Spring continues...

... and I am bliss-filled.

  There is an apple tree on the property next door and a small grove of deep purple lilac trees.  Everywhere I drive, I see trees in bloom in all shades of pink, red, white, purple.  It is so beautiful.

  Tulips compete for the sun with the daffodils, however, not this spring in my yard, next year for sure.  Tiny purple violets dot the grass between houses.

  We've had rain recently, which makes me happy.  At least one of the lillies-of-the-valley roots I planted is making an effort, and it looks like the peony roots I planted are also still alive.  Bulbs are showing green here and there, but they won't fully bloom until summer (fingers crossed).

  After having three days to let my mind run wild with ideas, I'm meeting with a business advisor on Sunday to discuss some plans with grant options.  Nothing is guaranteed (as are most things in life) but I'll never know if I don't ask.  I'm not sure I'm ready to be a business owner, but since I left Wisconsin to start my best life yet, I should probably get to it.

  On the health front, things are holding steady at "ish."  I waffle between frustrated and depressed at what I feel is a rebellion by my body just when everything else was getting better.  Like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum for not being the center of attention.

  But regardless, life IS good.

settling ...

 back into a routine ...

   Charlie regressed while I was in the hospital since from what I can tell, no one checked on him from late Thursday night to late Saturday afternoon.  (Security cameras didn't record any sounds or movement indicating that anyone had come into the house during that time ~ they did record Charlie howling, however)

  We have had to have discussions about housebreaking issues and getting into the recycling cans, and how dangerous licking the inside of a metal can is.  He has been rather nonchalant about my return from the hospital, probably because he is trying to figure out if he can really trust me again.  I get it.  Breaks my heart, but I get it.

  The only thing I can do at this point is to go back to square one with him and get back into normal routines.  I may also have to prevent him from being able to leave the bedroom at night because that is when he forgets what the house rules are.

 

 While we are chatting about the [amazing Wyze security cams] I have noticed a peculiar thing since turning them on consistently the night I went into the hospital.  The back door/kitchen cam has been consistently picking up what sounds (at least to me) like a single dog bark.  The sound sometimes changes in pitch, and in frequency, from every 10 minutes to every 20 or 30.  It's not a sound that I can hear if I stand by the camera and wait to pinpoint the noise.  It's not my smoke alarm ~ that chirp will drive me bonkers until I change the battery, which I just did last month.

  I don't know how long the noise has been happening, other than the last week since most of the time I delete sound-only recordings (Lucy is so loud at times during the night when she is playing).

  It most often sounds just like my Soul-Dog Trooper, because whenever he wanted to get my attention ~ to go out, or come in, or to play ~ he would give just one single bark.

  Next week will be the 5th (sob!) anniversary of when he went to wait for me at Rainbow Bridge.  While I still haven't discounted the sound to something "of this world" it is extremely comforting for me to feel that he is here.

  Last night the living room cam busted Charlie doing an inappropriate behavior ... and what sounds like three barks ... perhaps busting Charlie as well... but it almost seems like he hears them also.

  You decide.

home again, home again

 Jiggity Jig ...

  From the moment the amazing EMTs with the  [White Sulphur Springs Rescue Squad ] arrived to whisk me away last Thursday, I felt like I was in good hands.  The EMTs (and forgive me for not writing down your names at the time) helped me to relax and not worry about anything. 

  I want to give a HUGE shout-out to the amazing nurses, doctors, techs, dietary ladies, and housekeeping staff at my home away from home last week, the fourth floor of the [LewisGale Hospital in Covington, VA.]   Everyone, and I mean every. single. one of them was just amazing.  Friendly, kind, patient.  I can't say enough good things about my experience there.

  This was the first time I had been hospitalized for more than a night, and I was overwhelmed the first night with worry about my dog, Charlie, being home alone.  I boo-hoo'd and had a slight anxiety attack while tryng to make sure someone would check on him on a cell phone with a dying battery (note to self: pack a spare charger in my emergency to-go bag!!!!)  These amazing ladies (and a few male doctors) saw me at my worst:  bed head hair, boofoo ugly glasses that are seldom worn in public (I have a fear of turning people into stone when I wear them), sobbing-snotting-crying, and barefooted with my funky ugly toes and all.

