Almost 3/4 of a century . . .

Wow, 74 years old seems like quite a few years - looks better written out i.e. seventy-four. Not sure how I got here so easily and quickly. I remember my Pépère Bonnin at that age and he was the nicest, kindest, most gentle man in the universe; my mother was a trooper, as she would say, tough as nails and my father was Pa, an accepting, thoughtful man who enjoyed living and thinking. Looking forward to enjoying our lives here in Louisiana and being comfortable and in love with my better and yet equal half, P&D's Pop. We're a pretty good pair; we want for nothing and each day is a quiet adventure in learning to enjoy life together.

And thinking of enjoying life we received two beautiful counted cross stitch wall hangings from our Oneco friends. I am so impressed with S's work and we have found a perfect place for them as you can see in the photos. I hope that some day they will venture down the Mississippi River on a paddle wheeler and we can meet them at each  port of call in Louisiana. That would be so neat. Just imagine picking them up in St. Francisville for a nice visit and then meeting them in Baton Rouge and then on to New Orleans. It's exciting just thinking about it. I would love to take the newest paddle wheeler from New Orleans way the heck up to the source of the mighty Mississippi. Well, I shall dream on and perhaps when my ship comes in we'll be able to afford the entire journey! Bonne idée. Yes, sounds like an excellent plan.

Quote:  That friendship will not continue to the end which is begun for an end.   ___Quarles

Today's weather making up for the week inauqurated by the devil's spawn . . .

Loggerhead Shrike - not one mentioned below!

Wow is not a really good descriptive word for the weather today on the eve of Christmas 2016. It is 79 degrees, sunny with a decent breeze and all I wish to do is sit on my back porch swing and enjoy the warmth, the flowers that have survived my poor management and the flocks of American Goldfinches, Cardinals, Chickadees and Tufted Titmice. But back to my tale of woe.

Sometime last week a spawn of the fiercest devil gave me the worst chest and head cold I have ever had. Finally ended up seeing my primary care for a regular checkup and she said I had sinusitis plus all sorts of other aches especially in my right arm and shoulder. So I am now on antibiotics and also the six day treatment with prednisone along with special eye drops to clear up the allergic reaction I had two weeks ago to Restasis. Although I am feeling better the cough is almost bringing me to my knees when it decides to attack me. Hell has no fury like a coughing fit that knocks you down and out. Must admit it ticks me off but to no avail do I complain - it is what it is ( I hate that expression) and I'll just live with it until it peters out. I will miss Christmas Mass which saddens me because I enjoy the music and the time of year but I don't dare drive because all of these pills on top of my other pills makes a foggy brain - well a foggier brain than usual. I will make a super easy cheesecake for our Christmas dinner tomorrow as Big Kiddo and perhaps Puppy will come for dinner. It will be a very easy plain dinner of shrimp and corn soup, boudin and rice stuffed boneless chicken, fresh mixed vegetables, Caesar salad and white wine with my easy cheesecake for dessert. It'll be a pleasant quiet day. I need that right about now and so does P&D's Pop who has had to put up with the coughing fits from hell.

One of the sweet pluses is I have two beautiful bouquets of roses for my birthday and Christmas and I also received a box of dark chocolate covered ginger from our Oneco friends who continue to spoil me even in our absence. No matter what I like Christmas quiet or noisy; it's a heartwarming time to recoup and love our kids and their families with all our hearts and to be nostalgic for the lives we led as children when the world was perfect and so were our families.

Quote:  Jesus Christ, the condescension of divinity, and the exaltation of humanity.   _______Phillips Brooks

Getting curiouser and curiouser . . . (I wrote this and forgot to post!!!)

Gotta say that I'm feeling fine but . . . I went to the eye Doctor last Wednesday just to get my yearly checkup since I hadn't been since last September in Connecticut. Had a nice young new Doctor who said my dry eye was getting quite bad so he started me on Restasis. Now Restasis costs about $10 a tiny vial and you need to use two a day - let that sink in. Okay since I reached my out of pocket deductible months ago my insurances picked up the entire tab for, fais attention a 90, yes, 90 day supply. ( I do not know what kind of deal the insurances have with the company that makes Restasis.) Well I won't go into the details of what happened to my eyes, in particular my right eye when I could not reach either the eye doctor's office or my primary care's office on the weekend. But yesterday at 3pm one of the eye doctor's squeezed me in and (probably guessed it by now) I had a very bad allergic reaction to Restasis. So . . . I am now on Prednisolone four times a day blah, blah, blah until January 2. The moral of this short, uncomfortable, painful story is ? Perhaps a doctor should not order a ninety day supply of medication until he knows you will not have an allergic reaction?

Okay, other than that snafu all is well in Louisiana where we can stay warm without resorting to heating the house, wearing boots, mittens and toques. It is 70 degrees as I write this overcast morning. Of course this will not last but warm is good. We both like being warm.We went to our Tuesday morning breakfast at James' Grill and the same well dressed elderly gentleman who gave me a rose the first time we ate at James' gave me one today. Yes, we do like it here.

Quote:  Good nature is the very air of a good mind; the sign of a large and generous soul, and the peculiar soil in which virtue prospers. _____Goodman

This is a first . . .

Today's Northern Mockingbird

P&D's Pop and I brought our Closest and Eldest some cigars from a former student and on the way home we stopped at El Agave for a late lunch early supper. P&D's Pop had a nice big hamburger and I had steak fajitas. For drinks there was, of course, a Bud Light for himself and a Margarita for herself. When asked what size I wanted I said as long as it was in a tall glass and not those crazy Margarita glasses I would be fine. A quart mug of Margarita was placed before me. I don't think I'm exaggerating. I drank about half, maybe and then P&D's Pop said I could get a to go cup! That's right - in Louisiana you can get your drinks to go! So after polishing off the dessert, fried ice cream, bien sûr, we headed for home. I do not intend to complete my Margarita this evening. I took a nice brisk walk when we got home and feel just right.

Mentioning a walk reminds me that I decided to stop using my Fitbit to keep track of my exercise. I was getting addicted and pushing myself so much that I was hurting myself in the process. Five miles a day wasn't good for my left leg which acts up occasionally but was acting up big time when I was walking more than a couple of miles. So I'm using the Fitbit to keep track of calories and my weight. It's easy to do and seems to be helping me to keep on the straight and narrow. I've lost the five pounds I had gained since we arrived here last December. Now I'll just try to maintain a decent weight without going overboard! We'll see how I do over the holidays!

We received a beautiful present from Oneco friends today - two counted cross stitch wall hangings in perfect harmony and colors for the kitchen/dining room. They are wonderful vegetables in a finely worked pattern in subdued colors which are perfect on our wall. I am certainly spoiled.

Quote:  The truly generous is the truly wise, and he who loves not others, lives unblest.    ____Home