Snapshot For March 30, 2012

Weather in SW Michigan ...
Warm, weird, wonderful, and worrisome.

Daffodils have bloomed and faded. Flowering shrubs that usually bloom the first half of May are blooming now. Everyone, especially the fruit growers, are wondering what will happen because our SW Michigan average last frost date is mid-May.

This picture is several weeks old.



Really? ...
I'm not playing the Megamillions today (it is up to over half a billion dollars this week) because I don't want that much money. One million would be nice and comforting. Five-hundred million is just too life changing.

I would feel different if I could win it anonymously, but national attention for becoming super rich is a very uncomfortable thought.

Something from the kitchen ...
Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese. Never made this before but it looks easy and yummy and I have the ingredients ready to go.

I am creating...
Another pair of simple socks from the Opal VanGogh collection.



I am procrastinating ...
Getting a new laptop and looking into high speed internet which is now available here via Frontier Communications.



I am reading...
The seventh Louise Penny book A Trick of the Light: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel.

I've enjoyed this series and am sorry to be at the end.

As I mention each time I write about these books, they need to be read in chronological order to be enjoyed.

I am hearing...
The quiet fall of spring rain.

Outdoors ...
The bluebirds have claimed a house and started a nest.






Something new for me ...
Anyone remember the raccoons that were living in the rotten add-on of the barn?


I'm finally fixing up the barn. Well, actually Matt and Nate are working on the barn and I'm paying the bill.

Here goes one of the walls into the dumpster, right where it belongs.



A few plans for the next few days ...
I am sorting out bins of stuff in the basement. Amazing the things we keep with no idea where or when we might want to see them or use them again. The only fun part of this is seeing the progress and knowing it will be done someday. At least I hope so.

Giving thanks for ...
Griefshare.

Two weeks ago I started a new session. It's not that I flunked the first time through. It's just that the program is so rich that a grieving person can get additional blessings and benefits from going through it again. At eight months into widowhood I'm getting insights that I missed the first time when the grief was fresh.

An excellent program if it's available in your area.

Question ...
Anyone had any experience taking Forteo? I've had unacceptable side effects from the oral osteoporosis drugs and doctor has suggested I try Forteo. If you've taken this drug I would appreciate your comment. Or email me.

Snapshot for March 10, 2012

Weather in SW Michigan ...
The ground was cold and frozen this morning, but it's warming up today and the forecast is springlike weather for at least a week.

Wondering About Chickens ...
My neighbor has free range chickens. Today while I was walking the dogs they were over near our property line. They never come over to visit even though I'm sure my yard is full of yummy things that chickens like to eat, and they don't go out in the road.

How do chickens learn to stay home?



Something from the kitchen ...
Living miles from a store and grocery shopping once a week is good for the diet. If I can make it through the shopping without buying something wicked (= fattening), I'm pretty much doomed to a week without too many extra calories.

The past two weeks I've been experimenting with buying a package of cookies, dividing them by seven, and only eating a day's worth each day. The first week it went well. The second week (caramel scones), I only made it three days. This week I'm totally flunking the test with some very yummy oatmeal cookies. Sigh.

Time for a new plan.

I am creating...
A self-centered home for one.

I am procrastinating ...
It's (past)time to move Bob's computer equipment out of the living room.

It's been sitting there for seven months without being turned on and I've been ignoring it thinking I would take care of it some day when I felt better. Now it's to the point I think I'll feel better if I take care of it.

A good friend offered to come help me get through it, but I think I'd rather do it myself.



I am reading...
Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Gamache) by Louise Penny.

The Gamache mysteries are so much more than a normal mystery. They are rich stories about interesting people, the things they do, and why they do them.

To fully enjoy them, they need to be read in the order written.

I am hearing...
Robins!



Outdoors ...
It's an early spring after a mild winter.

Even if we have another snow storm, and there's a good chance of that since it's only the first part of March, the snow isn't going to last long. The days are longer and green things are erupting from the earth.



A few plans for the next few days
Church tomorrow. Lunch with a friend on Monday. Do some work in the yard and see how my body handles it. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather before the black flies hatch.

Giving thanks for ...
The income taxes are done.

It turned out to be a bit more unpleasant than usual. I hadn't thought ahead that getting the numbers ready was going to involve reviewing medical bills and adding up medical miles for Bob's last seven months - memories I didn't want to revisit in that much detail.

But everything is done now except for paying the CPA and the signoff for the electronic filing. I am thankful it is finished.

And ...
The deer have been in the yard all winter scratching in the snow to eat the acorns.

No shortage of food for them this year and no deep snow to keep them from moving around to find it. That translates into hardly any winter kill and a larger deer population than the normal large deer population. I expect most of my hostas to be eaten to the ground by the end of June.

Still, I love to see them.

Cute Bag In The Mail

A few weeks ago this super cute bag from Susan arrived in the mailbox.



One of my favorite color combinations, red, white, and black. And little black and white dogs just like the two I have snuggled up to me when I knit.



It's perfectly made with lots of little special things like yarn guards on the inside and four pockets on the outside.



Love it! Thank you Susan. I smile every time I look at it, which is really saying something considering the condition of my healing, numb jaw.