Happy Equinox!

In the northern hemisphere, where I live, today is the first day of Spring and also Ostara.  For folks in the southern hemisphere, happy Autumn.  But I, for one, and just glad it'll be getting warmer soon.  It's supposed to be in the 50s today but get colder for the next couple.  The weather this weekend is supposed to be sunny, which is very good, as I have to move a piece of furniture.

As you know, the hospital I work at moved both in terms of model and location a couple of years ago, and we were recently given the opportunity to bid on items at the old place we'd like in a silent auction.  I bid on four items, including one I've been bugging materials management about for about five years.  I'm going to pick up the small stuff today and the big one on Sunday with the help of a friend with a truck.  Here's my loot:

It's purple! And a garden...

This was above my desk at the old building.  It's a Ray Harm print of an indigo bunting.

Yes, I still have VHS tapes.  This VHS/DVD player should help with that.

And finally, I got my card catalogue!!! Whoopee!

A quiet day

I've just been doing some caffeinating, chores, and I've pretty much been on the computer and visiting with YKWIA all day.  I'm still in my pyjamas, although YKWIA is working on a grocery list, so that may change.  I really need a shower but I'm going to try to wait until this evening so I can save time tomorrow before work.  The bed isn't made because the cat is happy and quietly sleeping on my blankets, and I don't want to disturb him.  But I've been doing laundry, did the cat boxes, took out the trash and recyclables, and mopped the floor (again--it was so muddy yesterday that it looked awful, even after going over with a dry mop after the wet one and a rag.  It doesn't look much better today.  I think the sponge mops are just not doing well, so we need a yarn one whose mophead can be removed and washed).

Yesterday I had considered going to Danville and visiting my mom's grave.  I had texted my stepfather with my plans to see if he wanted to get together, but I didn't hear back from him.  I did do a search and his mom died on Christmas Eve, so in one year he lost my mom, their dog (who died shortly after Momma), and his mom, who was 95.  I liked her.  In the obituary, I found it listed a partner for him, who I suspect is a younger woman who helped take care of my mother while she was ill.  She was a friend of his son and lived there for awhile, and they were going out to eat, etc., last I spoke with him.  John is the type of guy, kind of a mama's boy, who needs someone in his life.  I don't know how I feel about the timeframe, but really, it's not my business.  If she's helping him get over his grief, I guess that's good, but I think she came with some drama all her own, and I don't know if that's good for him.  But that's his choice.

Anyway, instead of going to the gravesite, I burned a candle for my mom and generally kept her in my thoughts.  It's hard to believe it's been a year.

I went briefly to H&R Block yesterday to see about filing my taxes, or at least seeing how much I'm going to owe the federal, state, and local governments, but I can't pay for the preparation unless they let me make payments or I save up between now and then, now that I have a better idea of how much it will be.  The lady is going to check on whether they can do payments.  If not, I'll have to wait until later in the season to see how bad it will be.  I can barely do that; there are three paycheques between now and filing deadline.  But she did glance at things, and particularly due to the 1099 issue, it's going to be grim, obviously.  When I got home I was depressed but I did look at my finances.  I can do it, but not pay some bills I'm already behind on if I do. :(  I also checked my income vs. outgo for the month when I'm not behind.  Basically, my income and bills leave me $83 a month for food.

We didn't play the game today due to a stomach bug one of the players may have.  So that's why it's been fairly quiet.  I'm carefully doing the laundry as YKWIA's may have some poison ivy where he went and used tools Brenda let him borrow to cut down as much as he could to destroy a vine that takes up most of the back of the house.  It was as thick as a small tree and it took two hours to hack apart, but he was determined to get it.  Then he put some really potent stuff on it that is an herbicide, and will take it down when it dies back.  Better him than me.  He reacted in a very minor way; I react much more strongly.  So he's in charge of that and I'm being careful with the laundry in the meantime.

I have had several seed catalogues downloaded from the Internet or arriving at the house, and that has perked me up.  Neither of us really has any money at the moment to buy anything, but they're relaxing to peruse.  It's nice to dream.  The crocuses outside have come and gone, the tulips are up, the hyacinths are blooming.    The neighbour has her resurrection lilies greenery up.  (It dies back and then sends up a flower stalk later in the season).  The roses are greening up and sending out shoots.  Everything is very mossy and happy out there.  I love when the world starts waking up again and things start growing.  Spring is my favourite season.

