Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Spring has sprung in Texas

A bouquet from LisaM

44 comments:

Maria Lima said...

I long for spring!

Still insomniac. Ordering groceries online @ 3:27 a.m. is efficient, but insane.

Hope that things settle @ work soon so I can relax a bit.

Love the beautiful flowers!

Nancy, I'm SO looking forward to seeing you @ Malice.

AndiF said...

Me too, Maria. Well it's going to be in the 40s today and 50 tomorrow so I won't have to look at the snow for long.

Lovely, lovely flowers, Lisa. Thanks. :)

Morning all.

Anonymous said...

Ordering groceries online? You're right, Maria - efficient but insane. :-) Sending fairy dust your way for a better night tonight.

One thing about Florida - no spring flowers. At least none that I've found yet. I should go wandering and see if I can see any. Enjoy yours for me, Lisa! And yours will arrive soon, andi.

No news here. Working on the rewrite, and trying to get out of the house daily, to do a little exploring. Dinner at Carrabbas tonight with a group of women I met a couple of weeks ago - I'd rather go to a local place, but I'm never one to turn down pasta!

Have a good day, y'all!

Anonymous said...

Maria--I've spent much of my life wandering what I want to be when I grow up.
Liking your job and being ready for something different is a theme I understand all too well.
Sending you plenty of positive vibes today girl.

Sleep can be such an ellusive mistress.

Glad my daffs from the daffy could bring you guys a little cheer.

Waves to Beth and all to come.

Terrific Tuesday to All.

Jen said...

My very best wishes to all of you having difficulties in the mimes.

I have to go to the dentist today. Wah.

Larry Kollar said...

Yay, daffs!

No pix yet… didn't get home from seeing The Boy until almost 10, and the nephews needed a ride to school this morning.

Looks like Winter #5 may have been mercifully brief… I don't see any below-freezing temps in the forecast at all now.

I'd love to have the grocery-ordering option here… even if it involved picking 'em up on the way home. Just toss the box(es) in my trunk and I'll be on my merry little way.

A chuckle… Sasquatch decided he had to try making cheese after mine turned out to be edible, and it worked for him too! His stepdad was all "you're gonna die" but no problemo! I just hope he doesn't eat it all at once, that's like 2 lbs of cheese.

Good luck with the dentist, Jen!

Kelly McCullough said...

Morning all, no flowers here, the only thing blooming is the catfur plants.

katiebird said...

(lifting my head from the Doom P0rn) It's a beautiful morning here in Kansas City (I've lost track, is Nancy here???) -- I wonder if our daffodils are up yet?

Maria, I'm so sorry you've had trouble sleeping.

Nancy P said...

Maria, me, too!!

Kelly, "catfur" plants, lol.

BITTY BLOG NEWS: I'm going out of town this afternoon and won't have my computer with me, so I won't be able to put up a new post tonight. Back to normal tomorrow.

I'm a guest over at Hank's blog (Jungle Red) today, or at least this morning while I"m still here at my laptop.

Eggs, bacon, toast. . .I hear them calling me.

AndiF said...

Death comes to the Ents.

This grand old Ent [LINK] has thundered its last.
[LINK 1] pano
[LINK 2] Perspective by Bebo.

Nicola Slade said...

Lisa said:I've spent much of my life wandering what I want to be when I grow up.

Me too, Lisa, about time I found out, what with those 8 grandchildren and all! But of course what I wanted was to write books - so that bit's come true.

Very springlike here, just been shopping with no coat on!

Anonymous said...

Had a pre-view review last night with boss. It was good. She's late getting to my review is basically all. But we are at the mercy of pissy customers. As if it's my fault prices are so freakin high... and all that stuff. Oh well. At least this mime isn't caving in.

At the hockey game I thought I had a headache and instead it turned out to be a sign from Mr. Vertigo. He visited me last night. Must be moving on now as I'm able to sit up and look at lights and colors. But weary of today and work with this cloud.

Wayne won his hockey game and JUST as we were getting home it became too late. It's odd how these attacks happen and come on.

More odd was someone got me into bed and put me in my U2 concert T. Appropiately called: Vertigo.

