This 'n' That

I've had to be out of the office unexpectedly several times this week. When someone who might fall under our agency's services is being referred for nursing care, I have to go out to see whether or not our services might offer a better alternative. There is a very limited window of time given by the regulations to accomplish this, and it was just an oddity that so many had to be completed in one single week. Either that, or the vernal equinox is at fault.

In any event, I now have a nice backlog of work waiting for me tomorrow, and several phone calls to return. Thankfully, the Mommanator went with me on these forays into the American healthcare system. Thank you, Nursie! There was one nice bonus today: I ended the day at a visit about 7 miles from home. I had a nice short drive at the end of the day, and I got home much earlier than usual.

***********

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I desperately need my weekend break, and I'm taking Monday off. I have an early appointment on Monday, then the rest of the day is mine, all mine! Maybe I'll spend the afternoon in Cape May (I can hear the Pax Family Singers breaking out in song as I type (On the way to Cape May, I fell in love with you... )

***********

I'm mulling an idea for a post suggested by Pax. The idea has a sci-fi/Frankenstein element to it. Maybe early next week. We'll see if I'm up to developing it...

***********

When you have your health, you have everything...
That was one of my Mother-In-Law's favorite sayings. She was absolutely right. If you're poor, but healthy, you can work hard and improve your lot. If you're rich, but sickly, the money alone won't make you feel better. All of the money in the world can't cure some ailments. If you're poor and sick, you're in trouble!

If you feel well, you can get over most of the things life throws at you.

***********

I finished a book this week called The Queen of the Big Time, by Adriana Trigiani. It's a coming of age story about an Italian-American girl. The story begins when she is age 14, in 1924, and it follows the rest of her life. I enjoyed the book, though the end felt a bit rushed and a few of the elements introduced later in the story were a bit hackneyed.

I especially appreciated the descriptions of the hard-working immigrants and the life they built in a small Pennsylvania town. It was refreshing that the book never once mentioned the Mafia or organized crime.

Signs of Spring

A cluster of daffodils sprouted boldly in my garden a few weeks ago during a warm spell. They've paused, but not retreated, with the return of the cold weather. The tightly rounded ends of the flower stalks are in the first stages of pregnancy, preparing to bloom when the warmth returns.

One of my tulip bulbs has sent up a single broad leaf, only half emerged from the ground. It looks for all the world like a green rabbit's ear, cocked and listening for the robins and spring peepers to say it's OK to come out and play.

Last week I heard a woodpecker pounding on a dead tree in the woods behind my house, defining his turf and warning all of the other woodpeckers to stay away. The robins (who don't really leave in the winter, they just flock up and retreat quietly into the woods) are stirring and they're starting to pair off. Soon we'll see the first nests being built, and we'll hear them fending off the jays as they tend their eggs.

The spring peepers were calling one balmy evening last week, possibly the very first sound of spring each year. I heard them again on the way to work the next day. They're quiet tonight, the first official night of spring per the calendar - did I hear someone mention snow? Can't last long though, can it? Not with the days getting longer and longer. They'll be back soon (the peepers). Can't keep a good tree frog down.

As much as I like winter (I'm strange that way), I look forward to spring, to the greening up of the world. I love the luscious, wet verdure of the mosses and the spring grasses, so thick and rich and soft to the touch. I feel like I wake up with the flowerbeds and stretch my limbs with the trees. I'm Snow White awakening from a long foggy trance, or Proserpina emerging from the dark realm.

One spring several years ago, there was a woodpecker who took it upon himself to pound out a tattoo like a gatling gun on the metal gutter by our bedroom each morning - bright and early, of course. Nature's little alarm clock. He really was just a few feet from my bed, with nothing but a flimsy tract-home wall between us. He'd take off as soon as I opened the window, but he always came back the next day. Can't wait to see who sets up shop in my yard this spring. I think they're already hanging out their signs.

Cover Story

It's been more than a week since my last post. Here are some possible explanations for my absence. Choose your favorite, or come up with a new one for me!

• My husband and I flew off to Ireland to for St. Pat's. We stayed at one of our favorite haunts, Ashford Castle, which is the spot where we spent our 10th anniversary.

• We've been too busy preparing the hounds for an upcoming AKC show to spend much time on the net.
• We won the lottery and had to take time off to handle all of the legalities involved.
• We had an unexpected offer to buy the house (which was not on the market), and it was too good to refuse. We've been tied up with the details, and have had to start looking for a new home.
• My hard drive crashed.
• I've been working late on projects at work.
• Our cable service (including broadband) has been down for 5 days. I'm not happy with my ISP.
• Hangovers from too many green drinks.
• My sister got engaged and we've been planning her wedding.
• My husband has had the flu and I've had a sinus infection.
• Heavy winds along the coast felled one of the tall pine trees in our yard, and it landed on the house. Fortunately, no humans or hounds were harmed. There is a big blue tarp over the new family room as I speak, but the repairs should be completed this week.
• We've been helping Mom to prepare to move into our home.
• I've been working on the final draft of my first novel, due to be released this summer.