April 30, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Camping and Mary Frances.

Mary Frances enjoyed camping.    She and her friends have gone to the state parks several times and enjoyed themselves every time.  The last time they went the weather was chilly but they went anyway.  They stayed the whole weekend even thought it snowed and was below freezing at night.  This weekend, they went camping again, this time to a state park just outside Vicksburg.  So they arrived and set up the tent early Saturday morning.

Their day started out well with a hike.  Mary Frances made a fire and they sat around the fire eating their lunch and enjoying themselves.  But then it started to rain so they retreated to the tent and played cards.  Almost nothing is worse than a rain on a camping trip.  Mary Frances has a good tent but she has no dining fly so cooking outside was always wet to try to prepare dinner.  But they did, eating in the tent and eating their dinner.  But by now they are all damp and chilly.

And some point, someone suggested that they were only one hour from home so perhaps they should pack up their stuff and head for home.  By the time they packed up their belongings and headed  home, then dropped everyone  off at their respective homes, the night was late.  By the time Mary Frances brought in her belongings and stretched them out to dry, the night was late and Mary Frances was weary.  So she missed brunch and slept in.  She reported to Christina  that they had a good time even in the rain.  They just decided to get out of the rain and go home.  Smart campers.

April 29, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Solitary Saturday.

Saturdays are almost always solitary for me.  My friends in Mississippi all have husbands and children and they need to be with their families on Saturdays.  So on Saturdays I am alone at home.  I read all morning, sitting in my corner of the living room.  And of course I must make my own meals too.  This morning, by the time I got around to preparing breakfast it was 10:30 so I ate a yoghurt and drank a cup of tea while I read.  To get even better, most of the day it rained, a gentle steady rain which was perfect for reading.

I try to get some walking in the house so after reading I walked and did my leg exercises.  And I watched TV when I ate lunch.  Portia had cooked for me for the weekend so I heated cooked carrots and a hamburg patty for lunch.  It was good.  And I took a nap, which is always sweeter in the rain.  I like to watch a gospel hour on Tv and of course, the hockey games are still filling the screen.

I used to phone friends on Saturday but of recent months I have stopped doing that and I am not sure why. Perhaps I am used to not talking to anyone on a Saturday.  I still text but not much.  Today Chantes was not working.  And Portia never works on the weekend so Saturday I am really and truly all by myself.  But for some reason, I am not lonely.  In fact, I had a good day.  But tomorrow I will be ready to see Christina and the girls for brunch.  Enough is enough being alone.

April 28, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Lemons to Lemonade.

I was irritated.  This morning we drove into the parking lot at 8:20, which was the time for my appointment with my Oncologist.  She was to give me the results of the specific cell so she could match a type of chemo with the specific breast cancer cell.  Just we were getting out of the car,  I got a call from the nurse saying that the lab had not sent the results so the good doctor had nothing to tell me.    The nurse said that if I wanted to see the doctor, she would be happy to see me.  But I said that I had no need to see the Oncologist unless she had something to tell me. 

 I was irritated that the call came so late.  In order for me to get there at 8:20, Portia had arrived early.  I got up at 6:30 to be ready to leave before 8:00.  So it would have been thoughtful for them to call me earlier, or yesterday.  But they did not give me the courtesy.  I was irritated.

First I suggested we go out for breakfast but I had already eaten a yoghurt and Portia had eaten a smoothy so we did not really want a second breakfast.  But I suggested that we treat ourselves and get a pedicure.  So we did.  The VIP salon opens at 9:00 and takes walk ins so we arrived just as they were opening and we were looked after immediately.  The wound doctor told me not to soak my left foot for quite awhile until the skin gets thicker, so I just kept my left foot out of the soaking bath and Portia and I sat drinking a bottle of water and living like a Queen.  We both agreed that we were enjoying ourselves much more than discussions with Dr. Sheehan.  In other words, we turned lemons into lemonade.  And I was no longer irritated.

April 27, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Hockey Playoffs.

This near the end of the second week of playoff hockey and all teams are still in the hunt.  That is the best part of hockey.  You never know what will happen.  Two nights in a row, I gave up when my teams were down 3 goals.  But they both won.  But they won without me because I had gone to bed.  I assumed that Boston would sweep their series and they had a chance to end their series but they lost.  Last year the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup and I assumed they would win their series.  But they have not.

