Just some pics from my yard

More of the last week in review of this lady's life.

Hey, this is my home. Hope you enjoyed your work week and your visit to my world this Sunday, now I really am gone.

A couple of comedic victories.

Here we are at Mary and John's 25th Wedding Anniversary party. The year's have taken a toll on us, also; yet love lives on. In fact, I'm not sure anyone really knows how to care for another in the same way a couple together that long can. Learning still is what love is about. Always forgiving someone is not necessary nor is understanding. However, staying despite those things that you can't understand or forgive is the great test of individual fortitude. He's not perfect and neither am I. So once we found our sense of humor about those little things and are successful at not ever passing a boundary where the pain and the frustration crush that love, I will stay with him. Love him. Let him be him, because mainly he lets me be me. Childlike as we were and will always be...but wait! what wonder under the covers the monster stirs. I must run!

You do know I am only being a little silly, right? My theme this "Sunday is Gone" blog about visiting Mom is comedic victory. If there is not such a literary theme then herein it is invented, OK?

I took my video camera up there and when mom starts talking about seeing Elvis and the Rat Pack in Vegas in the old days of the Strip. I figure another great (long) story was about to unfold. I got excited and interrupted to say, "Mom, sounds neat (I still say "neat") you're recalling a great story. Would you care if I recorded you while telling us one of your stories?"

"No, NO, but," (she yells alot) "..I don't mind, but ..." Then I interrupted, as it reminds me I brought the video camera and was checking it and realized the disc was full." Then she got madder not because I wasn't going to capture the story, but I was looking at the camera puching butttons and I guess she though I was not listening as she reiterrated to me later, as to why she justified being frustrated and hostile toward me. I was paying attention and then I think she notices her tone changed and then she laughs. "I was going to say I don't mind if I know in advance, but I don't have my hair done or my lipstick on or anything, so some other time." So I "interrupted" (responded) again so as to get her back on track with the story and I asked how old would Elvis have been then, "Oh, I know he was young and he had three young women on his arm, but I know he had married what's her name?(pause)...Oh, dammit, what is her name?, Priscilla! (we exclaim in unison) at a very young age, but I don't think anyone of them were her."

So, the fun night ended with us going out to get Pizza and having a small discussion with my brother over her disposition and care lately. I know none of us can afford to do any more than this for her with our finances. What my brother does is 24/7 in home care, for which he gets no salary but room and board, and some cash for his medical bills. My other brother lives closer than I but rarely is over caring for her. I doubt he has ever assisted in pulling up her pants, and that's hard for a son, just like it was hard for Mom to get a break when dad was in a wheelchair for me.

Seems this might be why I've studied communication - so as to survive a night with my mother. My husband sees it; as she doesn't hide her behavior around him now, and I've learned to see the comedy in one day of the tragedy of this we call our daily lives and what it was like as a young women. (Which I revisit everytime I go home.) The visits remind me why I choose a teenage marriage and ran from this. She will never understand, but I'm going to try to find what's so damn funny about words that hurt...Ouch, words slap me again.. when I didn't listen to how to pull the blinds or get her a wet dishtowel (got a papertowel).
Sunday, will be gone soon and no work will be done if I don't turn my pain into a comedic victory of a blog here...I pull again at the memory of my dear departed little brother Richard, what did he say he saw in Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe?

P.S. I do love you mom, with all my heart, course I'm not sure how to convince you I have a heart, or maybe at times you don't remember you had one once... Before this thing "Freidrich's Ataxia" got to you. 'Tis true I have a hard time listening and rarely pay attention. Such a grand skill I have at tuning you out... gal Friday and never will be perfect daughter yours. Oh yeah,

Double P.S. Here's the victory part, she didn't succeed in making me cry.

Rain, rain, rain ... glorius or inglorius, still rain, yes, muck. At our house, here in the central valley of California, the rain has brought us April flowers in March. We've postponed working on the taxes and really should get going on that and call Mom, go shopping for food, etc. Perplexed with the news of us sending in anti-aircraft missles into Tripoli last night. In the event of tragedies like Japan, I'd rather see our resources, men and women who serve to be at the scene of natural disasters. Be there pulling that nation together, instead of having to deal with angry and impatient ones who play games with the lives of their own countrymen. Pray they see the colors of blood and leave that field to play inside. Draw those voices inside to find the wisdom that we need to go where no rain will fall, where children are blessings, clung to as saviours of the world we actually valued once.

