With A Little Help From My Friends

that's how I get by. And this week, the comments here; in eMail and phone and PMs and snail mail have just surrounded me with comfort. I hope you don't mind that I think of y'all as a big smooshy blanket because that's what it's felt like. I've read the comments here over and over. ~~waves to Paul and Crystal! I haven't heard from y'all in forever. Hope all is well with you.

I feel better but damn it..I hate it when I just stumble into something that brings reality back. Like opening the door slowly because Zoey can't back up fast. Or cooking more than I eat so she can have a little taste. Or wandering around with my left over cereal milk looking for Mary...she loved that sweetened milk.

I sniffed and snuffled and sobbed and sniffed and snuffled some more and then decided that was enough. So, when in doubt...do laundry. Stripped all the bedding including mattress pads etc. Washed all fo them. Washed winter covers. Washed spring covers (the didn't need it since they'd been in bags but hey...it's more laundry) And then decided that next I needed to steam clean the carpets. So right now, I can actually get to two chairs although it involves some contortions as most all of the furniture is piled in one room and all the lamps, baskets of knitting etc is piled in another while my bedroom and living room floors dry. Thankfully it's a breezy warm day so hopefully by nightfall they'll be dry. And maybe tomorrow, I can umm wash curtains??

but again, thank you so much. I've never ever in my whole entire life been the recipient of this much caring.

Good Riddance February

It's been a cruel month.

On the 15th, Mary, my 21 1/2 year old matriarch kitty headed off to the Rainbow Bridge cradled in my arms. I believe she had a stroke several months ago, but had recovered enough to continue to boss everyone in the house. However, on Saturday the 12th she had what was apparently another one and her downhill slide picked up steam.

And last night, Zoey the wonder dog (age guestimate is 12 she was a rescue), also took the journey as I sang (for the eleventy seventh time), Oh Canada to her. I sing to my babies a lot..mostly nonsense songs...but yesterday Oh Canada was the only one I could sing without sobbing. She was on new meds for an infection and her arthritis and as of Thursday and Friday doing sooooooooo much better. We'd planned on a Saturday afternoon outside enjoying the high 50s temps. But before we could do it she had a massive seizure which indicated a stroke. Certainly her newly regained agility went to hell and she was absolutely frantic. Fortunately she calmed down, ate a good supper, stayed up past her normal bedtime wagging her tail. Awakened me at 0300, restless and the day went downhill from there. We spent most of the day on the floor. Her on a pallet of blankets and me on the loveseat cushion and various pillows.

This picture makes me cry..not because they look sweet but because it was so funny at the time. As Zoey's arthritis took hold, she had a whole lot of trouble with her back hips and her legs would go out from under her on slick floors. I'm not sure if Mary thought she was helping, but she almost seemed to stalk her. And as soon as Zoey went down, Mary would go snuggle up to her. Zoey was NOT thrilled. And would bark and whine as if to say, "She's touching me mom!! Help" And this one time the camera was on and I got a quick flash-lit snap of them. (I took it to Picnik and got Zoey's eyes back to the dark brown they were but for some reason, in there Mary was so dark to be unrecognizable)

"If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane,
I would walk right up to heaven
And bring you back again"

I miss you guys so much. Thank the universe that you found your way into my life. xoxoxoxo

Finally...blooms!

My camera is home from the 'hospital'. Diagnosis: One dead battery. It uses two. Just weird. It gives me a message when the batteries are about to go out as well as a slide deal that's always visible that shows how much power they have. Such a strange message. But I won't fuss...they didn't even charge me. Well, except for the batteries I bought.

And just in time for the amaryllis bloomed. My friend Mac and I each got one at the same time. I made sure that mine hadn't started leaves as I wanted to enjoy the whole show. Then for a bit, I wondered if it was ever going to show growth. But patience paid off and now I have...

Good thing I had new batteries. It's been so cloudy here that there was no way I could get a good shot in decent light. And with the flash, it showed up as a very RED flower. Which it's not. This is fairly true. A light pinky salmon-y color and ever so pretty. Too bad they don't just keep blooming forever.

Sunny today so I'm going out to clear off the patio of leaves and other debris from the storms. Cause tomorrow, it's supposed to get all cold and cloudy again.

Hope some sunshine comes your way wherever you are.

Oh...a question for any flower people. At Walmart they had some orchids in little pots and they were called 3 Cube Orchids. On the tag it said to water them using 3 ice cubes every week. Anyone ever heard of this????

Black and White

I awakened to new snow this morning. Not heavy, scary stuff like my mid-Atlantic friends have been dealing with. No, this was big, fat, fluffy flakes. I was really taken by the starkness of the day.









This one is my favorite. I love how the crispness of the black and white is broken by the red street sign at the bottom.

