Another new day

We've had wonderfully unseasonably warm weather here, and I'm choosing to think of it as a birthday gift to me from the universe.  So, thank you!

Also for my birthday a 15-year old bottle of Laphroaig showed up at my house, partly in honor of another 15 year-old.  Good gracious, people grow up quickly around here . . . .

Things are difficult at work, but that's nothing new, and certainly not worth writing about.  Work on the house continues, and that's encouraging.  It's starting to look like a house I want to live in, which is nice.  I'm reading a really interesting book about Gypsies, Bury Me Standing, by Isabel Fonseca.  I have an upcoming trip to eastern Europe, so I'll pay more attention this time.

Anyway,

Enjoy the Day!

The sun is shining.

The sun is shining today, and my office is actually hot, since the windows are south-facing.

The daffodils are starting to bloom, and the forsythia is definitely yellow. Maybe I'll survive another northern winter after all. The hyacinth is showing, I've put the rosemary (that's for remembrance) back outside, and I've begun to hack back the butterfly bushes that are noxious weeds in this part of the world, but pretty all the same.

Thanks for all the kind comments and support when I fell off the "no whining" wagon. Chin up! Shoulders back! It's a new day and the sun is shining.

wrong again.

This is as predictable as the seasons themselves. I think I'm prepared for the vagaries of what passes for four seasons in this part of the world ("aren't we lucky", people say, "to have four complete seasons to enjoy" while I fume to myself) and then I find out that I'm not. I'm as vulnerable as I was my first "spring" away from home when I realized to my horror that what I thought was normal weather for March, was actually normal weather for June here.

So today is the day when I am not fit to be around. I'm stomping around like a two-year old, and I'm just plain angry and frustrated that it's cold outside. I know its childish, but I can still be reduced to tears by this. I'm trying not to whine, I really am. I'll be better tomorrow. But for today, just give me a little space. I just want to be warm. I am heartsick, I am lonely, I am depressed. I just want to be warm.

7:16

Despite what the calendar says, this is the vernal equinox where I live. The sun rose at 7:16 and set at 7:16. Tomorrow there will be more daylight than darkness, and the temperature should reach the mid 60's. Birds are singing and the tulips are pushing up. This is the year a new tree in the front yard should make its presence known ( first year sleeping, second year creeping, third year leaping!) and the forsythia is getting red-tipped, which is what it does just before leafing.

Ahh. Spring is here at last. We may have a blast of cold, and I still have to bundle up for the 5:00 am dog walks, but spring is definitely here.

Hurray!

the country that invented the automobile

Like many Americans, I was listening to the President last night. I paid particular attention (or so I thought) to the part wherein he spoke of the US auto industry---I drive a GM car and even I think they should be cut loose from the taxpayer purse strings.

So when I heard the President say the the country that invented the automobile would not be backing away from it, I was startled but intrigued. Was Germany really coming to our aid? That would be great, since Sweden has backed away. And Germany, after all, owes the world a bit of debt after the 20th century--this would be a great start for the 21st----you know, bailing out the US auto industry and all.

But I now see from the blogosphere that I misinterpreted the President's remark. Apparently he meant the US. Did it really escape the attention of a billion (or so) speechwriters that the US did not invent the automobile? Jeepers. Take some of the stimulus money and hire a fact checker.

And chalk one up for the hundreds of rounds of "go to the head of the class" that I played on the McConnell's front porch in Little Rock, ARK. How far away . . .

Susquehanna Service Dogs needs our help

Susquehanna Service Dogs needs our help.  SSD is a Pennsylvania-based service dog organization that is accredited by Assistance Dogs International and is highly acclaimed for their ground-breaking work.  SSD breeds, raises, trains, and then partners service dogs with partners.  SSD is  almost entirely dependent on donations to fund this amazing work, and this economic downturn is really hurting them.  Their incredible work is done almost entirely by volunteers, but it still takes almost $20,000 to raise and train one service dog, who then goes on to change someone's life---priceless.

PittRehab posted recently about SSD and his service dog SSD Nala.  My family is greatly enhanced by retired SSD Wyatt.   Wyatt wasn't retired when he joined us, so we know directly how a service dog can change a life.    Please help SSD continue their work  by donating.   I'll match the first $100 of donations that mention my blog or Pitt Rehab.  Please consider donating today.

Thanks to a Friend

Thanks  Greg,  for the great Valentines Day present of the Friend Award.  Greg is the blogger of note behind the great blog, Pitt Rehab.

I was  away for a few days and when I came back this morning to catch up on all the news, I saw the post on his blog.  The criteria for the award are:

These blogs are exceedingly charming.  These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.  They are not interested in self-aggrandizement.  Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.  Please give your attention to these writers.  Deliver this award to 8 more, and include this cleverly written text in the body of your awards.

So, before I list my 8, let me just say that never before has anything I have done been called "exceedingly charming."  That's pretty darn cool!

My charming blogs are:

1.  A Small Group of Thoughtful Committed Citizens

2.  A Life on a Page

3.  Wendy Brandes jewelry

4.  Dogs on Thursday

And that's it!  Can I vote for each of those twice? 

thanks again, Greg.