Upside Down

I continued my cleaning spree that started yesterday, moving to closets this morning.  There is something that just feels so good about purging and letting go of what you don't need or no longer use.  The house feels lighter, I feel lighter.

Jordan came over this afternoon and we did Easter chocolate chip cookies.  Just your basic chocolate chip cookies covered with pastel sugar and jimmies and pearls.  After he left, I decided to do a spiced pineapple upside down skillet cake.  Rick insisted on taking a photo, so you get to drool a little tonight.

Usually we go to my sister's and then Rick's sister's house on Easter Sunday.  This year I decided to cook, so Sam and Jordan are coming, my brother Ricky and his wife Deb, Haven and Anthony ( Alesha has to work) and our friend Fred.  James and his crew might come over after lunch.

Everyone on FB has posted childhood Easter memories today.  My mom always dressed me in those stiff, scratchy, starched organza dresses complete with crinolines.   I didn't like the dresses, but I loved the hats, shoes, purses and gloves.  I never liked to hunt eggs, loved to dye them, hated hunting them.  Malted eggs, jelly beans, and marshmallow eggs and chicks were my favorites.

However or if you celebrate this weekend, enjoy your Sunday.  May we all know peace and love.

Spring Table

Did a little spring cleaning today.  One of the best things about our springs here in Alabama are the beautiful wild flowers.  I gathered arm loads of dogwood, apple blossoms and wild honey suckle today.  The vase and salt and pepper shakers were my grandmother's  and the exquisite table cloth was given to me from my best friend Kaye.  Fresh flowers in the house make my day anytime.

Tomorrow my plans are to clean my closet, put away winter woolies and bring out the cottons and linens.  I know many are celebrating this weekend, spending time with family and friends and reflecting on their faith.  May peace fill our hearts, spread joy and share some love...and breaking a little bread is always nice.

Dogwood Clouds

We got relief from the pollen today, finally enough rain to wash the everything.  As I drove home this evening I noticed beautiful white clouds through out the woods.  The dogwoods are in full bloom and our forests are filled with them.  In one area where I drive wisteria has filled the trees along the roadside.  All was purple and fragrant, there really was a purple rain falling.

A busy day, classes were all men and because of our full moon this weekend we did moon salutations.  The guys loved them.

I hope your Friday is peaceful.  Tomorrow Passover begins and Sunday is  Easter.  May we all know love.

Rescue

Jordan's mom, Samantha will be 28 on April 2.  When she was 8 or 9 years old, the company that owns the property that joins ours behind the barn, decided to clear cut. 

Sam and I panicked.  She and I walked those trails almost daily.  We were looking for David the Gnome.  Walking those trails I taught her about the wild plants that grew there.  Each spring she was delighted when the flowers began to bloom.

When the land manager told us when the cut would began, we decided a rescue operation was necessary.  We took shovels and boxes and dug up some of her favorite plants.  Our yard was very similar to that forest.  We found a place under trees out front that was shady in the evening, yet received morning sun.  The dirt was rich  and the plants thrived.  This morning as we walked the dogs I laughed, there was one of our rescues blooming twenty years later.

That first wild iris  blossomed  today in our little rescue garden.  I love that it chose to thrive and remind us we made a difference.  More of the plants are getting ready to bloom, that just means more pictures to come.

Wild Honey Suckle

Even though are clouds of yellow pollen hanging in the air, it is beautiful in Alabama now.  Every where you go, there are flowers.  The trees are blooming, bushes, and wild flowers.  One of my favorites, the wild honey suckle.  We have them in our woods here on the farm, from the softest  shade of ivory, to pale pink to a deep dark rose.  The fragrance is like nothing you have ever smelled.  The smell of honey with an under current of musk and then just a touch of fresh green.  Everything is dressed in it's Sunday best just in time for Easter this weekend.

Path

I met with a different doctor today.  Tests were done, more being ordered.  The staff were warm, caring and funny and the doc listened to what I had to say.  I was told this is a path, it might take a while, but we would get to the bottom of what is going on and hopefully get my life back to normal.

