New year... new experiences

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ' I've lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along' You must do the thing you think you cannot do." 

- Eleanor Roosevelt

My new year has already given me marvelous memories. On December 31, last year, I was part of a New Year's party with the talented, giving women of From the Heart. (More about them in future posts.) I realized that I really consider that the beginning of my new year. We knew we'd all probably be in bed by 10pm that night, so we celebrated from 10am until 2pm. The food was tasty and the communion of friends wonderful... a great way to start this year.

I'm preparing to gather with my family to celebrate our post-holiday 'holiday.' I think I've mentioned before how all the adults are great cooks. I'm looking forward to more good food and fellowship with most of my favorite relatives.

Last week, my doctor looked me in the eye and said something I never thought I'd ever hear someone say to me. He told me that I am losing too much weight; I need to eat more. I have a witness. I'm trying to be grown up about this, but I am, after all, only human... Neener Neener!

Beginnings of endings

Things are winding down... or gearing up, depending on your point of view.

Fall is in the air. The cool mornings of the past few days are a precursor of the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall. The day after Labor Day, the holiday season is just a slip and slide away. Scientists have said that the expansion of the universe is slowing from the Big Boom. I have yet to figure out how that relates to the speed-up of time... would explain how the older I get, the faster the days go by. I haven't been inclined to cooking meals... the heat has just not been conducive to hot ovens and steamy pots and pans. I'm looking forward to soups, stews and roasts in the coming weeks... and quick breads and cakes and maybe a pie or two.

My second-oldest granddaughter got her driver's license this week, signaling the end of her childhood and her ascent into adulthood. I managed to keep my advice to two points:
    a) the car has brakes as well as a gas pedal
    b) the car has three rear-view mirrors as well as a windshield
She is a good driver, and she'll gain experience over the coming months. I have little hope that her time on the roads will include limited incidents such as the yahoo who insisted on pulling in front of me the other day. There was no one behind me. What is behind this type of behavior? Ego. God forbid that the driver should be last. But, I digress...

My oldest grandson starts his Senior year in high school in a few days. (They've already taken the Senior pictures!) He's been looking forward to this and he, as well as his younger sisters, are ready for school to start, although they are loathe to admit it.

The plan is in place, the location acquired, and the date set for the From the Heart retreat scheduled in September. I've been looking forward to the retreat since last year's (my first). Along with meeting and greeting other members of the group, we'll be celebrating the 100,000th donation since the group's inception. We've already started on our next 100,000.

Bailey will surely enjoy the cooler weather when it finally sets in. It'll mean more time outside for walks and playtime with his new friend, a Shih Tzu mix named Miss Nellie. Bless his heart, he has to spend so much of his time with just me that he can't contain his glee when we leave our apartment and he gets to see other people. Actually, I can't really call our forays outside as 'walks'... they're mostly 'drags'... him dragging me behind as we make our way along the sidewalks and through the grass lot.

Kiss of the Mayfly

Kiss of the Mayfly... wouldn't that be a great title for a book or movie? Remember... you heard it here first.

Returned a few moments ago from taking Bailey for his first walk of the day. The temperature is 68 and the breeze is cool, almost bracing. Wonderful! Bailey is so energized that he started running circles around me and the dining table and back and forth between our rooms. Then he brought his tennis ball and insisted on a game of toss & fetch. I know how he feels... I'm almost tempted to dance on the table.

The coolness reminded me of something that happened a couple of weeks ago. The day was lovely; cool enough to drive with the car windows open instead of closed with the a/c trying to run. I was returning home from the 'Yarnery' (my daughter's name for the From the Heart workshop), my friend riding shotgun. While stopped at a red light, I looked down in time to see a Mayfly come in through the open window and alight on the back of my hand. He (she?) stayed a few seconds only but what a gift! Pure magic. AND I have a witness to back me up when I tell everyone about it.

Money couldn't have bought these moments of joy.

Wired.... uh, caffined?

As of 5am, I have officially been awake a full 24 hours. The night was lovely. I opened my windows as soon as I could to freshen the stale air in my apartment. Fortunately, it was a quite night... infrequent but quiet traffic, some train whistles, only one siren about 1:30am. It was the first time in over a year that I felt able to leave the windows open. Heavenly.

