Happy Spring

And you don’t know how bad I wish it would arrive.  It’s been quite chilly here (about 20 degrees below normal) after we had a couple of teaser days that it was actually warm enough to put on shorts.  Yay!  But I know it can’t be far away now.  That thought keeps me going.  I’m very tired of being cold.  I need to bake in some 80 degree weather for a while.

I apologize for being absent so long.  I couldn’t believe it’s been two weeks since I turned my computer on last.  Where does the time go?  It gets away from me all the time. 

This is me three months after my surgery

I’m still recovering from my eye surgery, but things are going very well.  I’ve been working hard to get this huge bill paid off.  It’s definitely worth it though when people tell me how good I look and that I’m so much better than before.  I have to admit I was awfully tired of my drippy eyes.

So you may wonder what I’ve been doing.  Well besides working, I’ve been getting everything ready to file taxes.  I hate this time of year.  Plus, hubby had eye surgery on the fourteenth so he’s needed some help with that.  It’s quite an ordeal to go through all this.  Medical procedures are necessary, but not always fun.  His eye lids were interfering with his vision so that should be remedied now.  It’s just a long healing process.  I have to say he’s doing much better than I did at this stage, so that’s a very good thing.  I’d rather him have it easier than me.  I have a lot more patience for things. 

Other than that my life is one big blur.  All the days blend together.  I never know exactly what day it is.  That’s bad I know, but our weeks at work run from the middle of the week to the next so when the weekend is in the middle of the week it really screws everything up in my head.

Raven and Koki in the bathroom

Koki walking on top of the shower

My cats are getting along better, so that makes for a happier experience around here.  However, they’ll never be best buddies.  Raven always wants to play, or wreak havoc, and Koki has her moments when she’ll put up with him.  But Koki will be thirteen in May so that’s quite a difference from being four like Raven is.  But she still has a lot of spunk about her.  I caught her on top of the shower bar a few days ago.  She loves to scare me by doing her daredevil things.

This is the squirrel who lives just beyond our wall.  He may lose his home if they build back there.

We’ve had visits from the wildlife that live in the desert behind us.  I’m not sure how much longer that will continue.  Right now that property has been sold to a developer that wants to build homes back there, so all the neighbors are up in arms.  We’re trying to stop this before it starts.  There is a law on the books that may help us.  We’ll see.  More on this later.

Happy spring equinox everyone.

The torment of an artist’s soul

I read an article in our small paper Monday morning.  It was about the importance of journaling.  I used to be much better at doing that, putting thoughts, drawings, and scribbles down on paper.  It got me to thinking about the artist that lives within me.  I’ve always considered myself an artist and have been so all my life.  I’ve dabbled in about everything art related through the years.  My problem is never having enough time to pursue everything I want to do in any given day.  I don’t think I’ll live long enough to accomplish all that’s in my head

I wondered how I’ll ever manage the Nano (National Novel Writing Month) this year when I can’t even keep up with my blogging.  I’m working too much, trying to do some rewrites on my mystery book, keep up with the house chores and my blogs.  It’s tough to do.  I came to the realization that Nano may be out of the question for me this year.  It pains me to say that unless I use it for notes, or my daily journaling, if I can get into that habit again.  I’ve always wanted to write a book about my experiences as a food demonstration person, but of course I don’t want to post much about that because I’m still working doing that job.  I don’t think my remarks would go over very well if anyone from work read it. 

These birds are having the greatest time.

So I spent some time enjoying the birds today.  They flocked to the birdbath and crowded in there shoulder-to-shoulder.  I love watching them frolicking in the water.  They always tend to do this when the weather is cooler.  Today it’s only 65 here with a cool breeze blowing.  It’s chilly if I’m not standing in the sun.  I do dread the thought of winter coming, but it’ll be here before long now.  Last night we had some very strong wind that sent patio chairs and plant pots sailing around.  I do hate it when it gets like that, but the wind blows hard here in the desert and quite frequently.

More next time.  I must weed out some email now with the thirty minutes I have left before hubby gets home.

Living in a whirlwind

That’s what my life has been like lately.  I have no time for anything, which is sad to say, or even think about.  I haven’t been on this computer for about two weeks now.  I haven’t had time to write anything to post, although there’s plenty going on that I could write about.  My problem is that I’m working way too much.  I hate to think that the holidays haven’t even started yet!  Yikes!  There are times when I feel I’m too old for this much work.  There’s no energy left over for other things.

Plus, we have a lot of home projects in the fire at the moment.  There are several of those to tell you about, as well as my trips to the mechanic with my car again.  I spent four hours there on my only day off last week.  I know I’ll have to wrap my head around getting another vehicle soon.  That will be a sad day indeed.

