Sittin On A Porch

Sittin On A Porch
Our little back porch

Monday, March 12, 2012

Spring Forward

It always amazes me how much I am affected by daylight savings time,  going on or off.  I didn't get to sleep until after 11:00 pm, which is very late for me.  I slept until after 8:00am, which is completely unheard of.  I think I could have slept for hours more  The sun is taking it's time this morning burning through the fog and clouds.  The days seems sluggish like it is confused by the change of time also.  The light is pale and soft against the brightness of spring green leaves or the brilliant colors of the azaleas which are peaking in my yard.




The girl's tents was nestled in amongst these lovely flowers.  I am so happy that they were up this weekend to see the flowers.  Dad, Rob, JongAe and Jessica will be in tonight so they will also get to see all the flowers.  I still have more azaleas to plant along the fence in the front.  Some day you will not be able to drive by and see my yard, other then the flowers along the fence.  That is my dream.  To be completely surrounded by flowers, sigh.  Doesn't that sound lovely?

Here are a few more photos of things in my yard:

Cobalt Martin trying to decide which condo to use this year

bird feeders

Right before I took that photo there was a pair of cardinals, some Carolina chickadees, sparrows and a finch  I have to change the feeder in the middle in that it is the wrong kind of feeder for meal worms for Cobalt and Azure Martin, my bluebirds.  Right next to the feeder is a water feature made out of a large brown Mexican bowls with a Panama Pacific water lily in the middle that gives the birds a place to stand and splash in the water.  I am so happy about the variety of birds showing up so soon to the feeders.  Today I hope to get my hummingbird feeders out.  I also may need to add another feeder a little further down the fence so I can watch the birds from my red chair.  Right now my feeders are set up to watch from my back porch.

Here are a few photos from this past weekend:

Redneck wine goblet
Myrlene made the redneck wine goblet by super gluing a mason ball jar to a candle stick.  To be fair the girl's told me to make it truly redneck I have to bling it up by super gluing jewels on it.  Feel the bling


Bonita and I

Myrlene was crowned queen of the crafters this weekend.  Yes, she is the one who came up with the redneck wine goblet, the beautiful skeleton, Ms Bonita (hee hee) for my closest and the high tea hats.  Ms Bonita is made from gallon milk jugs.  Isn't that too clever.  And I am so happy to have a new skeleton for my closest.  I have not had any skeletons in my closest since I moved here.  I used to have a medically accurate skeleton in my closest on Pine Island.  It always made me laugh when people would step out of my large food closet and say, "you have a skeleton in your closest,"  my only response was, "don't we all!"  hee hee

Meagan was crowned Princess for her crafting ability.  She made some of the most beautiful tie dye shirts I have ever seen.  She also tie dyed her tea hat and made a very cool candle holder. 

Each was crowned with a tiara.  They were thrilled and put their tiaras on right over their tea hats.  They will be our queen and princess for the coming year.  They may wear their tiaras for all occasions, including parties, dances, teas, cleaning the frig, vacuuming, shopping, including grocery shopping or watching TV.  Tiara, the most underused accessory.  Great for travelling with girlfriends.  Yes, going to a street fair?  Maybe a large museum exhibition?  Or just spending the day shopping, a group of women in tiaras is definitely a conversation starter.  You are treated more queenly, or is it that we are having so much fun that we are behaving nicer and people respond.  I am not sure, but I assure you a group of women in tiaras are treated very well.  It also helps to find each other if you get separated from each other.  The tiaras catch the light and help you to spot even shorter women in a crowd.  And when it comes to cleaning or doing other mundane tasks, a tiara can make you smile and change the task at hand from drudgery to something special.  Give it a try.  It just might make you smile.

Well, the sun is coming out and it is time for me to switch from the girl's camping trip to family spring break.  Honestly, I would love to lay down and take a nap.  Maybe I will later after I have straightened up a bit more.

Spring will be here in a week.  The yard is filled with flowers and butterflies, birds and I see bunnies again.  It is a wonderful spring, as crazy as the weather has a been, but I love all of this warmth.  The pecan trees around my yard have not leafed out yet, so I am not sure what surprises this spring still holds for us. 

This coming week is Bike Week at Daytona.  There is always some rain and cold during bike week.  They have had some terrible rain and wind this past weekend.  I hope for all the bikers that was that.  We will see.

Time to get up and head out.  Well, as soon as I finish watching Martha bake the scones.  hee hee, I do love a good scone.

It is another beautiful day.  Family is coming in tonight.  I get to see the amazing Dr. McCutiemeds.

I did hear an article on The American Life, a radio program on NPR.  They were interviewing a woman who has had breast cancer for 23 years.  Twenty three years.  And you know what?  She is happy to still be alive.  She is in the smallest minority you can be, still alive with her cancer 23 years after diagnosis.  She says she is able at times to forget that she has cancer and almost live a life that is normal to others, not thinking about how life is terminal.  But then time and time again something comes up that reminds her that she is terminal.  She has tried every possible treatment over the past 20 plus years.  Some of those treatments they now know are of no benefit, others are now mainstream treatments.  She has been willing to try whatever it took to stay alive.  I am in awe of that.  I am not willing to do that at all.  I love my life.  This year, and it is only March, only the third month of the year, has been amazing.  Just full of possibilities and wonderful things.  Lots and lots of wonderful things, and I am doing as many of these possibilities as I can.  I am enjoying my life to the fullest.  But part of that ability to go and go and go is knowing that like Christmas there is an ending.  A date will come when no matter what is left to do, time has run out.  Does that scare me?  Not really.  Do I want to live for 20 plus more years.  No.  No, I do not.  As much as I love my life.  Part of that is because I can live for the next several years anyway I want.  I can pretty much do whatever I want financially, physically and  emotionally.  But when this disease breaks through the fire wall of chemo and starts to take control again, I can't say that all of those things will be true.  I also have a very specific cancer with one really really good treatment.  But only one.  So when this one stops working, do I want to go back to infusion?  I don't know.  If I had to make that decision right now.  This very moment?  No, I would not be willing to do it.  I don't really remember how out of it and sick and useless I was during the infusion treatments.  Of course I only had one or two treatments of the correct chemo.  The other three were for breast cancer.  Duh, I have lung cancer.  I do realize that some treatments treat more then one type of cancer, but the first three treatments did not control the cancer even one little bit, so there is no doubt that was not the correct treatment.  But, no, I am not interested in continuing to live my life like that.  I understand what she has to say.  She doesn't sound like a regular sort of person.  She sounds like I do.  Someone who is aware every moment what is going on in our bodies.  We are no longer Kathleen or Susan or Mary or whatever our name once was.  In our minds we are now Kathleen with Stage 4 Lung Cancer.  It makes us special, not necessarily in a way we would have checked off on a wish list.  But it is who we are anyway.  Some choose to "fight".  Obviously this woman has been fighting her disease for 20plus years.  No, I do not want to live my life fighting.  I want to live my life learning how to be peaceful.  Peaceful.  World peace.  It starts inside each of us. 

I am at peace with the life I have lived.
I am at peace with the love, joy and happiness that fills my life
I am at peace amongst my animals and flowers and plants
and friends
and songs
and dance
of all the life forms in my world
Yep, spring is a little over a week away. 
Woody's birthday
Wes' birthday
have a lovely day.
I have to take the time to write a blog on books
I want to share the words of others that touch my heart.
touch my heart

Let me leave you with this final photo from this weekend.  My dear sister Sioux and I, laughing and joyful after another successful girl's camping trip.

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