Oh, what a beautiful morning…

My due date with our first child, my daughter, was February 29.  Of course, she decided that she liked it in there where it was dark and familiar and she could think, so she wasn’t really born until March 17. But I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Leap Days. Today’s got off to a really lovely start…

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Thank you, Katy, for giving me an extra reason to love Leap Days…

Critters…

These critters came a-visiting last week…

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Monday, Monday…

It is another picturesque morning in paradise…another day without snow…sigh…

I do feel a bit guilty complaining, so I try to limit myself, but as winter approached, we kept telling Boo about snow…feet of snow that would be as tall as he is…and so far, he has had to content himself with wispy flakes falling from the sky…an inch here and there that disappears within moments. We promise, Boo, you WILL see snow someday.

I’ve mentioned before that while I follow politics obsessively, I do try to keep my mouth shut on my blog. I don’t begrudge anyone else his or her opinion. This year, it has become increasingly painful to watch and listen. If one follows the principle of “do unto others as you would have done unto yourself”, one would think that we are an angry, ugly, intolerant people. It is as if the Republican candidates (and I reference Republicans because they are the party with a choice this year) are trying to tell us what to worry about, rather than we the people telling our politicians what we want them to worry about. Who would have guessed that the often aggressive rhetoric would be on religion and contraception rather than jobs and poverty. Very sad.

Whew! Off my soapbox now…

We have been on another cooking jag lately…roasted leg o’ lamb with roasted potatoes and carrots, homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, coconut milk lamb curry with leftovers, chocolate chip and walnut and sea salt cookies, lush salads replete with jicama, avocados, shredded red and napa cabbage, green onions, cauliflower and radishes…yum! We are doing a bit better with portion control and I fill myself up as much as possible on the aforementioned salad (which I could eat for 2 meals a day without blinking an eye) and other veggies…so far, nothing gained…nothing lost, but nothing gained.

Monday is laundry day, so off to sort clothes…do you sort clothes or just dump them in the washer willy-nilly? I sort…my current piles are jeans, colors, lights, sheets, towels…amazing how much less laundry there is now that the two kidlets are grown and gone…

I am hooked…

I am watching a pair of eagles on their nest in Decorah, Iowa…the Decorah Eagles…it is live-streamed on Ustream.tv (account is free) for all the world to share, as part of the Raptor Resource Project (RRP). So far, there is one egg (although the Social Stream is speculating that we should see another one laid today) and the nest duties are shared by Mom and Dad. There are crows that threaten the nest and other birds that are welcome. There is the Decorah Shimmy and the ubiquitous corn-stalk (Dad loves to shake it) that has been in the nest since before egg…right now, there is a squirrel tail that is leftover from a take-out meal enjoyed in the nest a few days ago. Dogs bark in the background, a stream flows by…so much to listen and learn…

It is mesmerizing…

P.S. There are other links on the Decorah Eagles page, sharing other projects supported by the RRP. Don’t you just love the internet?!

Menopausal mumblings…

Do you think that title scared anyone off? This is to my pausing and paused friends, although it could be construed as an eye toward the future to our young ones.

I have been long paused…10 years or so…I have seen my body go from “slightly out-of-shape but still a remote reflection of the body of my youth” to “ohmygod, that’s not me, that’s my mom…ohmygod, that IS me…what are those rolls around my bra line and I don’t have THAT many chins…my middle has become a barrel and I keep saying I’m so fat and for the first time I have 30 pounds to lose, not the 5 pounds of my youth and…” Again, if you are on the journey, you know whereof I speak.

But, damn…I just can’t go on like this. Yes, I am heavier than I have ever been…yes, my midsection now lacks a waist and has gained girth. But I still look good…I smile a lot and when you are smiling, the lines and wrinkles and discolorations aren’t as apparent. I hide most of the bulk with black and pops of color. I stand up straight, sit up straight…makes the 3/4″ in height I’ve lost not so visible. And, if I really want to take the time and effort, I can doll myself up with make-up and hair so that the rest of me is consigned to the shadows.

I eat pretty well…I get a little exercise…I exercise my brain with Words with Friends and Scrabble and Word Search and doing our taxes and Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell and NPR…I have a husband I love and who loves me…I tick off most of the boxes when it comes to enhancing my chances for a healthy rest-of-my-life…maybe that quest requires the extra 30 pounds, the thick middle…maybe someday I’ll figure it all out.

In the meantime, here’s a shout out to all my woman friends who have watched their physical selves change and grow…since it is happening to all of us, there must be a reason!

Cloud sculptures…

There are some animals amongst them…

Running horse

Open-mouthed hippo

Hitchhiker's thumb?

Diving whale

Funny cigarettes

Cavorting whale

Then there were just pretty colors, shapes and sizes…

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Happy birthday, dear Boo…

I can’t believe Boo is a year old…his nicknames include Puppy, Pupinski, Poopsalot…I can’t see myself giving those up, despite Boo’s advancing age. What an incredible gift he has been…my almost constant companion, the giver of morning kisses, he sleeps curled up in my legs or on my pillow…life is so much sweeter because of him.

Boo being adorable

Falling asleep standing up

Boo!

Always waiting for us to catch up

Happy birthday, Boo!

What a difference a day makes…

Yesterday’s sunrise came in a blaze of oranges and purples…

This morning was much more pastel…no less glorious, but certainly not a blaze…

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I am so lucky to see what I see…

Color me blood orange…

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Blazing skies…

What a way to start my day…had to share with those of you not so fortunate to see this beautiful sky…happy winter morn…

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