One’s Own Fireplace

Phil the groundhog let me down.  He predicted spring was on its way and then we have snow!  But as a friend pointed out, I should never have put my trust in a rodent anyway.

School was cancelled and I had the day off.  I didn’t want the day off.  I want my day off in the summer.  But I had the day off.

One of the  few  good things about cold, dreary, wet, snowy weather is that it gives me a  reason to build a fire.  I love building a fire in my wood stove. I love how the fire warms my body and soul.  I even love just watching the fire. I have a very hard time sitting still through an hour and a half movie but I can sit and watch a fire for hours.

I think what makes a fire so mesmerizing is that it can reach each of the five senses.  You can see it, feel it, hear it, and even sometimes smell and taste it.  It’s all encompassing.

So I had the day off.  Sorted papers, answered e-mails, had lunch with my daughter.  And enjoyed my fire.

It’s still snowing.  Maybe tomorrow will be another at-home day.  With a fire.

Travels With Joe

“When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch.  When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age.  In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked….I fear the disease is incurable.”

So says John Steinbeck on page 3 of  Travels With Charley.  I’m not sure how this book found its way onto my book shelf but there I found it a week ago during a brief fit of spring cleaning.  Being a classic I decided I should read it and in the opening paragraph, some of which I’ve quoted above, I was hooked. For his self-description is me.

Mr. Steinbeck’s travels took place when he was 58, within one year of my current age. Our family even made a trip similar to the  3 month travel around the United States that Mr. Steinbeck took with his French poodle, Charley.  In the summer of 1998 our family traveled the United States–albeit in only one month!

I love to travel, dream of traveling, and this book set me to dreaming of more travels.  So my husband, our dog Joe, and I traveled to Walla Walla for the weekend.  Not quite around the United States but still a lovely jaunt.

Punxsutawney Phil, Say It Ain’t So!

I like most animals.   Even most rodents. Squirrels and chipmunks are cute. Who can resist bunnies? Those ridiculously long ears and wiggly nose. Even mice are cute as long as they stay far away from my house. But my favorite is the groundhog.  Because any rodent that promises me a soon end to winter is tops in my book!

And Punxsutawney Phil did just that on our most recent Groundhog’s day. He promised me just two more weeks of winter!  I was right there with you, Phil.  Yes!  Just two more weeks of winter!

Until today.  Our weatherman is telling us we have a weather storm warning beginning at 4 tomorrow morning.  Snow.  Maybe lots of snow. For a couple of days.  Phil!  I was counting on you!  How could you let me down?  It’s supposed to be spring.  My daffodils are coming up, they’re even starting to get buds.  I need sun!  I need warm!

Oh Phil, I had such high hopes!

Eggs and Me

A few years back, when we moved to the country, we bought us some chickens, talked with the folks at the feed store and with our friends who have raised hens, and became chicken farmers. Well, not really chicken farmers. How do you “farm” a chicken?  But we have cared for many hens and gathered their eggs.

Chickens are creatures of “very little brain” but even with limitations, or maybe because of those limitations, they are easy to care for and can actually be quite entertaining. On slow summer days our family has been known to have “chicken races”.  We each grab a chicken, throw out some grain, then cheer our chicken on, hoping she’ll be the first to reach the grain-goal.

They can also be very aggravating.  Last summer my chickens developed the creepy habit of eating their own eggs. Word on the street, in the world of chicken farming, is that once a chicken starts eating her eggs the only way to stop her is to make chicken soup.  I’m vegetarian so chicken soup isn’t in my cookbook but I wasn’t against hoping the coyotes would have some chicken dinners.

Then fall came and the chickens stopped laying altogether.  Again, word on the street in the world of chicken farming, is that egg production is dependent upon hours of light so as the days get shorter the hens stop laying. But I’ve had young hens lay all winter, with no artificial light added to their coop, and I’ve had hens not lay at all the entire winter when I had artificial light in their coop.  So I’m still trying to figure this one out.

In any case, my hens stopped laying the end of October.  Then they started up again mid- January.  Which brings up the additional question:  If egg production is based on daylight why did my hens stop laying in October which has more daylight than mid-January, when they started laying again.  What’s with that?