  They listened empathetically to me when I shared my fears for Charlie.  Got that I have a warped sense of humor when I shared that I had been worried about having to buy new shoes in February if they had to cut my toes off.  Patiently answered my no-stop questions about pancreatitis (for FOUR days!).   Kept me supplied with ice and water when I really wanted pizza and tacos.

  I wish I'd had the sense to keep track of everyone's names, but to be honest, those first few days I think I slept more than I was awake because of the pain meds and just being emotionally overwhelmed.

  You are amazing superheroes.  Thank you to the Emergency Room and Fourth Floor staff of [LewisGale Hospital,] for taking such good care of me.

What a crazy week

   Last Thursday I had started to blog about the weather since we had two days of snow flurries and a 30-degree drop in overnight temperatures. 

  But before I had a chance to finish it,  I was taking an ambulance ride to the Emergency Room thinking I was having a heart attack. 

  The heart was fine, but the pancreas was not and so after several days of fasting on water and an IV only, today I got to oink out on a real breakfast and lunch.

  Bad move. The pain returned and I am spending another night in the hospital. 

  Charlie is camping at my plumber's house, the cats are fending for themselves, but are getting fed.

  Tomorrow,  regardless of how I feel or what the blood work numbers say, I will be going home. There will be bills to pay [I'm certain a 4-day hospital stay won't be cheap], and I missed more than half a week of work last week.  Plus, I will be starting this week 10 short.  This is when I need those winning lotto numbers,  or for one of those silly sweepstakes, I waste my time entering to pay off.

  On a side note, before I forget again... Blogger in all its wisdom will soon be discontinuing its follow by email service for blogs. So if you are used to seeing me pop up in your email when I put together a string of nonsense or a photo of my fur kids, it will soon stop. I'm waiting to see if they offer an alternative or if this is the beginning of the end and I will have to move to WordPress or another platform. 

 Sigh. 

 Too many changes this year.

Trains..

Time slows down in the mountains. 

Rain smells sweeter and the

Air feels lighter at sunset.

I watch trains go by from the window in my hospital room. 

Night comes, and the mountains grow dark.

Still, the trains roll on.

  I've been in the hospital for pancreatitis since Thursday afternoon.  Don't know yet when I will be discharged. 

  I'm as frantic about Charlie as he is about me. I can hear him howling on the security cam videos.  This is my worst nightmare and I feel totally helpless. I have neighbors checking on him, but this will be something that needs more reliability and planning.  

Bird TV

 The girls finally noticed.

A cloudy Sunday ...

  The goldfinches have swapped out their winter colors for the flashier yellows to attract all the ladies.  I'm working some overtime today (Charlie is pouting) and on a quick break a few minutes ago I could hear the red-winged blackbirds in the trees tho I could not see them.

  Four of the peonies I ordered arrived today, and I'm going to attempt to get them into the ground on my lunch, leaving room for the remaining 2 that has also shipped.   We have a small chance of rain over the next few days.  Some of my 200 bulbs have started to surface above the mulch I put down [I'm so excited!!!]  I was going to space the peonies out down the side of the house, but recent flower porn catalogs have me changing that plan.  Good thing I doodle in pencil.  I'm far too impatient for seeds at this point and so may look for some perennials flowering shrubs already semi-established.  I'd like to find some that will provide berries for the birds this winter.

  I found this gorgeous chair on the Facebook Marketplace last week and splurged $40 when I shouldn't have to get it.   The claw and ball feet just grabbed me.  Even managed to drag it upstairs without killing myself, tho a few times I was a little worried that might happen.  I've decided to use it as my journalling/meditation corner but may move it to the other side of the room which is a little bit wider.  

   I want to find a vintage lamp, and perhaps a pink or aqua blue pouf for a footrest.   While the upstairs tends to stay warmer than the rest of the house, the intake vent for the heat and a/c is in the corner that I want to move it to and may get a fuzzy throw blanket to use.  Gracie likes it as well and sleeps in it at night.  We've had discussions about how much I like the chair and how much she needs to value her toes.  I have an aqua pillow cover I may swap to the will tie into my bedding colors a little more.  The candle is a lavender/chamomile scented one that I love, and my pen mug says Namaste.