Tonight, Las Vegas could end their series against Winnipeg.  They are up a goal already.  But we must play the game to find out.  The first two weeks of hockey allows a fan to watch 4 games each night.  It is such fun flipping from one game to another to try to keep track of the scores.  I must admit that I often flip to a baseball game just to give me a break from hockey.  These games have been great.  But Toronto lost tonight.  They are ahead in the series 3 to 2 but they must still win won game.  We are going to find out.

That is the best part of the first round of hockey playoffs.  The games are so unpredictable.  And exciting.  Soon we will know who will advance to the second round.  But so far, every team is in the hunt.  Such fun.

April 26, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. My Soap Dispenser.

Last evening, just after I went to bed at 10:30, my soap dispenser went crazy.  Ken bought 2 automatic soap dispensers several years ago when he was unable to us both hands to use the bottle of soap.  They are handsome, made of stainless steel and they work like a charm.  You put your hand under the spout and the soap comes into your hand.  

My house is quiet so I could hear the sound from the bathroom.  After a few minutes, I figured out that my soap dispenser was spewing out soap.  One after the other I could hear the sound.  By the time I went into the bathroom, there was soap all over the counter.  The new cleaning lady had moved the dispenser so I thought that the soap was being activated by a night light.  But when I moved it, after cleaning up the soap, it started again.  So I finally set the dispenser in the sink, so at least the soap would go into the sink and not all over the tile.  And I went to sleep.

This morning, Portia filled the dispenser.  Of course all the soap had been empties last night.  The dispenser has worked properly all day.  I have no idea what happened with the automatic dispenser.  But clearly, it went crazy.  

April 25, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Lunch With Linda.

Linda and I are good friends.  She is Christina's mother.  When I was in Mississippi in the Fall, I was ailing and Linda was sick so we were unable to have a visit.  But we communicated via e mail and texting.  So now we are both well so I invited her for lunch on Friday at Ameriga, my favorite Italian restaurant.  She agreed immediately but she suggested that she pick up lunch and bring it to my house.  I suggested that I did not want her to go to any trouble so we should eat at the restaurant.

But reason prevailed.  Linda suggested that she was unable to help me home from the restaurant as she is also very unstable.  And she said that she could not put my walker in her car either.  Nor could she help me into the house.  Linda knows that people help me get down the stairs and into the house at my home.  My first thought was that I could that by myself.  But I realized that I might not be able to lift my walker into the car, then get back to the front seat to drive home.  I might be able to do it.  But I have never done it before.  My routine is to walk to the car, get into the front seat and ask whoever is driving to put my walker in the car.

It is pathetic but true.  Reason prevailed.  Linda will pick up lunch for us and we will eat lunch at my house.  And we will visit and enjoy ourselves.  In the meantime, I am going to see if I am able to load my walker into the car, then get into the front seat.  But I will do it when Portia is with me to be sure I will be safe.  Better safe than sorry. 

April 24, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. My Silent Home.

When company leaves after visiting me,  my home seems suddenly silent.  My solution is to keep busy and to plan my week.    We had such a wonderful time this weekend with Suzanne, David and Kate that I could have gotten lonely being alone.  But I did not dwell on being lonely.

Firstly, Portia comes every day so she keeps me company and after she prepared my breakfast, she and I worked on several tasks that I haven ignoring so we had a productive morning, which pleased me.  And Portia cooked me a small steak for lunch along with two types of vegetables, spinach and green beans which was delicious.  She leaves at 1:00 so she brings my meal to me just before she leaves for the day..  And she leaves my supper in the fridge.  Today was a salad with avocado and chicken.  I am being looked after well.

And Chantes is continuing to work on the outside spring cleaning so he pops in to chat every now and then which is nice.  After my nap, I texted people to set up my week.  My only doctor appointment is for Thursday so I texted friends.  Cheryl is sick.  Linda is coming to bring lunch here on Friday.  I have not seen her since my return so I look forward to meeting with her.  And on Wednesday I will have lunch with my friend Lisa.  So I will be busy this week.  And I will not be lonely.  But I will still miss being with Suzanne, David and Kate.

