I like quiet. I don’t like the television blaring or traffic humming or weird mechanical noises you often times get in a house. So, when I get to have some quiet time out at the farm, the last thing in the world I’m going to do is turn on the TV or listen to music. Consequently, I have discovered my tinnitus has cranked up a few notches since the last time I stayed out here on my own. I can really hear the ringing when everything else is still.

I pulled into the drive at the farm at 2:30, shut off the truck, and opened the door to get out. Before I could move an inch, the sounds and smells of spring washed over me and I had to lean back and take it all in. The Caroline Wren in the old cherry tree called “Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!” as I watched a fat chipmunk scamper under my kayak. Squirrels rustled in the dried leaves at the base of hickory and oak trees, scavenging for nuts to munch on. The sky was crystal clear and the air was crisp. I smiled and a let out a contented sigh.

It rained so hard, it just poured over the gutters!

The Covid Era has changed many things for Mr. FixIt and me. There have been big changes surrounding going to church and socializing and having the kids over. Those have been difficult. And, as is my tendency...I look for the silver linings and one of the best is our new bedtime routine. I’ve always excused myself to the bedroom to write while he watched his evening shows or a movie. When I’m finished writing and have my post scheduled, I chat with my son-in-law’s mom for a half hour or so to catch up. We got into that habit when she was going through chemo and radiation for breast cancer and now we feel weird if we don’t check in.

Oh, dear...what have we here???

Well, as you might have expected, I’ve been resting and healing the last ten days or so since we returned from Florida and now I’m itching to get busy. Mr. FixIt is doing so much better than he was this time last year after the strokes. We are at a point where we are more confident and not walking on eggshells wondering if another stroke is eminent.. That’s not only a glorious feeling, but it sets us back on course to get some things done around the Ponderosa.

Forsythia!

As soon as coffee was consumed, it was time to start working on the security system. Mr. FixIt headed on out with the first camera and his tools and got to work. I messed around in the house and pretty soon, here he came back to ask for my help. He still has a little dexterity issue after the strokes last spring and, even though he hates to ask for help, he trusts my ability to do so.

We are enjoying springtime in West Virginia. We are supposed to get some big storms in the next day or so...storms that would more than likely produce large amounts of heavy wet snow in Colorado elevations. Another reason why I chose to live here. My spirit just couldn’t take any more traditionally “spring” months filled with unpredictable snowstorms. You are neither here nor there in a Rocky Mountain March.

Boy, howdy...yesterday was a PERFECT spring day in West Virginia! We hung around the house till about 2:00 then Mr. FixIt asked if I wanted to go for a drive out to the farm. We hadn’t been there since the week before we went to Florida and I was itching to catch some spring flowers blooming. 

Actually, there was only one small patch of daffodils in bloom, but it won’t be long till the spring flowers are going to burst forth in their flashy displays. Everything in the house was great. I turned down the heat and checked all the lights, windows and doors. The only thing that has changed is a huge tree up the holler fell across the creek and the big boxwood out front split in half with the weight of the last spring snow. That made me sad, but it’s all part of life in the country.

I don’t want to make this a political issue. I want to make it a human issue. I don’t want the government to come take all the guns and destroy them. I don’t know how they could possibly do that, anyway. There’s way too many of them. But there is one thing that is perfectly clear to me.

We have to do something.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Right? That’s what Nanna Rosannadana always said! Yesterday I told you I wasn’t feeling well so we did a rerun of one of my favorite memories. My whole day Sunday was just discombobulated. I woke up late and forgot to take my calcium till late. I didn’t feel great. Then, as I took my shower to prepare to go see the kids, I started seeing little jiggly circular “hoops” of light when I turned my eyes from side to side. It made me kinda seasick. It didn’t hurt, and it wasn’t exactly like an ocular migraine. I was puzzled, but I trusted my instincts and opted to stay home while Mr. FixIt went without me. 

I think I like this resting thing. I have my laptop updated, my hard drive cleaned and defragged, and my bank account up to date and balanced. I watched several episodes of Dateline and Weekend Mystery and American Idol. Ok, the TV is a little much. I have watched more in the last two weeks than I have in the last two years because Mr. FixIt and I were staying in hotel rooms. I couldn’t get away from the TV very easily. It’s not a habit, though...that’s for sure.