Abundant April AF ~ week 1

[dill]

How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?

Dr. Seuss

This is exactly how I feel about time these days!


Greetings all and welcome to Abundant April. I have been so struck by how full life can be when things aren't crowded out by alcohol; so many things that can happen that were not possible while in its grip. Papmom is a prime example of the fullness that can be found!! Papmom, I hope your doggy was better last night and that you got a good night's sleep!

Mick, good to see you grab on to the tail end of the March thread but I must say, I kind of wish you had opened the April thread for us with an April Fool's joke.

Star, I hope you post today. I worry about you when you withdraw.

Cyn, I could relate to your moment of sadness when you thought of picking up the phone to talk with your Mom. I hope you shared your thoughts with her anyway, in your heart and mind. I'm sure she was there listening.:h I'm so glad you have come so far. I found it interesting that your brother has also come to the light but that you don't discuss it. My family is much the same, I can relate.

Lav, are you getting loads of eggs these days? It seems the hens should be producing by now. Are the eggs white or brown or a mix?

Have a good day everyone and stay AF so as to help avoid being taken in by some April Fool's trickster!:H

[Stargazerlily]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning Dill and thanks for starting us off for the month of April. I am so happy it is spring, yesterday was warm and sunny and I was able to take a walk before work. How are things going at your house? Is your son moving forward? My son seems to be so much happier than he was living here, the only thing he complains about is money. He is hanging out with people his own age, dating someone and so things are going well for him. Except he is broke. They will not give him a raise, so that is not good. Oh well, not my problem. How was your daughter and grandkids? Let us know, happy you are back.

Lav, weather any better out East? I hope so.

Pap, wow, you are busy and productive, glad your job is going better. One day at a time for that. My new job is slowly getting busier, I have a lot of time on my hands and sometimes don't know what to do with it. Feel lonely, but know that over time I will get used to all the change.

Cyn, hello to you, hope you have time to stop in today.

Have a terrific Tuesday.

[dill]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Cross post Star, good to see you! Glad to hear your son is doing well and out living life as he should at his age! My son is inching closer to moving out. We are all adjusted to living under one roof, and there is peace and harmony here, but I know it will be more healthy for him to regain his independence. But with two kids in tow, it will not be easy.

[cyntree]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning all - thanks for the kick-off, Dill!

Star, how good to hear from you - and thanks for the update on your son. I'm sorry that he's facing money issues. It seems to be the way for everyone; even my SD who has a good job is struggling with school debt payoff and higher expenses living here in the northeast, and though we are helping her some, we can't do too much more.

Lav, how are those chickens? You must have a chicken yard, right? Otherwise I can't imagine Swissy leaving them alone. I'd love to have a hen or 2 - the local Agway has chicks and ducklings for sale, and I want to go just look at them! I can't imagine chickens around with my 2 weimys...that might not be a pretty site. I'm really dreaming of having a goat to take care of all the yard and brambles. I've actually looked into rent-a-goat here...

Dill - how amazing that you have figured out how to live peacefully under one roof. One good thing; your grandkids will have such special memories of being with you. I am grateful that my Mom lived long enough so that most of her 7 great-grandchildren have great memories of being with her. I have been thinking a lot about how my grandparent's generation lived -- when it was 'normal' for multiple generations to be under one roof, and all the richness that could give to a family. And don't worry, I yak at my Mom all the time in my head, and sometimes out loud as well!

PMom - hope that all your animals are feeling well today. So glad you got through the ice yesterday.

Spring reminds me of becoming AF - all the green, living energy slowly emerges. I saw crocus in bloom yesterday on the town green! Woo hoo! Life!

Wishing all a great AF day today --

[Lavande]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning April friends

Perfect name choice Dill - I was thinking of the same thing last night & would have used it to start the thread myself BUT my small dog allowed me to sleep in until 7:20 this morning :H
Glad your son is doing well, kids too.
I have 25 brown egg layers (Buff Orpingtons) & 5 blue egg layers (Araucanas) & yes I'm getting lots of eggs everyday. I need to hustle a bit to get them to my customers. The nice weather always helps with the whole show

Greetings Star! Yes, thankfully the weather was nice yesterday & will be today. I hear rain is coming back tomorrow. We had something near 3" over the weekend - too much!
Glad to hear your son is doing OK. Money problems seems to be a common thing with the kids but they'll work it out

Greetings Cyn! My chicken do have a fenced yard for their own protection. It is nice to let them out to 'graze' once in a while but the dogs can be a pain :H I generally toss grass clippings & garden finds into their yard when I have them for 'snacks'!
I still talk to my Mom in my head too even though she's been gone nearly 30 years. She was my biggest supporter & I've really missed her.

