Spring is in the Air

 For the first time since my surgery last Tuesday (one week ago today), I got out of the house and breathed in fresh air.  

I went out on our back deck.  I dare not go out in public because it is too cumbersome with my leg in a brace and the risk of catching a cold or the flu, thus compromising my immune system. 

Oh how wonderful it was to have that wonderful, fifty-five degree, wind caress my old face.  There is life in Ron yet.  There is life yet!  

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my orthopedic doctor.  I will have to get out of the house to go to his office.  However, I won't be making any visits to supermarkets like I did before my leg surgery.  My home health care worker warned me that I would be exposed to the flu virus that is still making the rounds.  She said there were twenty-six deaths already in Delaware from the flu.  I had a bad cold a few weeks ago, I don't know if it was the flu or not.  But I certainly don't want to get sick again.

I'm eating well, going to the bathroom regularly, getting enough exercise and rest.  The one real challenge I have to deal with is patience.  She said it will take three months for my leg to get back to normal.  Sometimes I think of that period of time, being laid up and immobile (not being able to drive) and I feel like I'm going to go crazy.  I'm used to being active. My home health care worker saw immediately this morning and that's why she warned me to be patient.

Progress is being made folks.  One baby step at a time but I am going in the right direction.  Maybe someday I'll get off this subject of my leg injury and write about fun stuff like our trip to California this past January.  But for now, bear with me while I get back to normal.  

It's all good folks. At least I'm not in a wheelchair.

The Repaired Ron - standing!

Daffodils and Other Things

"Ron's Rescued Orphan Daffodils"

Just got up from my afternoon nap.  A wee bit tired here folks after transplanting three flats of pansies.  Yes, it IS that time of year...spring is finally around the corner.

Last night Day Light Savings Time went into effect.  This is the one time of year that I hate my obsession with clocks.  I think I have about forty-five (yes, FORTY-FIVE) clocks to change.  I love clocks and rarely pass up an opportunity to feed my acquisitive nature for clocks.

I think I have all of them changed.  There is usually one or two I miss that I discover around May or June when I wander into one of our little used rooms here at Casa Tipton-Kelly and wonder what happened to the time when I look at one of those clocks I missed "springing forward".

Pictured above is one of my several clumps for freshly popped out daffodils.  Like our previous property, all the daffodil bulbs around here were stolen taken rescued from an abandoned house site.  Ever see an old run down house or just an empty overgrown lot that in the spring time has clumps and clumps of fresh faced yellow daffodils insolently bobbing in the spring time winds?  A couple of years ago I noticed that the weed overgrown lot at the end of the back lane behind our house had hundreds of daffodils that bloomed every spring.  Two years ago I decided to steal rescue those little baby orphans obviously begging for a loving home.  They be rescued now and don't they look happy?

Another heavy work schedule again last week.  My nappy time yesterday was over three hours!  I'm turning into my Mom, sleeping all day and night.  Another sure sign of Getting Old.

I'm loving this extra hour of daylight and looking forward to the days getting even longer.  Now we're headed into the best time of the year, spring and summer and fall.  I love all the seasons and would only live where I could experience the change of seasons but January and February are really the JUST GET THROUGH IT MONTHS aren't they?  Every year I tell myself I'm going go be like so many of my well off LGBT peers (with their VERY GENEROUS government funded pensions) and head for warmer climes during the dead of winter.

The Other Half in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Fun in the Sun

But alas, I am but a poor LGBT with a few meager Philadelphia bank pensions (which have no cost of living increase unlike government pensions)  and I cannot afford that luxury.  Now if I had stayed at my job at the National Security Agency I could have been one of these rich gay Washington D.C. types that are the reason we have so many overpriced restaurants here in Gayberry Rehoboth Beach, DE.  In fact I see where a few of my Friend of Judy peers have just returned from several weeks of idle rich lolling about at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  As the Church Lady used to say "Well, aren't we special?"

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

I got called into work again on Friday on short notice.  Hopefully I can go back to my regular schedule of working Wednesday and Thursday nights.  I like that work rhythm.  Hopefully I say.  There always seems to be some kind of drama going on at work with my co-workers.  I feel like a fireman, called in at the last moment to stomp out another fire.

Friday I also got the stitches out of my back from the removal of the golf ball sized cyst that was growing on my spine.  The lab reports came back negative.  NO CANCER!  Dodged another bullet.  There's one out there for me but My Time hasn't arrived yet.

Bill has a cold.  I had one last week that only lasted one day.  My nose was running like a leaky spigot.  I'm all right now, thank God.  I don't need another cold.  For a mild winter I sure have had my share of colds this winter.

I see the late afternoon sun beckoning me for my daily walk back in the Oyster Rocks development.  I would walk in my neighborhood but I run into too many of my neighbors. I prefer to be the Unknown Stranger in a Strange Neighborhood when I take my daily constitutional.

Well, I'm off for my walk.  Have a great day!

Think Spring

One more month to go!  We're almost at the end of January, one-half of the "Just Get Through These Months of the Year" duo of January and February, two of the coldest, grayest and dreariest months of the year here in good old Southern Delaware.

Dew on Iris in Spring (Ronald Tipton photo)

I was going to get Bill to drive me down to BJ's in Millsboro this morning to stock up on spinach artichoke hummus and Panero potato leek soup, but the rain dampened our enthusiasm to ride the roads of southern Delaware this morning.  Instead I spent a good deal of time on the phone with Carbonite, my offsite backup solutions for my computer.

Since summer I've suspected Carbonite hasn't been backing up my precious iMac computer files to their offsite facility.  I now have over 54,000 photos and many hours of video on my computer that I DON'T want to lose.  Yesterday I was on the phone with Kyle from Carbonite.  After Kyle explored by hard drive (now stop that) for a couple of hours and reinstalling the Carbonite software, I discovered this morning that I'm back to Square One.  Carbonite still isn't backing up my files.

Thus back on the phone again this morning.  One thing I will give the Carbonite people, their help line is just about as good as Apples in time of response, friendliness of the support technician and NO FOREIGN ACCENT.  The Carbonite folks are up in Maine (it was snowing this morning, rain here).  Another hour and a half of examining, probing and exploring my hard drive by "Paul" this time (do I sound like a tramp?) and still no resolution to my problem.  In fact my Carbonite backup is going backwards now!  When I started out I had 122.06 GB (244,432 files) backed up  and 26.12 GB (18.678 files) waiting to be backed up.  Now I have 82.59 GB (196,399 files) backed up and 27.51 (36,163 files) waiting to be backed up.  Confusing?  I'm confused.

So now I'm awaiting for "Tammy" from their Tier Two of support tech help to call me at 2:00 pm (which is my normal nap time) to see what the problem is.  I suspect more probing of my hard drive (am I pushing this joke too far?) is in store.  This is about 23 minutes away from now so I better wrap this little missive up and prepare myself.

Oh lordy, lordy, it's always something isn't it?

Rescued Daffodils

Rescued Daffodils

Early last spring I saw bunches of daffodils pushing their way through the tangled undergrowth of weeds and vines at the end of the lane behind our house.   Obviously there was once a house and home on that now overgrown with jungle like vines and trees at one time.  The daffodils sprouting up in spring is always a sure sign that a family once lived there in a house that was their home.  No doubt the family that lived in that house many years ago always rejoiced when they saw their daffodils that someone planted in the fall burst up through the cold earth in spring.  It seemed a shame to leave those daffodils in that now abandoned home site.  


So last year I got out my old friend The Shovel and strolled up to the lot at the end of the lane behind my one acre backyard and dug those suckers up and planted them around my house.  


Take a look at them in the photo that I took in front of my house just a few minutes  ago.  Now don't they seem happy?  No longer do they seem forlorn, nodding in the wind, pleading for someone to appreciate them.  Those sunshine yellow harbingers of spring now have a new home.  


Hey, I do what I can.  

The Rescued Daffodils go well with my Chieftain Tulips

Soo Ready for Spring

Ron bundled up for the cold

I just returned from a very abbreviated walk.  The temperature here is now hovering around 23 degrees.  I was all right with my walk until I started to walk against the wind.  I just can't take that painful cold wind on my face.  


The picture above is how I bundle up before I go out for my walk.  Yes, I know.  I'm turning into a big wimp.  When I was younger, the cold didn't bother me near as much as it bothers me now.  


Every year when January and February rolls around, those are my "just get through it" months.  


This is the last day of January.  Now for February, one more "just get through it" month.  


Then, THEN the beginning of glorious spring when everything comes to life after a long winter's hibernation.  