Hubby has cataract surgery tomorrow.  I’m off work to drive him about and be there for support.  I sure hope all this goes well.  But, as some of you know, men aren’t always the greatest patients in the world.  One can only hope for a mellow day. 

Bear with me.  I’ll be posting again soon.

Working, classes, and other things

Clip art

Sometimes daily life is hard to juggle, but I’m sure most of you know that. 

Police academy classes are ongoing and will be for the next two months, twice a week.  It’s very interesting.  The last two classes were on use of force and all the weapons that are used in crime enforcement.  We watched demonstrations and listened to protocol lectures.  Along with this we had a three-hour class on dispatch.  This was the only civilian that’s spoken to us so far.  They have a battery of tests they must pass also but it isn’t quite the same as for a police officer.  You aren’t expected to leap over six-foot walls and things of that nature.  This dispatch supervisor had moved here from Los Angeles twelve years ago.  He was very passionate about his job.  I actually think he would have talked to us all night, if we let him.  He let us listen to calls that came into the center and took us up to the control room where he explained all the equipment.  This place had more monitors than NASA. 

I always thought being a dispatcher would be an interesting job.  I still think that way, but it would take a lot more fortitude than I have to have to hand out food samples.  You don’t even get a lunch break on this job, but eat between calls when you have a chance.  This center works 24/7 all the time.  There are no holidays off. This would be very intense.  What about bathroom breaks?  I think I can cross this off my bucket list.

I would also like to tell people PLEASE don’t call 911 unless you have a real emergency.  Some of the typical calls they played for us were totally ridiculous and not at all emergencies.  You’d be surprised what people call 911 for. 

I’m enjoying this police academy class immensely.  I turned in my paperwork for a ride-along last Thursday so we’ll see how that goes once they do more background checking to make sure we’re qualified to sit next to an officer, I guess.  We had to sign the form where it stated in big black letters at the bottom that we would control ourselves in any situation and stay in the car while the officers made their stops.  Of course it asked what shift we wanted to ride on etc.  I told them to give me the most action packed thing they had and that I wasn’t easily rattled by things.  More on this later.  I’m hoping I can bring a camera along but something tells me this is probably a no-no.

In other news, we’re working all the time, which seems strange for our status as part time people.  We’re so shorthanded and very busy at work.  That alone will wear you out by the end of the shift because it’s nonstop all day long.

To add a little more to my plate, I backed into hubby’s truck last week and dented both our bumpers and broke my tail light.  This happened right in the driveway!  How stupid of me.  I was ready to kick my own ass for being in a hurry and not thinking.  I guess all the extra money I’m making right now from working so hard will come in handy, although I didn’t have in mind to use it for car repairs.

And so life goes on here in the desert without a minute to spare.  I still have a new printer sitting here I’ve never hooked up over the last two weeks because there’s no extra time.  I sure hope it works since it’s a replacement for a defective one.

And we’ve had days and days of rain.  The Parade of Homes is an annual event held in February every year and it rains every time.  You can set your calendar by it.

Until next time…

Golly gee – Another year older tomorrow

How did I make it halfway through my sixth decade of life?  Sometimes I wonder because I used to think this was so old when I was a kid.  Now of course it doesn’t seem old at all, except for all the aches and pains associated with it.  Most of the time I have to look at the calendar to realize that, yes, I’m really this old.  Thank goodness I don’t look it …yet, or so my co-workers tell me.

 This is me.  I don't post many pics of myself

I’m fortunate that I have the energy I have and keep going like a much younger person.  There’s a gal at work and we discovered we had the same birthdays a couple of months ago.  We were born in the same year on the same day but in two different places, so due to the time zones she’s about 2 hours older than me.  Of course since this came out it’s all over work, thanks to Doreen (my birth mate).  I would just as soon fly under the radar at my age.

But all this birthday talk brings up another story about a guy at work named John.  This guy is amazing.  I’m totally flabbergasted at his age and the hours he keeps.  He’s an inspiration to me for my later years.  I really think we’re cut from the same mold, but he’s about twenty years older than me.  This guy ballroom dances, goes to bed at 2 am and gets to work by 10 the next morning.  He astounds me by his story of laying wood flooring in his house until the wee hours and is still able to make it to work on time.  He always has a big smile on his face too.  When he came to work a week ago he said he’d gone to bed at 4 AM and would try his best to do the job at work that day.  Of course I want to know what his secret is because that’s so like me.  I seem to do fine on very little sleep and now I know I’m not alone in that world.  That’s a very comforting thought because John is an ordinary guy and always in a happy mood.  I like to think of myself that way too. 

