From Boring to Bustling

Remember the adage about being careful what you wish for because you might get it?  It sure holds true around this house.  For the longest time I was bored.  Now, I'm busy and sometimes wish for a boring day.  But all in all, it is a good thing for me to be out and about more. 


Hubby is slowly improving.  He did well on Friday but the following few days were doozies.  We go tomorrow for followup with the surgeon.   He wasn't able to take the prescribed pain medication.  Made him weird, shallow breathing, nervous and other things, so he stopped it after a couple of days.  Since then, the pain level has been up there.  I've tried several times to get him to ask for a different pain medication.  Finally, today, he made the call and I went out and got it for him.  Now, I just hope it will work so that he can be up and about more.


I've signed up for three classes.  One is a bird ID class, one is a photography class and there's one that I don't quite know how to describe.  The course name is Participate in Your Life.  I signed up for it totally on a whim at registration, not knowing exactly what I was getting into.  The first session really took its toll on me.  I had determined beforehand that I would be open and willing to participate fully, which I did.  To my utter amazement, one of the bits of info and comments made by the psychologist instructor hit me like a ton of bricks.  I sputtered my response with tears filling my eyes.  It concerned an issue I was first confronted with nearly 40 years ago and thought I had dealt with as well as I could.  I think the hidden lingering  hurt from that issue and the considerable stress I've been under with my husband's surgery really put me in a vulnerable place.  Whatever the cause, I was emotionally devastated for most of the day.   I had really wavered about even attending the classes on Friday, since the surgery had just been the day before.  But he really wanted me to go and, truthfully, I really wanted to go, since I had already missed a  first class for Thursday.   So, I left him at home with phone at hand, pain meds close by and strict instructions to call me immediately if he needed me.   


So, I admit that I'm approaching this Friday's class with some trepidation.  Undoubtedly, folks survive it just fine as there are some there who are in their tenth (yes, 10th) series of this same class with this same instructor.  


Today is the first day of fall, or so they tell us.  I'd really like to see a fall day right now.  I went birding with my Bird Lady friend yesterday and we both just wilted in the heat and humidity.  We cut the outing short and headed home to the air conditioning.  Didn't see many birds at all.  I think they had better sense than to be out and about!!   We did get to see a merlin which was a treat this early.  I also saw my first female American redstarts.  They are such pretty birds.  Not as colorful as the males, but beautiful nonetheless.  You can see pictures of them here.


We did get to see some wonderful tracks in the sand dunes, though.  In a place that seems deserted, it shows that there are numerous kinds of occupants.  

The sea oats are blooming gloriously with huge seed pods all over.  I'm so glad to see them getting re-established on the dunes.  It has been 5 years since the last hurricane came through, and it has been a long, hard struggle since then.  And, of course, there have been a few tropical storms that brought lots of surge with them as well.  


And the cleanup crews are still working on the beaches in places.  A lot of workers have been let go, but truthfully I think there's lots of work still to be done.  The tides shift sand in and out daily and it buries the oil, so just because its not on the surface doesn't mean it isn't there.   We're having some rough surf now, thanks to stiff east winds.  


The hummingbirds seem to have departed.  After having three days of total chaos, today I've seen only 3 or 4.  I took a good number of pictures while they were here, all through the window from inside the house.   Otherwise, I don't think I would ever have gotten close enough.   And I finally got some with two hummers sitting at the same feeder.  

For the most part, these were juvenile ruby throated hummingbirds, but I did have at least one adult male.  He was beautiful and he guarded his feeder diligently.  See that lovely red throat?  It was glorious.

I hope this was just the first wave of migrants and that more will be arriving daily.  


I've finished the 35 blocks for my brother's quilt and am squaring them up, a tedious but necessary task.  Its at this point you see very clearly that all quarter inch seams are not created equal, at least by me!!  I try so hard to be consistent so that when the pieces are put together the pattern will join nicely and the block will be the right size.  Most of the time it goes okay, but sometimes you have to do a lot of frog sewing.  For non-quilters, that means "rippit, rippit", as in "rip it out" and start over!!!  


And its going to be a lot larger than I thought.  I had intended for it to be something he could snuggle under to watch TV during the winter, but this one is gonna be big enough for two or three people to snuggle under.  I guess that's a good thing since he's getting married again in a few weeks.  


Y'all take care. 


(A little Post Script here.  I'm very annoyed with the font sizing for this post.  It appears during composition as Normal, but when I post it, it goes to small.   If I choose Large, it posts as huge.  Grrrrrrr...computers!!!!!)  Please be patient.   I'll try to figure it out.  Meanwhile, a change to a font that is readable but not huge.