A couple of different things are being looked at and this path could go a couple of different ways.  I am ok, I want to know what is going on with my body and then look at what needs to be done.
The path might be a little rocky, but that's ok...I just need some answers.

Some of the tests will not be pleasant, that's ok.  Knowing that someone is willing to help me gives me courage.  This path will take one step at a time.  I understand that.  Just like life is one day at a time, sometimes even one breath at a time.

Jordan is on spring break and he is spending the day with us tomorrow.  I am so excited.  School and swim meets keep him so busy, we are thrilled he is going to hang with us. 
Be sure to be kind tomorrow, it's more important now than ever...we all need a little kindness.

Hook

In the past few weeks I have shared pictures of Taz and Calliou.  Hook felt unloved.  Well, maybe not, but I felt bad because I had not blogged about him.  He is sweet and comical and deaf.
He loves to play and he is a digger.  Another couple of years and all of our trees will be dug up.
He is a big ol hunk of cuddle.  I am so glad we rescued him.  Isn't that face the sweetest?

Load-in Load-out

We had a really fun gig today.  We played at an assisted living facility in Birmingham.  We were a little anxious going, would they like our songs, would we connect?  They were delightful.
We connected, they loved our music and were telling the director of the facility to bring us back before we left.

As our friend Fred says, if you get a gig where all you have to do is show up and play, life is good.  But most of our gigs are not that way, this morning there was the load in ( sound system, guitars,etc)
in the vehicle.  Then get to the gig, load out, set equipment up, then perform, then tear down system and load again, drive home and unload vehicle.  You have to love this stuff, because it is hard work.

Time tonight for a long soak in epsom salts.

Hope your Saturday has been as good as ours.  Tomorrow is Sunday, be kind, spread joy.

66 Trips

66 times around the sun, it is my birthday today and I am glad to have made those trips.  I told a friend today that I became Benjamin Buttons this morning, from now on I get younger every year.

It has been a good day.  I went to the DMV and got my driver's license renewed and we have just hung around the house.  We have a gig tomorrow, so we got a good practice in.

Today has been a most humbling day. I have had hundreds of Birthday wishes and greetings on FB.  Many of them were so touching, some from friends and family that I had not heard from in a long time. You know you live day to day never knowing what sort of impact if any you have on those around you.  I spend my days at work giving my heart and soul to those in pain and I hope that it helps, but only time tells the truth.  On social media I try to be as uplifting as I can be, because I know that every one hurts.  Kindness is free and ya'll know I love to spread it.

These 66 trips around the sun have been good, bad, happy and sad.  I will be the first to admit in many ways my life has been amazing.  A good friend at work told me Tuesday that she had Googled me and then proceeded to chide me for not talking about my life and the paths it has taken me.
But she also said that I should be very grateful for such a full life...and I am.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't whisper words of gratitude for my life and the people and experiences that have made it.

66 trips, don't know how many I have left, but I don't worry about that much.  I still practice those questions I ask my students daily...what time is it?  Now.   where are you? Here.  I am here, now.

Magnificent

We have had many dogs through the years, the majority of them rescues.  They have been in bad health, some downright ugly, some beautiful, comical, smart, dumb and all of them we have loved until they passed over the rainbow.  Only three have I ever used the word magnificent to describe them.  One was our first dog, Duke, a Belgian Shepherd who was not only magnificent but smart and funny.  The second was a Lab/Chow mix named Blackie Bear who was one of the most loving dogs as well.  The third is our Collie, Calliou who lives with us now.  And honestly Calliou probably wins the trophy for the most magnificent.

He is regal and sensitive.  He loves children.  And he should be a movie star, he is that pretty.
When he walks it is apparent that he knows he is royalty and that he tolerates the plain humans he lives with.  I swear sometimes I think he is a cat in a dog's body.

As we sat and drank our coffee this morning he lay on his bed gazing out the front windows, patiently waiting for his morning treat of a tiny ginger snap.  He is polite, only when he hears the can that holds the ginger snaps being opened does he stand and look at you.  He waits for you to break the cookie into small bites and he relishes each one.  Did I say he is a wee bit spoiled?
 
