Time in Texas

I've been here over a month. Mother is recuperating in Garnet Hill Rehabilitation Facility. Each day gets a little easier for her. It's been a rough road for her though. Her surgery for a right hip replacement was on July 27. She spent 5 days at Baylor Hospital before she was moved to Reliant Rehab. They only allowed her to stay there two weeks and she was unable to move her leg the whole time she was there. That's when we found Garnet Hill. She can stay there for 100 days if needed before she will have to pay out of pocket.

In the meantime, we have moved her furniture to my sister's house. She wasn't happy about that but it's the best thing for her. Hopefully we will get a lot of Terry's house in order before mother comes home.

I've been here long enough to know that my hair needs color, my bangs need a major cutting job and I miss my husband and my two "kids" terribly. Michael has been more than the best husband in the world through all of this. He takes care of the cats so well that they actually love him now. He keeps the house together and is even doing outside work to improve our water drainage. I probably will be getting home in time to see the changing leaves and the first frost. And my family in Texas will be feeling better...I hope.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Thank you! My prayers were answered. I had a beautiful day of driving from Kentucky to Arkansas today. My room at my hotel last night was on the 2nd floor and apparently the man on the floor above me had to empty his suitcase, one piece of clothing at a time. He must have walked a mile across the floor and he was no light weight. He got up at 6 a.m. and so did I. I had my shower and my breakfast and was on the road by 7:30. The drive was uneventful, thank goodness. I will say though that Obama could send a little more stimulus money to the highway department in West Memphis, Arkansas. That bridge still hasn't been fixed and I've been on it 3 times now in 9 months. I'll be up for my drive of 4 and a half hours tomorrow. I cut off some driving time by doing most of the driving in the first two days.

On The Road

Here I am in Shepherdsville, KY after a looonnnnnggggggg drive today. I am on my way to Dallas to spend a few days with my mother before she has to have her hip replacement on Mon. the 27th. I started out at 7 a.m. thinking I would be in Louisville by 3 or 4 p.m. Ha! I got about 10 miles down the road when a truck and trailer pulled out in front of me on route 6. That just happened to be a truck from the Kelly Miller Circus heading west in front of me and never going over 40 miles an hour on a 55 mph road. I followed it to Union City and didn't get to Erie (a 50-55 min. drive) until 8:40. I zipped thru Cleveland and headed south on 71 passing by Medina waving to my in laws, "hidee ho family" as I sped by. I stopped for a leg stretch and gas in Lodi. Hey gas is 2.35 a gallon in Ohio folks. Then as I drove south of Mansfield I passed a van on it's way south but what made this van special was that it had Zem Zem Warren County Hospital Transfer van. Our next door neighbor, Ron Christy, is a Zem Zem and has the little motorized car that he rides in parades. No, that wasn't him driving the van, but what a small world. Two hundred plus miles from home and I see a Warren County van. The next town I came to was Columbus, Ohio. What a hold up. I followed all the signs and ended up taking I 71 south which turned into 70 East. I wasn't on 70 East more than a few min. when I thought somehow I had done something wrong. I was heading East instead of South?????? What happened. Then I was on I 270 which I knew went around the town. I knew I was not where I was supposed to be so I exited the freeway, ended up in a detour on route 33 and in a neighbor gas station, staring at my maps. HMMMMM?????? I decided to go back the way I came and after about 15 min. I ended up doing a complete circle right back to the same gas station. I decided to make a right this time and try another direction with a prayer asking for guidance out of there. It was long before I found I 70 East again, which took me to 270 again, and I decided to stick it out because I knew I270 circles the city and it will end up intersecting I 71 south at some point. I thought it might take me all day to find it but I was determined. Actually, what really had happened was the roads had taken me on a detour originally and I should have just stayed on the freeway for another 2 miles and I would have seen the signs to Cincinnati. Good grief!!! Another hour wasted.

Finally I get to Cincinnati but did I say that I had been driving in rain, rain, and more rain since Akron? After I passed through Cincinnati, it wasn't 15 min later and I was in bumper to bumper standing still traffice for at least 45 min. 10 miles because of an accident way up ahead. HO HUM WHEN WILL THIS END???? I thought. I had another 100 miles to go before I reached Louisville and I counted every mile. I wanted to get to the southern part of Louisville before stopping and I sure was tempted to stop at several hotels but I pushed on. I'm finally here and not until 6pm. My legs were like rubber and it is still raining but I have a nice room, I've talked to all the family, my nightie is on, my tummy is full and now I can play on the computer til I can't sit in this chair anymore. Tomorrow... my destination goal is Little Rock. We'll see.
Oh, and wait til they see me in Dallas. I'm bringing home grown sweet corn, and homemade strawberry jam.

