Happy Miracle Day(Birthday) Ladybug

(For Thursday Thirteen scroll down)

Today is the fabulous, adorable, fantastic, energetic, loving, silly and one of a kind Ladybug’s third birthday. In her honor I have written her a Nonet. A Nonet is a poem of nine lines, the first of which is nine syllables, next 8, and so on.

Ladybug my miracle grandchild

You defied modern medicine

You ignored dire predictions

Three years of joy you’ve shared

Your tribulations

Are lessons learned

Life is short

Enjoy it

Now

 

I Foresee Tears In My Future

(For Wordless Wednesday scroll down)

Periphery

I still watch over you, son

I’ll never stop worrying or praying or being proud

Your growing and changing, maturing and mating

It makes no difference to a mother’s care

On Monday you two will be joined

Sweethearts, friends, lovers and now mates for life

Together you create a new center, a new unit

And I shall rejoice in your joy from the periphery

 

Day Two. 28 more. Over and out.

 

Wordless Wednesday – Fruit Of My Loins Special – View One Get Two Free!

 

Forgot To Mention – EDIT: Over-Positive Thoughts, LOL

EDIT: The surgery was postponed for two weeks. Mr Vixen had some little cuts on his knee from the move (gravel injury) and at the pre-op doc was sure they would be fine by surgery. Fast forward to today when we spend nearly three hours down there checking in, IV, leg prep and then…..Doc comes in and says. I thought those would be more healed by now. Scabs have infection. I am postponing your surgery for two weeks.

You know how sometimes life just slaps you in the face. You are startled and your cheek is stinging. You forget what is happening in your every day-to-day existence.

One of the reasons I was so panicked when we got that ‘notice’ was because I knew we had a very limited time to move. Not just because of the notice. I could have stayed there, made them fight for it, and taken my time finding a place. No the reason being twofold: I have a bad back AND I need Mr. Vixen to help move. Most of the stuff we had to put in storage are his tools. Large, heavy tools he used to make a living with. Emotionally he is not ready to give up and die. He may not be able to work right now, but parting with those things he spent the last 25 years building and using to build was just not in the cards.

So I knew I had to move and be done with it before today, only 24 days after our notice. Here is the part I forgot to mention…Mr. Vixen is having surgery today. It is not the full knee replacement he needs. They won’t do that yet. They want to try this first. This surgery will not solve any problems, it will just make the pain bearable. Just a hope of a less painful daily life. According to the expert sources (doctors), a knee replacement these days only lasts 15 years. Since Mr. V is only 46 they want to try and stave off the replacement until (they hope) it will last him the rest of his life or replacement surgery improves so greatly that they last longer.

So, I will be hanging out in the hospital today, if you are looking for me. It is a new surgery center I have not been to before so at least I will have a new place to explore! I am a bit sick of the local hospital and Children’s hospital. I have explored every nook and cranny of those places! If you can fit it in, keep the crotchety old man Mr. Vixen in your thoughts.

Happy Monday everyone! I will be back later and while caring for the crip sleepy, post-op man, I may be able to post some Easter pictures up at my photography blog!

 

Subliminal Sunday Morning

While I am at church…finally

Here is a peek at me from last evening.

1. Money :: The root of all evil AND an ends to a means
2. Unhappy :: Not anymore!
3. Joking :: What I am usually doing
4. Chipmunk :: Alvin
5. Date :: Special remembrances
6. Slideshow :: I see them in my head everyday, of my life
7. Chicago :: Grampa. I miss you.
8. Lifetime :: An achievement I am working on.
9. Skid row :: San Francisco visits with Pop.
10. Edward :: A King

Back later with some pictures of egg smooshing coloring by Ladybug!

 

Blogging My Blessings (prev. known as I came out yesterday)

I came out yesterday. To my mother. I think at our ages (45 and 65 respectively) we are mature enough, worldly enough, and close enough to share this place. I won’t hold back anything. I will still be me.

I feel confident I have nothing to hide. I am who I am. I mean sure, there was that time I called her a hypochondriac and all, but HEY, my brother and one of my daughters are hypochondriacs too and it doesn’t diminish my love and respect for them one tiny bit!

I have always been a bit reserved with my family. And maybe a bit afraid that they would think me too kooky or flighty. But I am confident in who I am now and who we are as a family. I also have confidence in them to take what I write here for what it is meant. A creative outlet. Not black and white. Not always serious. Not meant to be hurtful. It is just what I see, feel or think at one moment and is highly subject to change in the next five minutes.