Papmom, I hope you are enjoying clear skies today as well! I'm seeing 60 degree days for the rest of the week - no more ice!!!!
Hope your animals feel better soon. I wonder if there's some sort of dog virus going around because mine have been a little 'off' too. I'll never get used to waking up to the dog puking sounds, yuck!

Have a great AF Tuesday everyone!
Not exactly sure what I am doing today but I'll figure it out.

Lav

[Stargazerlily]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning friends...

Lav, your weather is so much warmer than my forecast! Lucky you. I would love to buy some of those eggs, but live a little far away.

Dill, good to know your son is moving forward. A friend of mine told me her son was just arrested for substance related activity, my heart is sick and goes out to her. He is in denial, acting rude and entitled. Really sad. We do not need trouble like that...but trouble comes whether we want it or not. It is how we decide to manage it. You are such a wonderful mother and grandmother, sending you continued wishes for progress in all areas. It has been helpful to share our son issues, we are not alone. I think that is what is so wonderful about this site, we are not alone, we can share and it is all OK, no judgement, just support.

Cyn, so great to have you back and able to communicate on a regular basis. Loved hearing about your Mom, she was and will continue to be a blessing to several generations.

Pap, hope the weather in the Northeast is getting to be more springlike.

Let's make this day the best we can, AF.

[cyntree]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning all - Happy Hump Day! (I love saying that)

Overcast here, but not frigid, thank goodness. Lav - we got a similar amount of rain over the weekend, but there's still piles of snow that haven't melted yet! Sometime in early March there was rain over a big snow, and the snow pack is like a glacier; I can't shovel it. I'm hoping to see my front steps some time before June!

35 hens! My goodness, what a brood. Show is some pics of your eggs, would you?

Star - so sorry to hear about your friend's son. That must be scary for her - hopefully he'll come around. I agree with you, the ability to share stories here is such a gift. I can relate things about my life here on these pages that I don't share with many other, if any, people. Even if we don't talk about it directly, the past challenges of moving beyond AL in our lives creates a special bond.

Dill, thanks for the Seuss quote. That really is exactly how I feel about time - as if I'm on some alternative time plan/planet. I just don't expect the weeks to fly by in the way that they do...

Hope there's some sunshine today wherever you all are -

[Lavande]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning Star & everyone, happy Hump day!

It is feeling warmer here Star but damp again, rain on the way for the next few days.
I'm looking forward to the ground drying up so I can get some seeds & plants in the ground - garden dreaming
I hope your friend's son straightens himself out quickly!

I ended up with a lunch invitation from my son & grandsons yesterday (which is always a thrill), then they ended up here for dinner. Today it's the girl's turn, they'll be here by lunch time & stay thru dinner. This is great because I have been feeling a bit 'too alone' the past few days. I wonder if they knew that

Have a terrific AF Wednesday Star, Dill, Cyn, Papmom!
I'm off to Curves shortly then stopping at the store to find something for dinner.

Edited to say HI Cyn - we've cross posted once again

Lav

[papmom3]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Happy Spring my Fab Friends!!!

Star- great to hear from you! How nice to hear your son is happy and moving forward. I feel for him about the money problems. Wish I had some words of wisdom for him. Things will turn around just when he least expects it. Hope things pick up for you soon in the job world. I hate when I don't have enough to do... Not a problem at the moment!!:H

Cyn-you had such a close relationship with your mom-you too Lav. I wasn't that close to my mom. Daddy's girl actually. When he passes I will be devastated but hopefully that won't be for a number of years yet. I sure hope the snow and ice melt soon for you. It's almost gone in my neighborhood.

Lav-same temps here and sun for 2 days!! whoo hoo! even got to tackle a bit of the dog yard tonite! I wish I could buy your eggs too!

This week has been interesting. We finally got the catalog published and found even more problems with it! Its been a very painful process and I know my boss isn't happy. Her tone lately just doesn't sit right with me. Trying to let it roll off me. I did my best-I'm not an expert- and a lot of the problems were with the company. I also finished the wall hanging for the Cardiac Rehab group. Dropped it off tonite. I then went to the front desk to sign the membership papers for the gym. I found out my family paid for the next 6 months!! I talked to my dad and he said they all chipped in because they wanted to reward all my hard work these past 3 months and to encourage me to keep going. I am so blessed!
Mickey is feeling much better and so is DD. They should both be back on regular food by this weekend. Unfortunately my kitty is not feeling well at all. I can't afford to pay for Mickey's dental and get her checked out so I have to make a decision by tomorrow afternoon as to what I am going to do. This is heartbreaking as they both need medical attention right now. :upset:

I will leave you with the pic of the wall hanging:

[Lavande]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

:wd: Such a great job on the wall hanging Papmom & I got to see it first on FB!!!!!
I hope the rehab loved it too

Your family obviously loves you, how nice of them to pick up the tab for your gym membership
Don't stress yourself out over the animals & unhappy bosses. Keep taking good care of you!