No pictures for today's blog. How can I send pictures of my farm in Farmtown on Facebook? I'm sure there is a way. I have been on Farmtown most of the morning planting raspberries. I did do something constructive. I paid two bills and balanced the check book. Now how's that for a retired person's day? Michael and I plan on taking Debbie to dinner tonight because she is such a help when we want to leave for a day or two. She gives my baby his insulin in the morning and evening when we are gone. The last time she did that, she even cleaned the house a little and wouldn't take any pay for it. I think a dinner is a good start for repayment for her good deeds.

A Mini Vacation

Michael and I took a short trip to Johnstown, Pa. over the July 4th weekend. We toured the Johnstown flood museum which chronicled the 1889 flood when torential rains fell and broke the damn (not the first time) that held an artificially made lake. Johnstown got the brunt of the water flow and it killed over 2000 people. After we visited the museum, we went into the town and found the cemetery where 900 graves are marked in an unknown plot of those they couldn't identify. I also found a memorial to civil war soldiers in the cemetery. Quite amazing. We spent some time looking around the town of Johnstown and found an incline similar to the ones in Pittsburgh but this one carries cars and people up and down the hill. Of course, we had to ride it to say we did. We were going to have lunch at the top but it was a little too pricey so we did Mickey D's instead. We passed through Punxsatawny (spell that real fast ten times) and I had to make the driver take a detour up to Gobbler's Knob where the famous yearly Groundhog Day is celebrated. I think he got it right this year. Our 6 more weeks of winter is still here. I've had a blanket on at night for the last few weeks. I just can't wait to get to the Texas heat...NOT! Going UP! The incline in Johnstown, Pa. Michael in front of the incline carriage. This takes cars and people up and down the hill in Johnstown, Pa. Gobblers Knob, sight of the famous Phil who lets you know how much longer winter will last. A wood carving of a woodchuck in Punxsutawny Pa.

Happy Fourth of July

I guess I've been a little busy. I haven't had time to blog so here it is. I've made 4 aprons and 4 hot pads for friends. Three of the aprons went to friends who helped my family during our rough times last winter bringing love and food to the house while we spent a lot of time at the hospital. I thought since they were such good cooks, I would make something they could use when they are cooking for me again, hint hint hint! The other apron went to my friend, Paula. She's a grand ole gal seeing as how she was born on the 5th of July. Happy Birthday Paula! You'll always be older than me :>) !

Penguins Rule!

How could I forget that in the last few weeks we have been busy watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just as I said, the Red Wings were going down. The Penguins took the cup in seven games and played their hearts out. Glad to see it happen not to mention that I won a box of fudge from my friend Tom in Detroit. I say, "Hey, Tom let's do it again next year!" Every year should have the Red Wings playing the Penguins for the Stanley Cup. What a match.

It's Been A While

Since it's been a while since my last post I will try to put the last few weeks in a few paragraphs. Two weeks ago, Stan and Patty from Tennessee came north for a visit with their cousin at Lake Chautauqua. We got to see them over the weekend along with Jim from Ohio. The guys decided they couldn't go without fishing and the gals couldn't go without their guys so we all headed down to Farnsworth for trout fishing. Michael and I brought our chairs and decided not to wade the creek. But we did get off our duffs. We just had the chairs so we could rest and let the fish settle down before another attack. Michael is a great teacher. I caught my first brown trout in my whole life thanks to his excellent instructions on how to handle a line. I'd include a picture hear but it's on his camera and I have no idea how to get it off of there. That will come later. It was a good day for everyone. The Cawleys caught two. The Sysaks caught two. And Jim caught three. He gets the big ribbon of the day. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Brown Run but without fishing success. We just had a bunch of laughs and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

That weekend we got a call from Dallas. My mother did the big no-no. She crossed her legs and dislocated her hip again. After a trip to the ER, the hospital and a week in rehab, she is back home at my sister's until her hip replacement surgery on July 27th. She will be getting home health care until her surgery date. In the meantime, she is to have a heart catheterization on July 2 to test for the severity of her pulmonary hypertension. She has a blockage in the artery that goes to the lung leaving her breathless and with no energy. If the test finds the same results as her echocardiogram, she will qualify (insurance will pay) for very expensive meds to help with the hypertension. I plan on going to Dallas in July and I'm not sure how long I will stay but Michael and I are used to this separation. We've got bill paying, cat feedings, meds and visits to the vet, and missing each other down pat. At least I won't be coming home in the middle of winter. I just have to deal with the Texas heat. Hopefully her recovery will be swift and we can get back to the healing process.

