Thursday, February 29, 2024

Ode to February

 Wherein we had one pretty, albeit brief snow; the hot air balloonist flew over the clinic again; I made an old favorite recipe from Dojo Restaurant NYC; I landed a second job at the hospital that I can work around my f/t job; and I was scheduled for surgery next month due to a gene mutation and a "neoplasm of uncertain behavior" on my right ovary.


She can do scary, brave things!







with Dojo's carrot dressing...








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posted by Wendy at 12:18 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Ode to January

 Wherein we saw a beautiful rainbow; and amazing sunrises and sunsets; had a bit of snow; fed the bluebirds; enjoyed a perfect new soup recipe ( Vegetarian Zuppa Toscana), watched the first full moon of the season, and hunkered with LED candles on timer, flannel bed linens, and a heated mattress pad. 

















(Note to self)






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posted by Wendy at 11:56 AM 0 comments

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Farewell 2023! Welcome 2024!

2023 in review...

1. We have remained healthy and covid-free! 

2. The cub graduated HS, and entered the School of Hard Knocks.  

 ( It was painful for him to learn about manipulators / pathological liars / and utter cruelty.  And as his mother, it was heartbreaking to witness.  Teens want so badly to be adults, but their brains don't fully mature until their mid twenties, so why are they declared adult at 18 and not 25?!  As adults we can sniff out shitty people no matter how much how they mask it.  We can caution our teens, we can point out obvious lies, educate about abuse...but sometimes they just don't want to believe it until they get hurt. )

*If I could impart an wisdom on teens it is this: Your elders do not speak up without reason, they speak up because they noticed something wrong and therefore they already know what's around the bend because they've been down that road once.  They would not endure the eye rolls or attitude if they didn't think it was worth it and needed. 

Metaphorically -  If you were on a road trip and your parent called you and said, "don't take that route because there is bad weather conditions ahead, take an alternate route" would you get annoyed and keep going, ignore the warning signs on the road, and continue until you end in a wreck?  Probably not. 

Literally - per Dr. Brenner,  "if a significant family member notices something "off" about a person that seems obvious to them, you may need to listen to them because they may see things more clearly from an outsider's perspective". 

3. The cub got his driver's license, began trade school, started working, and had his wisdom teeth removed.

4.  I am in training once again, to prep for a new role at the practice.  

5.  We took a hike in the mountains, a schlepp to B'more, and HS plays in our old hood

6.  We paddled the neighborhood flotilla for Halloween and had s'mores at the bonfire.

7.  We wandered a craft fair and garden fest.

8.  We masked up and went to see the Agatha Christie film.

9.  We watched sunsets and meteor showers and hot air balloons

10.  We tried new recipes

11. We had a drought and weird skies from wildfires, and were both sent home from work due to a tornado warning.

12. The cub bought and wrecked his first car in 4 days.  He's fine thankfully.

13.  There were rainbows, and hummingbirds

14. Gardening and a hammock

15. There were moments of sorrow, but also joy.

Dear 2024,
More ease, please.
W

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posted by Wendy at 5:13 AM 0 comments

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Ode to December

Wherein we made hot cocoa and decorated the tree to the tune of Vince Guaraldi Trio.  The cats found their Advent and celebrated early.  Cinder declared the tree an advent of cat toys and destroyed 3 ornaments.  Completed two more trainings this month.  Decided to stop sending xmas cards due to the time, energy and expense.  A possible answer to the mystery symps that have pestered me since May 2022.  Shenanigans and lunch with a friend.  We made a cheese board for xmas, chocolate croissants for breakfast and our traditional risotto for dinner.  Cozy, simple, heartfelt.

This WAS my fox

This WAS his hammerhead shark
Sunrise commute
Cinder knocked a chair over in the wee hours...
and Charlee had this to say about it.






Last full moon of the year.
LPCVS   

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posted by Wendy at 5:06 AM 0 comments