Charleyhorses

So, I'm wondering if this can be a symptom of something, because it has never happened to me like this before, and yet it rings a faint bell in my memory, as though I've heard of it. You see, lately, I've had quite a lot of charleyhorses gripping the muscles of my calves -- can't actually remember whether it's always the same leg, or both legs. Anyway, stretching does not always help and it's fairly annoying and kind of painful, but no serious big deal. But last night I had an ENORMOUS charleyhorse, a huge, crippling, dreadfully painful charleyhorse that had my left leg twisted up like a pretzel. I was unable to get it to let go, and although I sat up in bed, I couldn't stand up at first, because for a minute or two I was unable to put any weight on it. When I could, I went lurching through the house, limping like a pirate on his wooden leg, and crashing into the frame of each doorway I passed through.

When I returned to bed, I dreamed a complicated and distressing dream which I now cannot remember very well, but which was all about the crippled-up leg I had! So it had re-cramped itself in my sleep. And then this morning when I woke, it was painful and untrustworthy.

'Course, it's fine now, only a little bit sore, but more like I was hiking yesterday, not like the aftermath of a charleyhorse.

So, is this a result of being old? Or fat? Or a stroke victim? Or a gallbladder patient? Or WHAT?

Spring in Spite of the Snow

So this morning when I got up into my empty house (smiling upon realizing, as I do every morning when the house is empty -- what kind of a mother does that make me?) and went into the kitchen to make my morning coffee, I looked out the window into a perfectly well-lit view. No shadows, no lingering hints of darkness anywhere. The earth has tilted just enough on its axis for the sun to pass over this particular spot about an hour or so earlier than when I first moved in. Spring is really coming, and this in spite of the recent snow. Now the water is sparkling with the morning light on the ripples, caused by the splashing of many ducks and geese, taking their morning baths and showing off to one another.

I do love this kitchen window -- it does improve even the task of washing my son's dishes. Which, you must understand, are always left half full, and then hidden in the computer room, so that an easy wash becomes a muttering, splashing struggle.

He is doing better, though -- his tantrums are less lengthy, and this last one was superseded by a complete understanding of who was really at fault and how entirely this was true.

But I am still SO MUCH happier in the apartment when I am alone in it! Or, I should say, when he is not in it with me. This gives me an even greater enjoyment of its beauty and appointments -- not unlike the old Aesop's Fable of the family in the tiny house with all their animals inside with them. When they are all out, the house is huge and luxurious -- so my lovely little isle of peace and plenty is even more beautiful when the only noise in it is made by me!

I Love Dean Martin

9:09 in the morning, and I'm sitting drinking good coffee and listening to Dean singing that everybody loves somebody sometimes. Even though this is such an overplayed number that even the few opening notes causes an automatic lurch of disgust, it's actually a pretty good song if you actually listen. Anyway, its Dino, for crying out loud. I mean.

Because I read in someone else's blog about a ruptured appendix and weeks of hospitalization with all kinds of horrific complications make me remember my own case with amazed gratitude combined with horror. You know? I mean it ruptured at least ten years before I had it taken out -- remember that weekend that Beth Ann came and brought her little entourage to sleep on my floor? Yeah, that's right -- but apparently only enough to leak a slow drip of poison into my system -- enough to make me sick every morning upon arising, and give me an enormous build-up of scar tissue. Remember the doctor? "About as big as a Campbell's soup can and a half," holding his hands out in a bulging kidney shape. Shaking his head in amazement.

Pause while I listen to that man sing.... mmmm.

I do love the effortless way the music just pours out of him -- he opens his mouth and it slips right out with no push. As high and as low as he wants, hitting the notes when he wants to and wandering around in their general vicinity when he wants to, and hitting all the decorative little grace notes without the slightest error.. and also so funny and so handsome and such a great actor ! I mean it's not surprising that he turned into a human version of a greek god. It would have been surprising if he had just been a humble, ordinary man who married once and had several kids and was a good dad.

