It's cloudy. There is no sign of blue in the cloud-covered sky. It's warm and still. Birds are chirping. In the distance a lawn mower is humming, and overhead, a plane. Everything is green except the fading purple flowers of the chive plants and the fading yellow-orange tulip tree blossoms. The sun is trying to shine through the clouds. My brain still feels cloudy too. Perhaps the sun will also break through there. I just noticed bean-like seed pods hanging from the redbud. I've never noticed those before. I think pollen from the taller trees has finished. This is the weekend that marks the official beginning of summer, and the stillness of the air seems appropriate for the onset of summer. The freshness of spring is fading like my flowers.

I have nothing on my calendar today until tonight when we are going to see Shakespeare in the park. The neighbor's yellow cat just walked past my chair making his morning rounds. He gave me a glance as he passed as if to question why I was sitting here in his territory, but moved right on judging me harmless. I am not usually here when he passes by. More frequently, I see him as he rounds the house in the front yard. If I were to get a kitten, I suppose it would have to stake its own claim to this territory--justify its right to be here. Or perhaps they would learn to co-exist as this cat does with others in its household. When we lived in our former house, several of the neighborhood cats coexisted and sat near each other in our several yards. When we moved here, our cat had an even harder time adjusting than our 6th grade daughter. His short forays out of the house were limited for months, but he finally let his presence be known and made it his home for sixteen more years. He staked his claim to his territory and made his rounds, but his sitting remained solitary, companionless.

My exercise program seems to be totally shot and I need somehow to motivate myself to begin again. I do my stretches as I wake. Last night I did them before dawn before going back to sleep after waking briefly in the night. But I haven't been taking the time for a walk although the season is perfect for it. I get involved in other projects and then it is night or time to prepare a meal, and the time goes by; another day passes without walking. We were going to take a hike this weekend, but my husband has hurt his back. It is too uncomfortable for him to walk. And my to-do list for the week is still long while the week is over today. We need to finish maintenance on the car so that we can plunge into fixing up the porch. It is the season for enjoying the porch. It is past the season for working on it. Memorial Day is the official time to begin spending time on the porch. Other activities--outside activities--are coming to an end. I should be able, on these long summer days, to find time to walk as well as work. Perhaps, since my 10 pm tv shows are also all almost finished for the season, I can get to bed earlier and get up earlier and make good used of the blessed longer hours of daylight that summer is giving me. Right now, however, I feel like this still and cloudy day.

Now we're done with the shed. We had to figure out how to run an extension cord into it so we could keep the batteries on a trickle charge. My husband had to enlarge the vent hole under the eaves. We fixed up an arrangement for the batteries so that we will not have to lift them when we transfer them between the shed and the car. I think we need to buy more battery tenders. We finally have all the boating things in the shed. Today when I come home from my writing group, perhaps we can change the oil in the car and do other car maintenance. It doesn't look like we will get to working on the porch this week. Next week maybe.

It is pleasant in my yard this morning. Bright sun. Enthusiastic birds. Yesterday we put the jug bird house my grandchildren got for me in Williamsburg (several years ago) up on a post of the privacy fence right near the kitchen porch. I don't know if any birds will find it. It may be too late for this season. One year we had it up under the eaves, and sparrows came. It was precarious there, however, and, after the birds finished with it, my husband took it down before it fell. This new location is a nestled-in place among the clematis vines and the redbud--a good place if they find it and do not think it is too close to the kitchen door. Perhaps it will not be occupied until next spring.

Today is another ending. For about a year, our writing group at Life With Cancer has been doing autobiographical writing. This is the last session. We will break for summer before starting something new in the fall. I will miss it. I will miss the writing, but even more, I will miss this group of women. I'll see them from time to time over the summer in other activities, but having this group is very special. So today is a celebration and a sadness at the same time. We have shared much of each other's lives, and I have gotten to know each of them better through our writing together.

