Today's snowdrops

Taken February 10, 2026

After showing those wonderful crocuses last week, I put on my winter puffy jacket to explore my nextdoor neighbor's snowdrop collection to share with you. It's a sunny day, with bright blue skies and a bit of a cold breeze, but this is what I saw. Just gorgeous white flowers that sure do look a lot like snowdrops, don't you think?

Every day we gain more daylight and are a little bit closer to the vernal equinox on March 20, now just a wee bit more than a month away. I truly do hope we have a moderate spring and summer and leave the other parts of the country to deal with the extremes. We usually are blessed in this area with moderate temperatures, but with the world turning a little topsy-turvy, who knows for sure?

It's beginning to take more time on my part to write these posts, since my eyesight continues to fail and it gets harder and harder to find the right keys. I struggle with frustratioh. If I didn't have my two days of service at the Senior Center lunchroom, I might find it even harder to cope with these current difficulties. I serve some people who are completely blind and rely on their partners to help. This is probably the best thing I could have done to help me keep perspective on losing these faculties myself. My central vision is going away, but my peripheral vision is better than ever.

Not to mention all the grateful thank you's and pats on the back that I get every single day. When I am lining up the endless number of walkers along the wide wall, I am so glad that I still have the ability to walk without assistance. When the time comes when I need one, I will have already learned all the tricks. Life is a delightful learning experience.

(smile)

Making up for lost time, it's raining

So pretty!

I went looking in my photo gallery for a picture of snowdrops, which are just now beginning to pop out of the ground. But instead, I decided to use this lovely picture of crocus, taken in February a while back, and I was mesmerized by the beautiful purple color, my favorite shade, too.

Do you have a favorite color? And, if so, are you still a fan? When I was a young girl, I remember admiring pinks and purples and noticing the way they shimmered in the sunlight, as opposed to brown and grey colors. But I've never been keen to wear red or orange, which I now associate with old people.

Somehow, I became one of them while I wasn't paying attention, and I realize that I sitll don't wear or look much at those colors. Of course, losing my central vision and losing the ability to appreciate detail has also dimmed my enthusiasm for vibrant colors, and the happy days I spent with coloring books ane crayons. My sister and I spent many hours cutting out and designing dresses for our dolls. Alas, it has fallen away. 

I don't know if I dreamt much last night, but I met John at the coffee shop, and asked him to let me out halfway to my home, so I could listen to a podcast but not have a long way to walk. It's dry once again, after lots of rain.

I allow myself one 12-oz beer a day these days, which sometimes seems like not enough, but it really is. Now I am quaffing the last of it, and getting ready to sign off. Hope you're doing well.

(smile)

Two dry weeks, plus

New Years Day, a few years back

Looking, as usual, for a picture to start out my Tuesday post. Now that I am not hiking with the Trailblazers, I don't have a lot of new scenery to post, but that doesn't really matter, since I have gone to all those places many times over. I found this one in my collection, that's John and me at our old hangout, Avellino's. Now we meet and quaff our coffee at Adagio's, just down the street, but vastly superior in quality. I sometimes miss the people but I much prefer the ambience of the new place.

The picture is more than six years ago, and I think we both look pretty similar to how we look today, except we are missing a few sparkles, which we put in the scene via a spiffy app that no longer exists for such things. Sigh. Things change, but I laughed when I saw this picture and realize I am wearing the SAME SHIRT today. Nobody can say I don't get maximum wearability out of my wardrobe, eh?

I need to say something to my faithful virtual family about the comments on my earlier Sunday blog. Some people posted comments about the second killing that transpired in Minneapolis this past Saturday, after aother earlier one a couple weeks back. Yes, I follow the news and knew about them both, and I cried and felt awful about the killings. I try to keep a positive outlook and attitude and not use my blogs to express my feelings about what is happening. One of my faithful long-time readers expressed her opinion about it, and some other commenters were outraged and said so. I am sorry this spilled over onto my post, but I simply don't have any knowledge of the event to make any sort of public opinion. I have my belief, but that's all I have. And  I do march in solidarity with like-minded citizens at times, but at my age, it's not all that often or all that long. I have lost enough sleep worrying about current events and the country's direction, and the only one who gets personally upset about it all, here anyway, is me. I truly want to experience harmony and peace, that's my goal.

How about you? Do you have any magic way to keep yourself feeling serene? If so, can you share it?

Chilly and sunny, still

Two babes and two beers

I spent a wonderful afternoon with my friend Lily on Sunday this past weekend. It is her last day off for a couple of weeks, so I was very happy she decided to spend it with me. She asked me where I wanted to have lunch, and since it had been a long time since I went to Greene's Corner, she agreed. The important part (for me) was the opportunity to have a good craft beer. She likes porter, which she enjoyed, and I had a Hazy IPA, which I also enjoyed. After we had our beer and pizza, we went out for a walk at Boulevard Park, where I had walked the previous day with Steve. 

It was still very cold, and that continues today. After so many days of sunshine and clear weather, I am ready to return to our usual overcast skies and much warmer temperatures. I think by the end of the week, we will be returning to warmth and rain. I hope I can remember to keep myself upright if it gets slippery. I'll be carrying my shoe spikes, which do no good at all in my pack, but they are there if I need them. I am able to walk and do my exercises much easier these days. It's been almost a year now since that disastrous fall on the ice, and I tend to slow way down when I think it might be slippery at all.

