Tuesday

Today was an amazing day, weather wise. I spent the day in shorts and T-shirt. Tonight is another story, however. A cold breeze has come in and it feels like winter (still). I just heard a clap of thunder.

Kate had her bath today. Unlike the dogs in the advertisement she did not seem to enjoy it. However it really did take only three minutes, and it is great to know that she was clean all the way to, and including, the skin, and rinsed completely as well. As soon as I get the ignitor switch fixed on the trailer I will have the same available right in my driveway. I then dried her, checking out some ideas to give her a more level top line. Suffice it to say, it worked, and it will be interesting to see what the judges think this weekend. Sadly, for Kate, there is no more pasture time until Monday. She is so low to the ground, and moves so fast, all the mud gets kicked onto her now white belly and her legs.

I guess the fifth time must be a charm, as I am really looking forward to the shows this weekend. I think I finally know what is expected and just want Kate to have fun. I have a few new tricks in my show bag that ought to make her happy.

I got a call from the man who did my "tattoo" on the prosthesis. He is giving a talk at a fundraising dinner at the Convention Center in Seattle, and wants me to go. I had written a few lines for a story one of the TV stations wants to do, and he wants me to read it. I think the work that he does is not only amazing, but can really help some of the new members of my "gimp" family (the war vets) begin the road to healing. To be proud of that crazy replacement leg is a must, in my opinion. Every time I look at mine it makes me smile. None of us are born exactly the same. Why should this very personal replacement part look as if it came off an assembly line? Any thing I can do to help Dan, I will do my best to do.

It is interesting how some people just show up in my life and fill a void that I really didn't know was there. I am so lucky to have amazing friends. Tonight I got a call from a friend who offered to take care of Henry and Windy this weekend. I will take Henry, so it will just be Windy that will need to be fed. I had realized today that I needed to talk to the neighbor, and was going to call when I got the call and offer. Another friend emailed me a picture of her husband's new bike. That simple gesture made my day, and warms my heart for a lot of reasons. Each day there is some "encounter" that verifies how wonderful and full my life is. A few years back I was pretty angry when the code team pulled me back from that wonderful tunnel of light. Now I am extremely grateful. I can only hope that I can give my friends' lives a little bit of the happiness that they all give me.

So onward goes the week. All of the veggies seem happy in their straw bales. The grapes are showing signs of coming out of their winter hibernation. The first rhodies to bloom will be there by early next week. The nettles are at about two feet tall now, and I am eager for a couple of nice days so I can kill them. Those things hurt. Big time. I have tried pulling them out. I have tried cutting them out. Both of those have netted me big time "stings" on my wrists...between the gloves and the shirt sleeve. One of the not so great joys of living in the woods. I have had enough taste of spring to know it will be here. When it does, I will be out with the nasty poison, and a big grin.

Carry on.

G2

ARGHH! After FIVE attempts to edit in spaces between paragraphs it looks like it is not going to happen tonight. It is just another one of those interesting quirks that raises its head on this site. I just don't understand how, or why, it doesn't publish the same as the preview. sigh.