11 posts tagged “its the little things”
Well, I'm back and I'm back without fish.
Friday afternoon was gorgeous. The swimming (!) was great. Meeting up with the gang meant lots of stories and catching up to do but fishing was at a minimum. Saturday was even warmer but heavy winds came up. Whitecaps came over the dock and getting a boat out really wasn't a practical consideration. The bonus side to the winds was clear night sky. Sunday we drifted back home cursing our luck but grateful for the opportunity to spend time together.
Now there are alwys a few fellows who can't make it. The group this time included: a plant production supervisor; an economist; a teacher; an IT guru; two government execs; and whatever I am or will be. Everyone is an equal and gets the same teasing and the same respect. Each has his own weekend role be it cook or cleaner.
Highlights of this particular weekend were M. braving the back roads on his motorcycle and C.'s beautiful new guitar.
As threatened, here are a couple photos. The suset shot is from a previous visit and I have got the pictures off my mobile phone and on to the laptop (they told me there was Bluetooth on this model - not!).
Thanks guys. The world should be like you.
Here are a few of the things that have made my days better recently...
- Last Saturday was the anniversary of my bone marrow transplant. It was great to be around family and friends (like Eric).
- Of course, this leads me to the incredible appreciation I have for my UK donor. Without her I would not be enjoying ANYTHING. Believe me, I have a firm grasp on my own mortality and truly, madly, deeply, appreciate this time I have.
- Today we had an incredible storm. It was an epic display of nature's power and the sky was alive with booming thunder and broad bolts of lightning. It went on for ages and had the old dog and I quite excited, probably for different reasons.
- The pleasures of those little patches of garden continue. Most of us have planted something and forgotten about it. These can be wonderful surprises like my crocusmia lucifer.
- Stories I have recently received about Akron and Cleveland. OK, they're not Mubai or Vienna but it nice to read the impressions of an old friend. Thanks Peter.
- Getting a call tonight from an Aunt and Uncle and just touching base.
These may not sound like much but they're grand things to me.
Here are a few of the things that have made my days better recently...
- Having special visitors (Thanks C. and J.!!) who traveled here from the Emirates.
- Local neighbor's gardens and ponds.
- The great wildlife we've seen this Spring.
- Great plants all around.
- Strawberries. I finally could really taste a strawberry. It was fantastic. This also indicates my tastebuds have, indeed, continued to recover - to my surprise ...
- Terrific weather when we really needed it.
- Books I've been trying to read - will post more soon ...
- My upcoming visit from Eric.
- and Friends and Neighbors. I was AWOL from Vox what with guests and everything. Thanks for your notes - You know who you are!
Update
A few years have gone by since I've had roses. I thought I'd do some as part of my general "back in the garden" physical activity plan. Here are my first blooms. I am not sure what white roses are supposed to represent. I just love their delicacy. It's the little things ...
What can I say? It's a sunny day. All things considered, I'm feeling pretty darned good.
Thanks to Peter for this. I am smiling, too.
I just stood on the back deck. It seemed that with a tall lader I could reach stars. However I was distracted by the sound, rare these days in these parts, of an owl. A great day. Good night.
It's been quite the strange Spring. Heat followed by snow but all that seems to be behind us now.
Having missed the season of renewal last year, it's the little things I am really enjoying.
Tonight it was baked asparagus and chops on the Q. This was follwed by a little walk out back in the woods. There they were! The Trilliums are out. Jack in the Pulpits are soon to follow. Spring is here!
I know it's been a while since I posted. An email from a neighbor reminded me. It's been a busy week and although I haven't posted I have checked in to see how my Vox friends are doing. The past week just somehow took off.
I had a visit from a good buddy which doesn't happen often as he is living in Mumbai. Our time was short but good and he followed up with an Easter phone call.
There was my birthday (don't ask, please) which actually started the day before. The gang at my old office space held a surprise lunch which was lovely. Thanks so much Yvette and Carina!
The days itself was warm enough for a Bar-B-Q and, hey, I wasn't in a hospital this time! As part of my haul I received a video iPod which I am really having fun with. I can now admit I have been in complete jealous denial. I am thrilled with it.