Yesterday was a busy day. I had to be at the Infusion Center at 8am for a treatment but left early as I had to get gas... I was running on fumes. My treatment was completed about 12:10pm but left a little later after I finished the lunch they provided (Thursdays are 'chicken' day but I've been assured it's the best meal on the menu). Stopped at the library to return audio CDs then headed home to rest, but stay awake, as I had plans for an adventure.

I had made arrangements with one of the founders of From the Heart to go out of town to a meeting of another group of FTH stitchers. On the way, we stopped by McDonald's for an iced coffee and a large mocha frappe (wonder if that had anything to do with being un-sleepy?). The meeting was held at the new library in Hopewell, VA. The library is beautiful and much larger than I had expected. The group brings food to the meetings so I had dinner there, too. The group is wonderful... lovely women using their knitting and crocheting talents to make items for those in need. The conversations ranged from help with patterns and stitches, family news, news about absent members, recipes, and other very important subjects. I will be going again as often as I can... it was a treat to be with them.

On the way to the meeting, I realized that I had forgotten to turn off the alarm on my clock... not a problem if it were a normal clock. Let me tell you about this clock. I had purchased it last year. It had large numerals so I could read the time without my glasses. The numbers were so bright that they cast shadows! I had set the alarm for yesterday morning so I wouldn't oversleep and be late for my infusion appointment. While I was home getting ready to leave for my meeting, I realized that the alarm had not gone off in the morning... I had accidentally set it for PM instead of AM. Two problems: 1) I have no short term memory left... if I don't do something at the moment I think of it, it doesn't get done, 2) the alarm on this clock is truly alarming!... so loud that the first time I had set it, it nearly gave me a heart attack! I did not get up at that moment and turn off the alarm. Traveling to the meeting it suddenly hits me that this monster alarm is going to go off while I'm away from my apartment. I at least had the presence of mind to call a fellow resident and warn her... I didn't want other residents thinking I was in the apartment too ill to move, or dead. No one could get into my apartment and I certainly didn't want emergency personnel called. When I arrived home yesterday evening, one of the other residents from my floor was sitting outside enjoying the delightful weather. She said she was glad she had been aware of my alarm(ing) situation because '... that alarm is certainly effective.' I told her I had decided that I didn't need to know the time during the night. She said she wanted to get one like it because sometimes she has trouble waking up to go to work. As soon as I got into my apartment, I unplugged that sucker, put it in a plastic bag and hung it on her door knob.

I think I know where the directions are for the clock. Wonder if I'll remember to look for them.

The snow! The snow! My God, the snow!

I doubt the younger generation of readers would recognize the re-phrasing I used in my title, but I could not come up with a more relevant phrase. Given that everything is relative and that other areas have had and are having it worse weather-wise than our area, please excuse me if I say that I'm TIRED OF SNOW and mess. I'm ready, so ready, for Spring. Does that count as wishing my life away? I expect (and demand) that all the bugs and germs that have survived our past few mild Winters be totally dead and unavailable to make us miserable later this year.

I have hair. Fun hair. Warmth for my bald head. I had seen a hairy cap and found the pattern to make one for myself. Couldn't... less said the better. When I asked a friend who knits to make one for me, she said she had tried and couldn't handle that type of yarn. A few days later, she let me know that she had one for me, made by a fellow member of a group of ladies that get together to knit, crochet, and fellowship.

From the Heart is a non-profit organization made up of women who use their skills to give warmth and beauty to those in need. Their craft is lovely, their smiles bright, their hearts warm, and their willingness to help each other and their community without boundary. I had seen the results of their charity while I was still working in the activities department at an assisted living facility. My boss had received a call from someone who wanted to know if any of our residents needed lap robes. We expected 4 or 5 robes. What we received were bags and bags of lap covers and shawls in beautiful variegated colors to liven dreary days and warm cold aching knees and shoulders. We had enough to be sure that each resident received one as a gift from Santa.

I called my youngest daughter yesterday morning to see if she and her family needed anything to weather the coming storm. She said she had gone to the store the day before and it had been a madhouse. There were plenty of snack foods available... the store was well stocked up for the Super Bowl weekend... but she was surprised that all the toaster strudels and waffles and pop tarts were gone! Nary a package to be seen. I hope the power doesn't go out. If the wind, snow and ice don't do in the lines, the power surge from all the toasters may.