Changing of the guard

Mom is leaving Gram's today, her watch is over; another relative or friend of the family will be taking her place mid-day. The boys and I drove to Livonia on Sunday to visit with Gram while mom was down from Marquette, and we were treated to quite the meal. Gram said mom had been up throughout the night preparing the turkey and other dishes so it would be ready to pop into the oven to simply reheat for our arrival. It was as though Thanksgiving had come all over again, and it was delicious!

Thank you, mom!!

Yesterday was a lovely break from the dreadfully freezing temps, and you could tell from the smiles on all the faces. Not to mention the outerwear choices! or lack of outerwear.

Funny, isn't it, how we bundle up and apply all those layering techniques...until the sun comes out and we hit 30*F! Then you see open jackets - or no jackets at all - and less layering. No gloves or ear covers (once called "muffs"), and certainly the scarves never left the closets yesterday, either.

Let's face it, we had a MI heatwave Monday, and it was a 'beaut'! MI mindset appeared to be why not enjoy it for all it was worth?

Today, however, cold temperatures have returned, so if you didn't remove your sloshy snow from driveways, sidewalks and wherever else yesterday, you can forget about it today. Oh, and those stunningly massive icepickles hanging from eaves all over the neighborhood...they are smaller, but not gone completely. We've been watching ours go from crystal clear to cloudy and air pocket-filled, to glossy and dripping, back to crystal clear. I know I should have gone outside - and I really wanted to - with a shovel and whack them down now that they are smaller and somewhat less dangerous to be around when they fall. Looking at them from the windows up close and personal, I have no reason to question why they were called "widow makers" back in the day.

From the sounds of the forecasters this morning, we are in for another day or two of extremely lovely upper thirty to low forty degree temps - isn't that great! I know it's no good for the pothole situation and what-have-you, but I love the fluctuation in the weather, especially at this time of the year. It just means Old Man Winter is getting tired, and winding down - even though I also know there is a very strong possibility that we can still get slammed with ice storms, blinding snowfalls, and weeks of bleak, dreary weather.

Last, but not least, I forgot to mention mom heard from Andy...and then Aaron while she was at Gram's. It seems Andy flew out to CA to visit our older brother and take in some of the CA sights while he is recuperating. Yup, he broke a collar bone over the holidays, and so while he can't work he figured "why not head somewhere warm?", and that's what he did.

So that's all the newsy stuff for the time being, except to say thanks for those who asked after Cleo...her appetite has improved, and she is almost willingly eating her dry kibble more often, and a bit more of her prescription moist food, too. Can't see any blood in the urine, although the crystals may still be present, she seems to be in less discomfort. Weaned her off the pain meds Sunday, as they were making her sick - and that was something to watch for. All in all, we think things are better for her. Time will tell.

Take care of yourselves and start planning those flowerbeds. Pretty soon it will be time to plant seeds to be ready for that frost free deadline!