Will you tell me something great that happened today, Part XVIII?

New thread! Other than that, I’m sick – got my Exe’s cough and cold.

Someone likened me to Fidel Castro.

@rebbel A very cute Dutch Fidel though!

@janbb Sweet!

I do get that comment more often, by the way, the look-a-likeness…
Must be the cap.

I had a surprisingly nice conversation with my new boss
whom I knew years ago in a previously life

I made the first step.

I took a lot of steps today, steps towards changing my life and my health.

I woke up and my two cats (who hate each other and hiss at each other) were fast asleep together on the end of my bed. N’aww…

Straightened out my schedule so I don’t have to take Ecology. :)

I answered a bunch of questions on Fluther. That’s about as good as my day got (considering it’s 00:40 here).

I had a day where all my errands, my hair cut, my lunch with a friend, my online financial planning and the arrival of a new baby in the family made it perfect.

Then I got home and realized that I had lost my cell phone.

My pool is being pebblecreted today. Two more days and the water will be in it! There are still at least six weeks of swimming season left.

I also found a new garden ornament from my children. Joining the many other wacky and weird garden ornaments they have already donated to my garden is… the crocodile. It’s a running joke. They find odd ornaments and place them in my garden for me to find as a surprise or a shock. Being in good taste is not high on their criteria list for ‘this will suit’.

It is also Thursday and I had a lovely evening out with my oldest daughter last night.

Just got out of work.

I dove with the sharks at Epcot today. :-)

I also forgot to add that a guy I met for the first time commented on how my age and how I look do not coincide. I said “What?! Did you think I looked older?” He said “no I thought you were about 10 yrs younger!”

That made my day!! :)

I submitted two of the three reports I needed to do. I also submitted the project planning document and finsncials. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest.

The mystery deepens. My children all deny leaving the crocodile in the garden. Hmmm…

@janbb Yay! Thanks for the new thread!

I just started a great little part time weekend job at a local florist and gift shop. Fun but exhausting! Darling shop, a little of everything, from unique gifts, handcrafted jewelry, gourmet chocolates and flowers. So much to learn but the kind of environment I love, fun, beautiful, eclectic and creative.

On a humorous note we had a $130 rose arrangement that the delivery girl left on a porch, eaten by the deer yesterday.
The challenges of rural florists. lol

Being a scrub today :)

2 feet of snow coming my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My woman has joined Fluther! ;-D

Learned today that my professors discuss my writing with each other—in a good way :)

I’ve gone to the gym 3 days in a row, and 4 times in the last week since I joined. It’s been years since I’ve been to the gym… and I feel great!

Snowed in and spending time with my love!

This morning I awoke from a great sleep with a smile on my face to my dad whispering lightly in my ear that my daughter had a snow day.

My father died 4 years ago, of cancer, this was my blessing this morning. :)

On the other hand I also started at the gym and am a little sad at being snowed in as today was and is no longer our first official gym day :(

No double vision or dizzyness today. It’s no fun driving with two of everything coming at you.

@Adirondackwannabe Well dude, lets hope that if this happens again you will hit the double vision image and not the one grounded in gravity. lol

@Coloma Yeah, I picked the right one yesterday. Just what I need, a brain tumor or something along those lines.

Three fab things:

1. Ahead of the big snowstorm (Nemo) on the east coast my Friday flight home was canceled—so I acted quickly and switched to an earlier flight – got the last seat available on the last flight out of JFK to my home airport last night.
Not only did I get the last seat (and charged no penalty to switch), but they upgraded me to first class, and I got dinner on the way, & home a full day earlier than planned. (And didn’t get stranded all weekend in New York.)

2. Today our German “daughter” (our exchange student who lived with us a few years back) is coming to stay with us for 3 weeks..her Spring Break from her first year of Medical School. So thrilled to have her come “home” to be with us again.

3. I got a bit of a cold..but it hit once I got home and could stay comfortably in my jammies. I love that I don’t have to drag my semi-sick carcass to the office and can just work in PJs here by the fire.

@Adirondackwannabe This Q. has made me realize that I do have a fear of having a heart attack or other emergency when behind the wheel.
It’s more common than we realize I think.
Many people keel over behind the wheel. Scary indeed!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow,

Hmmm, I wonder if it’s snowing at @blueiiznh‘s place…

Oh you damn snow bunnies, rub it in, just rub it in!
I SO wanted to wake up to snow today.
Pffft! I demand you east coasters send snow to my little mountain out west here.
I was so excited and then the damn storm just grazed us and moved south. Bah humbug!

@Coloma Pffffft!

Riding the rhythms of my cold today and waiting to see what the storm brings. Just slept for over two hours after running errands this morning….....

So far it is heavy rain here.

Okay, it’s my day off. I’m drunk on margaritas and I have discovered something. Man, do I want a Jeep. I want me a Jeep. Not a stick, ‘cause I can’t drive that. Automatic. Motherf*cking Jeep.

@Mama_Cakes I’ll sell you one cheap. One owner, almost 200,000 miles and it’s never broken down ever.

@Mama_Cakes I have a one owner Jeep with 375,000 miles. Never broken down. You can’t have it!

@Mama_Cakes If you learned how to drive a stick and had a manual Jeep, all I can say is that you’d have way better control over it than an automatic. I have a small manual car, I’ve never gotten it stuck in the snow. Automatic cars I have!!

@Adirondackwannabe Double vision! Ok, that thing we were talking about on another comment might have just turned out to be a little harder o_O
I i think think if if your your still still seeing seeing double double you you should should see see a a doctor. doctor.

I lurve you! :)

@nofurbelowsbatgirl Already scheduled. The last crappy thing I ignored, a bug bite nearly killed me. Thanks.

It’s cute how you’re all excited about snow. :)

It just started snowing here. I have to hit the grocery store tonight and it’s probably going to be mobbed. Oh well.

@AshLeigh the 3 feet of snow is easy and fun. The 50mph winds and 20 foot ocean storm surge is FRIGGIN AWESOME!

Don’t mess with me with your Jeep talk. I’m drunk, kids.

Ahahahaha. 3 feet.

That’s the best time to mess with you. Did you hear the one about a little boy and girl taking a bath together? She asked her father what the boys thing was, and he told her it was his jeep. The boy asked what the girl’s thing was and Dad said a garage out of desperation. He left them alone for a bit to do some stuff around the house and he heard a scream. He comes in and sees the boy down in the tub. What happened he asks. The girl replys He tried to drive his jeep into my garage so I ripped his back tires off.

I’m sitting in my room at The Yacht Club in Disney World wondering if the weather will mess up my flight to go home. I can think of worse places to be stranded but I am more worried that the weather will mess up at my connection in Houston. That would be a bummer.

There will, I am sure, be a ripple effect. MA has completely shut down…practically marshall law. Ditto for CT and RI.

There’s a useful link below. Personally, I would hang around DW for a few more days.

“At Boston’s airport and New York’s three main airports, most airlines plan to shut down operations Friday afternoon and resume again on Saturday, according to airline tracking company FlightAware.com. Bradley Airport in Connecticut cancelled most afternoon flights”

…martial law.

@ gailcalled !!!
GAIL…..I think you need to go to the ER stat for a brain scan. I fear something is dreadfully amiss in your normally sharp as a machete mental dictionary!
There is NO WAY you should have made that stupendous of a mistake! Our spelling and grammar leader has fallen. ;-)

She has snow brain.

I don’t want snow today. My pool is filled! I am going swimmin’ in my cement pond!

@Bellatrix Woo Hoo…..a new pool! Can the geese and I drop in? :-)

Sure thing! As long as you don’t mind sharing with the Kookaburra that’s taken to sitting on the fence. Come on over. Bring brownies.

@Bellatrix I thought the kookaburra sat in the old gum tree?

@all:Just making sure everyone was on his toes. (No, I lie. I did think about it but figured no one cares any more given all the derision about spelling police and the ’“if I can understand it, who cares how sloppy the writing is” adage.

Last night I went to see Paloma Faith in concert, she was brilliant. Today I was told that I looked like a favourite actress of mine (by someone who isn’t aware of my appreciation of that actress), I had my hair done yesterday so feeling good right now.

@gailcalled I thought Marshall Law was the bastard son of Marshall Dillon and Jude Law.

^^^Your sinuses may ache. Nothing wrong with your brain.

Or illegitimate grandson of Marshall Tito and Lucy Lawless.

Spent the night at the Boston Harbor Hotel and now enjoying a Jazz Brunch here with my daughter.