This is my sister, Scherri - Happy Birthday!

Anyway to get back on track, my next birthday is tomorrow and one of my sisters is the 21^st.  We’re a year and a day apart.  She can start Medicare this year.  We’re all getting so old.  I know I never envisioned myself carrying around a Medicare card.  But I guess as long as I stay well, age is only a number.

OMG! What day is it?

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I swear I live a life of turmoil.  Probably a lot of it is my own making because I get too many irons in the fire all the time.  “When will I ever learn?” is a question I continue to ask myself, more so at this time of year than usual.

I always feel so overloaded with projects and “to do’s.”  To top that off, my laptop got hit with a hack and a virus.  That’s just what I needed.  I’m so thankful I take the time to back up all my files to an external drive.  If you don’t currently do this, you should start immediately.  Don’t turn your computer off before backing up everything for the day.  My laptop was working fine on Saturday with no sign there was any problem.  Sunday morning it wouldn’t let me log on.  This kind of situation just shows you bad shit happens in a flash.

courtesy of justhourglasses.com

It took me two days to get the tech out here to get the virus off the laptop.  He’s very busy with everyone wanting their computers fixed yesterday.  So he was here until 7 PM tonight.  Thank goodness he didn’t have to wipe the whole hard drive again.

Meanwhile, I had my desktop to fall back on, which he told me not to get on until he works on it because it could lock me out at any time.  I decided to brave it because I had two calendars to work on and finish that I have to mail.  So I plugged my external drive in and booted the computer up and got to work from the calendar files saved on the external drive.  I’m happy to say that everything was fine and I was able to accomplish some of the job.  I don’t know how I lucked out on that one.  When you’re stressed and short on time, everything that can go wrong usually does.  Are the sharks circling yet?

from classroom clipart

See this post from two years ago.  This sums it all up nicely because things haven’t really changed since then.

http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/2012/12/up-to-your-ass-in-alligators.html

Mysterious Chiming

Our chiming clock

On Sunday afternoon, the chiming wall clock we’ve had for years started working again on its own.  We heard a chime upon returning to the house.  This clock hadn’t worked in months.  A hand came off and we need to have it repaired.

We had it at a cabin we used to own where we’d go in the summertime when it was so blasted hot here where I live.  My husband found it at an estate sale years ago.

Today, after I fed the cats, I noticed Raven staring at this clock and the ticking pendulum.  After that, I noticed there was a hand on the floor (we kept the one that came off in a small compartment behind a door you open to set the pendulum).

 Raven always looks at me with the expression, "Who, me?  I didn't do anything."

There’s a half-wall there, but this cat doesn’t jump upon anything yet.  He doesn’t know he can and I’ve never caught him up there.  There’s a possibility he jumped on a chair nearby and then made a leap for the half-wall.  Perhaps he saw the brass pendulum and decided to check it out.  The door doesn’t close very tight.  Cats love anything that moves.

So the clock is working again, chiming away on the hour and half hour, except it’s fifteen minutes off and one of the hands is missing.

If Raven didn’t start the clock, we have a clock fairy that came to visit.

Ten Things that make me Happy

Free Clipart



My Cats

Warm Weather

Sunshine

Peace and Quiet

My Own space

Having enough Time and Money for everything

Writing

Reading

Playing in my Craft and Sewing room

Chocolate

All these things and not necessarily in this order

Schedules – How Rigid Should They Be?

Royalty Free Clip Art



This is a constant issue at my house, even though my husband is retired. I would like to know if anyone out there still keeps a tight schedule even after retirement. I know if you are working all day, you have to get to work on time, etc., or if you have a particular appointment that day, you have to be on time for it. Otherwise, how important is a schedule?


It seems I can never keep one, or am not that good at it. In my mind, unless there is something going on, what difference does it make to do things at a particular time? I think once retired, you can make your own schedule and things can be more flexible, but I am beginning to think I am in the minority of thinkers.

A couple of years ago I met a police officer who said he hosted a party at retirement to smash his alarm clock to smithereens. I had never heard about anyone going that far, but I loved that story and thought ‘what a great idea’.

I do freelance so I do set the alarm to get up early everyday, but you can bet the alarm clock would get lost if I were totally retired like my husband. After keeping schedules all your life, wouldn’t it be nice to have a more relaxed existence?

Why do you have to be up by such-in-such time daily? Will the schedule police come around to issue a reprimand? This clock watching gets to be all too much for me. An ideal way of life would be to sleep when you’re sleepy and eat when you’re hungry. I can still accomplish as much on any given day regardless of what schedule I keep. Am I alone here?