On the patio

I sat outside on the patio with Lady for awhile this evening. I'm sure she would like it much better if I would bring her comfy dog bed out on the concrete, but that's too bad because I'm not.



It is a very small patio, and when I look out, I see - NOTHING! Actually, what I see is the beautiful trees all around me.


I like it that way. I rarely hear any traffic, and once in a while a child is laughing or crying, but mostly I just hear birdsong. Then comes the roar of an engine and a hummingbird shows up at the feeder! Try as I might I cannot get a picture of one. When my camera isn't pointed at them they will hover slightly away from the feeder in plain view, as if to show off their skills. As soon as the camera is ready they hide.

From where I usually sit they show off for a few seconds and then feed from the other side so I can't see them. I moved my chair this evening so I could see the "back" of the feeder, and wouldn't you know they moved out of sight again. They're playing with me.

I found out yesterday that I'm losing my neighbor who lives in the apartment over mine, and I will be sorry to see her go. She came by the day I first looked at the apartment and we talked for a minute, and I've enjoyed brief conversations with her ever since.

She is almost totally blind, although when I describe what I see out of my left eye she told me that is about all the vision she has in hers. Born with glaucoma, she lost one eye and has had three cornea transplants in the other. The first lasted 18 years, but the next two only lasted 6 months each. She visited her sister in Oregon last week and found an eye surgeon there who she really has confidence in, and who definitely would like to do another transplant. I'm so glad she is going for it, but she will be moving to Oregon; her sister and b-i-l have built a very large home, and Brandi will add on an apartment for herself. At least she will be with someone as she undergoes this surgery.

She will be moving soon, and her account of clearing out her apartment sounds like RVers who sell their homes and go fulltiming in an RV. She is getting rid of mostly everything, including furniture. I am the recipient of a very beautiful floor lamp which I desperately need. She also gave me some dishes, which will mean I don't have to go out and buy a set or add to the Corelle I already have. Four place settings served me nicely in my RV, but now that I have a dishwasher I need a bit more. She also gave me some Oven King bakeware - actually made in the US!

I will miss her baking as well - she does a lot of baking and I have been the recipient of some of it. Enrique, the man in charge of Maintenance, carried the lamp downstairs for me, and he will definitely miss her. She keeps his sweet tooth mollified. For being visually impaired as she is, she has about the sweetest nature and cheerful personality of anyone I know.

When I am tempted to complain about my own slow progress I realize I don't have a problem at all compared with what some people have. It's a very humbling thought.