Still cold and windy

It's cool and windy here but we are very aware that in places like Mississippi hundreds have died in tornadoes.  We feel for those poor people who's lives have been turned upside down by the storms.  Now I need to make a second donation to the Red Cross; first for Japan, now for our own South.

Our house has a small semi-secluded patio off the master bedroom.  It is shielded from the wind and makes a lovely place to sit on days like this.  It is on the south side of the house so you get sun.  It epitomizes the tranquil nature of our lives here.  We have our little container garden, the bbq, a small table and chair set for two.  A few feet away is the bird feeder and bird bath.  If you are quite still the birds eventually get used to you and eat and drink normally.  It's a nice place to sit with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and enjoy the world.

The trappings of life are so changed from the way things were when I was young.  People thought it was normal to make chicken soup from the bones and maybe the back of a chicken.  Now we go to the store and buy broth in cans.  It is good to sit and watch the birds and know that life itself is much the same.  There is a site I like to visit called Everyday Carry;  people send in photos showing what they carry on their person on a daily basis.  It's pretty funny to an old guy like me.  Apparently there are young men who carry $200 pocket knives, $150 flashlights and other expensive toys in their pockets every day.  I carried the same $12 Swiss Army knife for 35 years.  Maybe that's why I was able to retire early.  Don't know; I do think it's weird.

Have a good one!