Boom De Yada!

Checking in, yo. So, first thing to squee about: my West Coast BFF, Arcana is getting married in October. And the tickets for me to fly out there have just been purchased. Wow. In a very real way, I feel like I'm going home... to visit... from home. Rather confusing. But exciting! It's hard to believe it's been more than two years since the last time I saw Los Angeles (or had to drive in her traffic)!

AND!!! The Addams family of Cleveland is coming down here tomorrow to visit!!! OMG, thrilled! It's been over a year since I've been up to see them. They're actually driving through on their way to a job interview here in WV, which is again, like, OMG! So, this time, they'll only be here for a couple hours, but in the future... who know? :D

Lemme see. What else? Adventures in Mad Cow wrangling are going well. He's got a new pill which is really helping with the night-time pee-wakies. Instead of every hour, it has bumped up to somewhere between every two and four hours. MUCH better for sleeping, let me tell ya. Other than that, s'good.

OH YEAH! AND I just got the call from the VA today. They have FINALLY found someone to come in four hours a day, five days a week to give me some relief! ... Now I'll have to figure out what to do with myself. Heh! I'm not sure that's enough time to get a part time job (and still have a chance to have a bit of a life outside of responsibilities). Anyway, I've got until Tuesday to figure it all out.

I had an adventure trying to clip puppy toenails today. They really, really, really don't like that. Really. I've got the red welts all over my arms to prove it. Buuuut, now that I can get out of the house during daylight hours, I can get them into the vet, who will trim their nails for (ready for this?) $10!!!! Heh. Now SHE can have the red welts.

Finally, I want to announce a new project I'm working on. I want to, but we're not quite ready yet. A couple friends of mine out here and I are working on it together, in conjunction with www.serenitymountainbotanicals.com. It's very exciting for us, because we'll be sharing lots of cool-- wait. Can't say. Not yet. All I can say is, it IS easy bein' Green. ;)

And now, I shall leave you with this thought.



Boom de yada and peace!

Finding Peace in a Storm

We've been getting thunderstorms for the last few days. I actually quite enjoy them-- find them relaxing, even. :) Something about the rumbling... having a warm, dry home snuggled around me... cuddling up under a blanket with an awesome DVD. Good times. (Only time I don't like T-storms is when I have to drive in them.) I never thought anyone else in household really had a problem with them... until the other night.

It was a whopper. Lightning flashed repeatedly, and thunder rolled right over the house. Rain pelted the roof in a lovely tattoo. Pretty cool, in my opinion. :)

I was sitting at my computer, letting the rat-a-tat of rain lull me when I heard Poppa shout out from his bedroom, “HEY! Does anybody out there wanna sleep with me?”

At first, my dirty mind went to a baaad place. As Daddy later said, “Well, there's always the direct approach...”

But I knew what he really meant. He didn't want to sleep alone during the storm.

What to do?

I went into his room, and he looked up from his little hospital bed, his eyes wide. “Do you wanna sleep with me, sweetheart?” (I love how, when -he- wants something, he asks if -I- want it. Heh.)

I was about to pat him on the head and, well, brush him off-- he does call me into the room many times in one night, after all-- when the memories rushed in. I was no more than six and afraid to sleep in my room at their house by myself. Every night, I would insist that someone (usually Grandma, but Poppa too) would sleep in the bed with me. I had been hoping they would keep me safe all night, but they usually crept out of the room after I dropped off.

I looked down at Pop, who was looking up at me all pleading-like, and I melted. He said, “I'll just move over, and you can lie here with me.”

Um, no. Hello, twin-sized bed. (Why is it called a twin if it's so itty-bitty? Doesn't twin mean there are two? Wouldn't that be double the size of a regular bed?) So I sat on the floor (because there really wasn't any other space) and held his hand.

Another thunderclap rolled over the house and Youngest Monkey tore into Pop's bedroom, which he normally doesn't enter. He then whimpered and, without waiting for an invitation, curled up in my lap.

And that's how we waited for the storm to pass. Holding hands, curled up together. Youngest fell asleep first, followed by Pop. So I sat in his room, watched the lightning flicker behind the shades and remembered all the times that it was him keeping me safe from the dark and scaries, instead of the other way around.

I'm glad I was able to return the gesture.

Peace.

Garden Squee!

Serenity came over yesteday and we looked at my garden. I'm no farmer, probably never will be, and this certainly felt like biting off more than I can chew. Still and all, I'm rather proud. Good job, Mi!

Pictures for your perusement:

This is my container garden, what I started with last year. Clockwise, from top left, I've got oregano, spearmint, thyme and chives. You can also see the aloe and rosemary peeking out:



Here is the rosemary I grew from a seed:



And the aloe plant that has survived years of neglect. (I think it was my grandmother's.):



This is the garden Pays helped me plant this year:



I've got broccoli:



And lettuce:



And a crazy mess of peas:



A ton of grapes!



Some... um... vine thingee. (I think it might be a loofa gourd):



Okay, I have no idea what this is, but it's growing a lot too!



Then, around the edge of the yard, I've got corn growing:



And one, lone sunflower:



Oh, yeah. I think I might have posted this story a while back. Here is the re-enactment, as portrayed by Youngest Monkey:



All in all, YAY for garden! :D

Peace.