March 5th

Hello, long lost friends and family.      I have not given up the blog, FYI, just too busy to give it any thought.   I plan to pick it up again soon.     There is something about being in your 70s.  All your friends start falling apart, one by one, or someone in their family, so it seems like this precious life is even more precarious.     Very best friend for over 3o years had massive aneurysm in January.   She is recovering nicely, but is in the slow track for now.    Other friends have experienced broken feet, wrists, legs, etc.     Flu bugs and surgeries are the normal topic of conversations.     Now we are approaching tax season so that is on everyone's minds.    Don't think I'll burden you all with the details of all these things, just know that they are keeping me busy.... along with my  normal gardening and art activities.     And then there is family.   Thank goodness.   Job hunting for grandsons, chorus schedule for granddaugter, a variety of work schedules for DIL and son, keep things humming on the home front.   And then there are these crazy sweet little doggie companions!  

We have had a most unusual  year weatherwise.    We started with a super rainy winter season, switched to cold snaps and recently have had nothing more than dry and sunny with occasional high fog.   None of that deep dense wet fogs that we usually have this time of year.      I sure like the sunshine.       I guess this was the driest Feb since the 1920s.     And New England is having heavy snow storms, one after another.   I think of my family members there and wish I could send them some sunshine.    

I've redone a lot of things in the garden.  Partly to route out a pack of mice or rats that moved into space under the studio.    lulu soon found she could scoot in on her belly to give them a piece of her mind but never got close enough to catch them.     She now has a permanently stained belly from lying in the dirt so much.   LOL    I loved her soft pink tummy and hope it comes back.      Lots of baths and scrubbing may help.  LOL    Nikki has long legs even though she's a small dog, her legs just do not fold up in a way that she can maneuver the way a little short legged terrier can.   So she runs around the perimeter of the studio to make sure they don't get away if they come out.       The last week or so, the dogs are much less interested, so perhaps the little critters have moved to another yard without pets. That's what I'm hoping.

I'll be posting again soon.       Hope you are all well and having a good winter.     It feels like Spring is right around the corner in this part of the world.        Trees are all  in blossom around town.   Looks like a blizzard under some of the flowering trees.    Pink blossoms, white blossoms, they abound.