I'm back at work these days. The time off for the surgery and recovery period was really a treat. I have not had a time off from work in a LONG time. Even when I take "paid time off," as we lovingly refer to what we used to call "vacation time," I am keeping up with email, attending "important" conference calls, etc.
BUT, when the doctor said, "no typing with the right hand," well, that sort of ensured I was going to seriously have to sit on the sidelines. And the rest and relaxation, such as it was, what with finishing the preparations for getting the "pond house" on the market, and the like, was much needed and well appreciated. Nevertheless, the time passed and I got the go ahead from the doctor to resume business as usual -- well, with continued physical therapy, of course.
So, now just over two weeks ago I returned to work. The good news is that I do not have to travel far to the office (just to the other side of my "bedroom" in this apartment over the garage at the old farmhouse.) The bad news is that I don't have to travel far to get to the office! Yep, work is ALWAYS there and Ms. Blackberry, buzzing her fool head off is ALWAYS reminding me I am late for another meeting or am behind on another deadline for a deliverable. I RARELY get a "buzz" from Ms. B to let me know I am FREE to enjoy the sunset, or take a walk down the driveway lined with sunflowers, or even to simply take a lunch break!
Busy Bee
All in Good Time
Reaching, Stretching Tall
Adding a Little Color
I remember, back in the day, when a person went on vacation, the person's workload was shared by coworkers or by temporary workers. Not so anymore. In my world, today, the pile on the virtual desk simply continued to grow, awaiting my eventual return. (I have a sneaking suspicion this is completely intentional and aimed at "encouraging" us to feel well enough to work sooner than later.) So, suffice to say, I have been up to my ears in work since I found my way back to the office. Yesterday, for instance, I began my work day at a very reasonable 7:30 AM .... and ended it at a NOT SO REASONABLE 3:15AM....almost, but not quite, 20 hours later! (Yeah, but I completed an important deliverable, so at least that's good!)
Job Well Done
Worn Out at Day's End
This morning I was up and at it again at 6:45AM. (The GOOD news is that I require little sleep). I was working happily along when I was interrupted by an automated "push" of software updates....you know, the kind corporations perform to keep our machines in good working order? Well, predictably, that meant that not only did my work rhythm get interrupted, but....my computer decided it didn't want to let me back in after the updates and required reboots. So...a call to the help desk, a few minutes on hold, and helpful tech later, I am back in working order.......................................until the NEXT helpful push, I suspect!
Well, this looks like another long one...I do have a hard stop for physical therapy this afternoon, so that's a good thing. But I'm sure I will be right back at it after PT... Who KNEW PT would end up being something I looked forward to???
So, just in case I don't get around to read and comment on my favorite blogs for a day or two...you should know, I am somewhere, not far from "home," buried in a TON of "catch-up!"
This morning I went to open the gate in anticipation of a UPS delivery I was expecting. While I was down by the road, I checked the mailbox and there it was... a small cardboard package addressed to me. I checked the return address and smiled to myself as I thought back to those years in college at FSU in Tallahassee, Florida. The package was from one of my best friends during those years...a friend I call "Teach."
I remember meeting Teach. He was one of those "grad student" teachers and was teaching my Government class. I recall his writing his name on the blackboard -- his whole name, first and last. I dunno, I wasn't used to calling my teachers by their first name and he didn't really seem old enough to call him "Mr." so I compromised...I called him nothing. If I was called on in class, I simply answered. If I had a question, I simply asked...no need to address him by name at all. That worked well until the first time I saw him out of the classroom.
It seems grad students didn't command huge salaries teaching undergrad classes, so he also worked on campus in one of the "traffic control booths." When I saw him there and I wanted to say hello, I had to call him something... and so I did... "Hi, Teach!" Teach and I became good friends and I never called him anything but Teach. He didn't complain.
So today, as I headed back inside to continue my workday, I opened the package and found a dozen or so photos. These were old, reddened with age photos Teach had found, photos taken during my years in Florida, as a student at FSU and then a few years later when I lived there with my husband and two children. Of course, as with all old photos, it isn't so much the quality of the photo as the memories of the times that are evoked.
Now I recall my apartment in back then as being a real dive. It was $145 per month and I shared that cost with a roommate because that was an awful lot of money in those days. In this photo, I also notice that I spent a LOT on decor...please note the window ledge lined with beer bottles????
Of course, this photo was intended to capture my best friend visiting from back home in Bowie, Maryland and my boyfriend visiting from Princeton, but it's really hard not to notice the:
mirror wall
beer bottle decor
black plastic couch!
(we won't discuss the rather 'odd' pose.)
In this photo, I am reminded of how "young" "old" looks to me now. Not that I ever thought Teach looked old, but he was almost 18 years my senior, making him about 37 in this photo....to me, at 19, 37 was OLD! Today, at 52, this 37 year old looks like a YOUNGSTER!
And I was reminded of one of my favorite places to spend peaceful nature time. St. Marks was always enjoyable, with lots of birds, a beach of sorts, and a lighthouse....and ALLIGATORS. None of the wildlife made it into these pictures taken that day, but I have plenty of others that DO have the gators. One day I'll unpack those boxes.
