March Lion Smells Like A Wet Dog

Well it's official: March 2010 was the wettest March in history. Our rivers are flooding along with all the creeks. People who never knew they lived in a flood plain are now pumping out their homes. Massachusetts has been declared a disaster zone. Today is April Fool's Day and there isn't a thing to make jokes about.

We were really very lucky here at the beach. There were two leaks from the old deck area. One above the first floor bathroom and the other at the edge of the addition for the front part of the deck. All in all we got away easy. We have friends who are talking about their new indoor swimming pools. Our yard flooded in the low spots every day, but drained very quickly. I sure know the areas where fill is required before we do the walkway and grass. The fact the yard is 95% sand explains the quick drainage. When the original builders of this house did the foundation, they knew what they were doing. We have never had a wet basement (knock on stone). Our foundation seems to be made up of large stones cemented in place. I can only think the builders got the stone from the beach across the street. There was an article in our paper the other day about people being fined $25 per stone for beach rocks removed from the beach to be used for private building. I guess in the late 1800's this wasn't a big issue. Considering the size of our basement, The value could be a good $100,000 more than we know. I am just very glad the statute of limitations is way past.

Now that I am totally free of tubes and ties, I have started cooking again. With Tom and I both diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, I am really working to find good tasting food while maintaining a healthy diet. We all know: "If it tastes good, it's bad for you". I have found a couple of websites with good recipes. My problem is the meal planning part of it. It doesn't do much good if the entree is healthy while the side dishes fall into the NO NO level. I have found a couple of good websites where they put together the entire meal. The Betty Crocker site and Joslin.org have the best recipes. Take a look if you are interested in some healthy plans.

Easter is just a day away and we are off to Lawrence for an Easter lunch a day early. Last night was the Tommy & Keleigh Egg Coloring farce. I bought what I thought were two really fun coloring kits.Why can these kits work for six year olds and not a grown adult? We ended up using markers to draw on the eggs. Not a good idea if you are not a good artist. These are just battle eggs anyway. The great egg war of 2010 is at lunch tomorrow.

Easter is behind us and we had a few days of summer weather. But today (4-9-2010) is cold and wet! Just drizzling rain. The kind that is miserable because it never lets up. The dogs look at me like I'm crazy each time I take them outside. They look at me and I can her them saying "Mom, why do we have to go out to make puddles in the yard? They are already some there. We'll just stay in if you don't mind" I don't fall for it but they try very hard.

The rest of the family seems to be doing well. Josh just has a month and a half until graduation. He has all the paperwork for the Coast Guard and Navy Officers Training. So on top of all his final studies, he has tons of application forms to fill out and has to take a physical. Jessica is collecting the certificates she needs for her Emergency Tech job. She really is doing well. I am so proud of the way she took hold of this pursuit and is charging ahead towards her goals.

We all seem to have our health and happiness. Which is all we can hope for. Here's hoping all of you are having the same.