Okay, already!

There always has to be an upside to everything. All those days of nausea when I could barely nibble on a graham cracker paid off. I went from being an inchworm to being a butterfly at the gym! I have lost a total of 43 1/2 inches since April of 2002. That's also 34 pounds. The good thing is they don't renege. If (!) I should gain back an ounce or two (or an inch or two) they won't make me go back to being an inchworm. I am forever a butterfly! They won't insist on stuffing me back in the cocoon! Yippee.

I went from being measured and weighed to trying to do a bit on my horsey and that was about it. But the welcome was great and we had some good laughs. I'm back in circulation. I loved seeing the old gang and catching up on their lives. They are a good bunch!

I was sad to hear that an old friend had died from cancer. I saw Anna just a week or two ago in the doctor's office waiting room. She then had barely enough energy to say hi and a few other words before I was called away by the nurse. I trust she has gone on to a better place. RIP.

I am slowly getting my bearings again. Slow but sure wins the race. Thanks to all of you who are thinking of me. God bless and keep you all. Take care.

flag

I hibernated yesterday. I didn't make it to any of the "doings" of Memorial Day. The memories of my childhood rose up. We called it "Decoration Day." It was a time to decorate the graves that belonged to the members of the family who were buried in the local cemetery. We made wreaths of bridal wreath and whatever other flowers were blooming. Lilac, iris, peonies were usually high on the list. Then we had a parade of basically everyone - at least all the kids - carrying their flowers to the cemetery. We would have made the wreaths the day before and let them soak in a big tub of water to keep them fresh. The emphasis was not on remembering the military dead, just the family dead. If I'm not mistaken, the town band would play during the parade, too.

When I took the picture of the flag, I placed it in a little vase of cork from Brazil. I had such a little flag always with me while we lived in Brazil. When we went to the city, the thrill when we would approach an embassy and see the US flags waving is indescribable. Here we see so many flags and love seeing them, but when you haven't the same access it is a wonderful thrill. Sort of like seeing an oasis when walking thirsty in a desert. Brazil was not a desert in any way except in the dearth of US flags of course, but "Old Glory" hit the heart strings like nothing else.

With so much of Memorial Day being taken up now in remembering those who have taken up arms for our country, I realized that our family is peppered with such people. Our dad was in WWI, my brother and brother-in-law were Navy in WWII, my husband and his brother were in WWII, my husband's father in both World Wars. Now our son and his wife are both in the Air Force. I have never thought about it before, but I have quite a lot invested in those stars and stripes. For better or worse, I care.

May God protect us from doing irreparable harm to what the flag represents. As one studies history, the ins and outs, ups and downs are many. May we always finally find a way so that freedom may exist in this world of ours. It is far from an easy road.

Take care.

An Apple?

As Magritte would say, this is not an apple, it is a picture of a painting of an apple. Right. You might notice that the painting hangs just below a stopper for a stove pipe and above a clock.... in a house that was built in 1900.

Talking about this reminds me of old houses. As a child I loved it that the "register" in my bedroom was just an opening to the room below. As heat rises, that took care of heating my room. The fun part of it was that it meant I could eaves drop on what was going on. I don't remember much of what I heard, but just the idea was enough to entertain.

My brother also taught me how to walk so no one would see me. Really. The trick was just to pretend that you were just where you were supposed to be, not to run quickly. The folks would have parties in the living room and to walk from the stairs to the kitchen, one had to walk right out in the open where everyone could see you. If you sneaked in any way, that would draw someone's eye, but if you just walked as though you owned the universe, no one would notice. At that time I was about three feet tall, and I mastered the technique perfectly.

I have one sister and one brother and I send a shout-out to them. We are remarkably long lived, or as I used to kid, "We're long livers." Onward and upward.

Take care!

Ah, the red, red rose...?

As I look out my window I see this fabulous row of gorgeous red flowers. They are an exotic peony raised by Monty as I understand it. I believe I am the only person who gets to look out at their glory each day, and I truly appreciate them. We share the garden with our neighbor, and so I get the best of two gardening worlds. Well - actually three, as Monty's part of the garden is only this row of peonies, I think. They are spectacular, however, and I truly appreciate them. Thank you, Monty!

