Hooray, It's Almost May!

 

Two days in a row now we have reached 79 degrees. The tulips will be happy when we go back down below 60 with a little rain for most of the next week.

But, Oh! The warmth feels so good and spring is so beautiful now. 

Since we got back from Whidbey I have been busy with two appointments, Friday morning breakfast, the weekly grocery shopping, PT exercises, stationary bike work outs, and watching sports. Our hockey team, the Kraken, are down to game seven on Sunday. Will Colorado or Seattle advance? This evening we have a Sounders soccer match to watch on TV. That means it's a pizza night. 

Today, for the first time since my hip surgery, I put on my gardening clothes, strapped on my garden tool belt, got my five gallon bucket for support, and got down on the ground to do a little gardening. I have to be careful but my PT therapist showed me how to get up and down, and I spent a little time on my knees. Then Tom and I spent more time upright, rearranging and replanting some of our patio pots. When the rain comes this week we will be ready to go plant shopping. 

There are chickadees in that birdhouse again, and Bewick's Wrens in the bird bottle on the front of the house. Our crow couple visits the lawn often. 

I just finished reading The Lake House by Kate Morton. Connie of Far Side recommended it. It was long and complex, switching time periods and narrators often, and yet it was compelling, a good read. 

The day is winding down. It's time to collect the mail and then settle down in my recliner and work my WORDLE and catch up on a few of your blog posts. 

My days are full.

A Little Stay on Whidbey Island

 Monday Morning found us on the ferry, crossing Puget Sound to Whidbey Island, where we have a family cabin.

With the pandemic behind us, we were able to indulge in coffee and cookies during our crossing. It felt good to treat ourselves. 

With the last of the rain behind us for a while, we looked forward to some mild weather and clearing skies.

We knew there was work to be done there, and other members of the family have already put in time rebuilding the bulkhead and repairing some storm damage. It will take a team of strong guys to get the dock back in the lagoon. That will come later.

Tulips are blooming in the front yard, most of them survived after the salt water flood. The weeds survived too, and that was going to be Tom's job since I am not ready to get down in the weeds yet. I felt bad about that.

He put in a lot of hours and got a lot done. 

It's looking a lot better. We replanted a few things and will wait now to see how much more we want to do to restore what we had. It's time for lower maintenance and a bit more help.

While Tom was working I did get out for  a walk on the dike.

The tide was low so there wasn't much action in the lagoon.

We heard that there were herons nesting in a stand of trees by the wetlands so I had to see what I could see. Yep, I spotted four, I think, like that big dark blob in the tree. We love our Great Blue Herons and it's wonderful to have a small rookery again. Now if the eagles will let them be. 

There were lots of bird songs and a few things are blooming: old apple trees,

Oregon Grape

My favorite Madrone tree.

A bonus of our stay on the island is that we got to spend time with son Jake, who now lives here in Whidbey. We had some good visits while having dinner together, one I cooked with mostly left overs from that roast chicken from Sunday, and one we ate out. 

We're winding down this afternoon. Tom has declared that he is done. We'll take our yard waste to the dump and visit the town of Langley for a bit. Later we'll pack up and go home. I have appointments the next two days. 

Tick-Tock, Weeds, and Not Weeds

We were very happy to get our mantel clock back yesterday. It has been in the clock shop since November, where it has been restored to working condition. After many years of working perfectly, it stopped one day. The repair was costly, but worth it because it is a family heirloom, belonging originally to Tom's grandparents. 

I cleared away the Easter decorations and Tom placed it back on the mantel just in time for it to chime 11:00. I am enjoying the tick-tock in a quiet house. 

We took a little walk in the neighborhood yesterday and stopped in a little park on our route to rest a bit on a bench. I chuckled at the lawn, being taken over by dandelions. I don't want them in my lawn, but they were so pretty, as the early dandy blooms are, and they are great pollinators for bees. Unfortunately it is still to cold here for bees,  

 The cold is certainly prolonging the anticipation of tulip blooms. That's better than a heat wave, though, that makes everything come and go too quickly.

Speaking of coming and going, we are taking a short trip to the Whidbey Island cabin to stay for a few days. My next post should have some different scenery.  

