SOME SPRING...

Last spring 

I shared a post entitled

 Step Back Non-Believers.

  It featured a 

Saturday afternoon road trip 

to the North Fork

 of the Yuba River

 which was raging down the canyon

 after heavy rains and snow melt.

I told about

 the deafening sound the river made

 as it crashed along the rocks.

  We took that ride again

 this past weekend 

and it was raging just as hard as ever

 so I captured it on video

 so you could experience the sounds 

as well as the visual...

The videos turned out great 

but somewhere between

the camera and the blog

 I couldn't figure out how 

to transfer them. (So what else is new?)

 I googled it

 and the instructions were clear

 and I followed them closely and

 nothing!!

 I also took a video of Kai

 walking up the hill from behind 

so you could see how

 his spine is affecting him 

but, again, nada!

I would appreciate it so much

 if someone could give me some advice.

 It seems like a fairly

 straight forward ordeal

  according to Google,

 but I guess 

I must have

 missed something.

If, and when,

 it gets figured out 

I will send them on to you. 

Some flowers 

and fresh produce

 brought home from

 Trader Joe's...

...and a glimpse of

 a change coming

 to the Cottage.

We had this 

delicious dinner last night.

  A very simple, tasty and easy meal to fix.

 Just so this post

 isn't so short because of

 lack of content,

 I will share the recipe:

 Floating Tacos

1 1/2 lb hamburger - browned

1 onion

1 cup cooked rice

6 oz tomato paste

8 oz tomato sauce

3 cup water

2 Tbls sugar

1 clove garlic

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 - 15 oz can black beans

Mix all together,

 cook on stove or in crockpot, 

serve with toppings

 over corn chips.

Toppings:

cheese, sour cream, avacado, olives, salsa, shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes.

I showed this arrangement

last week 

but thought the 

profusion of lillies 

after one week 

was worth sharing 

again.

Have a wonderful week and 

Happy Easter to all.

...Judy...

Sharing today at:

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

SIGNATURES OF SPRING...

Welcome Spring!

Happiness is a journey 

not a destination. 

 But...spring has arrived 

and I, for one, 

am so happy we have 

reached this destination.

  I am so tired of

 the claustrophobic skies

 resting on my head, 

which is what I feel like 

after so many dark days. 

 I welcome 

the first changes of any season

 but winter, after awhile,

 is not my best friend.

 So, I thought I would share some

  of the bright and light

 signatures of spring.

I would like to thank

 each and everyone 

for your kind concerns about Kai.

  He is now doing great 

on his pain and anti-inflamatory meds 

and is whipping around 

just like before,

 only with a little hitch in his back end.

  He has to be picked up 

to either get on or off the couch 

and to go up or down stairs.

 That is just something

 we can do to help 

make the progression of his condition 

not come any faster.

 He is doing very well for now 

and we can only take it,

 and be thankful for,

 one day at a time.

Yesterday 

the sun peeked timidly 

through the window. 

 Seemingly to give the old rooster 

something to crow about:

"Tuesday is the first day of spring 

and blue skies are

 on the way."

Today is

 the first day of Spring 

and it is telling another story, 

bringing more 

dark clouds and rain.

The moral of the story 

seems to be that 

 spring has signed

 on the dotted line 

but without March and April showers,

 where would the 

May flowers be?

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE...

While we are still in 

the throes of winter...

and sunshine, literally, 

may be hard to come by...

we can always find 

some brightness

 by basking in the light of

those we love and 

taking pleasure in all that 

we are blessed with.

My all time favorite photograph

 is of Jake and the Captain 

at Jake's first Easter egg hunt. 

 By this time,

 the Captain had already 

seen a few!...

...now,

 here they are:  

One just turned 80 years old 

and one will be graduating in June

 with his masters degree...

You've come a long way

baby(s)...

My dear sister, Sid,

 by the time she reads this,

 will be through

 with her radiation treatments and 

will be free and clear

 from breast cancer. 

  

I finally splurged 

and bought some down-filled pillow inserts.

  Now my cheap (under $5) pillow covers 

look like a

 million bucks!

Since Kai came into our lives 

and brought so much needed sunshine, 

along with a couple of cases of sun burn,

 we have known that

 he had an issue of weakness 

in his hind quarters.

 He came out of a shelter 

and we weren't privvy to 

what he could have possibly endured 

in his early life.

  

Was he mistreated,

 or in an accident, 

or is it his genetic makeup,

 because of

 his short legs and longer body?

We really can't know for sure 

but the problem is increasing.

 We took him to the vet 

when his back legs became weak 

and were dragging when he walked. 

 We could tell it was painful for him.

 After x-rays, 

we learned that he has a lot of 

arthritis throughout his spine 

and seven vertebrae affected 

with some almost fused together.  

He is now on pain meds 

that seem to be doing well for him and, 

hopefully, this will last.

  He is about nine years old, 

has a heart murmur 

and any surgery 

would be very intense.

He is a happy little guy

 and still brings 

so much joy and light 

into our lives and 

we shall see where this goes for now.

Along with a

 "bobble head"

 he now has...

...a 

"wobble butt".

All these things 

keep the sun shining

 in our lives and

 will continue to make us happy 

even when 

the gray skies are gone.

In the meantime...

Butterscotch Bunny 

wishes you all,

 my dear sunshiny friends,

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

...Judy...

Sharing sunshine this week at:

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles