It's Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature....

Do you remember the old TV commercial with the line, "It's not nice to fool mother nature" ? I'm not sure, but I think it was a Parkay margarine commercial. As I watched the weather forecast before going to bed last night, I was thrilled to see that the over view for the next week showed a lot of days in the 50's. JD told me that it was 5 degrees out when he got up this morning. Now that is just plain cold and no where near springtime temperatures like 50. As I sit here at the computer I can look out the window and see our thermometer and it is pointing at 22 degrees. I see a beautiful snow covered yard that is about 3 inches of ice underneath the snow. We had about an inch of ice to start with, but we have probably added another 2 inches from snow melting and freezing again over the past week. There is enough snow on top of the ice to give your feet traction for walking and what a self esteem booster to think you are so light you can walk on top of the snow without sinking down into it. Like I said, it was exciting seeing all of those 50 degree temperatures across the weather man's forecast chart. We have only just entered the month of February and there is very little hope of the temperatures staying so warm. I am hoping that it won't warm up enough to fool the plants into thinking it is time to wake up and start blooming and then get hit with another ice storm. I have seen it before and I am thinking Mother Nature is teasing us and setting us up for a big let down. Which brings me back to that line from the retro TV commercial.......


"If it's not nice to fool Mother Nature, it isn't real nice to fool us either, Mother Nature!"

I think I mentioned that I received my last Synvisc injection in my knee Monday. That was my third and last one for this treatment. The injections are rather painless. The doctor injects a numbing agent first and then just unscrews the plunger and replaces it with the plunger containing the Synvisc gel and then injects that. I experienced more soreness with the third injection than with the first two. Also, the following day I experienced a sharp stabbing pain occasionally when I put any weight on that knee. It felt a lot like someone stabbing me in the knee with a knife. I didn't have this with the first two injections. As of yesterday though that pain was gone. I can already feel some improvement from the injections in that knee. According to what I have read about Synvisc I should experience improvement into the eighth week after the injections. It would be great if these injections were approved for the hips as well. If they were I would be feeling like a "spring chicken" (to borrow a phrase from my mom) and you couldn't hold me back.

Hope your day is filled with blessings, sunshine and love.

All Things Beautiful

Today I am focusing on Spring and all the beauty that it brings. Our daffodils, day lilies, and forsythia are budding. I can look at the tips of the maple trees and see the red buds on the tips of the branches waiting patiently to spring open with just the slightest coaxing from the warmth of the sun. Not far behind will be the red bud and dogwood trees. Tufts of green grass is popping up here and there and I can see J.D. keeping an eye on it and gauging its growth, just waiting for the day when he can hop on his mower and begin another new growing season with the best manicured yard around for miles and miles. I am quite proud of the way he keeps our yard looking its best. With Spring, comes a new found spurt of energy that says, "It's time to shake off the winter doldrums and go outside to get a good helping of all that God has created for our enjoyment.

Another sure sign of spring being upon us is the High School's Spring Band Concert. We are very fortunate having such a talented and dedicated band instructor at our high school. He doesn't expect any more from the students in his charge then what he, himself gives to the program. He gives his all, so that is what he expects in return. It is evident in their performances and from the awards they win in their competitions that our high school has an outstanding music program.

In just a couple of hours we will be joining Tersie and T-Bear and enjoy a nice relaxing afternoon as our Britt and the rest of the high school band WOWS us yet again with the sounds of music to herald in Spring.

Wishing you a blessed Sunday afternoon.

~Jo

Spring Is In The Air

It was a pretty day yesterday with mild temperatures and sunshine. So many of our little feathered friends are returning and blessing us with their sweet songs. I won't put any humming bird food out yet though. Last year when they returned, they came to the windows and hovered there looking in as if to say, "Well, it's been a long trip.... Got anything to drink in there?"

On the way to town the other day I saw a few new calves in the fields. As more are born we will see the older cows meandering around in the fields munching new grasses while the little ones are full of energy and go running and playing. Something I really enjoy is when the baby bunnies start popping up all over the yard. I love watching them, they can be so comical.

If I had to choose a time of year that I could call my favorite, I think it would have to be Spring. I love the beauty of autumn with the bright colors of the leaves and the smell that accompanies those leaves as they dry up and gently float to the ground can not be compared. To me though, Spring is just a bit more beautiful because of all of its symbolisms. It is plain and simply a rebirth of everything that is. A promise of new beginnings that comes every year. Something we all can use from time to time. How Great Is That? In the spring every where you look is eye candy. The pretty fuchsia pink of the red buds followed by the bright white of the dogwood. The dogwood itself, the symbolism of the Crucifixion of Jesus. It is such a beautiful sight to behold, to see the dogwood in bloom in the woods and hillsides. It looks as if big billowy white clouds are floating amongst the trees.


I felt a bit of Spring Fever coming on yesterday. I really had the urge to go out and start digging around in my flower beds and getting them ready for the warmer weather. I have my first appointment at the Pain Management Clinic tomorrow to see what (if anything) they can do to help me with the pain associated with my fibromyalgia and Polymyalgia Rheumatica. I think it would be wise for me to wait a bit before I jump out there and start digging around in those flower beds. I neglected them terribly last year because I just plain hurt too much.

Thanks to the price of gas it doesn't look as if we will be traveling far from home this year. With that in mind, I have been considering putting out a small vegetable garden. I don't recall a year that my mother didn't have a vegetable garden as I was growing up. I remember when I was small, quietly picking up the salt shaker and going to the garden. I would find a good hiding spot between the tomatoes and cucumbers and would eat tomato after tomato until I was as full as a tick...... While most children balked at eating vegetables, I couldn't get enough of them. When J.D. talks about the garden his grandma grew, he calls it a truck farm.

J.D.'s oldest daughter, Darlene will be having surgery today. She has been in the hospital for several days. They have diagnosed the problem as pancreatitus. She is in so much pain that morphine isn't even touching it. They have her on some sort of pain meds now that is 5 times stronger than morphine. They have found blockage of the bile duct and will be trying to repair that. She also is having pain that is generating from her colon, which they will deal with after they take care of the problem with her pancreas. I know there are a lot of Prayer Warriors out there and I ask that you please remember her in your prayers as you go about your day. I will post more when we know more. Wishing all a blessed day. ~Jo