Missing in Action, Once Again…
Yes, it has been a while. But at least I have been missing IN ACTION. It could be otherwise... Life has gotten so very busy… I am involved in so many things I never dreamed I’d be involved in – but that is life – at least if you want to keep functioning. I still haven’t done half the posts I have started – especially the one about Lymes Disease, but I have a stash of half started ones just waiting. Well, waiting – unless my computer finally dies on me. It gets slower and slower. Yesterday someone sent me a video. It was not a real long video, about 3 and a half minutes – but it took the computer over an hour to open it. I clicked on [open] and went out in the kitchen and baked an apple pie and started a load of laundry. I get a lot of work done while I am waiting for things to open on this slow dial-up computer. I have been known to go out and cut the grass while waiting for something to load! In fact, I started this post at 2:30 on Friday afternoon, gave up at 7:30 (can't concentrate when Jeopardy is on) and came back Sat. morning!
Anyway, that is not the point of this posting. This post is to share last Tuesday with you. We have a new restaurant here in town and it is owned by some Turkish folks. As many of you know, I lived in Turkey many, many years ago. I was a kid in high school, graduated from high school in Ankara, Turkey. Those were the best and happiest years of my life! I got to travel all over the country and to many other countries as well, and to cities that have since been blown to smithereens. I am so glad I got to do those things before the “Meanness” took over and so many places became unsafe and Americans became the hated enemy by so many people. I loved Turkey and I loved the Turkish people. I was treated like a princess over there, never a moment of unkindness – people went out of their way to make me happy, comfortable… and I will never forget how well they treated me. So when the new restaurant opened, I greeted the new owners in their language, and after a momentary bit of shock, they returned the greeting. Since then, we have become good friends.
A couple of weeks ago, the mother in law of one of the owners came to visit from Ankara. She speaks no English and my Turkish is pitiful, especially since it has been almost 50 years since I spoke it. But, I thought it would be fun to take the owner’s child who is 3, his wife, and MIL across the Bay for the day and to a museum I think is real special.
I later found out they were a bit hesitant – I mean taking a 3 year old to a Museum of Marine Science????? In keeping with my policy of not totally identifying children in my blogs, I will refer to the child as Bebek (baby), the mother as Anne (pronounced Ahn’ ay) which means mother, and the MIL as, well, MIL. And I am here to report they had to carry the child out of the museum crying because she did not want to leave there, EVER! Did I mention this museum is very child centered, and Bebek loves fish. It is her newest love, and it was a fight to get her to move to the other part of the museum (mammals, birds, amphibians, marsh life) she wanted to see more fish!
I took about 80 pictures and it is hard to put only a few on here – she is so cute!
We started at the seal tank.
Look carefully, they are in there. Kids like to race them around the tank.
Then thru the out doors exhibit with a few fish, local birds, turtles, etc…
and into the aquarium rooms.
There were lots of other kids in there, some even younger than Bebek, but she ignored them,
unable to keep her eyes off the fish and turtles.
She even ignored the pelicans out the window starring instead down into the water to see if she could see any more fish.
She was glad when we moved on!
There are loads of hands on displays – like I said,
the place is very kid friendly,
How much fun is this?????
and she did not get discouraged when she was a bit too little to make something work
– she just moved on to the next thing.
As we moved thru the display areas, whenever she saw a tank with fish – she took off.
I was glad her mother could run! The gift shop was only mildly interesting,
likewise for the displays with the komodo dragons. The fun there was climbing into the bubble inside the display.
The otters were sunning themselves, how boring... “Where are the fish?”
She put up a fight when it was time to leave - I had to promise more entertainment!
So, on the way home, I took a one block detour and took them to the ocean front.
I thought they needed to see the Atlantic Ocean on a beautiful clear calm day. The other times they had taken the MIL to the ocean, it was either pouring down rain or it was foggy, so this was her first real view of the Atlantic from ground level. I don’t ever remember seeing it so calm! Bebek had a good time digging in the sand.
I will have to take her to the beach this summer.
We also stopped at First Landing State Park, but the visitor’s center, unfortunately, was closed as that way makes it easy (for me) access to the boardwalk out over the swamp and thru the Spanish moss. By this time I could barely walk and had to use the cane, but we went up the path. I thought MIL should see the Spanish moss.
This is the furthest north one can find it. Bebek enjoyed the hike until she discovered the water between the cracks on the board walk.
I told them we needed to come back in May – the park is beyond beautiful then.
Emotionally, I can’t wait for our next outing – physically, I’d like to sleep for about a week! But, it was the most fun I’ve had in a long while. Funny how you can meet someone and you feel like you found the sister you didn’t know you had! Sometimes life is great, but you have to take a chance. MIL can’t wait until I come to visit her in Ankara. I can’t either! Guess I need to get a new passport, eh?
I THINK SPRING has finally arrived - no, not just on the calendar, but out in the yard where it counts! The rains took a vacation this week and the yard is trying to dry out... but more rain is POSSIBLE... SIGH. 
