One of the little wreaths I made…
Heavens to Betsey!!! I lost 4 days posting here?!?!?!?! I don’t know how that happened.
It has been a time of slowing things down, as is the wont for winter. We had a warm-ish couple of days, and now tonights low is 21 and tomorrow’s high 19., or maybe I have that reversed. At any rate, the cold is descending upon us once again.
On top of that, I have been a little crippled up, and as much by the chiropractor and Xray people as by the bad knee, so that has slowed me down even more. lol
I had an appointment this morning at 9:30, and took my films in and the good doctor went over them with me. It was a mixed bag…some of my vertebrae look terrific for an old broad like me, and the ones that don’t are appalling. I have a degenerated cervical disc and one below it is bulging. He couldn’t believe that I am not having headaches. I do have pains in the back of my skull sometimes, though. I have bone spurs on about 70% of my vertebrae. My lumbar vertebrae are slightly curved and the lack of muscle tone is making it worse. The verts back there are all askew. He went over his plan for my therapy and all in all I am very impressed with him. He laid me out for abut 15 minutes with heated pads filled with sand on my back from head to knees, and then massaged an analgesic into my knotted muscles. They are still a little tight, but he did an adjustment and all in all, I felt a little better. He warned me that this first week is going to be hard on me, and he wants to see me 3 days in a row. Then in the next 4 weeks, I will come 3x a week, spread out. Then he will do a followup exam. He outlined a plan of several different therapies, and is encouraging me to get back into the water arthritis classes if it’s at all possible. I hope that this will help a great deal, and then after the first of the year, I will get the miniscus repaired.
10 days til Christmas and I did get hubby’s gifts ordered, thanks to Amazon. He wanted a book on organic orcharding called The Apple Grower. It retails everywhere for 40 bucks, and I found it new on Amazon for 23. I also got him a book called The Foraging Harvest that he wanted and another about growing berries. We are not spending much for Christmas this year, but on Christmas Day, we will have a soup and homemade bread supper for some friends who are alone on the holidays, and some who just need a respite from their families. lol We’ll be getting together around 5 PM for that. I told him I wanted a Maria Muldaur CD..Midnight At The Oasis, of course. He keeps asking me what else? and I don’t have an answer for him. I have everything I need, really. I’ll have to think it over…lol
Life is good.
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m having a DAY.
‘Nuff said.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrr…it’s 28 degrees and the temps are falling fast. That storm coming from the west is nearly upon us, and we’ve got snow flurries now, along with 35 mph winds. When I went to bed last night around 1AM, it was 41 degrees! It’s crazy, I tell ya! 2 of the kittens insisted on going out and the dogs are out on a tear as well. They all went out around 8:30…I suspect it won’t be long til they’re at the door. Molly doesn’t like the cold (she’s the Jack Russell Terrorist) and Lucy’s gimpy leg hurts in the cold. Babydog, on the other hand…she will stay out til the cows come home generally. She has a grand thick beige coat of long hair and thinks she is a snow dog. She loves it outside. I need to limp on out and check on the chickens…make sure they have water and feed them. We’ve plugged in their heated water bowl, and it evaporates water quicker than normal. I hate the thought of going out there, but it’s gotta be done. All of God’s creatures need water…
Think I have a pinched nerve and can barely get around, between that and the damn knee. Tomorrow I have a chiro appointment, and I hope we don’t get so much snow I can’t get out. Not supposed to, I don’t think. Just bitter cold, with a low tonight of 9 degrees. YIKES! ok
You know, I hate the drama that is sucking up my serenity right now. Just off the phone. My mantra for today is “This too shall pass, this too shall pass, this too shall pass…” Life is a blessing for me today. To walk through events and experiences that would have laid me out before. To have become secure enough in my own life that I know what my intents and motives are most of the time. To know that everybody doesn’t have to like me and I will still be okay. To know that I am human, that I will continue to make mistakes and learn from them, and that no matter what, I don’t have to drink over any of it. My old fortune cookie said “There are no failures, only lessons.” I’m glad to know these things today.
