Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

: 'Once More, With Feeling' (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the Musical)
: Rested, awake, and loving spring

On Friday, Dwana and I both got off work early because we'd gotten our hours in, so we decided to run around together. We went over to pick up her husband Eric's paycheque, and wound up volunteering for a resident birthday party because he was so short-staffed. It was fun. I grew up in nursing homes; whenever my father would be away TDY (on temporary duty), I would spend the night at the nursing home my mom worked in, on a cot in the social worker's office/chapel. (Dwana says that they're always pretty much the same room). :) I would play with the residents (one man taught me how to play a mean game of dominoes), sang with sign language, and basically gave them the opportunity to interact with a child. Friday it was nice to see several children visiting, although I wasn't particularly impressed with the rest of the facility. Things have changed a lot since I was a kid. Nursing homes are bigger, busier places. I'd hate to ever be in one. But this was fun. We mixed the punch while Eric blew up the balloons (I couldn't help with that, since I'm allergic to latex), set up the tables, and then called Jingo (kind of like bingo, but with pictures). The residents were a delight, although I'm not entirely sure they had fun. I got the impression it was something to do for a change in routine. Everything's so scheduled, I guess. One lady really did have a lot of fun, calling out the answers and helping the others find the images on their cards. I really liked her, and I'm glad she won one of the games. :)

Since that was a bit of a surprise adventure, and Dwana and I were both pretty hot, we made the deposit and then went out to McConnell Springs, which is Lexington's 'founding spot'. It's a sinking spring that comes up next to a cave, which has become a historical park and nature sanctuary, right in the middle of Lexington's industrial park. It's acres of woods to walk through, with the soothing sounds of birdsong. With the temperature in the mid 70s but a lovely breeze, it was nice to walk around. Dwana hadn't been there, although her brother-in-law had proposed to his wife there, so she'd heard about it. It was nice to escape with the illusion of being out of the city for just a little while. I loved watching the goldfinches and the woodpeckers. We saw whole flocks of the latter, more than I'd ever seen at once.

Then we went to Starbucks and had frappachinos and played a game called 'Hear Me Out', which was quite fun. All in all, it was a nice afternoon, spontaneous and just hanging out.

Yesterday I went home to Danville and Stanford, and it was a very nice drive. My allergies are worse this time of year, but I love springtime. My grandmother had lots of birds in her yard and lots of bulbs coming up in the garden.

So this morning, since I woke up early (I've been doing that since spring started...it's sunny and beautiful and that makes it so much easier to get going...there's nothing quite like spring mornings--and I'm not usually a morning person at all.) I went out to get a bag of birdseed out of my car and fill up my own feeders...the birds and chipmunks will appreciate it, and it'll bring more birds for my cats and me to watch from the patio door. :) In fact, Darius is in stalking mode right now, so they must have already found it. Because of the reservoir nearby and a creek, with woods and grassland due to a park, the hospital grounds, a golf-course, and a house surrounded by lots of trees, we get a lot of wildlife in the neighbourhood...you wouldn't think we'd be nearly in the centre of the city. Anyway, I cleaned out the car a bit, put a tyre back in the trunk because I'd moved it behind one of the seats to make room for a bookcase and it's been driving my passengers crazy by bumping into their seat occasionally. Then I filled up the bird feeder. Once this afternoon comes along, the sun will stream through the patio door (it's the whole length of my living room) and the mirrored hangings outside will cast reflections that move through the house, so Spock will chase those, and the rest of the cats can watch the birds).

I also noticed that my yarrow has greened up, my miniature roses are leafing out, and the irises, hostas, and the peony I planted last year are all coming up. I'm hoping the peony blooms this year; last year, before I put the ammunition boxes in front of the bed, the mowers had a tendency to get overzealous. I don't think they necessarily know what is and isn't supposed to be growing. So best to block it.

I've taken Cerys out. She's tried the tastiest bits of new grass, although she didn't do her normal morning roll...I guess it's still too wet. What can I say, she's nearly thirteen...she's fairly sedate in her pleasures, although she'll run like a bullet if I call out 'food!'

I think now I'm going to get something to eat (I'm actually hungry and not nauseous...maybe that medicine is working), clean the cat box, and take a shower, then head over to the game. I think I'll take Cerys with me, since I was gone most of yesterday. She's getting used to the other dogs and they're doing the same. She likes visiting the rest of her pack.

Have I mentioned how much I love being back online? Have a good day.