Peppers

Yesterday was a beautiful respite from a lot of cloudy, rainy days. We took Spike up to his meadow where he ran around in joyful circles, stopping every once in awhile to put his nose in the air to keep track of where we were. Sometimes he loses track of us all together, but we call him, and he comes running. The green grass is poking up through the dry stalks lingering from the summer heat, and the pond once again has water in it and will soon be filled with frogs. I made Hoppin' John , a traditional New years' dish believed to bring good fortune. Dana and Jim joined us. It was a good way to start the new year.

Today is a slow return to reality. The day dawned cloudy with rain predicted. Our Zoom Pilates class resumed. John set out to prune roses but wound up picking leaves out of the shrubbery. We have a difference of opinion about the necessity for spending hours a day doing this. I think they make good mulch. John thinks they damage the plants and are a fire hazard. I don't see how they can be a fire hazard when it is raining. I leave him to it.

By lunchtime it is raining steadily and our neighbor arrives with a little bag of goodies. She has told me she loves to bake and I have told her that the things she drops off at our door or gives to us when we're walking by her house are unique and delicious.They have just come back from two months in New Zealand and  she sent me some beautiful images she took there. I suggested that she might like to join Blipfoto. Her husband is a doctor and gone a lot, and her daughter is attending the University of Washington so she's adjusting to an empty nest. 

When it started raining John came in with the last of the peppers he found hiding in the garden. They are one of few spots of color outside right now, other than the neighbors' Christmas lights. We think they are quite hot but don't know for sure as the little tags John planted with them have disappeared.

 Lindsay and the girls are coming up tomorrow as Adisa has some work to do on their houseboat and needs them out of the way. They have a nice communal space with a playground and gardens where their houseboat is moored,  but thosewon't provide much of an escape if it's still raining. 

We are still awaiting the delivery of a new credit card as someone used our old one for online gambling and we had to cancel it. There are several services that are paid automatically every month and we'll begin hearing from them, I'm sure, when payment on the old card is declined, but we can't really do anything about it until we have the new one. I doubt if the cable provider will care about the situation, they just want their money. 

Some things never change.