Mornings for Hook ( the pitt) is all about how many critters he can bark up a tree or if it is cold, how close he can sit to the fireplace.  Taz is all about sitting next to me as I read the paper and drink coffee.  Interesting how their personalities have developed and how they interact with us and each other.  But Calliou, he is the magnificent one, full of dignity and grace, always polite and always beautiful.

Hump Day Drain

Do you ever have those days when it feels as though someone took a straw and just sucked the energy from you.  That's sorta how I feel tonight.  Our air is full of sticky yellow pollen and my lungs are in overtime trying to separate the oxygen from the pollen.  We had very little rain from the nearby storms on Monday so no relief.  Maybe with the next rain event it will be enough to wash the air.

We have a gig Saturday and practice tonight was not our best, but we will kick it Saturday.

I used the new pressure cooker to make beef stew today.  Once again I am wowed. The veggies were perfect and the beef was fork tender.  I admit I was skeptical because when it comes to beef stew I am a slow simmer kind of gal, but this was every bit as good as hours on the stove.

I am already in my pjs and a cup of hot peppermint tea awaits me tonight.  ( good for the voice)
Share some kindness tomorrow.

Aha Moments

Almost 80 degrees yesterday barely mid-50's today, rain and bone chillin' wind.  What a difference 24 hours makes. 

Interesting class today.  One student told me he would be leaving this weekend at the beginning class.  I talked to him about how important it was when he went home to work all the skills he had been taught while at our facility.  ( I didn't mention to him my curiosity about why this was his first visit to my class).  After class he talked with me for a few minutes, it was then I asked why he had decided 5 days before leaving to visit my class.  He told me he had just not given it much thought, but that he was so sorry because he loved what he had experienced today.

He has the opportunity to have one more class with me before he leaves.  There have been those who came in on their very last day and expressed the same remorse.  One young man came on his last day and about a year or so later he was back in our program.  That time, he never missed a class and the last I heard from him which was a couple of years ago, he was doing great.  It is so hard to understand how something like yoga came help you in recovery, it is so hard to understand how it can help anyone be healthier, how it can help you deal with bad days and stress.  Until you experience it.

Truly experience the breath work, the asanas and meditation and then somewhere down the path, there is that aha moment...and it all makes sense.

There are many things in life that don't make sense to us at first, but once we begin to experience, to practice, to educate ourselves, we too have that aha moment about so much.

Time for hot tea and bed.  Tomorrow is Hump Day, make it better, be kind and spread a little joy.

Monday Musings and Weather Update

Nasty storms north and east of us, ( tornadoes) for us, so far so good.  It is still in the 70's here, and dew points are in the 60's.  We are under a tornado watch until 11:00pm.  Many of our friends live in the areas that are being hammered tonight.  They are keeping us posted on social media.  Reports of tennis ball size hail are coming in now.  Alabama in the springtime.

Today would have been our friend Ron's birthday celebration.  He died in 2000.  We talk about him often.  Even at family gatherings many of our nieces and nephews still speak of Ron.  He and his wife Kaye had a beautiful home at Blue Mountain, Florida and they were always so gracious sharing their delightful home with my family.  So many good memories of food, music, laughter and fun.
Where ever you are tonight Ron, you will always be loved and always missed.

My first full day back at work since last Monday.  Time for a cup of hot tea and update on the weather.
Goodnight, Sweet dreams

Grateful Sunday

Today my sister Pat's grand-daughter Cassie cooked birthday dinner.  My sister Pat celebrated her 75th birthday on the 15th this week.  After lunch we stopped by my brother Glen's house to check on him.  He had a stroke the week after Christmas and it has been a slow recovery.  As we walked in their house today, his wife Shelia told me to sit down that Glen had something to show me.  He was sitting in his chair and their son Stacy brought a walker in, placed it in front of Glen and stepped back.

Glen stood up and walked around their living room.  Those were the first steps I had seen him take since the stroke.  We all clapped.  It has been a good day.

The years going by have taught me to take nothing and no one for granted.  I know that my siblings and I are aging and I am grateful for each day that we have each other.

The weather guys are predicting the possibility of tornadoes here tomorrow.  The downside of spring here in Alabama are tornadoes. Hoping that Mother Nature is kind and even tempered and no one will feel her wrath tomorrow.

