Despite the cold temperatures and lack of rain, the first of the wildflower blooms have appeared in the front yard. This morning, Molly the Cat and I saw a cosmos (upper left corner), lupine (upper right corner), and California poppy (lower right corner). They're all volunteers from last year's plantings. Also presenting itself is the first freesia (lower left corner) of the season. Not sure, but I think they're from bulbs that got planted last fall. These flowers have a light fragrance. Mmmmmmmm.

Life is good. Yesterday my retirement check got deposited and our health insurance and car insurance premiums got paid. Today we went to Costco and splurged on beer, potato chips, pesto sauce, potstickers, toilet paper, and Brita filters. Oh my goodness, we even bought a carpet runner for the hallway. Am I being sarcastic? Facetious? I don't know anymore. The Husband and I are now in the category of retired seniors on limited income, so buying groceries at Costco today felt like a luxury. Going home, I found myself justifying the purchases by figuring how much we saved by buying in bulk.   Going through life with the responsible happy-a-go-lucky Husband makes living less scary. I truly believe him when I ask him to tell me "Everything will be all right." The Husband thinks that people ought to eat well because it helps maintain good health. Why should we deprive ourselves of good health, regardless of our income, right? Yup. Life is good. At the moment the Husb

    Note: That's the French pronunciation of Guy, said like ghee, a kind of clarified butter. That said, on with this week's tale for ABC Wednesday. * * * "Guy, you'll tear that guide yet," said Ghandi the Gamekeeper, glancing over at Guy A. Gator the Grill Chef, who was whipping not-so-gladly through Gator Cuisine . Ghandi laid a three of hearts down on his game of solitaire. Guy slapped his hand on a page so vehemently the gin-mill of a bar went silent for a glued second. Guy growled. Or, was it more of a groan? "Look at this!" Ghandi leaned over the gator's shoulder and read aloud, "The Greatest Gator Gumbo!" Ghandi grazed Guy's shoulder lightly and gingerly, so the big guy knew that the giraffe was in his corner. "Humans and their follies," said Ghandi. The two good friends raised their glasses in the air, took a long gulp of martini, gibbered, then sighed. "Today, a human wanted a special order of ga

See the rat (on the left) walking up the top of the hill? The Husband and I see faces and shapes in rocks, trees, and other inanimate objects. How about you? Scientists call this phenomenon of seeing things within things facial pareidolia. Some experts say that neurotic individuals are inclined to have this ability. Other experts claim that this condition is quite strong in religious people and those who believe in the supernatural. Leonardo da Vinci considered pareidolia as a tool that artists can use to visualize possible scenes to paint or draw. Carl Sagan thought that pareidolia was a form of survivor tool for individuals to recognize if approaching people are friendly or not. All interesting theories, don't you think? A tree full of trolls? What profile do you see: A person? An antelope? Sideshow Bob? I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday . Here's the link for you to check out participants from around the world, and maybe to join up yourself. Th

I got to wondering: Are we so healthy that the doctors have nothing to do but administer medication for the flu? I find it curious that when we get the flu, our tendency is to see the doctor or go to the emergency room for an antidote to the virus. It used to be when we got the flu and saw the doctor, he would try not to scoff at us. "It's just the flu," he'd say. "Go home, get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and cover your mouth, for gosh sake, when you cough or sneeze." Well, the doctor wouldn't forsake the gosh, or, if he did, at least not say it out loud." Same thing with the cold. I think the doctor would actually look at us with disdain, but he would've covered his scowl by puffing out cigarette smoke, if those old movies are to be believed that doctors smoked cigarettes while seeing their patients. The difference between having a cold and the flu? To me, the Husband is quite a lot more miserable when he has the flu. Over th