No Excuses

I really don't have any excuse for not blogging other than I simply wasn't in the mood.

Well, okay, there might be more to this story than that. There are a couple of reasons that I didn't blog.

Number one reason--

Reading. I started reading the Enchanted, Inc. series by Shanna Swendson. These books are what I would call a light paranormal romantic comedy. They are simply too much fun! I'm really enjoying these stories.

I'm currently reading this last one in the series. So I should be back in the swing of things soon.  

#2-- Yardwork. Though I haven't been the one to do the actual planting, I have been whacking back some of my crazy plants and pulling those seedlings that seem to find their way into the mulch. We've had to replace several perennials, one tree, transplant roses and mini mondo grass that had started creeping into the beds, and this doesn't include the numerous flats of annuals that were planted in the beds and the numerous pots on the deck. There's a lot of work in keeping the Oasis de Golla functioning!

#3-- Crocheting  I have been crocheting, but I took a break last week to try my hand at crochet thread and a size seven needle. It took hours for my hands to recover from this. I used the same pattern as the afghan I'm currently crocheting, for the simple reason that I finally have it memorized! This would be a 'doily' that many people have hidden away in their linen closets. Let me just say that if you have one of these, or anything crocheted with thread, TREASURE IT!

#4 --Mother's Day weekend. All I did was laze around in the pool and watch my hubby work in the yard. It was SWEET!

#5 -- Goldie. Yesterday, the one goldfish that we have in the pond had a traumatic experience. I'm surmising what happened because I didn't see it. Our house is close to a wetlands area, which means Great Blue Heron tend to do fly-bys. And yes, I have scared them from our yard before. 

 After I took my daughter to school, I came home and went outside to replace a tube on the Kreeepy Krawly (automatic pool cleaner). It wasn't until I went to get the knife from the buckets we leave out there that I noticed the goldfish out of the pond. 

 Five feet away from the pond, which means he didn't jump out. This is a big goldfish, which explains why the heron didn't just gobble him down. He's about 16 inches long, and has lived in our pond for many, many years. 

 There's a story behind this story on the goldfish. He was one of three that we rescued over ten years ago! One of my hubby's co-workers had a Great Dane who enjoyed flipping the fish out of her pond, so she decided to give the fish away. The other two simply died from old age, which give you an idea why this fish is so large and so tough.

 Anyway, when I picked up the fish--it gasped. So I slid it into the pond since I had no idea how long it had been out. It lay there. The koi went up to him and bumped him with their noses, but he just lay there. After about 15 minutes--I was working on the pool cleaner, remember?--I figured he was dead and decided to take him out and put him in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until trash day next Monday. When I picked him up out of the water--his mouth kept moving. Oh, crap! He was still alive! I slide him back into the pond. 

 Goldie is still swimming around this morning. He's not as wonky as he was yesterday, but he is alive. 

 He's missing part of his tail, some scales on either side of his body, and he has a dark mark at the base of his skull where I think the heron jabbed him to paralyze him before grabbing him and taking him out of the pond to eat. 

 Goldfish are tough, tough critters! 

#6 Writing --after I posted the short story on my blog, I wrote a rough draft of another short, which ended up about 1500 words. I need to layer it a bit more and I'd like to see if I can sell this one to a magazine. And then yesterday, I started writing on DRAGON. I managed almost 800 words before I had to pick my daughter up from school. I'm in the writing mode again. 

Next week is finals week for my daughter, so things will be a little crazy with changed school hours, plus other stuff going on. 

This summer will also be difficult to blog since the kiddo will be swimming two-a-days, which means she swims from 6 AM until 8:30 AM and then 3:45 in the afternoon. The morning swim will be across town, so I'll be doing my morning walk at that park, which means I might not be blogging regularly. 

That't it for today. I have to get dressed to take the kiddo to school and then I have to take Mom to the hairdresser. . . and then the grocery story, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, it's errand day!

Later, Peeps! 

Weeds or Wildflowers

So, what would you call these?

Wildflowers or weeds?

It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my yard and garden, these flowers would be considered weeds, and I would do everything in my power to eradicate them.

But on my walking trail, I’m enjoying the unexpected beauty of the wildflowers.

Life is how we perceive it.

 

Sometimes we are blessed with the unexpected. Just like this lone mushroom throughout all the acres of trail that I walked.

Sometimes we need to narrow our focus, to cut the clutter and chatter of rhetoric, to understand the truth, to enjoy the true beauty around us and in others.

 From a distance, this is a pretty woodland picture. A creek meanders in the background amid trunks of trees and tufts of vegetation and grass.

 A closer look shows a tangle of crazy vines.

 The tangle of vines make way for piles of flowers nestled next to the dead grasses of the previous season.

Only to reveal the beauty of a wild blackberries.

 

Other times we are so focused within that we forget there is more to life than the inner ego. The world doesn’t revolve around an individual, and the world will still revolve when we are gone. 

 

 

 It doesn't take much to find a minuscule piece of joy and happiness, as in these teeny, tiny little flowers.  Slowly opening our eyes to the wonders that we can enjoy if we but actually take the time to see.

Life is all about perspective. Sometimes we need to change our perspective to see the whole picture.

Something to think about.

Later, Peeps!

*these pictures were taken with my Samsung phone Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

Post Thanksgiving-Pre Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing long weekend!

The relatives have departed and the house is ours again. Not that the relatives make a mess or anything, but I think I like my routines too much. :-) Hubby put up the outside lights on the last warm day we had--the day before Thanksgiving, and he put up the Christmas tree last night. So we will be decorating the house this week. It's definitely a family affair.

I have my homemade truffles to make. I think it will take me 3-4 days to complete the task. The fillings are complete, but standing and molding untold amounts of candy is rough. It's a back breaking affair and I need to stock up on Aleve and get rid of this darn cold before I start handling candy gifts.

My SIL, Margie, did manage to get me and the kiddo walking again. I've gotten a bad case of writer's ass and I need to do something about it! So my goal is to walk M-W-F in the mornings continuing after I walk the kiddo to school, and on T-TH I'll walk with the kiddo after school. I know it will get my brain juices flowing and hopefully, I'll lose some of my excess padding. There has already been some positive results in the form of my wonky knee--it doesn't hurt anymore! Isn't it amazing what toning muscles can do for your health?

Gimpy Knee and Gargoyles

Went to the doc yesterday, and he couldn't find anything wrong with my knee, via x-rays and manipulation. So I'm doing home PT for a month to see if it helps. If it doesn't, then big-assed needles or surgery will be looming in my future.
And yep, I'm still working on the gargoyle scene. I wrote 750 words and got sucked into researching St. Louis, which is where I decided to start this series. I did consult my mom who grew up in St. Louis (she's 87 and still going strong!) and she gave me some building names and ideas. At least I can narrow down the field this way! I want to finish this scene today so I can input info on my demon spreadsheet, my hand written GMC notes, and notes for a new story RS with paranormal elements.
There isn't enough time in the day!