But... as I was laying there I came up with an idea of calling vertigo a dancer. And a story-poem started to peek at me. So I think later on I might write her down.

No home remedy for this it seems. In past, it seems to make it worse.

signing in from the late night of "whiverting"

*Whirling, hovering and tilting*

Nancy P said...

Janet, please don't shoot me when I tell you my experience. I know it will seem stupid, but here it is. . . Notice to guys: skip this comment.

I don't know what the cause of your vertigo is, but just in case. . .Vertigo sometimes comes with the territory of (whispers) menopause. I had it a handful of times, and what I did was 1.) lie down as soon as possible; 2.) take the attitude that I was on an amusement ride; 3.) relax and enjoy it until it passed, which it always did. That took the fear away, and also the discomfort. Anyway, as stupid as it sounds, it worked for me, even though I am somebody who has been known to throw up on amusement rides. This is the same attitude that made me one of those infuriating women who liked hot flashes. They were the only time of my life up until then that I felt warm!! It was wonderful to wake up with warm hands and feet, sweating be damned. (I've never taken the hormones.) After it was over, my metabolism had changed permanently, apparently, because I've never had the cold hands/cold feet problem since then.

My apologies if this is merely annoying and not helpful. But I didn't know if you ever knew there's a connection between vertigo and menopause--I think most women don't--and I thought I'd better say so, just in case.

Nancy P said...

Okay, having been maximum irritating, I'm off to Fulton, Mo.!

See you guys manana.

Anonymous said...

Be safe, Nancy! And thanks for the info re you-know-what - something else to look forward to!

Anonymous said...

((((Nancy))) silly :) You don't "annoy" me or anything.

Mine is due to an inner ear cyst. (we think) Why not take it out? Because it could do harm to my hearing and it's in my "good" ear. THis is the ear that ruptured twice in one month last year. What we think is happening is the vertigo is caused by fluid creeping in aka the cyst fluctuates/pulsates. I'm having symptons similar to Meniere's disease. Violent vomitting, which I have medicine for. And severe dizziness. I have to crawl back into my bedroom from our bath. It's not really like an amusement park ride. It's more like a search and destroy robbery attack. Completely disorientating too. Not like being drunk... more like being near death spiraling.

It can really really suck. I was terrified at first. It's been three years.

These "episodes" are anywhere from 8 to 20 hours long. They start out with a tinny high pitched sound much like tinnitus. And dull headache (at first they thought it might be migraines - then they realized it was my ear) Sometimes I get two attacks in a two week period... then I can go for months and start to fool myself it was all in my head... then blammo.

I'm going back in soon for more "tests". As they might try to surgerically remove inner liquid/pus or whatever. There's no real known cause or cure for Vertigo or people who suffer from Labryintitus/Meniere's.

Last night was a "smaller" one. Only about 10 hours but I'm exhausted and I know it scares my daughter something bad. That's the worst part. My husband understands completely and I'm grateful for that. He's almost as frustrated as I am about it.

I'm sure menopause is on the way though. :)

Off to the mimes.

Please don't ever think you are annoying me Nancy. ... Duh! :)

Nancy P said...

Oh, Janet, that's miserable. You get all my sympathy before I leave town.

Well, at least now Beth knows what to look out for! :)

Anonymous said...

Just call me the Queen of Denial - I'm going to refuse to go through it! I've avoided it this long.....

I had a cyst removed this fall, Janet, but luckily didn't have any of the problems you're having. It was scary enough, knowing there was something in my ear that I couldn't see, and deciding whether the procedure was worth it. It was simple in the end - but expensive. Sigh.

Hoping yours resolves itself sooner than later!

Maria Lima said...

w00t! Congrats to our Nancy for her Agatha nomination for best short story of 2008.

See the full list here.

Loads of my buddies nominated. :)

dina said...

I second Maria's congratulations. Great news, Nancy.

katiebird said...

!! Congratulations Nancy -- that's wonderful news. And I see you're the Guest of Honor at the MALICE DOMESTIC conference. That's going to be an exciting time.

boran2 said...

Good evening all.

Wow, things are moving fast in Texas. We've still got some snow on the ground here.

Take care of yourself, Janet.