My daughter postponed her visit until tomorrow, she forgot about an appointment.
It wasn't a total rain day today, just light morning showers. Hope tomorrow is at least as good

Yep - eggs for sale here :H

[cyntree]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning all - sunny, sweet, beautiful sunrise this morning. How great to see it un-hung, with merely a sleepy brain! The warmth in the light really makes such a difference.

Papmom, what a delightful gift for Rehab - love all the squares of healthy vegies. Great job, and how lovely of your family to chip in like that on your continued growth.

After I posted yesterday AM, I looked out at the dog yard, and saw that the fence was crushed in one place, and crushed on the other side of the yard. Yep, Mr./Ms. Bear decided to rumble through. I wish he/she would learn to use the gate! I called my across the street neighbor to let her know to bring in her bird feeders (which she had already done). She called me back a few minutes later - the bear had torn out a screen on her porch to get at some garbage she had there, waiting to take to the Transfer Station (here we take our own garbage, for obvious reasons!). I went over and took pics - oh boy, the bear had a whee of a time. I even got a shot of the paw print in the snow - that was sobering. I'll look up the Photobucket instructions and try to post the pics.

Lav - so sorry you have been feeling 'too alone'; I'm glad family is making plans to be with you. What are the first things you'll be sowing outside? I remember reading that one can sow Poppy seeds directly onto the melting snow - makes for a nice show in a month or so.

I'm hoping to steal a little time off from work to finish the Corporate Taxes that I was working on in mid-February before life changed. Need to have that done and filed before regular taxes; we'll see...

Wishing all a happy sunny day --

[dill]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Wow Papmom! Gorgeous!! What a great wake up picture for today. Of course, now I have to go look up "endothellum"!:H Interesting that you were a 'daddy's girl'. I was too. I didn't have a close relationship with my mom, but of course I loved her dearly. I wish I had had a closer more typical mother/daughter relationship. Being the only girl in 5 children gave me special status with dear old dad.

Lav, I do miss those farm fresh eggs. When we had hens I would let them roam the yard but not until things were up and growing. If I let them out near freshly planted seed beds or around young plants and seedlings I was rewarded with complete decimation!:H

Star, my daughter is doing well. We loved seeing her and her little family. I have hope that she will have another baby, but we shall see. So sorry to hear about your friend's son. She is in for a roller coaster ride and she has no way of getting off until the ride stops. I'm glad you can be there for her to listen without judgment. Such a gift.

Cyn, you are right about the special bond we have here. Another bond we share is the knowledge that we can always revert back to our old ways. Vigilance is still important, at least for me.

Off I must go. I have food pantry duty this morning. Glad to be their AF! I feel so sorry for the people that are in such dire straits that they must use the pantry. Life is such a struggle for some.

[dill]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Cross post Cyn, OMG! The bear seems to be getting more and more bold. Do you have an animal control agency that can help?

[Lavande]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning friends,

No sun here but that's OK. Just hope the rain holds off for a while

Cyn, Photobucket pretty much walk you through everything. Upload your pics, copy the IMG codes & paste them here.
I need to set up a video surveillance camera on my deck & one near the chicken house. The thought of predators creeps me out
I hope your local bear moves on to a better buffet!!! Good luck with the tax stuff, not one of my favorite things to do, ugh!

Dill, I hope your volunteer day goes well. It is rough knowing that some families have to depend on the help but good that they can get necessities. I always think about the kids.
Chickens really can be little natural destructors if you let them :H I just wish they would develop a taste for stink bugs :H

OK, I need to get some stuff done before my girls show up at lunchtime.
Have a great AF Thursday everyone!

Lav

[Stargazerlily]

Abundant April AF ~ week 1

Good morning to all...

Raining here today, but milder weather. Spring is pushing forward, despite winter pushing back.

Busier at work today, thanks Pap for the encouragement. Loved the picture of the wall hanging, you are so talented and generous.

Lav, time spent with family is so satisfying, most of the time.

Cyn, hope that snow melts, it finally did here. We had glaciers, too. What a winter.

Dill, wonder if you are getting the heavy rains.

Keeping busy, positive, and AF. Have a great day.