It has been raining tonight.  Here's hope that the rain will help to stabilize the atmosphere.
Be kind tomorrow, spread joy and hope.  A picture of my sister Pat, a very young 75.

Jingle Jangle

Maybe it was the corned beef and cabbage, but I feel better tonight.  It's been another busy day.  We had a memorial service/visitation to go to this morning and then I came home and cooked.  But for my birthday Rick bought me a pressure cooker!  I love it.  I cooked lima(butter beans) in it this evening and they were delicious.  In 30 minutes a pound of dried beans were cooked to perfection.

I had resisted this whole new pressure cooker deal.  In the early 70's when we first married my mom had bought me a Presto pressure cooker.  She had taught me how to use one when I was a teenager at home and knew that a new working bride could use a labor saving device.

The first few months I used it almost daily, but I had never cooked dried beans in it.  One winter's evening I came home from work in the cold and dark and decided that I would surprise Rick ( who working second shift)  with his favorite dish of beans and corn bread.   I put the beans in the cooker, turned the stove on and went to change out of my work clothes into my sweats.

I heard the jingle jangle of the steam rising up through the little metal safety value and then I heard, well I wasn't sure what I heard.  I ran to the kitchen and the safety valve had blown on the cooker and dried beans were spewing all over the kitchen ceiling.  The valve itself had knocked a hole in the ceiling and beans were now dripping down on the kitchen floor.  After cleaning up the mess, I vowed to never own another pressure cooker in my life time.  My how times have changed.

This new one does not jangle or jingle, you set the timer, it beeps when all is done.  But if anything blows,  I promise there won't be another one ever.  Will keep you posted.

This St. Patrick's Day has been a good one.  I hope the "luck of the Irish" comes to each of you tonight.  And tomorrow, may you all know love and kindness.

Almost Normal

I love normal or some semblance of it.  Not quite 100% but so much better this evening.

I hope your Friday has been a good one. March is whizzing by.  Next Friday will be my birthday, wow the years go fast.

Corned beef and cabbage are on the menu at the Watson house tomorrow.  It's our tradition. 
Maybe I can talk Rick into doing a jig.

Ready for a cup of hot tea and early bed.  Be kind tomorrow to everyone you meet.

48 Hours

I have been home two days with a Meniere's flare.  The usual stuff, migraine, vertigo and vomiting.
I miss teaching.  I miss doing my normal day to day stuff.  I miss my normal. I have been reading about supporting Meniere's using the science of Neuroplasticity.  I think I might be on to something.

There is a great deal of material about managing Vestibular Disorders with not only traditional medicine but also using non-traditional techniques as well.  Mindfulness, meditation, yoga, diet, walking, plenty of water and fruits and veggies.  All things that I do and teach, I am about to up my game.

I am typical of so many who deal with Meniere's, I want answers ( yesterday) I want immediate relief,  and I want it to go away forever.  I am learning that with two chronic diseases ( menieres and primary immune deficiency ) in my life, there are no easy answers, and for my particular two, no cures.  I am stronger this evening, more stable and I had a meal this afternoon with no issues.  My biggest lesson I am learning, be here now.  It is what I teach daily, but with chronic disease I am reminded almost by the minute all I have is now.  I can't waste time and energy thinking about what if, or I wish, or why not. 

I know that so many who read this blog deal with much greater issues in their lives.  But support of those who love you, knowledge about what ever is going on, and the willingness to live in the moment can change your life for the better.  My worst moments are when I worry about tomorrow, when I fret because I have to ask for help.  Learning to ask for help has been my greatest block.  I was raised by an independent mother and have always had so much pride in my independence, but asking for help is not a weakness.  It is a way to let those around you, know you value them, that you appreciate all they do.  It is a way to remind yourself, you are loved.

Enjoy your Friday.  My wish is that I can return to my classes tomorrow,  but I will listen to my body and do what is best for me.

Don't forget to be kind.

In Our Hands

A quote for the day.


