My Life is a Gift

Dear Friends,
   It has been a while since i have been online. Some of you know this already, but i have been in our big hospital in Albany NY(Albany Medical Center)recovering from a stroke. Saturday, April 28th, i was just washing my supper dishes, when i suddenly got an enormous and very unusual headache. I knew right away that it was serious, so i put away the critters in a room where they would be safe, and called 911. After many tests and procedures.it turned out to be a subarachnoid hemorrhage , or a Hemorrhagic Stroke. One of the first things they told me was, i was a very luck girl. This kind of bleed has a higher fatality rate, and the prognosis is poorer for those who have these sort of strokes. In my opinion, i am a MIRACLE! I have absolutely NO deficits from this event(that have surfaced as of yet) and i am ALIVE! For those of you who knew what happened and have been praying for me, THANK YOU so much. I am sure that is a big reason why my condition is so stable. For those of you who are wanting to know what to do to help, please pray for me and my family, and send your healing energy my way. I am not out of the woods yet. I am walking with a walker, as i am pretty off balance and am taking some pretty strong drugs for the pain. I always have a baseline headache, and the pain in my back and legs almost takes my breath away when it starts. I am told this back and leg pain is due to my body reabsorbing the blood via the spinal column.
    This has been pretty hard on my Family. My husband Bill had to go into respite service to be cared for, and my daughters, my Parents and friends have all put themselves out there helping me recover. I am a very fortunate woman to have so many people care about me. Thank you Everyone!
     This is the first time i have been able to sit long enough to type, and the light from the screen hurts my eyes. So i will not be online as much as usual, but this will pass as i get stronger. I haven't been able to watch tv or listen to music, or read as i seem to be super sensitive to that sort of thing. For the first time in forever i have spent a lot of time in silence, thinking, planning for the future. There is a reason this did not kill me. I need to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, and pay it forward...
                                                                                               Love, mare

Haircut with Cat

 For the first time in years, i got my hair cut short. it was time for a change, and i just decided to do it!

So, i thought i would take a picture of the new haircut...

  I think it is hard enough to take your own picture in a mirror. It's not something i do often. But lately, every time i stand still, Lucy launches herself on top of me, regardless of what i am doing

 She knows how to make herself comfortable...

  giving me some kitty love...

Flower Power

Finally a full day of sun. A Beautiful day to make some flower essences. Can't wait to try these out! Have a Great Weekend!

Free Hugs...(everybody needs one)

With all that is going on in this world right now, i thought i would get out this favorite video of mine, and maybe take my own sign out there on the streets....

Happy Easter!

These Boots are made for Dancing

Somebody got new boots

and they make her feel like Dancing!

Finding your Family...

And speaking of Joni Mitchell, i found this Youtube video on Joni finding the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was very young. Watching it made me so happy, and i wanted to share it with you...Enjoy...




And the song she wrote, about her experience...

I am reading: Vertical Gardening

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1605290831

I am getting ready for Spring big time! I have a big project i need to get started on soon , and this book is giving me tons of good ideas...I need to make better use of the small piece of earth we live on, and especially what we call the "Dog Yard". First, i need to find a better way to keep the outside from coming inside on 24 dog paws in the form of mud. My plans are to forget about trying to grow grass, or even weeds, in that enclosed space. Just too many paws constantly pounding the ground out there. So i need to line the fencing with plastic? or rubber? edging and fill in with straw and a nice safe mulch for the dogs.(Any suggestions for a good safe mulch for pets?) I have also been doing container gardening out there by recycling old plastic pots and tubs. And while it is good to recycle, and it's working fine, it is NOT pretty. So i am getting some good ideas for building my own containers using natural materials, like wood boxes and stone. And lastly, the compost pile behind the garage...So far it has been contained in two large plastic garbage cans with the bottoms cut out. This works fine, except it is very hard to access the finished material at the bottom of the can. So, i am looking at all the nice plans for compost bins i can build. LOTS to do, and i can't wait!