I am so loving my fun new part time job at my local rural florist and gift shop.
We are bustling this week for Valentines Day tomorrow with hundreds of orders and along with all my other duties I am puttering around the zone in a Smart Car delivering flowers. So much fun!
Here is one of our hottest delivery zones, just sublime, I am having the best time!
www.auburnlaketrails.org/home.asp

I had to laugh today meandering around and had a delivery on ” Pepper Boy Lane.” lol

I did my income taxes and got them e-filed over the weekend. If all goes well, I’m taking my boys on a family vacation to Colorado with the refund (they’ve never been to the mountains) I’m pretty excited : )

I got three Valentine’s cards from my hubby and daughters, had a relatively argument free morning while getting the girls ready for school, and Valentine’s morning nookie. Life is good today!

I found out that I don’t have to work this Saturday as I thought I did and so now I have a day to myself!

I found out today that I have enough time in my schedule to add a physics minor…I switched from a physics major about a year ago and felt very sad to have “given up” on that dream. I feel now that I am reclaiming it at least somewhat. I’m not done studying physics now!

@Mariah Good for you. Never give up on your dreams. Or your hopes.

Thanks. Actually “giving up” on that dream was very healing to me as a compulsive overachiever who was previously aiming for a Ph. D and a NASA job. These days I aim a little lower and it means my priorities have been more aligned and my life is more in balance. But I was still sad about it. I always thought I might go back to school for it again someday. I still might do that, but the minor is at least a middle ground.

@Mariah Good. You’ve had more challenges than anyone should have. You’re still young. Keep your options open.

A lovely long four-day weekend with my hubby starts this morning. I have lots of plans!

I survived the Valentines Day massacre at my store!
I never thought I’d have nightmares about roses and chocolates. lol

I do not live in Russia. On the other hand I feel really bad for them :(

Now I feel really selfish saying I was able to make it to my first week of the gym all week, no days missed. But I also feel better saying it because I know now I will work that much harder, because any day could be the last, but I already knew that.

Just saw “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Great, great movie. Best I’ve seen in quite a while.

@marinelife Cool. I’ll look for it.

I spent only 1 hour and 25 minutes with Apple support before they solved a problem that they said seemed very strange (and my head did not explode).

@marinelife, I just saw “The Perks of Being a Wallflower last night.” I have to agree. I didn’t know much about it except for the fact that it was reviewed as a great movie. I loved that movie, and highly recommend it.
As far as something great I just have nineteen days to go, and if I have no seizures during those nineteen days I should get my driver’s license back!

@GracieT Good luck!

This starts with something not so great: I’m in the hospital. Last night, started having really bad stomach aches that reminded me of my small bowel obstruction I had not quite a year ago. Knowing what I know now, I didn’t wait to got to the hospital until I felt completely horrible.

Here are the great things:
Last year when this happened, I called campus police who called an ambulance. It was lonely and scary. This time, I called my boyfriend, and our mutual friend who has a car, and that friend brought another mutual friend. I felt very loved and cared for. They drove me to the hospital and my boyfriend stayed with me, chatting with me to distract from the pain, until 5 in the morning.

Last year when this happened I was not attended to for several hours and ended up pretty much screaming in agony. A nurse came in and told me to quiet down and that was it. This time they kept me on a steady stream of morphine and I was reasonably comfortable.

Last year when this happened I had it resolved by having a tube shoved up my nose and down my throat into my stomach. Even that I thought was wonderful because the backup plan would have involved opening me up. This time, they talked about a naso-gastric tube again, but just as they were getting the orders ready my stomach pain disappeared and the blockage resolved itself somehow.

Last year when this happened, I missed a crazy amount of school work and returned to find that my robotics partners had done absolutely nothing while I was gone. My first day out of the hospital I was working my ass off in the lab when I really needed to be resting. This time, my classes are calm enough that I’m not stressed, and my project partners have emailed me and told me not to worry about anything.

I’ll be here for a few more days so I can slooowly start eating again and make sure it doesn’t plug me back up. But I’m not in pain anymore and everything is okay, and I am loved.

There’s something great to be found in every situation. I just hope these aren’t going to be an annual event.

@Mariah sorry to hear you are going through this again. I recall you stating this last year too. Prayers your way that they find something to help long term.

@Mariah Prayers for you too. I hope this one goes so so much better.

@Mariah So good that you have loving friends. Makes a world of difference.

@Mariah, I’m praying for you also. I know that having friends in your corner really makes a difference. Please keep us updated when you can.

My brain hasn’t felt like mush today for the first time in two weeks. I thought I was never going to get over this cold and be productive again!

In today’s nasty, damp, raw and blowy weather, I took a minute to look down at a part of the grass where the snow has melted and saw the tops of the daffodils showing. That lifted my spirits.

Yesterday was such a Hairy Potter double feature moment. :)
After a whole year of wanting to, I finally switched my advisor. Goodbye Michelle, hello Rob. Which means he’ll do my speech at graduation, handle my schedule, and he’s pretty much the boss of me. :)
Trimester starts tomorrow, and it will be my first day as Rob’s advisee, which is pretty cool. :D

Thanks everybody. I got out yesterday afternoon. Doing well now. :)

@Mariah Good for you. Something good happened yesterday. :)

Today the novel I am writing hit 30,000 words – ¾ the way to true novel length. And this story has got easily another 10–20K words left in it. I hope to have a rough draft done by May.

I was the producer for the comedy group I’m in this quarter; we just had our show tonight. It went great!!

Mom bragging ahead, you may want to avert your eyes…

I found out all sorts of good news from my kids today. @Fly made the dean’s list for her first semester of college; @mangeons got accepted to the honor’s college at one of her two top choices, with some hefty scholarships to boot; and @laineybug’s academic team won on the TV show It’s Academic! So proud of all my girlies.

</mom brag>

Congratulations to you and your girls @augustlan!! That’s wonderful!

I was accepted into a MSN/MHA program and start my first class next week. Between that and the new position at work, I’m going to be super busy, but I’m looking forward to every minute of it.

Going out to lunch at a Greek restaurant with the husband.

I fit into a size 2 jeans again!!!!! Just tried on a pair at Old Navy, and almost cried when they fit. I will never get back into a size 0, like I wore before having kids, but the 2 was my goal, and I am so damned happy that I’m happy dancing all over the place!

@WillWorkForChocolate Congrats lady!!!

Today happened.

It’s been snowing on and off for 36 hours and it’s going to continue until Friday morning. There are maybe ten adults in the Midwest who share my enthusiasm for all this snow. I’m not going to let the haters bring me down. I’m enjoying it!

Well…..Colomas world is shifting in a big way.
I am moving soon as I cannot hold on out here by myself anymore with the trickle down effect of the economy the last few years.
The good news is I have a good amount of support and it has been heartwarming to be the recipient of so much care and support from friends, neighbors and my new living arrangements in “town.”
“Town” is my nearby local community of Placerville CA.

The bad/sad news is that I am desperately seeking a place for Marwyn, and my avian vet is looking for a perfect home where I can visit my little friend that I have raised/had for 15 years. His mate ” Sonora” is having health issues and she will be euthanized soon. :-(
Marwyn cannot live within city limits, and if all attempts to find him a perfect home with a new girl or two fail….well…..it is going to be very hard to put him down, but I am comforting myself with the fact that he has in-joyed 15 years of the royal goose treatment and there is no way I am re-homing him as a farm animal.
He is not a farm animal he is a dog in a gooses body and I am his mother goose.

I won’t be around much until I get through this extreme transition, so wish me well jellies!
Aaaah, the cycles of life.
But…on a positive note I will be back in “town” and have a great new living arrangment that will allow me to save tons of money once I recover from this carnage.

I’ll miss everyone for awhile here, send positive vibes my way dear cyber friends! :-)

I’m sorry to hear that, @Coloma. I know how much you treasure your rural life and your animals. {hugs}

Good luck @Coloma. I hope your transition runs smoothly and Marwyn finds a good home. I look forward to your return and stories about your move.

Best of luck in your transition @Coloma ! Wishing you well.

@Coloma Best of luck lady. Have you looked for an animal sanctuary for the goose?

Good luck @Coloma! We will miss you!

@Coloma I am so sorry that you are losing your idyll. May you find peace and happiness in your new home.

Thanks everyone, I will pop in & out as I am able.
Good grief…dismantling 7 years of farm life, it is overwhelming.
@Adirondackwannabe Yes, Marwyns doctor is seeking him a special home, but it has to be amazing.
I’ll be okay….but it is going to be a huge adjustment.

I am rather looking forward to being in town again after 22 years in the country.
I guess I’m getting older too…no doubt. haha
I will still be in a peaceful place but just around the corner from shopping, movies, restaurants again.
To parrot Jerry Garcia in the ” Touch of Gray” lyrics….
I WILL survive….... :-)

Good luck with everything, @Coloma. Pop in when you can, to give us updates. <3

Feb 28. I submitted the two tax returns that were due today. 10 hours early! Yay!

