About Getting in the saddle and falling off .. again and again.. but laughing about it none the less.

This Morning...

Comfortably lounging in bed. Hot tea sits on the nightstand. Light bathes the floor from the bay view. Greg curled up asleep beside me. The glorious rapture of birds fills my ear. Connor stirs in the office sharpening his pencil which has dulled due to drawing. Willow not yet awake. How beautiful it all is: This moment: This life....  Ass pains and all. It's pretty dang wonderful and I am thoroughly enjoying it. 

I should be getting up. It's eight thirty. I've already slept in 3 hours. But really... no. Not today. Breakfast will be brunch and I will sit here longer enjoying this moment doing what I love to do.... casting my reflection.... Paint my life in words.  If it was an actual painting/picture/video, this moment might look like mom looking at me in a mirror while I get ready for the  day and give her the recent rundown of "historical highlight's" and "to be continued's." (As I come back to edit and post this at the end of the day, I  realize that this analogy of mirror speaking is an echo. My best conversations with Mom have always been while I watching her paint her face. Interesting. Appropriate. And filled with Love... And then we were off... Living it! Until our next chat time.) 

So anyway, Ass pain.. 

I'm headed back to urgent care today. The third time this month. The first time was for that lump behind my knee.  So here is the deal with that.. When splash began to decline so did our walking. This was back in September. We limped along there at the end and when he died I stopped walking but started going to the chiropractor and trying to add support that way. It was helpful getting me through the season of play practices and such. A busy time. As a result I added some weight. Like 20 pounds. After mom headed home I got up and got on the treadmill and started to take care of business.  But my joints rebelled... heck my whole body rebelled. The holidays were downright lazy as I gave into the need for major recuperation. But I took advantage of the reprieve and got a better handle on menu planning and paying better attention to what I put in front of us. Anyway, soon it was time to get on the move again when school started back up but I was ready for it.. as always. And I got back on the treadmill. The time before I had been pushing myself. This time I was going to take it very very slow. Then I developed the golf ball sized lump behind my knee on my calf. Ultimately the bump is known as a Bakers Cyst. It is excess fluid from my knee knee joints spilling into a bursa sack. It is not painful but my knees are a bit achey. This all speaks to an arthritic nature. No surprise given my heredity and the many years wrestling with fibromyalgia. 

So I decided to start swimming as the best mode of overall therapy and I got us  memberships at the Y.... A membership that extends to five different local city's.  Meaning it can work with my life on the road much better than anything else. I can get in when I drop Connor at school and I can get in when I drop them off at play practice and we can all go together when it works out.. You know.. good stuff.  So Wed I signed us up and I immediately jumped into the pool and tread water for 40 minutes. It felt great and my body was happy with the work. But I developed swimmers ear that night and ended up at Urgent care first thing in the morning. I got a shot of tordal in the tush and a script for amoxicillin. The shot was great. Tordal is an anti-inflammatory  NAISD and the 12 hours it lasted my body felt pretty good all over for a change. The antibiotic has not been effective. I hear only the blood pumping through my veins in that ear. It's not opening up and the side of my face is swollen up slightly. I can't chew anything.  3 ibuprofen every 3.5 hours seems to keep the worst at bay but who wants to take that much?  I need to go back in today.  Another shot will help me enjoy the game tonight.

In Other News, Connor had his twelfth birthday two weekends ago. It was good fun. That boy is growing up. He has a science project to work on for school. I'm going to have him and Greg build an aquaponics system together. Ill get around to posting January highlight pics soon. 

Speaking of projects.. this year's v-day mix... It does not seem to be in the works. It's either postponed or not going to happen this year. Im not sure. I just can't seem to yet grasp what I want to achieve with it.  But I have been recently inspired to...well... approach to some of my old styles of work in a new way. So my creative wheels are finally beginning to turn a bit more. Just in a different direction then I usually take this time of year. 

Our house has also started an Art/craft club with the neighbors. Our first get together was last weekend. It was fun. There was crotchet, the re-purposing of some canvas, a little doodling, scrapbooking. We have such a nice little community here. Greg made bloody Mary's. It's been years since the last one I had... Tasty.