Things seem to come to an end at this time of year. Of course other things start. This is a season of graduations, of weddings, of people ending one phase of their life and beginning another. Tomorrow we are celebrating a granddaughter. She turned 18 this spring and is finishing her high school work. Graduation, the finishing of high school is also called commencement, the beginning of something new. Taking on new responsibilities. Going to work. Going to college. Becoming responsible for your own decisions. Moving from a parent's home and guidance to being out on your own Of course, this granddaughter will not yet move out on her own. She will continue to live in her parents' house and still be subject to her parents' rules, but she is looking for a summer job, and she intends to go to junior college this fall. She is moving toward independence. As will be our grandson in another month. These two grandchildren, born on the same day in March 18 years ago, are ending a phase of their lives, their high school years, and will be moving on to something different. They will have major changes in their lives. He will go away to college--a huge transition step. She will remain at home, but for the first time she will be away from her family and under the influence of other adults. She has been home schooled, so going out to work outside of her home and going to formal classes at Junior college will be just as major a change in her life. This is an exciting time for both of them. And like my class today, I am sure it has some touch of sadness for each or them--childhood's end. Excitement, yes, but perhaps also a little apprehension too about what the future will hold. Going out on your own, away from the comfortable and familiar, takes courage. Our grandson has had more experience with this--going to day care, to public schools, changing schools as he moved from day care to elementary school to middle school and to high school, going away to camp, participating in sports teams, and having the freedom to ride his bicycle around their town. For our granddaughter, it will all be new. Her only outside experience has been with church and 4-H, and her parents have participated with her and accompanied her in these activities. This summer she will go on a trip with a church group and be away from home for the first time. She will find a job and leave the house each day to go to work. In the fall, she will go daily to attend classes at the junior college. Although she will continue to live at home, this is a time of major changes for her. She will have an opportunity to learn more about the world, but she will also have an opportunity to learn more about herself, her own strengths and weaknesses, as she learns to cope in the world.

We're out on the water eating our picnic lunch (dinner actually I guess). The sun has moved away into the woods, and we are now in shade. Somehow we got a late start to our day on the water, and it was about 4:30 pm before we were actually out in the boat. We didn't have to worry about sunscreen going that late. We're in a quiet peaceful cove. I've been watching birds on the shore looking for insects. When we first got here, I saw a pileated woodpecker with its bright red top notch. I didn't hear him cry or his loud deep drumming sound. I'm facing towards the shore and looking at the woods in dappled sunshine. Everything is very fresh and green. Sitting here with the woods and the water reminds me of pleasant times camping along a lake. I think though that I am no longer up to going camping in a tent with all the things you have to pack up to get ready. It is much easier just to come here for the day and go home to my comfortable bed and waterproof house at night. Having a lake house might be nice, but that involves a lot of maintenance and worry too. As it is, we can just toss the boating things into the car and come up here whenever the spirit moves us.

I think Tuesday has become our day for yard work. Yesterday we raked the leaves from the magnolia tree for today's yard waste pickup. I even added some vines and weeds to the can. We mowed and edged the lawn. It ended up taking all the time we had, and I even had to finish a small part of the lawn this morning. If we dedicate Tuesdays to yard work, we will get it done regularly. I've dedicated Thursdays on my calendar to boating so we will do that regularly too, but it hasn't worked out that way. Instead, I look at the weather forecast at the beginning of the week and coordinate our schedule with the best weather for boating. So far it has worked out, and we've gone just about every week.

It's time to move on. I just heard the pileated woodpecker's call, but I didn't see him this time. It is getting cooler. Next time we come, I will have to remember to bring my windbreaker. I'll have to find it first. Mountain laurel is in bloom. We just passed a large mountain laurel bush in the fading sunshine. I feel really fortunate to have this wonderful place to go to and a wonderful husband to share it with me.

8:14 pm-We are back at the launching ramp. Our car is loaded up and our boat is safely back at its mooring stake on shore. The daylight is fading fast. I think that we will have to wait until morning to unload the boating things into the new shed.

