Plans

The news says we've been melting; I'm not convinced. I don't think we're going to have any drought problems this year though!

Today I'm going to have a tidy up of the garden worktop and grow area in the basement. I've invested in a heat mat because last year it was too cool down there for the tomato and pepper seedlings and they were permanently stunted. More pictures after it's sorted.

Comment moderation

I don't understand why spammers bother with small blogs like mine. There isn't the traffic to get them attention even if I was willing to approve their comments. My rules are simple: no links (because I'm not going to expose my readers to viruses), no languages I don't understand, the comments must be somehow relevant, and nothing anonymous.

Okay, that's my rant for the day.

There was a topic

I composed an entire post in my head on the drive home. Unfortunately, it was one of those exhausting days and I fell asleep at 7... now, two hours later, I can't even remember what subject I was planning to discuss!

If you're not squeamish, check out TraumaQueen's blog today; his post is powerful enough to eclipse anything I might have covered anyway.

Personal goals

A year ago I got serious about taking control of my finances, made a budget and a lot of changes in our lifestyle. I'm almost half way to paying off all my consumer debt now; that's like a decade of bad financial choices cleared away! I've learned that when something is really important I can do it.

Which brings me to the reason for this post: I want to improve my physical condition; in short, get fit. This past week I worked out five times so that's the benchmark to aim for going forward. What's startling is how much better I feel already; going up the stairs is easier and my body moves a bit more freely simply by waking up the muscles. Food is another issue. I've always been an emotional/comfort eater which is why I'm back up to my high weight. This time I'm going to concentrate on treating food as a fuel and work on making healthy choices. I'll track my intake on livestrong.com. The emphasis is going to be nutrition, not weight loss which will be a new direction.

Updates to follow.

Winter weather never ends

With the noble intent to encourage my UK friends to appreciate their weather, I'm going to share our current conditions. Snow and strong winds tonight and a temp of -7 F (-21 C).

I love the idea of a four season garden...but it doesn't seem very likely here.

Today my mom opened the barn door so the birds could enjoy some sunshine, but then she had to wade through a hip deep drift to rescue two hens who were too cold to go back inside!

Blue

I'd been feeling low for a couple weeks; a combination of the harsh winter, loneliness and worrying about the future made day-to-day life difficult. Thus my resiliency was down when I lost T'Pal and I crashed into a full depression. Basically, I was non-functional all weekend.

How do you deal with depression? I know mine is due to the situation and will improve. One thing I did try to help (besides eating too much) was exercise and it did ease the problem for a little while. I'm limited in how much I can do because it's been so long since I did ANY; but I'd like to continue now that I've begun again. Hopefully the effects will be exponential as I do more.

A Tribute

T'Pal (1999-2010)


Brave and beautiful, fiercely loyal and the absolute matriarch of all furred creatures in our home, T'Pal has left a void behind.

Yesterday she began showing stroke-like symptoms, problems controlling her right legs and difficulty balancing. I kept her inside where she seemed to do well in the morning, eating her food and able to stand. As the afternoon progressed her condition deteriorated and I knew it was serious. I will always be grateful for that last day we got to spend together, all attention on her and making certain she felt comfortable and loved. It was only right that someone who had spent her lifetime giving unconditional love should also receive it.

Today the vet diagnosed the probability of a brain tumour causing the seizures and other symptoms. She will be buried on his farm.

While I am relieved that she didn't suffer a painful ending, I miss her terribly. A cornerstone of my life is gone and the world has been lessened.

Strange behavior

Saturday evening I was home alone; I hadn't locked the back door yet because I needed to bring the dogs inside. All the lights were out except for the computer monitor (why waste electricity?) when a woman opens the door and asks if this is 'neighbor's name' house. Even as I told her it was across the street I was thinking how bizarre to walk into a dark, strange house. Even if she had been fairly certain she had the right address, she couldn't have known the neighbors well enough to walk in without knocking since she obviously hadn't ever been there before.

The doors stay locked now.