And one last thought. I have missed posting all the blooms on this blog that occur weekly. But resently we have had Azaleas, Rhodedendrons, Peonies, and my Lillies are blooming in the front yard. We took a ride to Jake's Rocks (lookout over the Allegheny Reservoir) last weekend and the Mountain Laurel is starting to bloom.

A New Addition to the Family

Yesterday, Michael and I took a drive to Meadville, west of Warren. It was about an hour and a half drive to see a motorcycle that Michael had seen on the internet. He has been looking for something to drive to work that gets better mileage than the truck. A few months ago, he had a dream to get a Corvette or a Pontiac Solstice. Thank goodness he didn't go that route. I told him I'd rather have a nice boat to take on the reservoir or Lake Chautauqua but this isn't about me is it? Anyway, off we went but, of course, the motorcycle he saw on the internet was already sold. After 4 long hours of waiting he was able to drive this Honda VTX 1300 home on the the same day he bought it. You should have seen the smile on his face.

GO PENGUINS

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in here about my 2nd favorite hockey team. (Stars are still first) We are going for a rematch with the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals starting Saturday. I really think the Penguins have a chance this year. And, Tom, in Detroit, and Kathy in Dallas, your Red Wings are goin DOWN!

Just so we won't forget, the Cawley's love hockey so much, that their wedding rehearsal had a hockey theme, remember?

Terry's Update

I just finished talking to my sister. Her spirits are good today, although she is having bouts of nausea since they started her on solid food a few days ago. If she can keep the stupid nurses away she might have a good day today. I called her yesterday when she was in the middle of an argument with, as she put it, the dumbest nurse she's ever met in her life. Had to wait for a call back and then got the explanation that when she had asked for her pain medication, he had brought half of the dose. She asked why and he said, that's what she was given earlier. She said go get the rest and let me have it and he said he couldn't because he threw it out. Man, wasting good morphine like that. And who paid for it? That's what I want to know. Terry has never been one not to tell you what's on her mind. I'm just glad I wasn't there to hear all of that.

Terry is on the verge of going home from the hospital. The doctor talked about it yesterday and today he is in surgery all day so he sent the resident in. I don't know if the resident can give going home orders or not so we will have to wait and see. She was given nothing by mouth until this past weekend. Then she was given jello, tea, juices, you know, the general liquid diet for a few days and they weighed her. She told me she gained 40 lbs since she went into the hospital. "Darn, Val, this is one heck of a diet. Now, I'm going to have to give up jello!" she said. Let's hope not. We love jello sooooo much! Since Tuesday, she has been on solid food. I know it is such a relief for her not to have her food go in her mouth and out her stomach fistula as before. She has had some nausea with that. Now the real gastric bypass diet begins. Oh, and I don't think the box with the doggie goodies has arrived yet. I haven't heard a word about it. Now Terry and Curtis will celebrate their lucky 13th anniversary June 1 and Michael and I and my mother have a gift in the mail for them being shipped today. I won't mention it yet. She might go home today and spend the rest of the day on her computer. (If you do, I love you Terry, but you'll have to wait. I'm not spilling the beans on here.)

Terry's Hospital Visit

Tuesday, May 21, Terry went in for her repair surgery. She had a gastric bypass in Nov. that went wrong and has had an open belly wound since then. She has been waiting for that wound to heal and in the meantime developed a fistula and an abdominal hernia in the wound which has required surgery. Finally, the wound healed and she went in for the repair. Of course, she was petrified that she might not make it through the surgery. She was in a coma for 21 days with the first one and in ICU for a month and a half making her hospital stay a few days short of 3 months. I'm happy to say, so far, so good. The doctor said her surgery went well, although it was a mess to clean up. It took around 5 hours. She was in recovery for 7 hours while they tried to get her BP and heart rate up. She now is recouperating at Baylor Hospital and is expected to be there a week. We are hoping that she might be able to get rid of the feeding tube she has had since the last surgery before she leaves the hospital. Alll this to get skinny. I think I'll just stay the way I am.

