Savoring. Like the last few cookies in the tin. Or the last meal shared when you're visiting people you love. Miss Summer's clothing is looking a bit dried out and yellowed. Ms. Fall is gearing up for the sleek spare look of bare branches and revealing outlines.
But there are still tomatoes ripening on the vine, plenty of pungent marigold blossoms and warm days. The difference is that just like the final day that your child ever fell asleep in your lap, you never know which warm day will be the last.
A grand visit with my 83-year-old Mom to places southward was had last week, and I'm savoring that too. Grandson (Great Grandson to Mom) was his very sweet self, signing and eating and making every sound you can imagine. Mom and I got to babysit while parents were at a movie. Big fun. The Grannies got plenty silly when the parents drove off!
I feel so grateful for my life. Poised in the middle between generations is a great place to be. I'm not the matriarch yet, and my daughter is full of piss and vinegar, up to every task. So this place I now inhabit feels like a bit of a breather. I know I was once a young powerhouse, but the memory of that is fading fast.
A great day off today, but time to get to bed. Tomorrow is the start of a 4-day work stint.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Spring Ruminations
My husband is off on a family rescue mission, so I've a few days alone. It's not wise to leave me alone for long, but a few days does allow me to feel more fully myself in terms of the daily rhythms of life.
Max is hiding under the bed this month, as he does every May. The good news is that four years into it, I've given up the Chicken Little routine and just accepted that April and May will do their damndest to convince us that we're going out of business. But seriously, who would go buy a mattress when they could walk along the river, dig in their garden and just get out of the house any way possible.
I am grateful upon waking to be relieved of the grind of the furnace, to step out of the shower without goosebumps, to open the kitchen window and enjoy the hours when my neighbor is not obsessively mowing his yard. Yesterday Patrick brought over the asparagus we ordered, and I spent the evening digging a trench in the rain. Thank heavens for YouTube ~ one can find out how to do most anything, including preparing an asparagus bed. Growing stuff is exactly like painting. People think that the big deal is when you get out the brush and have at it. That's the least of the job. It's all about the prep. The actual planting of the asparagus took about five minutes. The bed prep took me three hours. But oddly enough, I had everything I needed to amend the soil. I couldn't help wondering if we will ever eat any asparagus out of that bed since it's two years before cutting.
Organic seed potatoes should be delivered today. Hope my body can hold up to another planting session!
Max is hiding under the bed this month, as he does every May. The good news is that four years into it, I've given up the Chicken Little routine and just accepted that April and May will do their damndest to convince us that we're going out of business. But seriously, who would go buy a mattress when they could walk along the river, dig in their garden and just get out of the house any way possible.
I am grateful upon waking to be relieved of the grind of the furnace, to step out of the shower without goosebumps, to open the kitchen window and enjoy the hours when my neighbor is not obsessively mowing his yard. Yesterday Patrick brought over the asparagus we ordered, and I spent the evening digging a trench in the rain. Thank heavens for YouTube ~ one can find out how to do most anything, including preparing an asparagus bed. Growing stuff is exactly like painting. People think that the big deal is when you get out the brush and have at it. That's the least of the job. It's all about the prep. The actual planting of the asparagus took about five minutes. The bed prep took me three hours. But oddly enough, I had everything I needed to amend the soil. I couldn't help wondering if we will ever eat any asparagus out of that bed since it's two years before cutting.
Organic seed potatoes should be delivered today. Hope my body can hold up to another planting session!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Oscar Movies
One of my favorite things to do is iChat with Oscar. But watching Oscar videos is a close second. Check this one out:
www.flickr.com/photos/8104808@N06/5565884304/in/photostream/
www.flickr.com/photos/8104808@N06/5565884304/in/photostream/
The Long March Hill
Mother and I always wonder if when traversing the Long March Hill, one is traveling straight up, April 1st being the top of the hill. Or if you go up and down and on April 1st one is standing in the foothills knee deep in rich soil ready for planting seeds. We have come to no conclusion on this, but I'm starting to think it might be different every year. Two nights ago I came down at 4 in the morning to a blanket of snow, so we're definitely not anywhere near the foothills yet.