Birds are singing. The sky is pale blue with puffy clouds on the horizon. At this moment, it is quiet except for the birds and a far-away humming of cars and an airplane; however, workmen are working nearby, and the stillness in my back yard has been interspersed with the loud intrusion of a chain saw buzz, hammering, and the sound of shovels digging in the earth. Across the fence, I can hear the quiet murmur of voices speaking in Spanish. In the not too far future, we too will interrupt the quiet with the roar of our lawn mower and perhaps even a leaf blower if my husband blows our magnolia leaves instead of my raking them. We can't have the peace and quiet all the time. Work must get done. The voices get louder as the workmen discuss their strategy. And now a loud hammer, or axe fall, punctuates the air. The air is fairly still. Only a few leaves on the redbud flutter.

There are several redbud plants starting to grow in my "herb garden", the small patch at the edge of my kitchen porch that is mostly otherwise overrun with mint leaves. I think I'll let the redbud take over. It is a good space for them. The clematis that begins in this patch of earth seems to be thriving and is starting to climb better up the porch railing. One vine is climbing the metal tubing that houses the wiring for our hot tub. I see no sign of any blossoms though. Perhaps the clematis will not bloom this year since it was covered up for so long with the fencing waiting to be put up. I think that possibly this area is more suitable for redbuds and clematis than for herbs. or perhaps an herb garden needs more attention than I am willing to give it. The sage which lived for years has died. The rosemary faded away a few winters ago. The oregano is gone. Only the persistent mint survives. Perhaps I can put in a few basil plants and some parsley for this summer while the redbud is still small. Oh--looking closer, I see that the hibiscus is coming back up. I did not destroy it. So, in a month or so, I may yet have those large bright pink hibiscus blooms.

I would like to make a few more flat spots in my back yard. The edge of our hot tub deck is good for meditation. I can sit on the flat wooden surface and support my back on the hot tub and cross my legs on the grass that is just a low distance below. It seems to be just the right height and makes a good place to sit and meditate in the sunshine. Before we put in the hot tub, I used to do my exercises on this deck. But the space for exercising is no longer there. Even our patio slopes a little too much to do all of my exercises comfortably. And in this season, the most level area of the patio is in the deep shade in the morning. All of the lawn area slopes. I'd like to pave the area between the hot tub and the new privacy fence with the slate patio stones we have so we can walk with bare feet and not bring in mud or dirt to the hot tub. I'd like to make a small flat area for a chair on this side of the fence. But I'm not sure where there is a good area that can be made flat enough to stretch out my body to exercise. I will have to study the situation a little more.

It is breezy, but I'm in a sheltered place and the sun is shining right on my face. A cardinal is singing, and other birds are twittering. Trucks are rumbling on the Beltway. The only flowers I have in my yard right now are dandelions and clover on the lawn, tulip flowers on the tulip tree, and light purple chive blossoms. I should try using them in a salad some time. My husband will probably be quite surprised if I do.

This is a week of endings. I guess when things end though, new ones begin. Our shed is all finished except for screwing down the floor. We worked on it all last week. It took over all my time and focus. We finally got the roof on yesterday afternoon. Today we will put in the screws to fasten it down to the foundation. The next time we go boating, we can put the boating things directly from the car into the shed. We were so busy working on the shed for the boating things last week, we didn't take the time to go boating. Ironic, isn't it? This week is supposed to be a beautiful week. Wednesday looks like the best day for boating. We can go early and come home with enough time to arrange things in the shed because we have no evening plans.

Yesterday I had my last creativity class at church. Spring Bee is over. I didn't stay for the picnic, but I left my things for display. On my way home from dance today I'll pick them up. I still have projects unfinished--I have one paper mache bowl with the base paint on, one smaller one prepped but still unpainted. Some day, in my leisure time(?), when I want a project, I will have to finish them. I think I want to mount my labyrinth colored pencil mandala. It was fun dong the art work, but I felt like time for each of the sessions (1 1/4 hours) was too short.
I got into doing things in class, but there was not time enough to keep on going as long as I wanted. I guess that's the trouble with a scheduled class. The advantage is that you actually sit down and do it. I probably wouldn't on my own. I think it will be offered again next year, but I'm not sure if I will do it again. I probably should take more time to allow art into my life. The instructor said I have good artistic instincts. I think it is more that I don't have any fear about it. I'm not afraid to plunge in and just do it. But I do enjoy it. It is hard to imagine making it a priority in my life though. I think for this summer my artistic inclinations will go into doing things for my home and I will limit my creations to greeting cards. When I have spare time, I'd rather spend it walking or writing or just enjoying being outdoors. Perhaps when winter keeps me inside, I will make more time for art in my life.

