Dear Blogging Friends, I appreciate your concern to what Jeanna nicely asks, ". . .where the hells are ya?"
Time flew.
Words stuttered. Thoughts blocked. Fog erased sentences. I shrugged it off by becoming a mad demon downsizing the stuff in the garage and house so that all the stuff that has been in storage for 15 years may get shoved into the garage. Of course, the decision to make this happen was three weeks before the Husband had his first cataract surgery. Once that happened, he won't be able to lift, carry, and manipulate heavy objects until June. (He has his second cataract surgery in May.)
Success! Everything got moved and fit in the garage.
Success! The Husband was able to read 20/25 on the eye chart with his new left lens less than 24 hours after his procedure. Pretty good from 20/800.
"Keep busy" is the advice some people like to give those who recently lose someone. I didn't understand that when the First Husband died in 1995 nor Mama three years ago. How much more busy can I be? Both died in April. If I hadn't been dealing with the logistics of fitting our stuff and our parents' stuff into our home, I would've hidden my head like an ostrich far longer and more often this month.
Open boxes. Sort stuff and make piles: discard, donate, maybe keep, and definitely keep (for now). Books, fabric, books, ephemera, books, family correspondence, books, doo-dads, books, photographs, books, clothing. Going through clothes is the toughest for me.
I love the bright things about April. I met the Husband in April. His mom and grandmother were born in April. Flowers in our front yard pop in April.
April popped with a different kind of creativity for me.
A bit of sewing.
Two more book planters.
A painting on the outdoor locker that will hold things waiting to become garden art.
That all kept my head out of the sand, too, I'm pleased to say.
Molly the Cat wants food. I hear the Husband tell her, "Just wait. Missus Lady will be here soon." He's not allowed to bend over so once I share photos of the Girl, off I go.
April for Molly means getting to be outdoors during the day. She's such a cutie.
I'm taking part with the memes hosted by the lovely Jesh and Angie. Come check out the other participants with me. Good cheer, One and All!
Su-sieeemac - you can be gone again for three weeks if it means this kind of creativity from you. But what am I saying? You are ALWAYS this creative. ANYWAY, glad you're back, and linking to MM to boot! Glad the cataract surgery was successful. Glad (for selfish reasons) that your garden is popping, especially those lupines! Glad to know YOU!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know you, too, Angie! :-) All this creativity surprises me.
DeleteNice collages and a cute kitty! Congrats to your husband. Also to you for cleaning out the garage.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. The garage was clean for a whole 24 hours. It's now packed with his parents furniture and books, which we can take our good sweeet time combing through.
DeleteWhile you were doing that I only got my pantry cleaned out. Glad you are back. April is nice ....but May!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Colleen. Did you find a bunch of several years old spices? :-)
DeleteI've had some pretty flowers I didn't even plant show up this year.
ReplyDeleteGreat, Adam!
DeleteI was wondering where you'd gotten to. April must be a month of mixed feelings for you. Glad to hear you got a lot accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz. I'm impressed with us, too. :-)
DeleteThere you are! :D
ReplyDeleteHey ya, Widders!
DeleteBeautiful collages - happy end of April!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Riitta!
DeleteGlad ‘the husband’s” eye surgery went well and best wishes for round two. Appreciate (and envy I must admit) your creative/artistic genius. And I absolutely adore your yard. Love seeing the Spring flowers that I miss so much. I’m happy that April has (also) brought you beauty and peace. And I have missed Miss Molly too. (I always take too many words to say what I mean...in sum, totally missed you and totally glad you’re back!).
ReplyDeleteNo envy, please, Sallie. The creative/artistic genius is in each of us. So I say, yes, I do. I'm finally letting mine come out. Whooo-hooo.
DeleteOne of my favorite things about campus was that someone inevitably writes, "April really is the cruelest month" somewhere near the Library Mall or something close to the original quote.
ReplyDeleteIs that the outdoor locker with the tree with lavender moss hanging from it? Very cool.
I like how you've made Hero Man a pirate.
Photos are great to unblock for me, especially if you no longer want to doodle storyboards (another fun way to unblock).
All those flowers, wow. We're just starting to see some color and growth around town now. Loving the ostrich, I'd be hanging that guy somewhere prominent.
Kisses even though you're a cat and don't go in for that sort of thing Molly!
My usual anxiety dream is trying to find the administrative office so I can drop out of my classes that I hadn't attended most of the semester. I rarely have that dream, hurrah!
DeleteYup, an outdoor locker, which was from the Husband's parents stash, Glad you like it, thanks. The backyard will become my art gallery. hahaha
The ostrich came out pretty cool, thank you very much. I drew and painted it in Photoshop. Maybe I'll use this idea for my first canvas. Second, if I count the one I did at a paint party. Hmmm, if the ostrich painting looks wowza to me, I'll enter into the county fair in the fall. ooooh.
Molly says, Purrrrrrrrrr.
...I can't wait to see gardens like these, enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteCool, Tom!
DeleteYou share so much wonderful, creative beauty - along with the truth of your heart . . no wonder so many of us love you.
ReplyDeleteG, it's comments like yours that encourage me to experiment with creativity. Thank you.
DeleteSo glad to see you again this week!
ReplyDeleteI know some months brings back memories both happy and sad. I had to clean out my mother;s home of 60 years after she passed away and it was the hardest job I ever had to do emotionally, but when it was finished I felt I could accomplish anything!
I love your beautiful garden. My flowers are just beginning to grow now too!
Hugs to you, Pat. Both the Husband's and my parents were not hoarders or rat packs, they simply couldn't get rid of things. My theory is because they went through poverty, Depression, and WWII.
DeleteI'm very thankful for flowers.
Your writing style and colorful blog are a joy to read and view! Thank you for sharing such fun and color!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your kind words, Miaismine. :-)
DeleteApril is my birthday month, too, but I get autumn weather here in New Zealand now. Keep up the great writing! Your flowers are so colorful, too.
ReplyDeleteHello, I am so glad your hubby's eye surgery was a success. Downsizing is not fun, but is nice when finished. I love your mural painting, just beautiful. Molly is a sweetie. I always enjoy your post and photos. Enjoy your day and the week ahead.
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering about you. Great to have to back. Well Done with the garage clean up. So glad to hear that the surgery went well. I am sure Molly's purring is helping with the recovery. "Keep busy" is not 100%, at all, but it does help, a bit at least. You sure have been busy. Wonderful sketches. Gorgeous flowers. The table topper and the book planters are wonderful too, and I love the outdoor locker mural. I am glad April brought you so much creativity.
ReplyDelete-Soma
I had to hunt you down....your cat is very good at camo. I love your take on going through stuff. I have slowly been going through DH belongings, and his great aunt and uncles A little at a time.
ReplyDelete