17 May …

 

The “celebration” of my natal day was good.  I slept in until 0530.  I had an appointment for a follow-up to the hand infection at 1000 and met the one who may well be my head medical care provider (whom I like as a result of that first exposure).  The hand is nearly healed, and the back situation is improving … however slowly.  I go to the clinic again next 12 June for my MediCare physical which is supposed to be annual.  I expect it will show that I’m in basically good condition … for my age.

At the finish of that follow-up, the doctor told me to wait in the exam room a minute.  That puzzled me a bit, but when he opened the door the entire clinic staff was in the hall and they all sang the Happy Birthday song.

For dinner, John and Michael took us to Penny’s Diner north of Dunsmuir.It’s a 50s style diner complete with aluminum siding, lots of chrome and neon, checkerboard linoleum, and atmosphere.  The cook is named Ronnie and serves a mean reuben!  It is part of a motel complex which mainly houses the railroad crews between shifts.  Rooms are not always available since railroad crews get dibs, but the diner is open to all.

We stopped in Mt Shasta for a short grocery shop and when we got home I found three more renditions of the birthday song on the phone.

I then took a short nap followed by some PBS shows.

It was a good day.

Today is the oldest I have ever been and nearly ninety looks good on me.

~~~

I am told AC missed me while I was relegated to the couch.  John said he saw a dead mouse outside the front door AC had left for me.

Now that I am once again on evening egg collection duty, AC sticks close to my feet, talking loudly.

He really is a handsome cat.

~~~

The lilacs are in bloom as are the dogwoods … finally.    

 

 

 

There are blossoms on the Granny Smith apple tree and fruit set on the Satsuma plum tree.

On the trip down to Dunsmuir monday, the patchwork of the vivid spring green on the tips of the firs against the darker greens of the pines and other evergreens was a real joy.  This time of year I may look a bit silly smiling so much of the time.

Oh well …

~~~

This summer, the garden won’t be as large as it has been in times past. 

Reasons ??? 

I’m older and have had to acknowledge I am less able and slower.  I’m recovering from a back problem.  The weather hasn’t been cooperating.  John is learning about our growing conditions (and if it weren’t for him there might not be a garden at all … much gratitude here).

But there will be tomatoes and corn and squash and pumpkins (Paul and his dad love Hallowe’en).  For the rest we’ll depend on the farmers’ markets in Dunsmuir and Mt Shasta.

~~~

Due to circumstances beyond my control …I failed earlier to show you this month’s reading woman.  She was painted in 1882 by Walter Launt Palmer who titled the picture “Afternoon Idle”.  Isn’t she lovely?

And on the subject of reading women, the book Mark referred to a couple of weeks ago when he covered for me because I couldn’t sit long enough to do the blog is titled “Women who Read are Dangerous”.  I’ll tell you more about it next week.

~~~

This morning there is a slight breeze and it promises a beautiful day.  I wish the same (a beautiful day) for all of you.

 

So …

No matter how dark the world around us seems to grow, no matter how dim humankind’s future may seem — never — never give up.

 … ’til next week …