April 23, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Birthday for Christina.

Today we celebrated Christina's birthday.  And we did it in style.  Unfortunately, David and Suzanne had to leave for the airport at 11:30 to San Antonio so they missed the celebration but Kate, Mary Frances and I along with Christina went to Anjou, the French Bistro to have our brunch and to celebrate the birthday.  Molly was involved with the school play so she missed it too.  But the four of us had a great time.

First we all four drank a mimosa to toast Christina.  Then we ordered mussels to share as an appetizer.  They were delicious.  And we ate our respective brunch item, which were all delicious.  The food at Anjou is excellent and we all had a treat.  Our weekend with David and Suzanne had been delightful so brunch today was the final event of our wonderful weekend.  Kate goes back to Greenville on Tuesday so today was our last gathering with her.

Christina and the girls drove me home.  While sitting in the living room, the girls looked through two boxes of pictures, which was great fun to see.  Our celebration was a success.  And now my home is once again quiet.  But the memories linger.

April 22, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. A Special Day.

My day started when David bring me a cup of tea, followed by  scrambled eggs and sausage made by Suzanne all while I was sitting in the living room.  It was the beginning of a wonderful day.

We met at Sal and Phil's for lunch.  Christina picked up Kate at the airport and met us at the restaurant where we ate our fill of oysters and shrimp.  Molly was with us too.  We ate 4 dozen oysters and 2 pounds of shrimp.  Plus we ate red fish.  David ate only oysters and shrimp.  And we all loved it all.  We were all so pleased to see Kate.  And we were too pleased to all be together that we had a festive air to the meal.

David caught a fish from the dock, while Suzanne read and I took a nap.  But more fun was in store.  Christina brought Greek food for supper.  But we drank a glass of wine while visiting in the living room.  Kate and Christina were here so we had good conversations.  Kate looks great.  She is fun and funny and is enjoying her life in Grenville.    We sat in the living room and ate our delicious food..  And we enjoyed ourselves.

Christina and Kate left for home about 8:15.  We three retreated to the TV room for hockey.  And we watched the Toronto Maple leaves win the game.  Hurrah for them.  My day was complete.

April 21, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. I Forgot.

 I totally forgot about writing my blog last night.  In the past, I have forgotten until the middle of the night.  But I have never forgotten totally.  I did not remember until today when Wonderful Wendy texted me to ask about my blog.  Amazing.

But I have been busy.  David and Suzanne arrived at my hone at 10:40am.  We have been talking ever since.  And we have been having a wonderful time.  Last evening we went out do dinner with Christina, Mary Frances and Molly.  We ate at Ely's Bistro, a steak house fairly close to home and we ate delicious food.  We had a festive event.  It was fun and everyone enjoyed themselves and we ate a lovely meal.

But I forgot my other responsibilities.  I will do better tonight.  

April 20, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. My Ophthalmologist.

Dr. Kosko is the only doctor I know who approves of the life style that Ken and I have lived for many years.  Most doctors wanted us to stay at home so they could look after us.  But we ignored them.  And I follow that same pattern.  Dr. Kosko commented to us that Ken and I were role models for him to remind himself how to live when he was old.  He said that he sees many old folks who are not having much fun.  They endure but did not seem to thrive.

I had an appointment with him this morning.  My eyes are not worse.  I now must use drops in my left eye.  And I will see better because my lens will be stronger.  He thought that I looked great.  And he congratulated me for going to Nova Scotia this summer.  In May, his family is taking a trip to Utah to see the five National Parks.  He spends a great deal of time and effort in planning their family vacations.  He and his wife have four children, aged 2 to 10 so it is a trick to accommodate their activities.  One day soon they will come to Nova Scotia.  But not this year. 

So I like Dr. Kosko.  He loves my attitude.  And he loves the fact that I do not complain even though he knows I have a lot of things that are wrong with me.  "It is always so nice to see you," said Dr. Kosko.  "You always have exciting plans to talk about."  And that is why I like Dr. Kosko.  He agrees with me.

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April 19, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Hockey Playoffs.