Set up this blog to have a place to post all those little, nasty annoyances of the day or to add some long interesting story of a work week - hence the name "Sunday is gone and Friday is here." Well, Friday is not even here and I'm looking forward to another long Sunday.

Sunday was a great day although we had a bit of rain. The sun came out. I got out into the yard after a cuddle with my husband and sleeping in until 7:30, and a bowl of oatmeal with my favorite mug of coffee..oh Sunday.

Started out to simply water the plants under the eaves who wouldn't be getting any from the rain. Empty it from the saucers and plants that had too much rain. To spread the wealth a bit. However, as usual as I step just one foot out that door my yard becomes a temptress. I have to check out every place the bulbs are beginning to poke out of the soft earth. I find my rose bush scissors and begin at first a couple of snip, snips of dead branches from the asparagus ferm and I'm off later pulling out irritating strands of crab grass (they have no business in my yard, are they welcome anywhere?)

I finally stopped after the pinch in my hip and tail bone said it was time and ended the day with a pizza for dinner and watched a previous season episode of "Weeds" on my Laptop. Now, its time to get ready for work, and my mini-vacation was just not long enough. Friday, is not going to be here soon enough...However, must go to work so I can pay the bills.

Yosemite, one Sunday last summer ...

After ready we had a foggy day warning in the valley I began a search backyard in my photo albums to one of those sunny day trips we took last summer. This was one of the waterfalls we could see from the road. Traffic was backed up enough that we could take a short break from the climb into the Yosemite valley and take a few pictures.

Today's Friday and its been a Cheesecake trip into temptation and out again. My daughter's birthday was this week and we celebrated at the "Cheesecake Factory"; the restaurant as the name implies, has wonderfully rich, terribly fatty, full-of-calorie delights. I had the Chocolate (naturally) Raspberry Truffle after my Chicken salad sandwich and Ceasar. In the spirit I then took a seven-inch peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake to work which we (the admin staff and I) devored. Not too bad, I can handle some of the consuming in this manner (satisfied, we shared the frenzy).

Throw in our Holiday feast of Tuesday and the rest of the bag of caramel Corn (last night) from the Sunday Antique Fair and by then, I'm sweating the scale this morning. Even the 1.37 miles on the treadmill is not going to help me here.

So, all and all last week was a bust, eating-wise. However, a pleasant diversion and I'm proud that I handled a lot of it with portion control and no seconds. In fact, took my other half of that chocolate truffle sickness home to mom's and had a great visit with her, too. So this is my Friday and was my week? Woke up early, with writing in mind, asking myself if all the writers in the world did have this manic urge to graphically expell their lives on a page (or screen in today's world)like me? Probably not and I'm really babbling now and late for work! See ya.

Still hope you like the out of focus waterfall.

Up2MyKnees by Lizabeth Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Wearing my forest green tee-shirt and kicking it with chocolate brown gloria vanderbilt jeans. Proud that I bought both of these items years ago and they still serve me well as Sunday garb. Speaking of garb, this is what my "Ren" fair attending daughter refers to as the clothes worn at the event she's attending this weekend. 

So, we've missed every opportunity to have sex in strange parts of the house and the weekend is about to be over, as she will be walking in at anytime.  Since we're in our libido declining years, thats simply a source of humor for us and no lament. As far as what's really happening this Sunday night? Not sure what is on the menu for dinner. My husband tells me San Francisco won the football game.  
Here's hoping your life is as undramatic. Peace Out. 

I did it, I did it...I got to the gym two weeks in a row. Then of course there's cake. Yesterday I agreed to go get the cake for the office birthday's in October celebration. (Me! Of all people a lifetime Weight Watcher, true I can eat all I want...but do I want to spend that many calories? ) I'm hoping that I can tell myself that I shouldn't undo that little 20 calories that I burned this morning by adding 220 of chocolate cake. It's not steak or chicken, or even portobello mushroom. So why would I want cake? <>I'm confidant that right now part of my brain can reason with that. We'll see after I get there and I crack open the plastic cover and get that whiff of dark, dark chocolate frosting.. with those big chunks of shaved chocolate falling off the edge, almost falling off onto the counter..Oh, no-I might have to just pick off that piece before it falls onto the floor, maybe check to make sure its not stale and oops, is anyone looking?...
Check out this entry! from 

 wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Chocolate_cake_with_chocolate_frosting_topped_with_chocolate.jpg Image found with a Google search of the web

Reading also a passion this little garden girl has been overwhelmed by her surroundings and still engrossed by the story. Will you be by the end of the day?

