Rain, rain, rain,,,

It's raining, it's pouring, my little dog is snoring! We have had an incredible amount of rain here in the last few days, and more to come. More important, we have had a lot of snow fall in the more northern regions of this state, the runoff from the snow fills our reservoirs to get us through the long, hot summer. We have been in a drought for several years, obviously it will take more than one good winter snowfall to get out of the drought but every little bit counts!

Yesterday we had very high winds. My poor pup was a bit scared of everything flying around. On my way to work this morning I saw a lot of uprooted trees. There were a couple of sitings of funnel clouds around the area, not by my house, though I have seen one try to form by the mountains west of me. We do occasionally see funnel clouds, but nothing like what they see in the Midwest!

I think the prediction is more rain for today and then we will start to see clear skies over the weekend. Yeah :)

Yardwork

I have been working the last couple of weekends on my backyard. A friend of mine needs help with her yard too, so we have been working together to get things done in each of our yards. It is so nice to have someone working along side you. It just makes the work go by faster. Last weekend we loaded up her truck with a bunch of stuff that I have been accumulating in the corner of my backyard and took a trip out to the dump. Then I did a lot of raking and sweeping. This weekend we picked up some flagstone, I wanted a path to my side patio and my friend needed some for around her pond. We got all the rock set, at my place we used some of the displaced gravel to fill some holes that my boston terror - I mean terrier - had dug up. It was so funny because as we were lightly digging she came over and stared at us. My friend said that she was probably thinking "Why isn't anyone yelling at them for digging?". At just that moment, she started digging beside us! haha - I had to tell her to stop but it was too funny. After getting that completed we went to my friend's house and trimmed some trees on the side of her house, then cut down a bamboo patch that she has. It just amazes me how well bamboo does here in the desert.
Next on the agenda is to plant a small tree (that I can manage digging the hole for), and a privacy fence to separate a storage area from the rest of the yard. Finally my peas are starting to bloom (well, one - haha). I don't think they get enough sun during the winter where I have them. Hopefully as the sun moves they will do better.

Biking...

I am by far - not a serious biker. A friend of mine and I bike, usually on the weekends. We will bike anywhere from ~6 - 20 miles. I enjoy our bike rides, the weather here is just about perfect right now so our bike rides really take advantage of that. It is amazing how at first you may feel tired but you get into the rhythm and that feeling dissipates. I have lived in this area for ~30 years now and it is so amazing to see the changes. Places where all I remember are farm fields are now housing developments or industrial parks. It is sad. It wouldn't bother me for the area to turn back 15-20 years as far as growth goes. I live near a large city (I guess now I live in a large city - but used to be a town) so cultural events were always near by. It was nice to be near that, if you wanted it, but be able to live in more of a small town environment. Of course, then you also have a large majority of people with a small town mentality and while I may be stereotyping I like to think that I have a broader vision than that.

Happy New Year!

Wow... Almost a month with no post - how did that happen? Holiday craziness and family - that's my excuse!

Yesterday my boy's paternal grandmother passed away. She had suffered for years with Alzheimer's. I think that has to be the cruelest disease for both the individual and the caregiver(s). We all knew the end was coming but when I was informed it still hit me in the gut. I don't think you are ever prepared to loose someone you love. Even when it comes with some sense of relief and you know it is inevitable - there is always some sense of shock when they pass. She was a warm, thoughtful woman who loved to take care of her family. My boys last saw her at Christmas, it has been a few years since I had seen her and she hasn't remembered me for some time now. My boys would tell me, "We don't think she remembers you, but she remembers the idea of you." I know they have some wonderful memories of her, as do I and in the end - isn't that all that we have anyway? Memories.

The Spirit

Spirituality for me is found in the questions, if you stop questioning are you still spiritual? I think spirituality is pervasive, it must bind your humanity together, the physical, the mental, your health, your soul, the human being. Like the mortar in concrete binds rock, stones, pebbles, sand together to make a strong bond. I do practice a particular faith but I find a lot of people confuse religiosity with spirituality and for me I would rather be defined by my spirit than by my religion.

What does God want for us? I think He wants us to be the best versions of ourselves we can be. Everyday we should wake up and say - "OK self, what do I need to do today to be the best Me I can?" Could you imagine a world where everyone did that? Wow.

Fish

I used to have a fish at work... Well, first I had "Flash", then "Flashback", then "Trey". I found it quite relaxing to have him there. After a while it would seem that the fish would start interacting a little bit with me. Would swim toward you when you talked to them, etc. I think it was Flash who lived the longest, he was around for ~ 1.5 years, his predecessors did not fair as well. Flashback lived ~1 year and then Trey only ~ 6 months. It just didn't seem right to get another one. With the trend I was setting he probably would only have lasted ~ 3 months. There are still times when I have thought of getting another but better sense prevails. I'm not sure if a life in a mud puddle somewhere is better than in a bowl on my desk but at least the mud puddle is their natural environment. There is something very relaxing about watching fish swim around though. I wonder what it is? Perhaps their fluidness instills a sense of freedom in the viewer...

December...

Here it is December 6th and I haven't had a post all month... Why not? I guess just too busy! I love this time of year. The weather is so much nicer than the summer months. You can grow things and they live :o) I can ride a bike and not die :o) I can take my pup to the park and she won't die :o) I love Christmas, the decorations, the family, etc. I have started to put up Christmas decorations but am still not done yet. No tree... I'll wait till maybe next weekend. I do have a "real" wreath on my front door. I love how it makes the entry smell so nice! I'll do more during the week. I need to recruit my boys to help. But most of the time trying to get them to do something is so draining that it is easier to just not ask...

I'll try and post more often - and more photos!