happy easter, ya'll . . .

so yesterday was a whine with cheese day.  until . . .

kidlet slammed out the door in disgust.  depression doesn't do a lot for your ego.  and hers was taking a hit.  she needed some air.  some peace.  when the door opened again, there was a grin.  a big old wide one from back in the day.  she held out her hands and stuffed my arms with this:

yup, a mexican easter pinata!!!

so we hauled it out front:

and hung that puppy from the nearest limb:

and then since we couldn't find a bat, we confused our sports and used kidlet's bo staff:

i got first whack:

and nothing.  i smacked that puppy hard enough to send it back to mexico.  did it share its goodies?  no. so i whacked again and again.  nothing.  well except the pinata gave up its handle from which it was hanging so we changed sports again and started pitching it like the over sized egg it was.  kidlet's turn:

who happily beat the crap out of it, but still nothing.  it was not giving up its stuff.  my turn again.  note the staff bending under my amazing strength:

back and forth we went, all the while a very sick and sniffily joanie snapped away.  and finally, success!!!

and while i thought it was one of those pre-stuffed pinatas, this one turned out to be thoughtfully jammed pack with craft stuff, yoga socks, googly eyes and a copy of les mis.  YES!!!!

gotta love this kidlet:

she always knows how to make me smile!!

oh and let's not forget miss curiosity whose paws are definitely not allowed on the kitchen table:

well, maybe just this once.

happiness is a kidlet.  a pinata.  and a whole lotta love!!!

aren't you glad you asked . . .

hi!

we're still here.  just paddling upstream. 

it has been, as usual, full of highs and lows.  on tuesday of last week, kidlet ventured out into the world.  she took her crocheting and headed to the bridge and soaked up some sun and chatted with those interested in what her nimble little fingers were doing.  this was the first time she had left the house for more than appointments with the good doc and the therapist in ages.  get excited here folks, this is major.

thursday, after i picked kaitlyn up from school . . . she and kidlet headed to walmart.  when they popped back home, we had a little of this:

friday, kidlet picked kaitlyn up from school again and after scoffing down pot roast, taters, carrots and hot buttered rolls, the two of them took off to daytona beach to check out the boardwalk during spring break and play some miniature golf.

and yes, this is my child who has not crossed the threshold in months we are talking about.  and she paid the price.  she crashed and burned.  saturday.  sunday.  monday. tuesday.  wednesday she made it through a visit from family and then nested.  and nested.  but friday?  friday, she ventured out on her own again.  another trip to walmart for essentials and then out for a run.  yes!  you read that correctly.  kidlet went running.  and so we live with the ups and downs and hope they simmer into some semblance of normalcy. 

pip's had her ups and downs too.  yesterday morning she sat frozen in delight perched on the arm of the sofa with her paws up on the window sill, ears twitching.  two baby squirrels were practicing their climbing skills on the oak.  pip's nose wiggled in delight.  the more they danced through the limbs and up and down the trunk, the more light shown in pippin's eyes.  she was in kitten heaven.

a little later, i was in the laundry room doing the inevitable.  pip, having long ago gotten used to sitting on the glass top of my washer, loves to snuffle around in the clothes warm from the dryer.  this time when she made the leap from the floor her timing was bad and the lid was up . . . the look on her little face when she plopped straight down into the tub was priceless.  it took her all of two seconds to fly back out, run from the room and hide for the next two hours.  she is still tentative about the laundry room but hopefully not for long considering that is where the litter pan is.

and then there is me.  apparently the rope is fraying. the good doctor has announced i can officially live on ativan in addition to my lexapro and she will wean me off when life looks a bit brighter. 

spring is just around the corner and things will be better then.  i can feel it in my bones.

bob, bob, bobbin' along . . .

once a year, the robins hit town.  they come en masse, settle in nancy's holly tree, snap up every holly berry in sight and take off leaving a decidedly naked tree.

day before yesterday, kidlet was outside and texted me to come see the flock.  at first, true to form, i didn't see anything unusual but then, apparently having disturbed the universe, they left the tree by the droves.  thinking they would settle down if i left, i went inside for my camera. 

when i got back, some had returned but not nearly as many as had left. i found fifteen hiding among the branches.  i think i should have circled some in white. 