Needs some TLC and 
furniture oil.

  I've been looking for a chest of drawers to fit in the corner it is currently in because my antique oval mirror that hung in my grandfather's house hangs there.  Eventually, I will get the house and room settled the way I'd like, and hopefully not have to change much, although I have been thinking of asking the landlords if I can pull up the old carpet [which reeks in the spare bedroom from the previous tenants' pets] and put down wood flooring, even if only laminate self-stick pieces.  At this point, I would never want to set it up as a guest bedroom because of the residual odor.

  Looking ahead to being here after if I get to "retire" or if when I get another work from home job that pays a little more or offers better benefits, I may move my "office" upstairs to the spare bedroom where I can close and/or lock the door as required by some wfh companies.  It would mean losing my view of the bird feeders, and I'm not sure if more money and benefits would be worth that sacrifice.  Just kidding, it would.  I could get an outdoor security cam and stream the action on my laptop.

Words from Wednesday

  There is a canopy of color outside my office window.  Dark grey clouds.  Trees with new, lime green leaves.  Flowering trees of burgundy red and dark pink.  Ivy of dark green climbing tree trunks.

  The ground is also a canopy of color.  Green grass and leaves from spent daffodils.  A spunky grey squirrel.  New shoots from a climbing rose bush I planted with still green thorns.  Brown leaves from last fall that needs to be raked.  A bright blue jay scavaging sunflower seeds that the rowdy eating machine starlings have spilled from the feeder.  Purple finches look for charity scraps left by the jays.

  On a limp tree limb above the feeders, the iridescent blue, green, and purple common grackles observe the proceedings, waiting for an opportunity to join the fray.

  In my mind, I'm planning aisles of slate rocks between groups of spring flowers in the yard.  I want the appearance of Holland's spring colors like the ones that mesmerized me when I was a child visiting the country for the first time.  Nothing has ever compared to the magic of those memories.  I long to sneak into the carry-on of a certain international flight attendant I know, and just stand in her shoes for a while.

Words for Wednesday is a traveling feast of creativity, and can currently be found [click there> on The Other Side of Sixty.

Flower Porn

Wild violets growing
between my house
and the neighbor

  Spring has barely sprung, and today an assortment of bright colorful sales flyers of flower porn for the fall planting season arrived.

   Cruel, it is.  Heartless.  Addictive.  And of course, I had to order something.

   An assortment of 35 daffodil bulbs to join the few volunteers in my side yard.  A variety of colors of tulips (35 bulbs) and finally, a mix of 30 allium colors.  It was a modest order considering that I really wanted one of everything.  But I'm learning to pace my addictions. 

   Gracie was snoring quite loudly on the tub by the office window, and Charlie was pouting on the futon because he made the mistake of abandoning it to protect his cookies from being stolen by Gracie who could care less about his cookies, but I suspect used the opportunity to instead steal his favorite spot.  Charlie turned the tables on her with his "Intruder Alert" bark he uses for the UPS man to scare her upstairs and get his spot back.

  The UPS brought some highly anticipated items to help me corral the clutter on my desk and become more organized (bwahaha hahaha hahaha not!).  But to be honest, I was more excited about getting these items than I was a filing system.

  This is a small decal, no more than four inches tall that I've placed in the door frame between my office and the dining room where I can see it from my desk.  I spotted it on Zulily and it made me laugh so I ordered it.

  I used to have a small plaster "fairy" door that I would keep along the baseboard in my guest bedroom back in Florida just in case my nieces ever visited.

  Fulfilling my dream of having a library in my home ... sort of ... I also ordered these wallpaper panels from Amazon and put them on the door to the storage space in my bedroom.   Eventually, I still hope to have a small library and have begun to collect books to read again.  

   I put out three bags of mulch over the bulbs I planted a few weeks ago.  Rain is forecast again tomorrow, so it needed to get done today.  I also refilled the bird feeders since a red-bellied woodpecker was annoyed with me.  I've been watching "couples" at the feeders and the variety of courting behaviors.  The male downy woodpecker fluffs up his red top feathers so that he looks like he is trying to imitate a rooster.   The female purple finch has not yet picked a winner from the several male suitors she has and is quick to chase them all off when they start to crowd her.

