My Winter Love Affair

It is warm and wonderful and I am doing OK.



I am not a collector of anything. Yes, I have plenty of junk, but it is all diversified. As I move along in years, I realize that I have way too much and besides trying to pass my treasures on to my children (who have politely said no), I have tried to curb my desire to buy more. However, during the cold months of winter when I am being couped up in the house too much, I find myself on the computer checking out the latest of the must haves for the gardens.  Now, most of the time I am sensible and just look, but then the days become greyer and greyer and the snow falls and my resolve softens and, and......I give into the charms of Mr. Amazon and Mr. Burpee. 

Now it is time to pay the piper.  Mom told me never to trust anyone who had easy answers to everything.  She warned me not to push any buttons and a cart half empty is better than one half full.  I was weak and so the seeds have been sent, the plants and gardening supplies will follow and the bill for my indiscretions will appear in my mailbox on May 1st. 

Bless me Father for I have sinned..., but the devil made me do it.  It was not my fault at all, it was Mr. Apple, Mr. Dell, Mr. Microsoft and above all, Mr. Internet.  I am just a sucker for the Mr.'s.



 

Dog Days

The Magnolias are in bloom (achoo), and I am doing OK

The arrival of spring with its sunshine and longer days brings with it a renewed energy.  The snowy days are gone and we notice that nature has put the bounce back into our step.  The song birds are chirping, the squirrels are scampering around the trees, and the old groundhog has come out of his hole to check out my gardens for potential food supplies. I also just saw my first bumble bee going from flower to flower on my Azalea bush.  It is time for busy bees to do their thing.

Yes, the pleasant weather is back and all creatures great and small have come out to play.  Well most have, but maybe not my son's four year old lab, Champ.  He is not exactly a bundle of energy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Fe2tAMIAg&feature=player_detailpage#t=18s

 

His companion, Brandy, could be a little more enthusiastic also.

 

 

Get those dogs some doggie Red Bull or at least, some Vitamin Water.

 

News Worthy?

I saw a daffodil in bloom yesterday and I am doing OK.



Courtesy of Microsoft.

I have loved reading the newspaper since I was a little girl.  My dad would always bring home The Journal American, one of New York's main newspaper (long defunct) and my sister and I would fight to get to read it first.  My parents always talked about what was going on in the world and even bad news was not filtered.  I was interested in politics, the latest big story, and of course, Dear Abby.  Now, however, EVERYTHING is so sensationalized and it is hard to tell what is important, what is real and what is just BS.  Today, though, newspapers are a dying industry. We get our news from the media outlets that are too numerous, very competitive and on 24 hours a day so that even a chicken crossing a road becomes a "Breaking Story".  I seldom read the paper today or watch the news on TV. It is never on my radio station in the car.  It has to be a major story that will impact my life or my loved ones for me to sit down and listen to the whole gory mess.  There is just so much bad news, which is now gathered from every little corner in the world, and a person's sense of hope and peace can easily be shattered on a daily basis.  I only want to deal with what is happening in my own back yard, on my street, in my town.  I want to live a more positive life and have good will towards the majority of people I meet along the way. I have no need to read about all the horrors that are taking place.  I 

I can't, however, live in a vacuum.  There is always the Internet.  Today's headlines on my cable supplier's site read like this:

- North Korea Vows Restart of Nuclear Reactor
- Cheesteak Store Renamed.  Slur Dropped  
- Georgia City Votes to Require Ownership of Gun
- Pa Inmate Denies Hiding Phone in Prosthetic Leg
- Trump Drops 5 M Lawsuit on Ape Joke

One is so frightening, I can't even think about it.  The others are either about the inane or insane and knowing about any of this does not enhance my life.  Why is an inmate having a phone in his prosthetic leg worth knowing about.  I am not inviting him to dinner.  Actually though, it might be interesting if he did come and his leg started ringing.  I wonder what his ring tone would be.

So I am now living a life of ignorance and bliss.  I am informed enough by filtering out 99.9% of what they tell me I should know.  I did enjoy the story about Donald Trump suggesting that he is related to an ape though.  I am sure that one is not an exaggeration.