You Can Always Talk About the Weather

The seasons are big shifting as the first day of summer comes to my area with its predictable heat and humidity.  Greenland and the arctic are loosing permafrost (as was predicted but not for decades) and Colorado just got two feet of snow at the 7,000 foot level, which is also unusual. My yard is working its way to a hellish summer, but surprisingly the June weather is perfect this week.  Yes, weather anomalies are normal while not predictable.  It is not the incident which we must accept but the trend for more frequent anomalies and anomalies of greater proportion.  Whole communities are burned to ash or drowned in rising waters.    Entire agricultural communities have been destroyed in drought and flood.   

I have accepted that mankind is changing the world dramatically in many ways (not just the weather/climate) and I accept that we can destroy this planet so easily in both little and big ways and that we are basically too naive or distracted to realize our power.  If you are a believer in a higher power, you may assume that there is a benign force that will pull us away from the cliff at the last minute while introducing a lesson in sin.  Perhaps you assume that the higher power is not benign and just an entity with an intellectual curiosity about the evolution of all the living things he/she has installed on this blue planet and watches with fascination as we destroy  ourselves.

I do not know.  I do  know  we ignore at our own peril.

I will not argue with you on the whys of this danger, because beliefs are not weak opinions open to easy change, and I do not like argument.  These are life-long postulations hung on the hook of certainty and security, and I am not able to reach that high and unhook them and then catch you as you fall..  I will discuss with you about mankind's ability to influence this planet, though.

I do believe finally in good and evil, but evil is hidden in camouflage and beauty and good is shrouded in sweaty work and sacrifice.  

Free Days

This past week was a late return from our Father's Day weekend, going through the mail and checking on food and doing about 4 loads of laundry as we had hiked and river canoed. Yes, boring and trite stuff that we all do and which seems to take more time than it deserves. Then there is the yard and garden to revisit. 

Also on the schedule was a Wednesday evening meeting where hubby was giving a Powerpoint slide on the artificial creation of meadows. It is a new trend primarily to return fallow farmland to the meadow bird species. It sounds interesting but is a real effort because on the East Coast meadows most naturally return to woodlands. Maybe I will write a post on the work if readers are really interested. This meeting was supposed to be followed on Thursday by a visit from acquaintances up north who wanted a fishing adventure to celebrate a birthday and then the day after their departure a visit from son and daughter-in-law. My mind was going in circles trying to get a clean and well-stocked house before they arrived. Make sure bedding was all clean, rooms dusted, and lo and behold, they both canceled at the last minute!

It was a feeling like going 90 miles per hour while reading the Google maps very carefully and then finding you had come to a dead end/full stop at the edge of a forest!  Or like walking a tightrope and finding the floor was only a few feet below.

I usually love free time but must admit that I was pretty disoriented until this afternoon.  I have been given a four-day weekend with no plans.  Actually, I still feel a little lost...

Those Crazy Weekends with Young Adults

My daughter has generously planned a Father's Day weekend for my husband. He loves fishing and canoeing. So that is part of the trip. The cabin has a hot tub which daughter and her hubby and grands love...so swimsuits are needed. I am deciding what type of camera gear to bring. Also with my husband's tick issue, I am packing tick repellent, tweezers, and alcohol. I am packing a small first aid kit even though I think my daughter has one.

The weather is going to cooperate, so little in rain gear is needed.

I have packed water shoes and hiking shoes because...who knows?

Daughter asked for 6 camp chairs, 6 beach towels, and with sunscreen all goes into a large bag.

Hubby is trying hard to keep his fishing gear to a decent size.

Anyway, my point is that even though we are leaving today and coming back midday Sunday (48 hours), we have TON of stuff.  Definitely a first world get-away problem.

Saying Goodbye is Always a Surprise.