The daffodils will bloom again.  Colorful tulips with burst through the frozen earth.  Scouting Purple Martins will return from South America to check out their summer house in my back yard.  


And most of all, the people will come alive.  They will stream out of their houses into the bright, clear sunshine of springtime.  The garden departments of Home Depot and Loew's will again be crowded with erstwhile gardeners.

Loew's Garden Center, Lewes, DE

Bill with a load of mulch from Lowe's, Lewes, DE

I am soooo ready for Spring

A Day in My Life

Life in southern Delaware took a definite turn for the better today! After a long, hard, cold winter we are all more than ready for sunny skies and warm temperatures. Today was such a day.




After breakfast I got in my freshly washed ’98 red Subaru Forester and headed down to Rt. 1 to the Safeway shopping strip. I was hoping that my barber Dino was working today. Behinds the beauty shop Essentials is a small barber shop. Dino only works two days a week. I always forget which days he works. I walk through Essentials to the barber shop in the back and I see a woman barber. Dino is off today. I don’t get my hair cut by women barbers. They never do it right. Dino will be in tomorrow. I will return tomorrow.



Next stop is the Giant supermarket on the other side of Rt. 1. I could stop in Safeway for my shopping but I don’t like Safeway. The store is dark, their products are overpriced and the store employees aren’t customer friendly. This is the result of a business that employees union members.



I like Giant. The store is brightly lit, they have a wide range of products and most of them are reasonably priced. The store employees are customer friendly.



“Hey Ron!” I turned to see who was calling my name. It was my friend The Cajun. As I passed him earlier with my shopping cart I thought he looked a lot like my friend The Cajun. And lo and behold it was him. He was also in a great mood because of the weather. I haven’t seen him since the back to back blizzards. All of us have been a prisoner in our homes, just getting through this horrible winter.

We both pulled our shopping carts to the side in order to catch up on the news. Of course right away we were in the way of a couple of Golden Oldies. No matter where we moved we were in the way of this pair. They kept creeping up on us like the Night of the Living Dead.



I shouldn’t complain. One of the things I hate when I’m shopping are folks blocking the aisle while they’re catching up on the news. But now the tables were reversed. I’m getting annoyed. My friend reminded me “We are in a grocery store where people are shopping Ron.” Of course he was right.  He usually is.  He is The Cajun.


I took some pictures (I always have my digital camera with me.) My flash kept going off when I didn’t want it to. Finally my friend said “No more pictures.” There I go. Now I’m being annoying.



We agreed that maybe Giant wasn’t the best place to have a mini-reunion and we agreed to get together later. There is a new restaurant in Rehoboth called “Go Fish” that I’m anxious to try. Maybe we can arrange to have lunch together there before the horde of tourists descend on Rehoboth.

I’ve already went over my allotment for words for this blog posting so I will have to wrap this up.

I got home, trimmed back my Pampas Grass, had lunch, took a nap, was awoken from my nap by my neighbor Barbara banging on my garage door, invited Barbara in for a visit, Barbara leaves, my brother John from South Carolina calls, we discuss our Mother who he is taking care of, we finish our conversation, I clean out the eight bird baths I have in my back yard, I take my walk in the development behind where I live, I return and tell Bill (my partner) about Barbara’s visit, Bill goes downstairs to watch “Cops”, and go into my office and turn on my computer and here I am…….updating my blog. There it is; a quick synopsis of this day in my life.

I love my life.

A Smile From God

Do you see what I see in this picture? Look closely and you'll see a smiley face in the sky.




This is a good omen for the week coming up. Tomorrow I start back at my regular work schedule at the hotel. I'm looking forward to going back to work. There just so much sorting of digital pictures and naps that one can take.



Tuesday a friend and I are taking a Senior Citizen Bus to Philadelphia to see their annual flower show. I take this opportunity to have a reunion with an old friend and co-worker. It is also nice to go back to Philadelphia for a visit and see how things are now. From 1969 to 1981 I lived and worked in center city Philadelphia. Those were the Golden Years. When I moved in 1981 it was time.



Next week is also the beginning of March. Spring is definitely on its way. The two "lost months" of the year are always January and February. These are months I just get through each year. This year was particularly rough with two back to back blizzards and a few other "regular" snow storms.



The snow is almost all gone now. I can see the green of my lawn. The green shoots of daffodil bulbs have burst through the cold earth. In a few more weeks the gay colors of the crocus will make their first appearance. It's not long now until I start visiting the local greenhouses to buy my spring pansies to brighten up the walkway in front of our house.



