Musings on a Small Life

Last evening's sky was stunning and though I didn't get a view of the sun actually setting, I was able to get a few snapshots of the glorious colours.   Wonderful! As for birthdays, today is my step-dad's 86th birthday. I don't think any of us thought he'd made it to 85, let alone see 86. Below is an old pic from March 22, 2009, when Harry still was at home and still had (most of) his faculties. I wasn't there, the pic was taken by his daughter, I believe. Mom is taking him a little cake or cupcake today (he's in a nursing home), and then will have his daughter and son-in-law bring him to her apartment on Saturday for his favourite dinner. Happy birthday, Harry! Comments are off today, so it's a wordless day for you.  :-) Peace .

These pics were snapped off my back step yesterday evening. Incredible sky and clouds. We'd had thunder and lightning earlier and the system was clearing out as the sun was setting. Amazing! Have a good day, everyone, and take care. Peace .

No, nothing cat-related, nothing exciting. Just yesterday afternoon's sky, as I walking home from the bus stop. I so rarely catch the setting sun now, but the timing was just right for once! Have a great day, everyone. Peace .    

Goodbye, November. You were a blur of work projects, appointments, and OCD worries over Derry. Thanks, though, for the amazing weather, last Wednesday's freezing rain and snow notwithstanding, of course. And thanks for a few amazing sunsets. Now, December, you could take a lesson from your "sibling" and bring us milder-than-usual temps too. You know, as your holiday gift to us. [No update on Anne today. As of last night she still was in Emerg, waiting for a bed in the cardiac unit. Thanks for your good thoughts, my friend will appreciate them.] Universal Blessings, Light and Mercy to All Beings.

Derry's on alert. It's Billie Jean's turn now, to be eying the boys for a tasty snack. She actually had her paws up on the fence, her head almost over the top of the sheeting, just a few minutes ago. (No pic of that.) I sprayed her with my water bottle, which deterred her for about two minutes. So I sat out on my step, water bottle in hand, and eventually she got bored. I think I'll add a little vinegar to the water bottle; perhaps that will be more of a deterrent. She's not a "bad" dog, and neither is Tank. They're bored, they lack attention and stimulation. I won't bother expressing my opinion of their human, since I've done so before on this blog and even if you haven't read my prior comments (mostly in regard to Niko, her cat), you can guess what it is. As a bonus for sitting outside though, in our rather fall-ish temperatures, I got to watch the most glorious sunset--and take a slew of snapshots too, for another day's post. Wishi...

She was on the upper level, in one of the spare rooms, when I got up this AM, but went to the basement pronto. I did close the basement door before leaving for work, separating her from the boys to see if she'll eat anything. I didn't see her eat any supper last night....or breakfast yesterday AM. So I had a "radical" thought while coming in to work today. I started to wonder if long term use of methimazole  for her hyper-thyroidism is causing or exacerbating these health problems. Or if her current T4 level of 20-something (range is 11 to 46) is too low for Annie . If she functions better in the upper ranges of normal or even slightly elevated. I am going to ask the vet if I safely can stop the thyroid meds for the short-term, maybe 2 or 3 weeks, and see how she does. I know hyper-t can't be left untreated, but it might be worthwhile to see if she perks up at all, given that I've seen such a decline in her since she's been diagnosed and on those me...

I shut Annie up twice in "her" room this morning, before leaving for work, but just couldn't do it.The second time I even had left the house, but turned around and went back in, knowing she'd be unhappy confined to one room all day. Both times she shot out of the room like a bullet and couldn't get to the basement fast enough. The basement seems to be her "safe" zone, so in between attempts to confine her upstairs, I closed the basement door, thinking to keep her down there all day by herself. And then I re-thought that too. She's only starting to be a bit perkier now--last night she came up and joined us twice for a few minutes, and she hung around upstairs this morning, even came up to the second level when I was getting ready for work. So I figured that  if I confine her now , it likely would stress her out more. So my stress over this probably made it far worse for her today! I left her in the basement (by her choice), with all doors open...

My T4 (thyroid) is still low, even after 6 weeks on the increased dose of Synthroid, so we're upping it again from the 137 mcg to 150 mcg. I've been on Synthroid for over 20 years, most of that time at 125 mcg per day. Then after my August annual blood work, it turned out that I'm hypo-thyroid again. So my dose was upped to the 137 mcg. I really thought that would either do the trick or that I would have to reduce the dose once more. But nope, the test results showed that I was above the high normal range, meaning I'm under-active. Hmm, could this be why, at least in part, I'm always so tired? And gee, so chubby? LOL! Anyway, we'll see what happens after a couple of months on the 150 mcg. No big deal, as far as I'm concerned, and it doesn't worry me in any way. Being hyper-t, like Annie, would be more of a problem. This? I just shrug my shoulders and say, "Whatever!" Today's sky pics are from November 2008 , all taken from my (dir...

It's not only beauty that is in the eye of the beholder, reality is too, of course. We each have our own beliefs and perspectives and biases through which "reality" is filtered, often making "reality" quite subjective. But rather than a nebulous philosophical ramble, I have a few snapshots of this evening's sky, in which our perception of reality is altered. The sky as it actually was, with soft pastel colours.  The sky snapped in "sunset" mode, which significantly alters the real colours.  Snapped in "sunset" mode and then with an auto-colour adjustment in PhotoShop Elements. I often find that reality pales in comparison to fantasy, in a great many ways!

This was the soft evening sky two nights ago, I think--Thursday. It's been a while since I've taken any sunset or sunrise snapshots, just haven't been in the mood--mostly it's been the humidity, sapping my energy and enthusiasm. That and the fact that the skies have been hazy most days. But just breathing seems to work up a lather right now, it's so sticky out. BTW, I heard from Mom a bit earlier this afternoon. Barring an emergency case, Harry was slated for surgery at 3PM Atlantic time, so he should, in fact, be in the OR now--fingers crossed. And fingers crossed all goes well. Thank you all again, so very much, for all the prayers, Light, healing vibes, etc. They are deeply appreciated, by both my mom and by me.

In my bedroom. Not my own photos. I already have a number of my favourite floral snapshots printed out and framed and hung in my downstairs hallway, gallery style. Not that they are "art," just that those are the ones I particularly like. I'll attempt to remain open, not become so focused on one style that I overlook something else. I'm beat. Not quite finished the touch-ups, but boy, I did a fabulous job reorganizing my closet. It's so roomy now, so organized. (Cue Bill Shatner's bad acting, "But...for...how long, Spock? For....how...long?") Okay, I'm so tired I'm punchy. Or is the one beer I'm having now (yes, Sara, I finally bought some beer, hallelujah)--first beer since early March. Woohoo, do I know how to party!  :-) Anyway, as I am behind now in sky and floral snapshots, here are three of the evening sky on May 20th and three of the morning sky on the 21st. Only very subtle differences among each in the two sets, though.

Nothing spectacular, just neat clouds.  :-)

Okay, they aren't really Saturday's sky views. The first was Thursday evening's sky and the second Friday morning's view. Even when there isn't a dramatic sunset or sunrise, the sky still is amazing. It's impossible to tire of Mother Nature's canvassess.  :-)