"Life is raw material.  We are artisans.  We can sculpt our existence into something beautiful, or debase it into ugliness.
It is in our hands."   - Cathy Better

Different

Working where I work, I teach students from many different places and cultures.  It is fascinating.
Our differences.  Our thoughts, beliefs and even our feelings can be so different and unique.
Then there are also things to be considered such as extremely high IQs, incredibly gifted and talented.

Speaking with a couple of my students today, I was reminded of how truly different we all are.
When you think of all the different people in America and then start to think about all the different people in the world it is staggering.  I personally find our differences inspiring and refreshing.  Why would you want to live in a world where everyone was the same, had the same beliefs, thought the same way, ate the same food, dressed the same.  I find no pleasure in that at all.

I think when you meet someone different if you choose not to judge but take some time to talk, to interact you realize not only the differences but also the similarities.  We humans have the same basic needs, a roof, food, education, to feel safe and to be loved and to practice whatever religious beliefs we might possess, we want our families safe and we want good health.  All pretty basic stuff.

Tomorrow is hump day.  Remember to treat those around you the way you would like to be treated.

How You React

Today's quote for my classes.  I think it is a good one.

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."

-Charles Swindoll

CD Time

We spent the afternoon with our friend Fred.  He is our friend, family, sound guy, recording producer, co  -worker, etc.   We are getting ready for our next cd.  Today was doing the hard stuff, figuring out songs, instrumentation, ( no title for cd yet) getting sound levels, but next time the fun begins.  We record.  I read today that Joan Baez had just released a new cd.  She is 77 and getting ready for her final tour.  She gives me hope, I am 65.  :)

When we did our last cd, we did not do a very good job capturing moments in the studio with pictures.  We are going to to remedy that this time.

Mondays seem to come faster and faster, is it just me?  And did you realize that March is almost half gone and that we lost and hour today?

Be kind tomorrow, everyone needs a bit of kindness.

March Birthdays

Rick's sister Mary Lois did a cook-out this evening for those in her family/friend circle who have birthdays in March.  That included myself, her daughter and a friend's son.  She planned this before the weather forecasters said we would have a monsoon.  She grilled in the pouring rain and baked two chocolate cakes!  Everything was really good. 

March is full of birthdays, my great nephew Jared's was today.  His mom's was on the 6th, a friend's was also on the 6th.  My nephew James celebrated his on the 8th, my sister Pat's is on the 15 and mine will be on the 23 and I could go on.  Lots of March babies.

It is still raining and now the fog has moved in.  Glad to be home, safe and dry.
Enjoy your Sunday tomorrow.  May you feel peace, celebrate joy and know kindness.

A Good Day

I needed a low key day.  Most of my classes have been full this week with many new students.  Today was slow and easy.  It started with coffee in front of the fireplace with Rick and the dogs.  We have several gigs coming up so we spent a great deal of time rehearsing.  I did a roast chicken for dinner.
The weather has been a picture perfect spring day, temps in the 60 with blue skies and sunshine.
I am very grateful.

We post quite a few pictures of Calliou and Hook.  Taz is camera shy.  This morning basking in the warmth of the fire, snuggled in Rick's lap, she decided I could take her photo.  She is a cutie, all seven pounds of her.

Sunshine

It was all blue skies and sunshine today, you would have thought it was 75 degrees, you would have been wrong.  More like 55 and windy.

My classes were packed, two yoga classes, one meditation class.  I am a tired soul tonight.  There is no more giving in me, time to rest, eat and just be.

I hope your Friday brings joy, peace and much kindness.

Suprises

A couple of weeks ago I had posted a picture of my snowman flag hanging on our arbor with yellow jasmine blooming, it was 80 degrees that day.  I took the snowman flag down and replaced it with my spring flag, full of flowers and butterflies, tonight we are under a freeze warning for the next 48 hours.   Wow.

It has been a good hump day.  I visited with my older brother today.  He had a stroke the week after Christmas and his recovery has been slow but steady.  When I walked in his house today he greeted me in the living room instead of the bedroom, sitting in his wheelchair.  He has come such a long way.  Yes, I shed tears of joy and gratitude.  Life is good.  I love surprises.

Lemon Tree

Our house smells like heaven.  The meyer lemon tree is in full bloom.  We lost our crop last year because I moved our tree out on the  deck too soon.  Not gonna happen this year if I can help it.

I had a full class today. Today was men's day, and there were a couple of guys who were first timers.
But they left with smiles on their faces and said they would see me Thursday.  What more could I ask for?

Wishing you a hump day full of sunshine and kindness.

Heirloom Plants

I love heirloom plants.  I have a plant that my mom's mother gave to her  around 1964, it lives with me now.  I have peony plants in our flower bed that belonged to my grandmother Mamie in the 70's.
I have 14 foot grapefruit and lemon trees that my mother grew from seeds 20 years ago.  My oldest sister Nell gave me collard plants last fall, grown from heirloom seeds.  My plants are beginning to bloom now and soon I will have seeds to plant late summer and their journey from generation to generation will continue.

My first day back at work after being off a week for oral surgery.  It felt good to teach again. It also felt good to take some time off to recover.  I love my boss because she believes in taking time off.  She knows we are better employees when we don't work 24/7.

I hope you enjoy this first week of March, we have a cold front moving in.  Nothing major, temps will be where they should be instead of in the 80's.

Spread some kindness and love tomorrow.  Smile at someone maybe even give a hug or two.

Blink of an Eye

Last night as I watched my nephew James celebrate his 40 birthday I tried to remember mine.  I couldn't.  I have no memory of turning 40.  My father died suddenly of a massive heart attack in Jan of 1991.  I was 39.  He had started in early January kidding me about turning 40.  He had promised to call me on my birthday at 2:00am ( the time I was born) and that there would be black roses and all sorts of surprises to help deal with my grief of growing old.

By the time my birthday came around on March 23 I was still in the muck of grief, not from aging but from his death.  Try as I might I have no memories of what I did that birthday.  The joy that I was expecting to experience was gone with my dad's death. 

I realized  for me that is when life began to move faster and faster and I could not slow it down.  I had buried friends and family including grandparents... The death of my dad took loss to a whole new level. Nothing would ever be the same again.

If I could tell my nephew James anything it would be to embrace life, love, happiness, good health and those you love.  Life really does change in the blink of an eye.

Tough Day

It has not been the day we planned.  Our sister-in-law, Deb was in a car accident this morning.  After being thoroughly checked out at the ER she is ok, but it looks as though her car was totaled.  We are so grateful she is ok.  Deb is my brother Ricky's wife, the mom of Samantha, the Nana of Jordan.

Tonight was Deb and Ricky's oldest son James' 40th birthday party.  I remember so well when he was born.  He looked like an owl with these enormous round grey eyes.  He is now the publisher of our local daily paper.  His mom and Sam did not make the party and I know he missed them but they spent most of the afternoon in the ER.  It was a Jimmy Buffet theme party, you know pirates and such.  Even though my mouth is full of stitches we played Margaritaville  for him.

I am ready for my cup of hot tea and bed.  Wishing everyone a little peace, a little joy and a little love.  For our friends on the East Coast, stay safe, warm and dry.

Happy Peach

For the first time in a couple of years our peach tree is blooming.  She has been pruned and fed and she is happy and full of blooms.  Now if Mother Nature will be kind, we should have big fat juicy peaches come summer.  The last crop was as big as baseballs with juice that ran down the corners of your mouth.  The flesh was white, tinged with pink, they were the best peaches ever.

It has been a productive day.  We also got new baby chicks today.  Jordan is thinking of names, this should be interesting.  Pictures to come.

March 1

March 1...March came in with storms and pouring rain ( like a lion)

March 1...the month spring begins

March 1...Daylight Savings Time ( not a fan)

March 1...my birthday, as well as my sister's, a couple of nieces and nephews and a couple of friends

March 1... white jeans and sandals

March 1...pollen so thick it creates clouds of yellow haze all around

March 1...everything blooms

March 1...full moon tonight and March 31 as well, can we say Blue Moon?

March 1...Days so beautiful they take your breath, storms so angry you never forget them and yes, even snow

March 1...fresh green peas, new potatoes and salmon, the perfect spring meal

March 1...St Patrick's Day, always a traditional Irish meal

March 1...daffodils and tiny wild violets

March 1...new beginnings after a cold winter's rest