A few blooms...

I think I might be a cave woman, living a time-slipped life.  Think about it: I'm clearly a carnivore and I've become a true hermit.

Also, where most folk I know will happily chow down on cold leftover pizza, I crave cold leftover steak!  Even cold, the flank steak practically melted in my mouth.  And I have changed my mind about the Chili Spiced Steak.  The marinade is quite good when cold.

I'm on Day Three of battling waves of violent nausea.  I awoke abruptly at 4:30 this morning, nauseous and writhing in pain.  I have yet to eat anything today aside from judiciously sipping Ginger Ale.  I hate Dysautonomia.  SIGH.

Yesterday, I battled through to slap two coats of sealer on the chairs for the table for the airing porch. Yes, I caved financially. I let all that savings of Celebrex go to my head and caught up on all my little needs I had deferred and then plunked down the funds for my major want.

These are actually the fourth attempt at buying chairs.  Shoppers Beware:  Shipped goods do not always match the photos posted.

I bought the chairs and table separate, because it was more economical that way.  Since the steamer lounger and the table and chairs are all made of the same material, they generally have the same look.   I absolutely cannot wait until I can eat out on the airing porch.

After my GREAT WEAKNESS OF 2105, I vowed to go back to my penurious ways, which is quite a good thing, because I finally found someone to translate the periodic prescription summaries that I receive from Medicare.  If read correctly, switching to generic Celebrex will save me money on that drug, but will mean that I will not reach catastrophic coverage.  So, I will be saddled with the high percentage price of Erythromycin for the rest of the year, instead of reaching catastrophic coverage in November and having Erythromycin drop from $436 to approximately $40-ish dollars.  In 2016, I might delay the expensive donut hole until April or even May and, thus, have a bit more savings.  I will have to wait to see.

Today, I am in too much pain for Amos to be atop me, but yesterday he helped me battle the nausea by snoring loudly in my lap.  Happiness is a white fluff-ball who snores in your lap.

Last night, even though I felt horrible, I had to bath his canine self.  You see, the entire time I was sealing the chairs, Amos frolicked about the brick edging of the yard, watering and re-watering every single growing thing in my beds.  He was the stinkiest he's ever been.

Mostly, when in need of a bath, Amos just smells a bit like dirt. I think that is because his curls get all dusty.  But on rare occasions, he smells like my old elementary students did when they came in from recess. Weird.  Anyway, I gave him a haircut and a bath and spent lots of time recovering back in the GREEN chair.

Though grey and dreary today, I wanted to show that the ornamental magnolia tree has reached its peak bloom.

One of the reasons I adore this tree is that even full darkness does not take away from the light of the blooms.  It as if they are the embodiment of John 1:5.  I always feel safer at night, outside, when the magnolia tree is in bloom.  Safer.  More at peace.

After the GREAT BONTANICAL BETRAYAL OF 2014, I am giddy to report that the weeping cherry tree is blooming!

So take that, Winter!  All that snow and cold and the weeping cherry did right by me this year!

The Forsythia is also blooming!

I have spent the first three years trying to shape it into a proper bush, but last year gave up and went for more of a tree shape, with the goal of getting the canopy up above the fence, so my pruning will only be the small bits that grow on the "trunks."  This year's major cut was to a branch that was primarily leaning over the fence, blocking my neighbor's walkway.  I would have to cut it back all summer, so I decided to lop it off from the bottom and hope that the hole created in the right center from its removal will eventually be fill in by branches from the other main trunks.  Looking at the photo, I think I might need to remove at least part of that one last branch hanging over the fence.

The first of the bulbs beneath the magnolia tree has bloomed.  I remain disappointed that the blooms are so tiny that I can barely see them, but this is the third year for the bulbs so they are resilient.  $2.99 well spent.  And Amos doesn't crush them by laying atop them the way he does the tulips.  SIGH.

This is my first tulip.  The rest are all of the taller varieties that take longer to bloom.  Amos has been quite faithful about "watering" it ever since it opened.

Despite my best efforts to relocate all the tulips from the lily bed to the tulip bed, I have three more outliers growing in amongst the day lilies, the leaves of the latter are now about a foot tall.  My Easter lilies have just started to peak above the mulch.  They typically get around to blooming in mid summer.  I suppose they do not understand that Easter has already come and gone.

Anyway, despite the grey day and the great innards misery, I did enjoy snapping a few photos of the beauty taking place in my yard.

I am not sure I am up for enduring a Day Four of violent nausea.  Besides, on the morrow, the electrician is coming to do the spring service of my air-conditioner.  I have to be able to put on some clothing for his visit.  Right now, my abdomen is too tender for anything to touch it.

Did I mention that Dysautonomia is a wretched, wretched, wretched neurological disease/condition/illness/existence?

SIGH.