2013 Project 365 – Week Fifteen

So last week I was crowing about how it felt like spring, and this week it’s COLD again. That’s Ohio!

Sunday, April 7^th    

Pinky the geranium REALLY wants to escape out the window!

Goldfinch!

Dr. M set up our tent so it could air out – we used it at the Relay for Life event on Friday.

Monday, April 8^th     

Dr. M took a lot of great pictures today. You can go to his blog to see some of them or you can check out my Wordless Wednesday post if you haven’t already seen it. But here’s a teaser for you.

Tuesday, April 9^th           

Doves

Daffodils!

Wednesday, April 10^th   

Downy woodpecker.

Tis the season – a sparrow with some nesting materials.

Thursday, April 11^th    

We had a gullywasher Thursday night!

Friday, April 12^th  

Today Dr. M & I walked in the Relay for Life event on his campus. It was SO COLD – when we got home I got into bed with the electric blanket on & it still took me two hours to get warm! It was a good experience - walking around the quad, checking out the other tents, listening to the music… We didn’t quite make it until midnight. Dr. M had been on campus since 7:30 a.m. & at the event since 2:00 – he was worn out. So we left an hour early. Here are a few pictures.

The State of the Bug - cold!

One of Dr. M’s coworkers died of cancer a few weeks ago. Her family & students painted the campus rock with messages. Very poignant.

Saturday, April 13^th    

Around the yard – our daylilies are coming up and the Easter lilies we planted last year – I hope they bloom. My primrose is getting ready to be overtaken by the daisies.

The moon!

Go to Mamma Fran’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Kissing the Earth

When we walk like rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print Peace and Serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the Earth.

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

I just read these words on another blog (here – Jan is always making me think!). I often walk like my mother these days – full speed ahead as if there will be a prize (like maybe cake!) if I get there more quickly.

[No, I’m not cake obsessed – what makes you say that?]

Anyway, as I’m walking tonight I’m going to try to keep Thich Nhat Hanh’s words in mind. I’ll walk with peace and serenity, caressing creation instead of stomping on it.

Relay for Life

It’s a list I hold in my heart. Slim, Nadine, MaryAnn, Jeanine, Barry, an 18 year old girl from Kentucky for whom I prayed for two years, Lee, Ruth, Denise, Kathy…  these are the ones who’ve left us. And then there are the ones who are still here, maybe in remission, maybe still fighting, but always & forever living in its shadow. Sherri, Jenny, Bev, Terri, Kate… I am one person, with a smallish sphere of friends, (and a terrible memory – I know there are folks I’ve left off this list!). Let’s multiply me by a number too large for me to contemplate and then imagine how many people those folks know who have been affected by cancer.

I can’t really. I really can’t.

Dr. M & I are participating in his school’s Relay for Life event on Friday night, with the department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (they call themselves the Social Deviants). It’s gonna be chilly, and we’ll be there until midnight. But it’s such a small effort on our part. We’ll be laughing and mourning, walking and resting, eating and drinking, and then we’ll drive an hour home.  Piece of cake. (ooh I hope there IS cake!). It kind of sounds like a wake – maybe if we all do this often enough it will be a wake – for cancer. Boo yah!

Dr. M & I have already met our modest goals – but if you’re interested in helping out send me an email. Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

Prayer Shawl

Unable to articulate

the prayer of my heart

my fingers fly

Single stitch

Chain chain chain

Double stitch

Double stitch

Double stitch

Yarn over and over

until fear and rage

turn into love

This shawl is going out to a friend, a breast cancer survivor, who is now in treatment for colon cancer. 

50x50 Update

It's the long awaited progress report on my 50x50 project! I know you've just been beside yourselves with curiosity wondering how I'm doing. Well, first of all, here are some more items for the list (if you'll recall, I'd gotten up to 35 before).

36. Finish reading the Mary Russell books.
37. Cook something new once per month (yeah – I’m not aiming for the moon here – ha!).
38. Go through my closet with a fierce and brutal eye.
39. See Anne & Ken face to face again.
40. Write my 1000th blog post.
41. Take Dr. M to Trader Joe’s
42. Write down all the movies we watch (so I can remember if I’ve watched the movie – sheesh!).
43. Go see Spam-A-Lot
44. Go to a performance at the Schuster center.
45. Visit Siebenthaler Fen once per season (Spring is done)

46. Go to the NC Outer Banks
47. Write & post 40 poems no matter how bad they are.
48. Come up with two more things by the time I’m 50!

So, how am I doing? Well, let's just say that all the personal improvement goals are a work in progress. I have worked hard to do more things than just hang out on the computer, and I've been gazelling semi-regularly. And I've actually lost some weight, so I think the food battle is a little more under control.