I haven't written in this journal for days and days. I haven't wanted to take time out during the day from working on our shed project whenever I can. And at night, after meetings, etc, I am too sleepy to write. The shed project is coming along well. Perhaps we will get it finished today. The foundation is finished except for drilling pilot holes and screwing in the screws that hold the plywood to the 2 x 4 base. It is level. Everything came out just as we planned. It is challenging and satisfying to work on a project like this. It sometimes takes a lot of figuring out. Yesterday we spent most of our time working on the 3/4" plywood. I marked all of the boards and existing screw holes on the plywood so that we can see where it is safe and secure to put the screws--for both mounting the plywood and attaching the shed floor. We want to be sure they will go into the boards and also that they won't hit another screw. There is always a lot of fine tuning to be done as we go along, so it takes us a longer time to do anything. It's a lot of fun as long as there is not time pressure. I like the challenge of figuring out how things should go. We ended up filling in the space where the boards were above ground with rocks so there will be something solid underneath. We both had leg cramps during the night as our newly used muscles protested. We are both tired this morning. We worked until dark last night--through lunch (dinner) until after 9 pm. I had hoped we could have the foundation completed and the plywood screwed on, but I forgot about the rocks.

If we can get to the screwing this morning, we may be able to get the shed erected today, and I can move on with ordinary life. I get so involved when I am working on a project that it is hard for me to focus on anything else like taking my walks and writing this journal or straightening up the house, or even making meals. I want to keep focusing and working on something until I finish. It is the same with anything I do that I really get involved in--even reading a book. (I did read a book this week too.) I like to stay with something until I finish. I guess that is a tendency toward compulsive behavior. Or just having trouble with transitions. I have trouble getting started on things, and then when I finally get started, I have trouble stopping. I skipped my dance this week because it was right in the middle of the day this week, and I would have trouble starting work early, stopping in time to get ready to go, and starting again when I got back. We didn't go boating on Tuesday. I called and said I would not go to a book discussion group in Virginia on Friday because I wanted to work on the shed instead. Last night I worked right through the opening of a show of mandalas on silk I hoped to go to. And today we are skipping an early morning program about Living with Cancer. Partly we are skipping it because we are tired and it was too hard to get going in time to get there at 8:30 am, but I would really prefer to stay home and work on the shed even though I got dressed in time to go and will have to change into work clothes.

I'd really like to get this shed finished. I enjoy working on it, and I don't want to rush through it. I'm not feeling impatient to be finished or tired of working on it. I want to take the time to do it just right. And we are. But I will really be happy to have it finished so I won't resent having to go to do other things instead of working on it.

We did do some other things. We took our Mother's Day outing. We went to our aging group, and I was able to walk there. Thursday night I went to a meeting. I had to miss another meeting my husband went to and I was supposed to go to. (I have finally discovered I really can't be at two places at one time no matter how much I want to.) My husband dropped me off, and I walked around the neighborhood for about an hour before my meeting started. I think my husband was late for his meeting though because we worked too late on our shed project to get done in time to eat a leisurely dinner and leave with ample time.

In the evenings, I have another project. I'm taking a creativity class at church Sunday mornings. Last Sunday we worked on paper mache, but in order to finish the project next Sunday (our last meeting) we had to take the project home and add layers to it every day. It is formed on a balloon, and last night it occurred to me that I feel a little about this paper mache covered balloon like an egg that you are given to tend to. Every night I need to take it out, cover it with pieces of newspaper, and lovingly stroke it with wallpaper paste. Mine is going to be a bowl. I've put a base on it and have used up all of the wallpaper paste, so the next step will be to remove the balloon from inside and cut it. That's a little frightening. I hope I can cut it right. If I can get that done, I'll be ready to start painting it on Sunday. I think the teacher doesn't think we will get our projects all finished on Sunday, and we'll have to take them home to finish. I have no vision of how I want to paint it. I think it will come to me when I get started. Some things I like to plan, like the shed foundation. Others, like these creativity projects, I like to see how they will unfold from just a glimpse of an idea. It's nice to be able to do things either way. I guess that means that both my left and my right brain are functioning.