Springtime…….. a smile from God.

Reevaluation Time

Last Thursday morning I woke up with a cold. Just last week I was bragging how I haven’t had a cold since I moved to Delaware in November of 2006. In fact, I haven’t had a cold since 2001, when I caught a horrific cold attending a Christmas memorial service at the Terry Funeral Home in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. I knew I was going to catch the cold of my life at that time when I entered the little room packed with folks of all ages who were coughing, sneezing and sniffling. Oh did I ever catch a cold. I thought I was going to die. At times I wish I did. But, I survived to tell the tale.

Now here I am again eight years later struggling through each day with deep hacking coughs, runny nose, watery eyes, and aching bones. Thank goodness I left my address canvassing job with the Census Bureau. There was no way I could be out there in the wind, rain and cold. I surely would have pneumonia. I think I caught this cold from a co-worker at the hotel. She came into work last Monday with a terrible cold that she couldn’t shake. Later in the week, when she couldn’t shake the cold, she went to her doctor and was diagnosed walking pneumonia.

As in the past when I’ve had colds, I’m trying to work through this cold by getting plenty of rest and drinking a lot of fluids. I’ve had enough sleep in the past three days to last me a month. This morning at 11:30 I have a dental appointment in Dover. My new bridge is in and this is for the initial fitting. When I get back home, it’s to bed again. I’m scheduled to go to work this Friday for four days in a row. I plan to get plenty of rest so when I go to work this weekend I’ll be healthy and alert and on my best.

Talking about being my best, these past few weeks have made me aware again that there are people and situations that bring out the best in me and bring out the worst in me. I had thought I had this situation under control sometime ago but, apparently I have not. It is time for a reevaluation. I am going to spend more time with those friends who bring out the best in me and who genuinely enjoy my company as I do theirs. They know who they are. Also, I will only participate in those activities that I enjoy. Life is too short to do otherwise. Just last week another friend of mine told me they had cancer. I have to make every day count before my number comes up. We owe it to ourselves and our friends and family who care about us to be the best we can all the time.

In the past few weeks I have encountered situations that have brought out the worst in me. I blame myself for allowing this to happen. In one situation Bill and I visited a longtime friend. Bill wanted to help him with his TV connection. I brought him a couple of books (extra copies that I purchased myself especially for him) as a gift. This friend has a partner who is very jealous. While Bill and I were visiting our friend, the partner comes out of his bedroom, heads for the front door and when we ask him were he is going we’re greeting with the F-word and GD’s. This is a typical reaction from this person to our visits. I think it’s time we stopped visiting. Life is too short for this nonsense. Ironically, I was also delivering a musical CD from the choir master of the choir Mr. Nasty was in. I wasnt' expecting profuse thanks but a simple "Thank you" would have sufficed. Not from this person though, he is so full of self loathing that he can't help himself when he spreads his negative attitude around.

Earlier in the week, I received a hateful comment on my blog that it was “too personal, boring, and detailed.” First, who asked this person? Second, why read my blog if it is too personal, boring and detailed?” What has always puzzled me is why someone finds it necessary to tear down someone else and try to control their life? Don’t they have their hands full with their own life? To me, this is just another example of a person with a great deal of self hate trying to spread his/her poison to others. I am so tired of this type of person. I’m done with them. No more. I remember something that Phyllis Diller (that great philosopher) said some years ago "I got rid of all the negative people and influences in my life and now I am much happier" (or words to that effect.)

Spring is almost here. Rebirth and new growth is all around. Once the temperatures warm up I will be outside enjoying the fresh air and working in my flower beds. There are few activities I enjoy more than working outside being one with nature. But first, I have to get rid of this cold.

Easter Sunday

Finally, I think I am recovering from my week long bout with a cold. It was just a little over a week ago I was bragging about how I haven’t caught a cold since I moved to Delaware in November of 2006. Well, that is a claim I can no longer make. I caught a cold big time. I’m not sure where I got it from. One of my co-workers at the hotel was diagnosed with pneumonia last week. I didn’t know pneumonia was contagious. If it is, then that's what I got. Lovely.

