Today was a lot of rocking chair time in the porch soaking up all the sun. Dennis cleaned out the Koi pond of winter’s collection of leaves. As we sat in the porch and mulled things over, the north side of the potting shed needs to be painted before water is put in the pond. It’s a matter of putting down ply-wood on the bottom of the pond and then using the stepladder to get the job done. A good decision.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Dennis and his friend Lyle arrived home this afternoon. Lots of chit chat to catch up from the trip to Nevada and Arizona. Life is back to normal on Stauffer Avenue. I am turning the reins back to Dennis for the care of his livestock: fish and cats.
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Noreen
Yesterday I had a clinic appointment here in town. I made sure I parked at the far end of the parking lot. Well, yes, I did need the extra bit of exercise, but more importantly I really wasn’t ready to have anyone pass judgement on my car. I don’t think there was a five inch square anywhere on the hood, trunk or top that was not covered with kitty foot prints.
I am not up to washing my car yet, but today I took charge of doing things a bit different in the garage and the garage porch. Butter Ball and Snuggles both like to stand in the water dish with their front feet. About three feet away Dennis has always had the litter box. Out of the water dish and a walk past the litter box and you have the perfect recipe for feet ready to leave paw prints as they jump up onto the car to sit in their favorite spots in the rafters. As of today the food and water dish are now in the porch sitting on the carpet. The proximity to the car of the litter box has not changed, but the wall mounted vacuum has a long enough hose to be looped onto a hook near the litter box. It takes five seconds to run that vacuum across the area in front of the litter box to pick up any litter that may come out on the paws of the cats.
I have no idea how this will sit with Dennis as it is a break in his routine. I won’t know if this will make a difference on the decoupaged car until I get it washed.
I had to have something today for local effort and time will tell if my car can sit in any parking lot without passersby conjuring up images of a crazy cat lady.
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Noreen
Each day, regardless of how I feel, I need to apply some local effort to keeping the home in good stead. Some days I have more energy than others. Today with the sun warming up the garage porch, I could not resist taking the wand and hose from the wall-mounted vacuum and run over the carpet in the porch. Needless to say there was a mixture of crushed leaves and, of course, cat hair. Butter Ball and Snuggles disappeared when I flipped the switch. Taking a few breaks in between also meant that both were back out in the open to check everything out. It may only be a 12′ x 16′ carpet, but it made me feel like I had put out and could see some results. All the cat toys were pitched into a box and of course it didn’t take long and Snuggles had to tip it over.
I made sure to change out the water in the heated water dish on the patio, as I can’t imagine having a water dish with leaves floating in it. I no more than heaved the dish to empty it and Snuggles was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I took some consolation in the fact that the water had not been ice cold and the 65 degree temps would allow for him to dry off fairly soon.
So much for local effort for the day. It felt like it was a good day.
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Noreen
This afternoon is one for the books. I showered this mid-morning and all I could think of was how good Oatmeal would taste. I dolled it up a bit with cinnamon and a swirl of honey. It was about 2:00 p.m. and I took my favorite little quilt and sat on the sofa to read through the mail – mostly junk for the recycling bin. When I opened my eyes it was 4:30 p.m. I could not believe I had napped that long. I must have been totally content. Usually when I check my eyelids for cracks it might be for 15 – 20 minutes. The sleep had been so deep, I felt totally zapped trying to figure out what day it was and if I was indeed home alone or if Dennis was here. I had to get outside and walk the driveway several times to wake up. This may be a first of many deep naps, or just a fluke.
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Noreen
So little snow remains in the sheltered areas of the gardens. The ground is very soft, and according to the garage kitten’s paws when they return to the porch, very muddy. Most likely, if I were more up to par, I would have muddy shoes to add to the mix, as it would be hard not to walk to the backyards to check out the remains of winter.
As I enjoyed my rocker in the porch, I left the east patio door cracked a bit and for three hours Butter Ball and Snuggles were in their glory coming in and out at will. Several times, Snuggles executed perfect tumble moves as he batted about dry leaves that the breeze was taking across the patio. I had taken an extra blanket out to the rocking chair and I did doze off several times. The birds singing, sunshine abound and the antics of the kittens were the perfect tranquil setting for good rest needed for recovery.
As I trolled on the Internet for information on shingles, I do know that it will be some time before I know if there are lasting effects to deal with. Several articles mentioned continued fatigue, pin pricks felt in the areas where the shingle blisters were or actual ghost pains. Why would I worry about things yet to be and miss out on these first great days of the spring to come.
It’s about suppertime and I think that calls for a bowl of soap and some fruit. Yup, Stauffer Avenue is still pretty great.
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Noreen
I think I can finally believe that spring is coming. 50 degrees beckoned me out to the garage porch and my rocker. I have big shoes to fill for the next week or so as Dennis and a life long friend, Lyle, left this morning for Nevada to each see their sons. The cats are going to, for sure, miss Dennis. His one-on-one conversations with each of them would have been quite the tapes to have listened to, if recorded. I assured him I would take care of myself until the little red pickup comes up the driveway and he is safe and sound.
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Noreen
Lots of short naps today. The wind chimes in the Evergreen on the northwest corner of the house had a lulling effect. The wind gusts played the evergreen boughs much like a fine tuned musical instrument. This case of shingles is for sure going to be beaten down.
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Noreen
I am so thankful that we have our garage porch. My favorite wooden rocker is in the porch and it was a blessing to have another spot to try and rock away some of the discomfort of the shingles. What helps is that Snuggles likes to curl up on my lap, purring incisively to make everything better. Who knew there could be so many parts of the body affected by shingles. It is 8:45 p.m. and I am trying to prolong going to bed. It has been many nights of being wide awake every several hours. I have been napping at a moments notice, and today I tried to suck it up and stay awake for longer periods of time. Dennis had a great idea of having soup for supper and that sat fairly good on the stomach, but did not alleviate the nausea or headache. All in do time. Patience, patience.
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Noreen
Headaches come far and few in between with me. Carrie has commented in the past as to how seldom I get sick to my stomach or have the flu. I hit the jackpot. I have a humdinger of a headache with a stomach that feels like it should be fed, but I had better not, right now . . . plus I have the shingles virus. A trip to Urgent Care took away any doubt of it last night. So which side of my torso is effected? They begin in the armpit of my right arm and travel all the way down to my thumb.
I do have a prescription to help contain more of the blisters from blooming. Some of the side effects range from feeling lethargic, feeling restless and sleep may be hard to come by. It is a blessing that our home is only 720 square feet. My choices of ricocheting off the walls is slim to none. In three weeks the blisters should subside and more will be known if there are lasting effects from the virus. On the up side, spring temps are on their way and that brings good feelings regardless of the bumps in the road.