For the past several years I have opened a Christmas Club savings account and saved every week so we could take a vacation in December and get away from the snow for a week.  This year we have a new addition to our family – Emily the scratch and sniff dog.  She is a rescue dog and spent almost all of her five years in a shelter.  She is still very afraid of everything but she loves me a lot and puts up with her “Da”.

When I go away from the house and leave Emmie behind she just goes to bed and sleeps.  Even if the hubster calls her for a treat, she might come get it or not.  It will just take time.

And so, I decided I could not go on a vacation this year because of the dog.  I couldn’t be that mean to her to be away for a week.  I thought about the money I had saved and asked the hubster if I could have my dream herb garden built.  He said, “You saved it.  You spend it.”  This is what I wanted to spend it on.

I contacted our local landscaping company and sent them a photo of my ideal garden and they sent me a quote.  I accepted and Jim told me they wouldn’t get to it until October at the very least.  That was okay because I still had herbs to dig up and bricks to move.  I also had a volunteer tomato plant and two volunteer cherry tomato plants that were still producing.

I cleaned up the herb garden and brought in all the plants to save for next spring.  I left the tomatoes grow and covered them when the weather got chilly.  A couple of weeks went by. 

I got anxious and called the landscaper to see when they were coming.  He told me the end of the week as they had other jobs to get done while the weather was still fairly warm.

I pulled the tomato plants and brought all the tomatoes inside to ripen.  The landscaper didn’t make it at the end of that week, nor the next week or that next week.  I emailed him and asked when and he told me Thursday at 10:00.  Yessireee!

I emptied the last bag of alpaca manure that I had saved for the herb garden.  I spread it all out.  I checked the compost bin and that stuff was ready to go in too.

I walked the floor all morning on Thursday. I started a project and got distracted but then I heard a door slam outside.  I got to the door before he rang the bell.  I was like a little girl wringing my hands and smiling until it hurt, I was so excited.

We walked out to the garden and he introduced me to Emmett, the gentleman who would be building my garden.  He didn’t introduce his assistant who I assumed could not speak English as they spoke mostly in Spanish. They drew the circle and asked if I wanted it bigger.  Yes, I wanted it at least a foot bigger.  I wanted to include the entire section that was already dug out.

He instructed the workers to make it a foot larger.  He took off to supervise other jobs that were going on.  I told Emmett to carry on and went inside to work on my project.

Inside I was worrying that Jim (the landscaper boss) had not told Emmett to add the compost to the garden.  They had brought black dirt.  I ran out and explained to Emmett that I wanted the contents of the composter to go into the garden.  We opened the composter and he said he understood.

I kept sneaking out to the garage and watching from the window.  I even took a couple of pictures.

I know I worked on my project and was smiling ear to ear (SETE) the entire time.  I simply could not believe this was happening.  I had been interviewed by the newspaper last summer in my herb garden and I was sort of embarrassed by it.  Now I would be so very proud of my herb garden.

I went out after they had left and came back from lunch.  He pointed to the garden and said I had some really good dirt in there for my garden.  With all the compost and alpaca poo, I knew I did.  We discussed the bricks and I told him I wanted them to meet and not have any space between them on the “X” path.  “No problem,” he said and they changed them.  Later he rang my doorbell and asked if I had something I wanted to go in the center.  I went and got my, what I call an unopened lotus.  I’m not really sure what it is but that is what I call it.

He sat it in the center of the path and it did not meet.  I asked if they could make it meet and Emmett told me they would be cutting the blocks to make it fit.  They had this big ass chain saw sitting on the ground.

I went back to work on my project and kept sneaking out to see how they were progressing.  Later, it seemed awfully quiet out there.  I went out and they had finished and left without saying a word.  I had planned on giving each of them a $20.00 tip but they had just left.

What do you think?  Isn’t it amazing?  I simply cannot wait to put plants in the garden next spring.  It is missing something, you say.  How about this?

There, now it is perfect.

Peace be with you.

I haven’t written anything in a very long time.  I have had a back and neck problem for about six weeks.  My back started going out at an exercise class and it kicked in about a week later.  I have to take a bunch of pain meds and roll around on the floor until I can pop it back in place.