When I lived and worked in Pennsylvania I caught my worst knock me to the floor colds from fellow workers (the phones are a notorious transmitter of germs) on the commuter train I used to take to my job in Philadelphia. Invariably I would catch a major cold after a trip with fellow passengers who were sneezing and coughing all the way into Philadelphia. We all would pass around and share those colds all winter and into spring. I thought I got out of that trap when I moved to Delaware. Apparently not as long as I'm around people.

Yesterday I got plenty of sleep. My normal afternoon nap is 20 minutes. Yesterday I slept about three hours while the rain gently fell outside my bedroom windows. After my Saturday afternoon slumber I got up and made dinner (left over beef stew and string beans - detail provided for "Anonymous" who thinks I put too much detail in my blogs.) I watched a Netflix movie (“On Becoming Jane” – a so so movie about Jane Austen.) Normally I take a shower before I go to bed but not last night. I was just too wiped out. Straight to bed I went. I was unconscious until this morning when I awoke about 7 am. Even though I’m still horse and feel like I’ve been hit and run over by a Hummer, I can feel that I’m climbing out of the depths of this awful cold.

On this Easter Sunday I have nothing planned except to enjoy the sunshine. I don’t remember the last time I attended Easter services at a church. Probably when I was nine or ten years old, before the time that a Pentecostal minister alienated me from an organized Christian Church by screaming that I was a sinner, was a sinner from the day I was born and will always be a sinner. I remember so clearly my ten year old mind thinking “What is the point? I have no chance.” I’ve never looked at the Christian church quite the same way since that horrific day in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1951. While I have respect for my Christian friends who find comfort in their church, I lost that comfort level listening to that red haired minister shouting his angry words that Easter Sunday so many years ago.

Easter to me represents rebirth and renewal. I believe in that more than I believe in thugs and bullies who tell me how to live my life. This morning I watched in awe as twenty or so purple martins swooped and swirled around the purple martin house I have out in my back yard. I watched with pleasure the bluebird sitting atop the bluebird house by the fence in my backyard as she prepares to lay her eggs and produce a new generation of bluebirds for next year. I look out my front door and see the cream white tulips blooming that I planted in the cold winds of last fall. Yesterday’s rains have left everything fresh and new today. Easter……spring…..a time of rebirth. I rejoice in it.

Dandelions

Some consider dandelions a weed. Almost all of the unoccupied lots around here now have a profusion of dandelions blooming in their full butter yellow glory. I have a few of them on the very edge of my highly manicured and treated green carpet lawn. During my walk this afternoon in the development behind where I live, I looked at amazement at the unoccupied lots that are covered in a yellow blanket. The poor dandelion, no one wants it on their lawn. Then I noticed that the unwanted dandelions were wanted by one living form, the humble honey bee. Yes, honey bees were swarming around the thousands of dandelions that are spreading in profusion in the many untreated lots. This is one positive aspect of the current housing market, plenty of dandelions for the local honey bees.

In addition to the sunny mild weather, this was a good day for me. I took my car to The Garage to have another motor installed for the rear window shield wiper. I called the first thing this morning to ask if the part was in. I was asked “Would it be inconvenient for you to bring your car in Monday?” Uh……YES! I’ve been messing with this window shield wiper business all week. I told them that it would be inconvenient for me to wait until Monday. They told me to bring my car in and leave it with them. They would work with it today.

I dropped my car off and Bill and I visited our friend Bob. If you remember Bob, he is my long time friend who is showing signs of early dementia. Or at least it seems that way to me. Bob lives a short distance outside of Georgetown, in the woods on 22 acres of land. We arrive and knock on his door. He greets us and invites us in. This is one of his good days because he is animated. We seat ourselves in his living room. I ask Bob if his partner Jim is sleeping because I didn’t want to wake him up by talking loud (Jim is a nurse who works nights and I do talk loud.) Bob said not to worry because “Jim can sleep through anything.” After about a half an hour into our visit, Jim is heading for the front door. We ask where he is going. Jim says “I’m going to the f—cking Post Office then I’m going to the g..dam f—cking library.” Well……okay. Must be one of Jim’s “multiples” (the way Jim refers to his multiple personalities.) This is nothing different for Jim. He is very possessive of his relationship with his partner Bob and jealous of any attention Bob receives from his other friends. Jim has succeeded in discouraging most of Bob’s friends from visiting him but I refuse to end my friendship with Bob. I’ve known Bob a lot longer than Jim (since 1960 – Jim has been with Bob “only” 23 years.) Jim may be 68 years old but he sometimes acts like a spoiled petulant child. I don’t let his attitude bother me. The way I look at it is the old police attitude towards an accident or crime scene: “Nothing to see here, let’s move on.”

