John's contribution....

"Push button to reboot brain"

Ice Floe Time

Yup. Sad to say.

Yesterday I was stupid. Indefensibly dumb. I was meeting a friend, and we were going to drive together to a medieval event. It wasn’t as close as they’d originally planned, and was going to be a long boring drive. And my brakes are asking for some TLC.

So, we picked a meeting point midway between us, and still vaguely on course for Paris, Ontario. About a half hour away from each of us. I’d offered to bring a lunch for us, and had gathered up a basket of pleasant things to eat and drink.

In a moment of forethought, I’d set my alarm a bit early, so I’d have time to shower and wash my hair. One minute before my alarm had gone off, one of the students camping out for the blacksmithing course, came in to use the loo. And fifteen minutes later I decided there was no point in just lying awake waiting, poised to hurl myself under the hot water, and got up, and went upstairs to putz.
As soon as the student finished his teeth-brushing and etceteras, I did dash down. But by then my even keel was somewhat askew.

However, I left in time, and trundled off to get gas, and head down to Shelburne. I got there a few minutes before my friend, and all was well, until the split second I actually started to unload my car into his. It was at that moment I realized I had a basket of lunch, but no tote bag full of my costume. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

There was a quick little meltdown, and then I pulled out my cellphone and started looking for options. Of course, I don’t carry a lot of phone numbers, just a few programmed into my cell. Turned out one friend had changed numbers, another had their phone turned off, my husband, who could have given me other numbers to try, had already gone downstairs to the class he was teaching, and the one other number I could think of to try, wouldn’t go through.
Eventually, John, kind and generous man that he is, offered to swing by my home, so I could dash in and pick up the bag.

Of course, it made us late for the event, and we missed the things we’d hoped most to be there for. (Sorry Martin.)
All day, John was so polite about it. When people inquired, he merely said we’d had a delay. I was the one who came out and announced it was my fault, that I’d had a brain shutdown.

I did promise John that I’d try to make sure it was my one big stupid for the year….

And then this morning, I put on a cup of coffee, and went outside to check the garden. And the pond and the fish. And chatted with the neighbour girl. And with Larry. And then I came on in to get my cup of coffee… To discover I never put the carafe under the machine, and all the coffee and ten cups of water had burbled out and over the counter and everything on it, and down onto the floor, and into the container of plastic bags (where most of it pooled, thank goodness…) and onto the cat’s bowls and food tray….
Sigh.

That’s two Big Stupids in two days. That’s why I think it might just be Ice Floe Time.

***

On the plus side, my bloodroot is flowering, and I even found a stray plant some goodly distance away, and I have my first violets.

Signs of Spring, no, really!

Not that long ago at all, Monday or Tuesday?, we were having snow flurries. Wednesday started grey and cold, and then miraculously the sun came out, and it felt warmer, and more hopeful.
Yesterday morning was still too chilly to be out and not be stomping about, keeping the blood flowing. But yesterday afternoon was glorious.





My crocus-popsicles turn out to not be totally dead after all! Okay, I’ve missed their lead up into blooming, and they’re far more fragile this year than they should be, and why do I seem to plant crocii all the time, and never have any more crocii?










And the new rhubarb that we put in last fall seems to be looking lively.












And in the forest garden, the bloodroot is poking up, and wild leeks and the troutlilies.





















And next door, Larry is digging through his buried treasures, and so far we’ve heard the big tractor, the lawn mower, and what sounded like a chain saw. He’s now happily starting his ‘bare earth’ policy, and buzz-cutting the property.

Yup. Spring.

Signs of Spring

Okay, it's still cold out. and wet. and mucky. And it still keeps snowing.
Even when the temp is above zero and it should be rain!

And my crocus buds are by this point, no more than crocus popsicles. I do
not expect them to finish flowering now. Sigh.

But a true sign of spring is that now our internet/phone service has gone
from poor to 'sucking big time'.

When it gets wet outside...well, all we can think is that there's some
imperfection in the seals at the junction box up the road. When it's wet, we
have phone troubles, and almost non-existant connection speeds. And by the
time the phone guy comes, it's dry and bright, and everything is back to its
usual rural non-high-speed but functioning self.

So, now that I actually have a moment to blog about what I've been doing
the last three weeks, I don't know if I'll stay connected long enough to
even get to the blogger site, let alone do anything there.
The connection has been secretly dropping every time I try dialling up
today. Or is running so slow that there isn't even any point in trying to go
anywhere with it.

Darn. This piece of string and two tin cans method can be terrifically
frustrating!

v