I just sent a box off to Dallas with a gift for Terry and a dog quilt I made the 3 dogs Charlie, Bitsy, and Ryan. WHAT? A quilt for the dogs? I couldn't resist the fabric and I love them soooooo. Whatcha gonna do when ya don't have any kids? Ya spoil the animals. It's really a surprise but since Terry is in the hospital, she won't be opening this blog up before she opens the gift. I also sent Bitsy, the rat terrier, and only girl a "wubba toy" and a dress. It's pretty darn cute. Can't wait to see her in it. You might notice, I quilted the dog's names around the border.

Is Summer Here?

Well, it's warming up here. I think we should be in the 80's again today. Yesterday I planted the barrels and window boxes in the front and the pots on the deck in the back and I did it early in the morning. I was still sweating even though it was cool. I still think we need more flowers on the upper deck because we now have new chairs. Thank goodness Michael is such a handy put together guy. (More screws and washers and directions) Then I got the cushions set up on our chairs but because the sun was beating down on them, I only rested for about 15 min. there. I think they will have to be used in the afternoon and evening. What a way to end the day with a nice cool drink, conversation and our beautiful view. I did do an azalea assessment also and it seems the little guys we bought last year made it through the winter. They are obviously late bloomers. We all know a few of those. We still don't have the window air conditioners in yet. We'll see how long Michael can stand me whining..."I"MMMMMMMM HOTTTTTTTTTT". I told him last night I'd be glad to give him some of my hormones.

Quiet around here!

Every year around this time, Michael goes on his weekend fishing trip with friends he's known for many years. Jim, Chuck, and Rich from Ohio, Stan from Tennessee, Frank from Virginia all meet up with him near a little town Southeast of Warren called Emporium. A couple of times they have met up in Marienville, also south of Warren. They love the creeks or "cricks" as they call em up here. (Sorry, but I taught phonics so long, I don't understand that pronunciation.) I know, where does, "ya'll" and "fixin-to" come from? Anyway, I have had two quiet days to do nothing if I so please. Yesterday, I decided this weekend would be a good time for me to fix food that I like and that I usually don't fix for the man. He has an allergy to tomatoes so I'm not able to use those in soups or salads. I made a vegetable soup with stewed and whole tomatoes and then made stuffed green peppers with tomatoes. He doesn't care for green peppers either. Why did I fix soup on a day when the humidity was high and the temperature went to the mid 70's? Well, guess what. It was 40 this morning and the high will be in the 50's so I'm having soup, WITH TOMATOES, for lunch!

Oh, and one more thing about food. I mentioned earlier that we had a new grill. Here are the comparison shots.

OLD GRILL

NEW GRILL

The Next Generation

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hope this works. I've been playing with "smilebox" and this is what they told me to do to get this to my blog.

Look What I Found

I took a little drive today after stopping by Sears for a grill cover. (Our old one doesn't fit the new grill.) I was hoping today would be the day that I found the swans and cygnets. Michael and I did take a drive this past weekend to see if we could find the swan family but the wind was so fierce and the temperatures plumetted that we couldn't blame the swans for not showing up for us. I did have luck today. Mama was cleaning herself while the three babies rested until one of the little ones decided it was time to go for a swim. What luck... I got pictures of that too. Looks like she had triplets and she's a good mother. As soon as that one took off into the water, she was right there with him and the other two went in with her. Dad? Don't know...didn't see him today but they mate for life. Maybe he had to go to the bar for a break!

Michael's Birthday

Yesterday was Michael's birthday. This is the day he can do anything he wants. Does that mean I don't let him do anything he wants the rest of the year? I don't think so! But I did ask him if he wanted me to fix him breakfast before I left for a morning of shopping. He passed. He had already snacked on some leftovers in the refrigerator. I left for a few hours to see a couple of shops in town and found the cutest gift for my baby girl niece, Bitsy, a rat terrier. For some reason she's getting most of the presents in this next shipment to Texas. I'd mention it, but my sister reads this blog. When I returned home, Michael had the new grill unpacked...really unpacked, in the garage-the box, styrofoam, plastic bags, and parts. In the office, which is right inside the garage door, more plastic bags, pieces of styrofoam, parts and the rotiesserre box. I followed the trail upstairs to the living room and I could hear a loud radio and talking to the cat. Michael is sitting in a patio chair with most of the grill put together. I was amazed. He was not a happy camper. He said he had been working on it since I left which was two hours earlier. I guess there were about 7,362 parts to this grill and I think that's a low estimate. I tried to help with getting the rest of it put together by finding the rest of the parts in the garage and office and bringing them to him. I had to come inside because the wind was so gusty yesterday it nearly blew me and the grill off the deck. He finished everything but hooking up the propane tank. We still have to oil the grates and wipe down the stainless steel with a solution that keeps it from discoloring. We were so tired after all that, neither one of us felt like going out to dinner or cooking so we did the drive thru, hurried home and watched the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals in overtime 4-3.