I have lost many off my blog list. Too many! It is the way life is. Many if not most of my bloggers are my age.  Oddly a blogger just recently wrote that she hoped we would be around to say good-bye to her! Many of you may have not read Bill's blog about baking and dealing with his love for learning French,  but like a candle's flame, he is now gone.

https://www.malpezzifuneralhome.com/obituary/william-reith

Not What You Want to See

It had been a long and hot day at a booth working with children and teenagers and parents and grandparents. There was a gentle breeze blowing through the large tent that started to increase as the festival ended.  The tractors were back in the barns and the animals were being loaded onto trailers.  Our phones all kicked in with severe storm warnings as we hurried to break down chairs, tables, tents, and put assorted giveaways back into boxes.  By the time we were back in our cars and heading out to dinner somewhere, this is what I saw from my car window!

It moved through rapidly and dumped a bucket or so of rain, but moved on and left sunshine by the time we got to the restaurant.  

I Am Getting Too Old For This

Yesterday was a very full day as I helped out in a food pantry garden during a green festival celebration. Lots of vendors selling organic honey, organic soaps, rain barrels, solar panels, electric cars, you name it! Our table and garden made contact with over 200 adults and children in a five hour period, so I was pretty tired at the end of the day. We joined a friend and her family to celebrate a birthday that evening, and I am sure I was less than coherent throughout the meal, even with only two glasses of wine and a gallon of water.

This was the endcap to an exhausting week of hubby getting a medical diagnosis regarding a new diet and changes to what we eat.   I had warned him about not being more cautious in his outdoor activities, but he seemed to just brag about his adventures.

He has been diagnosed with the "alpha-gal allergy". (It has nothing to do with any females he knows!) This is an allergy one gets to mammalian meat after a lone star tick bite. He had been having esophageal inflammation which they automatically said was acid reflux, and then they said it was probably due to the antibiotics he was on due to a mild infection he got from a tick bite, and now, after blood tests, they have diagnosed this meat allergy. There are various levels of an allergic reaction to mammalian meat products depending on your blood numbers.  Some can eat dairy products without issues and others can go into anaphylactic shock and into the hospital.  It is recommended that you carry an epi-pen in case. 

We had heard about such an allergy and know a few friends that have it in this area, but it seems to be increasing its span. It has been misdiagnosed in the past (unless they run the blood test) probably due to the allergic reaction not happening until 5 to 6 hours after the food intake.  Therefore, some people may have it and because it is a mild reaction, they did not know.  Now of course, they are tracking it more carefully with this blood test.

Currently, his numbers are on the low side, but we meet with the allergist next week.  I have so many questions.  Wondering if he can eat chicken on a BBQ that also has also cooked steak, wondering if he can eat cheese on pizza, wondering if he can eat ice cream!!

Wondering if I have to give up eating lamb!

What Was the Question?

Whether to talk (write) or not, that is the question. Some of the bloggers I read apologize for their political comments when they get to a place in their thoughts where frustration and amazement make them "bloviate". I am of the opinion that as long as you indicate where the post is going, the readers can avoid reading or get involved. It is your blog after all. I am a strong advocate for free speech. How can I consider all sides of an argument if most of one side opts out of participating?

But, having said that you must also honor those who disagree with you in your comments.  BUT only rational disagreement.  Name calling reflects the immaturity of the commenter and does not move the conversation toward a meeting or even changing of the minds.

While I do not like the polarization that seems to be a global disease these days, I am not a fan of retreating into a private world forever and pretending it will all work itself out.

Last week we attended a dinner with friends.  We have known them a few years and they are the kind of people who come from "good stock."  The wife grew up on a farm in a large family and has all the strong skills that were needed and which served her well when she married a man in the Air Force and had most of her life to mold into that dynamic career of his.  Military wives rarely get choices in where they live and whether they can have a career. This is especially true if they are married to a man who becomes a three-star General in the Air Force. 

This couple did many amazing things and still do!  They took in military foster children and saved lives.  They had three beautiful children of their own.  She, like us, loves gardening and was featured in the magazine Fine Gardening a few years ago.

Where am I going with this?   Prior to the dinner on their lovely patio, my husband was drifting into politics, as he sometimes does because he loves this country, he loves the environment and he is depressed at how we are treating both.

I came in on the middle of the conversation where the former Lieutenant General said something very calmly to the effect that he learned while in the military to follow orders and stay out of politics and he was keeping that model.  The conversation moved onto something else.