For only the second time in twenty years, I spotted a barred owl sitting on a limb of a pine tree next to my driveway. He was almost invisible; only a small flutter registered in my peripheral vision. I was in the car and happily had a small pair of binocs on the seat.

I do hear them all the time after dark so I do know, intellectually, of their existence. Nice to have visual confirmation.

@Coloma I’d wondered what stressful event was going on based your earlier comments (mainly in the TJBM).
I hope having the decision made brings you some peace—and hope that many hands make the work-load as light as possible.
If Marwyn could survive the extreme cold of MN I’d offer to take him in an instant – but I think you and his Doctor will no doubt find him a better home.
Hugs to you and you’ll be in my thoughts.

Take care @Coloma. I will look forward to you dropping by when you can and coming back permanently soon. Is there an email address (a disposable Gmail) you could put up in case someone wants to contact you or finds a place for Marwyn? I have my fingers and toes crossed for him.

@Coloma I’m sorry to hear about your transition. In some ways life will be easier.
I am confident you will love wherever you are.
Don’t disappear!

@Coloma best wishes. You will be in my prayers. I always think of you every time i see a goose, so you are never far from thought.

Good luck to you @Coloma as you embark on this new chapter of your life : )
I get the feeling you will survive beautifully! Much blessings and much hugs <3

Today I finally got a wooden puzzle together that I have been working on since Christmas. My son received in his stocking and tossed out the directions. gah!
I’ve tried several times, failed several times and tossed it a few times.
I was so tickled when it finally clicked.

This happened yesterday but it gave me new confidence that I am still feeling today so thought it still counts! I picked up my new glasses, I have put off going to get my eyes tested for years because I didn’t want to wear glasses (vanity) but there were so many great options and I found a couple of pairs that really suit me. I feel good wearing them and I can see so much more. My friend even told me I look like Anastacia :) (she knows I am a fan so probably only said it to make me feel good but it was a nice comment and made me feel confident that I looked good).

Things coming along over here with my big transition looming.
Pulled the hot tub out yesterday, and have sold about $400 in plants and another $600 or so in misc. stuff. My deck and patio look so barren and lonely now. Too bad you guys aren’t around for Colomas amazing moving sale. haha

Everyone that comes over tells me what good taste I have. I can use all the ego strokes I can get right now.. lol
What’s really weird is the echo in my living room with so much stuff going out.
In many ways it is liberating to get rid of stuff and the cool news is my daughter loves my stuff, our taste is similar so she has bought tons of my artsy stuff and I can’t wait to see it set up in her place soon.

Marwyns fate is still pending, but I have made several interesting connections in the last few days. An eclectic lady came yesterday to buy a lot of my asian art, screens, etc. she and her husband know of a spiritual retreat nearby that might adopt Marwyn, as they have a sanctuary type property with animals. I always said Marwyn was the Goosewami. We shall see.
:-)

I found out today we are having a baby girl this summer. So far everything looks healthy and is growing right on target.

Oh congratulations @nikipedia. How wonderful. That is happy news.

Congrats @nikipedia! You’ll be a great mom. :)

Nik, a mom? Great news!

@nikipedia Grats lady. Wonderful.:)

@nikipedia Oh my! Mazel Tov a hundred times!

@nikipedia Congratulations mama to be! How exciting! All I wanted to eat my whole pregnancy was Raisen Bran. Haha My daughter was a bran fed 8.4 pounder. lol

Well…..Coloma is clearly entering yet another 7 year cycle.
Seriously!
I had 7 years of chaos followed by 7 years of bliss and now, when it rains it pours.
The move is coming along and I am handling things well, but….oh, the irony.

Sooo, bit into a sandwich the other day and broke a tooth. Gah!
Had the crown build up this morning and the final crown will be ready in 3 weeks.
I swear….what’s next?
Moving into a new situation, trying to find a home for my beloved Marwyn, breaking a tooth…shit, Murphys Law in full swing. :-/

Oh the great part?
I didn’t need a root canal!
My dentist was worried I might because I fractured the tooth at the gum line.
Hey, that saved me another $750 today! Oh joy! :-D

Wish I didn’t travel so much or I would take care of Marwyn for you @Coloma. It’s just hard enough taking the dogs back and forth in the small plane. Marwyn would be impossible.

@Judi Awww, thanks. Yes, well…portable swimming pools are hard to find. But as long as you have some some bread in your pocket, a baggie full of romaine and a small bowl of water on hand, it might work out. You can buy duck diapers too, they are patented. haha

@nikipedia!! I am so excited about your news. You’re going to be SUCH a cool mommy.

Ahh well I’ve kind of disappeared off the face of Fluther lately. My excuse is that a quarter just ended, so y’know, finals week. I’ve been on spring break since Friday and the reason why I am only just now popping in is because I was on a trip with some friends to NYC for a few days!! It was so excellent. We saw the Cobert Report and the Daily Show and some other smaller comedy shows. Did some sight seeing too. It was great but I’m glad it’s over. Something about the city is just too intense for me. I can only handle the hustle-bustle in small doses.

So now I’m home for the rest of the break, and what a relief! For awhile I thought I wasn’t going to get here. I had Greyhound tickets from NYC to home with a transfer about 6 hours from home. I boarded my bus in NYC this morning and was told that I could get to my waypoint, but that the bus from there to home had been cancelled because of some bad weather. Agh! I had to make a split second choice between turning away and going back with my friends to school, or going to my waypoint and trying to figure out how to get home from there. Although I was very nervous about the idea of getting stranded in an unfamiliar city by myself, I had my heart set on coming home for the latter half of break and I took the bus. When I arrived at the terminal, I asked at the info desk about getting home, and they told me the buses to home were suspended for the day (which turned out to be false information). Then this guy, I’ve been calling him my “bus angel,” he had been on the earlier bus with me and overheard my plight. He was also attempting to get to my hometown. He very kindly sought me out and said hey, there’s a bus outside that claims to be headed home, let’s check it out. Sure enough, the storm had passed and our bus was running after all. I never would have caught it – I would have, understandably, believed what the woman at the info desk told me – if it weren’t for that kind stranger taking the time to help me out!! Random acts of kindness from strangers are some of my favorite things to witness – and do! – and this guy saved my ass today. Remember that next time you’re out somewhere and you see someone in trouble!

@Coloma Sooo, bit into a sandwich the other day and broke a tooth.

Yikes- what was in that sandwich?

Concrete sandwich of all things! Sue the company that made the bread! I can see the headline now! Trouble free from now on, and that will make your day @Coloma and you will make some “dough” and maybe you can send some cash money my way as a finders fee :)

P.S. Congrats @nikipedia!

@Brian1946 It was a Club sandwich on marble rye, and it was a hard piece of bacon that cracked the upper right, 2nd pointy molar, behind my eye tooth. I couldn’t believe it, I have always had good teeth, but they are getting older now. haha

@nofurbelowsbatgirl No kidding! First when I sat down in the cafe the waiter knocked over a glass of ice tea and soaked my lap while cleaning off the table, then the sandwich moment. I am not eating there ever again! &*#$^!!!

I am going to visit a friend for the weekend. Really looking forward to girl’s weekend out!

And I coincidentally am getting a visitor!

Jinx!

@janbb and @marinelife Coincidence? I think not! Have a great time you two!

(Has anyone sent out a warning to the National Guard that ‘mischief’ will be out and about in their location this weekend?)

@Bellatrix @chyna Want to join in??

Oh, that’s great! You ladies have fun, and try to not behave yourselves!

I had a great day at Crufts today and to top it off, my favourite breed, the Skye Terrier, won it’s group. Roll on Sunday’s best in show!

@janbb YES! I would love to. You still have to come for lunch with me too.

@janbb I would love to join in!

I just got in from lunch with a friend, hey…no broken tooth this time. lol

Today I got an adorable new haircut and a classy new dress. Hiyah!

I’ve gotten to a really exciting part in my novel. This is the part I have been anticipating all along.

Spring Break! Yay hibernation! :D

Today we went out to breakfast and then for a drive and a walk in a park. Beautiful sunny day. Supposed to be the only sun we will see all weekend!

@marinelife Nice!!

I’m on Spring Break too. No big plans – just working on chasing these blues away.

Saw a cowboy. So sexy.

The snow that is falling is not yet sticking to the ground.

Snow?? It’s too late for snow,. Do you know that it was in the 80s this time last year? (Not that that’s good either.)

My oldest daughter (@Fly) will be home from school for spring break by this evening. So looking forward to seeing her again!

I received my bonus check today. 25% of my annual salary.
Thankful of the gift it is. I have always donated half of any monies that i receive unexpectedly. I will send half of it away tomorrow.

It’s lovely that you share your good fortune in such a way @blueiiznh. That will mean something great happens to a lot more people.