I still feel insanely miserable. Three days and counting. How will I ever muster the patience to die when I can't even be patient with being sick for a week? I've spent the last three days trying to figure out how I can kill myself when the time comes. The option currently at the top of the list is jumping off a sheer cliff onto rocks far below as that has the added bonus of flying at the end. The problem will be how to get up to the cliffs..... I'm working on that.
We're having our usual spring trials here, which seem to come in 3's. The furnace motor conked out on Sunday morning, the basement door had to be rebuilt, and I'm hoping that number three will not be the roof leaking. The last time that happened, we spent over $5000 before I got up there myself and shoved some sheet metal under five rows of tiles. It's still there.
Help me Obie-wan.
I still feel insanely miserable. Three days and counting. How will I ever muster the patience to die when I can't even be patient with being sick for a week? I've spent the last three days trying to figure out how I can kill myself when the time comes. The option currently at the top of the list is jumping off a sheer cliff onto rocks far below as that has the added bonus of flying at the end. The problem will be how to get up to the cliffs..... I'm working on that.
We're having our usual spring trials here, which seem to come in 3's. The furnace motor conked out on Sunday morning, the basement door had to be rebuilt, and I'm hoping that number three will not be the roof leaking. The last time that happened, we spent over $5000 before I got up there myself and shoved some sheet metal under five rows of tiles. It's still there.
Help me Obie-wan.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Dammit
I've got a fucking cold...... and I don't even LIKE girl scout cookies.
Sun's out, but I'm dripping snot and still having chills. WTF, over? I did go out and water the peas. I should be planting greens and onions today, but just not up to it.
Sun's out, but I'm dripping snot and still having chills. WTF, over? I did go out and water the peas. I should be planting greens and onions today, but just not up to it.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Japanese Earthquake
Been glued to the computer screen as images of the destruction in Japan are everywhere. It is a disaster beyond imagining. Could not sleep last night as the images kept roving around my brain. I continue to think of all the people who are cold, thirsty and hungry and also of the pollution of our planet through this event. We are such a toxic species! The plutonium is the most concerning aspect of the nuclear meltdowns, and just like with the BP oil spill, I think officials always seek to put the best face on it. I am sure that the situation is dire.
My joy in life continues to be the Jolly Rancher in Asheville. Thank the Goddess for iChat, as I get to see his smiling face often and hear his little crow and see his darling four teeth.
Sun's out, I've got the day off and a lunch date. I'm outta here!
My joy in life continues to be the Jolly Rancher in Asheville. Thank the Goddess for iChat, as I get to see his smiling face often and hear his little crow and see his darling four teeth.
Sun's out, I've got the day off and a lunch date. I'm outta here!
Sunday, March 06, 2011
7 Months Gone
Holy cow, seven months since the last post. And dang, if I'm not sitting in the very same chair at work and thinking the very same thing about XM radio. Whew, need to do something about that situation!
In the meantime, winter happened. I recently thought it was spring, but came down to a kitchen window vista of pure white this morning. Mother said on the phone the other day, "We haven't even started up the long March hill." I am soaking pea seeds in anticipation of Monday, when it will be 45 degrees and I will plant them by the fence behind our new baby red maple.
Other news: I broke a blood vessel on the bottom of my foot. Very painful, now more like having a rock in my shoe. I try not to complain about it, no doubt I will soon absorb it into the large and growing stable of "crap that is happening to me as I age".
Well, back to work. It's so much more fun to read Heather's blog than to write my own.
In the meantime, winter happened. I recently thought it was spring, but came down to a kitchen window vista of pure white this morning. Mother said on the phone the other day, "We haven't even started up the long March hill." I am soaking pea seeds in anticipation of Monday, when it will be 45 degrees and I will plant them by the fence behind our new baby red maple.
Other news: I broke a blood vessel on the bottom of my foot. Very painful, now more like having a rock in my shoe. I try not to complain about it, no doubt I will soon absorb it into the large and growing stable of "crap that is happening to me as I age".
Well, back to work. It's so much more fun to read Heather's blog than to write my own.
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