Painting the Town Turquoise

Dear John,

 

I believe I can safely pronounce this fibro flare as over. It started on March 19th, when I went to work and then to church. High-risk behavior. As I now know, that is too much. No matter how much I enjoy both activities, doing both in the same day doesn't work for me. That was the second day of Lent, and I paid for it until Pascha.

 

Today was another beautiful day and I felt good. I decided not to work in the garden because it was sunny and I'm still sunburned from mowing on Monday. So I painted my workroom. I think it's going to need another coat, but the color looks lovely. While I was moving the old computer cabinet to paint behind it, I decided to go ahead and dismantle the computer so it would be easier for Jen to pick up. I'm keeping the printer since my new one doesn't do photos well, and the keyboard so I'll have an ergonomic one to hook up to the laptop when I have something big to work on. While I was crawling around on the floor anyway, I moved the modem and the wireless router into the office. I'll turn that corner desk into my icon corner. I think it will be beautiful.

 

The animals were funny while I was painting. Of course, both of them wanted to be in the middle of everything. So I put a baby gate across the door to keep the dog out, and another one above it to keep the cat out. I let them in when I was done, but the last wall must have still been damp because the dog has a racing stripe down his left side. Remember when Caleb did that? I was painting the hall, and he got matching stripes down both sides. I took him in for shots soon after that, and June got a good laugh at it. She said the color matched his undercoat perfectly. I'm afraid that light turquoise doesn't match anything at all on Jethro.

 

It feels so good to feel better. But after a flare, I have a hard time not waiting for the other shoe to drop, wondering when the next one is coming. And it's so easy to start one by doing too much while I feel good. And this time of year, there is just so much to be done! The flower beds look disgraceful - full of weeds, and the trimming not done yet. I need to plant the window boxes and my annual seeds. The windows need washing, and I should take the screens down and hose them off. 

 

If there's any of this that you'd like to help with, let me know! I miss doing things around here with you. And I really miss having you come home and be excited about what I've done - that was half the fun of it. I'm just doing them for myself now, and It feels strange. Part of me still can't grasp that this is permanent - you'd think after a year, it would be obvious. But what is a year compared to 34 years? And, as I keep reminding myself, this time apart is nothing compared to eternity together. So if you can't come and help, please pray for me as I work away at it, and as I wait to come to you.

 

Love you with all my heart

Joan.