I love playoffs.  I especially love the first round of the playoffs, when there are so many games.  Every night there are four games being played.  I switch from game to game like a mad lady.  And I enjoy every minute.

One of the things I like the best with playoffs is the opportunity for the favorite team to be beaten by a much less team in the rankings.  Several years ago, the Lightning won more games during the regular season than any other team.  But they lost in the first round.  In fact they lost four straight games.  And tonight, Boston lost their game 6 to 2 although they did win their first game.  They won more games through the regular season than any team ever, but here they are tied in the series.

I also enjoy the fact that I do not really care what happens.  I would like Toronto to at least get past the first round but as they lost their first game it appears that Toronto might fold again.  And I would like Edmonton to advance deep into the playoffs because they have some of the best players in the world and I would like to see them in action while trying to win the Stanley Cup.  And I would like to see a Canadian team win the cup just for nostalgia.  But my teams, the Washington and Nashville teams did not even make it into the playoffs.  So I just enjoy the ride and watch to see who will win.  So far, the games have been good.  So here we go.

April 18, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Spring Cleaning.

 I am having the outside of the house get a Spring Cleaning.  Yesterday when Chantes was installing a new toilet seat, he told me that he is not very busy so I asked if he would have time to work on some outside tasks.  He thought it was a great idea so today he obtained lumber and began the work.  I was delighted because some of the tasks should have been done long ago.  But Chantes was too busy.

He did an evaluation of the outside of the house.  His list of defects was long.  The decks have some rotted wood, also the stairs down to the dock.  The arch over the entrance is not secure.   The brick walk in front of the front door is sinking and not level.  The house needs to be pressure washed to remove the mildew.  The patio in front needs power washed.  Many limbs need cutting to allow the sun to get to the house.  A copper gutter is pulling apart.  And the outside decks and gazebo needs to be painted.

Chantes and his crew started today and they will work all week.  He tells me that the house already looks better, which pleases me.  Nothing better than getting projects done.  Tomorrow he must go to Lowes again for supplies to buy bricks and paint.  Many of the old bricks are broken and not level.  I am delighted with the progress.  And Chantes is pleased to have his crew working.  Now all I must do is to pay the bills.  

April 17, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Chantes.

Yesterday, Christina noticed that the toilet seat in the powder room was broken so I did what I always do which is call my handyman, Chantes.  He always comes to my rescue.  I phoned him this morning and he came by later in the afternoon.  It took him a second to say that I need a new toilet seat.  He went to Lowes and my new seat was installed in half an hour.  Then we sat and chatted.

He is not so busy right now, so he will check my decks to be sure that all is sturdy.  When Anna and Abe were here Abe mentioned that there were broken boards on the decks.  But I forgot about it until today.  Now Chantes will evaluate what needs to be done tomorrow and give me a price.  I will be pleased to get the deck repaired.  In addition, we talked about his family.

Chantes still has family in Cuba.  Their situation is not getting any better.  They are very poor and the medical supplies are non existent.  They have doctors in Cuba but no medicines.  His siblings would like to come to the US.  He is helping them but it is expensive.  So far, he is sponsoring 7 family members to come legally to the US.  A brother and sister plus their spouses and children are applying and Chantes must show enough income to support them.  Then when their visa is approved, they will come to Mississippi to live and get work.  This is a daunting task but Chantes is doing it, just to help his family.

Chantes is an unusual handyman.  He is from Cuba with a degree in engineering from Cuba and a Masters degree in Mechanical engineering from Moscow.  But he has no American credentials so works as a builder and handyman.  He has been helping me here since 2015.  And I would not like to be without him. He always helps when I come calling for help.  I am very fortunate indeed.

April 16, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Canada vs United States.

This is the best rivalry in all of sports when the women play each other in hockey.  Both teams are excellent and all the players know each other very well.  Most of the women played together in college.  But when those women don the uniform of the country, they hate the other team.  And both teams want to beat their rivals.  They have played each other many years.   For the past two years, the Canadians won the gold at the World Championship.  For most of the game, the game was tight.  But in the first period, I noted that the American players were faster so I suspected they would win.

