Life has been a little nutso lately. Okay...a lotta nutso. I've had two big surgeries in two months and am recuperating from both quite well, albeit with a few bumps in the road. But I'm still on the road, with eyes fixed toward better days.

I went for a walk early this morning. It was cool and breezy -- which is a Big Deal in Memphis on August 1st. It was delightful. I snapped some pictures (of course) and decided to share them with you.

I have a great walkable neighborhood, full of coves and windy streets, with enough hills to challenge me. I love how lush and green everything still looks. Usually by this time of the year, plants are getting really thirsty looking, but they are still quite beautiful.
 

I had to get a picture of this mailbox - the detail is fabulous.


A beautiful house.. I love all the vines and wildness about the place.


This fence caught my eye. I bet it's pretty when lit up at night.


This is my next door neighbor's house. She keeps things looking so beautiful.


And, back home. My solar kitty welcomes anyone to our door, as does the hydrangea door hanger.
     
 

Pain

Pain is a funny thing.  It changes personalities.  Some people turn longsuffering into an art form and develop the patience and perseverance of a saint.  Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.  Pain turns me into a not-very-nice person.  I become biting, sarcastic, bitchy. 

The other day a driver intentionally cut me off while blowing her horn at me for an extended time. It absolutely set me off, and I experienced what can only be called road rage. After the incident was over and my heartbeat returned to a normal rhythm, I was so ashamed of myself for sinking to that level and responding in kind to a rude and selfish driver.

In retrospect, I think the underlying and driving force for my volatile emotions is pain. I have a lot of things going on physically, and I am in pain. Every. Single. Day. The pain varies in severity but it never goes away. And, I know it has changed me. My personality has changed because of it.

I read a line in a book a long time ago that has stuck with me. It basically said "life has kicked the Pollyanna right out of me."  I can definitely relate.

This is my first post in a very long time and it's definitely not my typical upbeat post. But, it's real, it expresses how I am feeling. So I will post it to my blog. This one is not about the small stuff...this one is about the big stuff.

Springtime in Memphis

This time of year in Memphis is absolutely gorgeous. As I type this, I can see out my back window to blooming wisteria draped over our fence from the neighbor's back yard. It's the best of both worlds - we get to enjoy it, but don't have to fight its invasiveness (is that a word?). 

All along our street, and throughout the whole city, there are beautiful pink and white dogwoods in bloom.  Our rose bushes on either end of the house have started putting out blooms -- one red and one a pinky coral shade. Our azaleas (along with everyone else's) are in full bloom and beautiful to behold.  My irises, which are planted all along the front beds next to the sidewalk, are tall and green with big fat bulbs just waiting to pop out their colorful flowers.  

Every year about this time I find myself making a conscious effort to slow down and really feel the cool mornings and really see the beautiful flowers everywhere.  April and October are my two favorite months and I know, all too soon, summer will be here. It will be oppressively, smotheringly hot and I'll alternate between being so hot I can't breathe to freezing to death inside an ultra airconditioned office. I know I'll find myself lusting after a home somewhere else...anywhere else that is cool with breathable air. 

But for now ... today ... I feel the warm sunshine and hear the birds singing and see the glorious flowers of all kinds ... and I find that I don't want to be anywhere else. And that's a beautiful thing.

Chance

It has been a rainy week ... very rainy. Here in Memphis we have gotten over a foot of rain, with more expected today. I had the lucky pleasure of being off work this past Thursday and Friday, and I can't even express the pure indulgence of lying in bed and listening to it rain and knowing, oh - I don't have to get up and go to work in this!  

We have been plugging along around here. We got the sad news a while back that our sweet boy, Chance, has cancer. Then, last week, we found out he also has Cushing's Disease. So, we have started on medicine for Cushing's and are keeping a very close eye on him, to monitor his activity and to make sure he is not in any pain or discomfort. At age 14, Chance is still pretty perky, but with heart issues as well, some days are better than others. While we know the time will almost certainly come when we will need to help him ease from this life, we are trying to keep him as healthy and happy for as long as possible.

This was Chance after being groomed last week.

Sunday afternoon

Not much happening in our little corner of the world today. It's a relaxing, gear-up-for-Monday sort of day around here. My plans extend no further than doing my nails and figuring out what to fix for dinner later (steak, baked potato, and sauteed cabbage).

It's been downright chilly around here, at least to my Southern blood. We had snow the other day and, while pretty, I was ready to see it melt away...which it did the next day when the sun came out.

My buddy, Hobbes, sticks close to me. When he can't get in my lap due to my computer being in the way, he patiently sits by and waits for me to move it. Well...okay, maybe not always "patiently."

My other buddy, Chance, prefers to hang out with Dad. He doesn't sit in my lap often, but when he wants to, I'll invite him to jump up and join me. I think he is more comfortable on the couch.

So that's us and our lazy weekend. Hope you, wherever you may be, are enjoying your weekend as well.

More later --

Powerball ... and dreaming

So, the Powerball jackpot now stands at $1.4 Billion. That is some crazy stuff right there. We went in together at my office and bought some tickets before the last drawing but, of course, there was no winner. I think we will do the same for this one and, if not, I'll definitely pick up a few. 

Like everyone else in the country, I have let my mind go there. What would I (we) do with a huge payout.......?  Steve and I talked about it tonight. My suggestion was to buy a house in the English countryside and a house in Fiji, and spend half the year at each one. This sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan, doesn't it?  My Dearest's dreams were more along the lines of a 120-inch TV and a room/house to go with it.  He's such a guy.

But, when you come right down to it...that kind of money can be quite a burden. A curse, some people call it. I personally believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility to do some good in the world. I have a whole list of charitable causes I would give to (some that we already support in a small way), but it's mind boggling to imagine that you could give a monetary gift that would change someone's life in a drastic and lasting way.

Realistically, we know with this lottery, the odds are definitely NOT in our favor. But it's still fun to dream...

Weekend meanderings

We're getting rain this weekend. A lovely, slow-soaking rain. We desperately needed this. I think we had a pretty severe deficit, although after this weekend, that should be greatly relieved. We have yet to experience the really deep and beautiful Fall colors this year, and I hope the rain will help those to develop as well.

I've been just puttering around the house this weekend, which is my favorite thing to do. Yesterday I did some cleaning, did some laundry, worked on switching out summer/winter wardrobes, and made Tex-Mex meatloaf with mashed potatoes and spinach for dinner. My Dearest is a meat & potatoes boy, so every now and then I have to make just that to keep him happy. And he was. Happy, I mean.  Today my plan is to finish the wardrobe switch and give myself a manicure. Big plans!

Speaking of switches, I made a furniture change in our den recently, from a recliner to a low oversized leather arm chair with ottoman. I like the looks of it, but Hobbes definitely does not appreciate the change. He would stretch out along my legs when I reclined, and it's just not the same now. Poor baby ... he doesn't understand about furniture wearing out!

 I sometimes forget, but Hobbes knows that

I think Chance, on the other hand, likes the new chair better. He can jump up a lot easier. It's interesting looking at my choices from my fur babies' point of view. I can't wait for the day when we replace our couch and loveseat. I'm tired of it and it's starting to sag a little. I'm not sure what we'll choose to replace it, but I know some features I do and do NOT want, and I guess that will be a pretty good place to start. Of course, my main consideration should be how the babies will like it :)

More later --