Well, the winds are still wailing, the snow is still falling and I am going to write a couple of checks to put in the mail and make a roundabout and be outside for as little time as possible.
Stay warm, all. Wear your mittens and your longjohns and thank your Creator every day for the life that you get to live. Eat right, drink lots of water and tread softly on the Mother Earth. Think I’ll make an Indian vegetable stew today with cauliflower and potatoes and curry…who knows? Maybe I’ll even get ambitious enough to make Naan…
Oh my. 15 days til Christmas.
Namaste.
This just in….breaking news from the Daily Piglet…
MISHAWAKA —A local nonprofit group that helps find homes for greyhounds is in a bind. The Dairyland Greyhound Race Park in Kenosha, Wisc., will shut down at the end of the year.
Between 400 and 600 greyhounds will need homes.
The group is known as Allies for Greyhounds of West Michigan. It has volunteers in southwest Michigan and northern Indiana.
Greyhounds make great pets, many good links on this site.
Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack, Kenosha, WI closing on Dec. 31, 2009. 900 Greyhounds need adopting, or will be euthanized. Great dogs for an active family because they have been crated most of their lives and sleep about 18 hours a day. Dogs are tested for cat, small dog friendly and multiple dog home.
Please CROSS POST.
P: 312.559.0887 Or Dairyland Race Track Adoption Center at (262) 612-8256
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
We had a light blanket of snow that beautified the world last night. It’s the feathery light stuff that you see in the movies…the serene and peaceful kind of snow. No snowplows, no cars in ditches…just a beautiful sparkling icing on the world.
I have something on my mind today. Trust. When I was new in sobriety, I didn’t trust anyone. I had made a decision a long, long time ago that I couldn’t trust anyone and I sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. I can still remember how I pushed people out of my life over and over again. The second anyone tried to get close to me, I shoved them away. And I did it in a lot of different ways. Having said this, you would think that I wouldn’t be particularly bothered when someone says that I cannot be trusted. But I am bothered by it. And I spend time going around and around in my own head, trying to look and see if I think it is true. Even when I know that it is not. I am not untrustworthy today. Alcoholics Anonymous gave me that. I always try to be there for anyone who needs me. I always try to be honest, openminded and willing. That being said, I am only a human being and I know that I sometimes make mistakes. But I am NOT malicious and I am not untrustworthy. There was a time when I was those things. When I would do or say anything to anyone to make my own agenda. And today, if I can remember that, it will help me to be more compassionate and understanding when I find myself in this position of being hurt by anothers words. And I can try to practice what I preach, that being compassionate and allowing everyone to be wherever they are on THEIR journey, lets me live happy, joyous and free. Because I want what I have today. And I have to be able to let others have what they want. And if what they want is to be alone, having pushed everyone out of their lives, then so be it. I’ve had enough practice at being truly sober and not having to drink today that I will be okay. I can step back and see beyond my own hurt feelings (some of the time) and know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.
When I share on my blogs, on my FB, in my meetings and anywhere else in my life…it is about me. There might be references sometimes to someone else, but never by name. I try to keep the focus and the topic on myself. This is what I was taught and this is how I live. Alcoholics Anonymous taught me that. Ultimately, my spiritual growth and these phases of my development are my own personal journey, just like yours is yours. I will continue to grow and learn. To not do so is to die back to that old life where I was miserable every day and hated everything and everyone, because I was so full of fear. I never want to live like that again. And watching people who are still living like that is another opportunity for me to grow and to remember that I was once that person myself. And I get to thank my Creator every minute of every day that I do not have to ever be like that again.
I am especially blessed today and so grateful to be sober that I have no words to express it.
Time for me to start decorating the house for Christmas. WooHoo!!!
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Holiday decorations, Lava Lamps and LSD, Teenaged Galoots
A brisk and sunny and colder-than-hell morning. It’s actually climbed to 30 by now at 10 AM. lol Yesterday when we were in the city dropping off toys at the Marine Recruiting Station for Toys for Tots, there was a really serious snow..huge flakes that looked like the soap flakes or the the stuff in a snow globe. It didn’t last long but it was awesome to look at.
