Lesson learned

So I've been AWOL from the web for awhile.
This spring I was pretty sick -- a crazy "perfect storm" of health concerns -- shattered shoulder requiring surgery to install a metal plate and 14 screws to put me back together, and then 2 weeks later my appendix had some issues and had to be removed.  Some day I'll give you the long version of events.  For now I will tell you I was several months recovering and have returned to good health.

When I get philosophical about that time I think those dark months were meant to bring me some life lessons, some of which I will share here eventually.

For now, I am going to share the one practical thing that came out of the whole mess.
I call it the "30 min. dash."

When I was first out of the hospital it was still quite wintery and it wasn't safe for me to walk outside in case I slipped on the ice or snow.  The problem was walking was part of the recovery plan; starting with just a five minute walk and working up to 30 minutes at a stretch.  I improvised.
I set the kitchen timer and walked around my two-storey house -- around the basement, up stairs to main floor, around the main floor rooms, up the stairs and around the second story.  While I was on the prowl I would straighten or tidy small things as I went.  If something needed to be put away upstairs, then I just carried it with me on my walk and put it away when I got to that floor.

Know what I discovered?
I discovered that my house got tidy, really tidy, really fast.

So even now, I set my timer and continue the walk and tidy "dash" as an easy way to keep the house looking good.  In truth, I can get it in shape in 15-20 minutes, depending on how much Girl has left laying around.  Sometimes I keep going for the 30 minutes just to keep moving, and to give me time to reflect on how far I have come.  Lesson learned.

a perfect day

Today was a near perfect day.

Went to church.  Spirit renewed.
Went riding with Zoey.  Spirit refreshed.
Worked in the garden.  Found my zen.
Snuggled on the couch with the kittens.  Calmed my soul.
Had bonfire supper with the family.  Fed my soul, and self.
Went for a bike ride with girl.   (This is where the perfect got a bit messed up.)

As we rounded the corner on our bike ride I noticed a big black cat (with a dead mouse in it's mouth) cross the sidewalk in front of us.  I thought to myself, "how close does a black cat need to be to you when it crosses your path to have bad luck?"  Then my thinker said back, "probably a lot closer than that."

Nope.

Literally the nano-second after I had those thoughts Girl fell off her bike.  Just wobbled and wiggled and lost her balance.  She wasn't seriously hurt, but left a lot of skin on the sidewalk.  She was a good sport about it, but those multiple scrapes really hurt.  We biked back home, cleaned wounds and let the kittens cheer her up.

The end of my near perfect day?
Blogging time.  Rejuvenates the creative juices.

See you soon.

the beasts at shady lane

This is Lucy.

This is her twin sister, Ruby.  The only way to tell them a part is that Ruby has 4 whisker freckles in a line on each side of her nose.  Lucy's whisker freckles are in a triangle instead of a line, and there are 5 of them.







You will notice that Ruby's left eye looks a bit weird.  Turn out both kitties has some bacterial infection in their eyes. It got both of Lucy's eyes.  So I took them to the vet for medication and advice.  I picked up an ointment to put in their eyes.  It has to be done 3 times a day for 14 days...
Every try to get ointment in a kitten's eyes?  You would swear you are wresting an ocotopus.  Boy usually holds them, and I try to get the stuff in the eyes without poking them with the tube.  We both end up covered in hair, and sweating from the effort.  It is really quite a production.  How can a kitten weighting 1.4 lbs be so strong, and flexible, and scary?

And this is Smoke our other creature.  He doesn't need eye goop so I love him best right now.  But his litter box does take longer to clean out...

Look who's here, mom!

I was away at a conference for one night and a day.
When I got home, guess who was here to meet me....

Two new friends.

I didn't exactly know they were coming, but they are too cute to kick out.

No names yet, I'll let you know when we've settled on names that suit.

We had this great kitty, named Rocky. Sometimes Rocko or Rockster, or Rockstar.  Sometimes Dumbass or Ding Dong.

He thought he was a tiger or at the very least, a jungle kitty.

Right from the start he got himself into all kinds of trouble....

He loved water.

Rocky thought he was really good at hiding.

He also thought he was human.

If you go to "google images" and type "google kitty" he's there.  Rocky on the web.

Well Tuesday night we lost our little buddy.  He was hit by a car on the road.  We've found him a final resting place under the tree he used to climb in the back yard.  The crew here at Shady Lane is pretty sad, and will be for awhile.
It just isn't the same around here without him.  He didn't flop down on the carpet with a "murr"  (not a meow) while we watched TV.  He didn't climb on my pillow to get me up after the alarm this morning.  DH didn't have anyone following him to the bathroom looking for treats. And Boy and Girl didn't have him to greet them when they got off the bus today.
Our fuzzy buddy is missed.

God speed, Rocky.  We miss you.
Amen.

touchstone

It has been a crazy week.  I've had some issues and they are dragging me down.

Part 1
I have an eternally optimistic happy friend who yesterday promised me that "there is a silver lining," and "this too shall pass."  Then I talked to someone who assured me that "this is only going to get worse" and I should "learn to deal with difficult people, cause there are lots of them and sometimes they have it out for you."
So I went to my lovely, optimistic friend and I said to her, "You lied to me.  This is bad, and it will get worse.  There is no silver lining. So there.  I am going to my office to wallow in self doubt and pity."  And I did.

Part 2
I don't watch a lot of TV, but my one constant show is the Young and the Restless.  I confess.  I DVR it, but I still only see it about twice a week.  That however, is enough to keep me up to date.  On Y&R Sharon has recently discovered that she has a mental illness.  Her therapist told her that sometimes [crazy people] find a touchstone helpful and calming.  A touch stone is an item, or piece of music or video that they continually go back to for grounding.

Part 3
It's possible that I am in need of a touchstone.  My lovely optimistic friend showed me a video clip from you tube this week that I have now watched 12 times.  I am going to watch it again when I put the link here, and probably again before bed.  It makes me happy.  It is calming.  It is my new touchstone.  I think you will like it to -- you don't have to be going nuts to appreciate the magic.  Enjoy.

Part 4
My lovely optimistic friend also delivered gluten free one-bite brownies to my door.  They can't be a touchstone -- I ate the bag already.

Boy humour

This is Boy and his best bud, D.

Don't think they didn't plan this....'cause they did.
This is 14 year old boy humour.
It just is.