Irene's Birthday Week

 

                        New flowers, from our garden, on the table.

Irene turned 18 on Monday. We missed a celebration on Sunday at her Aunt Jan's because we were still isolating after being exposed to COVID, which we escaped. 

On Monday, her actual birthday she went out to dinner after track practice with two of her track mate friends. 

On Wednesday we were able join Irene, Isaac, and Jill for a casual dinner out for our turn at celebrating. Of course we had to order Mud Pie!

There was a card and a check, of course, and also something special. I had been waiting for Irene's 18th birthday to give her two rings of mine that I once was able to wear before weight and arthritis altered my body and hands. She was pleased with the star sapphire and the opal rings. For Jill's belated 50th birthday we presented her with her Grandmother Bernice's diamond ring, which we had tucked away for an long time now. Grandmother rings for both of them. 

On Thursday we traveled to an away track meet in the 45 degree rain.  Tom and I were under cover in the grandstand and bundled up with layers. The kids and coaches had to suffer the coldest April day in many years. 

Still, Irene was a star, winning both the 100m and 300m hurdles. 

She also ran the 200m sprint, and managed to pull into fourth place. She's not a star in this race but she likes to run it. After we left she also ran a leg of the 4x400 meter relay. I guess if you run enough you can keep warm even in that dreadful weather. 

Hopefully she slowed down today. We have.

Stormy Weather

 It's 47 degrees, the wind is blustery, and the squalls threaten, but so far only sprinkle on us as some other nearby area gets dumped on. 

I went out to grab a few quick photos for my post.

So much is emerging now. 

The sky gets dark, then light, then dark again.

A trillium clump in the back yard, under a big fir tree. I think they are happiest under trees. 

Almost in bloom. 

I needed to walk today, but outside seemed inhospitable, so we elected to go walk at the mall, where on a weekday, midmorning, the foot traffic is light. For the first time in many months, I walked more than a mile, 1.41 miles to be exact. It had also been a long time since we treated ourselves to a Starbucks, so we did.

Yep, that's what's left of my brownie. We were going to share one, but we somehow ended up with two, so, what the heck, we indulged. My late lunch will be a half of an apple now. 

Besides walking, I am now finally spending the whole night in my bed. After more than six weeks of nights in the recliner, I am so happy to be in my bed, getting better sleep, with only a few discomforts. Progress continues. 

Also, we are not sick. A bit of a mild sore throat yesterday sent me to get one of our home COVID tests. It was negative. I think we have escaped the dreaded plague we were exposed to. Our dear friend has some bad sinus, ear and eye symptoms but seems to not be in danger. She is being monitored by her medical team. So far so good. 

Six Weeks

It has now been six weeks since my hip replacement surgery. My surgeon says the bone and metal parts look good, everything in place where it should be.

While the remains of the hematoma are mostly gone, there is still some pain in the muscles around the incision, where blood pooling stretched everything. Because of that, recovery has been delayed,

Two years ago, with my first hip, I was out walking within two weeks, and by six weeks I was doing at least a mile and an half or more. 

Two days ago we finally went over to the little neighborhood park for a "walk". The first day I did .41 of a mile, sad, but at least something. Yesterday I did .61 of a mile, but then my thigh started to hurt. I'll try to get back out again today, but will not overdo it. 

However, I was in the park! Dogs were playing in the dog park. The brush along the trail was greening up.

The native red current was in full bloom.

And over one end of the traio the cherry trees were in bloom.

By the second day the petals were starting to fall, forming the beginning of a pink carpet on the pathway. Such fleeting beauty. 

We were supposed to celebrate Irene's 18th birthday tomorrow, Sunday, but yesterday evening our 95 year old breakfast friend called to tell us she tested positive for COVID. We are in 5 day quarantine. Hopefully she will be OK, and we will not get sick. If we are well we'll celebrate with Jill and Irene on Wednesday. Since her birthday is really on Monday, the 17th, we'll just stretch out the pageant, hopefully.

But for now we are good. I have a garden blooming on my table. 

Those carnations just won't quit, and daffodils and tulips are now abundant in the grocery store.

While outside our tulips will soon be blooming.

Life has ups and downs, but we're good.