February 2024 Reading List

The fewest books read in a month for how many years?!! Even with an extra day in February, only three books read! 

The Skin Collector and The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver are the first two I've read in his Lincoln Rhyme series, although not the first two of the series. The library does not have all his books.

The Burial Hour, also by Jeffery Deaver, was the third book read this month. I believe this is the first author I've ever read who has, as the main character, a quadriplegic. Rhyme was a NYPD homicide detective before his accident. Now he is a forensic criminalist solving crimes with his knowledge, experience and a room full of testing equipment. 

Daylight savings time begins in ten days. We will gain and extra hour of daylight at the end of each day.

This morning I gained an extra hour - of sleep. I slept until 7:00 a.m.! I couldn't believe it! I haven't done that in years! I am almost always up between 4:45 and 5:30 a.m.; rarely sleeping until six. And it is all thanks to HD.

In the last couple of weeks I began waking up with headaches. They would go away after I'd been up awhile. Monday night I had a headache so bad it woke me up. I started thinking about what the cause might be and finally hit upon blood pressure. I hadn't checked mine in ages. When I did it was 167 over 89. No wonder I had a headache. As soon as my BP medicine had a chance to work, the numbers went down.

When I told Bud about it, he asked if I had ever talked to the doctor about taking my blood pressure medicine at night. He said his doctor had advised him to do that. So I tried it. Tuesday night I slept great and woke up without a headache. Same thing yesterday and I slept until 6:30. Today, as noted, I slept until 7a.m. - and felt great! No headaches. The only downside is that I feel like I've lost a good portion of my morning - not that I do anything important - but those two hours were my alone time. I'm sure I will still have mornings when I get up early, but getting more sleep, especially headache free sleep, is wonderful.

Thinking About My Mom

Although my mother physically left us more than twenty years ago, I still feel her presence. A day rarely goes by that I don't think of her for one reason or another.

Ten days ago it was because I posted this photo of her with my younger brother because it was his 70th birthday.

Back then being pregnant after your mid-thirties was considered high risk, but all went well. My sister and I were as delighted with a baby brother as mom was with another son.

There was something else familiar about this photo - the skirt she was wearing.

I remembered the red with white swirls matching skirts she made for Betty and me, but had forgotten that she made one for herself, too. 

She either really liked the material or got a good deal on a bolt end. There were a few other times she dressed to match us, but it was not as often as she made the same matching outfits for the two of us. 

And a week ago we had to get this new coffee maker. I got up that morning, switched on the previous one and nothing happened.

 "Oh no! What am I going to do without my coffee?" 

Improvise, that's what. I boiled some water, poured it through the coffee grounds and drank serviceable, if not great, coffee that day.

I don't need anything fancy. A basic Mr. Coffee does just fine.

The reason all that made me think of Mom was because I had been using her last coffee maker. I had kept it as a back-up in case my previous Mr. Coffee quit.

In addition to being much more than 20 years old, her's had been free with the purchase of Gevalia Kaffee. Her pot was black rather than the green shown here, but the same model. 

Gevalia was a Swedish company which, in 1983, began offering a free coffee maker if you bought a box (four packages) of their coffee. Mom saw one their ads in a magazine and sent for it. The agreement was to continue monthly purchase of coffee, but you could cancel that at any time. I think the coffee was $9.98 a box. The packaging at that time looked like this picture.

I thought it was such a good deal that I also sent for a free coffee maker and coffee. I don't remember how long my coffee maker lasted but I had it for quite awhile. When it quit I also stopped getting their coffee and switched to other brands. I'm not sure, but I think my younger brother still uses Gevalia coffee which is now available in grocery stores. 

When Hills Brothers discontinued our favorite coffee we tried several different brands, including Gevalia, but none were quite right. We finally settled on McCafé Columbian which we now have to order through Amazon since Walmart discontinued stocking it. 

"Life doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mother."

