hi. it’s me; bella. i wented to the groomer’s to get prettied up for company. i want to know what you think of my new hairstyle.

i’m not sure i like it yet. i need your opinions. maybe you should see it from different angles.

what do you think? if you think i should keep my new look tell me quick before mom takes the thinning shears to me head!

somehow i get the feeling that mom was making fun of me ...

I just got back from taking Alex for a walk even though it’s a bit blustery out there today. As we passed the little wooded area in front of our house it was hard to miss the large areas of bright orange on one of the cedar trees. What the heck?

At first I thought it might be mushrooms since it just appeared since our rain the other day. On closer inspection nearly all the cedar trees in that area were oozing orange goo. It looked like something from outer space! Yuck! You know me, had to grab the camera.

This tree had a different pattern of goo.

Up close and gelatinous! It’s very wet and sticky.

When I came in I googled “orange goo on cedar trees” and came up with something called quince rust. In a way I was right in thinking it was a mushroom since it is actually the fruiting body of a fungus. Here is a link to a pretty good article about it. It says it won’t permanently harm the tree, so that’s good.

Still … it’s very weird. What do you think? Would you like to have some orange goo of your own? I can scrape some off and send you some!

I am proud to reveal the new un-white guest bedroom ~ ~ ~ !

Rick helped put the room back together yesterday and I ironed the curtains before putting them up. The curtain rods needed a little attention since they were pulling away from the walls and the screws were somehow stripped, but other than that all went well. We are really happy with the whole feel of the room now. We think it’s very inviting and cozy! And a big change from what it used to be.

Not the best photos in the world since it was a dark day. (Not complaining about the darkness at all since we finally got some much needed rain—2.34 inches worth!)

The green space is all around us (outside). The rain over the past few days has really made the trees unfurl those leaves at a rapid pace. I love the color of new green. There is nothing quite like it. It’s nothing like the middle-of-the-road green of summer. I love this time of year!

Bee on something sweet smelling on my street. Honeysuckle? Taken today.

I have my husband home tonight after one week of having been gone from us. His body is here but his mind is not. He had a hard week. I’m glad to have him home again.

Alex was the most excited of us all and gave him what I like to call his cry-baby greeting. It was so sweet. I was glad to see him too but I think Alex’s greeting was the best.

I don’t get that when I come home, but then again, I am never away from home anymore unless Rick is with me. After all, I’m just Mom who is always here. Mom feeds. She scoops dog stuff and cat stuff and cleans up after us when we make a mess.

Maybe that needs to be fixed.

When my Mom was alive I at least got to break away for a night when I went up to get her to bring her down to New Jersey and Rick got to deal with dogs/cats/feeding/scooping/at home things while I was gone for a short time. Since her death I really have nowhere to go. sniff, sniff. (insert really feeling sorry for myself here.)

I could get on an airplane, but that costs money. And lots of planning. And not my most favorite thing in the world. And, really, where would I go? I want to be taken care of, not take care of someone else if I go somewhere. I have enough of that at home. Is that selfish? Yes. Completely.

There is no clear answer to my dilemma. So, here I am, and here I will stay.

Feeding, scooping, letting dogs in and out, etc.

I know I have so many things to be thankful for, and I am. I am thankful for everything I have in my life, but sometimes the daily routine just gets tiresome and I would love a break. Not really complaining; not really. Well, maybe just a little…