As I was getting ready to leave Bob’s, we hear a knock at Bob's door. It was Scott, a Census Bureau address canvasser. What a small world! Last week I attended class with Scott in Laurel. I had to ask him how he was doing. As expected he told me that address canvassing is indeed very hard work. He said at the end of the day he finds his neck aching. He’s had some problems with insufficient training but he is overcoming it. I told him I respect his work but that I just couldn’t juggle both of my jobs. He said he had worked in the previous census but this one was much harder because of the use of the HHC (hand held computer.) I have to admit I experienced a temporary sense of melancholy when I saw him holding his personal HHC and swiping his fingerprint to sign on. He was having problems signing on (you get three tries then you have to wait fifteen minutes.) I gave him advice on how to swipe his fingerprint and he was successful. I’m glad I could be of help to him.

It was such a beautiful day today that I felt a slight sense of regret that I didn’t stay with the census job but that quickly went away as I gave a deep cough. I’m overcoming a bad cold. I could just imagine if I had stayed with the job with my cold out in the wind and the rain and the cold. I would probably have pneumonia by now. No, it was a good thing (for me) that I left when I did. I wished Scott well and Bill and I were on our way while Scott was off to Map Spot more Housing Units.

This evening I had dinner with a long time friend of mine from Pennsylvania who came down to his Rehoboth Beach house for the Easter holiday. We dined on Eggplant Parmesan at the Rehoboth Dinner. As is usual for folks of our age (we went to school together), we discussed our various medical ailments and treatments. A sure sign we’re officially OLD. The evening ended as I drove up Rt. 1 to my home on the impossibly green acre of manicured, Lawns Unlimited, dandelion free (except for a few dandelions on the edges) lawn. Yes, today was a good day. Even for the dandelions and the honey bees that feasted on their nectar.

Diet Time

After dinner yesterday at the Rehoboth Diner, I was stuffed to the gills with Eggplant Parmesan. In addition to the main course, I also had a side order of French fries. Usually I can get away with this diet and not put on weight. But something interesting has been happening the past few weeks since my hours were cut back at the Inn. I started to put on weight. I can tell; my pants start shrinking. Same thing happened when I was in between jobs back in 2001 when I left the Hampton Inn. In that three month interval until I started my new job at the First Financial Bank, all my clothes seemed to shrink. However, after starting working my weight dropped. I think what the problem is that I’m finding solace in food. I was bored and food is my friend. I been through this routine before.

My weight is now 170 lbs. My height is 6’3”. I used to be 6’4” but I’ve shrunk over the years. I’m most comfortable with a weight of 155 to 160. When I hit 170 I’m uncomfortable. When I graduated from high school in 1959 by weight was 160 lbs. The most I ever weighed was 202. I hit that weight as a result of inactivity from my series of operations in 1959 for a staph infection. It took me about a year to get my weight down to 160 which I did mainly by avoiding bread and ice cream. Over the years my weight has fluctuated from 145 (too low) to 180 (too much.) I’m at a weight now that I am not comfortable. This is the time to make changes. No more cheesy dishes. One thing I can do is exercise self discipline to lose weight. Watch me. The pounds will melt away over the next few weeks.

This is going to be a busy week. Tonight I work at the Inn. Tomorrow I shoot up Rt. 1 to Dover to the dentist to get fitted for a new partial (“Getting old isn’t for sissies.”) Wednesday is my semi-annual medical checkup appointment at the Georgetown VA Medical Center. Of course (Murphy’s Law here) I was asked to come into work that same day of my VA appointment. It never fails. I can make an appointment six months into the future and without fail someone will call me from work two days before my appointment and ask if I can work for them that day.

Last year I planned to attend the Polka Festival at the Rehoboth Convention Center. I knew about it nine months in advance. I warned every one at work that I wouldn't be available that week. So, sure as rain, one of the front desk clerks becomes pregnant and I'm working full time that week in September. Never fails.