   I suppose I should at least start trying to be organized.  It will be an early night since I was up this morning to wait for the plumber to fix the hot water heater, and I'm already tired and starting to procrastinate ...

30 seconds of bliss ...

 

Growing ....

 ... old gracefully is not what my body apparently had in mind.

  My birdcage from last week with a few birds.  I don't care to find out why the caged bird sings since they sing so beautifully uncaged.  The roses on top are made of wood, with a twine ribbon, and the leaves and vines are metal.

  I'm working this morning and from my window, I can see squirrels and rabbits in the vacant lot next door, and some of the smaller birds at the feeders.  Charlie is pouting on the futon, not happy to be banned from window barking while I work.  The climbing rose bush I planted last week is beginning to show signs of life, so my thumb is still happily green.  The honeysuckle vine that I thought was out of stock was not, and has been shipped, so I will be excited to get that in the ground as soon as it arrives.  The yellow peony root, however, has been back-ordered and so there will be just pinks, reds, and a white that arrive in a week or so.  Flower porn is addictive, and I've started tossing catalogs and flyers without even opening them.  At least for a few months until the fall catalogs arrive to tempt me.  I still need to get mulch for the front garden bulbs, and since the rain that has been promised has barely shown up this week, possibly a large watering can.  The only available faucet is in the kitchen,  just inside the back door, and I will need a very long hose to get water to the front with it... which I'd rather not do because I have yet to meet a hose that does not leak at the faucet even a tiny amount.

  It has been a week of unexpected health diagnoses ~ I'm now a diabetic which has come as a shock to my doctor.  He is also testing for some auto-immune issues because I have symptoms of Raynaud's and other odd things.  This year has been a mix of health issues, and I feel at times my worst enemy has become my body.  First my toes and my heart, now my pancreas and fingers.  If some of these had crept up on me with a little more advance notice, it would have been easier to accept.  But all of these have seemed to occur overnight.  I have to wonder if ten years of living under duress kept it at bay for survival's sake, and now that the stress is gone, the body has relaxed into a post-traumatic state of illness.  I've long believed in the power of thought over illness ~ 30+ years ago I was told I would have chronic back pain because of two congenital issues and to "get used to it."  I refused.  Once I knew what was causing the pain, the brain complied with my refusal and so apart from being stupid (dragging 200+ lbs of wet carpet across a parking lot to the dumpster) my back pain has been non-existent.

  I did find a used screen door for the kitchen and patio.  Not the fancy-schmancy one I coveted, but considering the cost was 90% less than the new fancy one I wanted, I can afford to be less schmancy.  It is a little small, but so far Lucy Houdini has failed to escape from it.   I'm going to get some weather stripping to edge the side where it is open to keep noseeums, flies, and skeetos from getting in during the summer.   I have also been warned that snakes may abound in the lot next door, and while I'm not afraid of the garden variety, I'd still rather not be surprised by the venomous variety.  We've already had some warm, humid days.  On April 1st I woke to snow, and by the 7th we had hit 79F.

  I hung my patio party lights ~ not much partying going on, however.  I sat out one night to listen to the Spring Peepers (tiny frogs).  I've been hoping for an evening rain to take full advantage of the relaxing sounds while sipping some iced tea.  I'll have to get a video once the opportunity presents itself.

  The trees are all budding out with fresh green, Mr. Cardinal has been madly and passionately serenading Mrs. Cardinal.

  Life is good.

Words on Wednesday

Smokey stared out the window in frustration at the growing thickness of the fog.  His invitation to the costume party clearly specified a selection from his wardrobe that would make him appear to be the silhouette of a [famous cat in history.]

He had chosen to represent Blackie, the richest cat in history, but the way it was looking, he would be more like Colonel Meow ... or at the very least, Sergeant Grumpy with his current cattitude.

Smokey had gotten a special dispensation from his bodyguards to attend the event since it was a fund-raiser for one of the local cathouses, and with the fog rolling in, he knew that the catnip scented candles they were lighting, and the warmth from the fireplace was just placebos to appease his mood and tempt him into not attending the event.

