one of life's cycles

You cut back your food to a "normal" portion size. Two hours later you're not only still hungry, but a little crabby as well. All the experts say you need to exercise as well. So you exercise, but not too much too soon, because you need to build up to it. And yet, the next day every joint in your body constantly exudes reminders that you are not as young as you used to be. SO, you have the crazy circle - eat what you want, do what you want and feel somewhat okay; OR eat what you should eat, do what you ought to do, be "healthy" but totally miserable. Am I missing something somewhere?

Rainy Day

Today has been an unusual day for Garner, NC.
We've had a whole day of rain - you know, that wet stuff that falls from the sky.

My garden is a mud puddle!

But my snow pea plants have grown quite a bit!

And then I heard a strange "Kwoosh, Kwoosh" sound.

For the first time since I don't know when, the water in the pond is above the drain!

And this little "trickle" is now a stream as it gushes out the drain pipe on the other side.

But I don't think the puppies are too happy.

The calf-deep hole they've dug in the middle of their pen is full of water.

They're HOME!!!
Now I just need to call the fencing company...sigh.

prodigal puppies

It's the same old saga.
"Who let the dogs out?"
Our beagles are once again playing prodigal. The day of the storms, Bobby turned them out so they could sleep in the garage, and we discovered where they were escaping. (Lucy was scrouching on her belly beside the pond; Linus was actually wading out into the water and around the shock of the fence.) So yesterday morning, they returned to their penned prison. When I got home from work, I rewired the fence line out into the pond, reconnected the radio current, and we turned them loose. They stayed in the fence for a whopping total of 20 minutes. Bobby stayed outside to watch them, and says they both sat and whined where I had fixed their escape route. Then Lucy ran up and down around the fence line for a little bit, then ran straight through it. Linus whined and cried inside for some time, but then yelped and joined his sister. They did return home this morning, but before I could get dressed to get them back into the pen, they were gone again. I am so aggravated. Hopefully they'll come home tonight. And if they do, Dog Guardian Fencing will be getting a phone call tomorrow. Our neighbor uses them, and his dog NEVER escapes.
So if you hear rejoicing and the fatted calf sizzling, you'll know our prodigal pups have returned.

vehicles

YES!!! IF and when the time comes to replace my car, should we decide it is necessary to have something Bobby can ride with me, then we are no longer limited to a van! Chrysler and Scions now have vehicles that are adaptable for wheelchairs. The Honda Element can be fixed as well, but it still looks like a van to me, plus the fact that I think it is extremely ugly.

We had just about decided my next vehicle had to be wheelchair accessible, and then Bobby stopped getting sick! A part of me says we still need that - just in case. And of course, if my vehicle gets better gas mileage than his huge van, I get to drive to ALABAMA!!! He claims that is reason enough not to do it. He had the delightful experience of actually riding with me about a year ago when we rented a van in AL. For the first time ever in my life, I fell asleep at the wheel. (Which is how his accident happened that resulted in his SCI). He hasn't let me forget it.

Now, if they can ever figure out how to make pickups that are both wheelchair accessible and drivable, I have a feeling I know what I'll have to ride in all the time. :O(
Thankfully they're not there yet.

Bobby's birds

Well, it's mating season, folks. The geese have paired off; we've discovered a nest with two eggs, and I STILL don't have the nesting boxes built, a special fence put up for their protection, or the brooder box cleaned.

We're not going to collect the eggs from the current nest. Like the past three years, we'll let some wild animal eat them, and then will start collecting the second batch that we find. It sounds cruel, but I keep hoping against hope that somehow the geese will be able to lay, incubate, hatch, and raise their own goslings so I don't have to.

And that's where the nesting boxes coming. If I can build a simplified box with a small step, then enclose that area with chicken wire, hopefully that will keep all the predators except for turtles and snakes away. I have an idea that might deter the turtles away from the eggs, but there's not much I can do about snakes. Granted, I've never seen a snake around the geese nests, but several years ago we did have one on the porch railings going after a bird's nest.

I guess the good news is that according to my daffodils and geese...spring is here!

funeral homes

I know this is a really odd topic, but funeral homes here are a whole lot fancier than the ones we had at home growing up. Sometimes I feel as if I'm in a musuem instead of a place for mourning. Almost every one in the state of NC has had some type of huge glass display full of small birds, and all of them have had display cases of some sort of collectibles, whether it be model cars, porcelain dolls, ceramics, or old drawings of the town - they all are showplaces.

This afternoon we went to a funeral home in a nearby town, and one whole section of the funeral home is a display case for the old funeral hearse. It's the wagon part of a buggy that was modified to carry a coffin. It was very ornate, even though it was wooden, and had the most intricate carvings on it. The furniture inside, like most places here, was very fancy, but it was very old antiques (like the couch my Grandma White had forever and a decade).

The thing that really cracked me up...they had a playground for kids back behind the building. I actually think that was a neat thing. So many times I've known family members who had to stay behind to watch everyone's kids when they really wanted to be with everyone else. As a child I remember my uncle walking us down to the nearby Dairy Queen for ice cream. It was a nice break from all the somber grown-ups who would pat you on the head as if you were about to break. With a playground outside, parents could take their kids outside for a few minutes, yet still be close by to the family.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to funeral homes having nice furniture and collectibles and their large, family portraits up on the walls. It just seems a little strange, even if it is cool to look at.