end of april

To day is the last day of April 2006.

Four months have passed this year each month passing faster than the month before.

April is a transition month it’s a time of year when preparations are made for the summer to come. The air begins to warm, trees expel their green pollen and dawn a new covering of almost transient levees of green yellow and red. The dogwoods and azaleas bloom, flowers show their faces and birds sing. This morning I found a tiny bird egg shell and held it in my hand wondering what type of bird the chick that hatched from this egg would become. It is a month of new beginnings.

But this month already very busy just by being April was made even busier by responsibility. My responsibility to family has been almost overwhelming.. I am in a profession where compassion and nurturing is expected. Well I’m not an overly nurturing kind of person. I like my space and my freedom. When I begin to feel backed in a corner by “responsibility” I get resentful. I do not like being in the “tween” generation. That place where children, ageing parents and ones own desires pull in different directions I long to walk my personal path but that path is so hard to find. Its times like this I long for that golden age of 50 when I will be free. My youngest will be college and I will be in a small cabin on the side of a hill overlooking Buffalo mountain. In the morning I will watch wisps of mist as they form on the open pastures and then are taken away by the gentle morning breeze. In the evening I will watch the insects and listen to the still air as I relax on the porch as the sun sinks behind the mountains. Ah but this is only a dream (for now) today the grass needs cutting, laundry needs to be done, dogs need to be walked and mom needs to be helped.

Easter morning around 6:30 am Willis VA.

some bikers on bikers weekend

Boy has it been a busy few weeks. Both my mother and middle son spent time in the ER; it’s been a while since I spent time on the patient’s side of the ER visit and I DONT LIKE IT!!!! My mom broke her arm and my middle son just seems to have a sensitive vagal response under the right conditions pain makes him pass out he’s going to have to be careful and that kid has always been rough and tumble. Other than doctor visits I’ve been busy working in the yard, spring is here! I tooled around town looking at the big bikes that came to town during biker week (April 4-8 this year). Riding on of those things scare’s the heck out of me but I like to look at them. Over the Easter weekend I got to go to the mountains it was too short a visit but I needed to get off this Island! The next three days (night’s) I’ll be at work and before you know it another week will have past.

light show

Boy we had some weather come through last night with a light show that would have impressed Doug Thompson of Blue Ridge Muse. We had lightning that appeared to jump from cloud to cloud causing the air to rumble and the whole sky to light up for what seemed forever. We had great bolts of lightning that came straight down with a mighty crash-bang-boom and a brief bright flash of light. It rolled through for hours but surprisingly left little rain. This was the big low that caused so much damage in Kentucky and further points west and north. I don’t know what damage it caused around here I haven’t turned on the radio or TV but nothing in my immediate area seems to have suffered any. Storms like that are amazing in their beauty and fierceness. I wanted to stand out in the yard and watch the light show but feared the possible consequences of such an action and instead watched from my window. Storms like that are usually caused by two opposing fronts that collide. This time the cold front won pushing our warm weather aside for a little while. There will be more storms after all it is April and “April showers bring May flowers” of course around here we always lose a few trees and roofs along the way.

Oh my, another week has gone past. This time of year always fly’s by for me. There is sooo much to do and I seem to be doing it all at once. Work picks up, folks taking a little time off gives me a little more work to do. This is the time of year I try to get repairs done around the house and in the yard. Fresh paint on the doors and trim make the house look cleaner and picking up yard debris helps get the yard ready for use. This week was also made busier by my trip to Norfolk to see my niece and her family. They recently moved to the area, it’s nice to have family only 2 hours away and it was great seeing her children, some for the first time!!

Time spent on the computer this week has been spent checking out Windows XP. My son put his own computer together and now he needs an operating system. I have been trying to figure out which is best the Windows XP home edition that sells for $199 or the Windows XP OEM version that sells for $80. Decisions decisions. I have also been looking at designated e-book readers I think I have settled on the eBookwise-1150. I want something that will allow me to just read. I don’t need a palm pilot, I just need to be able to download something I want to read be it a book or an article or a bunch of new policies I’m supposed to go over and be able to take it to the beach the mountains or bed and read just like I would if I were reading a book or magazine. Sony has a new one coming out in the “spring of 2006” but it’s over $300 and I’m just not going to spend that kind of money on a book reader. The eBookwise-1150 sells for around $140 after tax and shipping is added and it comes with a memory card. It has a few drawbacks but the good seems to out weigh the bad. Hummmm……

Well tomorrow starts another very busy week and it starts with less time thanks to the beginning of daylight savings time.