I just finished cleaning off my desk and getting my December desk calendar filled in. Even changed the one on the wall from November to December. What a fruitful morning!! lol Husband is gone and I have the house to myself. I plan to get the Xmas decorations out and start gussying up the place. I have lots of pine garland that I put on the front rails, with red bows and poinsettia flowers. I have a few wreaths that I have made and that I have been given. Two of them go around the 2 lamps on either side of my garage door, and one goes by the front door (Outside). I have a huge wreath that was in an art exhibition, that goes on my living room wall. And all kinds of Santas and snowmen and Christmasey goodies to clutter up my house with and tantalize the kitties. I’m not putting up the big tree again this year because of all the demon kittens in this house…they crawl up the center and lay on the branches, like they are tigers in the jungle. AND they knock all the ornaments off and chase them around the room. So this year, instead of spending the holiday season yelling at cats, I’m just putting up a fiber optic tree, which takes me back to my good old days of LSD and lava lamps. LMAO…
I have a lot to do today, so I’m thinking I’d better get a little breakfast in me and get moving. It’s nice to be able to start the day with a nice cup of coffee and a minute on the computer, catching up with my friends. Life is good. And I don’t want to miss a minute of it.
I have barely started reading Lacuna, the new novel by B.Kingsolver, and already I am awed by the writing. She’s a goddess.
My little tenant sponsling has gone to town to stay with her sons at her mothers house while she is gone this weekend. It’s a great opportunity for her to bond with her stepfather who is very ill and a chance to spend some mommy time with those strapping teenaged galoots. She’s already called twice. lol
Lucy still isn’t putting any weight on that leg. I may have to have her at the vet on Monday. But–it isn’t stopping her from being outside in this cold and running and playing with the other dogs. I can’t decide…
Sams brother has been walking around looking for him, but nobody else seems to realize he’s gone. I miss him…he was a sweet cat.
Okay. Off to play house and dress things up. maybe this will get me in the holiday spirit a little more. I heard someone say the other day that it was only 2 1/2 weeks til Xmas Eve and I nearly had a heart attack. Thankfully, they were not quite correct. lol
Tomorrow I have to attend the Area 21 Assembly, about an hour south of here. That means we have to be out the door by 7:30 AM. And I don’t mean that I HAVE to attend…I mean that I GET to attend. I am blessed to be able to give something back, at any level.
Have a singularly scrumptious Saturday, y’all…
Namaste.
*********************Friday Flash 55*****************
Colored lights, dancing spinning. Muted music overhead.
Laughter and voices. murmuring in the air
Smells…ah…popcorn and cotton candy, heat rising off the asphalt and canvass. Girls Baby Soft perfumes and boys in HaiKarate.
Shimmering exhilaration, screams of delight.
Families and couples and occasionally a lone soul.
July nights at the county fair.
Summers here.
.******************************************************
Okay G-man…here it is…on a cold and 21 degree morning….lol
Frigid here and already I’m dreaming of summer….
Cold cold cold here today. 25 degrees and never made it past about 35 all told. I’m thinking that winter must have come to stay. There was no sign of snow this morning, just the residual coldness. The next few days are supposed to be brisk and crisp and dry. At least it will just be the bone chilling cold…
I’ve had a great day. Except when the oven decided to go out while the cornbread was in it. But, on the other hand, my son told me that their dryer problem was a fuse, and when I checked it out, it was. So, I don’t have to buy a new dryer just yet. yippee!! So I’ll be looking for stoves instead I guess. I’m wondering how many more appliances I can kill this week??
I’ve twisted that darn knee again. And coupled with this cold weather it is killing me. Arrgghhh…
I miss my kitty this morning. And my pup Lucy is still hobbling. But, she goes right outside and doesn’t seem to be in any pain other than not putting weight on the leg. I gave her another half of a pain pill this afternoon. I don’t know if it helps her or not. It’s tramadol. It was leftovers of the stuff for baby Caylee when she got hit by the plumbing truck. She, btw, is ecstatic. The sponsling that moved in the studio has a 4 month old puppy that is a lab/rotti mix and those two have done nothing but run and play all day. They are almost exactly the same size, too. Caylee finally isn’t the low man on the totem pole in the dog heirarchy! lol
Well, I am ready to head outta here and off this computer. Life’s a dance…..