From the volumes I've written this morning, I can see that I really need to write every day. It takes me too long to catch up. I like it here sitting in the sun and writing and listening to the birds and the wind chimes. I've missed it. Now, if only we can get done our shed in time today that I can take a walk in the evening. Wouldn't that be a wonder!

I'm writing on the porch because that's where the sunshine is. In summer, the sun does not get around to my patio until later in the morning. I need to monitor areas of my yard I'd like to put flower beds in so I can see how much sun they actually get. Perhaps that will not happen this spring. Perhaps I will wait to plant bushes until the fall and prepare flower beds for next spring. I feel too busy to do everything that runs through my mind.

Right now, I'm happy to be sitting here in the sunshine on my porch instead of munching muffins and drinking orange juice at the cancer program. The most appealing part of the program, a fifteen minute guided imagery exercises at the end, is really the only thing I will miss about it. I think sitting here and soaking up the sunshine and listening to the birds will benefit me just as much. Perhaps I will even take time to meditate before I eat my breakfast and get to work. I think I'll save my stretches until evening so my legs won't cramp again tonight.

What a beautiful morning. Today we'll have a touch of summer again, then it will rain tomorrow and get cooler again. Right now there is a slight breeze. Birds are singing in all directions. I should have found my jug bird house and put it up on the post that holds our fence section by the hot tub up. Maybe it's not too late. Today is a day for getting lots of work done. Last night we drilled holes in our 4x4 boards. I just took them out, so after breakfast we can pound them in and have the area ready for building the foundation for our shed. It is starting to look quite doable, but we work very slowly. I don't think we can finish today, but I wish we could. Everything is cut, so maybe things will go fairly quickly once we get to working on it. If we can get the platform up today, I'll be delighted. I don't think there is any way we could get the whole shed up. We need to mow the lawn first. It's going to rain tomorrow and we have tall weed grasses already. It definitely needs to get done before the rain.

Tomorrow we have our aging group. I'm hoping to walk, but I think my husband will have to drive instead of riding his motorcycle. The rain is supposed to come before the meeting is over. If he drives, I can ride home with him if it is raining. I didn't walk yesterday. I probably won't have time to walk today. But I will be doing yard work and manual labor, and that counts for something too.

I thought we would work on this shed project over the weekend, but my husband said we should do something special and fun for Mother's Day. We were going to go to a fancy restaurant, but they only had seating at the bar, so we decided to go there another day instead. We ended up having a great lunch at the Silver Diner. They even gave me a perfect red rose. I'm so glad they are now serving vegetarian entrees. My dinner was delicious and healthy too. But I cheated and had a chocolate velvet pie for desert. It was loaded with whipped cream. And yummy. I can't say that I exercised it off either. We went to Great Falls and walked down the towpath to the boardwalk to the falls overlook. That was a pleasant walk, but not enough to work off that rich dessert. I haven't been very good with keeping to my fitness routine. I'll try to do better this week, nutritionally anyway. With so many projects to work on, I don't think I'll get to going to the Y this week. I already know I won't walk every day, but I'll try hard to walk five days. Today though, I'm going to focus on getting the lawn mowed and working on the shed. It would have been a perfect day to go boating, but we really can't spare the day today to do it. Perhaps if we get the shed done and the lawn mowed and the house cleaned up, we can go later in the week.