@blueiiznh Good for you! Spend some, save some, give some away!
Money philosophy 101. :-)

I had a great afternoon with a good friend and my daughter and her boyfriend just left. They brought over pizza and we had a pizza party in my almost empty living room sitting on my vintage persian rug like monks. haha
We looked at a lot of old pictures and laughed at funny family archival stuff.
I have 12 days left in my house but I feel grateful for the love and support during this rough time.

I was meant to be teaching Agility this morning but as the rain had left the field waterlogged it was cancelled so I get to chill out a bit.

Temperature has risen to 24˚ F and the daffodil buds are starting to swell, right on schedule.

I had a terrific weekend with @Fly and my husband’s family, followed by sleeping all damn day today. Feeling good.

I survived the drive in. Snow sleet and freezing rain. The roads are terrible. And the orchid is beautiful. I’ll work on getting a picture posted.

I handed in my final piece of coursework for the Canine Welfare course I am taking. If I get a decent mark for this assignment I will have ace’d the whole course!

Hopefully, my nephew will be born today!

@WillWorkForChocolate Congrats. Best wishes to mother and nephew.

11:51 a.m. in California and Marwyn is getting one last chance at a happy home.
My local paper ” The Mountain Democrat” is coming out this afternoon around 2:30–3p.m. to do a “goose interest” story on Marwyn, a very special goose. :-)
I have bumped up the appointment of doom until Friday the 29th at 11:30 a.m.

If his story does not give him the acclaim he deserves and perhaps, draw out, secret goose loving nuts from these hills, well…I have done all I can and at the very least, I will have left no egg unturned in my quest for the worlds most pampered goose to have a chance of a stellar retirement situation and a new wife to in-joy his happy golden years.
The most recent “maybe” person ended up wanting to have him share a crappy pen with plastic tarps for shelter and house him with a dozen crapping pigeons flying over his head all day. No,no, NO!

No Pigeon shit in my darlings pool.

Good for you…is the new wife an absolute necessity? Could Marwyn survive, slightly less happy but alive, by being a widower?

Make sure that the paper uses photos. particularly the Xmas one.

@gailcalled He could survive without a mate if I kept him as he is so imprinted on me, mother goose.
Otherwise, it is best for him to have a goosie companion along with a new person to bond with and devote some daily interaction for his emotional well being. Ideally though, being such social creatures, he really needs one his own kind and someone to bond with.
I wish to remain a big part of his life as well, this is why I haven’t wanted to send him off hundreds of miles from home.
Stress is a killer and these guys are very much creatures of habit. I want to be there for him if at all possible. :-)

Pass the tissues.

Maybe the extra week will make the story go viral.

Can one simply introduce Ms.New Goose to Marwyn, or would they need time to date and get to know one another?

@gailcalled Well, considering it is breeding season and the testosterone is peaking between now and June, I am sure it would make for a whirlwind courtship. haha
Then again, even though Marwyn has had companions over the years I am his first wife and he would prefer me over all others. Still, a companion is part of the deal for his ultimate satisfaction.
I have gotten much support and just had an email from a local animal group that supports my choice to euthanize over not finding the right home after all these years of devoted attention.

Sadly, few would dote on him the way I have and this is why if I cannot find a great situation it is best his last moments are in his mother gooses loving arms. :-(

I know that you have been heroic and i am not trying to second-guess you.

It’s just so sad, and I barely know the little guy.

@gailcalled Yes it is. If someone had told me 20 years ago the pet love of my life would be a goose, well…truth is stranger than fiction. One hour to go before my friend and the reporters arrive. I am pacing the floors, er, yard,with Marwyn, while he obliviously nibbles on spring grass vocalizing his pleasure with little grass garbled whines.

@Coloma Good luck. Hope this works out for all of you guys.

My nephew finally arrived very early this morning! I get to hold a fresh newborn today, and suck in all that new baby smell!

@WillWorkForChocolate You bitch. New baby smell is amazing.

I know, it makes my uterus skip a beat.

I know it did more than that. You have two amazing kids. That’s more than some wouldbe parents get. :)

Marwyns interview went “swimmingly” yesterday and he charmed the pants off the reporter and photographer who wished they did not live in an apartment so they could adopt him. haha
His story runs in the Friday, weekend edition…BUT…in the meanwhile, back at the ranch, an amazing woman has contacted me from Marwyns APB on Facebook with scads of waterfowl fancier groups.
My daughter and I are taking him for a meet & greet this afternoon at the ranch about 25 miles up the mountain from me.

These people are amazing!
10 immaculately fenced acres, electric gates, a hundred sq. foot duck & goose barn, vet care, and their singular Toulouse goose female named ” Lautrec” but of course sleeps indoors at night and lays her daily egg in a big dog kennel. Then she spends her days wandering about with a blind donkey and other treasured pets. I think I may have found Marwyns nirvana and I can still be a part of life!

Meeting at 3 today…..keep your fingers crossed.
This woman had sent me dozens of pictures of their ranch and she is a major duck and goose lover like me.
They spare no expense on their animals.
My kinda people!

Fingers, toes, legs..everything crossed for you & Marwyn! Dear @Coloma – hope this works out!

@Adirondackwannabe It was fabulous getting to hold him and kiss him and smell that downy head. You may now cuss me out. Nannynannybooboo!

@WillWorkForChocolate I was a little scared to hold them when I was younger, but now I love them too. So innocent and pure. I’m glad you got to hold him.:)

Oh, @Coloma I hope everything turns out great.

My day has been great. My day started off finding out that a missing local 13yr old boy was found safe and sound! I am so happy about that.

Then a tragic story which also was in my town about a lady who was in her truck and hit by a train. The sad part is she passed away, she had her bulldog with her. When the dog was searched for there was no sign of her anywhere, until 5 days later when a lady and her daughter saw her sitting on the tracks. They went up to her and she was scared and growled but when they told her to get in the car she jumped right in.

The dog has now been rehomed with her former owners boyfriend, who said she was hungry, tired and scared of noises. I cried at that part, I can only imagine what she went through in the crash and then wandering around for 5 days looking for her owner ;( that part is so traumatic. But I am happy the dog gets to live.

Also today marks my fifth week of going to the gym. Woohoo! And so far I have been losing 2lbs a week!!! Yes, 10lbs so far. And no I have not changed my diet. I am super happy about that! I have always been exercising but until 5 weeks ago I hit a plateau for awhile and needed more than what I was doing on my own, so that is why I started the gym. I am glad I did or I would still be in plateau mode. :/

A great night of Volleyball. It is the simple things.

@Coloma: I can hardly breath when I think about Marwyn’s possible reprieve.

But I am ready and waiting to teach him some romantic phrases in French in order to woo Lautrec.

How did the meeting today go?

(Marwyn has his own Facebook page? Will he be my friend?)

9:33 in the California mountains and my daughter and I just got back, about an hour ago leaving Marwyn and Sonora at their new, forever, retirement home!
Jesus mercy…I cannot say ENOUGH about this most blessed turn of events!
We took both Marwyn and his pal Sonora because this childless couple in their 40’s wish to provide Sonoras ongoing vetting and medicine for her bad leg too!
Only about 40 minutes up the mountain here and we took them both for the “meet & greet.”

We pulled in through the electric gate and were met by ” Wendy & Eric” and unloaded the geese from their baskets and they followed us up to a lovely patio with a retaining wall surrounding a beautiful lawn and overlooking a valley full of cattle and oak trees.
There were 2 pools on the lawn and Lautrec and a pair of white Pekin ducks were happily dabbling about.
Marwyn was Mr.Personality as usual and immediately won their hearts, her husband needs more testosterone on the ranch and we went inside and observed him with Marwyn for about 30 minutes, a match for sure! lol
Poor Sonora was really stressed but she is so docile, we put her in a pool with a portable dog fence around her with romaine lettuce and let her float and relax for awhile while Marwyn happily and enthusiastically followed us around the property and was curious about everything and everyone.

I demonstrated Marwyns extensive vocabulary and he made himself right at home, loving the attention.
The duck and goose barn is a work of art, infact it has just been painted inside and real artwork will be hung soon. haha
It has huge sliding doors, a cement floor which is hosed out and windows with sliding shutters.
We spread out about a half a bale of fresh straw and put up a divider gate for Marwyn and Sonora to be right at home, next to each other.

I had planned on bringing them back home for the week, but really, it was so perfect that I decided to spare them the stress of transporting back home and after 4 hours of meandering about and interacting,I was confident that the goose gods had provided a dream come true my my beloved two.

Just now I received a photo of Marwyn standing in his amazing barn by his 2 brand new blue feed and water buckets and his giant bag of corn and was reassured that bedtime went well and that after a bit of squawking he settled in for the night.
I am sad but happy, and most of all, I have found my soul mates, people of heart and means that will be forever devoted to their charges.
It was hard pulling down my driveway and seeing the empty barn and corral.
For the first time is 18 years I have no barn duty tonight, no ” Time for bed and I will see you in the morning” sing songs, but….if there is a God, he has found me the perfect goose retirement home!

