The Good News (Ptu! Ptu! Ptu!)

I'm not at all superstitious, yet somehow the generations have instilled in me the fear that, if I celebrate or even talk about anything good before it has come to pass/been signed and witnessed/given birth/been published, etc., I am inviting the "Evil Eye" to swoop in and snatch the joyous occasion right out of my hands. So here's the good news I can share.

Since my SS disability has finally come through, we are closing the Etsy shop. Thanks to Michelle and all the Foodies for their kind efforts. They kept us in dog food, manicures and "pin money" for the better part of a year. It was wonderful to have that stream of income to help with small but immediate needs.

My quarterly visit to the thrift shop was another jackpot bonanza. Thank you, lady who buys Clark and Naturalizer shoes in my size, wears them once, and donates them. Thank you, lady who donated a leather Liz Claiborne organizer purse that perfectly suits moi, the fussiest purse carrier on the planet.

Last Sunday morning, I had this season's first Blue Heron sighting right outside the Villa. They are my favorite harbinger of spring. They are about 4' tall, painfully shy, clumsy and goony on land, and breathtaking in flight. I'm still surprised at how often they visit this fairly busy, urban area; each visit is a little gift.

I am almost ready to send in my second reimbursement application to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I was eligible for up to $5,000 assistance for prescriptions, medical services, and health insurance premiums. It's a fortune to me, and it makes even the latest insurance rate hike manageable. I don't know of any organization that provides such immediate, direct support to cancer patients.

I hope to be able to share several more very big Good News items soon that will make these appear incidental. Soon... but not yet.