Whatever the reason, they are laying again and this time  they aren’t eating their eggs! Maybe it’s true that chickens have extremely short memories and they have forgotten about the egg meal.  Whatever the cure, I’m all for it!  I’m getting eggs again.

 

I Love It When You’re Wrong!

There’s something delightfully wicked in discovering someone is wrong, especially when their wrongness results in a wonderful day for you!

Sunday was just such a day. The weather prognosticator had promised us a day of rain, followed by showers, after a morning of 40% precipitation. I had planned my schedule accordingly filling it with indoor chores and tasks. And I’d made a good start of it. Still in my pajamas I’d started a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, and swept the floor. I was well into sorting through a pile of useless papers when a shaft of sunshine lit up the room.

And that was the end of my indoor tasks. I was dressed and out for my morning walk before the sun could tuck itself back behind the clouds. But I needn’t have worried just yet. The sky was a brilliant blue and for the next few hours it was a glorious day. I had a delightful walk in the sunshine, listening to the first of the spring birds, and marveling in the grass that is almost neon green, it is so excited that spring is here. After my walk I worked in my yard for several hours, trimming my roses, cutting downed limbs, tending my burn pile, and cleaning my patio.

The clouds did return by mid-afternoon and by nightfall the rain had also arrived.

But for much of the daylight hours the weatherman was very wrong.  And I was lovin’ it!

Come On In! The Water’s Fine!

Some years ago we had a bird house which hung from a pole off the edge of our  living room roof.  Sparrows moved into the house each summer and on a particular summer day, as I passed through the living room, I heard much chatter and chirping.  I looked out at the birdhouse and saw the baby bird peeking out his front door, calling to mom and dad.  Junior then stepped onto his front porch still chirping to his parents.

Mom and dad were 15 to 20 feet away in the boughs of a fir tree, hopping back and forth, calling Junior.  I watched for a moment and then realized I was about to witness a very momentous occasion-Junior bird’s  first flight!

Mom and dad called, “You can do it!  We’re right here.  Just flap your wings like you saw us do. You can do it!”  And Junior  answered, “I’m too scared!  It’s too far!  I’ve never done anything like this before!  I can’t do it!”  And Junior disappeared into the safety of his house.  But mom and dad kept calling and encouraging and Junior peeked out again, then stepped out onto the porch.

I watched Junior struggle for about 20 minutes.  Hesitantly stepping onto his front porch, then retreating into his house.  Finally he took a deep breath, closed his eyes (I’m pretty sure I actually  saw him do those things) and took off, flapping his wings furiously praying he wouldn’t crash and die.

And he made it!  He landed safely on the branch.  Mom and dad cheered wildly. Junior himself let out a whoop and a holler, feathered fists pumping the air. Then he took off to try it again, and again,  never more fearing to fly.

I had felt every racing heartbeat with that baby bird.  I knew the feeling of standing on a high dive, too scared to jump;  I knew the feeling of being next to give my speech, afraid I’d forget everything I’d practiced so many times;  I know the feeling of starting a blog, afraid no one will read it. Or like it.  Yes, little bird, I know exactly how you felt!

Now here I am standing on the high dive scared to try.  “Come on in,” others call to me, “the water’s fine.” So I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and jump off the blogging high dive! And so far I’m surviving!

I would love to hear from you, your thoughts about the small happinesses you’ve discovered, as well as your thoughts  about my thoughts.

Thanks for your time!  And keep divin’ in!!

Just Embrace It –Part 5

I have many gray hairs.  I don’t realize how many until I get my hair cut and I see the trimmings lying on the sheet wrapped around my body.  It seems they’re all gray!

Embrace aging!  Why not?  It’s what we’ve got.  We may as well make the most of it.  Trying to pretend we’re something we’re not is just as hard and futile in our senior years as in our younger years. We’re getting older. We’re senior citizens.  Good for us!  We made it this far. We’ve learned a lot, experienced a lot.  Enjoy it!  Share it! Admit it!