The Easter meal turned out to be a classic and the lamb, in particular, was outstanding. My taste buds responded positively to just about everything which was an obvious bonus.
Finally it was all too much and fatigue hit me big time. The last big thing was laid back but a treat none the less. Danielle returned from her trip to Southeast Asia and entertained family with her terrific photos and stories. It truly made me want to return there. Perhaps a trip via Mumbai? Ahhh, if you're going to dream let it be big ...
What a weekend. The local ski hill hosted its' final races for the kids. Saturday was slalom and GS. Sunday was Nordic and jumping. Forecasters had predicted temperatures well above zero C and rain. The weather held off. Oh, it was mild. There were patches of mud everywhere but Saturday night there was even a bit of snow. The weather held for the kids and the events were great. Spring could now begin in earnest.
I had helped to arrange a surprise birthday party on Saturday and it was actually a surprise and enjoyed by everyone. It's nice it was for a good person, too.
This morning the rains came and at times they have been torrential. Looking out the window I saw my first Robin of 2007. I am wiped out but it really feels like Spring. Fantastic!
Happy Spring, smiles, and rejuvenation to all my friends in the northern hemisphere.
Some of you probably know I missed the end of last Winter and all of Spring what with being in the hospital and all.
This morning I was taking a break from trying to build a page in Squidoo and I heard the distinctive calls. There were ducks flying by!
It was a great treat and confirmed spring is really here. It's the little things ...
Tuesday's clinic visit had some good news and some not so good news. The good news is that I no longer have any dietary restrictions. This means that formerly ''banned' things are back on the menu. The kitchen is open! Man, I have missed salad and I'm planning on celebrating with a big Greek salad this weekend. Let's hope my taste buds cooperate.
I have been simply amazed by the responses that have come into my previous post on Friendship. Most of this has gone on in private emails but it was the post that got it going. It has been a lot of fun tossing about ideas and theories. It has also been very cool (yes, I say cool) to have neighbors share personal experiences and listen to some of mine.
Wednesday I went and got a haircut. It is over a year since this has happened, unless you count having my head shaved in the hospital - thanks Joe. Now when I say haircut I mean a trip to a traditional barber. When I was a kid I didn't enjoy getting my haircut but I liked going to the shop with my Dad. The men complained about politicians, debated the pros and cons of various hockey and baseball players and spoke of the next season's fishing trips. I loved the smells of lotions, creams, disinfectants and cigars. The cigars are gone, of course, and the strops are generally silent. Where two barbers shared a shop one chair now is empty but I am drawn back. My trips to a spa will be limited. I do not need a massage let alone a shampoo. A crisp, clean, cut and a chat about the day's affairs. The walk outside into a spring-like breeze ... it's almost instant refreshment. $15 with a generous tip.
Another nice thing is that I am now able to read and only get functionally drowsy rather than falling immediately to sleep. This has allowed me the opportunity to return with satisfaction to an old "friend" author Michael Connelly.
In The Closers Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch returns to the LAPD after a three year retirement. He's assigned to the newly re-formed Open-Unsolved ("cold case") Unit and his former partner Kizmin Rider. Together they must resolve the 17-year-old murder of a mixed-race teenager.
I am, obviously to fans, behind in this series. The prose may not be Connelly's most descriptive as a lot of time is spent dealing with the changes in Departmental politics during his absence. It's still a very good read for crime fans. I suspect the time spent on background gives Connelly more freedom to wax darkly poetic in the subsequent Bosch novels.
I am now about half way through Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
Most of what I have come across so far has involved Sagan rejecting beliefs in alien abduction or Atlantis on the basis that they are ignorant. This doesn't mean he puts down the believers, necessarily, but rather he shows how many "New Age" ideas (and some old ones, too) do not stand up to scientific scrutiny and/or fact. He could see and appreciate the desire for belief in something else. He felt, however, that somehow society had let these people down by not allowing them to direct the same positive energy towards science and its' own marvels.
Sagan was a good scientist. He remains, in his legacy of film and books, an excellent communicator.
Food, a haircut, discussion and books ... so for today it's the little things that make life good.