The Latest

Just incidental news.
Yesterday was errand day. I took TC to the vet for his glucose check. His sugar was in the normal range so he is to continue on 7 units twice a day. We go back in 4 to 6 wks. That's fine with both of us. He was very stressed yesterday and even though we do this a lot, he never gets used to it. He did the usual breakfast expulsion in the crate. After taking TC home, I made a trip by the post office and on the way home stopped by the swan's nest. NO ONE WAS HOME! Everyone was gone. I didn't have time to go look for mom and any babies but I'm sure they are all safe and enjoying a relaxed life on the Allegheny.

Also did the grocery store routine. I had to get taco stuff to celebrate Cinco de Mayo a day late. Last year we went to Bradford to the only "real" Mexican restaurant within 1400 miles. It was so crowded, we waited an hour without getting served and decided to leave. That's when we determined if we are to celebrate any more holidays at restaurants, we will celebrate a day early or a day later or better yet, at home! Our restaurant in Bradford and the sister restaurant in Lakewood, N.Y. were both raided by the INS. The one is Bradford is now closed and the one in Lakewood has a changed name. Actually, Michael seems to think it was good food. I am spoiled by the "Tex-Mex" menus from home (Texas). I don't care for white cheese on my tacos and enchiladas. That is Mexico Mexican food. NOT THE SAME. I'm perfectly happy at Taco Bell for now. I'm just waiting for some good ole boy Texican to get up here and open a decent Mexican restaurant. We even had a Mexican restaurant in Warren. Their problem was they had hamburgers and peanut butter sandwiches on the menu. ???????? What's with that???? Wonder why they aren't open anymore???????? My point, I guess, is that you have to come to Val's house to get a good Tex-Mex meal these days. I even serve beans and rice (ok, out of a can and a bag).

Today, I'm off to make myself look younger. Gotta get the hair colored and deshag my eyebrows. Tonight, we might go look for a new grill. I'd put in here more about my other doings this week, but seeing how it relates to Michael's birthday, Mother's Day and an anniversary coming up in a month, I'll save it for later. Off to the shower.

Looking for Spring Photos?

I just love this time of year because something new is blooming every week. We had a few days of rain last week and it seemed like every tree on our hill went from brown to green in two short days. The flowering trees are blooming in town and azaleas are bursting with blooms. I'm not sure our azaleas are going to make it. We planted them last year, got one pretty season from them and I think winter may have killed them. Since our trees and bushes bloom about two weeks after the ones down in town, I'm giving the azaleas two more weeks to shape up. I have a fellow blogger friend who is taking beautiful spring pictures in Warren. She's a great photographer. Go to her blog, Linda's photo journal, (on the right) and look at the blooms. Thank you Linda for sharing!

Swan Update

I can't believe that we are going by weekly to check on "our" swan. We haven't seen any babies yet but we did get a surprise this time. Looks like someone is getting a little impatient. Either that or he's just making sure mama is doing ok.

Beaver Town

What can I say about this? Well let me tell you, this girl born and raised in the concrete jungle of Dallas, Tx. never saw nature like I see nature now. I take every opportunity I can to stop and admire wildlife around me. I taught it for 30 years from a book but never got to actually see the real thing up close and personal. As we drove into Wellsville for the trout derby I noticed these trees off the exit ramp of I86 in N.Y. It wasn't until the next day that we were able to stop and check out all the work these little guys did to these trees. The beavers had a lodge in the back behind a chain link fence and then 3 different levels of water caused by two different log dams. Amazing

