Signs of Spring

Saturday, March 19th, 2011 08:54 pm
hummingwolf: Gold starlike kaleidoscope images. (Gold stars)
Two small cherry trees at the top of the street are covered in pink today.

The tree outside my window has tiny leaves that are recognizable as leaves, not mere buds.

The furnace hasn't been on since the night before last, yet the temperature indoors is still a reasonable 65 degrees.

The pollen count was expected to be in the "medium-high" range for various tree pollens.

~~~~~

In other news, I'm sleeping better thanks to that most wonderful invention, over-the-counter cough suppressant. Am still rather more congested than I'm comfortable with. Am still exceedingly tired. Managed to drag myself for a walk of a few blocks this evening anyway.

Also finished reading Adam Fawer's book Improbable, a novel about a compulsive gambler with epilepsy who takes an experimental drug with the frequently-unpleasant side effect of giving him visions of the future (or more than one future), leading to exciting chase scenes along with discussions of quantum physics and Jungian psychology. Yes, I enjoyed the book. It was always highly probable that I would.

The SuperMoon is pretty.
hummingwolf: squiggly symbol floating over rippling water (Kaleidoscope (purple & white))
Today was one of those days reminding me how I love living & having easy access to historic urban areas--somehow walking along a highway lined with old trees, leaves in all the colors of fading fall touched by the light of the late afternoon sun, touches some part of me that loves the thought of people and plants coexisting peacefully for so many years. (Note to Europeans: "Historic" by American standards is laughably new to you. Go ahead & laugh; I promise not to take offense.) (Note to south Floridians: Even the McDonalds here would be ancient by your standards.)

Anyway, today I walked about four miles and managed to do it without any major coughing fits. Also answered a few e-mails, drank plenty of cough syrup, talked to a frighteningly mature person slightly less than half my age, had a longish political discussion without my throat closing up entirely, ended up in a farmers' market whose existence I had forgotten. [Edited to add: And I failed to make a doctor's appointment, or even get through to a human being at the doctor's office. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate voice mail?] [Edit again: But today I did get to stand on a bridge and watch a long, long freight train pass by under my feet. How cool is that? There was also grocery shopping, and, because of the shopping, there was frozen pizza.] More recently, watched Smallville and Supernatural. Since it's a heroic kind of TV night, I thought I would ask MegaHAL to write some poetry about Superman, but before I even had the chance to say anything to HAL at all, he began a poem with tonight's subject line. It's official, y'all: MegaHAL is psychic!

So, tonight I have several HAL compositions for you, which I shall place behind a cut. The first one you'll see is the first thing he greeted me with tonight: It's a bird! It's a plane! )

Good stuff

Friday, November 3rd, 2006 06:15 pm
hummingwolf: Gold starlike kaleidoscope images. (Gold stars)
Recognition of my efforts: A housemate wrote a note on the memo board saying that the bathroom I cleaned yesterday "looks amazing." They noticed! Nobody noticed my efforts in the kitchen, but I probably wouldn't have either without before-and-after photos.

Date set: Social Security hearing at the end of the month. Finally.

Weather: You know those autumnal postcards featuring bright blue skies and leaves in full, glorious color? Yeah, we've had some of that. The foliage show here may not be like that of, say, New England, but things are looking pretty darn good these days. This week's had some lovely sunsets as well, including one a few days ago that left me breathless a moment. Man, I feel sorry for people behind me on the sidewalks when there's a good sunset.

Cold enough today for me to grab a winter coat, though not cold enough for layers.

Energy: Enough that I've been able to walk at least two miles each day this week, plus do lots of cleaning yesterday & a bit today. Headache comes & goes, ears & throat hurt, and I'm coughing more again today, but things could be much worse.

Tea: Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla White Tea Chai in the clearance section at Target. Not bad.
hummingwolf: Part of a julia fractal in colors of fire and smoke. (Fire-flavored fractal)
Cold worsened again yesterday, so I stayed home, sleeping or sneezing as seemed best. Made a big pot of chicken soup. Not really one of my better batches of the stuff (too much celery), but the onion, garlic, black pepper, and jalapeƱo helped to clear out my sinuses a bit. In spite of more coughing, am feeling better today.