I was thinking that the retired military should not opt out of commenting on politics.  They risked their lives and the lives of others for this country and certainly should be clearly spoken and listened to as they have an important perspective on so many issues.  He is no longer on active duty.  I do realize that he may feel he could drift into areas of security that cannot be discussed.  I respect his opinion to stay out of the arguments and discussions, but I am so glad that many Generals and Admirals, etc. are clear where they stand and feel free to speak out when the time warrants.

Adding a Little Clarity

Below are two photos which had the same editing as the photos in the prior post. The second photo below got the one additional tweak and since this is architecture I am sure you will see what I was working toward. The first photo in the prior post was not the best subject for my examples and I apologize for my laziness in rapidly selecting it. These two below (back to the book barn) are much clearer in the edited changes.

As I wrote, most photographers use the first version, but I tend to favor the second. It avoids the lens distortion. It makes the building more static and not so energetic. What I did was edit the perspective making the vertical lines fit an over imposed grid in the software.

Do you have a preference? 

For the Anal Retentive

Below are two photos that have been manipulated in Photoshop and Topaz Studio...two software packages for photography.  This photo was taken at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.  The photos are slightly different as one received one last change that I sometimes implement, except I have noticed that professional photographers do not usually do this. Do you have a preference between the two? I will tell you in the next post what was done if you do not figure it out or if you see no real difference.  There are pros and cons for each treatment, I guess.

A Very Very Quick Tour

I did not post this on Facebook because these things can be taken as bragging or "my life it greater than yours." I do not know my bloggers personally---at least most of them---so I can share without feeling I am bragging. I am just sharing my fun weekend. Along with the book store tour I got this below.

It is a gardening wonder.  The heavy canvas bag contained, two pairs of garden gloves, hand lotion, sunscreen, three heavy-duty garden tools. a pair of really good boots, a garden calendar, a blank journal to write about my garden and a bottle of nice white wine (which is already gone...).

We also visited the famous Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania established by the wealthy Pierre S. du Pont of chemistry fame.  "By the mid-1930s, Longwood had grown from the original 202 acres to 926 due to Pierre’s purchase of 25 contiguous properties over the years."  A well-funded trust was left behind when du Pont passed on to keep the gardens going much as they are today.

I will post just a few photos below (having taken over 200), for those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit this garden.  The photos just capture a hint of the variety and beauty of the gardens.

We had a picnic beforehand packed by my daughter.  It was in a large and well-shaded picnic area just outside the garden gates.

The wide open spaces gave my grandson a chance to show off his skills.  He landed upright on the opposite side without touching the table!

The above photo was missing my youngest grandson who was finishing a sports game and arrived later.

The conservatory was large and beautiful.

My peonies were almost done and because this was a climate range or two cooler, the peonies were wonderful.

Above was the Italian garden area.  So much more I could show you, but this will have to do.

Died and Gone to Heaven

The above title is pretty much what I posted on Facebook the other day with one of the photos below to enhance. This past weekend my family took me on a two-day adventure for a belated birthday. We went to a major garden, a nice restaurant, an overnight at a small hotel, a state park and then finished with a book barn! The grands were so good about not being bored because these were not the types of activities they find fun or interesting...except for being out of doors! Photos on the family may be to follow in another post.

Above is the Baldwin Book Barn in Chester County in Pennsylvania. This independent book store was founded in 1946 by the Baldwin family.  It is located in a five-story barn built in 1822 which continues to have all the charm of that history.  

Part of the barn was home to the Baldwins for years.

The store contains thousands and thousands of books: used, really old, first editions, new books, those signed by the author, etc.  It is a paradise for some of us and was truly a step back in time when I entered the front door!

There are narrow hallways and tuckaway rooms, tiny wooden stairways that take you up to mysterious corners and more rooms covering the four stories of the barn with plenty of chairs everywhere to sit, catch your breath, and read!

Two elderly folks greeted us with exceptional warmth and charm.  It was as if you were visiting your grandparents!  

Books are EVERYWHERE including some grouped in grocery bags on the main floor.  Those in grocery bags have been priced but not yet shelved and rest in corners here and there.  Some prices were only 4 or 5 dollars with others much more.

