Live Fully

After sitting outside on the patio in the sun, for 2 hours this morning - we decided to take Laydee on a walk at this nature preserve near us. The husband has been under the weather with the nasty head cold he got from me. I'm on the mend with just an occasional need to cough. I figured the sunny day and a good walk would open up the pores and make us feel better - at the very least point us toward a better mood. 

Already into the walk, it became apparent, that it was quite windy with some good-sized gusts. It wasn't that cold - around 60 but those wind gusts just shoot right through me. My left ear started to bother me - and I wasn't wearing a hood or cap to cover my ears. The husband gave me his detachable hood which helped to protect my ear.  I didn't want to turn back. 

Not crowded at all -  just a bunch of us seniors there walking, young mommies with strollers and children. A few runners and dog walkers. A truly wonderful day. It's been so gloomy here and rainy. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny as well so we'll totally take advantage of it. 

This place is 128 acres and has a 6.7-acre lake. There are several creeks that after a rainy season, swell and just make a big old swampy wetland. The geese love it. 

I sat on a bench in the sun. It was nice. 

Plaques on some of the benches

Live Fully is a good goal on any day. 

I just noticed the power lines. Bummer. 

This watershed is nice with exposed trails winding through natural grass, blue oak, and valley oak. Benches and interpretive signs educating about vernal pools and oak woodlands are located throughout the trail system.

Came back home - had nachos for lunch and I laid down (without sleeping) and the husband took a nap. I do feel much better. My head seems clearer.

I put some chicken breasts in the crock pot for dinner - this morning with some chopped canned tomatoes, onions, green and red bell peppers - garlic, basil, and paprika (I hardly ever measure anything except when I bake) I'm starting to smell it and I approve!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Lets do some updates

Source: Friends of Redding Eagles

During our last wind storm, a stick blew into the nest and cracked an egg, so now there are only 2 eggs. It's always upsetting when that happens - for the Liberty and Guardian, they just trust.  

The almond tree is looking beautiful. My husband would take photos and text them to me while I was sick. 

I wasn't able to spend much time with Ed and Harry - my husband pretty much doing it all. They were always waiting for him at the front door and then following him around. 

Updates

I'm feeling about 44% better. The rest of me is slightly nauseous at times - still in a brain fog and coughing but not like before. I'm not sleeping all the time like I was.  I'm taking the rest of the week off from all group activities. At least I am seeing improvement. 

The husband has been coughing - and sneezing since yesterday. 

Navy and his wife are on their way back - in fact, they should be home anytime now. 

I noticed that the Google sign-in is different. I checked it out and apparently, they have been rolling out the new look over the last couple of months with all of it now done as of March 4. It's really not that big of a change. I only noticed because the print seemed bigger. 

Another change that is coming. I heard that Dollar Tree is raising their prices AGAIN. They will be all over the place in prices. Seems they are having an identity crisis and want to be more like Dollar General. They are installing price scanners in the store. 

It's been raining a lot - what more can I say about that? Snow in the mountains = more water for California. 

Good News -

The husband did our taxes and we are getting back $151 from the State of California and $841 from the Feds.  We're pleased. 

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes. 

As soon as I publish this, I will probably remember something else, only to forget it again. I am wrestling with a bad mood - As for my birthday, I'm over it. I'm thinking, that maybe this was a glimpse of what the next decade is going to look like.  (okay I'm wrestling with negative thinking, too) I get this way when I have been sick for longer than a couple of days, I tend to go through a mini depression. 

Lastly, today would have been my sister's 65th birthday. Her name was Donna. I miss her terribly even though in our adult years, we grew apart thanks to our mother's meddling. We were just finding our way back to each other, when she dropped dead, unexpectedly at the age of 56. She would have never liked being 65 or even older. Most of her friends were Nina's friends. She had no old friends that were her age or older. I always felt "less than" when around her because I was getting older and she refused. 

She loved life her way - she loved the men - and the men loved her. She was married four times and I believe this one would have made it.  

I had always wished we would grow old together and it was a great disappointment when she passed. Because of her age denial, she refused to get medical attention - she followed a lot of remedies. 

I always knew she was a drinker. Every time we talked on the phone, she was drunk. She took our mother's suicide very hard and every anniversary, she would call me, drunk and crying, and big sister had to make everything okay. It was after she passed that we learned she died of cirrhosis of the liver. Her daughter said, she believed she knew something was wrong and just wanted to forget about it. She tended to live in a fantasy world. 

Oh, how I wish things could have been different. 

Now I am the only one left from my birth family. 

Donna, I miss you and I loved you. Why? 

 

70 birthdays

 

It’s Sunday right? All I have done is sleep. I’ll get up, hobble to the sofa and then I lay down and do the only thing I am good at - Sleep! 

What a drag. I guess there is some improvement- besides being sleepy, I feel so weak. I’m hoping tomorrow will improve and I can stay awake longer. 

As for my birthday- no biggie. It’s funny because I never used to make big deal out of them and so I should have known when I proclaimed this year’s birthday a milestone to celebrate that something would happen. The last time I was this sick was 3 years ago when I had Covid. I don’t usually get colds - I built up a lot of immunities in 30 years dealing with young preschoolers. 

Friday I bought my chocolate chocolate-chip brownies and chocolate ice cream and still haven’t dug into yet. Maybe tonight, just a little. 

So I now proclaim the whole March as my birthday month! As soon as I am well enough I have a dinner and a lunch date with my son. I can do that - I’m 70! 

Freaky Clouds

Yesterday we had some freaky clouds in the skies around town. 

A wave cloud is a cloud form created by atmospheric internal waves.

Pretty rare here - so of course we're all standing outside taking a photo. 

In front of Foodie's complex. 

Oh and Happy First Day of March! 

March is such a fickle month. It is the seam between winter and spring—though seam suggests an even hem, and March is more like a rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens. You don’t know what you’ll find, until you step outside.

V.E. Schwab, 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

This morning I woke up with chest congestion and coughing. Just out of no place! 

I soldiered on and kept my grocery shopping commitment. I told my son, I'd have to take a raincheck on the birthday lunch at my favorite deli. It was nice to have him along because the longer it took, the more I started to feel like crap. I paid and then went to the car to wait for him to bag everything. 

I could barely get home - 

I laid down but did not sleep. I'm just not used to taking afternoon naps anymore. But the rest did me good and I am up and about again. I don't have an appetite - only for a Ricola now and then. So far I was feeling worse at the grocery store - now I just feel tired and achy with a juicy cough. I did have some orange juice and a scrambled egg. 

So it looks like this is the way I will usher in my 70th birthday which is tomorrow. Feeling more like I am older than 70 - but hey, I'm still alive! 

I'll probably peter out early tonight. 

Take Care.

Debby

PS. Blogger is at it again. At least with me. I am having a hard time uploading photos from my computer. So far no problem if I use my phone. No dice when I use my desktop. 

This 70-year-old is not in the mood for this!