Okay, mild little indulgence in worship over.

And the Oscar Goes to...

Watched the Academy Awards show last night with Mickey and Cynthia and Katie. It was enjoyable, but not exciting, and I wasn't wowed or horrified or any kind of impressed with what anyone was wearing. Nobody was wearing any kind of gorgeous outfit, male or female, nor was anyone doing anything Bjorn-like and wearing a dead bird wrapped around them. So no good clothes sniping. Which was kind of the point of watching, for me at least, since this year I hadn't seen any of the movies! Wow -- what an amazing thing to say, for grown-up me. I used to watch a minimum of a movie a week! Sometimes more like three! But now, sigh, I'm just not in a place to do it. However! I'm looking for that to change. In just a few months my finances will be completely settled, and I will have smaller bills (much smaller!) and be able to afford a movie ticket once a week!

A Near-Death Experience

Once again I have narrowly escaped -- bum, bum, bum -- death by log truck! (quieter and quieter -- log truck, log truck, log truck!)

True. This is the second time that I have barely missed being killed, munched, splattered flat as the proverbial pancake (and which proverb is that?) and yet this time it did not bother me. I did not have to pull over to the side of the highway and breath in huge ragged gasps that didn't seem to give me anything like enough oxygen, until I calmed down.

Driving in to work, merging on to 205, and speeding up as I came down the on-ramp, to reach freeway speeds, only to come right up on the tail of a small pickup which had learned driving at the School of Opposite, and had slowed down to nearly stopping at the end of the ramp. As I braked hard, I looked quickly to my left, to see if I could whip around him, and saw the log truck barreling down beside me. As it passed, I was ready to snap my wheel and skid around this ridiculous little standing-still pickup. Something caught my eye, though, up in the high left corner, and I paused momentarily to assess it -- just long enough to realize that there was a long straight hitch between the truck and the trailer it was pulling, also full of logs. I would have been extremely flattened. Squashed beyond even identification.

I thought about this as I drove peacefully in to work, and found that my heart had not even accelerated. I wasn't concerned bodily at all. Hardly even mentally.

Whereas! The first time I took on a log truck and barely escaped with my life, it shattered me to the point of being incapable of driving. This was the second day I had a license, and I was driving over to the Farm to visit Mom and Dad. Driving east on Hwy 14, I came up behind a slow sedan driving up a fairly steep hill, and I pulled into (what I thought was) the fast lane to pass them. As I passed them, humming merrily to myself, I looked over and smiled at the elderly couple who were both staring at me, in absolute horror. I pulled back over in front of them just as I topped the rise, and just as an enormous log truck, full to the brim with enormous logs came charging over the hill top in the lane I had just that second left. It was a two-lane highway, and I had just narrowly, narrowly missed a terrible, horrible death.

Whew! Even thinking about it makes me anxious. Not this time, though. Wonder why?

I swear I'm not making this up

And I quote:

Telephone: Riiiing!

Me: Good afternoon, Company Name, this is Elisabeth!

Nameless Agent: Oh, hi -- this is Nameless Agent. I have a question.

Me: (patiently) Yes?

Nameless Agent: Do I have to fill out this paperwork for a Short Sale if I'm not doing a Short Sale?

Me: ...Uh, no...

N.A.: No? I don't have to fill out this paperwork?

Me: Not unless you ARE doing a Short Sale...

N.A.: Oh, I'm not! I'm really not!

Me: Then no, you don't.

N.A.: I don't? Are you sure?


? ? ? ? ?

Spring is Really Coming

My morning window faces west, and is pretty hemmed in by trees and mountains anyway, so it was with surprise that I looked out this morning at pink and yellow stripes on the pale, pale blue sky. This is the first morning I've seen that! It was quite light outside, at six-thirty, no shadows or pockets of dark anywhere, first time I've noticed that, too.

And daffodils are blooming EVERYWHERE!