I made a sign for work in line with some the others have.  It lists some favourite things: vacation spot (at home gardening), colour (purple), favourite season (spring), favourite game (Call of Cthulhu).  I've got it wrapped up and put in my bookbag, which I managed to clean out properly so it is much lighter.

Okay, I think I am going to finish the laundry and do some studying/reading.  Hope you're having a good weekend.

Well, I did at least get home by 9 pm

My boss let me go enjoy a bit of this glorious day (78 degrees and sunny, although a bit gusty with a south wind) by letting me leave after my work was finished, so I left at 3:30 pm, went home for a bit, picked A up from a job interview, and then took him to YKWIA's.  YKWIA showed us several clips from the TV show 'Mom', which I had not seen.  Then I took A to the store, took him home, went back to YKWIA's with some things from the store, made him tea, and then came on home.  Both of them have some sort of cold.  Hopefully I won't get anything from them; I've had my crud for the season as far as I'm concerned.

Tonight we have thunderstorms; tomorrow will top out about 30 degrees cooler than today.  But it was nice while it lasted, and it looks like there will be warm weather next week, too.  My friend's croci are actually and blooming already, and I saw a beautiful tree (not close up enough to see what it was, but it had lovely white blooms) in full glory.  Hopefully it won't get caught in a freeze.  But we're not out of the woods.  We've had a blizzard in mid-March about twenty-four years ago.  I'll believe winter is over once spring really gets going, although I must admit, we haven't had much cold or snow, and the last week has been wonderful.  I actually worn skirts two days this week, and with the exception of the two days I was packing boxes, I've worn sandals.

I finished the John Scalzi book The Dispatcher and enjoyed it quite a bit.  It was only a novella, but I'm counting that as a book for my reading goal.  Zachary Quinto did an excellent job with reading the voices.  Apparently it was produced by Audible, so as far as I know, it's just an audiobook.

Now I'm listening to OneRepublic's Native album.  I'm almost finished.  But it was nice to relax a little.  I'm going to take the guys to an appointment tomorrow, but I could sleep in, as that isn't until midday.  But at the same time, I think I may go on to bed and get up early and get a few things accomplished around here.  Plus, I still need to do game notes, of course.

Okay, I'm going to head on to bed.  The album just finished playing.  Good night!

Me, with the orchid

Feeling all spring-y in an outfit my mom got me for my birthday a few years ago. It's very bright--pink,  yellow,  and orange,  which was a thing that year,  and it makes me feel a bit like I'm an Easter egg,  but still,  I matched the blooms.  :)

Happy Ostara/Alban Eilir!

(The first day of spring,  for pagans). Or,  for those of you Down Under,  I suppose it's Mabon (autumn).  Oh,  and yes,  the Welsh name for spring and rebirth (and,  incidentally,  butterfly),  is related to my middle name,  Eilir,  which I use on this blog and primarily on the Internet. Anyway,  wherever you are,  hope your day was special!

Happy April!

It is 73 degrees, sunny, with a light wind. I have arrived home to sunlight streaming in the windows, which I have opened. I've also watered the plants (which will hopefully not turn over due to the wind--the sheers are going in pretty far and the wind chimes on the inside of my windows are chiming).

Today went pretty smoothly. Things were a little slow, but I had enough work to keep me busy, but still keeping ahead of things. It's Spring Break for our local school district, so some of the doctors are off this week, and the schedule isn't quite as heavy as usual. So it was a bit laid-back and pleasant at work.