His displeasure with the weather had become apparent when he had taken a swipe (with his claws out!) at one of the servants who had reached out to pet him in sympathy.

Her indiscretion for how it might appear to the rest of the staff was enough of a reason for him to fire her on the spot.  He dispised when humans thought he was weak and needed comforting as if he was still a helpless kitten.

Words for Wednesday is a traveling feast of creativity, and can currently be found [click there> on The Other Side of Sixty.

Patience is a virtue ...

 ... I do not have when I'm crafting.

  I was super excited for today.  First I was getting my Covid vaccine.  I know, doesn't make sense to be excited for someone to stick you with a thick needle and inject you with a fingers-crossed-it-will-really-work-vaccine.  But I was.

  Then I was getting my WV driver's license FINAL-LEE!  Got my face all dolled up with make-up and everything for that mug shot.

  The shot portion went well.  The driver's license ... not so well.  I did not have my birth certificate and will have to go back another day.  Wasted face.  I'm 90% certain I know where my certificate is, just have to narrow it down.  I had to send it off when I got my new social security card, and when they returned it, it was by certified mail that I had to go sign for at the post office.  I'm pretty sure it is still in that envelope, and in all of the ensuing creative chaos the last few months, I think I just spaced on putting it back with my documents for the driver's license.

    But the day still turned out to have some positives.  While waiting for my appointment at the Department of Motor Vehicles, I popped into the Flea Market again and found an end table that will be my nightstand.  It is was white with a glass insert, and I thought a nice black crackle spray paint would jazz it up to fit with the cast iron bed frame I have.  Crackle paint appears to no longer be in style, and chalk paint is.  I found a "Blue Juniper" color that matched my bedspread and decided to go with that.  

  I also found an AMAZING bird cage and stand at a little shop in Lewisburg that I explored while waiting for the DMV appointment ... and it was 50% off!!!  I LOVE it!  I think I will hang my cardinals in it.

  Windows open, with the smell of fresh cut grass in the air, and the scent of lilac from a new candle I set about my remake of the table.  Of course, my lack of crafting patience and knowledge in chalk paint caused some learning curves, especially with the whole wax thing.  I still don't know what that's all about.  And since I was working with spray paint and an octogon, I kept finding places I had missed.  I also bought a new lampshade and painted it to match.

  I planted some lily-of-the-valley roots by the front door, and plotted out where I will plant the peony roots when they arrive.

  While I was waiting for the table and shade to dry, I walked to another local restaurant, the Route 60 Grill, and was pleased with their burger and mozz sticks.  Charlie liked their fries, but the walk back home made them a little colder than I prefer.

  The face on the table is the base for my Alexa Echo Dot.  It makes me smile, and seemed appropriate for 'her.'

  Tomorrow the search begins for my birth certificate; house chores; grocery shopping; and maybe raking the side yard and clearing old leaves.  I might also put some mulch down over the bulbs I just planted.  It is so wonderful to experience Spring again.

April fooled

 

The violas were not amused and are in the kitchen warming up.

Thursday...

   Alexa keeps telling me that we will get snow flurries today.  I'm trying to figure out if it is an AI April Fool's joke.  If it is, the Weather Channel is in on it as well, predicting a 50% chance of snow today and tonight, with today's high in the mid 30sF and lows in the 20s.  Yooper folklore extends south since they say that there will be one more snow after the robins arrive.

  I was able to download the image for the bulbs I ordered.  Now, I remember why I wanted 200 bulbs.  The bulbs were packaged by their botanical family name, so I was in the dark about what was what for half of the bulbs.  It will be a nice surprise when they all come up.

  Tuesday I took a basket of strawberries that were on the verge of becoming compost in another few days and sliced them up for a strawberry lemon basil water recipe.  I was a little skeptical, but it is actually very refreshing!  I've also found an easy cucumber salad trick by using vinegarette and creamy dill salad dressings with 1/4 cup of sugar.  It dawned on me last night as I was prepping the salad that my life finally feels pretty complete and awesome.

  It's a good thing.