Progress of Sorts

A few new changes in my room are creating even more space — I think! I’ve been busy, at least the time I have been awake. I think I’m catching up on several months of lost sleep.

My TV was mounted on the wall today, opening up a little bit of space on the sewing table.

The top photo is the half cleared sewing table with the pictures to be hung still waiting. They have promised Monday for sure. Waiting impatiently now for Monday.

The bottom photo has the walking stick my brother carved for me as a Christmas gift. Check it out! He said his original idea didn’t work out so he had to start over. I think for a mistake it sure looks great. He hollowed out the top of the stick and poured epoxy in to fill the space. The most impressive thing is that he poured in the right color. Unless of course he thought it was red or green. JRG is colorblind. He can only see the color gold. No reds or greens or blues. I can’t imagine not being able to tell one color from another, but who’s to say I see them the same way others do? I’ve never looked through another person’s eyes.

Things just get better and better here. Just one exception — rain, rain and even more rain. I have to keep reminding myself it IS March, after all. Oh geez, it really is March! What happened to January? We had Christmas at the right time, complete with snow and below zero temps, then the silly groundhog saw his shadow here where the sun finally made an appearance, and now the calendar says it’s March. We were also under a tornado watch yesterday. Is March the one that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb? If so I hope it goes by as quickly as February did, I’m not fond of tornadoes.

Most of the damage done by the Christmas morning water pipe burst has been repaired, but they are still not completely finished.. I’m not completely finished with putting things away though, so that’s okay by me. We had a movie and popcorn afternoon with one of the old movies that always makes me cry like a baby! Fortunately I had finished the popcorn before the waterworks began so it didn’t get soggy during the final part of the movie. Hey! you gotta find some way to laugh in this world today, right?

I think I am now going to watch a movie on my newly hooked up TV now. For the first time I have Dish Network instead of cable and just want to see if I can turn it on. Stop laughing! I have a “smart” TV and have to admit it is smarter than I am. I looked for a dumb one but they don’t seem to have them any more, I knew how to change the channels on the dumb ones. Sigh!

Wind Not In The Willows

A few days ago we had a storm like no other recent one.  Or maybe it is just like some only I am in an apartment now where I hear the wind “roar” and “howl” as I have never heard them before.  I’ve heard the expressions before, about the wind howling around the corners, but like most people just figured it was close to poetic license, just a way of trying to express the feeling of that wind.  I won’t make that mistake again.  It really does howl and to me it sounded like it was trying to get in.

So, here’s how it began.  Our warm sunny day was suddenly changing to a cloudy day.  I could hear the rain begin, moving in from the Northwest and slamming against my window, but was totally unprepared for the next sound.  I live in the apartment that is in the northwest corner of the building and on the 16th floor, so the noise is much louder here when the weather changes.  I might add that the climate is also just plain frigid!  It could be age, but for some reason it all seems much colder now than it did a few years ago.  I glanced out my window and watched the puffy white clouds beginning to become angry grey clouds.  The raindrops were large, almost dime sized as they pounded on my window, and then I heard the whimper of the wind becoming more aggressive, like a lover who was denied entrance to the bower of his lady love.  First it sounded unbelievable that he was not invited in and he roared in protest.  When that didn’t open the door he began to howl his anger at the elements that kept him on the outside, hurling himself against the windows again and again in futile protest against the safety glass that kept him mainly on the outside.  I was beginning to consider him a very rude guest at the party when the roars and howls combined and he hurled himself at my windows in gusts that exceeded 55 mph, sounding for all it was worth like a pack of angry wild dogs, perhaps even wolves held at bay.  I can only surmise this however, having never actually heard wolves howling except in movies.

This seemed to go on forever, but the storm moved out late in the afternoon, long after dark and the ensuing silence was more deafening than the wind.  In the silence I could hear myself breathe, could hear the sighing whisper of a very tired breeze as it settled in for the night, and I decided to settle in also.

On a very sad note, I have written before about my neighbor, Jerry and his little dog, Angel.  A few weeks ago, and has it really been weeks?  It seems more like hours, I could hear Angel crying in their apartment.  I couldn’t get in to check on her but the reason for her mourning was discovered the next day when Jerry was found in his apartment, dead from the cancer that had been killing him for some time.  Angel is now living with Jerry’s daughter and I have heard that she is getting adjusted to the situation.  RIP Jerry.  I miss you.  And Angel, you are really an angel, watching over our friend during that long night. I miss you running in each time I open my door but now I am beginning to open it again after remaining here behind closed doors for a few long days and nights.