Derby Weekend

You can swim but you cannot hide. This past weekend Michael and I went to Wellsville N.Y. for a trout derby. 450 tagged brown trout were released into the Genessee River. Each one was worth anywhere from $7,000 to $25.00. If you catch a "tagged" fish, it must be taken to the registration booth live. They remove the tag, read the number and find the amount that you win on a wall chart. You are given a check and then you can go back and fish for more. The event took place on Sat. and Sun. It was HOT! Michael fished with his buddy Jim and Jim's wife and I did the lounge chair nap waiting for the cash to roll in. Those N.Y. fish don't know how to eat. Well maybe one did. Jim caught a $25.00 fish around 2pm Sat. After a long day and some rest at the hotel, we all decided to do dinner and the Salamanca casino. I found a few quarter slot machines then a nickel machine but not the right one until I nested in the non smoking section of the casino. I found a blazing 7's quarter machine and after spending about $12.00 of my $20.00 I get a ring, ring, and 1000 credits on my machine. I look up thinking that's quite a few credits. Wonder what I did. I see 3 blazing 7's in front of my eyes, take a look at the top at what that reward is, and sure enough it says 1000 credits. Teaching Kindergarten for all those years didn't increase my math IQ so I figured I'd cash out and see how much that was. The ticket came out of the machine with $ 258.25!! HOLY MOLY. I won some money. From then on, whenever I had more than my 80 credits ($20.00) in the machine I would cash out. I turned in 5 tickets at the end of the night totaling $370.00. I profited $170.00. Michael didn't catch any fish but I made up for it at the casino.

More Spring Blooms

I can't believe I have spent the morning on Facebook (I joined yesterday). How in the world does that work? And I'm on Twitter and I have this blog. How do people get anything done? Am I being sucked into this stuff? We'll see how long it takes me to give up on that and get back to the real world, if ever. But now for the latest...

We spent Saturday on a drive east. We drove east to Coudersport and south to Wharton and then back home. It took most of the day but we saw a lot of fishermen (first day of trout season). We also saw a lot of beautiful scenery even though it was brown. We did take a back road through the mountains and happened upon some vistas. It's amazing I think I saw NYC. :>)

The bloomers I saw this week were hyacinth and dogwood. Hopefully the spring rain we are getting will make lots of blooms for the next week.

Sunday was spent at the Garland Community Center volunteering. We put in the wiring and two ceiling fans. We were unable to finish the third fan because of a scheduled baby shower so that will get done later this week. See the man's great work above!

Spring Blooms

I have plans to post our weekly blooms. I better hurry up and post last weeks. Crocus, Daffodil, and Forsythia (sp?). Here it is Tuesday and I will post this week's blooms later on in the week. It seems something is blooming every week right up until Fall. Still brown in our yard although I have seen about two inches of stems from my Daylilies. The red squirrel keeps sitting in the bowl that St. Francis holds eating all the sunflower seeds. I saw him try to jump from the birdbath to the birdfeeder in the yard earlier. He missed and landed on a bush under the feeder. He leaves the scraps on the ground for the Junco (our snowbirds). No one's told them it's time to fly North. Guess that means we might have another snowfall. I saw a male cardinal taking a bath in the pooled water of our tarp that is covering our hottub. And so what's wrong with the birdbath in the yard? Oh, sorry, I forgot I emptied out the water (and poop) yesterday thinking the rain would have been here by now. Still no baby groundhogs and only one calf at the farm next door. And the swan? She's still sitting on her nest.

Michael and I go on little drives sometimes and we love following the rivers and creeks near us. The Allegheny River just happens to be the big one going through our town. Sunday we happened upon two swans. One was on her nest. The other was floating with some mallards. We didn't have the camera then, but last night we did go back with the camera to get a picture of mama on her nest. She was asleep. We found the other swan floating alone and then as I was taking the picture of the mama, two other swans flew downstream and landed. I got them also. How gorgeous. Michael asked why I was so amazed by these birds. Now where would I see swans in their natural habitat in TEXAS? This wasn't the first time I saw swans here. I did see a flock of about 20 Trumpeter Swans on the Allegheny about 3 years ago. They even made the front page of our newspaper.

ATTACK!

We've been attacked. Look what happened to my brand new Christmas present. Everything was destroyed...the shepherd's hook, the suet cage and my metal bird feeder! My birdfeeder! The birds hadn't even had a chance to try it out. Get the shotgun.