Greg was supposed to be back east this past week. His meeting was cancelled after I had a ready dropped him off at 4 am monday in San Jose. But luckily before he caught the first flight out. His lovely Assistant Jae made sure he made it back from the airport. She is a doll.

Willow.. she is doing well in all regards. Its fun watching her grow up. Shes got good balance and dramatic flare. This week she had to dress like a japanese pop culture icon to deliver a presentation in Japanese. It meant getting up at 4 to get into costume and She spent a couple evenings on campus prepping. She is something else and getting it down.  

Well my attention is now drawn back to this glorious moment. returning to the present and OUCH! It's really time for me to get going. A great big wonderful day awaits! And so does a syringe to the butt!

Much love! 

P.S. 

At 10, I drove into Salinas for the Urgent Care but for some undisclosed reason it was closed so I drove into Monterey. It was determined that I had an Swimmers Ear and I was ordered some new meds. I wasn't given another Tordal shot. :( By the time I picked up the prescription, it was 3:00 and I was exhausted. I curled in bed and made the decision to stay home tonight and not go to the Blackhawks away game against the Sharks. You know I gotz to be hurting to make that call! And with the sunset the rest of the crew disappeared into the evening without me. I am however keeping abreast of things as they are texting me updates. :)  And .. Well the Lisa Gerrard playlist I have been listening to as I edited this mornings ramblings has just finished its last note, and alas my body needs its meds and rest so.. lights out and.. Sleep

A little meander down the river

Tomorrow is Cons Birthday. 12, Holy Cow! Time... so much but not really. He sits across the table from me writing in his own journal. At least he has stopped resisting this little exercise of daily journaling and has accepted it is part of "School" work. Anyway.. that kid.  He is kind and tender hearted. He doesn't understand the world.. and well why should he?.. Life is crazy and contradictory and it doesn't follow a set schedule very well. There are unexpected hiccups (Like yesterday.. but I will get to that in a minute) that need navigating.. I look at him and smile and think "Be like water my ... Son .. be like water."

Speaking of water, I am currently reading "The Hidden Messages in Water." I had already heard about Masaru Emoto's research but only in passing. Quite interesting. Got a bit of reading done yesterday. .. At the hospital.. checking on this golf ball sized lump that suddenly (overnight) appeared on my leg.  This of course threw all of my plans out of whack (So much for that dump run I had planned around classwork! lol). It's not a bite. It didn't come from injury. An exam suggest it was probably nothing of concern but erring on the side of caution we did some tests. There are no blood clots associated with it. This sort of thing can be caused by an embolism and a blood clot could lead to stroke or loss of leg. Glad that checked out.  So it doesn't appear to be a threat to my health. But is very weird and tender. I've been given antibiotics, have been instructed to remain off it as much as possible, elevation, ice and compression and to remain on alert to any negative changes. So far so good, however, I have not yet decided if the antibiotics are really something I need to take. If I were running a fever or if the area were hot.. but right now.. Im going to wait and see.

In all other news... life is grand.

Tomorrow we are hosting a "Lego Movie" Birthday party. We are expecting a household of mostly middle school aged children. 14 in all. Denise might make it down from Reno and our sweet neighbor Kathleen will probably stop by. We are celebrating Lego Movie style. Ive got cakes to bake and a house to straighten.. or rather, supervise Willows baking and Connor cleaning! Its not his birthday yet! Much love!

It Takes Both Sunshine and Rain to Make a Rainbow

Our new years celebration didn't go quite as planned. Some friends of willow from school last year where having a sleep over and so we started out enjoying a pot luck dinner with the parents of her friend group. The majority being teachers and school administrators who all worked at the school the kids went to last year which offered a nice common starting ground. If we lived closer I am quite certain I would be in the book club. 

The remaining three of us left with the intention of checking into our hotel and heading out to enjoy the local tradition known as First Night (an alcohol free celebration of the arts which encompasses all of old Monterey) and cross over the threshold into 2015 on ice skates.  I had booked us with a hotel which was affiliated with the event but it turned out to be  some 4 miles away and  was not offering shuttle service to the event. We could have gotten a taxi but settled instead for frolicking/relaxing in the heated pool and Jacuzzi and by the time we were done it was far too late to try and get to town.  So we curled up in our pj's and cheered it in with some beer our landlord had gifted us. Well not Connor. He doesn't drink but he did pass out right quick.