And I had the very best. 💖

Spring In February?

After January's bitter cold and frozen water lines, February's spring like weather has been wonderful - although it does make me apprehensive about what may be ahead of us this summer.

The weather isn't the only thing that has me in a good mood. I have been bummed because my trusty Nikon Coolpix S7000 camera has quit taking quality photos. I've been debating whether or not to get a new camera or to be content with the pics I do get. Monday I was 'this close' to ordering a new camera when it occurred to me that there are more settings than Auto which is what I've always used. The camera will zoom to 20X on auto setting, but less on all other settings. I decided to try one of the Scene settings for some sunset photos and this was the result. Yay! Nice and clear and crisp again. 

It was so nice Tuesday afternoon that we drove out to Green Valley State Park/Lake to see if there was anything going on. On the way past the marsh between Green Valley Lake and Summit Lake we noted all the Canada geese and Snow geese. But when we got to the park there were only a few Canada geese and very little else going on.

Until we neared the beach area and could see some white birds way out on the middle of the lake. I assumed it was snow geese, or possibly pelicans, but when I zoomed in with my camera, I really got excited because it was swans! I had heard that swans had been sighted at the lake a few times over the years, but we had never seen them. It was a case of right place, right time because they flew off seconds after I took this picture. Bud said I should send my photo to Channel 13, so I did, and both Jeriann, at 4p.m. and Ed at, 6p.m., used it on their weather reports. 

Yesterday's sunrise was gorgeous. I used one of my photos of it as my 'good morning' shot on FB with the quote: "It's a new dawn, it's a new day.....and I'm feeling good" mostly because it was the birthdate of Nina Simone and those are the words from one of her biggest hit songs - but also because I was still feeling good.

And those feelings continued into this morning when I got up early and saw the 'almost full' Snow Moon before it set. Taking photos and combining them with poems or words from songs or even my own musings, is one of my greatest pleasures. I'm so glad changing settings on my camera made all the difference. 

I had another feel good moment a little later when I checked my email and found a very nice message from a fellow Iowan. She had stumbled across my blog when searching for something akin to a phrase I had used. She commented how amazed she was by how much we had in common after reading my bio and some of my posts....how she, too, looks for signs and symbols. 

She wrote: "....it was an awesome case of synchronicity that really prompted me to reach out to you. I had read "The Swan" (Mary Oliver's poem) on your blog which I loved and was eager to comment on, but got sidetracked this past week. Then lo and behold, while watching the local news on WHO the other night, I saw your beautiful photo of the swans!"

So, I wrote that this was another feel good moment this morning. It was more than that, to borrow a current phrase: "I feel seen."

One last picture - not only to show how well my camera works on a different setting, but also how long my Valentine's bouquet is lasting.

I hope you are feeling as good, happy and seen as am I. 😊💛

It Had To Be You

The day after all the hearts and flowers and candy, this is the tune in my mind when I woke up:

It Had To Be You

Why do I do just as you say
Why must I just give you your way
Why do I sigh, why don't I try to forget
It must have been that something lovers call fate
Kept me saying I have to wait
I saw them all, just couldn't fall, 'til we met

It had to be you
It had to be you
I wandered around, and I finally found
The somebody who
Could make me be true
And could make me be blue
And even be glad
Just to be sad - thinking of you

Some others I've seen
Might never be mean
Might never be cross, or try to be boss
But they wouldn't do

For nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you
Wonderful you
It had to be you

For nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you
Wonderful you
It had to be you

I thought about those eleven years of being a single parent after I vowed to never marry again and the twenty or so years between high school and when we met again and then the lyrics of the song going through my thoughts.

The song was right: It had to be you. 💘

More Like Four Decades

A Decade By Amy Lowell

When you came, you were like red wine and honey,

And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness.

Now you are like morning bread, 

Smooth and pleasant.

I hardly taste you at all, for I know your savour,

But I am completely nourished. 💞