P1030889.JPG The in the basket at the link here are fresh from my backyard. Great in a cobbler or straight on top of a bowl of Cherrios or Shredded Wheat cereal in the morning.

I've lost 70 lbs! You see at my max I was 189 lbs and here I am at my current 119! My love of the outdoors and having this great desire to enjoy the second half on my life was crucial to how I changed it so dramatically.

Originally, I lost 25 pounds (dieting) but never felt that was a real lasting change (I had done that before) It was not until I began working as a manager of a DUI program and at first saw so many alchoholics fail, and knew many personally whose lives seemed doomed from the repetition of destructive behavior. Then, the behavior "light" I saw that awoke one or two clients, I learned from observing was internal.

Those who embarked on this personal journey, truly took a path that was less easy, yet more fulfilling.

Change is possible, its finding that inner strength and staying with the quest.

Mine was to never lose that child that hungered; and realize it wasn't for food that would destroy me but wonder at life, beauty and possiblities.

Up 2 My Knees ...a little about women from a woman's point of view. Its a comfort to know that in attempting to have others see a divergent view a small bit of progress can be made. Its just sad that progress often needs to go a little faster than a mind can be changed.

Running up the path with glee, the children suddenly stopped with prompt uniform attention turning as if their twin-like communication was telepathically asking them to wait - gramma was not keeping up.

Jen was married off by the time this photo was taken, and we were heading for the onramp toward the Mojave and Calico b4 making it home.

Visited our rental yesterday and cleared out some some burmuda grass around the base of one of the rose bushes. My rental is a small house; we were attempting to replace the sink we took out of the garage long ago. As usual, two trips to the hardware store and a lunch break, and we were still not finished. Found on inspection the bouginvilla was blooming, a few of the other plants I planted though, did not make it past the winter.

Trimmed away some of that invasive ivy and went to visit an aunt and uncle, where we worked on their printer and scanned some old photos.

Roses, here are from ones in my yard. They remind me of the ones I planted at the house the year after my little brother Richard died. It was on Independence Day and it was my first house. After I moved they were choked out by the weeds or not taken care of, so died off early in life, like he. So full of grace he was, like the rose which was called "French Lace". Someday I'll find that one again.

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Here are some photo's that we downloaded yesterday from a trip last summer to Italian Bar campsite, which is near the north fork of the Stanislaus River.

It's lunch time and I'm still sitting in my new silky PJ's. I know, you're anxious for me to start on our list of things to do today; go buy more photo paper, maybe take a drive to that Antique show that we both know will be a dud. Although, we know in the back of our minds (or I guess you are probably thinking) that guy who always sells crocks is there with one you don't have.

I want and you want different things and yet we discuss this. I give in eventually to the things you want. I want and you always give. What I really want is after Sunday is gone, laughter for me. I'll get it listening to the radio on my way in to work, but I'm not looking forward to work.

Not looking forward as I'm still in process of last month's reports, and others that are overdue, and then dealing with the mess of moving from a large office the three of us analyst's were sharing to three tight little cubicles next to the newest analyst.

Attitude - where's my can do attitude?

Sunday is looming
The tree is so pale
I can't forget I bought that gift
It was for you and then
why on earth would I

Then you spoke and I lifted my eyes
Turtle riding was no great thrill
but the lift was appreciated
good son go far give more

Sunday is looming
I'll perish, but not before
I give this gift
I can't forget to give this.

Yes, its night now and the news show was so dreary that I'm here at the keyboard, was looking yesterday to buy some headphones on eBay, and need to but am reluctant to check out my email-so many things to read.

Oh, why do I subscribe to those email news letters? Guess, because they aren't as threatening as real people who want to sell stuff to me.

Tomorrow I've got to go in and work on reports to send to the State. Have lunch packed already. Today was spent in bed 'til nine, and after that Allen called to ask me to breakfast. (He sneaked out at 6am to go to the Auto Swap Meet.)

I behaved at I-hop-only ate half of that Harvest-Nut Pancake Combo, and gave away one sausage to Allen. The other half waits in the frig for tomorrow morning.

I got on the scale later this afternoon, after raking and weeding for over an hour. Just to check (I was 130 lbs.) That's ok, but still need a little more room before Halloween, and Thanksgiving come around. Haven't even looked to see what my lesson for next weight-watchers meeting is to be.

Enough about this life. I'm ready to begin reading now. Bye!

From Sunday's gone. Carry on.