Mixed Bags

Once more, I was up late and slept in. It's 9:20 my time, and I've just had the first cup of coffee and read some news. This is not the way to get things done and I gotta get back on schedule, but hell if you don't shake it up now and then life gets tedious.

The news is, as always, a mixed bag. Nearly 200 people died ( ed. note: the death toll as of 4/29 is around 300 now) in the tornadoes that tore thru the south. In Tuscaloosa- a major city- lights, signs and debris were blown everywhere and the streets became impassable. From an AP story: "At Stephanie's Flowers, owner Bronson Englebert used the headlights from two delivery vans to see what valuables he could remove. The storm blew out the front of his store, pulled down the ceiling and shattered the windows, leaving only the curtains flapping in the breeze... A group of students stopped to help Englebert, carrying out items like computers and printers and putting them in his van." It will forever hearten me to see people helping people in terrible times. We have a great example of that here in my hometown following the recent fire. Puts me back in mind that people really are good at heart, given the chance to be.

It's pouring rain today, warm and soupy. Not friendly to arthritic gimps. I'd no idea that such a different building would affect my body. While a ground-floor solid brick and concrete structure is cooler and easier to access, it's also quite damp in this weather. I've been way more active since living here; I've been using different furniture, too. Everything is an adjustment. This is a process of getting used to a new life. My allergies aren't so bad and my plants are thriving so I can't bitch. I keep telling myself, "Pain is pain; relax and get used to it." Which works most of the time. Days like this are a challenge.

Good grief it's after 10 now and I've spent much of the time here staring out the window at the light yellow-green buds on the dark trees. The weeping willow alone is an Impressionist masterpiece, if you like that sort of thing. It's peaceful here most of the time... and may soon be even more peaceful. More about that as it develops.