I wore my new dress and got lots of compliments. I must confess, for someone who never really got the 'girl handbook', I do occasionally like dressing up in something pretty and feminine. I get compliments when I wear makeup, too, but that I only trot out for certain occasions or the rare moments when I really feel like wearing it. I usually just use a bit of moisturiser in the morning, and untinted at that, with occasional use of lip balm as needed. I don't do tanning or lying out in the sun; I'm too fair for it to really tan and too fair to risk skin cancer, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, my legs are lily white and while my face, neck, and arms get a bit ruddy in the summer just from light exposure to the sun, it's not worth it to me to try to tan. But as a result, I think I have better skin than people who do that, at least once they reach their mid-thirties and older. I just wish I were a little paler and could do something about the ruddiness. For example, something along what Felicia Day or Rose McGowan have in skin tone. But I've got a somewhat ruddy Irish complexion which looks worse when exposed to sun--my poor ancestors in Ireland and Britain were used to mainly rainy or overcast skies, I expect. I have one co-worker in particular who comments almost every day out of concern that my face is ruddy. I guess she's worried my blood pressure is high, or I don't look well. But my face really is just ruddy--sometimes worse than others. I once read about a teenage boy who had some condition that caused frequent blushing, who was so embarrassed about the constant comments that he killed himself, which was vary sad. I guess he was tired of having something he was embarrassed by consistently pointed out to him. I kind of understand. One of these days I really should tell her it bothers me when she tells me. I know she's just concerned. It doesn't help.

Still, it seems no matter what a person has, they're never satisfied. People with straight hair perm, people with curly hair straighten. They colour their hair, especially as they age to something fitting their ideal, even if it clashes with their skin. I always wanted red hair and green eyes. I have reddish highlights with brown hair (where there isn't a silver-grey, these days) and greenish-hazel-but-mostly-brown eyes. :) It's kind of a mossy brown, not the lovely green I thought was cool when I was young. And when I was a kid I really envied my black classmates, who could have their hair done in all sorts of elaborate braids with pretty bands. My hair would barely stay in a pony tail. I didn't figure out how to braid it (as in the 'Little House on the Prairie' style) until I was in junior high, and it's so baby fine it won't hold curl more than about 30 minutes, unless I sleep on rollers and put a lot of stuff in my hair, and then it's maybe an hour. But it goes both ways. A friend of mine has a little girl who has the lovely braids, but kept touching a little girl's hair in kindergarten because she was fascinated with it being blonde.

At least I'm not insecure about things like breasts and hips, etc., although, of course, I would like to be a more normal size, for health more than looks. But I spent a lot of time getting to this size because in my mind it would make me less attractive and invisible to people. Someone once tried to date me, and I gained 70 lbs after giving them the 'it's not you, it's me' speech. Yeah, I know, that's a bit psycho. But there you go. At least I know that's part of the problem. Fixing it is a bit of a problem for me, unfortunately.

Okay, I think I'm going to stretch out under the fan and listen to some music for awhile, then get back up and do some spring cleaning. Hope you have a good night if I don't write more. And here's to Spring finally springing!

Glad to report

That in addition to it being 68 degrees outside and sunny, I have electricity again. I have the bedroom window open, the fan going, and I'm going to take a nap. I have a wake-up call scheduled so I don't miss 'Grimm'. :)

I'm going to try to keep this short

because it's been an exhausting day, and I'm ready to turn in for bed.

Yesterday evening I:

1. Watched Frozen, the DVD, with YKWIA, who enjoyed it a lot and was very happy when he realised the DVD was a present for him
2. Watched several YouTube videos with him
3. Stayed up late requesting free credit reports

Today:

1. I managed to get to work on time despite waking up a half-hour before I was supposed to be there
2. I spent three hours at the dentist, only to find out that:
   • My partials weren't going in because they were off, and rocking when they were put in (it wasn't user error)
   • I have to have a root canal, to the tune of 400 more dollars, in addition to the two crowns I'd already had in my treatment plan
   • After the temporary crowns were put on, my partials went in snugly
   • But after I took them out later, I couldn't get them back in again, which is very frustrating
3. The colour copier at work was fixed by a technician, who had to replace a drum, but the moment he left it said it needed toner but refused to load the toner, even trying two different bottles, so that it would print maybe 10 pages and then quit, saying the toner was depleted, when the bottle was obviously full
4. And of course, while dealing with this and trying to get my other work done, I suddenly had all these calls with information requests; don't get me wrong, I don't mind that--I want them to call me--but it was very frustrating in terms of timing
5. I had a co-worker for whom I've been picking up the slack who according to reports is apparently spending quite some time at her desk playing games online, so another co-worker and I came up with a strategy to track my work vs. hers so that it's more apparent who does what
6. At least my 'check engine' light finally went out after a quarter of a tank of gas with STP fuel injector cleaners in it
7. I went and got a friend from work
8. I picked up some fish sandwiches for us
9. I watched 'Star Wars: Clone Wars' with YKWIA, along with some YouTube videos
10. We watched the premiere of 'The 100', which I've been wanting to see since it was announced last summer. I liked it quite a lot. It's already got more depth and interest than the remake of 'The Tomorrow People'

