You know, it's very hard to think of things to write about here. It was easy when the bead cottage was being built because every day I'd have a new picture to show. Just how much into the minutia of life do you go?

• I've been knitting and making beads. I made a bunch of Goddess beads for a women's group that I was involved with. It was our last official meeting, and they all said how much they liked the ones I brought in, so I made each woman a Goddess bead.
• I can count on one hand the number of times I've made dinner since we got back from our cruise (and Barney died). I even went to the grocery store on Thursday to get something to make and I couldn't think of anything I want to make. Nothing came to me. There was no inspiration. And even deciding on what kind of take-out you want to eat has become a chore. That gets boring as well. I'm thinking of giving up on eating altogether.
• The turkeys still have not come back. I'm sure that we'll see them again sometime but for now it looks like they've moved on.
• Java is doing very well since her surgery. She hasn't had any more pain episodes like the ones she was having that caused us to rush her to the emergency vet twice. Thank the universe. She gets her staples out on Tuesday.
• We bought her a ramp so we don't have to pick her up and put her down all the time in order for her to go outside. She has no problem using it to go down, but doesn't like using it to go up. She's a quirky girl.
  
• Robert has given me the go-ahead to get my nose pierced. I think I'm going to have it done sometime this week.
• I want a more economical car, as I think the price of gas is creeping upwards again and I wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of last summer's prices. On the other hand I don't want to spend the money to buy a new car, I feel I should be holding on to it. But would buying a car stimulate the economy, even in a little way? It's a conundrum.
• I feel the undercurrent of spring coming. I think it's the angle of the sun and the longer days. It feels so good and I can't wait for spring to get here. I'm so sick of snow and cold. I want to see my grass again.
• My mother, sister, brother-in-law and niece left for a 7-day cruise to someplace warm. I can't wait to hear all about it. They have a fabulous suite - 3 bedroom, grand piano, private hot tub and sun deck. I think the cruise industry has been hit hard by the economic down-turn because they gave them a terrific deal on this amazing room.

I don't want this to turn into 25 Random Things About Me so I'm ending it now. I just thought I'd put down the things I've been doing and/or thinking about that I wouldn't normally post in my blog.

Remembering my father

Two years ago today was a very sad day in our lives. We've come a long way since then. Miss you, Dad.

Closeups for Amy

Here is a closeup of the stitching for the first afghan. It's sort of a modified basket-weave like I did for Mini's blankie. Gary likes the afghan a lot.



Here's a closeup of the new one I'm making along with the one I finished. The color isn't right in this shot - it's way too light - it is more of a cranberry red than pink. You can see the differences in the finished one. The top photo is darker and closer to to the true color. I love the new pattern, I feel like I'm doing something really complicated when it's actually very easy!


Oh and as far as being in the doldrums, Anonymous commentor, you are the one in the doldrums. So there. I had to delete my comments because they were pretty nasty. I'm not sure who posted it but I have a good idea who it probably was, so I don't want to be too mean.

Java had her surgery on Tuesday and came home Wednesday evening. She is doing great. She recovered very quickly from the anesthesia and was trotting along on her way outside the next day. She hasn't had any of those terrible pain episodes so I have to consider it a success. I just hope the outcome justifies putting her through surgery. Poor baby girl.

I had my hair done today. It's pretty subtle, but that's a good thing. It's a maroonish color in the back under most of the hair, so it just peeks out. Here's a picture of the back of my head:

Java's surgery

Little Java had surgery on her neck today for a bulging disc. Her back had been getting better and all of a sudden she exhibited neck pain symptoms. We dug deep for an MRI today which revealed that she has like 5 bulging discs - one in her neck and 4 in her back. Poor girl. Since she was sedated already, we opted to have the neck disc fixed. The surgery has been done and it went exactly as expected and Java's recuperating at the vet's. She may be home on Thursday.

I finished my afghan!

I started a knitting project the weekend we went to Woodstock (MLK birthday weekend). The pattern said it was a "weekend project" in that if you started Friday night, you would have a completed afghan by Monday evening. So I've been working on my "weekend" project for 3 weeks now. That's OK. It gave me something to do while I was watching TV. And only my friend Amy could finish that project in that amount of time. She's a very speedy knitter. So after binding off, I spread the blanket out on the couch to snap a photo and who came trotting over to investigate? Java! I placed her on the afghan so she could see and she settled right down on it. She must like it. She's on strict crate rest these days because of a back problem, so I lifted her down. She's not allowed to run, climb or descend stairs or jump. She is feeling much better these days. Last week she couldn't walk! Scary, especially so soon after losing Barney. So I still have to weave in the ends and such, but the knitting is done. I'm very proud. It's the first one I've done that I'm keeping for myself. I love the feeling that finishing a project gives me.

Sadly, there have been no more turkeys at our house. We spread some corn but they haven't found it. The other birds have and really like it, so it's not all for naught.

On another good note, yesterday Robert used his smithy and blacksmithed for the first time at home. The fan in the chimney worked great and kept the fire alarm from going off. He's out there now and I'm going to go visit.

Turkey Time!

Finally something exciting has happened. Three turkeys visited us yesterday and then returned today to check out the offerings at our feeders. I'm not sure they found anything to their liking but they sure came close to the house. It gave us a fantastic view. They are such tall birds. And they stand on one foot in the snow, I think because it's so cold!

This guy came almost all the way to the house. He picked at a few seeds in the snow.



This one stayed outside the fence, but was very interested in the suet that the squirrel was eating.



This one stayed on the fence the whole time, never coming any closer.



Java saw them through the porch doors. She was not too happy that there were these strange beasts in her backyard. Her hackles went up and she bugled at them. It was kind of funny. I think the turkeys could hold their own against her. I hope they come back tomorrow. We bought some cracked corn to spread just in case.

I tried to write a post yesterday but I didn't have anything to say. I was thinking about writing an op-ed regarding the cloning of pets, but I think I'll save that for another day. This isn't a political blog, so I don't think I want to turn it into one. It started out being a place for me to write down my feelings, so that's what it is. On that subject, I'm feeling much better these days. I feel like I'm finally coming out of the deep sadness that I felt about Barney's death. Finally. Of course I still have my moments but I'm not crying every day and moping about the way I was. I'm really looking forward to the snow melting and spring coming. Baseball season starts this week when the truck with all the Red Sox equipment heads down to Florida for spring training. Aah.

This is my dad (sitting down) in a glass shop in Murano. The 2-year anniversary of his death is coming up. I miss him a lot.