I am emotional and exhausted but my darlings have the Beverly Hills of goose retirement and I will return soon to sit and wander the spring hills with my beloved two. :-)

@Coloma!!! Yaaaaa!!!! ;) there is a God I know others will disagree with me, but just know, this wasn’t Marwyn’s time to go. And so God has given him and Sonora the best forever home :) that just made my really good day even better!

@nofurbelowsbatgirl Thank You…this quest for the best home has been so hard, but,as sad as I am, I am at peace now too. Re-homing my guys is worse than my divorce, seriously! lol
Finding those rare few that share your passion for quality of life and devotion to our “lesser” friends is truly a miracle.

Someone wrote a very sweet poem for me today.

@Coloma I’m so thrilled for you and your geese babies! Sounds like a perfect situation for all of you. :)

I“m so happy that Marwyn and Sonora were saved! Now you can be at peace with your move.

@Coloma @AshLeigh Good for both of you. That actually made me smile for the first time today.

@Coloma Oh honey, that is just so wonderful that it made me all misty eyed! Thank God for those people and the new home for your feathered darlings!

@Coloma: What a wonderful story. Any way you can send us the pix of Marwyn in his new home?

Call the newspaper and have them do the “Happily-ever-after” follow-up to the story that is coming out in tomorrow’s paper. I am sure that the saga will touch as many hearts in your area as it did (and does here.

All’s right with the world, for now.

Thanks everyone,an emotional morning for me.
It is so strange to not hear my little friends honking and running out of the barn to jump in their pools, but…I am happy they have a dream come true home.
Their new mother goose has sent me 2 new emails already this and morning, with updates and is madly in love with them both.
Life…so bittersweet at times.

Here is Marwyns pic. from last night in my avatar, I will get some others up when I can.
They said he bit them when I left and they had to restrain him but then he followed them around for the rest of the evening. He knows the sound of my car and driving away was so hard. :-(

@Coloma I am SO happy for you and your goose-baby!

I got tickets to see Streisand today!!!!! Words cannot express my excitement right now. One thing that made this aqn even nicer experience for me was @augustlan enthusiasm about this in some PMs. My work colleagues were less than impressed (they don’t get my Streisand obsession and they’re not that willing to feign happiness for me). I was so excited at the time of booking that I could have burst and so for someone to say that they understood what it meant to me rather than just appearing to be humouring me was really nice. Thanks Auggie :)

@Coloma; I can’t help laughing. Only one bite? Everyone was lucky. (Milo scratched me last night and actually left a piece of his nail embedded, point first, in the side of my wrist. At first, I thought it was a splinter.)

@gailcalled Haha…Milo unsheathed!
Well..the thing is with Marwyn if you are very nice and only stroke his body and ego he will be your friend forever, but do not attempt to ever challenge his dominance or he will have it in for you forever after. Geese have amazing and long memories. They let Marwyn bite and did not react and when he got over his tantrum all was well. lol

^^^So should I let someone who is annoyed with me bite me just the once?

@Leanne1986 While I can’t say that I’m a fan of Babs, It’s great that you’re so excited, and I’m sure you’ll have a fabulous time! Congrats!

@gailcalled Only if they have fur or feathers. Human biters get no mercy. haha

@Coloma Your welcome. I am glad you feel at peace. The one thing you can think of is that as sad as it may be that you do not hear Marwyns honks and I’m so sorry for that but at least he’s still honking, and that is a great moment. :)

@nofurbelowsbatgirl
I have his voice on video and yes, he shall honk for many years to come and I can still hear his sweet calling. I can’t wait for our first visit in a couple of weeks after the move. It will be a reunion right up there with the best! :-)

:)

@Coloma This thread should be renamed “Adventures of a Goose Girl!” I’m very glad that things are working out for you and Marwyn.

@janbb Thanks bunches! I will try not to turn this into the diary of a girl and her goose. Just nice to able to release the emotionsand talk about our big transistion.

If a goose bite isn’t any worse than a duck bite, then getting “billed” by a goose probably isn’t nearly as bad as getting billed by my cable TV provider. ;-)

@WillWorkForChocolate Thank you :)

Today the animal behaviour company I work for are putting in an offer for a bigger premises to what we are currently using. Fingers crossed the current owners accept, we will be able to do so much more with a bigger building!

My two bunches of daffodils have mostly opened and are cheering up my desk!

Happy Friday!

I got to go hang out with my BFF and her 7 week old baby girl.

It’s really nice to see all these babies, but it sure does bring back my own baby pangs. I want another baby, dammit!

I got a very touching gift in the mail today from a jelly friend. Made me cry, in a good way.

I got married yesterday! We did rings and vows on a jetty in Jamaica. Just the two of us. Best wedding I’ve ever been to.

Congrats @nikipedia!

Congrats @nikipedia !!

@nikipedia Congratulations! I have been enjoying the pictures from your island idyll. This must make it perfect.

@nikipedia Congratulations!!!

A busy day dawning for me with the final move push down to the next 4 days.
Today is yard stuff and a dump run and dismantling my giant bed.
All is well with my darling geezers. I am getting multiple daily emails from Marwyns new mother goose and Sonora had a checkup yesterday.

Everyone is healthy and sassy and Sonora will continue her medication and rest for her heart murmur and bad leg, but she is still going to enjoy a quality of life as a special needs goose. Floating in her pool surrounded by her beloved Romaine lettuce. haha

I got a video of the morning swim and everyone is smitten with them. :-)

Congratulations @nikipedia. I hope you will both be exceedingly happy. What a huge year for you!

@Coloma – I am so happy you found a wonderful home for your geese. Such a relief for you. Now you can hopefully move on to the next phase of your life with a lighter heart.

Mazel Tov @nikipedia !

Congrats @nikipedia!
@Coloma I hope you will post a link when the news article comes out.

My boyfriend and I had a 3 hour nap together this afternoon. Was bloody lovely!

I’ve had the privilege of spending last night and today with one of my daughter’s best friends, whom I would totally steal from her parents if I could. AND her band UIL competition was today and they got a 1! (1 is the highest score you can get.) I’m a proud mama, even if she’s not my blood daughter.

Congratulations, @nikipedia!!!

I slept for nearly 17 hours today. Needed it. :)

Someone wrote a very sweet song for me today. someone has a big fat crush on me. XD

I registered for 4 bike ride fundraisers for this year.
Bike the Berkshires for MS – 100 miles
Cycle the Seacoast for American Lung – 100 Miles
Tour deCure American Diabetes – 551 Miles
PanMassChallenge for DanaFarber Cancer – 192 Miles

Cycle Season here we come!!!!

@blueiiznh Holy. You are awesome! :) and thats a long way!
Basically like if you headed my way on the Tour deCure I could make you a celebratory dinner! Cuz yeah 551m you could basically be to my place by that time because by my calculations we are about 916km apart give or take and most people take a plane for that or travel by car. ETA 19 hrs by car

I passed the whole of my course with 78%

2 more nights in my house here and getting ready to shove off for the 4 hour, “sometime between noon & 4” service call for my U-Verse set up at the new house.
Having fun “camping out” in my living room on my bed on the floor and being fully present with my last hours here.
My new space in going to be cute, small but cozy and I am doing well after placing the geese and mourning for a few days. Life moves us up, ready or not, and I am ready now. :-)

A great breakthrough in the adjustment of my darling two.
In my avatar, tonight Sonora ate from Erics hand in the barn…day 5 and today was a milestone in trust. God, I miss them so much!
Just look at my little sweetheart, trusting the strange hand to feed her. :-)

@Coloma I’m sad that you’re going to have to change your “story” on your page :-(

@Judi Well…they will always be “mine”, just blending famlies now. :-)

Last night was the first night in my new digs. Strange to say the least. Didn’t sleep well at all, the sound of gasp TRAFFIC around the corner.
I am on the edge of town and have a beautiful cherry tree in bloom outside my bedroom window, and a nice little garden space that backs up to a hill with pine trees and manzanita and then…the sprawling local cemetary. haha

How poetic, living 25 yards away from a cemetary, at least it is very green, I guess I could call it a greenbelt. lol
The cats are completely flipped out, one spent the night burrowed under my comforter and the other hiding on a wicker trunk in my closet.
Life is weird right now, and I am vacillating between trying to keep a positive outlook and hating these changes.
Time will mellow things and I will adjust, but man….from total seclusion, privacy and freedom, to sharing a home with someone.