The photos of the Bryan Hall in 1978 reminded me of my first time trying to find my way around what seemed to me to be a huge campus. I thought I would never be able to get from one class to another on time, and spent a great deal of time trying to make sure my classes were within reasonable walking distance from each other....MAN I walked soooooo many miles in those days! And check out the cars....
But, I suppose what is most remarkable to me is that only five years after these photos were taken, having graduated, moved back to Maryland, worked a couple of years in DC, I was, once again living in Tallahassee, married and with two children.... and sewing matching shirts for father and son, LOL.
The children are grown and married. I have survived two marriages. I moved away from Tallahassee almost 22 years ago and have only been back twice in all of those years. I think a Florida trip, a trip to see friends rediscovered after many years, with a stop in Tallahassee would be nice.... I'll have to see how I can work that in.
A simple walk down a 400 foot driveway to open the gate opened the floodgate of memories of more than 30 years ago. What a delightful walk! Thank you, Teach! Much appreciated!
I was scanning through the past few days of photos, which, if you are familiar with the shutter happy crowd that call this old farmhouse "home," you will know this is no small task. The funny thing about taking a lot of photos is that you find a lot of REALLY odd ones at the end of the day. I give you this one, for instance.
Now, while to the uninformed eye, it might APPEAR I am attempting to cut off the cat's tail with my pruners, I assure you, I am NOT. Now, what I WAS really doing is questionable.....I THINK I was "pointing" to some odd hair on Benson's back near his tail, asking Joe if he had a clue what happened.... Nevertheless, this shot definitely shows the wonderful healing of my arm, post-surgery swelling almost completely gone and excellent extension...don't you think?
Of course, there are so many lovely things to capture for the memory albums, it is hard to resist any shot. The past two days have been hot and they have ended with thunderstorms. We have picked up huge broken branches and captured rain water to help during the drier times....and we continue to enjoy the double rows of sunflowers Joe planted this spring. Watching them grow and finally being rewarded with a wonderful variety of flowers has been a huge, and much appreciated morale boost for me. So many changes in such a short period of time, so many things yet unresolved, so much, so much....and the sunflowers keep growing and blossoming and the gold finches and bees keep visiting and basking in their glory, completely and happily oblivious to any human angst in the world.
They are all pretty, but this last one really reminds me of a Tie-dyed t-shirt....the ones we used to make and wear in the 70's. It just has a sweet, nostalgic look to it.
And with the storms comes the need to supplement the goats, who usually forage their own food in the process of clearing some of our woods. I prune branches and drag them to their yard where they wear them, or eat them, or just play in their food....typical kids!
Even when all is said and done and the thunder is warning of the impending downpour, the sky offers another opportunity for memories....the sun and the clouds are in competition...and the farmhouse braces for the show.
Heading out to work/play/live and enjoy what nature offers! I'm sure there will be a photo or two that make their way here later!
As I was driving to Physical Therapy today, I was thinking about little things...little things that have made a big impact on me and the way I approach life. The big things are obvious, but those little things are not always so apparent.
When I was in college I was talking with my friend Bets. I have no idea WHY we were talking about what we were talking about, but the topic eventually got around to her mother. She confided in me that the smell of her mother's hands was always comforting to her...they always smelled like onions...her mother was always cooking good food for the family and her hands carried that sweet aroma of her love for them. (I'm almost 100% certain Bets did NOT say it like that, but that is how I understood it.)
Now, MY mother always cooked for her family too, until we were old enough to evict her from the kitchen...I was 13. My own memories of my mother's cooking are not pleasant...she is NOT a good cook. Why? Well, because she does not love cooking. She did not express her love for us through delicious food. Her expressions of love came in the form of dresses, carefully stitched and embroidered for her girls, and sweaters and scarves knitted for all of the family. Yes, she cooked, but is was not HER expression.
So, when Bets told me about her mother's onion scented hands, I guess it just stuck in my brain. Years later, when I started my own family, I cooked for them and loved doing it. I always wondered, as I tucked my kids into bed, and when I hugged them as the left the house....wondered if they thought about it like Bets did.... But I seriously doubt THEY have told their friends that my hands always had that comforting smell of onions!
Another of my friends, Dottie, told me of the time her older brother told her to put her fingers in the socket where the light bulb went...he then turned on the light and burned her fingers in the process.... I never forgot that story and was diligent about making sure I knew where my kids were and what they were doing...I was NOT planning to let my son's curiosity result in his sister's fingers being permanently scarred.
Of course, I had my own memories from childhood...those things that I felt were SO important to my personal development, such as my mother's reading to us at night, sitting on the stool in the hallway with all of the doors to the bedrooms where her six children lay in bed....reading us books, a chapter a night, followed by a reading from the Bible....and my father's singing with all of the kids, all of us sitting in the "boys" room in the dark so we didn't giggle and goof around, but would really sing with him. The singing was something that was a natural for me while the reading aloud to my own children was not so much. Still they are both avid readers and singers...both love to cook and NOBODY ended up with scarred fingers from impersonating a light bulb....