I'm sitting here trying to start this blog and thinking how eloquent and dutiful John Adams was in his writings. I've just spent the morning reading about our country's history of all things. Somehow my maturity, plus my recent change of residence, has spiked my interest in how our great United States began. It's a shame how those college professors bored me to sleep in history class. I wonder if I could stay awake today or if it's best that I study on my own turf and in my own time. Anyway, just a thought, wish I could write like John Adams.

Speaking of reading, I wish I could take my book outside but the temps won't allow it. Still in the 20's at 11:00am but you wouldn't know it by looking. It's just gorgeous outside. The chickadees keep swooping down to the feeder and back to the pine tree. A red squirrel has been on the deck looking for breakfast and of course those pesky crows keep calling each other thru our backyard. Seems to me they are saying VAAALL, VAAALL, VAAALL, instead of CAWWW CAWWW CAAW.

I'm "stuck" at the house today. It's not all that bad. I love my sanctuary. Michael had to take his truck in to the truck hospital last night. He has been hesitant to repair a (uv)???? joint, so he thought. I think that's what he called it. But yesterday, (really I heard it this weekend) this horrible cranking, creaking noise continued all the way to his workplace and home again and he thought it best to get that checked out and fixed. He now thinks it's something to do with bearings (????). What do I know? But the truck is being fixed and he took my car to work. It's just as well because I'm having an urge to visit a new quilt shop in Pittsfield. I really don't need anything more than a thimble but can't resist all the pretty fabric.

One more funny thing before I close for today. Last night, while I was fixing dinner, Michael was reading the paper and asked me , "Do you ever listen to me?" I thought that was a funny thing to ask. I responded with a humorous, "sometimes". He then pointed to a plumbing thingy you have in the tank of the toilet and asked me "where's the floater on that?" I pointed to it and he responded with, "by golly, you do listen to me. You are so smart!" You see we had to, oops, I should say, he had to repair the toilet a week or so ago. I had the sense to turn the water off at the back of the toilet in the morning when it wouldn't stop running. I knew we didn't want the pump for our well to break. He came home that night and taught me all the names of the stuff inside the tank. I'm used to the floater being a large ball on the right side of the tank but he had a different contraption with the floater all together with the rest of the stuff on the left. You can see by this how much info I retained. I just remembered where the floater was, not what any of that stuff was called. It doesn't really matter, just that he thinks I listen and that I'm smart. And what really matters is that he is so loving and encouraging.

Housework...LOVE IT

Today has been an uneventful one. So why am I writing on my blog? I'm actually waiting for the dryer to stop so I don't have to come back down this way again today. The computer just happens to be half way between the laundry and my recliner. My recliner is waiting for me, calling for me. I can hear it. But duty calls. Monday is usually my change the sheets day. That happened. If I'm in the mood, entire upstairs gets cleaned too, bathrooms and bedrooms. I did everything but vacuum up there.

Michael and I have been watching the HBO "John Adams" series on DVD and I was so impressed, I went to the library Saturday and checked out numerous books on Pennsylvania history, the Am. Revolution, travel book of New England and of course David McCullogh's John Adams. Now I not only have my cat quilt to finish but my books to read. How can I ever get back to cleaning the rest of the house?

Speaking of the cat quilt... It's been a while since I made anything for myself. I am determined to finish this quilt before anymore gifts go out. I had seen this quilt made on a TV show and bought the pattern. I made the blocks, then added appliqued cats in various sizes and in black and white fabric. Now I'm in the process of adding embellishments to the blocks and once that is done, the blocks will be ready to be sewn together.

Spring?

Last Sunday, Michael and I went for a drive. Michael is ready to float the Clarion river. He would like to do a two day trip which means spending the night somewhere, tent, fire no T.P. Fun stuff. He has been talking to his friend Stan about joining him as well as Stan's son. Michael would go right now if it wasn't so cold. But our mission Sunday was to find a launching site where he could put in the canoe. That's where Val comes in. I'm the drop off and pick up "man".

We snapped a few pictures of the landscape. Snow/ice is plentiful at home but it seemed to be diminishing where we were. "Lead season" is what Michael calls it. Also, found a group of wild turkeys picking up seed under a birdfeeder around someone's camp.

The high temperatures have been in the upper teens earlier this week. Just yesterday, we had a high of 24. Is Spring near? I'm almost certain. It's 50 now and guess who I saw outside a few minutes ago...my first groundhog of the season. Not much to eat though. Everything is pretty much brown. Still I think I might have to go look for my garden gloves even if I do have to remove some snow from the planters.