Life Is Moving So Quickly I Ended up Having Accidental Plastic Surgery

It seems I keep getting further behind in keeping up with the blog. Life is offering so many experiences lately there isn't time to write about them all in a timely manner. But I will catch up eventually. I took this photo a few weeks ago - three weeks ago at least - and am only now getting it online. I would tell you to go look at it, but I'm sure it bears no resemblance to this now.

I have flowers blooming in the back yard that I planted last year - daisies and lily of the valley. I love, love, love Lily of the Valley and have tried to get some to grow for years. Last spring Pam gave me some starts and although they didn't all survive, I do have a few and I'm thrilled. I hope now that they're started they'll multiply and do well.

I spent the weekend at the Kansas Sampler Festival in Leavenworth, and it was great. I was working with Linda from the salt museum and we made an exceptional pair, if we do say so ourselves, and we do. We talked about both the museusm until we were hoarse both Saturday and Sunday. I'm not sure how to tell people these are two world-class attractions - not like anything else you'll see in the state. People are amazed at both places every day. I just don't know how to express that when trying to tell people to visit. Maybe I'll figure that out.

Thursday and Friday I was at Free State Social, a social networking conference. It was incredible to be spending time with like minded people. The first morning, before things got underway, I looked around and realized I was in a room where we were all on our phones, but no one was talking. For some reason that just really amused me. I knew these were my people.

When I got home Sunday night the lawn was awful, and I knew it would be, but it was worse than I imagined. I tried to mow last week before I left and the mower wouldn't start. The mower I just bought last year. I wrote a friend asking him to look at it and he had planned to but hadn't yet.

Tonight I had a meeting after work and came home to find my next door neighbor, Bob, mowing. He is the BEST neighbor. I talked to him briefly and told him my mower wouldn't start. He was so very generous to do that for me. It was such a load off my mind.

Greg came over tonight to see if he could see anything obvious about the mower. He said, "Okay, what do you do to start it." I reached down and turned the key and it started right up. Magic! So, I started mowing the back yard. It was so tall it kept choking the mower and I had to restart so many times I used all the charge so had to plug it back in. But, at least I made some progress.

I cannot believe how wonderful Bob was to mow for me. And did I mention he edged too? Yes. I know. Incredible. I need to do something wonderful for him and Ruth but I don't know what it is.

This is what I call the "drug house syndrome." A little real estate tip for you here. I bought the house on the block that at one time was the neighborhood drug house (so I'm told). When you do that, and you don't sell drugs, your neighbors love you regardless of the state of the lawn, your home, or pretty much anything else. They think, "Gosh, Patsy's lawn looks really bad... but... she's not selling meth so it's all good." See how that works out?

In other news, yesterday I had what I'm calling the "accidental plastic surgery." My doc referred me to a dermatologist for this purplish discoloration on my forehead I had asked him about. It wasn't very noticeable but you could see it in bright light and I kept wondering if I would wake up one morning with a bright purple forehead.

So yesterday morning was my appointment and the dermatologist looked at it, told me what it was called, and that it was nothing to worry about. Then he said, "And I can just zap those away if they bother you." Zap? Away? Right now? Just like that? Poof! They're gone. Yes - the wonders of modern medicine. I figure who am I to question this marvel.

So, he gets out this little widget and touches it to me so I get a sense of the prickly feeling, which didn't bother me. He started working on a couple of the spots. And next thing I know he's going to town with taps here and there. I said something about how it was so cool he could just do that in the office, to which he replied, "And, besides, it's so much fun," as he was zapping more of the spots I didn't even know I had.

He sent me on my way with an admonishment that it would take a few days for the places to heal. It was only later that I realized I'd just had a cosmetic procedure done, with no forethought whatsoever. So, there you go, the accidental plastic surgery - although it wasn't really surgery - or maybe it was. I hope this isn't some slippery slope that I now start wanting to go back every week for something else.

I'm also trying to finish up getting things ready for the art show this Saturday. I need some time to sit down and focus on it, and that just doesn't seem to be happening lately. This is one of the necklaces I have. I painted this on paper and then put it inside this jewelry finding I bought and glazed it so it had a clear coating over it. I think these are really cool, and whenever I wear one I get a ton of compliments on it. I'm still debating pricing, so if you have thoughts, please share.

Well, time for me to get some rest so I can be fresh for work tomorrow and hopefully accomplish much when I get home tomorrow night, too.