Family time!

A great day today, albeit a bit of driving. The whole family (hubby, daughter and I) got together to visit my son at the location of his summer internship (He is studying accounting and will be a college senior this fall.) It was great to be together if only for a short time! (My hubby and I are entering our fourth year as 'empty nesters', and I still find it hard. I'll talk more about that journey in a future post, though!!) Anyway, we had fun going out to eat, doing some shopping (went to Von Maur's and Whole Foods) and touring the beautiful grounds of the large company my son is interning for this summer. I've never been to a Von Maur's before.... quite the fancy (and 'pricey'!) store with a live pianist playing soothing tunes to shop by! Impressive! I just loved the Whole Food store! The fresh fruit and veggie department just blew me away!!! Also, loved the plentiful samples throughout the store especially the cherries, pineapple and various cheeses! Yum!!!! I don't ascribe to all their organic and local food rhetoric, but I still enjoy the store and some of their products. (This can be a topic for a future post, as well!)

Oh, I need to let you know that our new kitten has a name....... "Elphaba" or "Elphie" for short. Those of you who LOVE the musical "Wicked" will immediately recognize the name. For those of you who are not familiar with the AWESOME musical "Wicked", I recommend you get tickets and attend a show! You can also read the book, but personally, I think this is one case where the 'movie' (or in this case "musical') totally out-does the book!!!!!! Anywho, "Wicked" is the true story of the relationship between the 'wicked' witch and the 'good' witch in the Wizard of Oz before Dorothy and "Toto" arrived on the scene. "Elphaba" is the real name of the 'wicked' witch. As you can see we decided to not stay with the Lord of the Rings theme of feline names.... none of the girl character names seemed to fit our "Elphie".

Well, I have some work to do around the house, so I had better sign off for now. Have a great evening, and I'll 'see ya' on the blog tomorrow!! :-)

I be a spinning!

Got a chance to use one of my favorite kitchen gadgets today with fresh lettuce from the garden.... my salad spinner. It works great! There is nothing like fresh greens topped with some crumbled baby bella mushrooms and homemade peach vinaigrette! Yum!



I also had fun going to some garage sales today with my daughter who is working on furnishing her first apartment! I couldn't pass up a few bargains myself- one was a set of three cute pictures for a buck each. They made me smile.. how about you? Now I just have to find a good spot to arrange them in a group on a wall somewhere. I know... in my newly clean and rearranged bedroom!!

Short post today... off to bike with the hubby. Yeah, we may not be talkin' too much yet, but at least we're bikin' together. :-) Have a great night!

Long day!

Nothing like a little wine and cheese to get your zen on!! I decided I needed a little re-charging before I head upstairs to finish rearranging and cleaning our bedroom. Sometimes I just get the urge to rearrange furniture- can anyone out there relate?! Today I was hit with the urge to 'shake up' the master bedroom. I think the urge mostly came as a consequence of being 'pissed off' at my hubby of 24 long years (yes! I consider it mighty LONG today!), and I needed an outlet for my emotions. At least I'll get a clean room out of the whole blow-up!! The project has stretched into an all day event, since once you move furniture, you find yourself needing to vacuum, dust, pick up all the clothes that is thrown about and, in my case, strongly consider buying some new light blocking curtains to hang over the wood blinds! I took several breaks through out the day to wash numerous loads of laundry and hang them out on the line (a GREAT line-drying day, weather-wise) as I also got the 'bug' to wash all my downstairs linen curtains (a spring cleaning project that was WAY over due!). I also fit in a little shopping for food for both my family and my backyard birds. One of my hobbies is bird-watching and keeping my bird feeder station stocked with food (black oil sunflower seeds, niger thistle, and fresh sugar water solution for the little Ruby Throated hummers!) and fresh water. I needed the sunflower seed- was on sale at Bomgaars!, and thistle, and I also got a large, compact birdseed block for the woodpeckers- they found it almost immediately and started digging in. Needless to say, I LOVE MY BIRDS!!! I'll try to get some photos of my feeding stations and some birds soon.

I started out the morning on a good note (before the hubby melt-down) by biking 9 miles with my daughter at 7AM. Actually, she biked 18 miles.... did the first circle around town solo, and then I joined her on the second loop when she was going a 'tad' bit slower!! Felt good to get exercising crossed off my 'to do' list first thing in the morning!

Well, the cheese and wine are gone, light is quickly fading from the sky, and the dust bunnies upstairs are calling my name. Better get to it. Have a great night.

Rain, rain go away!!!