See what I mean? It's the "little things" that were important!
Judy with onion from the garden.............
Joe with Mammoth Sunflower
Judy with same sunflower
Judy's Home-Styled "physical therapy"
So.... my kids are grown and I am still cooking and still singing....reading...not so much. And I wonder what THESE kids would have to say, if they could talk!
This past weekend I did, among other things, water the plants on the front porch of the pond house. As I reached up high to water the highest hanging plant, I was greeted by the sound of hurried and flapping wings. Within a few seconds, at least one adult bird and several baby birds spilled out of the hanging plant, the plant in which I must presume, they had made their nest.
Well, I couldn't do much to help the situation, so I finished watering the plant and then took photos of some of the little birds...and hoped that because I did not touch them, once I left their territory, mama would call them back to the nest and all would be fine...until the next time I water.
This morning at the farmhouse we discovered the second melon to develop blossom end rot. We took the melon from the plant and cut it open to inspect the interior. Benson, the King of Nosy, had to perform his own inspection.
We "treated" the goats to the two halves of the failed melon. They seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the melon was neither ripe, nor desirable...to them it was a TREAT!
Since I really DO have a day job, and really DID go back to work last Tuesday, I spent the majority of the day at my desk, conference calls and the like filling the hours until my legs screamed to go for a walk! Once I finished work, as the late afternoon was threatening rain once again, I headed into town to pick up supplies, check on the pond house, etc. When I went by the house, I checked and the birds all seemed to be back in their nest, because I heard a whole lot of chirpping when I went near that plant! I do have to wonder about the mother bird who, knowing that plant typically gets doused with water every few days, would choose to build her nest there! But what do I know?
When I returned to the farmhouse, it was dusk, and as I drove under the carport, I saw three big, beautiful does right at my garden...eying my melons and sunflowers and tomatoes. Well, I had known this was coming... I live in the middle of the woods, abundant food for deer all around, but my garden was destined to be their preference... When I got out of the car, they sauntered off into the woods, but I have my doubts that my garden will survive the night. And what EXACTLY was my "guard dog" Killian doing while three marauders were prancing in the lawn???? Naturally, she was inside the garage, taking a siesta! If the melons do not make it through the night, at least I have photos of their promise, taken this morning. And at least the goats had a chance to enjoy that ruined melon.
Work on the farmhouse proper has yet to begin. We have been spending all of our time getting the property so we can drive around without sinking to our axles in mud, and planting a few "test" crops to see what shows promise. Nevertheless, someone has been VERY busy remodeling the old farmhouse. This spider is all about decorating the front porch as only she can do...or is this a HE?
At the end of the day, as I sit here and reflect, I am struck mostly by the beauty of nature...of things growing and changing and being completely, predictably, unpredictable. I do very much enjoy this old farmhouse and property....it's been six months since I closed on the place. That day the entire place was under snow and we had no idea what spring and summer would bring us....
One of our "simple pleasures" most evenings is to review the photos we have taken during the day. We rarely find ourselves without at least one camera, and the result is usually more than 200 photos to enjoy after supper. Yesterday began with a typical "morning walk." We checked on our sunflowers, the ones we planted WAY late, but which have not disappointed. Despite the woodchucks, squirrels, gophers, moles and others, they continue to grow and to provide us with new "photo ops" each day.
And Joe and I wonder what our neighbors must think if, per chance, they are sitting at their kitchen table, enjoying their breakfast and observing our morning silliness.
But, reality is, I'm pretty certain nobody CAN see us from their kitchen table, or from anywhere else, for that matter. Part of the charm of this place is, after all, its privacy.
While the sunflowers line the driveway to the old farmhouse, the watermelons have taken over the fence, actually escaping beyond their wire protection against deer and the likes. I am continually amazed at how these things seem to double in size overnight! Yesterday I had to fashion a "sling" for one of the melons, as its chosen development location had it resting directly on fence wire that would, with growth, cut the melon in two. So now that melon rests comfortably in a pantyhose hammock!
Mowing the lawn is another continuous activity here and one that the whole "family" can enjoy. We get the kids started early every morning. They are so compliant, literally thrilled to "Work for Food."
The days are spent working on the long list of projects we have created for ourselves. One of our current primary interests is the ridding of moles/voles/gophers or whatever they are from the gardens...yesterday it was our pure delight to meet another with a similar goal.... I hope he brings his whole family hunting!
Last night, after spending the day in the yard, we headed to the local Lowes to pick up some fruit trees...the first of what we hope will one day be an orchard here. We, as is typical for us, ended up picking up MUCH more than fruit trees, and, I am afraid, have picked up more "projects" to complete....the list wasn't even growing short and we are adding to it! Perhaps today we will get the fruit trees planted and the moles deterred (to some other yard) but I doubt we will get the carpet laid in the eBay trailer.... We loaded the beater van with our "goodies" and made our way home to eat -- and to enjoy our nightly slide show.
And so, it is with anticipation, that we head out this morning (OK, OK, I KNOW it is well into afternoon, but it has been raining here this morning) to see what excitement awaits us.
