Fruit and Such

A rather distorted photo of newly purchased fruit.

I eat a lot of fruit, especially since I discovered, through Boud, Envy apples. Now I buy those along with another favorite, Cosmic. I don't know about any of you, but I dislike tart fruit. These two varieties of apples are crisp and pleasant. Now that we have this out of the way; it's a beautiful morning. Chilly, but bright sunshine. I'm a mite distressed realizing it is already May 7th. Time is moving way too swiftly for me to catch up. Remember those long August days that seemed to go on forever as a child? Now years fly by like minutes on a clock.

The severe pain has passed but now I am walking with a cane. It's surprising how swiftly the body changes when challenged by pain. I hope to strengthen my gait over time. We'll see. 

Enjoy the day. They pass by quickly.

A Sunny Monday

Sunday morning I got up, made coffee and sat at my desk for a morning reading your blogs. I think I read two when there was a knock at the door. Neighbor Bill had stopped by for a semi-early visit with some of his frozen green beans. He is clearing out the freezer  for the upcoming crop. He also had a tax question for Mark. 

By the time he left it was approaching lunchtime, so I made a quick soup. The remainder of the day I devoted to me. The sciatic nerve pain truly did knock me off my feet. Over a week of not moving hardly at all to moving poorly showed up in stiffness, a limping gait and big time back pain. I did a series of stretches, balance and strength work. I must say, at the risk of jinxing myself, that I do feel less tight this morning.

I've ordered shade tolerant wildflower seeds to put in areas of my lawn where the only thing growing is scraggly weeds. I'd rather flowers than weeds and it also becomes a space I don't need to mow. I strew seeds in a pasture twenty years ago when I had the brilliant intention of keeping bees. Mark finally convinced me I had enough to do. Back to the seeds. There are still flowers in that field.

Dinner lately has been anything fast. Mark spends some time in the evenings, after the beasties are tucked in, lopping the trillions of trees continually attempting a takeover, so it gets late.

Happy day to you all.

Later in the Day

Wild violets. They grow prolifically on the property. They are beautiful and are fantastic ground cover. They planted themselves here and I thank them.

 

This is a late-in-the-day post for me. I had been outside mowing, then the belt came off the mower and we have to wait for Neighbor Bill to fix it. I could either clean up the kitchen or write a blog post. My answer is obvious as to which I chose. The perennials are popping out of their winter hibernation, the dandelions are blooming and it's a sunny, chilly day. I ordered a bunch of flower and herb seeds a couple of days ago. I had great success last year with basil and thyme seeds, so I'm branching out. Annuals and herbs have become so expensive I cringe. It's not warm enough to plant them now, hoping by the time the seeds arrive it will be.

I have a couple of old rambling roses I need to cut back. It's usually done in the fall but.... They are looking scraggly. Out of many, they are all the roses I have left. Oh, back to the violets. I have a friend who picks the blossoms to make cordial. I know I don't have the patience for that. I have planned for years to make cordial with the elderflowers, another plant that grows profusely here, but they have died before I get to it. Every year.

Well, that's the day so far. The horses are happily grazing on pasture and my hay bill drops way down for a few months. All of us are happy.

Blogger is Not Being Nice

Unfortunately, Blogger has stopped my comments again. Yesterday I was able to comment on a few blogs and then I couldn't. Today is another day of silence from moi. So, I'll just have to talk about myself. 

The sciatic nerve pain has greatly reduced, but not gone. Being put off your feet as an, um, elder really can quickly set back progress made over a couple of years. Regaining that progress is not so quick.

We had a wonderful daylong rain on Monday, which was very much needed. We are starting to look like spring. It's currently 42 F and sunshine. It should be dry enough tomorrow to mow the lawn, which is swiftly becoming a hay field. The gates have been opened to the pastures, allowing the horses to adjust to grass while it starts to grow. Life is trundling along. That said, the anxious dread many are feeling is persistently hovering.

I don't know why I rarely make a casserole. I need to talk to myself about this. They are so easy it's really not cooking at all. Some leftover chicken, a little bacon, asparagus, artichoke hearts and of course, onion and garlic. Voila! Dinner. And there is enough for two more meals. 

Chin up, face the day with as much gusto as we can muster.

*I was able to comment to my blog on the phone. I may need to figure out a plan to use both my phone and computer together. I can't read them on my phone, my hands and eyes protest.*

Cat-Man-Do-Have-Some-Cats

 Constant vying for his attention. Animal magnetism I guess.

Be You

This must be why I had greyhounds!

 

Back Again

Blogger has once again decided to allow my comments!

Aren't we lucky 

Just Another Wednesday

As you can see, I'm quite the fine lady of fashion.

Blogger kicked me off commenting again yesterday about halfway through blogs. I also couldn't, again, comment on my own. I gave it a go on a few this morning and I'm back in. At the moment. I had a fine day yesterday despite that inconvenience. Still in a lot of pain but it's improving. My fine day started with a call from a longtime young friend. Young to me, 47. I met her through horses and have become good friends over the past 20 years. She always has amusing stories. Then I had a nice conversation with my longtime blogging friend, Lori. Another wonderful time spent with a kindred spirit.

We will see how long I get with comments today.

Ouch

Someone in this photo has a name change. Chunk. I think it's obvious which one.

I'm hobbling along with walking sticks and a grimace. Ever hear of the piriformis muscle? A small muscle in the derriere which can press on the sciatic nerve. It's my periodic tormentor. It chose to make itself known again last Thursday. The amount of pain the little jerk can cause is disproportionate to its size. Stretching, massage, not sitting too much but not doing too much, either. This is now my day-to-day. It's improved some.

That's the report from the pain in the ass with a pain in the ass.

*Blogger has stopped publishing my comments again*

I'm Back, Baby!

Fickle blogger is allowing me to comment again. Yahoo!

 This is a quote from a book I am reading that hit a chord with me.

*amended to include authors name

Howard Englander