The new year has already provided us a wonderful gift.. Our leach lines have finally been laid out and backfilled. It turned out that the property is situated on/near a shallow slab of granite bedrock which was causing issues so the leach line had to be run for a distance to allow for drainage. I am very happy to finally able to use the tub without worrying about or creating backup issues! 2 years almost just looking at and dreaming about using it...and I LOVE baths!

Look at how inviting it is!

Anyway.. so the year is starting off wonderful and wet.

And speaking of baths.. A quick trip for the kids and I to LA area is in the planning stage to visit an old friend, take in a sound bath (A meditation session that uses gongs and bowls) and then spend a day at an expo where I hope to catch a lecture by a solar scientist that I greatly respect.

I have always been a sun worshiper... Admiration and gratitude extended  quietly outward every sunrise and sunset while I drink in the glorious and stunning displays.

 I have always been a star gazer.. intrigued by the mystery.. the totally beyond-our-comprehension enormity of the universe .. Caught up in the grind of life here on earth we easily ignore its existence.. its influence.. Did you know that in a solar flare all of the elements in the periodic table are emitted. Born of star stuff... we are children of the cosmos. As I see it, contemplation of the universe is contemplation of Divinity.

Anyway I digress! Fun times are in the works. For now, we have returned to our regularly scheduled programming.. jumping into work and school. We put away all the Christmas decorations and then Connor got busy exploring the art of bead work. I think he was impressed with his creation.

While he attended to that delicate work, I popped in one of the greatest gifts my mom gave me this winter.. old video footage of the family from back when Billy and I were the exact same ages as Connor and Willow are now.  I was such an awkward goofy dork in 9th grade. I avoided the camera and when I didn't I had this derpy look in every shot... that is except for the one where I smile just before turning to hit Bill. No wonder he didn't like me! 

Lots of laughs in those clips... and how wonderful to see my Pops lumbering and lounging. 

And time demands I end this rambling here. So I will simply leave you with the smile that has long warmed my heart. A little Rainbow Sunshine right here. TTFN

An End is Here and So Is A Beginning

Ive been looking back over and sorting the photos I have from 2014.... Not an easy task... I took thousands...  And as I sort I realize that it was a VERY BUSY year.

School: Willow finished Jr High and moved on to High School. She is doing good there. Connor moved up into Jr. High and began an independent study program which suits him. There were field trips and graduation ceremonies. There were Science fairs and History Day Fairs.... It was a full of academics to say the least!

Extra Curricular:  We traveled a bit this year. Went up to San Francisco and saw  naked people riding bikes (A sight that has forever scared Connor!) We saw comedians and took in hockey games. We went camping. We got in as many visits with family and old friends as we could work in. Connor performed in his first play. Willow got her braces off. I started learning Bass over the summer. We broke many pairs of glasses. There was a road trip to Etna for funerals. The roommates moved out. We almost bought a house (It was a blessing it didn't work out!) We flew mom out for a visit for Christmas. She got to watch Connors play, helped teach him to hand stitch, Got to see the kids schools, enjoy gifts and relax with her zentangling while I whirled around the kitchen prepping 24 loafs of zuchinni bread for a handful of Greg's employees.  The year was uber eventful. And all told wonderful with much to be thankful for. 

Gregs Work:  I don't have the official break down yet but Id estimate that Greg spent 3 full months on the road over the course of the year. Seeing mostly the inside of hotel rooms and conference halls. He was going to run a half marathon but travel made it not possible. Meanwhile he got the plant better staffed to support him and made strides in putting down some of his load. With his free time he started an MBA program. He is doing great. 

Health: Connor was misdiagnosed with Turrets Syndrome this year but that diagnosis led me to the correct one of Aspergers. As I research, I realize he is doing well and we have him on track for a full life. He just takes some extra work and handling but I have that covered. Otherwise we are all in generally good health and have started going to a Chiropractor to make sure we stay that way.