Embrace it? Might as well.  Heck!  I now qualify for a 10% discount at Ross on Tuesdays!!

 

Just Embrace It–Part 4

I left us yesterday with my hesitation at rising to the top of the generations. I miss my elders and I’m now in a position I’ve never experienced. But I’m discovering that this can be a good place, even a place of honor.

One of my 30-something friends and I were talking one day and she hugged me and said I reminded her of her mother, who has passed away.  At first that caught me by surprise and I felt just a bit insulted.  But just for the shortest of moments.  Then it struck me that this was really an honor. Being a parent is the greatest job there is and to be considered a parent to others is a great place to be.

We reinvent, or rediscover, ourselves many times throughout our lives.  We are a child, a sibling, a student, a college graduate, a teacher, (nurse, mechanic, plumber, secretary), a parent, a grandparent. Time hurries us along and we change, and add, roles to our lives.  We just need to realize that aging is a part of the deal and it is a good thing.

Years ago one of our neighbors was a delightful English gentleman, in his 80’s, who we called Mr. Mark.  “Don’t grow old!” he’d warn us, and I’d respond, “But Mr. Mark, what is the alternative?”  If we had a magic wand and could choose any age to be it probably wouldn’t be “old” but it’s the only place to go, this side of heaven.

We just need to embrace it. Wrap it around us.  Maturity. Life experiences. Insights. Age.  It’s a good thing ‘cuz it’s what we’ve got!

Until tomorrow…

Just Embrace It–Part 3

I’m not ashamed of, or embarrassed by, my age.  It is what it is (even if  I don’t like it.) I can refuse to tell you how old I am, but doing so doesn’t make me younger.  I’m still 59 (I think that’s how old I am….sometimes I have to do the math….  I was born in 1951 and it’s 2011 which is 60 years but I haven’t had my birthday yet this year so, yes,  that makes me 59…arghh!) regardless of who I admit, or don’t admit, that to.

I just want time to slow down.  I feel like I’m in the passenger seat with a student driver who is driving way too fast and I’m pounding my right foot on the floorboard trying to find the brake–but there is no brake!

Time is hurtling by and I’ve already lived 58 years of my life.  Where does that put me?

During most of our life we are younger than a lot of  people.  As little children there are two, or three, sometimes four, generations older than us.  As we grow older the oldest generation dies but there are still one or two generations older.  Until we reach our 50’s or 60’s, or maybe 70’s.  Then we turn into the oldest generation.

I’m starting to percolate to the top. My father and each of his four siblings are gone. Three of the aunts and uncles by marriage are gone, too.  Only my mother and one aunt remain of my father’s generation. I don’t like my elders leaving.  I miss them.  And I don’t like rising to the top.  It means I’m old and it’s a place I’m not familiar with.

All of this has tired me out.  Let’s sleep on that thought tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Just Embrace It–Part 2

When my kids were colicky, cranky babies, older, empty-nest friends would gently tell me to treasure each moment because before I could turn around my babies would be grown and gone.  Clearly, those people were suffering some long-term memory loss, I thought, because sleepless nights with a colicky baby were not moments to treasure and the days were dragging by.

Until Time suddenly sped up and just like I was warned, my babies are now grown and gone. Our oldest son has given us two grandchildren.  Our granddaughter just turned 9.  9!  I remember being 9.  Could it really have been 5 decades ago?  5 DECADES ago that I was 9?  Where did the years go?  Am I really heading into my 6^th decade?

The grandkids--sleeping angels!

I think I’m a pretty well balanced person, emotionally.  But I do become somewhat delusional when I think about my age. I see myself as in my 30’s.  I’ll be talking with some of my younger friends, who really are in their 30’s, about kids and pregnancies and diapering, thinking I’m right in there with them.  Until I do a reality check and realize I’m old enough to be their parent!

My father was still working full time into his early 70’s because he loved his job.  One day he came home and told my mom that he’d stopped at the bank during the day and “it was full of old people!” We thought it was pretty funny that he didn’t recognize that he was one of the “old people.”  Now I’m living that delusion.

Time is racing by and it’s time to stop until tomorrow. Hope to “see” you then.