Comebacks

As I was coming out of the chicken coop the other morning, I was greeted by this beautiful sight:

Did it just suddenly bloom?  Or did I just suddenly, finally notice it?  I’m not sure which is true, but it certainly lifted my spirits.  I’ve been a little disconnected from things lately.  It seems that for the past several months, someone is always sick or there is a crisis of some sort.  After my recovery from feeling so awful during January, last month Mom spent five days in the hospital with another round of pneumonia.  The only good thing that came of it is that the doctors finally recognized that she needs to be on oxygen as part of her daily routine.  Before she could come home, the “oxygen people” had to come to the house and set up a little rig for her here and also bring  her a little stash of oxygen tanks for any outings we might undertake.  Mom has finally become accustomed to moving about the house while tethered to her oxygen unit.  We are still trying to get the hanging of the portable tanks, as we really haven’t ventured out much since she came home.  While still not her old self, Mom is at least feeling better than she did last month, and the oxygen seems to be helping her breathing a lot.

Poor Paisley is plagued with a variety of illness and issues, but her mother also has had a rough patch lately.  An old foot injury flared up, and poor Mandy has been a little encumbered herself as of late:

We’re hoping that she heals soon, for being pregnant can be physically challenging and being gimpy can be physically challenging, but being both is just miserable!  Speaking of which, my “most beautiful child” quandary has now been solved:

How great is that?

In other news, Alan has “come back” home…well, until mid-April, anyway.  He had a little lull between seasons at Yellowstone so he flew in last Thursday.  He is enjoying watching television and eating at restaurants; he even went to see “Oz the Great and Powerful” with a friend this weekend.  We are enjoying having him home, and Toffee was just over the moon to see him.  He’s still as cute as ever:

In addition to his company, I am enjoying how much help he can be.  I had ordered some bare-root strawberry plants (way more cost-effective) and he helped me get them planted in some containers that I had squirrelled away over the years:

This is not the final stop for these strawberry plants – I have a nifty thing that I am working on, but first I am trying to get as many 2-liter soda bottles as I can (Alan is helping with that, too).  I can’t wait to show you this new project once it is finished…it is just what we need here in the heat and drought that is Texas!

I’m hoping that the arrival of spring will bring renewed energy and good things for all of those I love.  Here’s  to enjoying “comebacks”!