Another day on the merry-go-round

Last week we attended a church in Salem to watch Brian's handbell choir play. These were three of my favorites:




This week Brian participated in Sabbath services in Guatemala and Rick participated here at our home church in extended activities. Me? I continued to lay low, trying to keep the spinning and nausea to a minimum. I tried a self-help treatment developed by a physician and shared with me by blogpal Alison, but it only made me more nauseated, so I took to bed for awhile. The dogs did their best to take care of me:

But eventually the sunshine lured me outside to look at the flowers, let the ewes out, and check for eggs.

Chuckie came running, then followed me up to the house to get as much attention as possible. Such a character!

Watching him lounge and pose makes me think that the inspiration for sexy centerfolds is feline!

After Rick got home Dozer got some lap time with 'daddy.'

Later when Rick was wiping off puppy paws so they could go back inside, Chuckie took advantage of his 'reverse lap'!

Thankfully walking doesn't aggravate my vertigo; tonight we went at sunset. Ever since, I've been doing okay; I'm cautious optimistic that tomorrow I may get to exit the merry-go-round.

That's it for now from . . .

The best laid plans of nice wo-men...

...to misquote the esteemed Robert Burns.

Last night I had a couple moments of dizziness, which I chalked up to wearing my reading glasses while moving around, or tiredness. But by the time I was getting ready for bed, it was a full-blown case of vertigo; ugh. All I could do was lay down and hang on while my world whirled. This morning felt more like a slow merry-go-round, but even those made me motion-sick as a child so I stayed in bed while Rick did all the animal chores and got kindling and firewood should I get up and want to build a fire. (Bless his heart!) Now I am up and moving very slowly and carefully; I've eaten a little and a fire is built, but today is clearly not going to be productive and that stinks. Just sitting here and posting this is requiring frequent breaks, and I might just go lay down again before I finish. Phhfft. (I ended up doing just that for the last six or seven hours.)

I'm feeling slightly better now (as long as I don't turn my head or bend over), and I have a few things to share. The one time I went outside this morning (to empty the ash bin so I could clean out the firebox) I took this:

Rain, flowering plum buds opening, and daffodils – an iconic spring day! And a relief to the earth and plants, I'm sure, as it was shockingly dry for March. I also managed to finish spinning the last bit of the FatCatKnits fiber:

I plan on plying this for the April "15 minutes a day" challenge in the Jenkins Ravelry group. It should make a beautiful gradient skein of fingering!

Yesterday when I stopped at the post office for work, a woman wearing a handsome colorwork sweater was also getting her mail. I complimented her on it, and she thanked me warmly. I asked her if she made it, and she said she not only made it years ago, but owned and sheared the sheep it came from and spun their wool! Of course I had to touch it and ask what kind of sheep she had (Corriedale), and tell her I have Shetlands. Then I left, but regretted not getting a photo so turned around and went back in. She had moved to the service counter, so I just took a sneak shot and left again.

A week or so ago, Rick finished turning another bowl – or rather, an urn – out of pear. I think this is his best so far; a masterpiece!

It's 9" tall and about that across. I wish I had a good display space, like a lighted china cabinet, for Rick's creations. Right now five of them (including this one, and the small vessel that holds our napkins) are on the dining table, with more shut inside the antique pie safe.

Thanks to a Facebook group set up for the mission trip, we've learned that Brian made it safely to Belize, then Guatemala and the job site. He's learning how to lay block!

One last photo. Several weeks ago I picked up some free pots advertised on Freecycle, then bought some pretty pansies to put in that blue one. Good thing I didn't get around to potting them, because tulips are coming up in it now!

That's it for now from . . .

A cup full of friendship – and photos

This afternoon I got to enjoy a four-hour visit with a dear friend – with visual treats on either side of it. On the way out to her parents' country home, where she is staying while in the area for Spring Break, I stopped to shoot this red-tailed hawk in – and leaving – a hazelnut orchard:

And look at the daffodils lining their driveway!

As we said good-bye, the sky was putting on quite a show – and it continued as I headed home:

Another friend is coming here for a visit tomorrow – my friendship cup is going to overflow!

Feeling the love at . . .

Moon over my hammy

Or rather, moon over our car, moon over the Portland airport, moon over the (second) IHOP where Rick and I caught an early breakfast sans ham.... Wasn't last night's full moon beautiful?

Last night we all hit the hay a little after 11:00, only to have the alarm go off at 1:00 so we could leave for the airport by 1:30. Since I was by far the most alert, I drove. Rick was thinking one of us could go into the terminal with Brian and one could circle the car, but I voted for utilizing the short-term parking lot and both of us going in to see our son off on his first international trip without us (he's been to Canada once with us). That turned out to be A.Very.Good.Thing.

When everyone had arrived at the assigned ticket counter, the leaders started to check everyone in – or tried to. A rather prickly airline employee asked for a particular notarized form for each of the five minors traveling without their parents – a form we had all mailed to the organizer in Spokane, WA, as directed. The agent was adamant; said minors would NOT be allowed to fly into Belize without the original notarized form, thanks to a recent rule change. Confusion, then concern; would the whole group have to reschedule? Finally a solution was found; the airline printed off fresh copies of the parental consent form, a notary was called in (at 4:00 a.m., for a hefty fee), and thankfully all the parents were present to sign the forms.

By the time the group was checked in and headed towards security, Rick and I were getting hungry. We stopped at the IHOP closest to the airport, only to be told there was no cook; we headed down the interstate and eventually found another one. By the time we got to our lane, this was happening:

We didn't hang around to see if it got better; Rick and I crawled back in bed for a couple more hours.

The rest of my day was pretty low-key. I did some household chores and started trimming sheep feet, but only got three ewes done. I don't think their hooves have ever been that hard and dry, and my nippers (or hand?) weren't up to the task. Rick's going to sharpen the blades and then I'll tackle some more. It's actually rather alarming how dry the ground is here on the first day of spring; too bad Rick didn't have time to till the garden today!

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BTW, I really appreciate all the comments on my last post;

thank-you!

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Looking forward to bedtime, at . . .