Not the speed limit.  The age.  70.  Not yet, I am. Thirty days hence, I shall be the graaaaand old age of 70. Yeah, mind blowing, thank you very much. Last night, I listened to a story about an elderly woman who fell off a mountain trail, got turned  around, injured herself, and after several days died from starvation and the elements. That very sad tale wasn’t what made me gasp big-time. It was when someone added that the woman was 72 years old.  She was so young! I don’t  think of a 72 year-old as being elderly, especially one who hikes mountains alone. There has to be a lot of confidence and strength and determination and inner peace packed in a person to trek mountains. I hope the woman realized that about herself. May her Spirit soar in joy, peace, and love throughout the Universe.        For years I’ve thought that when my body decided it was about to hit the wall, I would wander up into the mountains and find a spot to wait for death to claim me. Hi Everyone! Long time. Yep

Yesterday was the anniversary of Mama’s Spirit freeing herself to soar into the Universe.  Six years ago it was.  There being things I wanted to be distracted from, I gathered flowers from the yard and took them to the cemetery.  Calendula, freesias, lavender, and pineapple sage. Some for Mama and Daddy, some for the two baby sisters, and some for Uncle Frank, Daddy’s younger brother.  When I set the tin can of flowers on Mama’s and Daddy’s gravesite, I noticed that all the flowers were ones I’ve been growing the past six years. That’s a feat I had no idea I would’ve or could’ve been part of my story.  I like to think Mama noticed, too. About the flowers, that is. 

I can doodle my way out of impatience while I wait in a doctor’s waiting room and then wait longer in an examination room. What do you do to remain a patient patient? The above doodle was created during my final follow-up with Dr. G who replaced my left knee joint and realigned my leg. A miracle maker, he is.  He thought I was giving it to him when I showed him the doodle. “I’m going to need it back,” I said. “This is on the back of my receipt.”  A couple weeks later, I turned the doodle into a thank-you card for Dr. G who is moving on to new adventures. Cheers, Dr. G! I’m sharing today’s post with Art for Fun Friday . Thanks for dropping by. See ya!

A junkyard to some, most likely. Sometimes I pretend it’s an art gallery in the making. The other day, the Husband thought the yard looked like a cemetery. What do you think?  That’s how the backyard looked at the beginning of March before the rain kicked in. After years of drought, I’m enjoying this old-time rainy weather, the look, the sound, the smell. March delight! Here’s how it looked yesterday.  I disappeared again, I did. My last post was five weeks ago on the same day that the Husband’s triple whammy of sore and painful joints, a respiratory virus, and norovirus began. Not all at the same time, but pretty much overlapping each other. I had a 36 hour bout with norovirus, fortunately, after the Husband’s worse of his tummy woes were nearly over.  All’s well today, hurrah! Hope you are all feeling strong and with wonder! ❤️

My list of fun stuff that I want to create this year continues to grow. For this week’s  Thursday 13 , I  share the 13 new things I recently added to my list. Sew new curtains for L Studio. The above photo shows some of the fabric I’m putting together. Sew an iron board cover. Make bookmarks out of fabric scraps and beads. Reupholster Mama’s love seat that Mama bought in the 1960s. I love this ratty tatty love seat. Sew a garden apron with deep pockets. Grow dahlias. This year I started the seeds in eggshells and they actually popped up. I transferred 21 sprouts into individual tiny pots. So far, so good. Make a jar of pickled bamboo called atchara the way Mama did. Sew a dress of many colors. (This will be the year I do it, by golly!) Paint at least one mural on the fence. Make concrete steps for garage. Paint the garage door. Paint a wall mural in the hallway bathroom. Make Asian dumplings from scratch, except for the wrappers. To check out other Thursday 13   participants, click her

(1) True confessions, as opposed to false: If I don’t publish this post today, I will have two unfinished Thursday posts.   Keep on chugging along, Su-sieee! Mac.  (2) Do you have a day of the week in which you have a lot of physical and mental energy? Thursday is usually when I feel self-motivated, creative, and productive. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been the other days.  (3) This morning was quite fruitful. I pedaled my under-table bike for 10 minutes or so before breakfast, then later followed a short Qigong video. I must’ve unblocked some energy. The Husband found me dancing to golden oldies while getting ready for my physical therapy session.  (4) Today was my last prescribed PT session. Eight weeks, twice a week, 30 minutes, more or less. I don’t believe Sing 2.0 would be as sturdy and assured as she is today without a professional showing me how to stretch and strengthen her. (Sing is my left knee who got her joint replaced two months ago.) The surgeon, who I saw for a follow

(1) Be forewarned, I'm talking a lot about Sing in this Thursday 13 post. Sing is my titanium and plastic left knee joint. Yep, by golly, I am anthropomorphising (what a long word!)  my artificial joint. Sing a song of sixpence. . . . (2) Sing celebrated her sixth week anniversary yesterday, Wednesday, by revealing her name to me.  Whoot, whoot!  (3) I’m now up to 20 minutes of steady heel-toe, heel-toe around the neighborhood with a walking stick, no less. Knee-haw! There’s definitely a difference in my gait with Sing taking the lead. I feel like I’m walking stronger and surer. My right knee joint isn’t protesting too much, thank goodness.  (4) Spoiler alert: My future artificial right knee joint will be called Song. Hence, one day in the near future, with Sing and Song, I shall be hiking through meadows, crossing creeks, and climbing mountain trails. Ahhh. Delightful.  (5) Another milestone: I drove Sally Forth today. After our walk, the Husband and I jumped into the car for me