Smooth Feathers

I have always been fascinated by bird feathers. Most birds have several different types of feathers that  provide  a smooth and versatile coat that keeps them warm  but are lightweight enough to allow them to fly. I love the way they interlock and overlap.

It's been a difficult day today...bad news from a Berkeley friend regarding two book club members. One has been fighting brain cancer for several years and succumbed on Saturday. She was a hospice nurse and not only a wonderful person but one of the most practical people I know. The other is in hospital and very ill with suspected bladder cancer. She hated doctors and hospitals  but now finds herself in one. She is a wonderful artist and I am lucky to have one of her beautiful collages on my wall. I am hoping against hope that she will recover.  It is a very sad time.

They finished clearing the lot next door today. The big trucks tore up the steep driveway so badly that today they had to be towed up by the little earth mover less than a quarter of their size. In the meantime, the big earth mover broke up the concrete foundation and loaded the big pieces into the trucks along with a huge roof beam.We could tell they had declared it finished when the last guy had gone around with a bucket picking up who-knows-what the earth movers went off on the backs of flatbed trucks and the trailer carrying the Porta-potties brought up the rear.   It was quite a show to watch from our kitchen. 

A visit to my doctor resulted in good news and bad news. All my blood work was normal but my blood pressure is too high when it's high. I tried to convince her that It is  perfectly normal part of the time, but she wasn't buying it. "We want it to be normal ALL the time" she said....

Is anything normal all the time?