The Future's So Bright...

That's it! I'm going to forget about this:

Ice dams along the east side of our house.

And this:

More gruesomeness.

Ok, so it wasn't all misery... daughter Sorena took time out for a little ice guitar. I'll remember this!:

It was her reward for making it through this:

(It's far worse out there now--you can't even get through anymore!)

Also, I'm going to try to forget about this:

The indoor results of the ice dams. Curtain & wallpaper ruined; antique woodwork had to be removed before it warped even more. Behind it is wet, moldy plasterboard. Ugh!

And finally, I'm going to forget about this:

That's part of my Fiestaware collection cluttered about the kitchen table. It normally sits atop the cupboard and looks, more or less, like this:

(You get the idea.)

We are getting a new refrigerator next month...somewhere in the past 19 years since we've purchased one, the refrigerator gods decided a standard size should be about 2-3 inches taller. So....the cupboard that is above the fridge had to be raised! Fiesta dishes can't be put back until the decorative railing is replaced. God only knows when that will be!

But there's one part of that I'm not going to forget, and that's

Fiesta!

In less than 48 hours, I will be sitting on a beach in Mexico, sipping a cold adult beverage!

In fact, I'll be doing pretty much just that for the next 30 days!*

I'll be wearing my new sunglasses:

I plan to look awesomely cool in them! And whenever I want to, I'll be able to work on a crossword puzzle or read a trashy novel because these sunglasses are also....voila!...reading glasses! (My first bifocals. *sigh*)

Yep...my future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

*I plan to hang out at the internet cafe a time or two...I'll talk to you then!

Adios Amigos!

The Yin and Yang of it all...

Trying to find balance--really, I am. Still so sad about Punch. I miss him dearly. It's been a day-by-day, tearful struggle, starting when I step out of the bedroom in the morning. I still expect him to be there, patiently waiting on the rug for our time together, before anybody else is awake. That's when I would pet him and repeatedly tell him he is a wonderful boy: "Punchy's adorable! Yes you are!" Upon hearing "adorable," he'd often look at me (while laying on his back), and curl his front paws around his tilted head. Just one of his funny little tricks he'd do. Definitely adorable.

But he's not there.

Strange how we have such habits. Intellectually knowing something no longer exists, but habitually behaving as if it does. Makes me wonder how many of my thoughts and actions are simply on automatic. Stimulus--> response. Same stimulus --> same response. It's probably my mind's way of trying to cope with it all; a denial of sorts. Unfortunately, having to remind myself again and again makes me feel the pain again and again. Perhaps, with each little reminder, the sharpest pain subsides a little, replaced with a sort of dull acceptance? If so, it's gonna take awhile. I'm still reaching for the phone to give my Mom a quick call and tell her the latest news.....

And there is some. I have the pictures to prove it. I'll show you in a day or two. Really, I will!

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In the meantime, I'm hardly the first person in my family to mourn a beloved pet: I come from generations of animal lovers. I take solace in that.

This is my paternal Grandma, Mattie. Both pictures were taken in the 1920's, down on the farm.

The one on the left is with Bob and Max.

The right one is Grandma doing her best Holly Hobby impression with Max.

In the 1930's, Mattie & Hans had Duke.

Duke was a Southerner....Hans & Mattie left the Midwest to live in Miami for a few years.

Their return trip in a Model-T included two Siamese cats and Duke in the back seat!

This is my Great-Grandma, Mattie's mother, standing with King and Duke.

(To put things into perspective: as far as I know,

she was not a short woman!)

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Joie de vivre!

* * * * * * * * *

Life does not cease to be funny when people die

any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

--George Bernard Shaw

Yes...the yin & yang of it all!...