Don has been lured out of retirement and will race dogs in Dubuque April through October.   Boyoboy, does that ever change all of our spring, summer, and fall plans.  But it’s a chance to make a fair amount of money in a short time.  That will help us achieve our goal of a second home;  a place for vacations now, and retirement later.  I know, we’re already retired, but there will come a time when neither stairs nor snow will suit us, and we’d like to be prepared ahead of time for that.

Next source of busy-ness is a fabulous and completely surprising birthday gift from Christina.  She has sent me a plane ticket to London, and I will celebrate my 70th over there with her.  I am beyond excited!   That is only three weeks away, however, so I have a few things to do in preparation.

In the meantime,  Diana has asked me to come babysit so they can have a short weekend away in April.   Of course I will!

So here’s my schedule for the next two months or so:

March 15-19:  London;  March 29 – April 8:  Dubuque;  April 11-15, Woodside, California;  April 16- 25, home here in Stevensville;  April 26 – May 6 (or so) Dubuque;  then, finally, home to take care of the spring gardening chores.

Wow….pretty busy for an old lady!

The facts of life, however, are this:   It’s not the yearly visits, the special dinners,  the birthday gifts, that make up a life. (Although I love those things!)  It’s the moments.   It’s the difference between waking up and being alone in the house day after day, and not;   it’s the difference between having someone to exchange a cheery “good morning” with, and not;  it’s the difference between eating a lean cuisine while playing a game on the computer and sharing a meal with an interesting person.   These are the things adult children cannot provide for a parent.  Thus,  we need to find a way to get them for ourselves.

The ‘kids’ don’t need to feel guilty that they don’t have more time for us;  we don’t have to feel guilty that we don’t spend every vacation racing to wherever they are;   we can all just relax and enjoy our own separate lives, remembering every minute how much we love these dear, dear people, but not needing them to be part of our every day lives.

Whew, strange entry, but it’s what’s running through my brain today.

The groundhog once again saw his shadow, but honestly, we haven’t had enough of a winter this year to care.   Now watch,  March will bring the worst blizzard in history!   In the meantime,  daffodils are poking their green leaves up, I’ve started cutting down the ornamental grasses, rabbits and squirrels are running all over the place.   Vera can’t begin to keep up with them all, although she surely does try.

Life is calm here, and I like that.  Don fiddles with his trains,  we both read.   The latest is that Vera is apparently musical.  I was playing the piano the other day, when all of a sudden Vera grabbed a squeaky toy and squeaked along with me.   I thought it was just a fluke, so later I sat down to play again.   She immediately grabbed the toy and started squeaking it again.   An instrumentalist greyhound!   Too cute.

Outside the window, there’s nothing but snow; snow with dog footprints, rabbit footprints, squirrel foot prints, bird footprints.  It’s like a little nature lesson out there.   Inside,  it’s me and a hot cuppa.

But I’ve been looking at photos of flowers past, and dreaming, dreaming.

Yesterday, I went shopping with Jane and Cheryl,  two of my closest friends here in MI.   There’s a huge discount mall in Michigan City, Indiana, about 30 miles from here.  It’s an outdoor mall, so not many people shop there in 30 degree weather, but Tuesday is senior discount day, so down we went.  To my surprise, I bought a few things.  Usually when I need a sweater, I call Lands End or LL Bean, it was fun trying on, then buying.   The trunk was full by the time we called it quits.  Girl time.  Loved it!

Tomorrow night, Don and I are taking Noel and Bob to Grand Mere, one of our favorite local restaurants.   It’s a bit belated, as this is our ‘thank you’ for taking care of things while we were in Florida.   Travel is much, much easier because they are here to manage the house.

One of Don’s train friends came over yesterday to see his progress;  Ron was properly impressed, especially with the lake Don created.  He is turning out to be remarkably artistic and talented with the scenery he’s made.  Who knew?