Leaf color 'round here currently covers the spectrum from red to green to purple, with all the brown ones getting blown off in today's winds. A cluster of yellow-gold trees won over my heart. Gorgeous weather for a walk. Didn't do very much walking since resting seemed more important for my health, but even a little bit spent out in the sun and the wind and the falling leaves was time well spent.

A link found via a local Time Lord: The Nietzsche Family Circus.


Out of damp and gloomy days, out of solitude,
out of loveless words directed at us,
conclusions grow up in us like fungus:
one morning they are there, we know not how,
and they gaze upon us, morose and gray.
Woe to the thinker who is not the gardener
but only the soil of the plants that grow in him.


And I wish I'd noticed the "permalink" option before saving the cartoon to another space. Oh well.

Still Here

Friday, April 9th, 2004 12:22 pm
hummingwolf: squiggly symbol floating over rippling water (one)
I'm still reading others' journals and such, I just haven't had much to say these last few days. Well, I very nearly posted a deep and meaningful post yesterday, but the fit passed. Mostly my thoughts have been about boring, practical things: Is this a good day to go to the grocery store, or will my body decide to punish me if I do? If I go, should I buy chicken parts? I'll see if they're on sale; maybe I can buy one of the more expensive kinds of cheese for a change as well, since I've mostly been eating beans and rice...

Little things bubble to the surface of my consciousness. These jeans feel tighter than I'm used to--am I getting too fat? Look in the mirror while wearing both jeans and glasses and sanity returns. Not as skinny as I used to be, but "not as skinny" doesn't even come near the region of "too fat." Now that I remember that fact, I can consume my strawberry cheesecake ice cream with a clear conscience.

TV viewing next week: The Apprentice has a 2-hour finale! Oh, but can I stand to miss Tru Calling? Well, yes, though I do like that show too. I won't be watching the Dateline segment on the apprentice-wannabes though, not if there's a new Angel episode on at the same time. I do have priorities.

Little thoughts. Mostly I'm trying to avoid thinking about the Social Security hearing. I don't want to think about the possibility of things not working out well, since I really don't see any other ways for me to continue my existence without the help. How can anyone think I could get and keep a job when I couldn't even make it into DC to see the cherry blossoms in peak blooom? (I keep waking up with the song "Cherry Blossom Girl" running through my head.) Even making sure that I can get to the hearing means that I'll be spending Easter here alone to conserve energy. But I look healthy (my mother got so many compliments on her looks while she was dying of lung cancer) and I'm so used to people making assumptions based on that, or based on the fact that when I do have energy I like to be as active as possible. "If you could walk two miles yesterday, why can't you do X, Y, and Z today?" I'm so tired of this.

So I'm not thinking about my future. I'm looking at the trees putting forth small pale leaves, outlines of the branches still obvious and yet it seems as if you're looking at them through a green mist. Other trees, the ones blooming so profusely a few days ago, start to cast their petals away in favor of green as well. Everything's changing so quickly, new kinds of beauty replacing the old. Walking down some of these streets feels like walking into magic.
hummingwolf: squiggly symbol floating over rippling water (three)
Sent to my favorite e-mail list yesterday:

"Remember how I said a few days ago that after our long winter, the temperature was up to 80 degrees? We've had some lovely warm weather lately. Now the daffodils and forsythia are adding cheery yellow to the landscape, some early pink rosebushes [edit: well, they look like roses from the street, anyway] are in bloom, trees in shades of pink and white are blooming while other trees like the one outside my window have tender green leaves delicately unfurling...

"And they're all getting snowed on right now! Hahahahaha!

"I love March."

[livejournal.com profile] unwilly responded with: "CB you are delightfully macabre." Heh. Thanks, Un.

The snow changed back to rain later yesterday, then stopped altogether for a time. I went for a short walk among the green and growing things and was surprised by some big sloppy snowflake kisses. I'll say it again without irony or sarcasm: I love March.

