..."The Catsinger in Winter"

caveat lector: there is both complaining & venting [aka bitching & moaning] within...as well as some really good things



things at chéz Catsinger have been trés interéssant as of late...
I've been getting the message to remain on the path I'm on...
and that my obedience will be rewarded beyond anything that I can imagine...

now, I can imagine a lot...
and with any other source...
I'd just dismiss it as hyperbole...
but with God, not a good idea...

lots of things have happened...
nice things, needed things, hoped-for things...

the night before Christmas Eve, I was invited to go caroling...
I love caroling, [singing in general, especially with others]...
so I went, even though I began to realize that the cold, damp night air...
would do a number on what little voice I had left...
after 4 straight days of singing, a lot...

the caroling was to happen, "a ways" from where we gathered...
so we took off walking, briskly...
I'm a little gimpy, so I fell behind rapidly...
Mr.GT kindly hung back to walk with me...
though I assured him, [twice] that I was OK walking alone...

I was really out of breath when we reached the others...
and after a couple of carols, when my breathing was back to normal...
I had to face the fact that if I sang then...
I'd have NO voice for the 2 Christmas Eve services I had to do the next night...

bidding the carolers a reluctant farewell...
I walked, much more slowly, back to my car...
the fast pace had loosened my back & legs...
which made me realize that I needed to walk faster when I walk...

I felt OK until Christmas Eve[a whole 'nother post]...
then was really "tight & sore" again...

I spent all Christmas Day sleeping & resting...
at night, after listening to the first act of "La Boheme" on NPR...
I watched,"It's a Wonderful Life", which I'd seen many times before...
but this time, paying attention, & I enjoyed it very much...

part of my back problems come from my bed...
my Select Comfort bed, which was wonderful for about 4 years...
has become a problem, as it won't hold it's inflation level...
for more than an hour or so...
causing me to wake up, bottomed-out...
with all sorts of back pain & stiffness I never had before...

the bed used to cure the problems...
now it's causing the problems AND interrupting my sleep cycle doing it...

I've called customer service & gotten the big brush-off...
someone left me a comment recently to call back...
which I will do next week...there is a 20 year limited warranty...
and this better be covered, or I'm in trouble, big time...

on this day, the Saturday after Christmas, last year...
I dislocated my finger in 2 places & spent a while in emergency rooms...
[Dr's offices, surgery, Physical Therapy]
I can't remember if I fell down, I think perhaps I did...
'cause my back & leg problems really started then...
exacerbated by the stupid bed problems...

and stress does NOT help...
had just a bit of that this past year...

this morning, God told me that the coming year...
would be a time of renewed health, an increased supply of money...
[my "money tree", which seemed dead has sent out some new growth !]
and work for me to do, so I'm hopefully optimistic...

my current regime of self-discipline & obedience has borne some fruit...
and I'm hopeful, grateful & trusting Him for all I need...
and as the regime continues, with no end in sight...
I continue to experience quiet miracles & answers to prayer...

since the bed problems, I'm very sore & stiff when I get up...

I have searing pain right in the middle of my lower back...
severe weakness & muscle cramps in my left thigh...
& a sharp grinding pain in both hip joints...

today, it was so bad that I had to hold onto things...
to make my way through the house...
I took the Excedrin, the joint stuff & the calcium...
along with over a liter of water...

I made my way into the shower where the hot water helped...

I gimped back into my bedroom, read the morning office & got dressed...
still in a lot of pain, I made my way to the back door...
& let Molly back in [she'd been doing her business & barking at bluejays]
I gimped back to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed...

I reminded God that I needed to go walking...
being told to trust & believe, I got up...
and was around the bed when I realized that, there was NO pain !
none at all... I went from hardly moving to no problem...

so I went out walking, briskly, I might add...
it's easier when someone is talking to you, but I managed...
my left leg is still having weakness issues...
riding a stationary bike or using a thighmaster machine would help...
but I have no money for that stuff or a gym membership...
so plain, old walking will have to do...

and as I walked around the 'hood, there wasn't much of fall left...




the Narnia tree [because of the lamppost] has only a few remaining laves...



while the tree across the street still has most of its leaves...
many that haven't even turned yet...



these trees that were a blaze of red so recently, are now totally bare...



the Morning Glory vines that infiltrated the redwoods...
and made it through last winter, are dead from the freeze...



though the cold & damp agrees with the redwoods...
whose base is sending up sprouts all over the place...



the birds are having a feast of Nandina berries...



persimmons, now visible as the coppery leaves have dropped...



and pyracanthius berries, with their prickly, holly shaped leaves...



not so much for the birds with the Meyer lemons, though...
which are OK because I covered them during the freeze...
so I'm picking these to give away... yumm...

God is good, all the time...