look what i found!
Mood:  surprised
Topic: SEEN AROUND THE PLACE
i can't believe how beautiful this is.... and it's edible, too. it's a chicken of the woods, or laetiporus sulphureus.

on the other hand.....
Mood:  happy
Topic: JUST CHECKING IN
i am at the last stage of the weight-loss surgery qualifying... i just got the ok to have the MMPI done in spooner instead of having to go all the way to superior. i'm going to call for an app't this afternoon, and since it's still the first half of august i might make the august review, although that's not likely. if everything works out smoothly, though, i might be able to have the surgery in a month or two.

blech
Mood:  blue
Topic: JUST CHECKING IN
blech BLECH blech
saw the fibro RN specialist friday, received a definitive diagnosis. at least it explains my pain, but now what?
the good news... i am being referred for PT and OT so perhaps i'll find some help.
the upside is that i have finally connected with specialists who know what they are doing and have good ideas about what i need.

day two
Mood:  not sure
Topic: JUST CHECKING IN
whoo hoo.. maybe i'm onto something!

i was so wiped out today, but this afternoon i made myself do the tiny bit of tai chi i started yesterday, then i finished my sister's gift and also got an item packaged up and mailed to a friend. i feel i'm accomplishing something, at least the walk to the mail box.

feeling kind of proud of myself
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: JUST CHECKING IN
yesterday i went into town to go shopping, spent all my energy if not all my money. normally this means a day or two or three knocked out to recuperate. just monday i moved a couple of boxes, went out to lunch with friends, and was dead to the world for the next two days.

well, today i was tired but restless, motivated, bored. so i actually started doing tai chi from an instructional tape i've had for years! a tiny start, but hey! and then i worked on some gifts for people, jumping up and down to run and find the supplies i need. and THEN i went out and did my spring road litter patrol, using the scooter of course but getting on and off, up and down, back and forth, picking up a winter's worth of cans, bottles and trash from my roadside.

i still haven't napped, and it's going on 10, but my did i need a pain pill LOL

A BLOOM!!!!
Mood:  smelly
Topic: SEEN AROUND THE PLACE
some hard work today (for me, with my own private scale of difficulty) but it was really good to be outside.

i saw the first violet blooming along the side of the road, and down by the river the first two pale lavender butterflies were out. usually i see them as the violets are at their peak. lovely little creatures.

also saw some red twig dogwood so i can go collect a couple of whips and see if i can root them. and some blue flags were up, although just leaves, no buds or blooms yet. it's nice to poke around the river before vegetation and bugs make it almost intolerable to explore the riverbank.

ohhhhhh, and a minnow! first of the season for that, too.

lucky seems intent on undercutting the riverbank. i don't know what he's digging for, but perhaps a muskrat. maybe just frogs.

i'm lucky to live here.

catch up
Mood:  spacey
Topic: SEEN AROUND THE PLACE
well, last wednesday i saw my first maple flowers, and now they are dropping all over the place.
i've been busy doing spring bird things in the yard and trying to make a nice human nest area. i got started with a hammock

i also saw the first dandelion, just last monday, when i had lucky down at the river for his first swim and frog hunting expedition. he went swimming on his own today.

yesterday pairs of ducks were swimming around on a couple of ponds, today i noticed tiny little aspen leaves. lilies are coming out of the ground so i hope we don't get a freeze that messes them up like last year.

today a tree swallow showed up and checked out the house i have up. for a change i'm not racing around playing catchup with the swallows. i am going to try to get a couple of more up, though, since i just found out they do fine in groups.

i'm zonked, time to hit horizontal.

i guess winter's over
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: SEEN AROUND THE PLACE
last week, thursday or friday, 9 days ago now, i saw and heard the first geese. a pair of them flying overhead and announcing their return. then this last wednesday some ducks flapping around the river, perhaps scouting out some calmer waters. and today the final sign... sera brought in her first woodtick of the year, buried in her neck. here we go.............

ALONE AT LAST ... soon
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: JUST CHECKING IN
a busy busy tiring day... it was a good one but i'm glad it's over. i had the visiting nurse here, carla my aide, eva the meal delivery, and then louie and mary, two great friends, drove up from minnapolis and took me into town and out for dinner.

i'm sooooooooo tired and achy that i'm glad that tomorrow is friday, i only have eva coming, and then i'm alone until monday afternoon.

helpers can be tiring, as much as i appreciate them.

IT'S SPRING!
Mood:  lucky
Topic: SEEN AROUND THE PLACE
I took Lucky out, me on my scooter, for our first jaunt of the season. We got down to the river, through some remaining snow and mud, to find the ice is out and the water is high. On the way back, and we were almost home, Lucky found a hungry raccoon. The 'coon was thin and scraggly looking, but pretty big and not in a mood to take any guff from an old dog. The two of them circled the tree a couple of times, me yelling frantically at Lucky to just leave it alone. He came back to me, or almost, a few times but just HAD to go back to the raccoon. Finally he agreed to keep going with me, so we went way up the road as a reward for him.

This is the first raccoon i've actually seen here, although i have seen their prints. From the way Lucky acted when we got back, i think the raccoon might be living in my shed. That would explain the huge hole gouged out of it's roof a couple of years ago.