But the score was tied in the third period.  But all of a sudden, within a minute and a half, the US scored two goads, putting them ahead 5 to 3.  And when the Canadians pulled their goalie, the US scored into the empty net.  Thus the final score was 6 to 3.  Actually, the game was very tight although you could not tell that by the score.  So the Americans won the gold medal at the Women's hockey championship which was held in Brampton, Ontario.  

During the round robin section of the championship, the US and Canada played each other.  At the end of the game, the score was tied and they played overtime which was still a tied game.  They went 9 rounds in the shoot out, before the Canadians won.  But the final is the game that maters.  Now the US team will reign supreme...until the next year of championship games.  They should enjoy their success because the Canadian ladies are coming after them.  This Canada/US rivalry is alive and well in ladies hockey.

April 15, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Great Performances.

Great Performances on Friday night  on PBS has enriched my life.  Last evening, Scott You had a show on Robert Schumann, with the theme of creativity and craziness.  Robert Schumann wrote wonderful music which we know and love today but during his lifetime, he was not appreciated.  Fortunately he had a loving wife who was also a musician.  They do not say with absolute security but he was probably bi polar, for which there was no cure.  He would go through bouts of manic work and write piece after piece.  Then he would go into the depth of despair.

During the program I heard  lots of Schumanns music, played by different quartets, including Scott You on the violin and also conducting the Scottish Symphony.  The poet Robert Burns also had bouts of depression.  A theme drumming through the program was the connection between creativity and mental illness.  There were many examples.  I knew very little of the life of Robert Schumann although I know his music and have listened all my life.  But this program filled in the gaps for me.  I enjoyed this program on Great Performances.

April 14, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. The Human Voice.

My phone rang while I was eating breakfast.  A voice said to me,"Hello Ruth.  How are you doing?"  I knew immediately who had called me.  Her voice had not changed her whole life.  And I have known her almost all her life, from living in Calgary as a girl than coming to Toronto to work at age 18.  It was my friend Marg LeP.  I knew her voice immediately because her voice has never changed.

She recognized me too even though I had not spoken to her on the phone for quite a long time.  I really do enjoy these unexpected phone calls.  I like to hear their voice and think they are the same as they did years ago when we were friends.  But we do not look like we did years ago.  In fact, some people you could not recognize them at all.  But the voice never changes.  And the spirit never changes.  And the friendships remain strong.  This is a great blessing in my life.

April 13, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Rain. Rain. Rain.

 I have never lived with such sustained rain.  Starting last evening, the rain has been falling and falling and falling.  You wonder how much rain can come from.  All night, it poured, which I like.  Listening to the rain  all night when snug in my cosy bed is pure pleasure.  But it did not stop.  All day today it poured rain.  And it is still raining.

Year round, the foliage in Mississippi is green.  That is because Mississippi gets 52 inches of rain each year.  Ken and I had never lived with that amount of rain.  The main difference we note when living here was that the rain comes down in torrents.  When it pours it really pours.  But this April I have seen a different side of rain.  During a storm, Mississippi people just stay home and wait.  The storms do not last long.  But the rain today just kept coming.

This morning Portia drove to my appointment with the Oncologist.  The drive was difficult.  The rain was heavy as was the traffic.  And visibility was limited.  I do not know if there was fog or spray from the road but  I was wishing the rain would stop.  But it never did.  Driving home was just as bad.  Usually, I like days of rain.  But 24 hours of heavy rain is too much.  And it is still raining.  Forecast tomorrow is for more rain.  Now I know how we get that 52 inches of rain.  It just keeps on coming and coming.  Amazing.

April 12, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. The Month of April.

 I have always loved the month of April.  And I still do.  This year is an especially good April because we are all having company.  Today, Peter, Christina's younger brother, arrived for a visit to Mississippi along with his wife Bethany and his four children.  The baby is four months old.  The most exciting part of the visit is that they are contemplating relocating to Mississippi from Boston.  They will look at some houses while they are here.  But no decisions have been made.

Kate is coming for five days from Greenville, S.C.  She moved one year ago and this is her first visit home.  I will be delighted to see her.  She will arrive on the 21st.  And on the same day, David and Suzanne are flying from San Antonio for the weekend.  As I am not going to Texas this Spring, they are coming to visit me in Mississippi.  I am looking forward to their visit too.

