Dreams and Dances

As the Spring draws near... as the ice and snow and cold slip and slide slowly out of sight... my thoughts and emotions turn inward... and attention is paid to the longings and yearnings that have been laid aside.

One day... in the not too distant future... there will be a time for swirling across the sand... the sun warm on my skin.... the breeze warm through my hair.... waves lapping at my feet.

A dance builds within... the rhythm of life through the centre of my time.... slightly offbeat... strong and sensuous... limbs browned, swaying along the beach in layers of diaphanous folds... entwining and floating.

Dreams of a soul to share the dance... the warmth of a body entwined... of passions acted upon with words unspoken... thoughts and emotions sifting the winds between two.

Generation Gap

Pffffttt!!! Bugger off, you little punk!!!
(click on pic for maximum expression)

If I had balls...

... they'd be broken by now.

Over the past couple of days, a Colorado Low blew through my neck of the woods and dumped a whole whack of snow on us.

As if we hadn't had enough crap weather this winter.

Monday, my front yard was close to being snowless... well, except for the part that is shadowed by the large Blue Spruce. But the front garden under the window was bare and the hens and chicks were there, still green from last year, just waiting for a little warmth to prompt new growth. Of course, I don't have photos of them as they are now buried under a couple feet of new snow.

see that mound by the tree? I just made that...

the hens and chicks lie buried here... just this side of that bush thingie

I think we got somewhere around 20 cm of snow. It started with some rain Tuesday morning. The sidewalk was wet when I let the dog out in the early dimness for a pee.

By the time I had to go out at 8:30 a.m., it was ice pellets. That turned to sleet in short order. And the wind... well, this isn't Windypeg for nothin'!

The streets were getting pretty slick. The huge puddles of meltwater around the city, some of which covered the road from curb to curb and then some, were starting to thicken up.

I worked evenings on Tuesday and when I drove home at midnight, one of the streets I travel down routinely had a lake in it. It is a divided road, with a wide median, so the lake was contained on the northbound side. Crawled through that as I didn't want to stall out in the middle and have to wade through the icy cold water.

Well, on waking Wednesday morning, I saw freshly fallen snow everywhere. I had to be at work for 11:30, so I headed out at about 10:50. And then had to spend fifteen minutes shovelling snow to (a) get off my step, (b) get to the back gate, (c) open the back gate (it swings out into the parking area) and (d) walk to the door of my truck. All of the above areas had drifts of snow. Some of which were about 2 1/2 feet high in places.

the front gate and step just to the left

front sidewalk outside the fence

this is my parking space in the back

this pile of snow was residing in my parking space a short time ago

And that large lake on the northbound side of the road? It was now the consistency of a Slurpee and there were four vehicles trapped in its icy grip. Reminder to self.... don't drive home that way after work (which I remembered, and thus avoided having to 4x4 over the median to avoid Slurpee Drive).

Did Mother Nature not get the memo about it being SPRING?!?!?! That occurred last week already... WTF??? With the horrendous winter we had just suffered through, one would think we would be in for a bit of a reprieve from crap weather, but nooooo....

Colorado should keep their Lows to themselves.

Why don't I have teenaged boys to do the shovelling?

can I look any less impressed???

You'll have to excuse me now... my back is broken and I must go take drugs and soak in a hot tub with salts....

And then plan my move south... far south.... where it NEVER snows.

Hallelujah!

One of the most beautiful voices to ever come out of Canada... I saw her live in concert long before she made it big... in Lethbridge, Alberta, in her cowpunk days... an amazing voice whether live or recorded.... this is k.d. lang

Tips

Do you still have to tip the barber if he took a little too much off but did a neat job?

It Always Ends Up Like This...

It's All About MeMe!

The delightful, but rather tattered and battered Jimmy Bastard has tagged me for a meme.

Never having done one of these, but having read lots on others' blogs, I figure it can't be so hard, so here goes....

Firstly, the Rules. Such as they are...

1) Put the link of the person who tagged you on your blog
2) Write the rules
3) Mention 6 things or habits of no real importance about you
4) Tag 6 persons adding their links directly
5) Alert the persons that you tagged them

Okay....

#1: Every animal I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my life with has cost me a minimum of $1000... each. And I have had cats, dogs and (later) horses in my life since I was seven... I would have a hefty sum put away for retirement if I had been invested that money instead.

#2: I love to eat lemons.... straight out of their skins. Talk about puckering up!

#3: I like doing home renos. I have a pretty good selection of hand and power tools and know how to use them.

#4: I much prefer nursing animals over nursing people. (Let's see who runs with that one!)

#5: I love the throaty rumble of a pickup truck. If I could afford the gas, I would drive a nice Dodge Ram with a 5.7l Hemi engine... ya baby!