I’m gonna leave you with an excerpt from a poem by Wendell Berry, that I adore. The poem is called XL, and the last few lines of it go like this:
…”Was this his stubbornness or bravado?
No. Only an ordinary act
of profoundest intimancy in a day
that might have been better. Still
the world persisted in its beauty,
he in his gratitude, and for this
he had most earnestly prayed.”
Namaste.
Such a day I have had! Had to take my cat to the vet to be put to sleep. My lab Lucy has sprained her leg/foot and is limping badly but otherwise doesn’t appear to be in much pain. It is snowing and thankfully! not sticking. And I am exhausted. Only got about 4 hours sleep last night and 2 the night before and I feel like a zombie.
The other day I made about 7 and a half dozen meatballs and so I made spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread for supper. It was yum! These meatballs are maybe some of the best I’ve made. I mix them up,. and bake them, and then freeze tham in ziplock bags. Then I just grab a handfull of them (frozen) and toss ‘em into spaghetti sauce and simmer. And the big difference (they’re made of ground turkey and a homemade pork sausage) is that I had several packages of stale crackers in the cabinet, and I used that in them instead of my usual oatmeal. Making a note of this–these meatballs are to die for!
I’m posting this late and I’ve been on the run all day today. Tomorrow should be a little more calm, although there are some doins’ goin’ on that I am not at liberty to discuss just this minute. I will, though, talk about them after tomorrow! lol
I need sleep. Hasta manana, babies!!
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: brown outs, dryer malfunctions, winter days
Yikes. Only 24 days til Christmas. How did that happen? lol
Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that I do this EVERY SINGLE YEAR. And every time, I say…next year will be different. (Does any of this sound familiar?) And then suddenly it’s next year, and everything is exactly the same. So, I just get over it and try to do the best I can. That means a last minute push to make gifts/buy gifts/bake. And don’t forget decorating. Oh, and the Christmas party that we generally have, sometimes big, sometimes small. (No wonder I get so tired this time of year). But I love it all and wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Yesterday the heating element burned out (I think) in the old dryer. The washer is probably 20 years newer than the dryer, from the looks of it. They were here when we bought the place, so it’s hard telling.And of course I have a dryer full of damp clothes and a washer full of very wet ones. Sigh…We are supposed to have a high of near 60 today, so I am going to cross my fingers and hope for the best and try to hang them outside to dry. And start looking for another used dryer to replace this one, because I’m pretty sure it’s too old to repair.
We are supposed to have our first snowfall of the season tomorrow. Starting with rain early in the day and turning into snow by early evening. It’s been very mild so far this winter, so I guess it’s about time, being December now and all. I am not real excited by winter…I could live without it actually. There are moments when it’s awesome, but they fade quickly. lol
I have been up since 4 AM. Could not sleep last night to save my life. Went to bed around 1, I think. Tossing and turning, my head going a hundred miles an hour. I hate it when that happens. I thought about trying to go back to bed, but I have a sponsling coming at 11. Might as well stay up and straighten the house. I guess maybe a little nap wouldn’t hurt, tho I don’t know why I think I could sleep now when I couldn’t the last 6 hours.
I was looking at laptops online last night. Santa asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said a laptop, and he guffawed. Then he said, really-what did I want? I don’t like Santa very much sometimes. I’m glad he just left for work…
It’s a frosty 31 degrees out there right now and the school bus just went rumbling past the house. The dogs are out, the cats are in. I’m going to make a fresh pot of coffee (just finished the last of yesterdays, heated in the microwave) and wonder over how much better fresh tastes than old. I need to straighten my desk and make the December calendar and pay some bills, since my new checks FINALLY came yesterday. I can’t believe how long it took them to get checks to me. You’d think I lived in Outer Mongolia.
Maybe today I will get a chance to start the new read. Yesterday got lost in a black hole or something. I think maybe I’m having brown outs…
Have a wonderful first of December, y’all.
Namaste.