On Saturday, we will have lunch at Sal & Phils, our favorite place for oysters and shrimp.  Christina, Molly, Mary Frances and Kate will join us.  And on Sunday we will all have brunch together at Anjou, the French restaurant in the Renaissance.  So April is a wonderful month of the year, especially when we have company.

April 11, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Liver Biopsy.

The nurse gave me instructions when leaving the hospital.  The rules are:  no driving, no lifting, no strenuous exercises, no bending over and no straining.  Portia and I laughed because I do not do any of those activities anyway.  But I must take life easy for a few days plus take a short walk around the house every couple of hours.   But no long walks.

They told me to expect discomfort at the site of the biopsy.  I will be tired .  All those symptoms should be gone after a week.  So I am now, taking life easy and resting.  The other instructions was to remind me not to make any decisions for a few days because I had been given sedation.

The medical team at the Baptist Hospital was excellent.  Competent and pleasant.  I was to arrive at 7:00am and we were driving home at 11:15.  And the job was done.  Now I must recover.  And on Thursday I meet with Dr. Sheehan, the Oncologist to map out a plan.  Modern medicine is wonderful but I would prefer not to have these fancy procedures.  I know they provide valuable information, which is why I have them done.  But these procedures are always uncomfortable.  Now the liver biopsy is done.  Hurrah.

April 10, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Baseball and Basketball.

 I always have two channels that I enjoy while watching TV.  One channel is showing what I really want to watch and the second channel is what I switch to during any commercials.  Two weekends ago there was basketball, The Final Four so I wanted to watch those games   In addition, there was a baseball game on TV that I was switching to during the commercials.

But I discovered that I began watching more baseball, which surprised me.  The baseball season has just started which means that there are few consequences for that game while the basketball game was sudden death.  If you lost the game you went home.  So the games should be riveting.  But they were not.  They were boring.  At first I did not realize what I was doing but eventually I discovered what was happening.  So I tried to figure out why Baseball is more interesting than basketball.

I decided that basketball games are so repetitive that the games are boring, unless your team is playing.  In a baseball game, every pitch gives unlimited options and you never know what will happen next.  I have heard baseball called the thinking man's game.  I had to figure that out by myself.

April 9, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Easter Sunday.

 I have enjoyed my Easter Sunday.  I did not go out or dress in a fancy dress or hat.  And the first thing I thought this morning was that I did not need to attend a sunrise service at 7:00.  So that was my first blessing.  For many years we played and sang at the sunrise services.

First I drank my tea while watching Aerial America.  And I watched Mississippi Roads, a program I miss because I usually must leave for brunch.  Christina and I decided that the restaurants would be crowded so we elected to eat our Easter dinner at my home.  Christina ordered our dinner from America.  We ate salmon.  And it was delicious.  We sat in the living room and ate and talked.  We had a good visit.  I am always  delighted that Molly and Mary Frances still seem to enjoy brunch on Sunday morning.  Normally we meet at 11:15 but today they came for 12:20.  I enjoyed the food and their company.

After they left mid afternoon, I began watching the Masters Golf tournament.  I put up my feet while sitting in Ken's recliner where I snoozed and listened.  And I kept watching the tournament right to the bitter end.  It was fun and exciting and I enjoyed  watching.

So I had a good day on Easter 2023.

April 8, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. A Productive Morning.

First we took the car to the Subaru dealership to have an oil change.  Also one of the safety feature was not working, one that tells you if you move out of your land.  When the windshield was replaced, the company omitted to fix that.  I had a 9:00 appointment and they were ready for me.  It took almost an hour and they did not charge me.  The safety feather needed only to be turned on.  So all was well.

Next we went to the bank to have funds wired to Mexico.  The young lady who helped us was pleasant and efficient, a good combination.  The instructions given to me seemed complicated so I thought it would be difficult.  But it got done in half an hour.  Now my end of the transfer of ownership to Wendy from me is over.

Next we sent the receipts for the wire transfer to Paul in Mexico.  We did that at PacMail, my favorite man for mailing packages.  Portia has been urging me to have my car washed so next we went to a car wash place close to home.  We emerged with a stinging car, which pleased Portia.

