Memoirous

I’m just now getting the memo, but happy to make the scene. You see, I’m of a generation of oatmeal and cold cereal, the occasional eggs and bacon. Avocado toast wasn’t a thing. Neither were avocados. I don’t remember my mother buying them  This week they were on special at the grocery store and I picked up two. Oddly enough, just the night prior on YouTube I’d seen a clip on avocado toast and thought yum! Weird how so many algorithms lie up. Anyway, I mashed up half and spread it on toast with a bit of cheese and pickled onion/cucumber and a dash of Dash. Something as simple as breakfast, as benign as toast, as colorful as spring grass—and I was in love. This blog is about memories—the most ordinary the better. So I landed on the topic of avocado toast this a.m. You might already be there or struggling to find a happy place, I adjoin you to try out avocado toast. Thank you Mexico and sun and rain and avocado trees!

I’m not sure how I thought I could do this in one day. The weather has gradually gotten better and not so cold in the a.m. I did a bit on Friday and a bit on Saturday with momentum building to finishing up today. Almost. I got the raised beds seeded and a few tomato seedlings transplanted. But there are NUMEROUS pots I use for what doesn’t fit in the raised beds. At one point I used my bike + trailer to go get more garden soil—not knowing the bags were 50 pounds each—and brought home two. The pots just kept coming. At a certain point, I told myself the rectangular ones would wait till tomorrow. 2 kinds of cucumbers 2 kinds of kale 2 kinds of chard Sweetie, Big Daddy, and another kind of tomato Pole beans Dill Thyme Summer savory Peppers Still to go—carrots, radishes, and basil Sooooo tired from the sun and exertion.

Leafing Out   Everything is leafing out While it only seems like a week ago The trees were bare And the jubilant buds far off Today the blossoms are a memory and Everything has leafed out   Sitting out While only a week ago A bitter wind blew and the trees shivered Today the verdant canopy is thick And we sit out, basking in the sun   Every bone in the body relaxes in warmth And the eyes cool in the shade Next week will be better As we leaf out, laugh out, lean Into summer  

I’ve been feeling very stressed lately—but, to be honest, I’m always feeling stressed. It’s my go-to reaction to pretty much everything. A physical second guessing. The cataract thing hasn’t helped. One, it presents as an old-person problem and I’m not old. At least I don’t feel old. Nevertheless, it came on quick and are fast-growing. I had an eye evaluation scheduled end of last September and things were fine. They noted my distance vision had worsened, but there was nothing said it was because cataracts were clouding my vision. Then, fast forward to December: And I’;m having trouble driving and at work I keep saying it looks like snow. To be fair, it did snow a lot—just not inside the building. I went back to the eye doc and asked about glasses. I got a pair in February and was told it might take some getting used to. March and April and I’m not seeing any better. So I go back to talk things over. That’s when I’m given an appointment to meet with an ophthalmologist. The process...