It's A Beautiful Morning

The sun has not risen yet, but the birds are singing their little hearts out. I’m enjoying the second cup of coffee for the morning. Stumpy went flying out the back door at his usual time of 4:00 a.m. He will return soon for his first “wet food” treat of the day. Such a schedule!

Finally, I think I can safely say we are really into spring. When Debbie and I walked along the river yesterday morning the wind picked up. For the past few weeks it has been a cold biting wind… this day, there was a warmth in that breeze with a whiff of Confederate Jasmine. From the river bank we could see Jason coaching the collegiate mens rowing team rowing an 8 in the still river. I try to make these idyllic mornings a springboard to a stress free day. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

My pension/health care future is still a mystery. As GM flounders there has been little trickle down information to we at the bottom of the ladder. I’m very concerned: however there is nothing I can do in the matter. As I’ve said before, GM’s demise is not a surprise to me. The handwriting has been on the wall for many years. What really pains me is; the plans and investments I made to cover myself are also in sad shape. Ever so slowly though, those funds are creeping back up in value: Hopefully I will not have to tap into those funds for quite a while.

There has always been a running joke about me being cheap. It must have been over 30 years ago I got a wallet as a Christmas present from my sister. There was a note enclosed saying, “this has been mothproofed”. My family laughed over that forever.

I’m going to have to go shopping soon. I had my flannel sheets drying on the line last week. The sun hitting them showed how worn out they are. It dawned on me those sheets are over 15 years old! I bought them from Lands End when they attempted to enter the home furnishings market through their catalogue, Coming Home. They sold an excellent product. The towels I’m using are older than those sheets, but they are still like new!

The grass has been growing like crazy. I mowed the front and back yards yesterday afternoon. I have to laugh as I noticed a number of heads turning as I pushed my ancient manual lawn mower. There was a man who lived in my home town of Lockport. His house was a run-down Victorian “stick style” home located at a busy corner. He was always picking up sticks in his front yard. I sometimes wonder if the people here think of me as “that crazy man” who still uses that antique lawn mower in the same manner.

I had to take a break in mowing the lawn to weed out the flowerbed located at the north side of the house. I don’t get in this area much. My hostas transplanted from Lockport were emerging. They have such a hard time in the heat, but they keep trying. There was lily of the valley in full bloom. I picked a number of the stalks and was transported back in time to my “homestead”. Growing up along the west side of our house was a bed of these fragrant flowers. My mother would always pick bouquets and put them into a chipped up ceramic vase. I drifted off to sleep last night with the fragrance from the lily of the valley on the night table.

I was just about to finish up this entry when I saw a red glow outside. Grabbing the camera I tried to capture the burst of orange. Here is the result. In the presence of such beauty, it is hard to start the day on a sour note….