Finally, to celebrate, we ate lunch at the Waffle House.  I ate a breakfast bowl, which is made of scrambled eggs, ground sausage and cheese.  I have enjoyed the bowl in the past but I always ate it with hashed brown potatoes plus a waffle but as I do not eat carbohydrate, I ate just the bowl, which was delicious.

Portia and I had a productive morning which pleases us both.  And we were home with just enough time for Portia to prepare a salad for me for supper..  Some days you just get lucky.

April 7, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Air Conditioning.

I like to switch to air conditioning only once a season.  When I arrived in Early March, the temperature was chilly so I just kept the heat on in the house.  I was cosy.  But a week ago, the temperatures were going to bee in the mid 80s so I asked Portia to switch the three thermostats to air conditioning and the house was comfortable.  I was expecting to keep the air conditioning for the whole season.  And I was happy.

But winter returned over night, when the temperature fell to 50.  The highest it got today was 60.  I was chilly in the house but I talked myself into my ability to keep warm.  After all I am a Canadian.  When I got home from lunch with friend Bo, I decided I was being foolish.  My legs were really cold.  So I did what I should have done this morning, which was to switch the thermostats back to heat.  Finally, the house returned to a comfortable temperature.

All week, the temperature will stay below 70 during the day.  But next week, I must once again change the thermostats because it will be in the mid 80s.  Maybe this time it will stay at air conditioning.  For some reason that I do not quite understand, I do not like to keep switching from heat to a/c.  Apparently, in Mississippi, I better get used to it. 

April 6, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. May Flies.

Walking to the car is a battle.  The May Flies have hatched.  They are everywhere.  And there are millions of them.  I must keep my mouth shut when I am outside.  Fortunately, they only stay around for a bit over a month.  This is not May, but they are already here.  The windows on the water side of the house are covered with these bugs.  The bids  have a field day eating those millions of bugs.  Their life cycle is fascinating so I don't mind them.

These bugs spend their time searching for a mate.  Time is not on their side.  After they hatch, their sole purpose in life is to find a mate.  They spend from 1 to 3 days searching.  When the eggs are fertilized, the bugs die.  They land on the top of the water and then sink to the bottom of the lake.  The eggs sink into the mud at the bottom where they stay for 11 months.

Next the eggs morph into a May Fly and rise to the surface of the water, where they take off flying in search of a mate.  After mating, they die and the whole cycle begins again.  The fish eat lots of these bugs as they float to the top and sink to the bottom.  Even better, those bugs fatten up the birds as they are heading north.

I do not know a lot of information.  For instance, what triggers the hatch?  Is it temperature?  Today the temperature is much lower than the past few days and there is a noticeable decrease on the bugs on my window.  People do not like these millions of bugs.  It is true that I could not sit on the deck right now.  But they only last a short time before I never see them again.  They fatten up the birds and fish so I like them.  I just must remember to keep my mouth shut when I walk to the car.

April 5, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. My Social Life.

Once upon a time, Ken and I had a pretty good social life.  But now that I am old and infirm, my social life is limited.  But they have been eliminated.  It is just different.  I am not able to drive which limits my activities.  And for the most part, I see people during the day light.  I seldom go out at night.  But I still keep busy.

On Tuesday, I had lunch with Donna, my across the street neighbor.  She picks me up.  And we decide where we want to eat.  We ate outside overlooking the Reservoir just across the Spillway.  Delightful time.  Tomorrow, Carrie my friend from down the street is coming for coffee at 9:30.  I have not seen her since my return so we will have lots to discuss.  Friday, Portia will drop me off at Anjou, to have lunch with Bo G.  He was a fishing buddy of Andrew and we have lunch together once or twice whenever I am in Mississippi.  So I will enjoy talking with Bo.

And of course, I have lunch with Christina and the girls every Sunday for brunch.  This Sunday is Easter, so we will dine at my house as the restaurants will be busy.  Christina will bring lunch.  So I enjoy my friends and I enjoy my lunches.  Fortunately, I am not deprived of a social life.

April 4, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Oatmeal for Supper.

