Ode to April

I wanted to speak at length about
The happiness of my body and the
Delight of my mind for it was
April, a night, a full moon and-

But something in myself for maybe
From somewhere other said: not too
Many words, please, in the muddy shallows the

Frogs are singing. - Mary Oliver

Wherein the rising sun turned the mountains pink and we had an unseasonably warm day so I went straight to the lake after work with pizza and my son threw his line in whilst we supped.  I went for a hike off trail to see the Blubells and an old stone wall in the middle of the forest as guided by Professor T.  The tulips came and went in a blur, but lilac chimed in as did yarrow, trumpet vine and peony.  The dawn chorus began with Robin taking the lead.  It was a fee free day at SNP so I took a hike to the summit of Stony Man with MGA alum. I tried a new recipe for Gochujang potato stew and it was a keeper. Charlee showed off a new ninja skill.  There were glorious sunsets and moonsets. 

 

 

Ode to March

 Wherein we drove through a low cloud; and the "neoplasm of uncertain behavior' was removed along with my ovaries and fallopian tubes on Friday (it took longer than expected because they found my hernia mesh in an unexpected place and had to cut that out too); Charlee and Cinder stayed by my side as I convalesced the weekend and watched "Poor Things" which was a work of art; the mancub helped out; and my neighbors made me lasagna, and paid for two house cleanings whilst I'm on the mend for the next 6-12 wks; my team gave me a very generous card for uber eats so I wouldn't have to think about cooking right away; and I negotiated with employee health and my surgeon to return to work allow me to return to light duty on Wednesday - you read that right: surgery Friday RTW Wednesday- (because I do not want 2 weeks of PTO nor pay);  I am not allowed to pull, push, lift, run or stand for prolonged periods for at least 6 wks; there were gorgeous sunsets; and the mancub saved up enough money to buy another car  (it's even nicer than his first!); thus I no longer have to pay to cover him on my auto insurance which was a major financial strain; shortly thereafter his radiator went and he navigated that on his own by taking it a reputable fam owned biz that I told him about and they gave him a loaner during the fix and a 3 year warranty, but it drained his acct.  He didn't call AAA for his tow, so I advised him to call them and they ended up reimbursing him which gave him some gas money for his otherwise drained bank acct; there was also an enchanting fox candle, a magical necklace, hidden chocolate, thrift store finds for work wardrobe, blood oranges and pasteis de nata; some unseasonably warm days, and blooming everywhere.  On Easter, my shift got cancelled so we drove to Petite Lou Lou for crepe and some cadburry egg croissants to take home, then sweet potato gnocci with savory veggie sausage and spinach in a sage butter sauce.

Easter Crepe

6+ hours later...

Sunset

To my right: Charlee Chihiro Teatime-Toes Patchouli Chaplin

On my legs: Cinder Chanel Susuwatari Pyewacket Panther

Secret chocolate stash

Only in rural VA LOL

Sunset

Too delicious!

More ease please.

Familiar

Sunrise: Morning Commute

Sunrise: Morning Commute

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*More healing to the mighty girl who is on her own journey for whom I held sunset vigils.

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...