 and then as i stood there for a while, i found this guy nibbling away on his brunch:

and to my surprise, when i enlarged the photos, they weren't our yearly robins. 

someone is going to be very hungry and cranky when they stop for their annual feast and find the platter clean.

another day in paradise . . .

joanie's dad is a very spry 91 year old and a whopping 6'5" tall . . . and did i mention bright as a penny.  after having some issues last year, he's back in almost full swing . . . just has a tiny bit of difficulty with his balance which has put the kibosh on his bike riding.  yep, at 90 he was still rocketing around the neighborhood on two wheels.

but he missed it terribly.  he tried a stationary bike but you know . . . boring.  so he checked around town and on the internet for a trike . . . and finally found one. 

it was shipped to billy's shop, assembled and delivered today.  .and then the kids came out to play.  first eddie:

and then joanie:

and yes, i climbed on board but since it was my cell taking the shots, it stayed safely in my pocket.

just another gorgeous day in paradise.

i should have stayed in bed . . .

got up bright and early this morning and fed the rambunctious crowd and slithered right back into bed for one last snooze.  three hours later . . .

i decided my abject laziness called for something ambitious, so i gathered some rubber gloves, grabbed the ladder and headed off to attack the gutters.  oh my.  there were leaves and muck, plants with roots,  that sand like stuff from the roof and critters, various critters and those caterpillar type fuzzys that fall off the oak every spring.  it was a virtual party up there.  everyone was happy except me.

i slowly made my way around the cave until i got to the back 'super' gutter which is supposed to carry the rain away from the pool.  it was stuffed fuller than the 9TS after Thanksgiving dinner.  overflowing.  growing a pea vine with five foot roots.

there is one section where the pool cage zigs and zags around an odd corner of the house just above the kitchen.  i have in my younger days, actually pulled myself up on the roof and shimmied my way into that corner to clean things out properly.  i am no longer able or willing to wedge my slightly larger body between the 45 degree angle of the roof and the flimsy screen of the cage praying that i don't crash to the deck below.  let's just say for now what i managed was good enough.  i figure if the roofers are afraid of the pitch of our roof, i should be too.

so there i was, covered in black wet leaves that had been fermenting since last spring, a bruised shin compliments of the ladder, craving a nice warm bath.  i got the bath alright, thanks to mother nature.  she must still be ticked at me for some reason.  but no, i am not sharing a photo of me in the pouring rain, plastered in all things yucky.  the damned gutters are clean and checked off my list. i love my world. truly.

ups and downs . . .

doing a happy dance this morning.  with the moving process completed, i started in on the phone calls.  the house needs to painted, there are a couple of rotten boards that need to be replaced, we have some mold issues in a closet and bathroom ceiling and the deck needs repainting.  the painting part was easy.  i've been using the same guy for years now, but who do i go to to have the ceiling fixed.  the answer was right under my nose.  john the painter can do it all.  yay.  he's got a full calendar but sometime toward the end of the month, the cave will be looking good.  color me relieved.

you can also color us a tad crabby.  the corned beef was nixed.  the jambalaya mix i cheat and use and was to be for dinner stuffed with shrimp, has been nixed.  did you know there is soy in graham crackers?  and nitrites and tryamine in bouillon?  caffeine as well as chocolate, in moderation?  good thing we have another appointment with the good doc on thursday, i need some clarification.  but here's the thing, if i can learn how to re-cook after the 9TS open heart surgery, i can darn well learn how to cook without nitrites/tyramine.  so there.

but i am bagging the low fat tonight and making shrimp newburg over rice. bring on the butter and the half and half.  slurp.  and the vino to go with the whine.  glug.

happy saint pats . . .

ah.  the quiet that is the end of bike week.  yes! [insert arm pump]

happy st. patrick's day my friends.  i went grocery shopping yesterday morning and bought the obligatory corned beef and cabbage for tonight's dinner.  kidlet loves corned beef.  it is one of her most favorite meals.  yay!

the problem is, long about saturday night, my brain clicks on and i rush to google to see if corned beef contains tryamine.  it does.  crap.  chicken caesar salads for dinner to night.

tomorrow we will call the good doctor and see if kidlet can have a bye just this once.  the level of MAOI that she is currently on has no dietary restrictions but she is to avoid tryamine in case they have to up the dosage.  color kidlet not quite happy.