I never intended to eat oatmeal for supper.  In fact, it was not until today that Portia commented to me that I must have eaten oatmeal for supper.  So not only did I eat oatmeal for supper last evening, I did not even know I had eaten the oatmeal.  One would question whether or not I am in my dotage.  But it really did happen.

Yesterday, Portia cooked me a steak for lunch along with vegetables.  And she asked if she could  fix me a salad for supper, which pleased me.  So she left.  When it was time for supper I opened the fridge and removed a bowl, which I thought was a salad.  My vision is only straight ahead so I did not notice another bowl in the fridge.  I thought the bowl was small so I transferred the contents to a bigger bowl and I added three scoops of cottage cheese on top of what I thought was a salad.  It contained nuts, blueberries and strawberries in the bowl.  I ate the whole thing and I told Portia today  that I had added cottage cheese to the salad.  And I told her I enjoyed my supper.

Portia made me another salad for supper today but when she put the new bowl in the fridge, she came to tell me that there was already another salad in the fridge.  And there was no bowl of leftover oatmeal.  We figured out that I had eaten the oatmeal by mistake.  And I did not notice.  Can you believe it?  This is a true story.

April 3, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Baseball.

 The rules have changed in major league baseball.  I like the changes.  The bases have increased by three inches so a player running to the base will get there faster.  This should increase stealing which should make the game more interesting.  In addition, the batter must stay in the batters box and not walk around the catcher and the umpire.  This should speed up the game.

Next, the pitcher must pitch the ball with a 65 second time period from when he receives the ball.  This also should speed up the game.  In addition, the pitcher must only throw to first base twice to keep the runner tied to first base.    Again, this should speed up the game.  If the pitcher throws to first base for a third time, the runner gets to advance to second base.  If the pitcher takes too long to pitch, the batter gets a ball.  So there are consequences.

In addition, fielders are not to move all players to one side of the diamond.  The players must be spread out around the infield.   The season is only one week old but on average the games were shorter by 30 minutes.  In addition, many teams are beginning their games at 6:30 or 6:40.

I watched three innings of a game  on Sunday night.  The game was noticeably faster so I liked all the rule changes. Hats off to MLB.  Finally they have done something to speed up the games.

April 2, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Birds.

I always wish that a Birder was beside me.  This is especially true at my house.  I hear the bird songs all day and I see them flitting around the trees.  When I wake up in the morning I listen and I listen for the bird songs.  I can identify several distinctive birds.  Over and over I hear the same songs repeated.  Then I get up to look out the window and I am not able to find the specific bird I was hearing.  Of course, with my poor vision I can watch the birds flit from branch to branch but I am unable to identify the birds.  And that is why I need an expert birder by my side.

I have tried to learn the bird sounds but I failed.  Ken bought me an app. on the computer so I could learn the sounds.  At that time I could identify the birds by sight so with the books and the bird feeders I was able to identify the birds but I was never successful with the bird sounds.  It is especially irritating now that I am unable to identify the birds by sight.  But I still enjoy the birds both watching them flit from branch to branch and listening to their different sounds.  And there is no sound better in this world than listening to the birds singing in the morning.  It is a wonderful way to start my day.

April 1, 2023. Madison, Mississippi. Lunch for Four.

We four have lunch together at Amerigo, the Italian restaurant close to my home.  We make the date as soon as we are able to make a convenient day after I arrive in Mississippi.   This is a tradition.  We have done it ever since we moved here part time in 2009.  Our four is made up of Christina, Eleanor and Greta Barbour.  Of course, I am the hostess.  So we have a good time.  We enjoy our company and conversation plus we love the food.  So it is a good deal all around.

Yesterday at our lunch we talked about April Fools Day pranks.  Last year, Henry  their brother played a joke on them all.  He e mailed them all that a cow was shot at the farm, right beside the pond.  And the cow was shot by a bow and arrow.  As Eleanor lives at the farm, she was upset as were all the other family.  Multiple texts flew between everyone but it was not until Eleanor arrived home and told Henry that she was going down to look at the dead cow that Henry admitted that it was an April Fools Day prank.

Now I am wondering what tales were told today to fool everyone.  I have not hears a word yet.  All I know is that we enjoyed our lunch at Amerigo.