It took a couple of days to do this and after that the pain travelled up into my middle back where it felt like I had a knife in me.  I have never learned how to deal with middle back issues and so I lay on a heating pad off and on for a couple of days.

At that point the pain entered my neck and I was constantly turning from side to side and back and forth.  I called my insurance company and inquired as to whether they covered chiropractic care.  They gave me the info and I called to make an appointment with my doctor to send a referral.

I got the chiro’s name and number off the internet (you can’t believe everything you read on the internet) and called the number.  It was busy for four straight days.  I was in Rockford the next day and stopped by the address.  The place was closed.  Oh well.  Must be the reason the HMO offers his services – because we can’t find him.

About a week later I got a call that said they had received my referral from my doctor for chiropractic care.  It seems the good doctor had closed his private practice and joined a Pain Management group.  I finally got my appointment.  I went in and he was gorgeous.  He examined my back and neck and recommended x-rays first.  I went and had them done and was back in his office on Friday.  I got my first adjustment and we talked a lot about my x-rays and what could be done for my crooked back.

He gave me a lecture on my posture and I sat up as straight as I could.  I have very bad posture and have always had.  I started maturing at age 8 and was the worst tomboy in the world.  My first bra was a 32 A.  My mother didn’t seem to notice that I was a slouch.  If only she had told me on occasion to stand up straight.

So anyhow, the lower back is better, the middle back out of pain and I can move my neck without marbles rolling around in there.  I just have to remember to stand up straight.  If you see me, please remind me.

I had problems sleeping last night.  I woke up to my nose whistling.  I turned over but it persisted in whistling.  I finally coughed and it stopped.  Iwas thinking what is the connection between nose whistles and coughing.  I know the nose and throat are connected but why?  I’m thinking of the scientific theory of whistling.  I usually pucker up my mouth and suck some air in or out.  Does my nose airway shrink up for some reason and the breathe has to whistle while coming in and out?  But no, it is only on my exhale that I whistle.  I had to look this up.

Physics Forums states:

One person is absolutely adamant that the vibrations are caused because of the air being pressurized as it goes out the lips, causing the lips to vibrate. Another claims that vibrations are caused outside of the mouth, as the air stream forms vortices that interfere with each other. And another insists that the tongue causes vibrations in the mouth, acting like a reed. Which is it? I'm not crazy about any of these explanations.

Reference https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/the-physics-behind-human-whistling-where-does-the-sound-come-from.666431/

Well I don’t understand it in the least.   What the heck is a vortices?  (A mass of whirling fluid or air.)  And now my hubster’s is having nose whistles.  So much for a good night’s sleep!

I finally got some sleep and woke up to hear that my beloved Leon Russell has died.  I just adored him.  He was so down to earth, and man could he play the piano.  He wrote just the most romantic song ever written, “A Song for You.”  The hubster and I saw him in concert in Madison one year and we danced right in front of him when he sang that song.  He was so different from when he was young.

Years ago I interviewed Danny Zelisko who is a concert promoter in the Arizona area.  His parents lived down the street from me and introduced me to him.  I wrote an article for the paper about the interview.  During the interview I mentioned Leon Russell and Danny told me that he had met him several times.  He said that his wife of many years left him and his heart was broken.  He was never the same afterward.   Never break the heart of a romantic.

https://www.google.com/#q=leon+russell+youtube

Check it out.  Thank you Leon Russell for all the wonderful memories and songs.

I also have to admit that I have been doing something that is totally inane.  I have noticed lately a lot of vehicles with only one headlight.  When I have only one headlight I get pulled over by the police and warned to get it fixed and fast.  Am I the only one?  So anyhow, I figured, there should be a universal sign to indicate to drivers that they have a headlight out.  I cover one of my eyes as I pass them.  I did this with friend, Lauri, recently and she almost wrecked the car.  Sorry about that!

Years ago, daughter, Addi, and I made up the universal sign for your gas cap is open.  We put our hands together and open one of them.  Doesn’t that make a lot of sense?

So I want all of my friends and family to start using these universal signs and let drivers know that their vehicles need servicing.

Other universal signs?  You ask.  Handing a person a tissue if they have a stray booger on their nose.  Wiping at your chin if they have stray crumbs on their face. Showing folks your middle finger if they don’t use their turn signals.  The “V” for peace.

And peace be with you.