I have the habit of putting in holds at the library for books I hear about that interest me. Often there are long waits and unfortunately often several come at once. That's the case right now. I have four books waiting to be picked up at the library, only one to return. We have to do that today too. I think, though, that that is our only errand, so it won't take much time from our projects. My husband said he might go on his motorcycle since he won't be able to ride it to the meeting tomorrow. Today is a perfect day for riding a motorcycle. A perfect day for boating. A perfect day for walking in the park. But it is also a perfect day for doing yard work and working outdoors on our shed project. It is a perfect day for doing whatever you want to do or have to do.

Today in writing class, we focused on health and body image. The theme of the day was "Our Biography is our Biology." We drew an outline of a body and colored it to reflect the effects our history had on our body and the things about our body people normally do not see. We read a poem about a woman looking at her naked body in a full length mirror. She first sees the scars from her mastectomy, but slowly she notices other interesting things about her body she never noticed before. At the end she glimpses the swan, the lioness and the ancient woman that are also reflections of aspects of herself. In thinking about my own body, I wrote the following:

To My Body, with Gratitude

My feet carry me wherever I go,
My legs are strong.
They connect to the earth and support me.
I endure.

My arms lift to the sky--reach for the light.
They reach out to connect with others--
To help and be helped.
My hands clasp another's.
They do whatever task I need them to,
Or they can rest lightly on my lap as I sit in the stillness.
They are gnarled with the wisdom of my life's experience.
My shoulders are strong and wide to bear whatever comes.
They can be leaned on, or do the leaning.

My body is solid and strong.
Yet as I dance, it moves lightly,
Reflecting the spirit inside.
I dance through life with openness and joy.

My heart beats strong and steady.
It supports my limbs and organs as I climb hills and mountains.
It opens to love.
It is full and expanding.

My eyes are open, clear.
They take in all they see
And send it to my heart and brain.

My mouth is smiling and open.
It opens to speak my truth,
But it knows when to be still
So that my ears and my heart can listen.

I'm on a Metro train, in a dark tunnel, speeding under the earth. I've decided to take the Metro to Virginia instead of driving. I did it when my car was out of service a few years ago, so I know it is doable. I'll get my walk in at the same time I save money. Going to my class by car costs over $6 now since it is a 40-mile round trip and gas is over $ 3.00 a gallon. Using my senior farecard costs less than that, and I am reducing my carbon footprint. It is a virtuous and invigorating thing to do. And I get to sit here and do my writing at the same time. Going by Metro instead of by car takes more planning though. I have to allow more time. Perhaps not more time in total though if you count time to go for my walk as well as time to commute to my class--just more lead time in leaving. I can't dash off at the last minute. I had to rush my breakfast and not wait as long from taking pills to eating because I did not get up early enough. I could have skipped breakfast, but I did not want to do that. I will be hungry enough for lunch as it is by the time I get home. You can't eat on the train, so I couldn't take it with me. I had to walk as fast as I could, and my heart beat hard as I hurried up the hill. I left later than I planned. I was hoping to allow 30 minutes to get to the station by 8:59. It took me 22 minutes to get there, but I got a train at 9:04 so that should be ok. I have to change trains at Metro center, so whether I get to my class on time depends on how often the train I need to transfer to runs and how fast I can walk from the station to my class. I don't have to worry about Beltway traffic, however. I should be ok and can feel virtuous.

It was a pleasant walk to the station. It must have rained last night or early this morning because the ground was wet and the air felt very fresh. The grassy field in the park was covered with yellow buttercups. Now we are above ground, and I can look out the window. We will soon be approaching the building where my husband used to work, and then we will go underground again for the rest of the trip. Out of my window, I see locust trees blooming along the railroad track. I see the bus station where we picked up our friend a few weeks ago. I can see the Washington Monument. It's pleasant riding the Metro and looking out the window. And it is also interesting looking at the people. In Silver Spring we have a mural with penguins commuting on the Metro. They reflect the expressions of the people I can see all around me. There is a young man listening to his I-pod with his headphones. I think he must be listening to a lecture or audio book, because he is listening intently and not moving to music. Perhaps he is a student reviewing his class lecture. A woman in a green and black polka dotted dress is chewing gum and reading a magazine. I can't see its cover from here. She turns as we stop to check what station we are at, puts her magazine and glasses in her bag, and gets ready for her stop which must be coming up soon. As is mine. In one more stop we will be at Metro Center, and the rush will be on.

