Sunday, May 23, 2010

Robin's Egg Blue

Last weekend I started the reversal of my neglectful gardening strategy.  I started whacking away at fiercely overgrown shrubbery and eliminated unfortunate maple saplings. Where they have been coming from I have no idea, I don't have any maples in my yard, or even really near mine!  I know that I have many years of neglect to make up for, but I'm hoping we have a much more attractive yard this year.

During week one, I discovered an (empty) robin's nest in the the shrubs at the front of the house.  That one I pulled out, since it had one broken egg in it, and I really needed to chop where it was resting.  The good thing about finding it, was that it made me more mindful of checking for nests, so I wouldn't be an evil baby bird killer.  So when I was beating back a shrub on the side of the house, and saw another nest, I was able to see 4 brightly colored eggs!  So for that shrub I trimmed up the front and side, but stayed away from the back.  I'll have to get to it once the eggs are hatched.  The super awesome thing about this nest is it is fairly high, and right below our dining room window, so we have a, well, bird's eye view.  I do have to be really slow about the curtain otherwise I frighten off the adult bird, but I am really looking forward to watching this nest.

It reminds me of our Arcadia apt in LA, when a hummingbird nested in a massive jade tree hedge right out our back door.  It was the perfect level for me to sit on the stoop and watch the nest and the hatchling.

Yesterday, I tackled another set of maple saplings in front of our fence and tried clearing out some of the weirdness in our line of crepe myrtles, although there is still a lot of work to be done in that section.  But it was threatening rain and I really need to figure out how to identify more of the flora that is there.  I'm pretty sure there are raspberries growing, and I'd love to make sure they stay and can take over the space.

The next few weeks, my plan is to finish clearing the shrubs right on the fenceline, fixing the fence, cleaning and repainting it.  I'd like to plant sunflowers in my flowerbed and maybe some simple flowering annual in front of the fence.  Maybe some black-eyed susans, zinnias or cosmos.  And hire goats to attack the scary overgrowth that is our backyard.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Testing...

So, I've kind of failed at daily blogging, but you know, whatev.


What I have managed to do is health care wrangling!  I got my second round of bloodwork taken yesterday, to see if I'm still anemic or if the little white pills are working.  I went to visit a nice head shrinker today, who started my evaluation for Adult ADD.  Did you know there is actually a computerised test to help diagnose? How cool is that?  It's not perfect (apparently), but it is pretty cool. 

She also suggested that I see if I'm Vitamin D deficient, since she said she's had a bunch of lactose intolerant patients who were Vit D deficient, and that vitamin supplementation had an impact of cognitive function in those patients.  I gave my PA a call to see if we could get the vit d thing tested with the blood that was taken yesterday.  That would be very convenient, and would require a lot less blood being taken from me.  I'm a fan of that.

She did ask 'so, what triggered you coming here?' while a big part is that I'm tired of not being as successful as I could, really, it's frustrating to be trying to do something and you realize you're researching Vikings or peeling a potato instead of getting the stuff done that you want to get done. 


She also thought I was a lesbian, and was very delicate about asking about my partner.  I guess because I put 'spouse' and not 'husband' as a to our relationship.  Or it's time for me to get a tattoo, and I'm the only one that doesn't know it.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Units of time

We have rotated 365 times since Alex died.

We have spun around the sun one time since Alex died.

I've been trying to figure out how to mark his passing.  But after a long talk with Scott, I realized...it's not his passing I should be thinking about, but his life.  His passion and love of life. Of music and art and joy.  The towering love he felt for his family, his friends.

My goal today was to make a little music, a little art, a little joy, in his honor.  Scott and I sat down and painted together, adding some photos Scott took.  I realized I hadn't dyed my hair in over a year, so I did that.  I might have melted my hair, but I can't help but giggle.  I know Alex would laugh his ass off at my hairrowing mishap, and if need be, would help me shave the mess off.

I'm going to take the joy he gave me into every single day that I get on this spinning rock.
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