A couple of weird dreams. The first didn't wake me, but the second did.

In the first one, I was on a motorcycle traveling down a highway through the mountains. There was quite of bit of traffic on the road. I could see some of the mountains as I passed by. Other mountains were covered in fog, but it wasn't the normal fog bank. This fog covered the ground like a snow pack instead of being level. Made the mountains look like they were wearing a knit cap or something.

I was headed towards some destination. Someone was monitoring my progress remotely like they were using a satellite. The closer I got to my destination, the more the fog closed in to the highway. Finally, I needed to make a few more turns to reach my goal, but the fog had gotten too thick and I couldn't see. Even the person watching remotely had lost sight of me. I could sense that I was close to my goal, but knew if I reached it, I wouldn't be able to find my way back so I turned back while I still could hoping to try another day when the weather was better.

The second dream is the one that woke me up. I was walking down a wooded lane. Wet leaves from the trees had pretty much covered the road allowing my to walk quietly. That was good because I knew my hike took me past a dog that's very territorial. (In real life, the dog, a terrier, lives next door to me). My stealth wasn't sufficient. The dog recognized my presence and came after me barking and snarling. He kept trying to attack the lower parts of my legs.

Most of the time I was able to prevent him from getting too close by putting a small tree trunk between him and me at the last second causing him to bash into the tree. That would knock him woozy for a bit, but then he'd recover and come after me again. I kept thinking to myself, why doesn't he learn from that and go away? When a tree wasn't convenient enough for me to use that tactic, I had to use my hands to shove him away. One of those shoves knocked the TV remote off my nightstand which woke me up.

Now it's 4am and hours until the sun comes up. Doubt I'll be able to go back to sleep. I'm getting tired of all these disturbing dreams. I guess I can do the TV Guide crossword. Not into infomercials. That's about the only thing on TV this time of day.

There ought to be a law against having to pull the blanket back out of the closet once Spring's started here in Texas. I mean the A/C had been running for weeks. I'm looking out my window now at the wind blowing the new oak leaves. Thick clouds with temp's in the low 40's and the chill factor's well down into the 30's. Good chance of a freeze across the area tonight which means moving some plants into the garage. Those plants have been out almost a month now. Some of them are so big, I have to use a hand truck to move them. Phew.

A neighbor across the street had company arrive yesterday from Kansas or somewhere in the frozen north. They probably brought this weather with them. All I know is *somebody* left the north gate open. Holy Moly.

If you recall, Lori passed away just two days after our 15th wedding anniversary. I had bought her a set of wind chimes as my anniversary gift to her. I never got the chance to hang them so she could enjoy them before her passing. I've been telling visitors this past year whenever the chimes make music, it's Lori talking to me.

I received some good news via email today. At the same time I was reading the email, the chimes made a lot of sound. I quickly turned and looked over my shoulder in order to see out the window. There was no wind.

Today would've been our 16th wedding anniversary. Last year she gave me a bunch of gift coupons for a local sandwich shop where we liked to eat. I never got to share any of them with her although I shared with friends. I saved the last one for today. After taking some silk flowers to the cemetery, I had lunch at the sandwich shop as a way of saying goodbye. This Thursday will be one year after losing her. I'm in a fog. I still can't believe she's gone, nor can I believe a year has already passed.

Apparently word has gotten around on my street about my azaleas because neighbors have been stopping by this weekend. I decided to post a couple more pics. This is a different bush than the one shown on an earlier post.

A recent study made the claim that chocolate (yes, that got my attention) inhibits our body's ability to absorb calcium. Does this mean chocolate milk is a waste of money?

Another study touts the benefits of drinking concord grape juice with regards to short-term memory and neuro-motor skills. I knew there was a reason why I drank it 3 times/week. I just couldn't quite remember what that reason was. ;-) Now if I could just be at ease with the plastic container the juice comes in. :D