There are expensive pricey first editions that you can actually hold in your hand and smell the leather covers and peruse.  There were very old books in another area with inscriptions on their flyleaf telling the history of the gifting of the book on long ago Christmases.  My son found one inscribed in 1809!

There are children's books for the grands to look at although it is not a place for toddlers.  We stayed only about 20 minutes due to time constraints, but I got four books and hubby got 2 and we tried not to spend too many dollars.

The book barn is located in a lovely rural area in the Brandywine district among the open lawn and woods.

Do You Have a Healthy Personality?

There was a cartoon going the rounds on FB showing a women talking on the phone responding to cancellation of some social or volunteer event. She was sad, on the phone, that it had to be canceled and the minute she hung up she was doing the happy dance and joyful that she had no plans for that weekend. I can relate.

This prior week we have had an endless parade of workers ( washing the deck and house, painting the front of the house, cutting back tree branches in the woods that are moving into the yard, working with our garden helper that I wrote about previously who is piecing his life together and who now may have a full-time job and move on...).

I am the person, as I have written many times before, that might not leave the house for days or even weeks unless I ran out of food. Thankfully I am married to a social butterfly who goes crazy if he has not got every other day scheduled for some event or project or meet-up.  Thus, I get thrown into some of his adventures whether I like it or not. It is good for me, I know, and I must fight my nature to be a hermit.

I also have been blessed with family activities that are wonderfully draining.  This past weekend, the Sunday was spent with my daughter and her family celebrating Mother's Day with hanging out and then dinner out. 

Midweek was our gardener meeting preceded by a lecture on how to propagate native seeds and followed by scheduling with others on upcoming activities and booths.   Hubby has managed to schedule two activities on the same Saturday, so guess who has to fill in for him?

At the end of this week I am assisting with two high school classes on a presentation on the "Living Reef Action Campaign" which means more oyster talks and me working a computer and helping hubby think on his feet.

This coming weekend is another full two days with my beautiful children and grandchildren at Longwood Gardens and a tour of a mushroom farm, and a picnic with some cooperating weather, and whatever else outside Philadelphia as a belated celebration of my birthday!  (All I asked for was a spring picnic,  but they went a bit overboard.)

Only one oyster class next week, and I am hoping to avoid it.  

I retreat and revive with my photographs and photo-painting, taking an online class or two, and reading three four books at one time:  " The  Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish which is  thus far intriguing; Cowboys are My Weakness by Pam Houston which is raw and ready and which I purchased because I found her non-fiction Deep Creek Finding Hope in the High Country so beautifully sad and compelling allowing me to virtually visit my beloved Colorado; and now just starting to read Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.  In the last case, I am reading the actual book which is beautifully put together and formatted.  I guess it is a 30-year-old classic, but glad I finally found it.

Actually, in my schizophrenic way, I  also am also at times listening to "Innocents Abroad" by Samuel Clemens (Twain) through LibrVox (free public domain audio books) and finding that he was never held back by needing to be politically correct.  

Maybe I am NOT an introvert...maybe I just have a very short attention span with a motor that is always idling and that is why I need to retreat from others!

Still Life

One of my favorites in the flower family, and I have many favorites, is the peony. My peonies open their huge fancy blooms in May and struggle to remain upright in the spring rains, even with my careful fence supports, and thus I frequently cut their heavy, richly scented heads and put them in a vase before they fall into wet clumps on the ground. They are old world beautiful and certainly lend themselves to bouquets and art.  Some can live for hundreds of years and the petals are edible!  For centuries peonies have been used in still life paintings. I am not there yet with photography...but I keep trying.

The original

Too rich in color for my taste.

Mothers

The mothers in my neighborhood are singing arias with elaborate trills.  They are resting in the early gray dawn of a rainy day shaking the drops of water from their feathers and getting ready for the marathon harvesting of insects to feed their young.  

I am hoping that you are having a loving and lovely Mother's Day. When this day arrives I tend to feel "less than". While my mother was not an abusive person, except when she got mad and did not talk to us for days, she was overwhelmed with five children, and as I became an adult and mother on my own, I realized why we did not have that close relationship pictured on cards and in movies. Her days were long and hard and we never could afford a babysitter. She was not close to any of the other mothers that we knew and that must have made it harder facing challenges on her on. She was pathological about having a clean house, even locking us outside for the day while she cleaned. She made it clear that she thought I was too full of myself, and perhaps I was. But perhaps I just needed someone to stand up for me as the eldest and go-to babysitter, and that was me.

I also feel dismayed on these days knowing there are people (my husband) who were very close to their mothers and miss that love and attention every single day. They are sad knowing they will never see their mother again. Some others have lost their mother tragically early as a former colleague of mine to ugly cancer.

I also feel dismayed on these days for those mothers that have lost a child and will not get that phone call or Mother's Day card on this day.  This day is a sad reminder for them.

So, please enjoy your day, but also remember for many this is a day to just get through, and if you know someone getting through this day, give them a call and talk about your friendship and how much they mean to you.

Engines That Idle Rather Than Rust

"Its such as you learn my mind! You appear to grasp so much about this, such as you wrote the e-book in it or something. I believe that you just can do with some p.c. to force the message home a bit, however other than that, that is great blog. A fantastic read. I will definitely be back."

I usually delete the dozen or so comments like the one above. They always come from "Anonymous" who reads my blog pretty often and is full of praise in broken English. Anonymous does not have an interesting blog of their own, though. They usually link to some odd ad for products I do not need or links to some place in India for soldiers on R&R.  But I do have to admit they are faithful commenters.

I have not been blogging because I have been busy with the annual plant sale which is our biggest fundraiser each year.  While it only lasts half a day there is almost a full week of prep.  We sell our plants at really low prices, and we make around 5K.  My Solomon's Seal went pretty fast as did my Hellebores and my toad lilies.  Next year I will dig up the spreading turtle head (Chelone glabra) and my obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) which is in the mint family and spreads -  vociferously-mine are the traditional white blossoms.

This year the exhaustion of three days of prep and plant moving and the half day on my feet talking to strangers plant lovers truly exhausted me.  In my early 70's now, I do begin to feel the wear and tear on both body and mind as the day wears on. We are all old-timers and I could see the younger of us with her recent knee replacement hobbling about, and the slightly older gal who had back surgery last month keeping her posture straight, and the older of us who has arthritis in her back finding places to sit every once in a while.

I also went on an all-day meadow exploration trip just a few days before (which I may write about).  This is a planned and planted meadow funded through a consortium, which is the new push to re-create more natural habitats on fallow farmlands for animals and insects and natural plants.  I was with a group of naturalists and master gardeners.  We talked the hour and a half ride to the meadow and the hour and a half ride back home.  As an introvert, this was like running a marathon for me!  I enjoyed the whole thing immensely,  but my brain and body completely shut down when I get home and I could not even find the energy to talk to my husband!

With all this activity I have been sleeping a little better, but it is more intense with lots of confusing dreams.  Last night I was in France buying tickets to a play and later returned to enter the play only to find I was exactly one minute late and the door shut in my face.  I was very angry and saying some nasty things about the French which embarrassed my husband and then I got on a train waiting for him to catch up only to find I was on the wrong train heading to far north France and not just the other side of the city to our hotel!  I was more exhausted and angry in the dream than frightened.

I do not think it is fair that my dreams are just as exhausting as my days.  Here is hoping your spring is now like the gentle blossoms that nod in the cool breezes...not a marathon!

Honest Memories

I spent a small fortune to have a dozen video (VHS) tapes converted digitally for preservation this past month.  (HA! Like converting them to X's and O's makes them safe from destruction!) I had not looked at these tapes for years even though we have saved an old TV that has a VHS player built in.  I still have more than a dozen more, but need to save up money to have them converted in the fall.

They packed the tapes very well upon return and then inside a tiny gray envelope taped to the inside top of the box I got this below!  The black item above is the normal "thumb drive" that you can get at the drug store or office supply store which I placed next to the actual memory device I got.

That little tiny silver item is the "pinky" drive they sent me with about a dozen 10-minute movies on it.  I am wondering if I need to paint it red to keep from losing it!  I did not know they made memory sticks this tiny.  It seems like a rather jarring representation of your life (in movies) of Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas mornings and vacation trips.  This is what we have been shrunk to.  Talk about feeling like insignificant stardust!

I also heard my "leadership" voice-over as I got people organized or explained what was being recorded authoritatively.  I am sad to say that I was (probably still am) a bit annoying with my desire to capture it all.  Maybe you can remember hearing your recorded voice for the first time and wondering why you sounded so different.  Well, this was even more "enlightening."  I felt like apologizing to everyone in the movie.  Oh well.  If we saw ourselves as we really are, we would be much more perfect.

Now I have to find some movie software to work on these files and give them some headings and historical context (if I can stand listening to my voice).  I used to work with something years ago, but remember I hated working with movies...maybe there is something cheap and quick out there.

Saving Life

Over 30 years ago, and I have written about this before, I used to send out research articles to agriculture scientists on "greenhouse gases" and "greenhouse warming." At that time, many of the articles said we had about 15-20 years to turn this situation around.  We were creating a warming of the planet by releasing fossil fuels that had been captured for millions of years.  That was back in 1989 and people who were busy with their lives ignored it. It was before the Internet became so easily available, mostly government and universities were beginning to get access to databases...not the common man.  Therefore, most people did not read these articles, besides they were boring.

Yesterday I was watching Fareed Zakaria's television show which appears twice on Sundays on CNN. (Avoiding the drumbeat of this divisive administration that CNN loves to pound.)  He manages to capture hugely important issues and condense them to five-minute reports, for those of us who missed the issue.  He has a truly global perspective which our tribal views may miss.

Yesterday Zakaria interviewed an author about a book written 30 years ago on climate change.  "The End of Nature," considered by some to be the first book on climate change.    This author now has a new book out titled "Falter."

Today is Earth Day...please honor it in some way that is environmental.

Good Morning

Awfully busy but also spending time with my camera outdoors instead of blogging or reading your blogs. I will be back sooner rather than later. (Note the plants I am putting in pots for the Plant Sale.)

You Are a Fly on the Wall

(Background to the text messaging below.  S is a former colleague where I worked prior to retirement.  We are not super close, but last year I said I would invite him to our house in April...which I never did.  He HAS been here a few years ago.  The text message that I refer to below left off with that invite.)


S:
saw you were online and thought to say hello

ME:
Hello! Saw my message above and feel guilty about not making arrangements for having you guys come canoe or boat. Are you interested?

S:
oh, I will ask the wife
I am, but not sure how excited she would be
she liked it before

ME:
We could do hiking in the local park instead??

S:
she is a slow walker
canoeing might be better

ME
ooookaay. Check for an April weekend and will see if we can coordinate.

S:
I will ask her right now

ME:
good

S:
well, she is on phone
I will ask when she gets off
what have you guys been up to

ME:
No problem. I am off to do lots of laundry today. Was up in the city to meet up with my brother and sis in law and then babysat grandkids. Now a bit exhausted with a looong list of errands.

S:
my experience is that one gets busier after retirement
not a bad thing, just doing more of what you like I planted radish and collard sees in garden last weekend

ME:
Actually I loved Jan. because I did not have much to do! I am behind on seed planting although husband has the spring garden seeds in.

S:
I have much to do to get mine ready
including new fencing to keep out deer
My flower beds need wedding and then mulching....

Weeding

ME:
I am working on a free software setup for our mastergardener volunteers, I need to call window cleaners, I have to clean the bird bath, move the outside plant shelf, get the wood off the porch, do some more detail stuff for our visa to China, take my car up for an environmental check....

S:
Sharon says she is "not opposed" to being on the water
not a huge ringing endorsement of the idea, but she is onboard (so to speak)

Me:
motor boat or canoe?
Second weekend in April??

S:
that would work
canoe is OK with me. Sharon will be alright with it.
I will get her exercising more in the coming weeks to get ready

ME:
Ok. Lets set the 14th for and let me know if you are planning on staying overnight.

S:
oh, 14th
I was confusing with the weekend before
yes, that will be fine
I will get back to you on the overnight
we would probably come back home

ME:
Ok. Going to pull laundry out of the dryer.

S:
alright, let us talk again
soon
adios

APR 1, 2019, 11:57 AM
ME:
Looks like our painter is coming on Saturday, so we have to be here for that. What about Sunday?

APR 1, 2019, 2:33 PM

ME:
Sorry, I got confused. We scheduled for next weekend? That would be the 13th??

SUN 7:28 PM

S:
yes, I was thinking we would come next weekend
13th? your painter coming on 12th?
let me know when we should show up

MON 8:28 AM

ME:
Let me get back to you this afternoon as I am off this morning to help some children learn how to size oyster spat! This week is full!

MON 2:50 PM

ME:
13th is fine. We have been juggling repair projects. You can come down anytime you get here, but let us make sure we keep an eye on the weather!!

MON 6:11 PM
S:
yes, ma'am
so, late morning/early afternoon. it will take us about 2 hours, I think, to get there

ME:
It takes us 1 1/4 hours from (suchandsuchcity), IF there is no real traffic problem.

S:
we live a little further, so probably will take two hours
I will talk to wife and see how soon she wants to wake up. She sleeps in a bit

ME:
Whatever works for you. We can keep up-to-date by phone or text.
We are now sitting in the dark due to the storm!

TUE 9:23 AM
S:
do you use gmail? you can get in touch with me via Hangouts

TUE 11:05 AM
ME:
I do not use Hangouts, too much info to them, but I do have #######@gmail.com. I have several IM apps and they confuse the hell out of me!

TUE 5:55 PM
Me:
I will use your email
At a meeting now, but have some questions for you tomorrow!

WED 12:38 PM

S:
I will be outside this afternoon, but have my phone with me.( ###-###-####)

Chat Conversation End

For further information, these friends are also vegan and that means a shopping trip for food for me or a study of best restaurants.  After watching the rains the night before and morning phone call on the day of the meet up we decided, since it was raining off and on all weekend, we would postpone...but no future date has been set.  I am thinking the wife is very relieved and we may not revisit this again.....

Who Am I? Thursday Thirteen

I am the old lady with the wind-blown gray-white (fuzzy) hair standing on her deck in that soft spring sunshine and seeing the first bumblebee of the season hovering around the citrus trees which are in bloom and recently moved from inside my house.

I am the old lady that talks to the bee encouraging him not to give up in his search for the Kafir lime blossoms and the Meyer lemon blossoms that are tiny and hidden within the waxy green leaves of the branches. He does give up and heads into the strong breeze, but I have not given up hope that he will be back.

I am the old lady that talks to the birds telling them her deck feeder has been taken down as the weather has warmed and they need to go the feeders in the yard or fend for themselves.  I watch as they come to the window and cock their heads in frustration like children I have put on a diet.

I am the old lady that gets such a pleasure from completing her lists and then makes more lists!  What is up with that?

I am the old lady that embraces the term Nonna, and I have never felt dread in reaching that honorific.  

I am the old lady that swears on rare odd occasions and my husband is surprised as I never used to do that in my younger years.  I explain to him that my frontal lobe is shrinking.

I am the old lady that sees the world and the reason for living in a much different perspective and very sharp vision, as the world turns a bit faster and I like to share this discovery with others, even though they may find it a bit tiring.  

I am the old lady that gets more compliments these days and respects them less because people are always complimenting old folks the elderly because they are on the doorstep of death, which can be frightening to the one giving the compliment and perhaps thinking it is a way of warding off evil and slowing their own approach to my domain.

I am the old lady that has no fear in wading into politics but knows that anger only fuels those who are fearful, ignorant, and unable to see both sides.  One must be calm and carry on while showing data.

I am the old lady that looks back on youth and wonders why she did not see that she was attractive in her youth and why she focused on stuff that made no difference in the grand scheme of things.

I am the old lady that admits she has regrets but files them away to selectively pull out when her grandchildren reach their teenage years, as one of mine has!

I am the old lady that has the wisdom to realize how rare it is to be married to someone who sees the joy in observing 4 Ospreys in flight high against a clear spring blue sky, or two male mallards fighting over a female near the shoreline, or two green leaves emerging from a pot, and calls to me on his cell phone to share.

I am the old lady who realizes she is one of the millions and throws wide her arms to an old lady sisterhood.