40s here tomorrow! Woohoo!

Anonymous said...

Yay, Nancy! Congrats! And have a fun trip to MO.

Andif, how sad that tree met its end. It's a beautiful tree.
Thanks for the flowers, Lisa!! As Streisand would say, "Hello, gorgeous." They are loverly.
Beth, don't worry about #'s. We'll just celebrate YOU when the day arrives.
Hope you get some much needed rest, Maria. I'll try to be quiet in case you're already sleeping. Shhh. Thanks for letting us know about Nancy's good news.
Glad you had a nice time with the boy, Farf. 2 lbs. is a LOT of cheese!
Hope you had good news @ dentist, Jen.
Hey, KB, Janet, Nicola, Kelly, Dina, Boran2.

Hoping Spring really is on the way. In the 30's today and 40's tomorrow! :-D

maryb said...

Congratulations Nancy!

AndiF said...

w00t Nancy!

bono, it's not really that sad -- when a tree that big falls, it means that a huge area of sunlight just opened up and soon dozens of young trees are going to pop up in its place. And the tangle will be home to all kinds of critters.

Morning all.

Anonymous said...

Morning Andi. Love your description of the cycle of tree life.

Yeah, Nancy!!!

Maria are those Agatha Awards plaques or statues? As I looked over past winners, I saw your name too. It is so fun seeing my friends recognized like that.

Nicky, as I read your comment I realized I am not only wAndering but also wOndering what I'll be when I grow up. All those grandkids--that is wonderful.
Two kids and a grandlizard is all I can claim at this time.

Boran-Things happening fast in Texas--You betcha. That's why the Winter Wimp me lives here.

Wonderful Weds to All.

Larry Kollar said...

Up early this morning. At least I got some coffee made, for the first time this week… the nephews might be calling for a ride in about half an hour, as they have the last two mornings (Jam is blowing groceries), but this time they won't get me out of bed!

The cats are about to have a bad day: we're out of cat food. Mrs. Fetched will probably pick some up.

Nancy, hope your trip is going well.

I don't worry about what I'm going to be when I grow up, because I refuse to let it happen. :-P

Spring #5 has arrived on Planet Georgia. Seeing as it's March next week, it's about on schedule. We'll probably have a Winter #6, with Spring #6 the "real" spring.

Maria Lima said...

Morning, all! Sleep was had and I feel better. (better living through chemistry, that is...)

Lisa, the Agatha Awards are one of a kind. Each year, the committee commissions a lovely ceramic teapot as the award representation.

Yes, I was nominated for an Agatha for best short story of 2004. My one and only published short. :)

Off to the mimes in a few. Things are changing there. Officially, I'm stepping down as Director (turns out, I bit off a little more than I could chew - balancing with writing and all). I'll be creating a new job, writing specs and requirements - more like a business analyst type and working as interim director until we find someone. I've been quite torn up about this (I'm a bit of a perfectionist), but now that there's somewhat of a Plan, I feel better. Juggling 2 careers is pretty darn tough and frankly, I want to be able to put more energy into my writing career. The light at the end of the tunnel is definitely not a train anymore. :)

Happy Wednesday to all!

Anonymous said...

Morning everyone! Glad you slept, Maria, regardless of how it happened.

Congrats, Nancy!!

And yay for a less stressful position, Maria - sometimes we have to admit we're not super-human, hard though it is.

No news here. They keep predicting rain but it doesn't come. The grass outside my window is brown, brown, brown. But it's also 61, so no complaining.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Anonymous said...

Morning!

Bad night as my Mom is back in the hospital. She fell. Not near a phone and a neighbor heard her screaming. Going up Friday...

But on the lighter side of things. Because I have to be able to laugh... I've been catching up with the speech, who knew I'd WANT to hear a president speak!!! Maybe it's because we have one who can speak :) and in complete sentences even.

And I found something WORSE than Vertigo my dear friends. Something far, far worse.

Bobby Jindal! OMFG! :O

Isn't there a special place in "the neighborhood" for politicians who lie about New Orleans and Katrina on Mardi Gras of all days?