You might also notice the green sward of grass. In the midst of terrible sciatica/bursitis pain semi-controlled with pain killers, George still manages to mow and fertilize, etc. He has also tilled the garden and played a bit of golf. When I protest that he might take it a bit easier, he says, "But it has to be done." Right. I shouldn't complain, I get to look out at the beauty.

My job, now, is to get my brain back up and running and get back to my life. It is hard as I run out of energy very quickly. Patience. Thanks, Izzy, for passing on your mom's dictums. My mom said the same to me and I to my kids. A universal momism do you suppose? Nevertheless, very true. I will try to follow it. I am certainly relishing food. I am trying to get the water down. That is harder for me. Onward and upward.

Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers. Keep it up! and... Take care.

hello again

I am very pleased to tell you that I finally feel as though I have my brain back. I evidently have become accustomed to the medication I have been taken and I'm able to think. Some of you might doubt that, but then again, I'm back to the level to which I can aspire!

The internet failed and I had enough brain power to call the help desk, follow their directions and get it back working. Not very long ago I would have been unable to put those thoughts into action. I would not have had either the clarity or the stamina to do so. I felt elated to be back thinking again. I am going to taper off the medication I am on to another one, and I hope that won't have the adverse effect the first one had. We'll have to wait to see.

I have a whole new appreciation for those who are saddled with nausea from chemo therapy. It is a miserable state. It consumes the whole person and all of his mind and body. I hated it. I can only imagine how it must feel, not only to be nauseated but to be fighting a life-threatening disease to boot. Not a happy picture. If marijuana would help them, and they are in a terminal condition, for pity sakes, why not? I suppose if they have an opportunity to survive, it would be better if they were not then saddled with a drug addiction... but older people? Wow. Help them out is my motto. If I were in that condition I would move immediately to some place where medical marijuana was legal. In a heart beat... for as many beats as I had left. Nausea is awful.

Here it is after midnight and I am feeling chipper and able to look at food without contemplating barfing. Wahoo. Life is good! Take care.

Yippee

I'm feeling better. Finally all of the ministrations I have been receiving are paying off. I slept well all night and woke up able to look at food without shuddering.

We had some much needed rain last night and Naomi just called with the news that it was starting to rain in the cities. They are having their annual Art a Whirl down there and many of the concerts and shows are outside, so I hope they don't have a drencher like we did.

More later. Take care.

The ongoing saga...

OK. I just got back from the emergency ward. I had to have hydration and something for nausea. I felt terrible and couldn't keep anything down. The wonderful people there pumped me with liquid and drew blood and finally sent me on my way feeling much better. I am going to go to sleep now so I can get up and travel to Mpls. to a doctor's appointment there. This is getting ridiculous. I must say, though, that I love lying on the gurney and letting others take care of me. So far they have all been great.

See ya later. Take care.

When it rains....

Yeah. It pours. I am sick with an onslaught of diverticulitis. I went to the doctor yesterday and got antibiotics so hopefully I will be well enough to make it to the doctor's appointment I have in Mpls. on Friday for a different ailment. This is getting ridiculous. Ah well.

Check out Naomi's blog (it's one of my links to the right of this posting) as she finally wrote another one and figured out how to leave a comment. I am ecstatic.

Izzy also has a wonderful new posting. Check it out. Such fun to keep in touch with everyone.

I had a wonderful adventure trying to make a new business card. When one shouts "uncle" someone else steps up to the plate! John stepped in and is making a fabulous new one. It is not finished yet, but I am going to love it. I still am bummed I couldn't make my stuff work, but there you are. My job now is to try to get as healthy as humanly possible. I will continue writing my blog and doing all my other stuff. Yup. Take care.

Go figure...

I have so many things buzzing around in this confused mind of mine, but I will get started and see where we wind up!

