little bed although he still likes to squeeze in there for an afternoon nap. The orange bed is the next size up at our house. It's on top of a five-foot tall cabinet that holds a few other items. He has started clearing everything else off the cabinet, then grabbing the bed in his teeth, dragging it to the edge and heaving it over the side. Yesterday he did it 4 times. Once he dragged it into the kitchen. What is up with this new behavior?

And now for the weather report:

And remember, sing it with me: Don't worry, about a thing. Every little thing is going to be alright!

to honor the holy temple of football on superbowl sunday

On Friday I subbed in a school. A young man, more enamored with sports than school work, insisted on talking to me about football. Apparently he didn't notice my glazed over eyes because the next thing he did was to search his phone for video highlights of a college football game from last year. He found it. He had me watch it while he stood behind me narrating each play and naming the players. At the end of it, I said well, that is more football than I've watched in many years. Good thing he wasn't in front to see my eyes then.

I figured that was my penance and I didn't need to make any effort to honor the Super Bowl.

We were invited to a Super Bowl party but I declined for myself. Regis went for the first half. I am enjoying the time and doing almost nothing. I have to make a grocery list...

I am feeling more positive today. I thought about all the people I know who had breast cancer years ago and are still here. I thought about how every day, none of us knows what is to come, except for today.

Phillip Seymour Hoffmann. Sad story. He must have been in some pain.

Joan Mondale. Very sad story. To be so vital and active and then be struck down by dementia. See the paragraph above re: cancer.

whoop ass...when a normal beating just won't do

I was all set to take a short nap when I got a Facebook message from a friend with a link to Caring Bridge. Shit. That cannot be good news. The breast cancer she was treated for three years ago had the nerve to come back and set up camp on her spine and her ribs. WTF. Rogue cells. My worst fear. Little bastards with their backpacks full of cancer cells traveling around my body. They got Jan, they got, Karen, they got Jaimie. They might get me.

Sending light and love to Jaimie. You all please do that, too.

That's all.

as I predicted...chicken erotica scores

Chicken erotica gleaned an amazing 43 hits on its first day in cyberspace as compared to a dainty 4 for the previous few posts. I knew it.

Also as predicted, I signed up to sub today and I am dragging my feet whilst kicking myself in the ass, not an easy task...requires great agility and strength. At least the wind chill is not as low as forecast. My luck would have been that it was cold enough to freeze your face in five minutes but not cold enough to close school.

I have not been as tired of this winter as I have been of winters passed. I'm not sure exactly why but I am giving partial credit to the light therapy. What I am weary of is wearing forty pounds of clothes and boots. Ah, winter in Minnesota.

Elliot is coming to spend the night so there will be lots of action around here for a while. We're having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, one of his favorites. Tomorrow morning, we are making pancakes. We're looking forward to his visit.

Pretty soon I better get into work gear and start doing something. Bummer. I'd rather sit here with my tea and look at silly stuff on the internet.

I loved comic books and Mad magazine. Last night I heard that Christie Brinkley turned 60...and she was the young one of the pair.

chicken erotica

I bet that subject line will get some weird hits.

I was at the sink this morning when I thought I heard Regis say we should have chicken erotica this evening. What he really said was that we should have some chicken enchiladas. No chicken erotica. I didn't even dare put that in google. I'm sure the results would burn my retinas.

It's noon. We have had about 6 inches of snow. Yeah, what happened to the 1-2 inches, right? The wind is supposed to blow like crazy tonight so we'll see how that goes. Monday, even the trash haulers didn't work. Guess they have a different creed than UPS and the Epileptic Foundation! It's been a long, cold, windy tunnel of a month and I don't blame them a bit. I think the UPS should take a day off when it's that cold. I really don't need all that junk mail promptly.

I worked a lot in December so I said I was taking January off and I pretty much did. I am working tomorrow. Last chance. I think I have one day a week in February. That's enough. I am hoping for a snow day tomorrow and focusing on the thought that doing so does not make me a bad person...just a lazy one.

Here is proof that I have not gotten rid of everything in my house. Ella helped me wash and set out the china teacups the other day when she was here. One day, I am going to collect some of my special stuff on the dining table and take pictures of it.

