annegeluna's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- swimming along WARNING - potentially whiny entry to follow. Who am I kidding? Potentially?! Hah! I will start out by saying that this weekend was pretty awesome considering the following facts: 1. I'm sick. I've had this stupid cold for over a week now and I spent most of Saturday fighting off a migraine, blowing my nose and trying to unplug my ears. Simply put, I don't do sick well. I know most people don't, but I am feeling very impatient, incredibly whiny and extremely tired and sore. I just have too many things I want to do (garden, sew, ride my bike, unpack, fill and hang the hummingbird feeders), people I want to talk to (hi Rob, Andrea and Becky), a baby I want to hold and squeeze (hi Willow) and a boy I want to kiss (hi baby). A positive spin, I found a very pretty box of Kleenex� that is gentle on my tender nose so I don't have that chapped nostril look going on. And because I've been blowing my nose so much, my sinus matter has turned a lovely shade of rosy red. (I know, that is pretty disgusting but it's true!) 2. Work has been very busy and highly stressful. Last week a filing got bounced back, causing utter chaos, and I honestly can't remember the last time that happened. It all got sorted out but it was not a good way to spend a Friday afternoon. I actually had to cancel the Friday morning meeting I had scheduled with the office manager to discuss my raise because I couldn't get away from my desk. Also, someone I indirectly work with has been a bear (it was difficult to choose the proper word there) the past few weeks and it's been very difficult for me to maintain my composure around this individual. Unfortunately, this individual is very high up on the totem pole so I have no choice but to maintain as best I can. Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit maxed out here and having a hard time coping. The positive spin here is I finally had that meeting today and I got a very generous raise. Also, a few weeks ago the firm treated the staff to a dinner cruise on the bay and it was groovy - lots of dancing, eating and photographing. 3. One gardener on the Bay Friendly Garden Tour was hardly friendly. Yesterday we toured 6 different gardens through the Alameda County Bay Friendly Open Garden program, a program designed and funded by various Alameda County organizations "to provide East Bay gardeners with resources, tools and inspiration for gardening naturally." The third garden we visited, situated in Berkeley, smelled beautiful as we were walking up the driveway. There were some pretty flowers and an interesting ground cover alternative to turf. Unfortunately the gardener, a woman who apparently designs gardens for a living, was anything but friendly and open. She was very protective of her garden and was actually quiet rude to us. If we had let her, she could have ruined the rest of the day for us, but I gave her a very polite response after she jumped my shit and we left immediately. I don't think the woman understood the concept behind gardening in general and this program specifically - sharing your knowledge and experience with fellow gardeners in an open, friendly manner with the hope of inspiring people to plant and maintain gardens in a way that provides safe wildlife habitats and protects and nurtures the earth by building healthy soil, reducing and reusing plant waste, using as few resources as possible and using natural products to protect our waterways. This was all lost on the woman which was sad but aggravating. The positive side is that we did get to visit many gardens, sharing experiences with different gardeners and picking up helpful tips along the way. Three gardens in particular were very inspiring and I actually had a hard time falling asleep last night because my head was spinning with all of the ideas I have for our own garden. Some good things from the past few days: The women's group last Saturday was amazing - we sang, made music, ate a big healthy lunch, shared, cried, laughed, talked, danced, had an incredible day. Sitting out on the patio drinking coffee on the weekend mornings is the best thing ever and taking Madgi out on her leash on Saturday was exciting and funny! She stalked through the tall weeds like a wild cat, ate bugs, chewed on grass, rolled in the dirt and . . . went swimming in the water garden. The poor thing was soaked and had a bright green chin from the algae. That was probably her least favorite part of the day, followed closely by the new collar we put on her. Good things coming up: Becky and Ken coming down for a baseball game on Wednesday and stopping in for a visit and dinner. I can't wait to sit with Becky and just talk, talk, talk! Seeing Rob graduate from college on May 15th and celebrating with him, Andrea and the rest of the family! I'm so proud of him, my little brother, who is an inspiration and has such strength, courage and determination. Things I'm grateful for: Dinner last night with good friends. My Mom, Carmelina, who can help me turn a crappy morning into a funny one just by taking a few minutes to share the craziness of our lives over the phone! The title of this journal is from a song she made up and used to sing to me when I was a little girl. A man who listens to me whine about being sick and busy and sore and tired and late and grouchy and still rolls over in his sleep and hugs me close to him, making me smile before I fall into a deep sleep. 4:54 p.m. - 2004-05-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
||||||
|
||||||