A "Love" Story

Hi All!

Well, it FINALLY rained a bit here last night/early this morning! Hopefully that will keep some of the pollen in check for a while. That would be SUCH a relief for my poor, itchy eyes!


BUT - that isn't the main story for today's post.

THAT story is an odd kind of love story.

Do you see these ducks? Every year two ducks - which I choose to believe are the same two ducks each year - show up between my house and the neighbors' house. It is here that these two "lovers" play out their whole courtship routine.

The routine is hard to describe but does involve a LOT of quacking and chasing around with periodic breaks during with both birds preen their feathers to look sharp for the next round of quacking and chasing.

Sometime in the middle of this entire routine, another element is introduced.

This duck.

As you can probably tell, this is another male duck bringing the duck count up to TWO males and one female.

This leads to quite an "interesting" change in the routine.

Yes, there is still a LOT of quacking and chasing but now the chasing includes both males chasing the female AND the first male chasing the second male. Also, the female gets "cornered" so to speak by BOTH males at different times all while quacking loudly to show her indignation about the entire situation.

Even thought it is a bit against the prudish inclination of the neighborhood, these ducks have a three-way relationship going on!

Shocking!

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing okay - I noticed a bit of trouble with words starting with the hard C sound yesterday. I don't know if that is only because I didn't do a lot of work on Thursday or what. I did my reading and am having a good time reading my way through the Bible - I am only in the beginning of Exodus though!

Cause and Effect

Hi All!

Let's have a little cause and effect lesson today, okay?






Cause - yellow dust covering everything and swirling, unseen, in the air!




Effect - my new "Best Friend," eye drops to rinse the stuff out of my eyes to keep them from swelling shut and causing killer headaches!




This lesson on cause and effect was the reason I wasn't blogging yesterday. I was in bed trying to get rid of the headache that the drops didn't quite prevent. Well, I was between the bed and the bathroom where I was flushing my eyes with my "new best friend!"

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Trisha

Voice Update: Still hanging in there. Yesterday wasn't as good as past days because I wasn't up and talking to myself like I normally am. I did do my hour of reading out loud and tried to pick up the speaking slack in the evening with Hubby (much to his dismay - he was trying to watch TV!). For my reading I have decided to start reading from the Bible. I have always wanted to read it all the way through and maybe this way I will actually get it done!

Another Wednesday!

Hi All!

It is Wednesday. Did you know that? Personally, I am VERY aware of the fact that it is Wednesday. The day that I "look forward to" all week. Yeah, right!

Actually, I suppose I should be feeling better about Wednesdays since class has been getting better but, old habits die hard!

Prior to class today, I do have a speech appointment. I am hoping that it goes really well since I have been working hard. Again, my whole "dance" with SD is certainly nothing when viewed through the glasses of my friend Marcia's struggle with cancer but, to me, it is my own personal struggle.

Wait a minute! Maybe that is it! For the past couple of years I have found that when I think of SD as a struggle - it IS a struggle. When I think of SD as my "dance partner" in the adventure I like to call life - it isn't such a struggle! Lately, I have been thinking of SD as a struggle when I need to remember that it is merely a dance partner who sometimes gets off beat and steps on my toes. Instead of working "against" SD, I need to work WITH it so that we are on the same page in terms of tempo. Then, SD won't mis-step and trod on my toes.

How in the world do I forget such a lesson which I learned through such hard times and hard work?

*doink!* (That was me hitting my forehead with my open palm!)

All I need to do is to remember to dance! DANCE!

Okay - now that my personal revelation and "doinking" is done, let's move on.

Today I have been given the very important task of dropping our taxes off at the post office. Who gave me this "honor?" Hubby, of course!

So, it would have been better for me to drop this important document off at the post office YESTERDAY when I had all the time in the world. Such things don't really occur to Hubby sometimes!

*sigh* Oh, well!

After my visit to the post office and to speech, I will head to the college to meet members of the class to begin working on our group project. Doesn't that sound like fun? Then it will be time for class.

Sounds like a pretty smooth day, right? Sure, it has some running around involved but, it seems smooth.

Unfortunately, I need to add one more factor into the mix.

Eye allergies.

The pollen is horrific here (as it is in many areas right now) and my eyes are really having problems. They are watery and itchy and . . . wait for it . . . . cause killer headaches! Yeah!

The only way I can help the situation - besides expensive allergy drops which I would need to take daily whether I had problems on not - is to flush my eyes with drops about every half hour. I dug my eye drops out from last year - and they had expired - of course! Not having anything else last night, I used them but, I will be stopping at Wally World briefly between the post office and speech to pick up some new solution.

Needless to say, any eye makeup (or under-eye makeup) I might leave the house with today will be long gone by tonight thanks to the flushing. My eyes are rimmed in a nice, bright reddish pink color and look like I have been crying my eyes out. Hmmmmm. Maybe I will get some sympathy in class. What do you think?

No - I didn't really think I would either!

Have a super Wednesday! Oh - think of Hubby - he will be taking Miss Cleo to the vet for her annual check-up this afternoon. Also think of the fact that he isn't very adept at actually getting this cat into a carrier!

Trisha

Voice Update: I am doing well. Yesterday I decided to talk to Mom and Dad on the phone instead of reading out loud. It is all the same as long as I am talking. This was AFTER I talked my way through the grocery store. It was slightly amusing that the workers at the store didn't even blink at me talking to myself as I went through the aisles. The shoppers were a completely different story, though!

The Roller Coaster Philosophy of Life

Hi All!

My dear friend, Marcia, who was my roommate my sophomore year of college, is struggling with cancer. She had a massive tumor removed last Spring and just found out that there are new tumors on her liver and in her lungs. Today marks the start of her experience with chemotherapy. Please keep her and her family (a husband and two pre-teen sons) in your prayers.

Marcia has always been an amazing person. She is a strong Christian whose beliefs really have helped her in her fight with cancer so far. Marcia is also a very positive person. In college, when times were stressful or difficult, she always managed to cheer me up with her cheery optimism.

That hasn't changed even though she has hit a VERY hard spot in her life.

Marcia has a website on CarePages which she uses to keep her friends and family updated about how her fight is going. Even as I read about the horrible things she is going through, I am amazed by her up-beat personality. Her latest post compared life to a roller coaster ride with its ups, downs, twists, and turns.

Thinking about this, I believe that a roller coaster is a great analogy for life. The highs are amazing and often breathtaking while the lows can be frightening. However, even though the entire ride is full of the highest highs and the lowest lows, at the end you are on an "even keel" and satisfied. All of this action is completely out of our control. The only thing we can do is hold on tight and go with it. Of course, we can also control our reaction to the ups and downs. We can decide to be afraid or we can choose to be thrilled by it all.

Marcia has decided to be thrilled with it all. May God bless her.

Trisha

Voice Update: How small my struggle with SD seems in comparison to Marcia's struggle. I will not see my health decline due to this disorder. I won't die. I won't have to have toxins pumped into my body in order to try to "cure" it. I am blessed.

My voice is doing well. I loafed again yesterday - actually, I forgot to do my reading! Can you believe that? Not good, Trisha, not good!

Weekend Warrior?

Hi All!

This weekend Hubby and I headed to Home Depot to pick up a few things. He finally got his birthday present (from March!) which is an electric, rechargeable string trimmer (known in our house as a Weed Whacker!). We also picked up some stuff for the garden. We got a tomato plant, some radish and lettuce seeds, two impatien plants which are hybrids designed to handle full sun (we will see!), two Peace Lillies to replace the two we had inside and which were struggling. Let's see. . . . we also got more anti-bird netting to put over our strawberries and tomatoes when they are close to being ripe. I think that is it.