I got bored on Sunday, so decided to clean out the big linen closet in the bathroom.   Vera came along to supervise.   She’s by my side most of the day, mostly, I’m sure, hoping there will be food near me and that I’ll drop some.   Anyway,  the top shelves were dusty, so I used the feather duster on them, dropping it from ladder top to floor when I was through.   Next thing I know, Vera has grabbed it by the handle, tossed it down the stairs, and pounced on it!  Yikes.   I grabbed it back before too many feathers were gone; then I shut her in the family room with Don.   Too much help.

Library today.  I’ve been reading through the John Sanford series of detective novels, and just finished book 18.  Not sure how many to go, but as that one was written in ’08,  I think a few.

Coffee time.

In 1937, my mother was only 20 years old and a nursing student;  dad was 24 and already working on the New York Central Railroad.  Here’s what the world of that time looked like:

• Poland refuses to sign agreement to return Danzig to Germany
• Purge of USSR generals
• Geroge VI crowned King of Great Britain; broadcast of ceremonies is first worldwide program heard in the U.S.
• Spanish rebels take Malaga; Franco begins naval blockade
• All-India Congress Party wins elections
• Mussolini visits Libya and Berlin
• Italy and Yugoslavia sign Belgrade Pact
• Roosevelt signs U.S. Neutrality Act
• Neville Chamberlain become Prime Minister of Great Britain
• Aggressive Japanese war policy begins
• Chiang Kai shek unites with Communists led by Mao Tse-tung
• Royal Commission on Palestine recommends the establishment of Arab and Jewish states
• Bakr Sidqi, dictator of Iraq, assassinated
• Wall Street stock market decline signals serious economic recession in the U.S.
• U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of minimum wage for women
• Lord Halifax visits Hitler; beginning of policy of appeasement
• Italy withdraws from League of Nations
• Strike against Republic Steel in Chicago;  4 killed, 84 hurt
• Literature:  Hemingway: “To Have and to Have not,” Steinbeck: “Of Mice and Men”
• The arts:  Picasso:  “Guernica,” Klee:  “Revolution of the Viaducts,” Miro: “Still Life With Old Shoe,” and the films of that year include “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Camille,”  “Life of Zola”
• Popular songs:   “The Lady is a Tramp,” “Harbor Lights,” “I’ve got my Love to Keep me Warm”
• Science:   insulin used to control diabetes; Crystalline vitamins K and A first obtained; nylon is patented (duPont Co..)
• Amelia Earhart lost in Pacific
• Lincoln Tunnel opens between NY and NJ
• Hindenburg disaster
• Golden Gate bridge opens in San Francisco
• Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson
• Joe Louis wins heavyweight championship
• War Admiral is triple crown winner

I think of these tumultous times as the backdrop to my parents’ courtship (a narrow lens through which to view the world, admittedly).   There was all the romance triggered by the whole King/divorced woman scandal;  the songs were dreamy;  and while war was building in Europe,  we, as Americans would hardly have been aware of the Middle East at that time;  at any rate  we felt safe from war with neutrality our official policy.

My parents had lived with the Great Depression for years;  they knew how to survive.    They used to tell us about going dancing, playing sports; indeed, they met at a softball game.

But as I read through the list of events,  I’m amazed by how many truly devastating things were going on.   Of course, I’m looking back, not forward, so I can see where this is all headed.

Wish I could do the same for 2012.  I think.

We are limited in how much we can travel because of the dog.  Although we have found a wonderful kennel, it’s expensive.  This adds considerably to the already high cost of travel.   Sigh again.

Someone has to scoop poop, feed, water, brush, and pick up after the dog.   Sigh, sigh, sigh.

On the other hand,  no one loves like a dog.  And she’s funny, gets excited by her silly squeaky toys, by me putting my shoes on…’oh, boy, I’m gonna get a walk!’    Vera has pretty much rabbit-proofed the yard, and she doesn’t shed much, being short-haired.   And then there’s that ‘we’re more of a family with a dog’ feeling.

Can you tell I’m weighing this out in my mind?   LOL

But look at this face: