Spring Fever

After the snowfalls, the deep-freeze here in the South, I'm so glad the last week or so has been gorgeous and warm. I suppose you never know how much you are a "warm-weather" person until you get a real dose of cold and snow. I like some snow, it's beautiful, but honestly? I want it to melt off soon, and life to get back to normal. And I hate being stuck indoors when getting outside means a possible slip on ice/snow.

Anyway, the past week has been wonderful -- mid-60s to 80. I hope it's an early spring, though I am not looking forward to yard-mowing. However, I'd rather be outside mowing than stuck in the house miserable. I never, ever thought I'd feel this way since I have always been an "indoor" person, sitting at the computer, writing and/or reading. As I've aged, I have become more and more appreciative of nature -- observing the natural even in my own backyard. The birds, the squirrels, the wide-open sky, the stars at night...there's a peaceful calm when you sit quietly and absorb nature. Unlike the wild, crazy screaming, fighting human drama going on everywhere in the world these days. I have become a "porch-sitter"...like my grandparents who loved nothing better than to sit outside on the porch and be quiet, perhaps absorbing the natural world around them instead of the turmoil of humans.

I've also been on a cleaning spree, getting the cats' sunporch scrubbed down, doing my windows, and today, painting/touch-ups outdoors. More to come, I'm sure!

I did finally get my blood test results: my cholesterol was not as good as I'd hoped; the overall number was a bit higher than I wanted, but the good/bad HDL/LDL ratio was excellent. If I was a vegetarian for health only, I'd be a bit discouraged. However, when I decided not to eat dead animals, it was mostly due to ethical and moral reasons: it's just wrong, in my opinion. Though I am not religious, sometimes I do ponder spiritual matters and I've wondered "what if." What if reincarnation is true and those who eat animal flesh will come back as tortured, tormented animals slaughtered by humans for food? It's as feasible as western Christianity, I think.

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of my late husband's death, but I found I had nothing to write/say about it. Life goes on...with or without loved ones.

I'll end this post with some photos:

Amazing how my backyard looks now compared to early February and the snowfall!

My sister & bro-in-law were in Tennessee recently and discovered a winery with the same name as my late husband. They brought me a bottle of the wine, which was great. Then I decided to turn the bottle into a candle-holder for a keepsakes. It's a 70s idea, which I thought would make a neat conversation piece!

With that, I'm outta here!

Disappearing snow!

We had snow again last night, woke to about two inches. As usual, the entire county was thrown into a fit of shutdowns. Yet by noon the streets were clear, and by two o'clock, all snow virtually gone.

I did some batch veggie cooking this morning, then took the dogs on a very long walk in the 45 degree sunshine. Gave the dogs a bath when we returned home. Very productive day.

Here's some pictures of the snowfall that disappeared quickly (the ONLY kind of snow I like):

The way my backyard looked at eight o'clock this morning

This is my backyard at noon

And this is my backyard around two o'clock in the afternoon.

This weekend and early next week is predicted to be in the 60s! Don't even tell me this is normal weather; I've been on this earth 59 years, and I have never witnessed this kind of extreme change in such a short time-frame. Something is going on with our weather -- and though climate change might not be entirely caused by human activity, perhaps more due to the universe, there is no denying that something strange is happening.

I'm still waiting to learn the results of my blood tests at the doctor yesterday. Whatever will be, will be. Fate & Karma...maybe not just a theory.

I'm hoping the doctor was right when he said yesterday he didn't think the swollen lymph node under my arm was anything serious. It is nearly gone, so maybe the swelling was due to the triple-flu shot I had. If nothing else shows up in tests, then I will report this side effect to the government website -- which is taking information from those who have had the shot.

And that's it for today!

Not again...snow!

I hate to complain (not really) but hey, Mother Nature is being a real b!tch this year. I guess that old adage, "Don't mess with Mother Nature," has a grain of truth in it. She can't be happy with the pollution we humans have been dishing out on the earth far too long now.

At any rate, here in the South, like elsewhere in the country and world, weather has been topsy-turvy. As a Southerner, I am just not adapted to the extreme cold and snow/ice. I'm unable to trust myself anywhere near ice; I'm sometimes clumsy in the best of conditions, but as sure as I get near ice, I fear a fall. Therefore, when there's ice/snow, I stay indoors. Then just the thought of NOT being able to get out gives me cabin fever. I would have made a poor choice as a pioneer woman on the snowy, windswept prairies of the Midwest! I like to be able to choose to either stay indoors or get outside, and feel truly confined if I can't get outdoors at least some every day...even if just the long neighborhood walk with my dogs.

So as you can imagine, I was NOT happy to see a surprise snowfall yesterday afternoon. Within a couple hours, we had two inches, then a coating of ice from sleet. Fortunately today it warmed up to a balmy 35 and rained; the snow is nearly gone now. However, this morning the streets were icy so I missed a doctor's appointment I'd had for two weeks. At least I got it rescheduled, and have another appointment next week with a different doctor. My new insurance provides for 100% preventive, so I'm going to take advantage of that and get thoroughly checked out. Of course, I dread it all...but I'm not paying $583.00 a month for insurance I don't use!

I wanted to provide a link to an interview I did for a childfree site at BellaOnline. It concerns being a widowed, older childfree woman:

Losing a Life Partner

I've had some good, positive feedback from younger childfree people, and that is why I did the interview.

And now, here's a few photos of yesterday's snowfall (click to enlarge):

My backyard as the snow was falling in the afternoon

The garage...with Goldie's (one of the strays) head/ears seen through the window where she's lying under the heat lamp!

Oddly enough, though the strays had pretty much disappeared during the warmer weather, only to appear at late afternoon meal-time, they all showed up yesterday around noon. Since the weather forecast didn't include snow, it's strange they all seemed to instinctively "know" bad weather was coming, and got in the garage!

It was quite a mess around here since school was just getting out, people heading home from work during the freak snow/ice. Lots of traffic accidents, and a couple of county school buses had to pull off the highway, call in 4-wheel drive vehicles to take the kids home. The bus driver didn't want to risk crossing bridges that were iced over!

And so it goes. I believe Mother Nature is letting us know who's in charge!

Snow day...again!

Since last Thursday, the local weather forecasters have been in a frenzy, predicting almost a blizzard for most of the South. Of course, relatively speaking, what qualifies as a blizzard here is any snowfall over a couple inches. Or sleet/ice on top of it.

All the grocery stores were emptied out of milk, bread, other essentials, depending on what you consider necessities. In my case, I always keep "scary disaster" stuff on hand -- can beans, other non-perishable food, water, batteries, hand-crank shortwave AM/FM radio, etc. What I did need was pet supplies -- cat litter for my two indoor cats, plenty of food for them as well as the outside strays. And dog food, chew treats so the dogs could work out their frustration at being housed up with serious chewing!

(As an aside: How I LOVE to watch a dog with a bone or chew treat; the look of pure bliss and contentment as they chew reminds me of a baby with a pacifier. Wish adults could find that in such a simple way!)

Anyway, back to preparations: I also went to the library and loaded up with some good novels, just in case the power goes off. I found a new Thomas H. Cook novel, "The Fate of Katherine Carr." If you've never read Cook, you should start now: He writes the most haunting mystery/crime stories, glorious prose that will cause you to pause and savor the evocative sentences. I could reread his novels for the sheer beauty of poetic prose. He's also a master of the classic "mind-game" or "puzzle" mystery, yet creates a depth of character and setting (usually the South) that leaves you remembering the story long after you put his books down. A MASTER STORY-TELLER! Enough of that though; I rarely praise any modern prose author, the true artists are so few and far between these days.

At any rate, for once it seems the forecasters were correct: The sleet started about dark last night, then switched over to snow. I heard snow thunder also, which I don't think I've EVER heard in my life -- scary strange! It snowed all night but had stopped this morning when I wakened to about 10 inches on the ground! A crust of ice was over the top, which made a crunching sound when you stepped on it.

Rambo had a fit; he was scared to death of the snow, probably due to the crunching sound when he stepped on it and then his feet falling through to the ground. He ran back in the house, then to the front door, begging to be let out. Perhaps he thought the white stuff wasn't in the front yard!? It was hilarious when I opened the door and he looked out to see MORE snow piled on the porch!

Eventually I had to shovel out a path so Rambo & Oscar could get out to do their business. After that brief trip outside, they have been sleeping; Oscar retreated to his crate, and I've not seen him since early morning! Rambo is on my lap -- I've learned how to type around him. (I know, I know...if someone had told me a few years ago I'd have a dog attached to me like Velcro I would have laughed hysterically. Always had cats, all my life...but never under-estimate the allure and addiction of a dog!)

I did get out early this morning and take some pictures. Then I cooked a big batch of vegetable soup, which was yummy. The house is warm, the soup made it smell wonderful, and now I'm about to work on my memoir. Life is good.

The only issue I have now is that I'm still waiting for my new insurance card, then I can get a complete medical checkup. However, the swollen lymph node seems to hardly be visible anymore. I really think it was a reaction to that triple-flu shot. We shall see, I suppose.

Have no idea when the streets will be safe to travel. At this time, there's predictions for a bit more snow tonight. Then tomorrow it'll only be in the low 30s, teens at night...so not much snow will melt, but what does will refreeze at night. Most of the week is supposed to be the same, but with sun returning Wednesday -- which may get life back to normal (everything has closed, schools, local government offices, etc.)

And now, without further ado, here's the photos (click for larger photo):

Across my front yard, looking up the street

Looking in the opposite direction from front of my house. The tire tracks on the street are from a 4-wheeler a kid drove up and down the street very early

My back yard, with snow drifts against the fence.

And lastly, the soup I had for lunch:



With that, I'm outta here.