Life is very strange for me right now, very. :-/

I got all new bedding yesterday, and my bed is so pretty. :)
My friend had a small tumor removed from his back today, and it isn’t cancerous. :D

A good morning, feeling a little more okay today. Just gorgeous out, and I cut some Lilacs and Azaleas for the kitchen. Myles is out exploring and rolling around the house and Mia is poking around too, but still very wary. I just feel awful though that my country cats are going to have to become house cats after years of romping out the kitty door into the garage with me in the mornings, on our way out to the barn to let the geese out.

Mias sentry was mouse hunting under the barn and I miss their happy frolicking around.
Oh well…adapt or die. haha
They do have a roomy house to play in and I guess the laser pointer will have to make up for galloping around the property.
Meeting a friend for lunch and might have some wine tonight. Life goes on.

@Coloma An adjustment but it seems like you – and the animals – will make it work.

I had a really good talk last night with my friend with whom there had been a cooling off period and I feel better about the friendship than I have for a long time.

I went on my first picnic of the year today. A drive to Point of Rocks, across the Potomac on the bridge, down to White’s Ferry and back to Maryland. It was really nice.

Lunch was turkey sandwiches, deviled eggs, coleslaw, green and black olives, and berries for dessert.

Today I cleaned my room, and bought a new jacket. My best friend is sleeping over, and I’m gonna order pizza soon :)

@AshLeigh We ordered Pizza Hut pizza friday. That was far from great.

@Adirondackwannabe, Pizza Hut won’t deliver to my house, because they’re jerks. Haha.

The girls and I had fun dyeing Easter eggs together.

I had a lovely day with my family. Nothing special. We had lunch together and shared some easter gifts and just spent some time. I always enjoy shared time with my family. Now it’s raining heavily and it’s nice just sitting here talking to all of you and listening to the rain.

Adjustment still in progress over here, but coming along.
Took the cats outside on leashes yesterday. Cracks me up, living with leash laws after living on property forever up here. Oh well…they got to explore around some, and did quite well.
I am enjoying my private porch and yard, which is really open and has lots of fruit and flower trees.

I am also looking forward to putting in a few tomatoes and some flowers in the garden next month. Also going to visit Marwyn & Sonora soon, maybe next week, or the following week.
Day 4 and I am surviving these changes, maybe not quite thriving yet, but getting a little better every day.

@Coloma: Hats off to you, my dear. You seem to be one of the most resiliant women I know. If I had had a huge trust fund, I would have endowed you before you were forced to move.

(I am going to soak some of the morning glory seeds in warm water over night and plant some of them in small pots in my living room, strew a few outside and save the rest for planting outside after the last killer frost.

I don’t have to exercise today, and “Call the Midwife” series two starts again tonight on our PBS.

@gailcalled Thank You…yes, I have my giant jar of Morning Glory seeds to plant soon too. Glory be. :-)

@gailcalled Thanks for the heads up about “Call the Midwife”! If I can stay up, I will watch it. I was up at 5 this morning.

Great walk with my walking group along my poor benighted shoreline this morning. Some new female friendships are beginning to form.

@janbb: Remember the nap and keep it holy.

Did a 10 minute quicky and now off to the movies.

To see what?

Saw Admission and found it very delightful. Great satire of the Ivy admissions process.

^^^Ach. That was my life, for 14 years.

@gailcalled Then you will either like it or not but it was the first I laughed in a movie in months.

I love ‘Call the Midwife’ too. Do you get ‘Miranda’ over there? Miranda (Chummy) Hart is a comedian. I think she’s delightful as Chummy. That program is a big reminder of what life was like for working class women in the 1950s in the UK.

@Bellatrix Not that I know of.

I’d love to see Miranda Hart in another role. She is extraordinary as Chummy on CTM and shows us just how beautiful the unconventional can be.

@gailcalled It wasn’t on here – unl4ess it was on at 8?

It was, I am sorry to say.

Ah – I can catch it online then later in the week. I bailed on “Mr Selfridge” – terrible acting!

Agreed…and a banal story line.

I don’t know about great. My nephew was bouncing on a large medicine ball and I was holding it from behind him so he didn’t hit anything if he came off it. He was having a great time and so was I. Until he crapped his pants in front of my face. And I just laughed..

In the collegiate women’s basketball tournament, Louisville beat Baylor. :-)

I had SUCH an amazing day with my friend. We are hilarious :)

I found a single missing earring in the fold of the driver’s seat in the car.

Then I found a pair of my favorite earrings that I thought were lost forever in an odd place in the house.

The two inches of snow that fell last night melted.

Oliver, the 1 pound 15 ounce premie has a new brother yesterday. (Full term).

@Adirondackwannabe: Such happy news. What’s the age difference?

About 2 years 6 months.

@Adirondackwannabe :) Congrats! That is awesome news!

@Adirondackwannabe: Wait until Oliver discovers the new rival for Prince of the Realm. When my sister was born, three years after my brother, my mother had to put little jingle bells on all my brother’s shoes. That was to alert her, my father and me when my brother was sneaking up on my sister with lethal plans (whidh he did with regularity for a year or so).

Oops, sorry, It’s 1 year 6 months. The new guy is 7 pounds 15 ounces. Everyone is doing good. Oliver is pretty mellow, I think he’ll be fine. Thanks for your thoughts.

@Adirondackwannabe Congratulations!

Congratulations @Adirondackwannabe!

And @gailcalled, how strange (but lovely) to find so many lost earrings on one day. Do you still have the lonely single earring to go with the one you found in the car?

First grass mowing of the season! It smells wonderful.

@chyna Our grass was just starting to green up and then it snowed tonight. :(

I spent 3 hours clearing the flower beds and pruning. I am not as lucky yet to smell fresh cut grass like @chyna because there is a smattering of snow in shady areas. I however was able to prune to the buds on everything from rose to hibiscus, clematis to hydrangea, and everything else in between.

@Bellatrix: My clever sister, the jeweler, took the lonely single earring, added a pretty little silver loop in place of the clip-on hardware and made it into a pendant. I have been wearing it on long silver chain, happily. I’ll have to check her forbearance to see whether she’ll convert the pendant back to an earring so that I have two earrings

Today my everything became my history. I broke up with my boyfriend, and while this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, it’s a good thing because I’m finally doing the right thing.

Bought a great Lemon Merangue pie yesterday, a treat that I enjoyed after a couple of glasses of red wine. Dinner of champions. haha
Still getting adjusted to my new situation, but coming along, now…for humor of the day.
A friend of 8 years is on a fairy jag. OMG!

She is the nicest person but…you would think that after knowing me, my tastes and decorating style all these years she would get a clue. lol
A few days ago she gave me a fairy solar light for my little garden retreat spot. Of course I put it outside but, jesus…I HATE fairy things.
Yesterday the fairy onslaught continued with her giving me yet ANOTHER fairy decoration and a fairy incense burner.

Oh man….this is awful!
I hid the fairy and blue moon decorative thingy on a shelf, in the corner where I can’t see it unless I try to. haha
The fairy incense burner is in my closet.
I just can’t help but laugh to myself and think….” M.! Have you EVER seen a cutsey fairy thing in my space, ever, in 8 years!”

Nothing worse than gifts that are hideous. :-/

My walking group has hit over 1,000 members. Luckily, they don’t all come out at once! I sent a thank you to our main Organizer and got back a lovely note from him.

That’s amazing @janbb. Is that some sort of record?

@Coloma – don’t vampires kill fairies (if you believe the True Blood scripts)? Perhaps you can counter her fairy gifts with some vampire stuff? :-) Or regift! Save some money.

Jesus this quarter is busy for me. Stopping by when I can.

@Coloma, I have been following your situation and feeling pretty sad about it myself! It’s hard to picture you without your geese and your nature sanctuary. I’m really glad to hear about how well you’re adapting, though – keep it up, strong lady.

My life is good, this term is way too crazy and I’m honestly just looking forward to summer (only a month left of school). Staying happy though, if a little overly stressed. My novel has gone on the back burner – and honestly, I don’t really know how I’ve been finding time to write a novel during the academic year at all – and my other big outside project I have in the works is definitely gonna have to wait till summer too. I haven’t even had time to draw birds, and that’s just not right! All that makes me sad, but I’m looking forward to starting it back up in the summer.

This summer I get about six weeks of time off and then I do some traveling for a school project. I’ll be doing work while I travel, but it’s going to be an awesome experience. I’ll be near a national park and will be hiking and birdwatching and enjoying nature for the seven weeks that I’m there. Very excited about that.

I love my life here at college, but the other night I was thinking about how things were when I first got to college, and how I was always trying to go out of my comfort zone and try new things, and I realized I hadn’t done that much in a long time. I’ve found a comfortable group of friends and stuck with them. And trying new things was one of my favorite things about college. So, I signed up to perform a couple of songs at a small coffeehouse event on campus. Last night I sung and played piano for an audience for the first time ever! I was really nervous and messed up pretty badly, blanked out on the piano part in the middle of one of the songs, but other than that I think I did a pretty good job, it was new and fun and it felt good. My next challenge – I think I’m going to do stand-up at the end-of-year comedy festival!