This past weekend was very productive. I finally moved all those orphan daffodils from the former site of a house at the end of the lane behind my property. I meant to move them last year but I waited too long. By the time I was ready to move them in July, they had disappeared below a tangle of weeds and vines. I didn’t make that mistake this year. I’m always reluctant to move daffodils that are in their full, fresh, yellow bloom. I was very careful to dig up a big enough ball of dirt around the roots that didn’t disturb the daffodils. I was successful and those daffodils now have a new home by my front door. Spring just isn’t spring without a fresh bunch of yellow daffodils dancing in the brisk wind.

An unusual occurrence this morning happened with the morning light coming through the front door. Through a combination of the early morning sunlight reflecting off of the hallway mirror onto the column in the sunroom, a rainbow appeared. Was this a sign from Above? “Angels in America” maybe? Ever ready for an opportunity to take an unusual picture, I asked Bill to take my picture with the rainbow over my face. And just like that, the rainbow was gone. I can’t help but think that something good is in the future from Ron. Maybe I finally will win the Powerball.

Pooped Out

So how am I managing working only one night a week at the hotel? Not surprisingly, my activities have easily filled in that time. Sure, I would prefer working my previous two nights a week schedule (Mondays and Thursdays 3 to 11 PM.) It was a schedule which I constructed my week around. The money I earned from this part time job paid my monthly mortgage payments with enough left over to treat myself to a couple of dine out nights with friends. Now I will have to watch my expenses much more closely.

However, the upside is that I now have more time to myself and with friends. Also, the many activities I used to miss on Thursday nights are now available to me. Last night I attended a local production of a revue of Cole Porter music. Prior to my hours being reduced at the hotel, I wasn’t able to do things like this. Last week Bill and I attended a dinner at a friend’s house. With my old schedule, we weren't able to accept dinner invitations on Thursday nights.

The past few days have been very busy. Yesterday I cleaned out flower beds. While cleaning out the beds I noticed that the bluebirds have returned. They’re getting it sorted out now who will occupy the bluebird house. I'm looking forward to the purple martins returning. Their scout should be here any day now. That's when I will know spring has officially arrived.

Yesterday I dropped my car of at a local garage for an overhaul. I just passed 111,000 miles on my 98 Subaru Forester. Briefly I considered purchasing a new car but decided against it when the dealer I visited only wanted to give me $1,600 in a trade in when the Bluebook value is $3,800. That ended my consideration of doing a trade in. I picked up my red Subaru this morning. As expected, the bill was large. However, it is a lot cheaper than buying a new car. If I can make 200,000 on this car, I will consider myself well ahead of the game.

This morning Bill and I dug up three azalea plants from the front of the house and gave them to a friend. Bill and I love annual flowers in the front of the house so there was no room for the trio of red azalea plants. They will have a new happy home with our friend. Now to find a home for the two gardenia plants who haven't lived up to expectations in the front of our house.

Today is the first day of spring but you wouldn’t know it by the temperature (30’s). We’ve had a couple of teases with the spring like weather but today apparently isn’t one of them. The sun is out now so hopefully the temperatures will rise with the warmth of the sun. These cold days are on borrowed time. Spring is just around the corner!

My census training is to start next week. I was told I would be attended classes for a week from 9 to 5 PM. What I haven’t been told is where these classes will take place. A friend of mine who is a local census taker in Pennsylvania told me that he was told those classes will take place in Philadelphia. If that is the case, this is one potential census taker who won’t be going to Philadelphia. I hope that’s not the case but I don’t have a good feeling about this. If I don’t take the job I will have more time for my yard work. That’s not a bad alternative. I love working in my garden. I may have less money this year but believe me, I won’t be sad. I’ll just be spending more time at home. And that would be a good thing. I love my home and back yard. I'm good.

Spring is Coming

Spring is coming. I can feel it in the air. The yellow crocus, always a welcome harbinger of spring, is blooming along the walkway to my front door. When I lived in Pennsylvania the deer usually ate the new bloomed crocus before I could enjoy its colorful splendor. One in a while the deer would miss a patch and I would see it for part of a day, which was enough for me to know for certain that spring would soon follow.

