A Point in Time

Writing about past events gives me "head time", that distance from the event where I can process it in my head and connect all the dots before writing it all down. So just as an exercise, I'm taking a moment to describe what's going on right now. A bit here, a bit there.

Coffee is perking, getting near filling the pot. It makes more noise at this stage so I can tell. The dog just left, giving up, I think, on my taking a moment from typing to pet him some more. It's both dark and foggy this morning, forecast to go up to or near 60. No sign of the pesky and abused neighbor's cat at my back door this morning. It keeps trying to get into our house, and I can't blame it. Poor thing is underfed, under-vetted, and likely one of the brats who owns it cut off its whiskers. It's scratched my foot with two raking claws, Richard's arm with one.

I'll have to stop to wake Daddy in about 20 minutes, finish setting up his nebulizer, and share a few minutes with him getting the day's news and weather. My clock woke me to the news of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in some dispute over Captain Morgan's rum relocating for a huge amount of federally-provided funds - definitely enough to drive me out of bed despite wanting another few hours of sleep. Not that I could sleep in bed that much longer. I've gotten another rotator cuff injury and sleeping one my left side is so painful that at times I pile out of bed and into the recliner with a good blanket. It gets uncomfortable too after a bit but I do manage a few hours sleep in between.

Flocks of ducks and geese are appearing regularly in the sky now, along with some of smaller birds that are just black and unidentifiable. Well, except for the finches. The fly, drop, fly, drop pattern lets me pick them out. Cardinals are starting their spring songs, but the chickadees haven't yet. Scillas are poking up new green leaves, and soon my gardens will be blue, spreading out into my lawn. Snow is melted except for the big piles, but the ground hasn't gotten any less muddy. Big puddles collect in low spots visible as I drive by. Ponds have temporarily become lakes and lakes spread out to cover large chunks of fields, except for the local lakes. Melting ice leaves large patches of dirt above the water level in the bays. They're still a good foot or more down from their usual levels, have been for a couple years now. We seem to live in a local drought zone.

"Friend" is still being stalked, even though the local law enforcement have given her a new route home. She still has to hit town to pick up her medicines and run other local errands, and there PSB is, waiting and watching.

Steve is home with pneumonia and an interesting group of meds. He looked at the nebulizer they handed him and, after setting one up regularly for may dad, confidently informed them he knew how to use one. One of his kids just got custody of one of Steve's grandkids. Great news except it took abysmal home circumstances to bring this about. They swung by to celebrate with Steve the night before he got sick, so now they've been exposed to whatever bug Steve has.

My Wisconsin run is temporarily not happening - at least they tell me it's temporary - so today I'm getting a round trip to Wanamingo for the same client that I can't name. Should be fun. It's a lovely day for a drive, and an even better one to have an excuse to stay out of downtown St. Paul: too many idiots clogging the streets in green hats after drinking their green beer. With the mild temperatures, it should be worse than usual.

And it's 6:30.

* * * * *

7:30 AM:

Jordan's summer plans have gone through several permutations. Once she got the catalogue of opportunities for trips fromthw folks who offer Fiji, she fell in love with a different one: spending a week in Thailand caring for elephants. They've been a special animal for her for years. Get her a present? Find one with an elephant design or theme. With the other opportunities available, she's thought still about Fiji, and also China (pandas), Africa (safari), Cambodia (orphanage). All get her community service hours she needs for graduation, with more besides. (I imagine she can tell her schoolmates next year that, no, she won't be participating in the school car wash. She's already done the elephant wash.) The last - Cambodia - is a hop and a skip from her beloved elephants, and easily combined into an extended trip. More weeks, more credit, little extra flying expenses. Moreover, she can take multiple weeks at this site. So right now the questions are narrowing down to how many weeks and can she still fit in camping with us this summer?

The fish ponds in the back yard are finally ice-free. It's time to plan to move water lilies and fish outside for a genuine cold snap before summer. That promotes blooming or breeding, respectively. Unfortunately it's supposed to maybe snow this weekend, the last time for a month both "boys" will be home to do the work.

And now I really have to go. Work calls.