#6: I have sewn clothes... lots of clothes... including jeans, swimsuits, wedding gowns, winter coats and riding breeches. Would really like to get back into that again.

And to pass this meme on, here are the lucky recipients:

Donn
zIggI
Famulus
Eros
Scarlet
Tim

Have at her, guys!

Invasion Update

I just got off the phone with my friend, Debbie.... the one who has bladder cancer.

She had surgery today and it is all good news! The surgeon said he removed the tumour cleanly and there was only the one. Plus it was superficial, meaning it had not invaded the muscle of the bladder wall. So detection was early and eradication was swift.

At this point, it is not officially known if it is cancerous but the surgeon felt it was, by it's appearance and his experience with these types of tumours. It has been sent to the lab for biopsy. He was quite confident that it was removed early enough that chemo or radiation may not be necessary. She will be followed regularly and closely, however, given the family history.

So my conversation with Debbie was upbeat, not only because it was good news but because she was pretty stoned on pain meds. LOL! What the hell! Might as well have a good time while you're out of commission for a bit!

Her attitude is this: she will not be a cancer survivor... in her mind, that implies weakness and being a victim. She is henceforth known as The Debinator - Cancer Terminator. I coined that term last night when talking to her on the phone and we had a good laugh! She is now using it freely.

She has been overwhelmed by the number of people who care about her... emails and phone calls and visits (especially at the surgery centre, where she had worked in the past and knew lots of staff there, and they all stopped by to see her and wish her well). I also told her about the thoughts and wishes of all you bloggers out here, and she asked me to thank each and every one of you for that.

I want to thank all of you as well. She is so near and dear to my heart, it is hard to explain to some people. She is more than a friend and more than a sister (we *are* family, even if we are not related by blood) to me. I love her more than I could ever express and the cloud hanging over my heart is lightened by her news and by the caring and support of all of you.

Again... thank you.... I *heart* you all.

Penguins? NOT!

Just when I think about shooting someone cuz winter has been so long and cold here, I find a little bit of humour in this little gem.

Invasion

Okay, I lied when I said there was nothing new... but I didn't know then... didn't know until I got the call late last night after I got home from work... my phone never rings at 12:30 a.m. My heart jumped when it rang... and rightly so, it turns out.

Debbie is my oldest and bestest friend. We have been best buds for 36 1/2 years. She now lives in Texas.... far south from here... nursing in warmer climes.... has been down there for almost 17 years.

She called me last night. I haven't been able to talk to her for a week, as she was in California visiting her daughter who is in the Coast Guard. They had a family trip out to sea on the ship the Coasties work on. So she was incommunicado for a while. I had emailed her and called her home but got nothing back until last night.

Debbie called me... to tell me she has cancer. Bladder cancer. Her dad died of bladder cancer. Up here in Canada, where the health care system crawls at a snail's pace. Down there in Texas, it is much faster... roadrunner speed.

So she has already had a CT scan and bloodwork done and goes in on Monday for surgery to have it scraped out and sent for biopsy. She may need radiation therapy. She may need chemo.

The level of invasion is unknown until they get in there and see it. If it is superficial, the prognosis is good - but how deep it goes into the layers of the bladder determines how deadly it is.

I can only hope it is early and being caught before it burrows deep. I can only hope that my best friend in the universe... my soul sister... will survive to grow old with me.

I am terrified for her. She is so scared! Talking last night, her voice kept breaking and I was trying so hard to not lose it myself. I need to be strong for her. Her husband is a doll and is there for her, totally. But her two daughters (21 and 19) are nonchalant - they are in denial and really don't understand the situation, I don't think. And that hurts her.... like they don't care.... but I don't think they comprehend that she could die.

I do... I know only too well about that. I am terrified for me as well. I don't want to lose another person that I love.... there have too many losses in this lifetime already.

NADA

There is nothing new here.

No kitty disasters to report.

No slobber dog issues that are new.

The old cat is still kickin', although his snotty nose is kicking into high gear again. Gotta love a cat with allergies. *not!*

I work, I eat, I sometimes sleep, I have power surges up the yin yang, I surf and blog.

The internet dating gig is done... finis... adios. Given up on that completely, so no new complaints in that department either.

That is pretty much the extent of my life.

How boring is that....

On a positive note, it is only -1 here in Winterpeg so hopefully the bitterly cold of winter is past. However, in 1966, we had a whopper of a blizzard at this time of year that dumped enough snow on the region to close all vehicular traffic, unless it was a snowmobile. You had to tunnel through the snow to get out of your house. Schools were closed and we were tobogganing off the rooftops! What fun!

It better not happen this year.... I have no desire to go tobogganing, thanks. I was a kid then.... I am sure the adults at the time were going nuts.

Mute Monday