I really love the person I have become since coming to college. I feel like I’m finally who I always wanted to be, and I feel a sense of belonging here that I never felt in high school.

@Bellatrix Some of the social meet-ups have that many members but this is a record for us. We’ve been getting about 20 – 30 people on the walks though which is plenty.

I’d say so @janbb. If you call carried placards you could turn it into a protest march with that many people!

@Bellatrix And if there were forty of us we could call it a movement! The Alice’s Restaurant Massacre movement!

You could! You are two thirds there. We want pics when it happens. Let’s be honest, there are people who have started movements who would be thrilled if so many people turned up to events. I wish we had such a group in my area. I’d join in for sure.

It’s been a godsend for me.

I bet. After long relationships end and our ‘friends’ have taken sides or we discover they weren’t friends at all, it can be a lonely time. I’m glad you have such a great group and it provides the added benefit of fitness too.

Day two of the single project: was able to stay distracted, spending time with my friends. And while I’m still having trouble with my dermatilomania I can say that I didn’t pick a lot today, and that’s a start. A tiny needle in a haystack. But with this step, I can at least believe that the needle exists.

Hang in there @AshLeigh

@Mariah I feel like I’ve watched you grow up here on Fluther, and I’m awfully proud of the person you’re becoming. :)

A breakthrough this morning with my siamese cat, “Mia”...she actually went out on my little porch where I put one of the cat condos and she enjoyed looking around at the new yard for about 7 minutes until she decided to go back to her safe room. haha
Cats….so neurotic about changes, but of course, so are we. :-)

Day three of the single project: it actually really hurts today, but I was finally able to drag myself out of bed and go to school. So there’s another needle in the haystack.

The dramatic pileated woodpecker has returned; I hear him hammering on a tree in my wood margin. And l learned that a “pileus” was a brimless, felt hat shaped rather like the pileated’s crest.

The tree outside my window has bloomed.

^^^ Cherry?

@gailcalled Yes. they are very late this year because of the cold temperatures. The ones at the tidal basin are not supposed to bloom until this weekend.

I just found my first daffodil blossom, opened. it wss the little and charming tête-à–tête.

Yes. My daughter saved her friends life today. Today she was brave and most of the time she runs in the other direction and lets fear run her life.

Today that changed, today she ran into fear and conquered it. :)

@nofurbelowsbatgirl Can you give out details or is that not possible?

MR. AUGUSTLAN GOT A JOB! After more than two years on the job market, someone finally hired him. :D

It’s not a great job (Walmart), but we will take what we can get!

@augie That’s fantastic news!!!!!!!

@augustlan Mazel Tov!

@augustlan Yay!

Oh my goodness @augustlan! That is just the best news. So happy for you both. He (and you) must be so thrilled!

@Adirondackwannabe all I can really say is that the girl attempted suicide. And luckily my daughter was there and was brave enough to do the right thing.

@augustlan congrats :)

@nofurbelowsbatgirl Okay, that’s all I needed to know. Tell your daughter I’m impressed with her courage and bravery. That’s some nasty stuff to deal with. It takes the heart of a lioness to do that.

@Adirondackwannabe I will tell her! That will boost her confidence big time. She has dealt with issues with fear since she was a toddeler. I will tell her you said she is just like the lion king, that is her favorite movie & that will make her feel good. :)

I’m glad that would cheer her up. And make sure she knows I didn’t know any details before saying that. Sometimes it just takes guts to wade into bad situations.

@Adirondackwannabe I will let her know for sure. xx ty.

Thanks. Also let her know she made me smile. You did too. :)

@Adirondackwannabe, you are like 1 of my all time most favorite lazy chairs! ;)

LMBO That’s laughing my butt off. Your daughter doesn’t need any profanity. I love those chairs. If you ever get in one you’ll have a tough time getting out. They don’t look it but theyare so so comfortable.

Hehehe, well if I won’t be able to get out of the chair then like the group Sugarland says:

I’m stuck on you
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we’re stuck like glue
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby were stuck like glue

LOL!

I had a nice day, filled with good music, laughter, and hugging.

The phoebe just showed up, on schedule and looking to nest as she often does, in a corner under my deck that is protected from the wind. Three more daffodils in bloom this morning.

Today I proved to myself that I am emotionally stronger than I thought when I had to get through a day of pre made plans when all I wanted to do was cancel everything, shut the world out and wallow in my own anxiety. I don’t know how I managed to plaster a smile on my face and pretend I was fine when a year ago I would have been a suicidal mess but, however I did it, it made me realise that I can survive. I’ll stop patting myself on the back now!!!

@Leanne1986 Let me pat you on the back. Good for you lady.

Some of my husband’s family flew in from California, to see our Nanny before she died, and we drove out to visit them while they’re here. It was so great to see them again!

I bought seeds today!
Cosmos, Morning Glories, Nasturtiums, Four O’ clocks and sunflowers.
My new fenced garden spot is about 6×12 and I shall cram it full of flowers, tomatoes and squash. :-)

We want photos when they are all in bloom @Coloma!

@Adirondackwannabe Thank you :)

I went to my first ever Quilting Retreat this weekend and loved it.
When I got home my hubby and I picked up a new desk he found on Craig’s List that allows me to stand (and put a small treadmill under it) so I can walk/stand while working to hopefully be less sedentary while working at home in front of a computer all day (when not traveling).

So, I’m standing here typing..and loving it.

Oh very jealous @geeky_mama. I want one of those. I spend too many hours sitting while working.

@Bellatrix – keep an eye out on Craig’s List and/or if you have an IKEA near you there is an inexpensive IKEA Frederik desk I hear that works well for this..at least according to some folks on this forum.

I really needed to counteract the hours spent at the computer with something that gets me up & moving.. The treadmill was ordered today and I’m so excited. :)

This was actually yesterday. I had lunch with @marinelife, and we had a wonderful time!

Good for you guys. I want to meet a jelly in real life.

@geeky_mama I can so, so relate. I didn’t think of looking in Ikea for something I can adapt. I have a recumbant bike as well as a treadmill and I may as well be peddling or walking while typing! I’ll check out Ikea. Thanks.

@Adirondackwannabe if I wasnt so far away from you I’d meet you :)

@nofurbelowsbatgirl And I’m sure I’d love every minute of that.:)

The weather finally warmed up enough for me to throw my winter parka in the washing machine and dryer.

Our weather was warm enough for me to ditch the coat for the first time today and drive with the car window down. The birds were singing like crazy, the grass is greening up and the lilacs are budding.

78 degrees here today, April 8, 2013. Don’t hate me.

^^^ Yeah. But that means sunblock, hats and longsleeved shirts for fair-skinned blonds.

Ugh, it’s still chilly here :( and it’s going to rain all week waaaa.
@Adirondackwannabe I could use the sunshine send some my way..

~~ ▶◀ ~~
~▼> < ▼~
~▲ ヘ ▲~
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@nofurbelowsbatgirl Here you go.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sunshine&qpvt=sunshine&FORM=IGRE
Or check my avatar in a bit.

I actually looked for shorts because it’s going to be in the 80s tomorrow and Wednesday.

Going to see a movie with my sister :)

Good day sunshine working and talking with my pal.

I gave my hubby morning nookie, watched several episodes of True Blood, took a nap, got my nails done, and bought new shoes. It was a good day, but I’m looking forward to going back to bed!

@Adirondackwannabe Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
♬(^0^)~♪you always come through for me! ♬(^0^)~♪

@nofurbelowsbatgirl Careful. You’ll give me a swelled head. I just try to be nice.

I just learned a new word: ekphrasis.

This is both good and bad: school is cancelled due to accumulation of snow and ice on the roads. This is bad because… It’s freaking April! This snow better melt by the end of the month, or it’ll mess up my talkeetna trip:(

My grandson turned 5 today. I took a balloon to his school and his parents brought ice team for the class. (That was great in itself.)
One of his teachers had a really hard time this Christmas. She has 5 kids and was really struggling. I helped my daughter put a basket together for her. I had forgotten all about it.
When she realized who I was she thanked me and hugged me and told me what a difference it made in her Christmas. Warmed my heart to realize something so simple for me meant so much to someone else.

