Changes

It doesn't take long for big changes to occur at this time of year.

I wasn't planning to blog the snow pile again, but I have had a special request for an update. Remember how large it looked just nine days ago?



Here it is today.



Although I helped Mother Nature along as best I could by continuing to throw some of it back onto the driveway to speed up the melting process, it was a mild week that caused most of the shrinkage. Most of the week was sunny and warmish; it went up to about 60°F one day. Then yesterday's rain washed more away. I wonder how long it will take to melt the rest of the pile? Supposedly, it is going to be yet another fab week.

Also, it was just one week ago that I removed the snow from atop these crocuses.



Here's what they look like today. It's a cool, windy day so they're choosing not to open, but they're present and colourful. I'll try to get some better pictures this week. Although they always look the same I take new crocus pictures every year; I can't seem to help myself.

Blame The Bonnie Wee One

Cuppa and I are both sick with colds. Bad colds. Except for a very minor skirmish or two, we escaped the whole, dreadfully long winter and its concomitant germ attacks, but our luck has turned now that spring is here.

The Bonnie Wee One caught it first, then Mom, and finally gramma and grampa. Of course if Nikki Dee were to catch something, we'd almost be sure to fall ill also because ... well because we do tend to get close. Besides, this was a fast one, and we were all contaminated before we knew enough to take evasive action. After being out all day on Friday, I came in the house moaning and groaning that I was sick. Not to be outdone, Cuppa moaned and groaned ... and coughed and spluttered right back at me. So, no sympathy for the old guy.

But we sure react to colds differently. Cuppa hit the sack at about 7:30 on Friday evening and slept most of Saturday away. I don't seem to sleep any more ill than I do healthy. Sometimes, I think it's even less. I remember once getting very sick and mentioning this to the doctor, and he replied with great conviction that I would sleep as a result of the meds that he was prescribing. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

We are both on Cold FX for the first time ever. I don't know how it works because you can't cure the common cold after all, but both of us seem to feel less laid low than in other instances. Well, I know Cuppa has been doing a lot of low-lying, but she does claim to feel not too miserable when she does manage to venture out from under the covers. And I felt good enough to drive out to orchestra practice and felt more or less with it during.

Not that any of you requested a blow-by-blow account of our afflictions, but I did want to pause to observe how two people's bodies can react so differently. Now it's time for grampa to see if he can get some rest. It is after eleven o'clock after all. It shouldn't be too much for a sick man to ask for a decent night's rest. Eh?

Foto Friday

Above: Cuppa bounces NikkiDee on her knees and sings Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross. To the kid's great joy, we both do this with her from time to time. There's a word in there that doesn't sit too well with some of the aunties, but that's how the rhyme goes, and so that's how we both sing it. She shows her joy with big smiles, but we never seem to be able to capture them on camera, so this will have to suffice for the nonce.

Below: Whilst travelling through the city the other day, we chanced upon this sign, and Cuppa managed to snap a photo before the light turned. Check out the phone number.

Finally, here are two more butterfly photos. I like the first because it shows the nearer butterfly better and the second because it shows the further one better. Which is to say that the perfect butterfly photo eludes me.

Trying ...

I was on the phone last night when Cuppa handed me this note.



At the time, I wasn't feeling that I was actually close to achieving Sainthood, but I was trying my darnedest to be patient and understanding.

You see, Val called for the second time this week. For quite a long time I tried to walk her around her computer looking for Outlook Express, so that she could try to write an email. Eventually, I had to throw in the towel. I didn't want to; I wanted to help, but we were getting nowhere.

You see, Val is legally blind and what she wants to do — which is use the computer — is extremely difficult for her, even with accessibility options enabled and a very expensive voice recognition program installed. Extremely difficult. About as difficult as it can possibly be.

Before her stroke, seven years ago (I think it was), she was a typing wiz and also spent a lot of time on her computer and helping others on theirs. Then the stroke occurred. It affected her brain and her sight. She desperately wants to be able to use the computer again, but she is constantly thwarted and has been for seven years. At first she tried to work with and then update her old system by purchasing a new large monitor, but she still couldn't make it work. Then, she bought another new system but had it taken away again after more frustration. Now she is trying again with yet another new system.

I have tried to help in the past when we were somewhat closer and could visit on occasion, but I could never help enough. What she needs is someone with a fair bit of knowledge on how to meet her particular and significant needs to sit with her for however long it takes. She requires a knowledgeable person in both computers and her handicap to patiently mentor her through all of the hurdles, but that kind of help just doesn't seem to exist. I don't think anyone near her meets both sets of qualifications or else they don't have the time and/or patience. And then Val gets impatient and starts fiddling with the machine on her own trying to sort through the foggy maze and quite possibly messes things up even more.

I try to be patient when she calls because I really want to help her but I get frustrated not by her but my inability to truly aid her. We spend a good long time going round in circles trying this solution and that, but in the end we have nothing to show for our efforts. I need to at least try to do this for her, though. She has been a good friend and would have been the first to help me if the situation had been reversed. But we're quite a geographical distance from Val now, not just two short hours as we used to be and we haven't seen her in more than two years. The thing is, even if I were there, it would be difficult for me to work with her special accessibility requirements and the programs that she has to assist her (but which don't actually seem to help her much at all) because I am simply not familiar with these options and programs.

Sigh. I really hope that someone can help her. I wish I could do better. She must be so darn frustrated, and I feel for her.

Moi, the Chatterbox

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when ChrisB at Ms Cellania passed this award on to me. I hadn't particularly thought of myself as being a sociable chatterbox, but I am pleased to think that some folk might find Anvilcloud's Raindrops a comfy place to visit.

Over time, I seem to have become a more surfacey blogger than I once was. I post more general stuff about my days and doings and fewer perceptive thoughts. When you've written about a thousand posts, here and elsewhere, I think it gets like that — more chatty and less perspicacious. That's okay. And it is also more than okay to receive a Good Chat Blog Award. Thanks Chris.

Where are the Worms?

Cuppa noticed this robin sitting in our tree yesterday morning. We were downstairs and our cameras were upstairs, but the bird continued to sit patiently while I took the time to change to my telephoto lens. I took pictures from both upstairs and downstairs, and still she remained. She was probably too stunned to move and consumed with wondering where the heck the worms and and berries could possibly be.

The top version is with normal, minimal post processing. In the bottom version, I really boosted the contrast and saturation.



A Little Something for Janet

I know it's not much good int his size, but here it is anyway.

On the March ... in April

It was a glorious weekend. For quite a while on Sunday afternoon, we sat out on Thesha's porch. It was sheltered and it direct sunlight, and I actually got hot, just in my shirt and no jacket. But I refused to move and soaked it up as much as possible. Days such as this occur early in every spring, often earlier than this, and it can hurt when the weather reverts, but I still enjoy it whilst I can.

I removed some snow cover from Thesha's little garden and found crocus plants sticking out. I love crocuses. They're tiny but incredibly beautiful and so full of promise.


When I checked back with them a little later, the snow had completely melted back from around the plants. Spring is on the march.