seasonal color

i live in the foothills of the sierra nevada mountains, i love it here.  my property has six 80 ft oaks that make a wonderful canopy.  this is good in the summer but they make a big fucking mess in the fall.  all of them are in full leaf.  as i gaze out the big picture window in my living room it a nice change to see the trees bright and green.  the light outside today is kinda gray and has that surreal effect.  having more down time this spring has given me the opporunity to appreciate the changes as they have occurred.   this location delays some spring bloomings, which is now. all the dogwoods have just bloomed and it just makes me smile they're so beautiful.  and alot of our yards plant a pink and a white dogwood, i want that.  and the azaleas are blooming as well as lilacs.   color is good for us.  we all need to take a moment and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us for such  short period of time.  i didn't buy any new plantings last summer, but this summer is going to have plenty of color.  take a minute to buy a pretty plant, put it in a nice pot, put it on your porch and appreciate it every time you come home.  bet it makes you smile. 

first summer weekend

the weather the past weekend was perfect.  the first summerlike temperatures of the season.  it was fabulous, and i was in pain the whole time.  i am not a winter person at all and i've been wounded all winter so this was like a ray of warm and hope.  the first thing off were my shoes.  my feet like to be naked.  i put on something light and airy and found a spot in the sun and sucked up as much warmth as i could get. 

i started by buying flowers at the nursery.  i didn't need to go crazy and was picky about what to spend my money on.  sometimes we wind up buying flowers without a game plan and then our vision doesn't come out the way we invisioned it.  i knew which pots i wanted to plant in, which plants didn't make the winter, and i desperatedly wanted color on the patio.  i bought a large martha washington geranium in wonderful plum colors, as well as a traditional bright orange one, bright red ranoculous, a peach hibiscus, pink carnations and a bunch of golden marigolds in different sizes to fill a large container.  it looks wonderful.  i'm currently on the hunt for double impatiens and that'll probably do it for awhile.  i love just standing at the screeen door and looking at the new additions.  and to make to it better, my husband was home all weekend helping me, picking up heavy stuff is not something i can do right now, and trimming the 20' english laurels that surround the yard.  we ran errands together, did house stuff and it was the best time i've had in a long time. 

it seems that all the planets lined up perfectly this weekend.  god always seems to know when i'm hanging on by a thread.  

summer

hot damn!  the sun is out and the weather is warm, summerlike.  yeah!  i realize it's only temporary and the weatherman is just messing with me but i'll take it.  i'm barefoot, the doors are open, i'm wearing summer clothes, and the dogs all have found a spot in the sun just like an old cat.  they don't care that i'm referring to them as old cats cuz all of us feel better with the warm weather.  it's like being reborn.  i might be in some level of pain all the time but my brain feels better, if nothing else.  some part of this day will have me stretched out in the yard getting some sun, to hell with skin cancer.  someone made the comment that would the reflection off all that white skin confuse airplanes flying over.   screw them.  now i want to tear down the winter curtains and put up the beautiful sheers but it's a little early and i sure can't take on the project and i've got the husband helping me with planting flowers.  he's only good for one project at a time.  so i'm going to cling to the weather while we've got it and live in the hope that summer is just around the corner.

the neglected room

alot of us have a spare bedroom that serves multiple purposes and is neglected.  ok, i have one.  it's a small bedroom that serves as the office and collector of all kinds of stuff.  while it has been reorganized to function better a couple of times it is not a welcoming room to be in.  it has a large corner desk, that came with the new husband, and a nice smaller desk that is currently covered with piles of who knows what.  it is always on my to-do list to get this room to be more livable.  it is moving up the list pretty quickly for this summer.  the biggest problem is my limited abilities until my back heals and that i will need to enlist my husband for assistance.  oh dear.

the room is currently painted yellow, chosen because i had enough paint in that color to paint that room.  i'm not sure what color i want as i have more trouble picking colors for myself than for other people.  the other issue is there are two trees outside the window that blocks light from coming in.  personally, i find this is the main reason i find this room unwelcoming.  natural light makes a room.  these trees are not too big to come down and i see that happening even if i'm out there with a steak knife hacking at them a little at a time.  the next battle will trying to get the husband to give up the big ugly corner computer desk.  what with laptops we don't use the computer in that room very often and dont need the big desk.  but i would like to use the printer that is attached in there for a variety of projects including printing out wedding pics and putting together our wedding album.  and it would be nice to set up a project, ie  sewing machine, and not have it take over the dining table.  so the plan will be to repaint, rip up the nasty purple carpet and put down floor tiles, pare down the furniture and file the stuff we need to keep and throw out what we don't need.  i'm thinking that pile will be the biggest.  i'll post before and after pics.  and it will be nice to have a new bright functional room that is a waste of space.  and i love instant gratification.  i'm looking forward to the change.  change is good for us.