There are some things that I've accomplished (or have scheduled) & to make myself feel better I'm going to list them here :)

2. Go see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

4. Go to an exhibit at the local historical society museum. (Scheduled)
11. Go see Les Miserables in the theater.
12. Go to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. (Scheduled)
20. Get my hair trimmed at least twice! (this is half completed)
43. Go see Spam-A-Lot (Scheduled)
45. Visit Siebenthaler Fen once per season (Spring is done)
46. Go to the NC Outer Banks (scheduled)

I have to say that all of this list making & checking is exhausting - I just hope I can keep track of it all for the next year!

2013 Project 365 – Week Fourteen

Finally it feels like spring around here! We did still have some pretty cold temps in the mornings (it was 19 when I left for work one morning), but the afternoons have warmed up nicely. Right now it’s 73 degrees – woot! I think I need to do this post in a hurry so I can go outside & enjoy the weather!

Sunday, March 31^st    

Easter at church – we all put a flower in the cross.

The State of the Bug: I wore another one of my grandmother’s hats to church. As I said on facebook: I'm intrigued by the sassy tassel - I'm not sure I ever knew sassy tassel Mamaw :)

Monday, April 1^st    

The campus herd. I like the green eyes…

These dudes make me laugh out loud – especially the one on the right. Ha!

Tuesday, April 2^nd           

On Monday one of my coworkers had us convinced that she had resigned effective immediately. She was even putting her things in a box. Of course it was an April Fool joke. We told her that she had to bring us cake to make it up to us – and this is what she brought – carrot cake cupcakes. It’s as big as my head! (Ok, I exaggerate, but really – it’s huge!). Thanks Mary!

Meanwhile, Dr. M was stalking doves against a gorgeous blue sky.

Wednesday, April 3^rd   

The moon!

Chickadee at a birdhouse – now you see him, now you don’t!

Squirrel.

Mama cardinal.

Nuthatch, in a rare upright position.

  

Thursday, April 4^th    

We rarely see bluebirds up here – it was really cool that Dr. M was able to capture one.

The flowers of spring – ah!

Friday, April 5^th  

Dr. M’s picture of the early morning moon…

Meanwhile, I was taking this picture of the sun…

Pinky is about to burst through the window – she’s ready to head outside…

As I was getting ready to leave work, my cousin Kim called. We had a great 20-30 minute talk. After it was over I noticed that I had phone ear – and it reminded me of all the times my mom would get off the phone with her best friend Sue, red ear blazing. Made me smile.

Saturday, April 6^th    

On Saturday Dr. M & I went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center. It was pretty fascinating (if CROWDED!!). I enjoyed seeing all the artifacts – it’s amazing to think of putting those broken jars together with the shards they found. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the actual scroll fragments, but my main thought about them is I didn’t realize how small they are. All that tiny writing – makes my head hurt to imagine trying to make sense of them!

As we left the exhibit we saw this artifact – ha! It was in an exhibit about the role played by Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati with regards to recovering the scrolls, etc. This is the desk of Martin Abegg. The computer is the one on which he assembled the "bootleg" copy of the scrolls that broke the long monopoly on full access to them.

After we finished the exhibit we impulsively decided to watch the IMAX movie about the Flight of the Butterfly. VERY interesting tale about the migration of the monarch butterfly – I highly recommend it.

Go to Mamma Fran’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask!

Short Stories

Stealing Ellen’s idea again…

- Dr. M & I are going to see the Dead Sea Scrolls tomorrow – and I’m checking another thing off of my 50x50 list (you thought I’d forgotten all about that didn’t you?). I’ll have a review of how I’m doing sometime next week.
- So far I’ve had to do two Junior Warden type things: purchase trash bags & tin foil, and get Dr. M to replace a hasp & lock on a door. So I think I’ve got this gig down pat now.
-My doctor is concerned about my kidney function and has forbidden me to take any more NSAIDs. She’s right to be concerned - I’ve been taking ibuprofen pretty regularly for around seven years now (since my hip arthritis diagnosis). So I’m going to try some other things – including not taking anything at all. I might finally give up diet soda since aspartame has been linked to joint pain. During this process I’m going to try Very Diligently to not whine. (But I’d like to note for the record, that it’s now spring allergy season & I have a sinus headache. Ha!).
-I’m realizing just how much I don’t like it when I don’t get my own way. I was practically in tears in the doctor’s office (prompting her to prescribe something that I probably won’t be taking). As I was driving home I gave myself a stern talking to. “Suck it up Ms. Bug! You just need to roll with the punches & quit being such a wuss!”
-I am empty of poetry. I just don’t see the world that way anymore. For now anyway. Kind of makes me sad. Although maybe now I’ll write somber verses about pain. Something for you to look forward to!
-The Braves & Reds have both won two of their first three games, which is a good thing since my NCAA bracket is totally busted. I have one team left (Louisville). All my other picks bit the dust. Next year I’m going to make my choices based on team colors & mascots. Ha!




Here's a likely candidate - the Wichita State Shockers. And they're in the Final Four this year! According to this site, Wichita State got its name due to its early days, when students earned money by shocking, or harvesting in wheat fields near the university. I think they're my new favorite!



Wordless Wednesday