Now I'm home, and I'm going to go to bed. Spending time with friends perked me up for a little bit, but I'm quickly getting tired. Good night. Oh, and while it's 50 degrees, the wind is howling appropriately for the last night of winter. But according to the calendar, at least, tomorrow spring arrives. Yay!

One last thing

Happy Spring...happy cows (no, not the ones from California--these are from an organic farm in the Netherlands). All cows should get to enjoy their pasture.

I'm feeling much better

I've turned off the air conditioner and opened the windows. I got up at 6 am and went to the grocery for a couple of things for a friend, visited awhile, then got home about 2:30. I've been online for an hour and a half and I think it's time to switch gears and do something else. I still have the book selection, game notes, and book review to do, plus there's some stuff around here that really need doing. I think I'm going to take a little bit of a break and then start working. But it's so nice to have the sunshine streaming in, a breeze ruffling my window sheers, and greenery in the window (various plants along with one blooming African violet, the first time it's blossomed since being separated from its parent plant.) The birds are singing. Everything is blooming outside--I saw lots of tulips today--but my allergies aren't too bad today. So all in all, it's beautiful. I love spring. :)

Just got in a little while ago and I've accomplished a lot today

I got up at 6 am and went to the grocery, went over to my friends' house and visited for awhile, stopped by the library, and now I'm home. I need to do the game notes (I stayed asleep last night till about midnight, got up for just a bit, and went back to bed. My it was a tiring week.) Then there's working on the kitchen, the main disaster area in the apartment. I might try to do some laundry, too, but I'd like to go to bed a little early since the time changes to Daylight Savings tonight and we essentially lose an hour, and I'm already getting up about 5 am.

It's a glorious day, a bit cool, but sunny and very spring-like. Next week we're supposed to be in the 60s and 70s. The birds are very active (and by that I mean having wild monkey sex), the roses are sending out shoots, and there are already flowers blooming, as evidenced by these daffodils to the left. I know we still have a few days before spring, but it really seems like it's here. I think it's time to take down the prismatic snowflakes in my window, don't you?

Good riddance to Winter (at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere)

Okay, it's not technically until this evening, but...

No matter what you call it--the vernal equinox, Alban Eilir, whatever--today is March 20th, the time between night and day is equal, and the sun and earth are in a certain position, which means:

Happy Spring!

I don't think there's been a year I was so glad to see winter go away.

At least autumn isn't so bad, either, so you folks in the Southern Hemisphere are in for (hopefully) a nice fall.

But here it's spring, it's spring, it's spring.

Okay, it's off to get things for game day. Have a great day.

I have a little time to blog this morning

because my mom called me at 8:30. It was kind of comical. I'd left the cordless phone off the cradle the night before and last night, so the battery died. Then I went to call back with my cell phone, but the minutes were low. But wait, I purchased minutes yesterday! So I pull out the ticket and go to add minutes and it's an AT&T pay-as-you-go card. I have T-Mobile. Those aren't usually returnable. But I bought it at the store I work at and the acting manager is the one who made the mistake and remembered the sale, so she said she'll return it today. Fortunately I remembered I had a backup corded phone and plugged that up so that I could call my mom back. After that, I decided I might as well stay up and go into work a little early, stopping by the store. I'm still tired (I went to bed at 4:30 last night and got up at 8:30), but at least I'm up.

Today I work at the hospital, then 3-10 at the store, then I do some more priming work on a bathroom. With all the fixtures installed now, it's proving difficult to reach everything I need to tape, but I'll figure out a way.

Yesterday was very dreary but the sun is out now and it promises to be fairly mild. I've seen a few flowers and leafing of trees and bushes. The forsythia in front of my apartment are ready to bloom. I'm so ready for spring, and it will be here on Friday, thankfully.