It has been wonderful to hang the laundry back out on the line. Yes, I am an old fashion woman - I like to hang clothes outside. Dryers are OK for when it rains or is below freezing, but give me a clothes line any day. 
My lakes, which used to be grass to mow, are now moss beds when not under water... 
I wonder when the grass will come back? Or will it this year????? The ditches still have water in them as do many of the farmer's fields. They have been liming the fields that they can get into, but ya can't take your tractor into a lake, even if the water is only 4 or 5 inches deep. I feel for the farmers... it has been a rough year. Even Buddha is sitting by a lake.
As the water has receeded, the deer have been eating the buds off the young trees and along the mossy patches of ground.
I scare them at night when I take stuff out to the compost pile. It is hard to see... but see those 2 bright dots?
Sometimes I am not sure who scares whom the most. When the wind is blowing we can almost bump into each other out there! Spook and Punkin like to sneak up on them in the dark.
Such funny boys! Sometimes Spook pretends he is a garden figurine. Saint Spook here....
The birds are making their spring noises staking out their territories and fighting each other at the bird feeders. This guy is saying, "I dare you to come near this feeder!" It certainly sounds like spring.
The squirrels seem to have gotten a little nutty.
Sorry. One in particular... he is chewing on everything... he seems determined to destroy anything in his path. I had to take down the squirrel feeder because the fool was eating the plastic, not the food - even when he was inside the feeder where the food was, he sat and chewed on the plastic like he could not figure how to get out.
He has also chewed the bottom of the big bird feeder.
I had to put a pie tin in the bottom. The good part is, the daffodils have finally started to bloom. Not sure what happened to the crocus -
just one or 2 little clumps this year, and a month late! Guess they gave up. Another sure sign of spring is the wheelbarrow out for its maiden voyage of the year, carting old left over wet leaves to the compost pile and toting fresh mulch in to a few low areas. The best part of the day, however, 
was the uncovering of the adirondack I never got in out of the yard last year... Oh it felt good to sit in the sun in this chair. 
That is what I have been told most of my life - or at least the part of my life that I have lived on the Eastern Shore - that would be about 46 years. It is stretching the truth to say that snow is RARE here - its not rare as such, but for it to stick around more than 2 days is rare. To have snowfall after snowfall is RARE. To have more than 2 inches is close to rare. Snow in December is rare - but, when it does happen, it is always a sign that we will have more snow and a long, cold winter. On a normal day, normal year, we have camellias blooming almost everyday. the bushes start in September and as the year progresses, different camellias bloom until the last one finishes in May. This year, the December and January camellias have either not bloomed at all, or have opened briefly only to be frozen a day later. Brown flowers are so sad looking,
and I have several bushes of brown blooms. A few brave camellias have tried to open
- this was yesterday - and, guess what?
They are calling for snow again tonight. And freezing temps. Of course. Sigh. Also, we normally have pansies in bloom most all winter.......
except when the deer eat them. So this year, I put up my "pansy fence, a piece of string tied from stake to stake, just enough to keep the deer from crossing - funny how that works - but the pansies are in sad shape.
It has been fun to see the occasional bit of color in the leaves left over from last year because it got too cold and nasty (rain or snow, flooding, mud) to work out in the yard. Usually the first daffodils have just opened. This year, they are only a few inches out of the ground, and I was hard pressed to even find any buds.
Huge sections of the yard have been underwater for so long, barely drying out between rains or snow storms, so they are now growing moss. Usually this is nice thick grass.
Can you believe these will be beautiful digitalis in a few months? They got buried under a pile of snow and gravel from shoveling the driveway.
Poor Punkin, it has been so wet, he hasn't been able to do his usual roll over- rub my tummy thing... Here he has closed his eyes in bliss of being able to roll over in the dampness, but not in a puddle.
Remember his misery when he could not find a place to pee? Nothing like snow up over your hind-end when ya gotta pee!
The feeders need to be filled, (see the goldfinches?) I need to run to the grocery store, finish a paper for my Planning Commission Certification, pack up a gift for a friend to take back to Turkey for his mother, wash the kitchen floor, get a shower and get ready for my Doctor's appointment to get my back straightened out - again... Sigh. And tomorrow, if the snow is not too deep, I will go across the Bay with a friend to bring his wife home. She just had some serious surgery - Stage 3 ovarian you know what. I refuse to say its name. My main job is going to be to fatten her up... she is down to 95 lbs. So, as you can see, life has gotten a bit hectic. My usual momentary escape has been to walk out in the yard and look at the flowers, feed the birds, rub Punky's tummy. It doesn't take much to give me a moment's calm... But the yard is so spongy and muddy, yesterday is the first time I have been out to what I call the back 40... it has been under water or ice for so long, and the mud will suck the boots off your feet. Don't ask me how I know, it is not a pretty story.
I thought it was a real cool shot! Just had to wait until she found a way to jpg it small enough to put on here. My geriatric computer took 20 minutes to open it the first time! This one took 10 seconds! Enjoy! Great shot Lynn!