Let me try and swallow this. So... in order to be "do anything Americans" we must do like we did during Katrina's failed rescues and accomplish that great feat of failure by government by trusting government to do away with bad government while failing to succeed where others may succeed in failing to do what is right even if it is wrong?

Off to the mimes soon. Where we have lovely bouquets of tulips and crocuses, crocusi crocusoose? :)

See, I could never be a superhero or supervillian. I can't get those damn plurals correct. :)

Anonymous said...

Morning!

Bad night as my Mom is back in the hospital. She fell. Not near a phone and a neighbor heard her screaming. Going up Friday...

But on the lighter side of things. Because I have to be able to laugh... I've been catching up with the speech, who knew I'd WANT to hear a president speak!!! Maybe it's because we have one who can speak :) and in complete sentences even.

And I found something WORSE than Vertigo my dear friends. Something far, far worse.

Bobby Jindal! OMFG! :O

Isn't there a special place in "the neighborhood" for politicians who lie about New Orleans and Katrina on Mardi Gras of all days?

Let me try and swallow this. So... in order to be "do anything Americans" we must do like we did during Katrina's failed rescues and accomplish that great feat of failure by government by trusting government to do away with bad government while failing to succeed where others may succeed in failing to do what is right even if it is wrong?

Off to the mimes soon. Where we have lovely bouquets of tulips and crocuses, crocusi crocusoose? :)

See, I could never be a superhero or supervillian. I can't get those damn plurals correct. :)

katiebird said...

{{{Janet}}} I'm very sorry about your mom's fall -- that must have been terrifying. I'm VERY glad though, that she has a neighbor close enough (and awake enough) to hear her screams -- and that did something.... That's not something any of us can count on.

I'm worried about your ear troubles. My son's girl friend has Meniere's disease (her hearing is deteriorating rapidly) and your problem sounds maybe even worse.

2 ruptures? {{{Janet}}} I'm thinking of you with the best-est of wishes and prayers all the time. xxoo

Anonymous said...

((KatieBird)) I've been told the past 5 years or so that my Mom is going to die within the year. Major issues with her health. All stem from morbid obeseity issues. And most from really bad choices. There's not much I can do really. And now with my brother out of work (who used to pay for extras for her) I'm not sure what I can do. She's too far away to "run over and help" It's very frustrating. On so many levels.

What am I supposed to do? Drop my family? She was even mad that Danni got picked for the team because that would mean less time for us to come up during the season. She can't even... she can't do much. She can barely make it back and forth to the bathroom. She is a shut in and I can empathize with you in regards to the caring for a mentally ill person because my mom is.

What makes it worse is that I have to deal with her family sometimes. The very ones who are extreme right wingers. Who say horrible things to and about my children. And how they don't know how they will find a casket for my mom...

And to be honest and I think I can share iwth you and some here... I am feeling horrible because I'm so stinking mad/frustrated at it all. But I can't really share that with her or resolve it. That is too late really. I've tried and she get's too upset. Like when she told me all our photos were lost to my dad. Everything was stolen. I'm not allowed to grieve. I just have to be the strong one and suck it up and take it. Like how I have to take the insults from her family when they call asking me what I'm going to do about my mom...

What can I do? I coudln't even begin to afford to care for here here.

truly, I'm back to living what's eating gilbert grape again.

Hey Andi, or anyone from Booman. Could you find that one diary of mine and slap it to me at azulism@yahoo.com? Maybe I need to read that again.

Sorry guys, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. It's not like it was in some olden days where youre parents moved in with you and one person stayed home and cared for ailing parents.

It's just not the time. She's really not that old. We're not prepared for this. This is supposed to happen farther down the road. I have a disabled child and work a full-time job. And it's not like we can afford the nursing homes. She's in a low income apt right now but that is shaky now.

Most people I know, their parents are helping them. Not once has anyone in this family ever watched my kids. Not for one hour let alone given us a weekend off. I've taken care of my family myself.

Except this.

katiebird said...

Janet, I think that even those of us who think we're aware of Life's Challenges are taken by surprise by the relentlessness of it. Maybe it's because people have to be at least a little optimistic to keep slogging away, that little part of our brain actually expects things to get better.

But, sometimes they don't. And sometimes "better" just can't exist.

