"N" is for Nose and Nasal Congestion

"N" is for Nose and nasal congestion. I absolutely love spring. I can never wait for it to get here after going through a long cold winter. Somehow over the winter months I develop amnesia because I forget that spring is also allergy season. I will go out on the first beautiful sunny day and walk across the grass and smell the new blossoms and flowers completely happy and in awe of nature's beauty. Then all of a sudden my eyes begin to water and itch, my nose begins to run and I begin an explosive series of sneezes that make me look and sound like I'm having some kind of a fit. People who don't understand allergies want to put me in some kind of quarantine as if I'm contagious and they don't want to catch my "germs". I have to make the same explanations every year that allergies are not contagious, it's just a reaction to the pollen, mold, dust and animal dander that get stirred up when the weather gets warmer. My next mission is to find out which of the dozens of allergy medicines on the shelf are going to work this year. My system gets used to the one from the year before and I have to change medications every year. The other criterion for me is that I have to find one that doesn't knock me out. I am very susceptible to "can cause drowsiness". What causes drowsiness for most will make me sleep for hours. So, it is my annual sneezing, itchy eyes, stuffy nose, run to the drug store season. Love spring, hate my allergies. "N" is for nose and nasal congestion.

After The Storm

I am happy to say that my current project now has arms and legs and she is no longer "topless" (not shown in this picture). I was working on her wig on Wednesday and got a lot done. I remembered that I promised myself some outdoor time after getting through last week's storms, wanted to see what the winds had done. I pack a bottle of water and my camera in my purse and put on a pair of comfortable shoes and went out to see what I could see.

One of my favorite parks in Sacramento is "William Land Park". Sad to say we lost a number of our beautiful trees. It's so strange to see something that was 30 or 40 foot tall that has been growing for so many years just lying on the ground with its roots up ended. I wish there was a way to put them back in the ground so that they can keep growing but instead, they will be chopped up into fire wood and mulch.

It almost feels like I've lost family and friends to the storm.

The river is the highest it has been in over a decade. We are at 159% of normal for water this year due to the heavy rains and the snow pack. The governor declared that we are no longer in a drought for the first time in 5 or 6 years. So, good things also came out of the storm.

I got a lot of walking in on Wednesday and realized just how out of shape I am. I was exhausted. I am making a pledged to myself to get out more now that the weather is getting nice again. I will just have to pack up my doll projects and take them on the road. Working on them outside will be healthy for them and me.

Knowing that spring is here gives us all hope that this is again a new beginning. There is a culture, I'm not sure which one, who has their New Year celebration in spring instead of winter. That really makes sense because this is time when there is new growth, the shedding of old skins for new ones, building new structures, and time to get reacquainted with nature.

Yes, I will definitely be spending more time outside working on my dolls. I don't want to waste this beautiful season.

"Spring Forward"

Beautiful flowers are the symbol of spring and I'm happy to see winter melting away. Spring is also the time when we "spring forward" with our clocks so that we can enjoy daylight savings time. Tonight is that "spring forward" night and for some reason it seems early to me this year. Anyway, I always have my annual battle with insomnia on "spring forward" night because I'm afraid I won't wake up in time to go to work. So I'm up blogging at 4:00 in the morning. I was so tired after working today, I bought my dinner, went home, ate, tried to work on one of my dolls and fell asleep before 8:00 with my pin cushion stuck to my lap. I woke up about 9:30 and remembered that I had to "spring forward" and I set my clock. I tried to go back to sleep but now my brain just won't shut off. The creative juices aren't flowing either so my poor dolls aren't befitting from this wakefulness.

Let me know if anyone else goes through this annual night of sleep deprivation. I love daylight savings time because I have so much energy and ambition when there's more day at the end of the day but making the transition is a little rough.