Okay, that's all for now. Time to finish getting ready.

Strange Christian thing of the day

Okay, I have trouble remembering when Easter is, since it's not one of my holidays, but for a wonder I remembered not only that Easter is Sunday, but today was Good Friday. But even so, I was not prepared for what I found as I was cruising down Chinoe this afternoon. I looked in my rear-view mirror and the woman in the car behind me is holding a large (10-12 inch) crucifix out of her window. My first reaction is that she somehow recognised the Hekate figure on my car and was calling upon God to smite the evil idol-worshipper. (Not that I worship idols, but that's another topic). My second thought was that she was just going along with a literal 'Jesus is my co-pilot' thing. Weird, but there are weirder things in the world. She turned at Gainesway and kept it out, so it wasn't aimed at me. Let's face it, 9.5 out of 10 Christians would not recognise Hekate even if She were blatantly shown. So, later I realised that this might be some sort of cognate to the pilgrims who go to Jerusalem and carry life-sized crosses (or some other places where they go through mini-crucifixions) along the path Jesus was reported to have done so they can better understand what he did for mankind. I could see where driving a similar route could at least make you more mindful of your Saviour's trevails, but I don't see where toting a 2 lb cross whilst behind the wheel is really going to get you into the mindset of the suffering he reportedly endured. You just look silly. And what if you drop it and some car runs over it? Or worse, what if you're in an accident? That's got to be pretty distracting, especially if you're praying as well. People, this is something you do whilst *walking*.

Just my musings. I hope I haven't offended anyone. I don't mind if you believe that Jesus was the son of God (there were many in the ancient world...my favourite was the whole Zeus appearing as a shower of gold story). I don't mind if you believe he resurrected (again, several cases reported). But the whole one-hand-on-the-wheel-one-hand-on-the-cross is a little creepy. Next time, just put it on your grille like people do wreaths at Christmastime.

Anyway, for those who are sane who are merely marking this important holiday of your faith, happy Easter. And for those of you who have thrown this sadness followed by joy thing to the wind and just gone with the very pagan theme of coloured eggs and chocolate bunnies, happy Easter too.

(I didn't say Happy Spring (my holiday, known as Ostara to some, Alban Eilir to others)--Eilir being rather recognisable to readers of this blog as it is my middle name and means spring, rebirth, or (as a different but related word), butterfly. Anyway, Happy Spring!)

Also, the full moon tonight is very pretty. That's why Easter is as early as it is. It has to fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring (note the word 'after'--if the full moon is on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox, then Easter is the next Sunday. Got it?) Passover, meanwhile, begins on the 15th of Nisan (at sunset, as the Jewish day goes from sunset to sunset, the month from new moon to new moon). This year it's much later than Easter, beginning at sunset April 19th this year. (Note: In Israel and amongst Reform Jews, the holiday is seven days long...amongst the Orthodox and Conservatives outside Israel, it is eight, to be on the safe side and make sure the whole period is commemorated, as days are based on the moon and not on some clock.)

Okay, there's my splurge into spring holiday lore.

I am up ridiculously late

having been over at some friends' home into the wee hours. But I'm having a quick snack before bed, so I'll go ahead and type a few things in.

1) I learnt a new word today. Nosology, the science of classification of diseases. Cool. One should always learn something every day.
2) Spring is definitely here. We've had weather in the 70s and 80s, although tonight it's a little nippy with the wind, but still pleasant. All sorts of things are blooming, and the air is heavy with scents (and allergens). A mustard plant in the back of my building shot up in two days' time, it seemed, and it's blooming already. We had quite a spring storm the other day; it woke me up with lightning in the morning and the creek behind my apartment was swollen, but as far as I know we didn't have any of the problems others did with the line of thunderstorms.
3)I so need to do laundry tomorrow. I found a suit one of my co-workers gave me (her daughter had lost weight and had been my size) that hasn't been worn. Guess what I'll be in tomorrow?

Well, that's it. I'm finished eating; time to go to bed. 'Night.

Happy Spring

Ours blossomed warm and sunny, with the forsythia and bulbs bursting with flowers. I love spring. Hope yours is equally beautiful (well, except for those going into autumn--but that can be quite nice as well.) :)