Wow, the rains just keep coming down by us! I'm glad I ran out of time to mow yesterday, 'cuz I think the lawn grew another couple inches overnight. Guess what I will be doing as soon as I post this?! ;-) The picture shows that we got a good 2" of rain overnight. There were severe storms all around the area- my weather radio alarm was going off constantly- but thankfully none hit our area too bad. Now it looks like we may have a couple days of potentially dry weather. It is going to be very hot and humid, however, so I can't discount the possibility of storms breaking out in the evenings.

My current read, The Shadow of Your Smile, that I made reference to in my post yesterday is getting a little better, yet I am still able to set it down to write this post! I still think it is worth reading if you are a die-hard Mary Higgins Clark fan like me, however.

Going to keep the post short today.... not in the best mood. Husband is pissed at me, and my jaw is still a little sore from my dental procedure yesteday. Have a great day, and I'll blog more tomorrow.

Peace!

Open wide!!

Good morning on this first full day of summer!! Sad to think that the "longest day of the year" is already behind us now and that the days will start to get, albeit subtly, shorter. :-( I spent the morning in the oral surgeon's chair having a crown lengthening! Not the most comfortable way to spend the morning with my mouth wide open- temporomandibular joint gets sore in a hurry! All went well, though, and I was impressed by my surgeon talking me through the procedure AND, miracle or miracles, giving out his personal cell phone number in case of complications! I mean, you don't see that too much anymore. Plus, the dental assistant even called me this afternoon to be sure all was well. Yes, I'm impressed. My daughter had her FOUR impacted wisdom teeth surgically extracted by a different oral surgeon this past January and the follow-up couldn't have been more different. There were no follow-up calls and they had her out of the chair and walking to the door to leave before she was truly even cognisant of her surroundings. It was weird! All went well for her too, due in BIG part to her meticulously following the post-op instructions of 'no exercise for weeks', 'salt water rinses', pain relief and ice pack use. No dry sockets for her, thank God!

Started reading the new Mary Higgins Clark book, The Shadow of Your Smile, around one week ago. The surprising thing is I am only on page 77!!! I've read ALL her books, just loved them AND typically found myself reading long into the night 'cuz I couldn't put them down. Sadly, that is not the case with her latest novel. I wonder if it is just a slow start or if it is time for Ms Clark to retire her pen and simply bask in the glory of her extremely successful career. Have any fellow Mary Higgins Clark fans out there noticed a subtle decline in recent literary offerings??? I faced a similar disappointment with John Grisham..... nothing he has written recently has came close to the matching the quality of The Firm, in my humble opinion! Let me know your thoughts. Anyway, I'm enough of a Mary Higgins Clark fan to keep plugging away at her book....and who knows, I may find myself reading through the night yet again. I'll let you know.

Peace!

Cypress musings!

Happy Monday!! Finally got most of my photos uploaded with descriptions written for each from our recent trip to Spain. I made a pilgrimage of sorts to a cemetery in Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalonia, Spain, to see the gravesite of my paternal grandfather. He died fighting for Spain against the dictator Franco in the Spanish Civil War. The majestic Mediterranean cypress trees throughout the cemetery were something to marvel at. I found a picture on the web of Vincent Van Gogh's Cyprus Tree and just love it! I thought I'd attach it here for your enjoyment. I had not know that the Mediterranean Cypress tree is nicknamed the "graveyard cypress". Makes sense, though, given the fact that they were the predominant tree species in all the 'cementiris' I chanced upon.

I just love Van Gogh's post-impressionist work, don't you?! His paintings just seem to draw me in and not let go. Here's a good website that shares pictures of his work http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/

Had a great Sunday seeing the extended family when we all gathered to celebrate my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary! It was good catching up since we all live in distance locations through out the US. Well, not much else to report. All the rain has resulted in our lawn growing by leaps and bounds, so off to mow. Have a great day!

She had us at 'meow'!

What a special day....... we have a new addition to the family. No name as of yet, but that will come soon. Probably stick with the Lord of the Rings theme as with our other two cats, Frodo and Sam! This is a female, of course, given she's a calico. I have to recall the names of female characters in the Lord of the Rings and see if any suit her. She was 'dumped' at our local little league fields just as my husband and I were riding our bikes past on our local recreation trail. My husband noticed a car off by itself in the parking lot- no games were playing at the time- then it drove off and as we biked by the area the car had been parked at, we heard these terrible cries. Of course we had to investigate! Lo and behold, a tiny calico kitten came running our from under an evergreen meowing hysterically while simultaneously purring like crazy. Needless to say, we had to take her home... walking our bikes the rest of the way. As I type this she is purring and resting on my lap. She's got a full tummy (she was soooooo hungry and thirsty!), had Frontline applied and has been wormed with Drontal. (I'm a veterinarian, so new additions get the 'works'! I thought I'd wait a couple days for ear mite treatments and first vaccinations.