Then it was time to get busy! I spent about two hours digging in my little flower garden. The edging I had put in needed to be pulled out and reset so I increased the width of the bed by about 8-10 inches all along. I also yanked up two paver blocks and repositioned them so that the end of the bed was a more regular shape.




Here is our tomato plant. I hope we get some nice tomatoes from it. We decided to go with only one plant this year to make sure it had lots of space to grow!



The strawberries are blooming away and forming nice, green berries. Keep your fingers crossed!

I forget what this plant is called. It has dark purple leaves and such lovely purple blooms. This is the first year it has really bloomed this nicely. Last year it only had one bloom!

My Hydranga is coming along very nicely. Many others in the neighborhood are bigger - does that depend on if I cut it back in the fall? Each Fall I cut back the dead parts.

My Hostas - okay, two of my Hostas - are making their presence known. I am hoping to have a bunch more soon!

There are "Sun Patiens" which are supposed to be able to deal with full sun. I am going to plant them in planters as soon as I get some more soil. The variegated one has pink blooms but I have no idea what color the other is going to be.

This is the "big" Peace Lilly we bought. It is already potted and ready to go.

Here is the "little" Peace Lilly. It is already re-potted too. Such nice, glossy leaves!

Let's just hope that these little buggers don't decide they like to chew on the Peace Lilly leaves!

That was my weekend! How was yours?

sgh

Trisha

sgh

Voice Update: Doing well. I must admit that I didn't read out loud for very long yesterday. I just needed a break. This probably isn't good for my voice but . . . I just needed a break! I did read on Saturday and a bit (probably 20 minutes) on Sunday but . . .I know it should have been longer. One problem is that I finished the book I was reading and now am trying to get into another book. Not a good excuse - is it?

Saturday Plans

Hi All!

The "at a loss for words" thing is still hanging around but I am "powering" through!

Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day. I got to watch some of the shows I had on my DVR (It was getting to be a long list of shows!) and eat my taco salad from Taco Bell. Then I read some of my book - which has gotten more interesting since I managed to make it past the first hundred pages! AND - I know this will shock you! - I took a nap!

When Hubby came home we had a nice, relaxing time to talk and then we went to Amore's Italian restaurant for dinner (Dinner out!!!!) and to Wal Mart. Because we didn't do our nightly walk outside, we made sure to walk up and down pretty much every single aisle in the food and beauty sections of Wally World!

Today we have some plans. We are hoping to head to the Depot to pick up a cordless weed whacker for Hubby (it is his birthday present from last month which we haven't gotten yet!), some tomato plants and some netting to keep the birds from eating our strawberries. I also would like to pick up some other "odds and ends" for the garden. Maybe some mulch and who knows what else! I am excited!

Of course, that means I will need to be planting and working on the flowerbeds soon!

What will you be doing this weekend?

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing pretty well. Still a bit shaky on some of the unvoiced buggers but . . .working on it! I am still reading out loud each day for at least an hour in addition to making a very conscious decision to talk more. The poor cats are getting a LOT of talking these days! We will see what Susan thinks this Wednesday when I have therapy.

At a Loss For Words

Hi All!

I like the phrase "at a loss for words." It can cover so many different situations. For example, when I see a huge mess that Skor has created I am often at a loss for words because I am so angry. When I see some tragedy on the news, I am also often at a loss for words because of the sadness I feel. When I got a surprise I am at a loss for words because my brain takes a moment to recover from the shock.

Today, I am at a loss for words because my brain simply can't string words together into any sort of interesting blog! Who knows why! It is just the way of things this morning.

I am quite simply at a loss for words.

Trisha

Voice Update: I am still plugging away. At my doctor's visit yesterday, Doc Feely asked if my dysphonia was gone. Imagine! I had to remind him that it would never be gone and that I work very hard to have a relatively "normal" voice! My voice is doing pretty well. I think I am about back to 97% of normal or so at the moment thanks to my efforts to talk more and to step up my exercises!