Whoa! 2 Days in a Row???

Apparently being here yesterday, inspired me to entertain (?) you with more stories about life here on the snowy prairie. So right after I got up I started thinking of things I could share with you.

But then..a crisis. Got some coffee; blew my nose; threw the kleenex in the stool; flushed it and uhhhhhhhhhhhh nada. Plunging action just got my houseshoes wet..thank goodness all that was in there was a kleenex! Think, think. Drink more coffee and think some more. This is a real deal because there is only one bathroom here. But then, 2 ah-has! in a row! First, bring up the tornado potty. Which is a 5 gallon bucket with a plastic liner and partially filled with shredded paper. Because if the storm is so bad that I have to go to the basement, I can dang well promise that I'm going to have to pee as soon as I get under the stairs. And then the 2nd aha! Occasionally I put root killer down the commode and there is still something left. I figure if it can kill roots, it can surely eat up a kleenex and whatever. AND it worked! Oh hooray. However, the tornado potty will stay in the utility room closet until I'm for sure.

So then, filled with confidence, I decided that I really, really need to get my vehicle de-iced. The bread supply is zip (and sloppy joe on a stale English muffin is pretty yucky) and the milk is getting low. So, I worked on that for awhile without a whole lot of success and came in to get warm. Dang it...I need to go to the store!

While warming up, I decided to take a pic of the amarylis I got for Christmas. It's getting ready to bloom!! The bud is just opening and my thought was that I could do a series of flower opening shots. the stalk is now 22 inches tall and I've been rotating it a 1/4 turn every day to keep it as str8 as possible. But um, when I turned on the camera I got a message that said "This card cannot be used" Uh what? Why? Yesterday I had some trouble getting the card reader to read it so maybe the contacts are screwed. But..just think, if I'd got the car uncovered and went to the store and THEN found out I needed a new card I would have been very unhappy!

So, I'll keep working on the car in the hopes that I can travel to the big box store and pick up milk, bread and a camera card! Wish me luck

The New Path is Snowy and Icy

Hello...did you thik I'd wandered off never to reappear? Nope. Did you wonder if I had gotten bored with retirement? Nope.

I've survived the Christmas Blizzard of 2009..truly it was one. And I'm sure there are photos of it somewhere on this computer but I don't think any were spectacular.

Another storm arrived on Thursday. Freezing rain and sleet for much of that day and evening with snow following on Friday. I am grateful beyond belief that we didn't lose power but it's gonna be a long time before I'm able to move my car. I cleared the steps yesterday and it took most of the afternoon. An inch of ice on the top of the vehicle and then that was topped with 6 inches of snow! Although it was cold yesterday, there was sun and 'they' said it would be sunny today in the 40s. Well they forecasted the storm almost perfectly but they missed on this one. It's gray and cold. And last night we had something called 'freezing fog'. Maybe it's still here.

Since I was going to have to put on boots and Yaktrax to go get the paper, I decided to stomp around the neighborhood. It's sooo weird to hear ice cracking somewhere under your feet.

I'm not sure if the following photos are a result of freezing fog, if it's hoarfrost or what. And the icicyles are sooo pretty. But in the cold outside with no people, no vehicles, no sound..it's quite magical.

A New Path

It's December 1st, and I'm officially retired! My last day was supposed to be last Friday, but they closed the office so my actual last work day was Wednesday. It's still all a bit odd in my mind. I've had to make a little index card reminder system so I actually know what day of the week it is. There's been a lot of sorting and tossing going on. I find it hard to just sit and play until the work is done, even if I'm not sure what the work is supposed to be. And nope, I haven't hit the basement yet. But some will have to be done soon so I can get to the Christmas decorations.



I was blessed with the corporate party and it was great fun. I only have a couple of pics..I never seem to remember to take them but there are more in a throwaway camera that I've yet to drop off for developing. The banner almost made me cry. One of my most beloved young patients nicknamed me Rambo and it traveled throughout my community. I still here "Hey Rambo!" from time to time when I'm out and about. I still miss ya Jarred!



I received some a lot of super cards and lovely gifts. I'm well stocked for the time being on soaky bath stuff (and the time to really soak!) and books and candles and gift cards to Bath and Body Works and Hastings and Barnes and Noble. Oh and two soft throws and softie socks! These folks really know me! One of my coworkers presented me with a little album of candid shots of all my coworkers which I treasure.

So now it's a new path. I don't know where it's gonna take me. My mental backpack is filled with enthusiasm and curiosity and I'll have to send you postcards along the way! It's gonna be a real trip!

ETA: My friend Jackie just called from the office. In a sing-song voice she said "It's end of the month and you aren't here!" Now that's one thing I won't miss! :-)