On the theme of lacking gumption, I am not working up much enthusiasm for going to the exercise class tonight. I have been enjoying tea since my friends Deb, Betsy, and Michele have turned me on to spicy teas. I thought they all tasted like Earl Grey dishwater until I jazzed up to the cinnamon and spicy chai.

Karen, I was so happy to get your long email. I am composing a reply but you might read this before I finish it. And just for you, a few pics of Gus and Woody!

You can see we have not been successful at keeping Woody off the table. I like to keep the table set but the idea of him visiting the litter box then prancing around on the plates is not appealing.

If there is a box in the house, Woody has been in it. He loves boxes. He especially loves small boxes because then his tail comes around in front and he acts like it must belong to someone else. He is enchanted with his own tail.

Gus and Woody have a little row this morning!

Regis bought this little gadget for me. It tracks exercise, food, and sleep. So far, I have tried to remove the wrong end to charge it, I have forgotten to turn it to night mode, and I am embarrassed about how much time I spend inactively. Not really.

Regis is out blowing snow so I think I will retire to my boudoir and play some Scrabble. I bought myself a Scrabble dictionary so I could look up some of the non-words that Scrabble allows. EE? SUQ?

and then on to things more pleasant...or not

Somehow I discovered an interest in stone towers, or cairns. Now, my friend, Bob, is encouraging me by sending me pictures of stones he has balanced and books about cairns and poems about cairns. I am hooked although I have yet to make one myself. I have to find a few farmers with rock piles.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia site if you want to know more.

And take a look at Andy Goldsworthy's work.

Here is a beautiful video poem done by my friends, David Bengtson and Mike Hazard.

And David's (AKA Bob) beautiful poem. Used without his permission but I don't think he'll prosecute me for copyright infringement. I gave him a coffee mug, after all!

Stone Towers

Today I walked the yard in every direction

looking for stones large enough to stack and balance,

one on top of the other, to build a stone tower,

to say, I have been a guest in this house. I have left

this gift of gratitude. But there were no stones.

At Point Lookout, though, you’ll find, facing east,

three smooth-stoned sentinels, stones so carefully

balanced they could topple under the weight

of a gull’s foot or an unsuspecting hand.

If the towers fall, maybe the Vietnamese fishermen

or the elderly couple from Ohio or the wounded soldier

home from “the sand” or my friends from St. Mary’s

will rebuild them, these poems of stone––

like us, temporary testaments

to balance and fragility.

David Bengtson

The Artist House

St. Mary’s College of Maryland

October 2004

Gus practices down dog on my yoga mat.

This right here is proof that I have been left behind. I can barely grasp the meaning of apps (much less how they get where they are) but an app that documents your memories without writing, by just collecting data from the moment, is beyond baffling. What. the. hell. Writers of the world, unite. Tell them to take this app back to the place from whence it came. What bullshit.

But your personal memories (sans editors and hashtags) are harder to recollect – which makes the new iPhone app Kennedy so darn intriguing. Kennedy – named for the iconic question "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" – isn’t a traditional diary; it’s a push-button moment immortalizer that automatically remembers contextual data surrounding an event.
So, you’re watching a sunset. You’re thinking, “This is nice.” You may not pull out a conventional journaling app and wax poetic about the sunset, but you might open Kennedy and press the screen. When you do that, the app instantly collects the current date and time, location, weather conditions, and news headlines, with options for a note or photo. Months later, you can scroll back and trigger that sunset memory based on the surrounding details.
It’s one diary you won’t get tired of writing.

I'm going to quit here for now. I went to the pulse and did 40 minutes of cardio exercise so I am feeling the need to lie deown and play a little Scrabble...or maybe read some of Saints of the Shadow Bible.

enjoying a little winter weather this weekend!

I should have gotten a screen shot of last night's Weather Bug. 50 mph gusts. But I guess 41 mph gusts are something to notice, too.

I was not the nut out taking pictures of this.

Regis doesn't think the sidewalks will drift over again. Ha!

Look at the bunny tracks around the bunny!

Cardinals have been frequent visitors to the feeder. The don't leave when we walk outside. They just go to the waiting area in the apple tree.