I have a favorite beer that I keep stocked here at home, and I am no longer feeling bad about having a single 12-ounce beer every day. That is one aspect of growing older; what is wrong with enjoying something like that, if it gives me pleasure (it does). My numbers are good, quite good for an elderly person, and I have already lived a full life and deserve to enjoy a bit of the bubbly, right?

Yesterday I got my chills and thrills by driving less than a mile from my home to the home of my hairdresser. It has been a long time since I felt confident enough to drive that far, and it reminded me of the days when I was a skydiver, and I'd be excited and a little scared as I drove to the Drop Zone, knowing I'd be jumping out of airplanes soon. Now, just getting behind the wheel of a car and driving somewhere gives me quite a thrill. I am safe and slow and feel a little sorry for any drivers who get behind me, because I am driving well below the speed limit, scanning to the left and right and making sense of what I am seeing. It must be sunny and clear, with minimal traffic, for me to venture out. I did forget about the sun setting so early, but I made it home without having to deal with the brilliant sunshine in my eyes as it sets. 

I will take a yoga class again tomorrow, but I will get there and home via bus. At some point in the near future, I will be giving up my car, hopefully without any incidents making that day come earlier than I am ready for. I am feeling pretty confident, as I watch my sweet partner recover from his elbow injury and spend his days going to places using the Para-Transit system. Then Thursday and Friday I will enjoy my volunteer duties (now that I am no longer employed). They seem to come around way faster. Hope you're having good weather wherever you are and whatever that means to you.

(smile)

Curious number indeed

What's in a number?

The other day I began to wonder if there is anything special about the number "83," since I recently began my 84th trip around the sun when I turned 83. I asked SG (who has always been clued in to mathematics) if he knows of anything special about the number 83. "Well, it's a prime number, for one." I know that prime numbers are only divisible by 1, or themselves, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Years ago, however, I read a novel that sparked my interest in autism and prime numbers, The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-Time is a book (now also a play) very much, and I read it twice. It was subsequently turned into a play. (Sorry I cannot make that link work. Check it out on Amazon.)

It also sparked my interest in autism, since the protagonist is a teenage boy with high-functioning autism. The author (Mark Haddon) ended up writing the book from the boy's perspective (Christopher) and I was immediately curious myself about this condition. I'm pretty sure I have known people who are "on the spectrum," as they say, and I think I have at times been a little envious of someone having the possibility to evoke such incredible focus.

I have since learned that most cases of autism are genetically caused, but lately there has been much controversy about it. I think in a few more years, we will know much more about the condition. But back to the main focus of this post, that number. From an AI Overvuew link:

The number 83 is the 23rd prime number, a Sophie Germain prime, and the atomic number for bismuth; it signifies creativity in numerology, appears in biblical contexts (like Moses at age 83), and is used in sports jerseys, with its Roman numeral being LXXXIII.

It is also a "Super-Prime" becaused it is the 23rd prime number, which is also a prime. And there is plenty of places that the number appears in religious texts and stories. I don't think of this will make a difference in my experience of it, but gosh, it's fascinating, don't you think?

A new day is upon us

 You are just going to have to imagine the picture that I have spent most of the day trying to get from my iPhone to my laptop, since they are not just cooperating. But here's the story: today SG took the Paratransit bus (a mini sort of bus, part of the WTA transit system) to his doctor's appointment to decide what they would be doing with his broken elbow. It turned out extremely well: once he got there, via the bus, he saw the orthopedic surgeon, thinking he would be having to endure an operation. But the doctor said he can resume baby pushups like he did before the accident in just a few more weeks. So, that was wonderful news. And he can use the system for trips to and from doctor's appointments for the next three years, no charge! That is, other than the $60 annual fee to belong to the Senior Center.

So, as you can imagine, we are thrilled that we are coming along with our various and sundry problems, hoping for a happier time in our immediate future. Sorry this post is so short, but I am wanting to climb into bed and start a new, better day tomorrow.

I might try just a little longer to get a picture for you. But if I don't succeed, you can use your imagination until sometime later. 

(smile)

The New Year is a-comin

Elegant frozen posie (posey)

When I logged on here for my monthly FaceTime post with my sister Norma Jean, just a short time ago, I realized that it has been a month, enough time to start the healing process of losing a beloved pet. But in many ways I realize that it's just begun. I didn't see him every day, but I knew that sweet soul very well, having visited many times over the years. His presence was constant and taken for granted in so many ways. But, inevitably, as happens with our furry friends, they leave before we are ready to say goodbye.

During the holidays, our losses compound themselves and join with the dark skies and short days, with the light seeming distant. Those of us who have been around long enough to know that it's just part of the cycle of life and death, still feel it very strongly and look forward to the light and love returning.

Norma Jean seems to be doing very well, all thing considered, and I think I am also doing quite well, all things considered. Tomorrow is the final day of this year, with another one being born and, hopefully, bringing us lots of delightful surprises, of the good kind. Feeling happy to be a part of the universe right now.