spring weather

ok, it's spring but i want it to be warmer, i'm ready for summer.  bright open windows, sheer floaty curtains, changing the decor to more summmery colors.  however, even as the days are longer it is gray and cold outside.  the spring flowers are bravely pushing their little heads out which is always inspiring and i love that you can pick up a bunch of daffodils at the grocery store for not much money.  there are a wonderful addition to my rooms and make me feel better.  i think it's just the light, bright colors that add hope.  lord knows i need as much hope as i can get.  my back surgery recovery is arduous.  i went to get new xrays and to see the surgeon.  i am stunned at the number and size of the screws holding my spine together.  good grief.  however, i feel that since they are do damned big my spine should hold together pretty well.  the high point of that whole outing was that bob, the xray tech, told me he had the same surgery a couple of years ago and he and his family went skiing over the easter weekend.  it was the most inspiring info i've had in all this.  the surgeon says everything looks good and sent me of to physical therapy.  not surprisingly, i hurt like a bitch the next day.  recovery sucks.

surviving in spite of myself

the sun is sneaking between the clouds today.  i'm sitting in my jammies in the living room enjoying the sun streaking through the cranberry color of the drapery and reflected off the plants.  the little dogs are all napping in a spot of sunshine.  if there was a spot big enough for me i'd do it too.  i'm getting around better but every day is new and i just never know how i'll feel from morning till evening.  i start physical therapy in a couple of days so that should be interesting.  in addition to the healing of my back surgery i developed tendenitis in my right wrist.  of course i'm right handed.  surprisingly the pain meds i take for my back do not dampen the pain in the wrist so i broke down and went to another doctor's appt.  now i could barely move my thumb and could not press down on the side of my wrist without a little scream........the screaming and whimpering going on that could probably be heard in the lobby as the doctor moved my thumb around and pushed on the wrist was from me.  he hurt me!!  and, lucky me, the treatment for this is a cortizone shot in the wrist.  i've been shot up in my knee and spine, i figure this will be a breeze.  did i mention the screaming and crying........keep breathing, don't pass out.  and i didn't even get a cute bandaid.  it does feel a little better today and i don't scream out loud when i move my thumb so that's a good thing and he said it would be better in a couple of days.  thank heavens there's some pain relief out there for soemthing.  cling to that little stuff.

i knew my back surgery recovery would take a long time and i would be at home for longer than i can remember.  hence, the updating of the household decor and arrangement.  i knew in advance i would need to comfort of my surroundings.   and i seem to think i can take on projects, after all, i'm at home with nothing to do.  but i find recovery takes alot outta me.  i'm generally tired and wear out easily.  i get up feeling pretty good and think i can putz around the house doing stuff.  my back doesn't like that much and lets me know pretty quickly.  this annoys me.  the hardness thing for me to do is rest.  so i'm going to sit here and watching the sun drift in and out of the clouds, listen to the windchimes tinkling out on the porch and pet a little dog

bright shiny thing

hot damn!!!  the sun is out!!!  it might be cool outside but i've opened some windows and front door is standing open to let some fresh air in and so the little dogs can wander in and out and shake off soem of their cabin fever.  my back hurts and i had a bad night's sleep, the leg couldn't find a comfortable spot, but my i feel better today and it's all about the sun being out.  i'm sure i'm not the only one who feels better today.  unofrtuanately i've noticed all the windows are dirty.  i sure hope someone washes those soon.  when i was a teenager, we'd do almost anything, and do a good job, to earn a few bucks, but i don't know know any of those.  my new grandson and his mother are returning to florida in a few months or i'd train him this summer.  i'm sad they're leaving.  hopefully by summer i'll be able to take care of some of the projects i want done.  i'm going to go wander the yard with the dogs for some exercise and fresh air before it starts to really cool.  i hope today's sunshine has added to everyone vision.