Wow! My transfer train was waiting when I got down the escalator. I don't think I will have any problem getting there on time. How lucky can you get! I left late. My first train came in one minute, and this one was waiting for me. Fortune is smiling on me. I think this is going to be a very good day.

And here we are hurtling through space again--underground, under the Potomac River, into Virginia. I'm in a tiny cubicle in the back of the car. No more rush. I can just relax. The only thing I have to worry about is that I might relax so much I'll miss my station. I did that once when I was going downtown to a medical appointment. Now we are at the station near my daughter's house. It took a little less than an hour to get here from home--not that much longer than driving. I guess when I can't drive any more, I could manage my life so I could get around to most places using public transportation. Except that if I was in such a condition that I couldn't drive any more, I wouldn't be in condition to walk to and from the Metro Station either. I'd need a ride to Metro. From our house, I couldn't take a bus. There is a bus stop three blocks from our home, but the bus runs only during rush hour. I'd have to walk half a mile to get the bus, just as impossible for the frail elderly as walking to the Metro. More accessible public transportation is certainly important when you no longer drive or are disabled. I think this is the reason we have so many senior citizens who, even though they know it is no longer safe for them to drive, are reluctant to give up their driver's licenses. Giving up driving is giving up their independence and their ability to participate in everyday community activities, to get to see family and friends, even to go to medical appointments on their own. As more and more people live longer, we are going to have to spend some of our imagination and resources to design and construct effective public transportation systems. It is not only important for seniors, it is important for the ecology and viability of our earth. We need attractive viable alternatives to millions of cars on the road.

It's cloudy with occasional peeks of sunshine. It may rain a few sprinkles, but I doubt it. Birds are singing. Breeze is blowing. My peony flowers need to be deadheaded. The blossoms on the tulip tree are opening and outshining the faded wisteria. The clematis vine seems not to have been harmed by disturbing it to put up the fence section, but there are not any signs of blooming. I'm afraid I cut off the new growth of the hibiscus thinking it was a weed. I don't see any sign of new growth. My garden could use a lot of tending.

My husband got a good job done this morning. He went up on the roof and cleaned out the gutters with a gas leaf blower and then a hose. He's been wanting to do that for a number of weeks. I didn't think it needed it, but I was wrong. Lots of debris came down when he blew it. I'm going to the dentist in a little while, but when I get home, we should work on making the level place to put up our shed. We've scoped out the best spot for it. Now we need to take out the level, get some boards and stones and make it level. It's a little daunting, but shouldn't be too hard. The hardest part of most jobs is getting started. I have a great tendency toward inertia. It is hard to get started, but once I get going, I keep on rolling along and don't want to stop. Real life takes a lot of starting and stopping. You can't always start a project and keep going until you finish. That's what we like to do, but my calendar is dotted with appointments like this dentist appointment, a class tonight, my writing group tomorrow, and, of course, meals to fix and eat.

On Saturday there is a ThyCa conference. I had planned to go, but it will take all day. I'm not sure whether the information I would gain will be worth it or whether I would be better off working on things at home. I'm an old hand at thyroid cancer now. I've been living with it for twelve years. The conference is in Baltimore and just driving there and back will take almost two hours. Perhaps I will wait until next year's conference that will be closer to home and skip this one. I've never done that before. They always have good speakers and useful information, but it is especially helpful to those who are newly diagnosed or going through treatments. It is good to get together with everyone, but perhaps this year I will be better off to skip it and get momentum going on projects at home. A whole day of concentrated work on our home projects may be the best medicine for me right now.

Right now I'd better stop worrying ahead about what I'm going to do over the weekend and get dressed and get moving to the dentist's office. It is a nice walk there and back, so I will not only be going to my medical appointment and taking care of my teeth, I will be getting my walk in and taking care of my whole body and spirit. The sun is out again now, and the clouds are dissipating. The weather is inviting me to get off my duff and walk.