First of all, the very person who set me up with a blog cannot seem to comment on that blog at present. She says she tries and tries, both on her lap top and on other computers, and cannot publish her comment. As she is my daughter, that distresses both of us! Any ideas?

When I can't do something I just figure it's because I'm old and not part of this computer generation, but when someone younger has trouble it blows me away. Actually, it's somewhat reassuring... I'm not the only one, etc., etc. If any of you have any idea what the problem might be, let us know.

Ok. Then the idea of getting to know someone as an internet friend. This has several layers of interest for me. I think a person projects part of ones personality in cyberspace that is difficult to share person to person. One has the opportunity to "talk" at length as well as the freedom to delete something that seems inappropriate or boring. (well, some of you might argue about both of those, but that's what I think, anyway.)

When Izzy was home over Christmas I saw him for a split second in the narthex of the church. He's this hulking hunk of young man and I'm this little old lady. There we were surrounded by the rest of humanity wondering how to relate to one another. It was awkward, I thought. In cyberspace the awkwardness disappears somehow and we are equals. Why is it? It's a little like reading a book that was written by someone in the last century and relating totally to it even though in person we would be so different as to make any sort of social relationship almost impossible. Now, I think that if Izzy and I could go have a cup of coffee and get started talking to one another we could relate perfectly well. Do you drink coffee, Izzy, or maybe a coke would be better. That seems to be a universally acceptable drink. I would have to have diet, though, because of the diabetes!

I have to run. Time for the Mother/Daughter doings at church. My daughter cannot be here for the occasion so I am borrowing Hannah's mom as my daughter. Life can be so complicated. Happy Mother's Day. Take care.

Thursday

Well. Today is a fun day. The temperature is soaring toward 90, I made it to the gym and managed a haircut, and here I am back at the old machine. Fun day.

I have spent an inordinate amount of time the last two days attempting to print up business cards. I'm sure I have all of the capacity at my fingertips, but I continue to shout "uncle" and go back to a simple black and white type on a plain white card. It has the necessary info, but none of the flash an artist should manage to put on a card representing her magnificent artistry.

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH. Every place I go assures me that it is as simple as one, two, three and then fails to perform as promised. I would do the ARGH again, but it seems an unnecessary repetition.

The people at the gym are now calling me "old bunny butt" in honor of the picture on my last posting. There are worse appelations that I can think of. We are really trying to find out where Izzy got his horse's head as it seems amazingly similar to the head that Barb put on our horsey in my honor. It would seemingly have to be hollow so that Izzy could put it on his head. I suppose it could just be the magic of computer graphics and not a real deal at all. Please inform, Izzy.

I think it's time for a nap. Karen W is trying to get me into the present century by setting my phone to be an alarm to remind me to take my medication. I'll probably faint when it goes off. I am not good about remembering things at present. Who am I trying to fool with the "at present?" Hopefully the alarm will help. The first scheduled time is 10 tonight. I'll let you know my reaction to the alarm. Now for the nap. Take care.

Whoops...

There goes the rabbit! I almost got his picture... but it got out of the frame. By the way, Izzy, the instructions you gave me work and I can see the picture, now, not incomprehensible letters and numbers. Many thanks. By the way, did you see my reply to your comment on the conehead posting? True, all true.

It is a simply beautiful day in Minnesota today. Only after you have lived through the misery of winter in the north country can you enjoy the absolute fantastic beauty of the spring. Wow.

Take care.

The Martins are Back!!!

Okay. I now have faith that the picture I chose will magically appear after i post this blog!

Yesterday there was rejoicing in the Larson household because the Martins came back. They fly here from Brazil in the spring and fly back to Brazil in the fall. Wow. They are very late this year... about three weeks late. We were quite worried they were not coming, but juat a few are here, and we hope more will arrive. I love their swooping and their ownership of the house George rehabs for them each year. The sparrows attempt ownership, but when the martins come, the sparrows have to make room for them. The starlings attempt to disrupt things, but they never seem to succeed. The martins reign supreme.

