Am I tempting fate by saying "farewell" to this Winter season? The first day of Spring is just 48 hours away, so technically it is FINE!
Here is a very short video of someone who will be happy that Winter will be over. Enjoy!
http://www.wimp.com/dogboots/
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Quaking Sheltie, Wagging Lexie
4:45 am Friday morning. I am awakened by the sensation of a heavy weight on my head. A small Sheltie is pressing her shaking body against me, trying to get as close as possible, on top of my pillow, snagging my hair in her paws. Immediately I am aware of lightning and thunder. Most likely I would have slept through this first storm of the season, but for the presence of our Gwennie, who has a mortal fear of thunderstorms (and fireworks, any sudden loud noise, really).
Then our big girl, Lexie comes into the bedroom, and wakes up my husband. Lexie is the gleeful, joyful early morning riser, dying to say hello to her main fella. Gwennie's shaking and Lexie's big old tail slamming the bed as she wags every part, interspersed with claps of thunder, creates a less than peaceful ability to return to sleep.
So we all got up. Unfortunately, Lexie's skills do not include coffee making or newspaper fetching.
Gwennie heads down to the family room, where there is a small bathroom, and curls herself into a tight corner. She will remain there until all signs of storminess have disappeared.
Meanwhile, Lexie gallumps outside facing down the storm for a brief few minutes. Immediately upon re-entry she is slamming that tail all around as she waits for that most Precious Dog Biscuit Which Is the Most Important Thing in the Whole Wide World I Must Have It Now. The thumping of the "Lashing Tail of Death", as I refer to it, has awakened the canary who begins flapping all over the cage. Disturbed too early from his sleep, Ringo the canary, grumpily twitters and glowers at us, scoots back up to his little bedroom in the corner of his cage, turns his back on us, and returns to his slumbers.
And so the day begins, more or less. Just now the outside birds are beginning their morning chorus, even through the rain, and flashing of lightning. The coffee is brewing and sending a cheerful aroma throughout the house. My husband is able to walk down to the mailbox to get our newspaper. (He is feeling lots better, by the way).
We will enjoy the "peace" of this early morning, sipping coffee, reading the paper and soon the sky will begin to brighten. Good morning.
Then our big girl, Lexie comes into the bedroom, and wakes up my husband. Lexie is the gleeful, joyful early morning riser, dying to say hello to her main fella. Gwennie's shaking and Lexie's big old tail slamming the bed as she wags every part, interspersed with claps of thunder, creates a less than peaceful ability to return to sleep.
So we all got up. Unfortunately, Lexie's skills do not include coffee making or newspaper fetching.
Gwennie heads down to the family room, where there is a small bathroom, and curls herself into a tight corner. She will remain there until all signs of storminess have disappeared.
Meanwhile, Lexie gallumps outside facing down the storm for a brief few minutes. Immediately upon re-entry she is slamming that tail all around as she waits for that most Precious Dog Biscuit Which Is the Most Important Thing in the Whole Wide World I Must Have It Now. The thumping of the "Lashing Tail of Death", as I refer to it, has awakened the canary who begins flapping all over the cage. Disturbed too early from his sleep, Ringo the canary, grumpily twitters and glowers at us, scoots back up to his little bedroom in the corner of his cage, turns his back on us, and returns to his slumbers.
And so the day begins, more or less. Just now the outside birds are beginning their morning chorus, even through the rain, and flashing of lightning. The coffee is brewing and sending a cheerful aroma throughout the house. My husband is able to walk down to the mailbox to get our newspaper. (He is feeling lots better, by the way).
We will enjoy the "peace" of this early morning, sipping coffee, reading the paper and soon the sky will begin to brighten. Good morning.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wiccan Musings
Greetings, wonderful people. Thanks so very much for all the words of encouragement and support, and good advice your wrote to my last post. I have taken my brother to the hospital twice more since that post. Another surgery this coming Monday. My brother is definitely being put "through the wringer" as the saying goes. Hopefully things will settle down for a while and he can have a break from all this. He comforts himself with his favorite genre, Westerns, on cable. We are all "soldiering" through; that's all one can do.
Now that the reality of "life as we know it" has set in, the trick is to find a balance of some kind. My main task at this time is as caregiver. But I also have other family members, a home to care for (and believe me, it needs some caring for right now!) and all the other aspects of daily life that are not getting attention, some of which can slide for a while, others not so much. (I do want to say at this time, that the day I was bringing my brother home from surgery, and I had to watch my husband walk into the Emergency Room by himself when he was so dreadfully sick, was one of the most difficult times I have had in recent memory.) Talk about an emotional wringer. Look, I just sat with my mother 6 weeks ago and watched her pass through the Veil.
What kind of balance can I find? Trying the best to keep my Wiccan ways at the forefront, remaining steadfast in my commitment to the God and to the Goddess. But truly? My magickal life has suffered greatly. Daily practice is impossible, not even time for meditation, or a simple candle spell.
Shall I serve some cheese with this WHINE?
I know things will fall into place soon. The sabbat of Ostara next week is very important to me this year. New beginnings, fresh start, the growing season upon...growing not just plants for sure this year. But growing strength and hope and Balance. After all that is what the equinox is about.
So here's Bright Blessings for all one can hope for. Looking very much forward to a beautiful Spring for everyone.
Now that the reality of "life as we know it" has set in, the trick is to find a balance of some kind. My main task at this time is as caregiver. But I also have other family members, a home to care for (and believe me, it needs some caring for right now!) and all the other aspects of daily life that are not getting attention, some of which can slide for a while, others not so much. (I do want to say at this time, that the day I was bringing my brother home from surgery, and I had to watch my husband walk into the Emergency Room by himself when he was so dreadfully sick, was one of the most difficult times I have had in recent memory.) Talk about an emotional wringer. Look, I just sat with my mother 6 weeks ago and watched her pass through the Veil.
What kind of balance can I find? Trying the best to keep my Wiccan ways at the forefront, remaining steadfast in my commitment to the God and to the Goddess. But truly? My magickal life has suffered greatly. Daily practice is impossible, not even time for meditation, or a simple candle spell.
Shall I serve some cheese with this WHINE?
I know things will fall into place soon. The sabbat of Ostara next week is very important to me this year. New beginnings, fresh start, the growing season upon...growing not just plants for sure this year. But growing strength and hope and Balance. After all that is what the equinox is about.
So here's Bright Blessings for all one can hope for. Looking very much forward to a beautiful Spring for everyone.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Remain Calm and Carry On
The good news is that my darling husband did not require surgery. He spent four days in the hospital and is now on the mend, though he still has a ways to go to recover from this very odd event. A follow-up visit this week with the gastro-intestinal doctor will hopefully give us a better idea of what went wrong and how to care for the problem of diverticulitis. We were very lucky, as left untreated he could have had a very serious, if not fatal, situation.
As for my brother, we needed to go to the Emergency Room on Friday night due to complications of his kidney catheters. After this latest incident, it is now very apparent to me that we will be dealing with this kind of thing for a long time to come. He has a serious kidney disease, as well as heart disease. Recovery from two strokes in October has been slow, with some effects pretty much permanent.
Learning to be a full-time caregiver was not a role I expected. It has changed everything in so many ways. I am now known as "the sister" at all the various doctors and hospitals. No one remembers my name. But it is what it is and for whatever reason this happened, I am doing the best I can.
Spring is coming, the birds are filling the skies and trees. Waking up to birdsong this morning was a delight. Of course I completely forgot about setting the clocks ahead this weekend. And I caught a bad head cold, too! So hey, what can you do? Just follow the Queen's advice as stated in this post's title.
As for my brother, we needed to go to the Emergency Room on Friday night due to complications of his kidney catheters. After this latest incident, it is now very apparent to me that we will be dealing with this kind of thing for a long time to come. He has a serious kidney disease, as well as heart disease. Recovery from two strokes in October has been slow, with some effects pretty much permanent.
Learning to be a full-time caregiver was not a role I expected. It has changed everything in so many ways. I am now known as "the sister" at all the various doctors and hospitals. No one remembers my name. But it is what it is and for whatever reason this happened, I am doing the best I can.
Spring is coming, the birds are filling the skies and trees. Waking up to birdsong this morning was a delight. Of course I completely forgot about setting the clocks ahead this weekend. And I caught a bad head cold, too! So hey, what can you do? Just follow the Queen's advice as stated in this post's title.
