To anonymous...whoever you are

For all those lurking, Good morning! Hello to my friends, too. We're having a heavy drizzle, sometimes mist, sometimes pouring rain. I'm so glad all the budding spring things are being given moisture in just the correct amounts. On our common side yard are some brave hollyhocks volunteering from last year's harvest. I think I'd better go out between raindrops and label them so the yardman does not make a clean sweep and uproot them. They're only about 5" tall, but already have those rounded, rough, crinkly leaves.

I just finished my breakfast: Poached eggs and asparagus on black rye toast with leftover (broken down) Hollandaise sauce. It didn't look pretty but the wonderful flavor was still there. It didn't really matter because my eyes are still somewhat fuzzy from yesterday's dilating drops which haven't worn off. KJA (do you know who that is) had the fire going when I got up. It was just enough to take off the chill and dampness of the morning.

Now I'll think abut getting dressed, probably in my pink sweats. For some unknown reason, when the backs of my lower legs, or my shoulders, get cold, I'm cold all over. Mostly I sit and read or knit all wrapped up in a blanket the whole way around.

Bobby, our toy poodle, was howling a sad, pitiful, lonesome expression when we got home from reading meeting last night. KJA commented that perhaps we should adopt a friend for him (yowee) because he is so lonely when we are both gone. When we tell him to "watch the house" as we are leaving, he turns, climbs into his bed and pouts.

Now we are into planning a Sunday Dinner, a roast yet! It's been so long because it seems wasteful to do a roast for only two people. Until now, I haven't much felt like having any company. If all goes well, we expect to have a total of sixteen. I'm really excited, but I promised to keep it simple, but ample.

Ophthalmologist

Freckleface whisked me away at 8 o'clock this morning. I had an appointment to see the eye doctor for my diabetic check. Last week my diabetic feet were o.k. Today my eyes were just fine...can't even see the chart on the right (the one with the corneal graft)and I have growing cataracts on the left. Dr. Levin is my new doctor because Dr. Burns moved to Temecula to do Lazer treatments and Dr.Lee got married to another ophthalmologist and moved to Colorado. Dr. Levin says: "Don't fix what isn't broken." So I'll continue to take my glasses off to read. Somewhere I have rose tinted Computer set glasses, but I forget in which safe place I put them. I type by feel anyway. Yesterday KLB, two friends, Mom, Pop and little bro went in to Anaheim to celebrate a fifteenth birthday. Garage Door is staying with his grandma during the week to go to classes at Fullerton. DaBu came here for quiche supper. I'm feeling pretty good. I don't have the usual bothersome low back pain. It was quite tender after the fall over the side of my rolling chair. I was trying to paint patio furniture before the grand party for Dave and Heather. I am well healed (not heeled) SS increased to $561 the first of the year. Sadly eggs that used to be 99 cents at Long's are now $1.49. I sure like rice and noodles.

Grandchildren

Many of you know I have a line of photographs on my bedroom wall, just below the ceiling. It is the north wall. The head of my bed is against the west window wall. Each night before I close my eyes, I look up and am reminded to pray for their needs, whether spiritual or practical. There is a special place in my heart for each of them. I pray for their joys, their challenges, their frustrations, and for their guidance. We are a day's march nearer home. How gladsome that will be!

Let's close this chapter

This week the Lord allowed me to experience a vicious attack on my ignorant actions and truthfulness from someone I once respected. Could this be railing? I accepted an apology. Even though I feel like a whipped puppy, it is time to move on, for it is water under the bridge. I always thought that with age comes maturity and understanding. May we be careful not to presume that we know what another person's motivation is. God looks on the heart. We can't know. I now pray for the wisdom and compassion to let the Lord lead me to serve in the path most pleasing to Him.

Flurries

Yep, we had snow flurries yesterday. They were tiny flakes and floated down lazily, but melted before they could accumulate on the ground. Meanwhile, our camellia bush has fat buds bursting at the seams. Grape hyacynths are up. The white petunias in the pots by the front door are overflowing their boundies. Germania are popping out a wonderful display. There are new green shoots on the wisteria and some swelling bumps on the red climbing rose by my bedroom window. BUT when I talked with Evelyn this morning, she said she had ice on her garage roof. I'm sure things froze here last night, too. It is so comforting to have the fireplace blazing away when I get up in the morning. I think I waited until 10:00 to have breakfast. Now it is well time to start my day...putting drawers in order.

IVY

In my closet I have a new T-shirt. It's brown and really not a very flattering color for me. But Freckle Face got it for me from a special Ivy Sport catalogue offer.On the front it says in ivory Ancient Eight. On the back there is a twisted ivy sprig labelled with eight leaves, depicting the eight Ivy Leagie Schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale. It was only $5 so that's even better than Long's.

Half my back yard, the shady half, is covered in assorted ivy, both needle point, and English. It's a nice ground cover and spreads like crazy. It has even crawled up my chimney and on the garage wall of my neighbor. Looks great with our fountain. While rampaging up the chimney, a sprig wandered over and volunteered through my window. That is, it snaked its way through that part where the window itself is supposed to meet the frame. It is wending its way around toward the fireplace inside with new shoots.

Ladybug is here to take me to the Podiatrist for a check up. My feet are fine, but he'll do my toenails. Gotta go!

Groundhog Day

Alas, Punxutawny Phil saw his shadow early on the morning of February 2nd. As many of you may know, or should know, that means six more weeks of winter. His shadow evidently scared him and he crawled back into his hidey hole to continue to hibernate. If you would check google or such you will find he has been 100% correct in his predictions since the 1880's. Here in Southern California we look to the month of February as spring, on good years, that is. Maybe a late spring this year will lead to a not so hot summer. Just maybe. We've been covering our bouganvilla with table cloths to protect from the nightly frost. The potato vine seems to be strong enough to weather the storm. High winds sweep the cold air down from the mountains. It is sunny today, but only in the low 40's. It's time for me to get back to finishing KLB's sox...they're not really lavendar, but do have some mottled lavendar stripes along with reds and purples. Does that do amethyst? Gotta go.