If she doesn’t run screaming from the Den immediately and sticks around and (gulp) starts commenting….she is going to need a super secret internet name. Any suggestions?

EDITED: Before I could share this with you, my dear mother jumped in with both feet and made a comment on the previous post. It is so touching and heartbreaking, I wish to share it here. As an introduction to my mom. Who said “I don’t share, but I left you a message.” I told her this is a safe place. A wondrous place of support and love. A community. Here is her entry, a little message from a mom/grama/great-grama at home on Easter Eve with no family at her house for the first time:

The eggs are cooked, the dye is fizzing. The crayons and egg dippers, carefully placed on the egg dying tablecloth. Droplets on my cheek, is it raining? Where are the kids. I can’t find the kids.

I think she can share and share beautifully. Now you get a little idea where my writing talent comes from. So help me come up with a super secret internet name for her?

Have a blessed Easter Morning.

 

Holy Weekend

I got this in an email this morning. It made me feel better.

“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did” When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence….. ‘The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.’

My plan for the weekend:

• Get my grandmother’s mirror and sell the hot tub
• Confession – for my sake. I have never needed it so badly
• Coloring Eggs with all the kids (big and small)
• Early mass
• Presents for the kids (anyone got any ideas? It is tradition that it is something little and something for ‘springtime’ i.e., bubbles, badmitton set, etc)
• Honeybaked ham, homemade potatoe salad (my mom’s special recipe)
• Kicking back and enjoying the feeling that I have been liberated from an awful hell.

 

The Den Introduces….Watermelon

Here is the first glimpse of my next grandchild (primarly belonging to his parents MacDougal and Funsize I guess):

 

Dia duit*

Fellow Irishwoman Jenn at Enjoying The Ride awarded this to me:

To all of you:

May Christ and His Saints stand between you and harm.
Mary and her Son.
Patrick with his staff.
Martin with his mantle.
Brigid with her veil.
Michael with his shield.
And God over all with His strong right hand.

And lastly, to my former landlords: Fillean meal ar an meallaire.**

* Hello (lit. God to you)

**Evil returns to the evil doer

Enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day. I know us O’Healy’s will!

 

Very Positive Things About Moving

Moving is not fun. Well, possibly if you won the lottery and paid someone to move all your stuff and put it exactly where you want by reading your mind and all you had to do was drive over there and walk into a new mansion. Then it might be a little bit fun. I will say though that there are many positives resulting from our little move this past week.

• I know I have mentioned them before, but they are worthy of mention yet again. I have not one, but two working toilets within my actual domicile. Not at the neighbors or in a freezing cold barn. And flushing them has not once caused raw sewage to spew into the yard a few feet from Bear’s door. I call that an extra added bonus.
• I am so much closer to work I shaved nearly 30 minutes off my commute. With the average price of gas last week at high of $3.67 a gallon I have already saved $40 dollars in gas this week and I only went to work three days.
• There is heat within my abode. Hard to think how I managed without it. Truly amazing stuff. I have never had radiant heat (in the ceiling) and it is warm without vents and drafts and not so dry. At the old place when we arose in the morning it was usually about 56 degrees and we would have to turn on the gas stove to warm it up enough to shower, because our little electric heater just couldn’t handle it.
• Speaking of showers….this one is not a 3’6″ square. It actually has a tub. I can move around during a shower or soak in a tub.
• On the weekend when Nanny and company came to visit, we were able to sit on couches (Thanks to a lovely gift from MacDougal of his old ones) and visit. We could only fit two chairs into the old place. We were also able to sit at the table and eat dinner.
• This place is actually magical. One night I put our dirty dishes into this box under the cabinet and while I was sleeping pixies came and washed my dishes!
• The washer and dryer are in the laundry (hall) closet. That means no going out through the rain and cold to wash and then hauling the laundry over to the barn to dry it.
• A bonus laundry issue is there is hot water going to the washing machine. Do you know how much cleaner your clothes get when you can wash them in warm water?
• You can walk down the hallway without having to turn sideways. In fact, two people can actually pass in the hallway.
• Here I am allowed to actually hang things up. Our new place is now decorated and we were allowed to hang the toilet paper holder and towel racks too.

I could go on and on with things about not having gravel tracked inside, free water, wall to wall carpet, and electricity that works, but I will let you all go now. What was that? You say everyone has these things? Well, pshaw, who knew.

I do not have internet yet (should be done tomorrow!) and I have to walk down the road to find an unsecured network. I hope to be back full force soon and I will share an excellent story about Ladybug and some cute pictures of Butterball eating solid food! I may even be able to look up the Heads Or Tails for Tuesday and participate.