walking

Cheryl Wheeler wrote a song called "I Know this Town." She recorded it, and so did Bette Middler. I couldn't find a video of either of them singing it, but I linked the lyrics for you.

As I was exercising today, walking through my neighborhood, that song popped into my head. I pass the houses I was walking past every day in my car, and here I was walking past them, noticing more than I could ever have time for in while driving. I enjoyed my walk very much. The exercise, greeting a neighbor here and there, and noticing stuff.

We had a cold snap a few weeks ago, with temperatures at 17 degrees for a couple of days. I know that doesn't seem like much for many people who live in colder climes, but for southern NM, it was pretty much a record. As we've been going here and there, we've noticed the cactus, especially the flat ones, are - well - even flatter. Flat on the ground. Dead. Big stands that took years, probably decades to grow, just laid out. I've looked over my rosebushes, and our little pomegranate bush, hoping that they've survived, and I'm not sure they have. Guess we'll see when they decide to leaf out, soon. Or not.

There were several yards, ours included, that had the sprinklers going, hoping to see that very same thing with other plants. The oleanders were hit hard in many yards. Ours looks better than many. Soon will be time for fertilizer and grass seeds, and watering for spring.

thank you presidents

For having birthdays for us to celebrate. By celebrate, I mean, not WORK. Well, at least not GO to work. I still have some grading to do, that I have been avoiding so far this weekend. I've also been working on other projects, though, as well.

I did a google search, and got to some directions for a crocheted Tam 'o shanter. One of those hats. The directions were printed in the 1890's, by a yarn company. They suggested it be made of silk (for the troops, who could carry the hat in their pockets) and it told how many spools of their silk thread to buy. It has no mention of what weight, how many yards of silk, or what size of hook to use. Hmmm I went to Hobby Lobby and found a silk and bamboo blend, that is about a sport weight, then I came home and found a size D hook, that looked like it would do the trick. So far, that pattern is pretty easy to follow. I'll let you know how it turns out, size and all.

Another cool thing that I found out today is here. I grew up with Sheri Bone, and she was smart, and funny and athletic, and one of the nicest all-around people you could ever know. Oh, yeah, and beautiful. That she has gotten where she is today is testament to that and more. I'm glad she shared this with me, and I think that she is pretty awesome.

a musical stream

Have you hear of Folk Alley? It's a web site that streams folk music. My friends Phil and Cheryl had it playing one evening while I was at their house, and I liked it, and asked what it was. This evening I've just been enjoying the heck out of it. They play a wide variety including Celtic, and well, almost anyone you might hear on Prairie Home Companion. (OK, OK, I'm terrible at names.)

Anyway I'll include a link, so enjoy! Folk Alley is here.

seeing the light

No. REALLY seeing it. Understanding the refractive qualities of the atmosphere on the light. You know, more inner truth. For myself.

Deep breath in.... deep breath out.

When I had my check up in the fall, my blood sugar was up higher than my doctor liked it to be. Frankly, I had been doing rather poorly on my diet, so I wasn't surprised. OK, well, maybe a little, because I was fooling myself that I was doing better than I really was. I hadn't gained weight so... I splurged now and then. Yeah, more frequently than I should. So he gave me another pill to take with the Januvia. Well, it caused my ankles to swell. Side effect. And I already have problems with my ankles swelling. As wide as my feet are, I could seriously run out of shoe options. Really.

OK, I told myself, I will eat better, and exercise more. And I have. I started swimming a couple of times a week, and it felt great. Then, came the first sinus infection of the season, and antibiotics. Then, the second... with tonsilitis. This one set me back a little because I didn't want to get in the pool with it, and when I was better, the pool was closed for almost a week because of the weather. Finally I got back to the pool, which I feel is better overall exercise for me, and less stress on joints etc. Besides, I like to swim. But now, I'm slowly feeling icky again. chest, this time, and a growing cough.

I feel like it is another wake up call for me. I better (as I've said I should before) get (and STAY) real with myself again. Some more. I need to be diligent about what I eat. I need to exercise, and not just the days I go to the pool, but EVERY day. I've figured out where a mile is, here in my neighborhood. I'll walk the half for the next week, and then go to the mile. The days are growing longer, so the evening will just about keep me in the light. Its a journey, folks, and I know I'm not the only one taking it.

weather or not

It would seem perhaps that the groundhog was right this year. He said winter was over, and now I am believing him.

Today, our weather was warm, nearly 80 degrees. Sunny. Windy. Yes, the southern NM spring winds have started already. Sigh. Believe me when I tell you, no matter how good the temperature sounds, that the wind is not what you want. It wouldn't be so bad if it would leave the dust, dirt, and debris alone. But, no, the sky turns brown some days. It wasn't too bad for that today, just in places. But it will be. It will.

We are supposed to get a mild cold front later this week, which will take the temperatures down a few degrees, and then more wind over the weekend.

I guess we used up our winter in that one shot.

oh my darlin'

It is Valentine's Day, today. Another excuse for crass commercialism in the land of America. Crass commercialism and parties. At school, the balloons, and flowers and... well everything... were quite distracting. My students could hardly think of anything else, except maybe candy. I saw at least two girls walking around with stuffed animals as big as they were.

Here at my house, things were a bit simpler. We had a really nice dinner at a new Vietnamese restaurant. The second time we've eaten there, and we are still happy with it and looking forward to the next time. mmmmm

Raine filled out Valentine cards for her classmates, and had a little Valentine party at school. I will admit, when I was in elementary school, Valentine's was my favorite holiday to celebrate at school. We made "mail" boxes for our cards to go in. We did other crafts as well, with glue and glitter and paper doilies, often heart-shaped. But the best thing of all was exchanging cards. The excitement of getting all those cards to read was a big deal to me. I still love getting mail.

I will say that I am happy for having my family, and thankful for them. I'm not so romantic or sentimental (if that's the right word) that I need Valentine gifts or much beyond, really, the acknowledgment that others are thankful, too.

couldn't get through it

I've been listening to Seduced by Moonlight, by Laurell K Hamilton. I checked out the disks from the library because I knew that she writes some urban fantasy type books, and lately, I have been enjoying that genre. Perhaps I would enjoy one of her other series more than this book, or maybe its just this book, and I unluckily picked it. Really. I couldn't get through it, even just listening.

I'm not big on politics or whining, and this book has plenty of both. The main character is a "princess," and her bodyguards feel like they too good for anything (or, they're too emotionally wounded). There is sex, a lot of it implied. I can deal with that. There is no adventure, though! I like adventure! Motion. Movement. A greater purpose. Nope, none of those things here.

I don't care about the main character. I don't care that to become ruler, she must get pregnant (so she has an excuse to have sex with every other character in the book, or at least considers the possibility. Please, it gets OLD!) I don't care even more that she has to make/maintain treaties to keep herself safe, nor that she buys those treaties with her body or her bodily fluids. (EWwww) I don't care how handsome her whiny body guards are. Whiny is SO. NOT. SEXY.

So, anyway, I got through 4 of 12 discs, and I'm done. If I'd been struggling through an actual print book, I probably wouldn't have gotten past the first chapter. Is this book typical Hamilton?