You said, "I've taken care of my family myself. " -- but that's different from my situation. For me the primary responsibility for almost everything is on my husband. He's taught me so much about staying mentally healthy in times of stress. Somehow he can slog through the worst of crap and let the insults roll off his back and right out of his mind. I'll never be able to do that with the grace and ease that he does....

Janet, We can't do much in this virtual world but, I'm glad we can be here for each other. My email is katiebird@gmail.com if you ever want an instant rant-buddy.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Katie! My husband does a lot better with my mom's side of the family than I do so he's the the one who I defer to. :) Like, this christmas they somehow were able to forgive us for our "sins"... and invited us to go up for the holiday. As if. So he nailed it perfectly and with honesty but without the anger. He simply stated that we were not coming up because we didn't want to subject our children to their "hate, intolerance and racism". And you know what, they could understand that.

As to Meniere's and my ears *hey that rhymes* :) ... reason I want a more aggressive doctor. I don't have enough answers let alone alternatives. So I was supposed to be on it this week or next week. That might change.

Most who have met me or speak to me know I'm usually laughing, and optimistic. I have to be. But I do have a gallows humor. Warped. Each day is a surprise. I have no idea what the day will bring but have to be ready for anything in regards to my son. I don't really talk too much here about autism but let me tell ya... it's "bittersweet". And as a family we're doing pretty damn good on that front as far as being optimistic. :)

Me and my husband tag team it a bit. Certian things though he does better as I'm best with other things. So I'm grateful for that.

And i"m truly sorry for taking up so much space here today. I can't believe I floodgated like that.

Last night I was finally eating after the attack. And the phone rang. Just felt overwhelmed but I know like always I'll manage through it. This keyboard can sometimes allow for the tears to stop here so I can smile when away from the computer.

Anonymous said...

(((Thank you Beth and Katiebird)))

Anonymous said...

That's what friends are for, Janet. Even cyber ones!

A big hug back to you. And one to KB, too!!

Anonymous said...

My friends are my family. I think it's due to the fact my husband's family is in Boston and we're here on the "left coast" and were away from my family so much due to the military and then to living in Calif and being on our own. We had to be independent. We had to be strong and self-sufficient.

Plus one thing about having an autistic child or a child with any type of disabilty: You find out exactly who are your friends. Sadly no one in my outter "family" is my friend. They are just blood relations. None of which my children feel any attachment to.

But... they have my best friends as Aunts and Uncles and they look forward to meeting new friends that have known on the "nets". Cause they ususally end up being really cool people to have over to the house and get to know. My kids truly loved Manny. Someone from the strange land of internets who I call family.

Anonymous said...

What's the saying about friends being the family that we choose? We have a great one here!! (pats Nancy on the back for her supreme taste in blog buddies)

I look forward to meeting you and your family in person when I get back to the NW, Janet!

Anonymous said...

Missing Nancy and hoping she's having a great time in MO.

You have a wonderful perspective on the downing of old trees, Andif. I'm just missing the two that had to be removed from the yard. It will take longer than we'll be here to replace the shade they provided.

Kind thoughts for you, Janet, as you deal with ailing parent. It's a tough stage for anyone to go through, and it sounds like you have more than the usual aches to deal with in that regard.

Trying to figure out if we can arrange a time to see the play Spring Awakening. Has anyone here seen it? Would you recommend it?

Have a great evening, all.

AndiF said...

Janet, I sent you email.

bono, it's easy to have a good attitude about downed trees when the tree density averages over 1000 trees per acre. :)

Larry Kollar said...

{{{Janet}}} Jeez, I thought I had it bad with my in-laws. I won't trade with you, but you're welcome to ping me & commiserate if you like. FARfetched58 at aim period commie. ;-)

I know what you mean about friends being your family… I'm hundreds of miles from my blood family (with whom I'm on good terms with) and it's nice to see you guys here or at my own place.

Jen said...

{{Janet}}

boran2 said...

Janet, I hope that everything works out. I totally understand what it is not to have any family help. We live only about an hour and a half or so from both sides of the family. Rarely have we had any assistance. It's not like we're out in the middle of nowhere.