The other thing I wanted to share today was a picture of a milkweed (Asclepias) plant in bloom in a bed in my front yard. I know it is considered a noxious weed by farmers, but I know butterfly caterpillars love it, so I do, too. Plus, I think it really has a great smell when in bloom. I hope I can attach additional photos later in the season documenting visits by Monarch butterflies with lots of Monarch butterfly eggs left attached to the undersides of the milkweed leaves. Subsequently, I hope to see & photograph plenty of monarch caterpillars munching away on the milkweed's leaves, the beginning of pupation and, finally, the Monarch's future hanging, literally, by a thread from the plant- its chrysalis.


Well, that's all for today. Time to chase after our new four-legged wonder. Not sure if she's mastered the litter box yet, so she needs constant supervision!

Nature's chorus!

Boy, the birds were obnoxiously loud this AM singing to the breaking dawn. Although I tend to complain a bit about the noise, I sure do miss it when things calm down in July once the breeding season is over. I'm continuing to read The Declaration. It is good but somewhat predictable themes and scenarios. I am still enjoying it, but the author is a bit heavy handed in trying to get her point across. Maybe that is because it is aimed at a younger reading audience........ I've had a lot more life experience than that audience and am aware of a wide range of often diametrically opposed view points. I still recommend you pick a copy up and read, read, read!!!!!

Today I am taking another step in reducing our household use of plastic. You know those ubiquitous plastic bags you get at just about all stores? Well, I'm trying to stop using them. I had been 'recycling' them by using them as garbage bags, but now I am going to buy a plastic garbage can- yeah, I know, that's rather inconsistent, but I hope to find one made of recycled plastic! :-)- and then up my composting so no 'wet stuff' goes in the garbage. That way I can use my fabric totes for shopping. I've also swore off purchasing bottled water. The Story of Stuff bottled water video (http://storyofbottledwater.org/) really woke me up! Check out the web site if you're interested. It is great!! Anyway, wish me luck in my endeavors to help the planet one little step at a time. I'd love to hear what YOU are doing to help the planet in little and big ways!

Well, today I'm trying to clean house big time. I've procrastinated enough by blogging. Bye for now!

Books and Nature's Bounty

Good morning! Started the day with a great power walk with my daughter and dog "Lucy" (see photo) Then I received an 'S.O.S.' from a friend needing some immediate help in her huge garden with cultivating. It was great being out on the hillside working the land and afterwards 'shopping' down the long, lush aisles. I've lots of salad greens, peas, onions, and baby red and white potatoes to clean. Can't wait to enjoy nature's bounty for lunch! Also started a new book yesterday, The Declaration by Gemma Malley. Very thought provoking!!! It is a "young adult" selection, but I enjoy books that target all age groups.... good literature is good literature! Consider joining me in reading this interesting book. Maybe we can discuss it next week if anyone wants to. Also, remember The Thirteenth Tale?..... another great book I'd like some feedback on! As you may have guessed... I love books!!! Well, back to veggie prep- have a glorious day!!!

Hello cyber world!

I did it! My hand hovered over the keyboard, hesitantly, and then ...... I marked the circle that allowed access of my blog to "anybody"! So, here I am! Available to all but very possibly visited by none. Anyway, here it goes. Today, I want to share a great book I just finished reading, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. What a great book- so wonderfully written. It pulled me in via the short paragraph written on its back cover and never let go. Have any of you read it?? If so, thoughts? If not, why not find it at your public library, read it- should be done in 24 hours if you get addicted like me!- and then report back. Peace .... & happy reading!

Maiden journey into the blogisphere!!

Wow, my first blog post!!! Not really sure what to write.... not really sure what to share. It is with high expectation and equally great trepidation that I enter this 'new frontier'! At forty-nine, this new frontier's means of communication is definitely a 'second language' for me and not my 'native tongue'. However, not to be daunted, I have decided to plunge into this new world- later than many yet sooner than some- and hopefully grow and learn through the experience. I feel a deep longing to share some thoughts honestly and openly- and sadly, this is often more easily accomplished through the anonymity of the cyber world. I hope to gain some insight and direction through these posts. I'm not sure where this blog will take me- or you, if you chose to join me on this journey. All I know is that I am excited to begin!