Not been feeling up to either writing or interacting with people much, mostly because I'm feeling like something's sucking out all my energy again. The fact that my computer periodically decides to stop working with my mouse at all probably has an effect as well. I've been reading a little, listening to Launchcast, and generally trying not to stress out about my life.

Breakfast so far: Chicken with stewed tomatoes (from a can) and pepper jack cheese all washed down with some English breakfast tea. Am now trying to decide whether to eat some green leafy things or munch on the chocolate chip cookies I made yesterday. Mmm... cookies.

(no subject)

Wednesday, August 7th, 2002 08:43 pm
hummingwolf: (two)
Though I am told I have many fine qualities, I suspect my greatest strength is the ability to delight in the beauty of old trees.

Finding happiness for the moment is easy for me; it's holding to contentment while recognizing a need to change that I have some difficulty with. I am not by nature a calm person. When I see things that would be better if they were different, I do not tend to remain at peace. I get antsy. I get anxious. I get really annoying.

I pray to find peace as easily as I find beauty. I pray to receive energy to do the work I need to do (hopefully I'll get paid for work one day, eh?).

In the meantime, I'm loving having a working radio again. :-)

Hummingwolf Today

Saturday, April 20th, 2002 07:27 pm
hummingwolf: (two)
Now reading: Fiction: C.J. Cherryh's Exile's Gate. Nonfiction: David E. Stannard, The Puritan Way of Death. I've also got a couple of library books for the pictures--one about endangered mammals of North America, the other about shrubs and ivies.

Now hearing: A local rock music station blending with sounds of children playing and a gentle rain falling. Yesterday's musical highlight was when one of my fellow Safeway shoppers began singing along with the piped-in Simon & Garfunkel: her gospel-influenced style suited "Bridge Over Troubled Water" very well, sounding much better than my off-key humming to the Chicago song following it.

Now seeing: Tall tree outside my window covered with fresh green leaves.

Now complaining about: My stomach's upset, likely thanks to the antibiotic I've been taking. I'm still in desperate need of sleep and am having a great deal of difficulty remembering how to compose English sentences.

Now happy about: The late-blooming American cherry trees are carpeting the sidewalks with pink petals. Some dandelions are blooming while others send their seeds for miles around. Flowering dogwoods, azaleas, and some roses are blooming. Maples are casting their samaras to the wind. Oxalis plants are putting out cheery yellow buds. This afternoon a half-inch inchworm crawled along my arm.

Now eating and/or drinking: Drinking cool water. Not eating anything since I just took the antibiotic; the last thing I ate was a burrito with chicken, beans, salsa, extra sharp cheddar cheese... for cheap food, you just can't beat a good burrito.

Cherry blossoms

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2002 04:58 pm
hummingwolf: squiggly symbol floating over rippling water (Default)
I must have seemed one of the more flaky sorts of tourists today, frequently stopping to rest my hands on the warm rough bark of an older tree as my eyes followed its twisting branches and lingered on the flowers blooming in such profusion. I have walked far more than I am accustomed to do and cannot regret it, though I may be unable to do much of anything tomorrow. I feel as if I have spent the day precisely as it was made to be spent. This was a day for contemplation of beauty: any other occupation would have been a waste of its gifts.

(no subject)

Sunday, March 17th, 2002 11:55 am
hummingwolf: squiggly symbol floating over rippling water (Default)
Last night I was about to write some angst-filled post about my alienation from all other sentient beings in the universe, my deep and unresolvable loneliness blah blah blah; but I decided to go to bed and get some sleep instead, figuring I'd write the post in the morning.

Today's weather is pleasantly cool and rainy. Sky of silver, trees of warm brown--some topped with fresh green buds, a few crowned with cool white blossoms. If I look out another window, I can see green bushes and ivies, cheery yellow daffodils and forsythias bringing sunshine into a clouded day. I am at peace with myself and my world. I can easily call up that feeling of loneliness and inspect each of its constituent parts, but I don't feel the need. It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for a girl's mood. All that's needed now is a good piece of dark chocolate and it will be enough.

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