Happy Birthday to Me!

It's been a busy few days and somehow I haven't had a chance to sit down to blog but today is MY day so here I am.

I think it's finally spring - well, officially it will be in 3 days and there are flowers coming out - these are the blossoms on the green plum tree. It's covered with flowers and I just hope they don't get blown off like last year and we ended up with no fruit! A few little hyacinths are out and the daffodils are appearing in all sorts of odd places alongside the roads. And it's not SO cold! We have these showery days when it will be clear and then a huge black cloud comes scudding through, drenching us and pelting us with hail! Then it's gone and the sun comes out and a rainbow appears! This morning, the sun is out and it is still that soft, warm color of early morning. I thought I'd go for a walk early until I checked the thermometer - just above freezing! I think I'll wait a bit.

The Ishaya meditations are proving very beneficial and I've been using them a lot. My 20 minutes in the morning is rolled into my reiki time but I am finding it more difficult doing it alone, without the group energy at the retreat. Susan says to think of all the people doing it at the same time and tap into that. After all, we are all one big bundle of energy anyway! During the day, I do small, open-eyed meditation and I find that it really calms me. I actually feel my whole body relaxing and if it looks like a stressful situation coming up, I can shield myself from it. I have also noticed that I generally am moving more - I want to say slowly but that sounds decrepit - so more peacefully, without being in a rush and definitely not taking on anyone else's issues.

For my birthday, Susan and Dan and Janet are coming for dinner, which Chris is cooking! Now this is a BIG deal as he just about never cooks. I can't remember when he cooked dinner last. He will barbecue during the summer but actually preparing a whole meal? Whew ... taxes the brain. And I am totally hands off although I will tidy the house up as it's a mess. Oh, and I am probably getting a new camera but not sure which one yet. But back to today. I think I will make myself fairly scarce so I won't be tempted to help him! Or offer advice or suggestions and just maybe, he will find he likes doing it! I should do like Teresa did: one day about 10 years ago she came home and told David she had no more recipes and she wasn't cooking any more - and she hasn't and he does it all now! Wonder if that would work? Although I love to cook - when I feel like it, not when I have to every day. It's almost a meditation for me, chopping and cutting and baking.

Now the new camera...there's a new Canon that I think will work well for me, it's not out yet but it is looking pretty good! I will keep and use my other one as a backup. It's interesting - the weather really affects my photography. Actually it affects it so much that there isn't any! I end up leaving my camera at home as I just can't get inspired in the grayness of winter. It is so bleak and although I know there is beauty in the starkness, to me it is just gray and dreary. So the arrival of spring makes me want to get out there again.

Business is picking up too, so I have a couple of deals going - not big ones but they all add up. And I am looking into getting bids on getting the house fixed up. The upstairs bathroom needs to be completely redone and the kitchen needs new counters and the stove will be replaced - hopefully before it dies! It's as old as the house - 22 - so it is definitely on its last legs. I know that unless I do it, it will never get done. I initially thought that I might actually do the work myself, really hands on, but then I thought - you know, if I do it, it will take far too long and there is the chance that things won't go right and then I will get all sorts of blame heaped on me for not doing it correctly, even though there won't be any offers of help! So I decided to circumvent that and have contractors do the work, and then there is a guarantee attached! And someone else to take the flack. Once the work is done, the value of the house will go up again. I am still floored by the values around us. There is talk of bubbles bursting but it's not happening in this part of the world. Although it is slower than last year, the values keep climbing and the people keep buying.

Hinckley and Harley have a friend - I've called him Mickey (sorry Mick :)) Manx. I think someone left him and he is a lonely boy. Not fixed, unfortunately and very timid still, although I have managed to stroke him twice. He is the loudest kitty - yells and cries for my two to come out to play. He is completely black, a big boy with bright gold eyes. He sits and waits in the morning and then they all touch noses and wander off together. I think he sleeps under the neighbors shed so he has a dry place and I've been feeding him. I'll bet a pix of him soon.

My novel writing hasn't started - it just seems there is so much other stuff to do - like taxes and work - that I haven't had time. But after Monday (accountant day) I hope to have time to sit down with the software and figure out how to write a best seller.