Heartbreaks: We had to put our dog, Splash, to sleep this year. Speculations abound as to what happened to him. Regardless he is in a better place despite how much we miss him. He was my shadow.

Im not going to spend much more time looking out over "What has Been" other than to post the link to my year in review photo albums below.

Coming up this year.. More theater is in the works. I have enrolled both kids to participate in "Wonderland" in the Spring. We will heading to Marble Mountain with my cousin and his family this summer. Plans to go to a play in SF with other cousins need to be addressed.  Everything else will roll right on into the next year. Smooth... no hiccups. Keep on keeping on and all that.. next year will be great. 

As for resolutions... I have some  minor pixalation adjustments to make and I need to shift my antenna to clear some static but no major upgrades are planned. But if they happen.. so be it! All as it should be. 

2014 in Pics

Scenic Beauty from the Road 2014

Bringing it in ...  on a brisk night.. feeling the chill...under the stars... Subtle sounds in my ears.... and ice beneath my feet.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!! 

Singing In The Rain

Connor and I decided that once we finished math we are going to switch gears and immerse ourselves in our arts.

Seems a good way to spend this wintry day.

The Wind has been wickedly whipping its way round the house since about three in the morning.The sky to the North looks dark and ominous but our morning is starting out bright.. albeit blustery.

Clouds quickly scuttling by and gradually grey descends.  The rain starts. This incoming storm has been referred to as a "Storm of the Century." Really its just rain... copious amounts of long over due rain landing on crusty parched land. We will get a taste of the destructive forces of nature with this one... but still it is just rain. 

Weather happens. Be prepared.

After last weeks irritations...For they were really just that... (God bless my mom and Aunties hearts who, upon hearing  the news of our various trials, envisioned far greater calamity),, I look at the last weeks events as a bit of a fire drill.. Not something you really need to call home about until after you are through it. And then you call home and gauge your response. As far as how we did.. surviving a week of crazy inconvenience in the midst of the most time challenged week of my year... We rated fairly well prepared.  We have a generator. We have makeshift toilet and shower accommodations, candles etc. The one place I was short on was water. In this case an easy run to the store but it would not be so easy if there was a run on water. That's my first order of stocking up. That and gas. Take advantage of prices being low.

Anyway.. we managed well all told...   Its an old house (1960's) with most the inner working still the original. The troubles were expected. And if you know what is coming.. you can be ready to take it in stride. Overall Id give us a "B."

The troubles also got resolved in good time. The landlord jumped to it and got us as square as possible as fast as possible.The back yard is still a smelly pit but it is with great relief that the household operations are back on track and things are beginning to button up for the season.

Connors school workshops are over until January so my running to Watsonville is over for a bit. Now just to finish up the play. Which is going quite well. They are doing their 6th performance tonight. there are 12 total. Willow is knee deep in studying for semester finals. Greg is about a week away from wrapping up his first class.  This break we are going to explore sewing, both by hand and by machine. We are going to read some Joseph Cambell and explore the origins of myth. Winter break for the most part will be quiet peaceful drawn in time. With the exception of my mom visiting for an early Christmas celebration. I expect we will get out a bit then and New Years as well. I need to make those plans! Good times ahead!

s. 

Behind the Wheel and Seeing Double

Knock Knock 
Who is there?
Boo.
Boo Who?
Boo Woo.. I miss you! 
Yeah? Well, I have not been intentionally avoiding you. I have just been busy. And I miss you too.

And that goes for you and you and you.. too.

I dont know why the vid duplicated... You get what you get I guess..

At least its something.

make a circuit with me

I got a call today. And with it... a gentle scolding. "Why haven't you been in touch?" Great Grandma chided knowing full well that if I have been quiet, I have been directing my attentions to more home bound pursuits or problems. She understands, but at the same time, we have been missed.