@Adirondackwannabe pfft, “a swelled head” !, seriously the complications can’t be all that bad? I’ve heard symptoms are easily relieved. ;)

My cat Mia actually came out into the living room of my new house tonight for the first time in 13 days. haha
She was swishing around being coy and exploring the new digs.
That’s about it, the rest is negative. lol

Oh…well okay….I can offer up “humor of the day.”
Sooo…the next door neighbor is a robust but apparently sickly 79 year old woman named “Joan.”
She has a myriad of ailments of which I am discovering she relishes talking about. Joy of joys. :-/

Today we chatted briefly and she commenced to sharing how she had to cancel her colon exploration for tomorrow because her blood pressure was too high today. Alrighty then.
I mentioned that I wouldn’t be surprised if my blood pressure was up lately too. haha
Okay…ready…..she then runs in the house and comes out and slaps a blood pressure wrist cuff on me and takes my reading!!!

I am re-naming her ” Moan” instead of Joan. haha

I am having my hair done this evening and I am going for a slight change I’m not great with big change when it comes to my hair! I’m going for this sort of look! I’m excited!

@Leanne1986 Cute! I just switched to side bangs and I love them. :-)

@Coloma Fingers crossed my boyfriend will like it, he’s very hard to please when it comes to my hair and, for that reason, I have kept things very much the same for a long time. It’s only hair right? If he hates it he will have to suck it up until it grows out!!

We finally signed the lease of our new rental house today. Moving out of an apartment in two weeks! Yeah!

Yay, Marina!

@marinelife That’s exciting!

I remember moving into. My first house and saying “I finally feel like a real person” when I had my own washer and dryer. No more laundry mats woot! Congrats @marinelife!

@marinelife So glad that’s sorted out for you! Good luck with the move. :)

In the span of an hour I just finished a part of a homework assignment that I thought would take an entire day. Usually it works backwards from that!

Someone who owed me $360 paid me back, unexpectedly, yesterday ahead of our agreement. :-)

My car insurance went down by about £20 per month!

T-Mobile started selling iPhones as of today. I’ve finally got an iPhone, yippeeeeee!

A wonderful, healing talk with a close friend.

^^^Yay.

The snow, sleet and ice lasted only for the morning. and most shops still had enough salt and sand lying around to vouchsafe our safety on the sidewalks. 34˚.

^^^ 75 in Northern Californi, still have the fan on at 10 p.m. ;-p

Last night, I had a meeting/job interview with the company I’m doing editing for, with a possible opportunity to expand my work with them. We all got along really well, and it was very enjoyable. As a bonus, I got to meet the jelly who is responsible for getting me the opportunity in the first place. It was a lovely evening!

Taught an absolutely amazing class on May Sarton. Sixteen students and everyone participated. It was so thrilling.

Going to my sisters baby shower :) yay babies!

My “other daughter” is spending the night with us again! Love her!

I made a Sex Pistols onesie for my niece :)

@AshLeigh And that’s a good thing? :)

It’s a great thing! Haha

@AshLeigh You are a wild woman. :)

Danced all night to Motown at a club.

^You go girl!

Today is my thirteenth wedding anniversary, woohoooooo!

Happy Anniversary, WWFC. And a lucky thirteen at that!

Happy big A. @WillWorkForChocolate !!!

Going to spend the afternoon with the geese tomorrow, I can’t wait to see them! They are adjusting well and getting the royal treatment. :-)
Enjoyed sitting outside in my little private yard last night.
A lovely evening, breezy and cloudy but warm and I am really happy I have the whole backside of this little property to myself, butting up against a hill with a huge pine tree and oaks overhanging and then the wood edge bordering the cemetery.

The cherry tree and huge pine tree made some nice rustling sounds in the wind last night.
I also have a giant cluster of beautiful pink Azaleas cascading across my little private porch.
It’s still not “home” yet, but I am grateful for the small stuff.
A little slice of the wild side. :-)

Well today is my birthday although the news puts a dampener on things.

Happy birthday!^

Thank you @chyna :-)

A friend of mine was at the marathon, but she’s okay.

Happy birthday @Bellatrix!

Thank you @Mariah. Glad your friend is okay.

Happy birthday, Bellatrix!

Happy Birthday @Bellatrix from me too!

Thank you @marinelife and @janbb!

@Bellatrix Happy Birthday to one of my favirite Aussies.

Happy Birthday @Bellatrix!

And my good thing of the day: all of my friends at the Boston Marathon (group of 6) are safe. They were just two blocks away when the explosion (1st?) occurred. Their FB stream of photos is surreal to see..from the elation of the race to the frightening aftermath of seeing Coast Guard filling the Boston Harbor and police sweeping the street with weapons out. In addition to the folks at the race, my friends who live in Boston are also all safe & sound (though some had a lonnng walk home) tonight, too .

@geeky_mama That is great news.

Thank you @Adirondackwannabe and @geeky_mama!

Glad all your friends are okay @geeky_mama. That’s a wonderful blessing today.

Happy birthday!

Had a great day with my friend today. :)
Heard from my uncle, and he’s doing well in his new home.

Happy Birthday, Bellatrix! (although I might be a day late with our time zone difference).

3 hours til I see my darlings! A beautiful morning after rain and T-storms and hail yesterday. Spring in the Sierras, from 80 degrees to 37 overnight.
I can’t wait to see the geese and wander around with them on this beautiful day, I will report about our reunion tonight, one month today!

@Coloma they will be so thrilled to see you!

Thank you @AshLeigh and @picante :-)

Oh @Coloma, I can’t wait to here how your visit went. Take some pics if you can. Hugs!

I went to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the theatre tonight. One if the drag queens was the spitting image of my brother!!!

@Bellatrix Happy Birthday! May all your dreams come true, or, at least you get bent over for a nice spanking. lol

A great afternoon with the geese. I am off to bed feeling content that they have found their perfect life after life. :-) I miss them like crazy but Marwyn was so happy to see me and he has so much to do and so much stimulation in his new home that he is very fulfilled in all his goosey needs. A very nice day!

@Coloma Very happy to hear that!

I have several big tests and homework assignments behind me and am going to be able to kind of chill out for a few days.

My niece was born today. Welcoming Alexandra. :D

@AshLeigh Excellent news. Congrats to everyone in your family!!!!

Initiated divorce proceedings this week and I’m feeling strong.

@janbb I feel bad giving that a GA, but nice to see you’re moving on with your life.

@Adirondackwannabe It’s getting better.

That I can give a GA!

We moved, and I love the new house and the neighborhood so much! The move itself was grueling (as usual), but it went pretty smoothly. I am at the old place keyboarding on a card table and folding chair which is all that is left here except the phones, because I have a conference call this afternoon and installation is not until tomorrow!

I did standup last night, and the audience’s reception surpassed my wildest expectations! What an experience.

My kids had an absolute blast at Medieval Times last night, and are having a relaxing, lazy day today! It’s been a great weekend. <sigh of contentment>

@Mariah Woo Hoo! Still on my bucket list…my humor has not been up to par lately, but maybe someday. Congratulations!

My novel is officially novel-length today. I passed the 40,000 word benchmark!

The blue heron has returned to our little pond. I saw him flying over the water, very much like a pterodactyl. And I heard the pileated woodpecker drumming in the wood margins. The tops of the peonies are up, and the roses are starting to show new green growth. I have 5000 daffodils in bloom in my field. Some of them.

@gailcalled “a host of golden daffodils….”

While driving home last evening, I saw a beautiful double rainbow that seemed so close I could almost reach out and touch it. Then I took what turned out to be an eleven hour nap.

Last night I saw Pink in concert, she was amazing!

P!nk is amazing, love her!

Well I went to see my eye specialist and my eyes are doing brilliantly (I had glaucoma until he did surgery). Made me think of a Q I want to ask later.

On the downside – Mrs Landingham died…. and that made me cry lots. :-(

Thank goodness my family are all going to see a very funny comedian together tonight. Phew… where are the tissues…

@Bellatrix On The West Wing? I loved that episode, but yes, sad.

Nods! Yes @janbb. I probably should have put a spoiler alert. I’ve never watched it (the WW) before. I have the boxed set but I have a rule I can only watch the WW while exercising. I love the WW! I missed the early episodes when it was shown on TV so never got into it. A jelly who doesn’t come around much now called it ‘liberal porn’. She is so right.

I loved that show. And thought the ending of that episode was wonderful as well as the background it gave about Jed..

Add me to the “hooked on West Wing list”. I loved it until the last season.
Something great- I’m going up to Lake Erie with friends for the weekend.

A beautiful morning in my zone. Adjustment coming along, but boy, what an adjustment.
I am in-joying my little hideaway out back in my private yard that backs up to a wood edge and the old cemeteries. The fence is blooming with purple cow vetch and the cats are enjoying their little taste of country on the edge of town.
Marwyn and Sonora are doing well but oh how I miss them.

Letting them go was waaay harder than divorcing my ex. lol

First day of a three-day weekend went really well. It was a beautiful day. We did some unpacking, took the dogs for a walk at a nearby creek and trail, went out to breakfast and just enjoyed!