I imagine one of the reasons we particularly enjoy their appearance is that we lived in Brazil for a short time and realize how far away that really is. The fact that they can fly such a distance is awesome. We would really know we were in cosmic trouble if they didn't arrive. I wonder what made them late this year? All the talk about global warming makes me appreciate each natural event more than I ever did before.

Take care.

Conehead

This one is for Izzy who likes things attached to dogs. I had trouble distinguishing it (In my old age I must be getting somewhat blind) but then realized that, Yes! This was my "grand dog" in his magnificent cone collar. I think he is sufficiently restored to health not to need this accoutrement anymore. How about those eyes!

I'm slowly becoming acclimated to this new computer with its different ways, but I must say I am desperately slow at understanding the language this outfit speaks. I still am staring at gobbledeegook at the top of this posting (I have faith it will turn into the proper picture when I publish). Hmmmmm.

Slow progress on the cleaning of my room. I am finding things I had completely forgotten I possess as well as unearthing things that have been lost for quite awhile. I bought a beautiful maroon leather purse in Paris. It is particularly wonderful for traveling as it rests comfortably on your front so that you have control of documents, etc. I found it difficult to wear for everyday because of the difficulty of using seatbelts. I had hunted the house over for it with no success, but, voila, there it was, hanging on a wooden peg, hidden by some other things.

More than a few things are still missing and I wonder if they are indeed gone or if I will find them at some future date hiding in an unlikely spot. Ah, the mystery of life! A rainy, windy life today. One nice thing about Minnesota weather is that it is infinitely changeable. If you don't like today, just wait for tomorrow.

Take care.

Pounding Rain

I love this. It is pouring rain and thundering. Wow. Such fun. Wasn't much fun for the people who were destroyed by a tornado last night down south, but this lovely rain is just great. Weather can be so terrible, but usually is just inspiring.

I am busy trying to bring order out of chaos in my room. Now that I have the computer up and running, I am trying to thin out the mess a bit. With limited success... but still, a bit better. And could it be a better time than with the rain sounds accompanying my endeavors. And then - later - perhaps a nap. Heaven.

Hope you are having a good day, too. Take care.

whoosh!

Well. This is an entirely new experience. I have the fast stuff all installed, but instead of my seeing a picture I see a bunch of gobbledeegook. On my last post the same thing happened and the picture came out on the bottom of the post. We'll see if that is what happens this time.

I am busy typing away on my new computer with the faster connection. Whoopee. Now it is to move the old computer to the other room to use just for the games. Until John comes home and tries to resurrect it to its old speed and acuity. Right.

It is a chilly, windy spring day. All the buds are bursting forth and there is a nice sprinkle of rain in the air. Yahoo. The picture with this posting - if it IS with this posting - has nothing to do with anything. I believe I made the quilt, but otherwise I don't even know who is the person in the picture. Suspense.

We are all on the mend. Life is good. Take care.

The Big Day.

This is hilarious. All of this gobbledegook is supposed to be a picture. Hmmmmm. What do I do now? Just let it be, I guess. This is my last post with dial up (I think). So I will hope for the best. Everyone seems to be having good luck. Our telephone company is good. I hope for the best!

I thought I got a picture of John YaYa with his cone. I felt in all the uproar about Naomi's foot, George's sciatica, and my hospital stay I had neglected to fill you in on the state of the dog. The dog is getting along just fine. Needs more exercise, but his owner is not able to walk very well, yet. Soon, however, all will be back to more or less normal.

Life is good. Take care.

hi ho

Yep. We're still above ground. (A little macabre humor there) Naomi's foot is better by the day. George's leg still hurts like hades. I am a bit muzzy, but slowly acclimating to the medication. All is more or less well. I have a doctor's appointment with my local doctor to go over everything, so I will perhaps know more.. or not. Knowing anything is not high up on my requirements at the moment. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I am presently eating just fine. Slowly getting better.

An experience such as this takes a bit of getting used to and thinking about. I must say it makes me feel a bit more tentative about my plans and my abilities. No doubt I will soon be my ebullient self again. (Is your dictionary there, Karen L?)

Oops. I have to go take my medication! Take care.