 There has been a "shit load" I have been dealing with of late... a failing septic system being the major culprit in that arena. Its been a bit of a hassle but not much more.

praying mantis

Then there is the dog who ,by the vet's calculations, is now approaching 87 years old and who's age is starting to settle on his old skinny bones. Although his bloodwork and such say he is in excellent health for his age, he has lost almost 40% of his body weight. A change in diet and his weight has been holding steady at 56 pounds for the last two weeks but he was once 80 pounds and now he is nothing but saggy skin and bone and big brown loving eyes.  Arthritis, as well, is firmly introducing itself to his hips. When we walk he leans against me for support. It is a sad time watching the inevitable. Knowing all you can do for this gentle beloved is to make him as comfortable as possible.

 So my attention has been pretty much split between him and Connor's school. Which is going fabulously. He loves his time in the classroom. All of the students are quiet and respectful of the teacher and other students. And the classroom activities are more interactive. Students from 6th through 8th gather together 2 days a week. One of those days they take English class (which is essentially a school newspaper), performing arts class (they made masks and are now discussing how to assume a character and they are practicing a play) and lastly humanities (Which they cover a broad range of topics in from English to Science.)

The second day of the week is student council (all of the students paired up and worked up campaigns to run against each other. Connor didn't win the election but he did enjoy the exercise. This class is responsible for helping set the course for the schools extra curricular activities and field trips), Math (where they work on times tables and play math games) and pe (Which has him running a mile).

The other three days of the week look a bit different. An hour spent at the keyboard at home with an online math tutor (Its really a program that assesses and adapts to his progress. It works well for him. it is topic directed and gives him the ability to move at his exact pace. His initial assessment showed a knowledge of  26 percent of the topics. We just finished the first quarter and he is 48 percent complete. Anyway that is math.) Then we read and write book reports, study ancient civilizations and for pe we rock out with daily dance parties. Science for 6th grade is earth science. We have been observing how the suns coronal holes and sun spots effect the earth, (earthquakes, storms and communications blackouts) and we have been talking about the potential of a pole shift during our lifetime and the ramifications of that as well as the very plausible threat of an mini ice age.  Connor was not thrilled with these lessons. He said "I know why they don't teach this stuff in school." I asked him "Why?" to which he replied, "Because everyone would just kill themselves now."  I followed that line of thought up  with the "Why it is important to see every moment as a gift, See the beauty in each breath, Be grateful for you have a chance to experience because it can all be gone in no time" speech. He is still not thrilled.

He is also attending a youth arts coop two days a month and begins rehearsals for a Charlie Brown Christmas Play next week. We also make good use of the time we spend in the car (We were at Sis's bus stop waiting when I took this. I was not driving!)   and we have had some nice field trips.

Willow is doing pretty well at school. The work load and responsibility are a bit overwhelming
Shedoesn't want to talk about it much though.. she glares at me anytime I ask her anything these days,.. actually she glares at me anytime I ask her anything..  but  I know she is taking things in stride. Homecoming was a few weeks ago  and she had a blast. She isn't doing any extra curriculars just yet except her job animal sitting for the neighbors when necessary and the rare but special visit with her old girl friends. She is planning to join swim team next spring and her braces come off in two weeks!

 My birthday was at the beginning of the month. Mom sent me flowers. I also got some from Greg and the kids then Greg took me out to the Fish House and we had a fantastic meal followed by a much needed and long overdue dip in the warm waters (Did I say warm? It was a heat wave and yes the water was warm. So warm in fact that the area had some great white visitors. A baby was spotted exactly were I was swimming the very next day. Mama was up the beach about 10 miles!). I also got tickets for several sharks games this season. Including two games against the Hawks. Birthday month has rolled over into birthday year this year. And speaking of Stanley.. He has lost some of his tail feathers but he is still king of the roost..


                                                    



Greg has dropped the half marathon race. Travel with work has made his training a challenge and rather than risk injury, he  would rather prep for next year when he can be competitive and well prepared. I think this was a smart move especially since it is official and he begins his Masters program next week. As for work, he is now finally able to relax a little. He has hired the support he needs and the training is going well. So well in fact that before too long, this guy might just be able to step right into Gregs shoes. Then where will we go? We have some serious speculations but only time will bear out that.       Halloween.. This year Con wants to be CP3O for Hmmm... Time to start fabricating.