Monday, March 5, 2012
So This is What Happened
Frigid icy air this morning, 15 degrees F with a steady wind and snow falling. Son Nicarus drove my brother and me to the hospital for brother's procedure. The doctor was unable to place the stents into the kidneys, so now Jimmy (brother) has catheters coming out of his back, from each kidney. It is not pleasant, and these things will be in for a while. I shall spare you all the details. But home nurses will be coming to visit for the interim to make sure all is well.
Meanwhile, my husband has been having terrible stomach pains and goes to his doctor today. After a CT scan he is promptly sent to the Emergency Room. So he drives his car to the hospital where Jimmy and I are; he goes to the Emergency Room and I need to get Jimmy home. (Nicarus had my car, as this was his first day of training on the job he just started Friday.)
By 8:00 pm this evening, my husband was admitted to the hospital and will have surgery in the morning for an abscess on his colon.
Certainly this is a new wrench in the ever-hobbling wheel of my life. Uh, Waiter? Check, please!
Meanwhile, my husband has been having terrible stomach pains and goes to his doctor today. After a CT scan he is promptly sent to the Emergency Room. So he drives his car to the hospital where Jimmy and I are; he goes to the Emergency Room and I need to get Jimmy home. (Nicarus had my car, as this was his first day of training on the job he just started Friday.)
By 8:00 pm this evening, my husband was admitted to the hospital and will have surgery in the morning for an abscess on his colon.
Certainly this is a new wrench in the ever-hobbling wheel of my life. Uh, Waiter? Check, please!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday Sampler
Quite a few blogs are talking about signs of spring---with photos to prove it. I wish I could, but no such sign here. In fact, as I type on this Sunday morning, the view out my kitchen window is of a blizzard-like snow fall. My spring photos will have to wait a while longer.
As you will have no doubt noticed, my blog has gone green. Very shamrock green, in fact. Of course this is to celebrate the happy St. Patrick's day observance coming up soon. I am not Irish. (Actually, I am Scottish-French) But I love pretending to be Irish during the month of March. And I adore Irish music. I have many cd's of Celtic music. A few years ago we went to see a live performance of RiverDance
Speaking of RiverDance here's a very quick video of a truly fine Irish dancer: River Dance Dog
(make sure your volume is turned up) NOTE: You will need to scroll down past two videos.
Bright and early tomorrow morning (monday 3/5) I am taking my brother to the hospital once again for a procedure to place stents in his kidneys. The first attempt last week was unsuccessful. This time it is being done by a team at the Interventional Radiology department. Fingers crossed for success.
It is difficult to focus on much else, besides what has been going on with my brother. Needless to say, I haven't had a chance to delve into all the magickal workings I have wanted to. I am hoping to do some posts for Ostara (Spring Equinox sabbat) coming up. If I get to decorate the house, I will take some pictures with Elphie (camera). Poor Elphie has not been put to much use.
Sending out loving energy to those devastated by the horrific tornadoes these last few days. Heart breaking.
Blessed be. Have a great day!~
As you will have no doubt noticed, my blog has gone green. Very shamrock green, in fact. Of course this is to celebrate the happy St. Patrick's day observance coming up soon. I am not Irish. (Actually, I am Scottish-French) But I love pretending to be Irish during the month of March. And I adore Irish music. I have many cd's of Celtic music. A few years ago we went to see a live performance of RiverDance
Speaking of RiverDance here's a very quick video of a truly fine Irish dancer: River Dance Dog
(make sure your volume is turned up) NOTE: You will need to scroll down past two videos.
Bright and early tomorrow morning (monday 3/5) I am taking my brother to the hospital once again for a procedure to place stents in his kidneys. The first attempt last week was unsuccessful. This time it is being done by a team at the Interventional Radiology department. Fingers crossed for success.
It is difficult to focus on much else, besides what has been going on with my brother. Needless to say, I haven't had a chance to delve into all the magickal workings I have wanted to. I am hoping to do some posts for Ostara (Spring Equinox sabbat) coming up. If I get to decorate the house, I will take some pictures with Elphie (camera). Poor Elphie has not been put to much use.
Sending out loving energy to those devastated by the horrific tornadoes these last few days. Heart breaking.
Blessed be. Have a great day!~
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