Yesterday I loaded up my ’98 red Subaru Forester with old items to be donated to the new thrift store which will be operated by Clear Space Productions. There are several thrift stores in the area, and I have made donations to them in the past but I’ve been saving the best items for just such an occasion as this. A few years before I moved to Delaware, the Metropolitan Community Church used to operate a thrift store. This is the thrift store where I was going to make my donations after my move. Unfortunately, the new pastor of the church discontinued the thrift store because he was too lazy to operate it. His decision not to involve the church in the operation of the thrift store really was unfortunate because the proceeds of the thrift store supported the church. Another benefit of the thrift store was that it was a wonderful outreach to both the gay and straight community from the predominately gay Metropolitan Community Church. An even extra benefit, the thrift store provided an excellent center for the sale of many particularly kitschy items that only the gay community can provide. I’ve always been reluctant to part with some of my more flamboyant household items to the main thrift store in Rehoboth, which caters mainly to the straight, poor population of the Milton/Lewes/Rehoboth beach area. Straight people just don’t have the ability to appreciate some of the finer objects de art that is available through a gay thrift store. Yes, I told my friend who is involved in opening this new thrift store, that he and his group have made an excellent decision to open their thrift store. I have no doubt that a year from now they will be pulling in so much money that they will wonder why didn’t they do this earlier.

In just a little over a month spring will be upon us here in our little enclave on the coast of southern Delaware. One of the things I really like about living in southern Delaware is that when the date of spring arrives on the calendar (March 21st), it really is spring, unlike when I lived in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, the calendar may say spring, but in reality spring really didn’t arrive until Mother’s Day or May 15th, whichever came first. In fact this weekend the weather forecast for my Mom’s place in Pennsylvania is ice and snow. No thank you. We’re having our share of cold weather down here as it is. The sky was sunny yesterday but the cold winds continued to blow.

Sunday night I was invited to an Oscar Party by a friend. He has a 61 inch TV which is almost like attending the movies. I attended his Golden Globes party with friends a few weeks back. We had fun mocking all the self important stars who thanked everyone from their kindergarten teacher to their makeup girl for their “accomplishments.” The standard line was “I couldn’t of done it without ………………..” (Fill in the blanks.) It is always good fun to mock the self-important and delusional. One would think they found a cure for cancer or how to solve the economic meltdown this country is going through now. As my friend Wayne has often said “Get over your self honey!” I don’t think I’ll go though this Sunday. Wayne won’t be their and I would miss his caustic remarks. The other attendees may take that stuff seriously.

Bill and I are going over to our neighbor’s shortly and see her new dog. I would like to have another dog but Bill won’t hear of it. He still hasn’t gotten over the loss of our last dog, years ago. Maybe someday I’ll get a cat. For now, I am anxiously awaiting spring. Each day it gets one day closer. Spring can’t come soon enough.

Twilight Walk

Another day spent at the computer tweaking my new website. By late afternoon I had to tear myself away from my task because my ankles were beginning to swell up from lack of circulation. I think it has a lot to do with how I have my computer housed. It is in a cupboard type contraption rather than an open desk. My long legs would be more comfortable stretching out under an open desk. I suppose I should replace my PC cupboard with a more modern desk. I hate to buy more furniture though. At this point in my life I don’t need any more furniture. Besides, this cupboard holds a lot of my “stuff”. When I’m done for the day, I can close the doors and the room looks neat. Also, working in a semi-cubicle type area gives me that comfortable womb like feel. The hours kept ticking by and too soon it was almost 6 o’clock. I closed shop and went out to the garage to get the watering bucket. The bird baths needed refreshing. Oh it felt so good to feel the late afternoon 68 degree wind caressing my face. Returning to my garage with my watering can, my neighbor Barbara met me. She wanted to know if I was going to join in with two of the other neighbors to get my septic tank cleaned. Sure. It hasn’t been cleaned since I moved here almost two years ago. Two years already? Wow. She asked me if I could ask the neighbor to the other side of me in this development if she would join us in a joint septic tank cleanout. If we got at least three neighbors we can get a discount from the Honey Dew guys. Barb wanted to see my new curtains. I brought her inside and left her with my partner. He could entertain her. I had to take care of my swollen ankles by taking a walk around my development and the development behind me. Off I went. The strong breeze followed me. Chirping birds declaring their territory accompanied my twilight walk. I always take my camera along to be ready for any opportunity for that unique picture. There were no unique photo opportunities tonight. This is flat land, two miles from the Atlantic Ocean. A marshland separates me from the vastness of the bay. I encountered one neighbor who was also taking her evening walk. I walked in the opposite direction to give her privacy. During the rest of my walk I encountered no one. The peacefulness of this area is exactly the comfort I need at this time of my life. Tomorrow I go to work at my front desk job at the inn. Four forty five comes very early.