It's mid afternoon on a Saturday.One of those days that makes you stop and see and smell and fall into the wonder that is nature. We have had extraordinary amounts of rain this year- good in some ways, not so much in others- and the outcome is one of the greenest, floweriest, lushest seasons I can remember. After I got home this afternoon from a meeting and then lunch with my pals, I strolled down the driveway to check the mail. Along the way I saw a couple of the Siberian Irises that are still standing, Queen Anne's Lace, Elderberry flowers, honeysuckle (of course), hollyhocks, lilies and roses. The peonies are barely there too, and the grass needs mowing again. It will have to wait until tomorrow though...still too much to do today.
The weather has cooled off, thankfully. We were having temps in the high 90's (and rain !) and now it's suddenly back down into the high 70's, low 80's. That's pretty nice weather this time of year.
Starting to make my packing lists for the trip to Atlanta...personal, general, necessaries. Things that are too easy to miss, like moving the first aid kit from our car into the rental car. Stuff that I cannot survive without (phone chargers, camera battery chargers). All that stuff--well, you know. Trail mix, snacks, etc etc. Trying to efficiently pack as there are 3 of us going in a small car. That will be the biggest challenge. It will all be fine...
We were talking today about shifts in perception, and how those shifts affect our lives. I was thinking that a trip like this is a perfect example of how different things can be for a person like me. There was a time when my experiences with things like a trip like this would have had me spinning and panicking and maybe even just totally cancelling the trip in the end. lol Too many details to attend to. Too much minutiae. Too much fiscal responsibility. In reality we have been planning this trip for a year, so it hasn't been so bad. But it gets tiresome. lol
I started this post 2 days ago and thought I would get right back to it. But alas...life got busy, so here I am now. It occurred to me this morning that I only have another day left to post before we leave. I am not taking the computer with me. No ma'am. Taking my phone and my camera, but that's it. I hope to post once more, maybe tomorrow night, but if I don't make it back, you'll know it's because of all the impending excitement. lol
Yesterday was a full day. I drove an hour south of here to see my pal get her coin for her 29th sober birthday and her sponsor too, who has 45 years sober. Man...what a deal, huh ? Might not seem like much to anyone who never had a problem with booze, but for people like me ...it's a miracle. Went out for lunch and then flew back north to hit the district meeting (made over half of it. lol) I made a decision to take on another service position, that of a liaison between the office where I volunteer and the district itself. Not a big deal, one meeting a month with both sides and give a report. Easy Peasy. I have always done quite a bit of this kind of thing and have backed off the past couple of years. Just feels like time to jump in again. Then when that was over, I drove across town to pick up a couple of lovely ladies to go to a late afternoon meeting. It was an awesome day all around.
Today I am doing laundry, making some snacks to take along for the 9 hour drive to Atlanta, and hopefully hitting the library, as I just finished [what I think is] the newest Patricia Cornwell book. Published in 2014. I'll also drag out the suitcase and start my packing, fill my little traveling medicine box with all the anti-inflammatories, bp meds and god knows what all I take every day. Making a list for packing too so I don't forget anything (hair dryer, phone chargers, etc). I hate having to buy things I forgot to pack...lol Have to water plants in the house (still raining here), make a detailed feeding list for my son who's going to take care of all the critters. And probably a few more things I'm just not thinking of right now. lol
Okay--I think the laundry is ready to go in the dryer and then I'm running into town.
Have a great Monday, ya'll...
Namaste.
It's that time of year. The bee balm is blooming. The lilies are out in full force, the clematis keeps trying to be beautiful, but the storms keep beating the hell out of it. Still some blooms though.
I am eating the biggest kosher dill pickle I have ever seen, from a big jar I bought the other day. Bought it for the jar really. Am I the only one who does that ? lol
I have not been writing since last March. Where've I been ? Don't know really. Nowhere. Here. Addressing some health issues. Trying to keep the world from flying out from under me. I've been kind of okay...nothing serious...although it hasn't always seemed like that. lol I am writing a garden/fresh food recipe column for a newsletter that comes out 4 times a year. But that's it. The muse has left the building. I have had no interest in writing or reading or anything else much.
Had a terrible time getting the garden in this year. And there has been so much rain that it's washed out seeds and drowned some things. And of course the weeds are magnificent. They seem to thrive in this weather. Even though I lived in the Pacific Northwest for a long long time, all this rain has made me terribly depressed and I am sick of it. Feels crazy saying that, since parts of the country are suffering terrible droughts. According to the experts, this is the 5th wettest June in history with almost 8 inches of rain so far. On a happier note, the berries are looking really good and we now have bird-spread red and black raspberries coming up EVERYWHERE. Which is good, since the road guys mowed down all my blackberries out front when I wasn't home. ggrrrrr
The chickens got moved outside finally and are growing nice and big. And one of my sweet little hens turned out to be a damn rooster. And he's trying to start crowing, but sounds like a strangled hedgehog.....they are so funny. The little shit is already trying to chase me out of the chicken run when I open the door in the mornings. I'd really like to keep a rooster, but I am not putting up with that crap again. I tried to reason with him, lol, but he doesn't want to listen. Hopefully I will be getting eggs within the next month or so...have you seen the price and availability of eggs at the store ? Insane.
My computer has been out again. My PC died and the super geek nephew tells me the power switch, the motherboard and the hard drive are all fried. Dammit all. I am currently using a friend's laptop, and can't wait to have a regular pc again. These little laptops are just not for me. The good news is that when I had NO computer for almost 2 weeks I started reading more again. I've been going to our little local library and reading all the Patricia Cornwell I can get my hands on. lol About 3 of them a week. The librarian just raises her eyebrows at me...
I wound up in the hospital last month, them thinking I was having a heart attack. Me thinking they were wrong. But I went, because my blood pressure shot up to some vulgar number (210/140) and it scared me. They put me into the chest pain ward and kept me overnight and ran all the cardiac tests on me they could think of. The good news is they said I have a very healthy heart, no blockages or restrictions of any kind. The bad news is, it cost about 15,000 dollars. They finally decided that I was suffering from situational depression and stress, and put me on an anti-depressant. I guess when I was telling the doc that I was so overwhelmed...that I had had 8 people in my life die in 6 months, that my sister-in-laws brain cancer is back, that I feel like I cannot cope some days...they drew this unreasonable conclusion. BUT--this little episode has at least caused me to finally have all the tests doctors have been harping at me about for years, because of my family history of heart disease. Haha. I win. No heart disease.
My knees are still in bad shape and I guess it will be time soon for replacements. We have tried several different things and nothing works for long. Sigh....
On a brighter note (maybe) my husband has decided that we are going to Atlanta, Georgia over the 4th of July to a giant International AA convention. A grand event, celebrating 80 years of Alcoholics Anonymous. In ATLANTA. In JULY. I am trying to not even think about it. If you never hear from me again, it will be because I have died. In ATLANTA. In JULY.
Alright. Seems that either I don't write at all, or I blather on like an idiot. Must be time to see about getting out there to weed the tomatoes and green beans....
Namaste, y'all....
