(no subject)
I'm still hangin' in there, like the kitten in that old classic '70s poster, "hang in there, baby!"
We've been on edge for a while because Lionheart has had a medical problem that gave us extreme concern, but today he had a test done and the bottom line is NO CANCER nor anything else that's dire. So we're in extremely good spirits after a scare like that.
Summer finally arrived today. I heard on the news the other day that so far this year, the hottest day was back in APRIL. This has been the coldest summer ever, with none ever even close to this kind of cold. I mean, I still had to use the heat in my car going to/from work until just a few days ago. I think one day the high didn't even hit 70 degrees. Now, to me that's ideal weather, but an occasional hot day is fine too, but I'd be shocked if we've even hit 90 this year.
Gardening is going well, I finally got rid of almost all of the "dayflowers" that were taking over everything, and the blooming flowers are more spectacular all the time. I scattered some of Starshyne's ashes in every part of the garden, it rained the next day, and the day after that we had the best explosion of flowers yet, with these gigantic red hibiscus flowers... and they're still blooming like crazy.
Our friend Sonja, who Star knew since she was a teenager, is still staying here. And before any rumors go anywhere, yes we are just friends, she just happens to be a friend that I love dearly and who has been tremendously helpful. I really thought I would want to be totally alone, but I think that would make it too easy to wallow in self-pity. She's the perfect guest. She has a vision problem that makes driving impossible, and once I show her how to navigate the city by bus, she'll be trying to find work and a place of her own.
Next summer I might try to make it to the national "rainbow gathering," which will be held in the eastern US for a change (it's almost always on the west coast). Here's a particularly good article about this year's gathering...
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Home-for-the-gathering
I've only attended one national, and as a family we've gone to smaller gatherings. It's about time to find my way back, and since next year's will be somewhere between Maine and Alabama (the actual location isn't known until mid to late June, at the last minute), that's one I should attend.
"There's always next year" is no longer in my vocabulary. I've always known that there's never an assurance of a next year, but now I really feel every minute of my life ticking by. Just like in the Depeche Mode song that me and my sweetheart listened to countless times, happy, in love, and while glowing in candle light... this was a favorite for private times...
Death is everywhere
There are flies on the windscreen
For a start
Reminding us
We could be torn apart
Tonight
Death is everywhere
There are lambs for the slaughter
Waiting to die
And I can sense
The hours slipping by
Tonight...
-Fly on the Windscreen, Depeche Mode (from the Black Celebration LP)
By the way, that's not their darkest song. Not. Even. Close.
But we both loved that record, and if I ever hear it again, I'll cry my eyes out. Musically and lyrically it was a stark reminder of how precious every moment is, and we both loved that one (though I like almost nothing else by that band).
Okay, time for me to find something else to do for a while. Maybe I'll go talk to the Ewoks, as Lionheart calls the squirrels in the back yard!
We've been on edge for a while because Lionheart has had a medical problem that gave us extreme concern, but today he had a test done and the bottom line is NO CANCER nor anything else that's dire. So we're in extremely good spirits after a scare like that.
Summer finally arrived today. I heard on the news the other day that so far this year, the hottest day was back in APRIL. This has been the coldest summer ever, with none ever even close to this kind of cold. I mean, I still had to use the heat in my car going to/from work until just a few days ago. I think one day the high didn't even hit 70 degrees. Now, to me that's ideal weather, but an occasional hot day is fine too, but I'd be shocked if we've even hit 90 this year.
Gardening is going well, I finally got rid of almost all of the "dayflowers" that were taking over everything, and the blooming flowers are more spectacular all the time. I scattered some of Starshyne's ashes in every part of the garden, it rained the next day, and the day after that we had the best explosion of flowers yet, with these gigantic red hibiscus flowers... and they're still blooming like crazy.
Our friend Sonja, who Star knew since she was a teenager, is still staying here. And before any rumors go anywhere, yes we are just friends, she just happens to be a friend that I love dearly and who has been tremendously helpful. I really thought I would want to be totally alone, but I think that would make it too easy to wallow in self-pity. She's the perfect guest. She has a vision problem that makes driving impossible, and once I show her how to navigate the city by bus, she'll be trying to find work and a place of her own.
Next summer I might try to make it to the national "rainbow gathering," which will be held in the eastern US for a change (it's almost always on the west coast). Here's a particularly good article about this year's gathering...
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Home-for-the-gathering
I've only attended one national, and as a family we've gone to smaller gatherings. It's about time to find my way back, and since next year's will be somewhere between Maine and Alabama (the actual location isn't known until mid to late June, at the last minute), that's one I should attend.
"There's always next year" is no longer in my vocabulary. I've always known that there's never an assurance of a next year, but now I really feel every minute of my life ticking by. Just like in the Depeche Mode song that me and my sweetheart listened to countless times, happy, in love, and while glowing in candle light... this was a favorite for private times...
Death is everywhere
There are flies on the windscreen
For a start
Reminding us
We could be torn apart
Tonight
Death is everywhere
There are lambs for the slaughter
Waiting to die
And I can sense
The hours slipping by
Tonight...
-Fly on the Windscreen, Depeche Mode (from the Black Celebration LP)
By the way, that's not their darkest song. Not. Even. Close.
But we both loved that record, and if I ever hear it again, I'll cry my eyes out. Musically and lyrically it was a stark reminder of how precious every moment is, and we both loved that one (though I like almost nothing else by that band).
Okay, time for me to find something else to do for a while. Maybe I'll go talk to the Ewoks, as Lionheart calls the squirrels in the back yard!