R.A.I.N.

April showers bring... May flowers showers?
Check out how much rain we got for the month of April! (The column on the left is this month's numbers; the column on the right shows the averages for April.) Over twice as much as average, and a full half of that amount has fallen in the last five days. The ground is so saturated, it has no place to go; not to mention that the rain falls in such torrential downpours that there'd be no soaking it up even if the ground was dry... The fields look like lakes and the creeks look like rivers. And as the forecast shows, there's more rain still to come!

At least the lightning and thunder have been impressive. :)

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... Rain, rain, and more rain!! (But with it, comes such luscious greenery!!)

I am thinking... that I must be getting old, because this weather makes my bones achey. :-/ And I'm thinking about the swine flu, thinking that there's way too much hype about it, but also wondering how bad it truly will get.

I am thankful for... last week's trip to Minnesota and for all the benefits and good things in my life. (And I'm trying to be grateful even for the crosses and unpleasant things. :))

From the kitchen... grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

I am wearing... a black skirt and a colorful, plaid top that has kind of big fuschia buttons. :)

I am reading... In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms... so far, it's really good!

I am hoping... that the things pertaining to the pending merger and move will fall into place and go smoothly.

I am hearing... the sound of the clock and of Mom setting the table and of the gas burner on the stove.

Around the house... ironing to do, pictures to be uploaded to the internet :), errands to run, cookies to make. :)

One of my favorite things... summer evenings.

Chloe @ (almost) 14 months

She's Getting So Big

4 days shy of 14 months, yesterday (when this picture was taken)... She uses lots of sounds that are very similar to the syllables she hears; no real words yet, but decipherable sounds for "please", "dog", and "kitty" ("plea/tlee/eee", "ado", "and "kie" respectively)... and lots of others. When she smiles, the sheer delight on her face is enough to melt your heart.

Morning Light

April 14, 2009; 7:44 AM

A Merger

The news is out now, at least to all those who need to know... So I can (finally :)) say something about it publicly.

My dad's private practice (as a family physician) will be merging with the little local hospital. The merger itself will take place over Memorial Day weekend. It's going to mean quite a few changes, but hopefully, in the long run, it will be better for everyone. My dad and his ARNP Julia will still be available in town to see patients, much the same as before. It will just be in a different location and under a different practice name.

It's a big change, but a necessary one. My dad is tired and he's not getting any younger. Why run himself into the ground? What good is a doctor dead?
Of course, that's not the ONLY reason that the two health care facilities are merging, but it is probably the main one.

Update

Well, I haven't been "in the mood" to blog lately... evidenced by the dearth of recent posts. :) But I thought I'd swing by and update everyone, at least briefly.

First of all, I can't believe it's April!! And I can't believe Palm Sunday is tomorrow. This Lent has really flown.
My mom and I had had plans to go out to Illinois to visit AB and then drive with him from there to Georgia, where his parents live. He and I have been dating for over 8 months now and I still hadn't met his parents, so we decided that his Spring Break would be a good time for that. :) We were supposed to leave for Illinois on St. Joseph's Day, but on St. Patrick's Day got a call that one of AB's aunts had passed away suddenly and the funeral would be in Minnesota. Sudden change in plans! His parents were going to fly from Georgia to Minnesota in short order and AB himself left the school the evening of the 17th to drive up to Wisconsin, spend the night with his sister, and continue on to Minnesota the next day. First, Mom and I were going to drive up to Minnesota. Then, we weren't. Then, we were. The final verdict was that we went and, as a bonus, got to visit with my sister, brother-in-law and niece. :D Another bonus to this sudden change in plans was that instead of just meeting AB's parents, I also met all of his dad's side of the family and more than half of his mom's side of the family!
I spent Thursday night (March 19) at Joe and Lindsey's. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, I spent at AB's Aunt Mary's house. (Very kind of her to let me stay there, sight-unseen! :)) Friday afternoon and evening was the wake... exhausting, but really good. Saturday morning was the funeral; Saturday afternoon was spent at AB's paternal grandparents' with an assortment of relatives :); Saturday evening, we all drove out to the boonies (to a town with a population of 107) to listen to his uncle's band Corridor play - lots of fun! :) Sunday morning, we went to Mass at the SSPX chapel and AB and I had breakfast at Perkins with his parents. After a couple of hours at his maternal grandfather's, we went over to his aunt and uncle's house for a birthday party/impromptu family reunion, which lasted the rest of the day. On Monday, after breakfast at AB's paternal grandparents', we drove back to the Twin Cities. Spent the afternoon and evening hanging out with my mom, sister, brother-in-law and niece... and their 85-pound German Shepherd puppy! :) Tuesday morning, we headed out to return to St. M. The rest of AB's Spring Break was spent here - the fastest five days ever! That was enjoyable, complete with some legwork for educational possibilities, a roller-skating outing, mid-morning coffee, and late-night socializing with friends. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~

In meteorological news, it's about 70 degrees here today, with 30-mph winds gusting to 40-mph. Tomorrow, there's a chance of snow. Even for Kansas, this is pretty crazy Spring weather!!
~~~~~~~~~~~

My younger sister is in London! She flew out of MSP yesterday evening and called from London this morning to let us know she'd arrived safely. She'll spend four days there, with friends, and then will somehow get to Ireland (whether by plane or train and ferry hasn't been decided yet) where she will spend Easter and the following week, before returning to the States. Last night was her ninth overseas flight (that is, this will be her fifth round trip), but this is her first time to England and Ireland. I hope she has a good time! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~

We got sixteen tons of top soil put in our raised garden beds this morning. (Thank Heaven for 17-year-old boys! :D We had six or eight of them working here all morning for a fundraiser.) So we're moving closer to putting our garden in... exciting! :) Now if it would just quit snowing! Didn't anybody tell the clouds that it's April?!! ;)
At any rate, I think we'll be planting lettuce seeds first... and then we'll probably start hardening off our little tomato plants and our bell pepper and leek seedlings. Wish us luck! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh yes! I almost forgot to mention that my dad's 2000 Chevy Silverado "got assaulted" by a white-tailed doe on March 31, when he was driving home from delivering a baby. It was right at twilight and he saw one deer standing by the side of the road, braked, let it pass, and kept going - only to have a second deer jump out in front of the truck! Quite unusual in March, but probably due to the very mild winter we (have) had. The truck is now in the shop and we're waiting to hear the verdict on whether it is considered totaled or not.


So there's a brief synopsis of some recent events. I'll have more news come Monday or Tuesday... but for the time being, it's still under wraps. (It won't affect any of my long-distance readers, but it will affect my local readers. Stay tuned.)

As always, thanks for dropping by and reading! :) God bless~