Yes.....things are beginning to return to normal here.

Ray had his abdominal ultrasound Tues. morning we got the VERY good news that it was negative! Whew!  The dr. called me in from the waiting room to assure me.....there were no tumors or masses in the liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc.  And yes, we were both quite relieved. 

Ray is slowly beginning to feel better.  Still tired, but not as bad.  We saw the Nurse Practitioner yesterday and she's baffled.  She said his Sed rate last week was very elevated and that could indicate infection.  So yesterday she had the lab draw blood for more things, like iron levels, etc.  And we'll see what those liver enzymes look like now.  She'll call when she has the results and like she said, bottom line Ray is feeling better.  So it just might take time to get over whatever it is he had. 

I still feel it was a smart move to cancel our trip to France for next week.  He needs to be fully back to normal before going over there and I'll start working on booking for Sept. in the next week or so.

I want to thank all of you that have sent good wishes to Ray either via phone calls, emails, or comments here.  It was very much appreciated.

And now.....on to some happy things.  Last week my aqua plants arrived FedEx.  I'd ordered a water lily and another plant.  When I'd bought my water lily for my pond in New Port Richey it came in a pot, etc.  Well, this one didn't.  What arrived was simply that!  A plant!  I had no pot, no aquatic soil, etc.  But not to worry......my good friends Doreen and Oliver came to my rescue!  Oliver came over and brought me a mesh pot for the pond, along with a bag of the correct soil and he even did the planting for me.  (yes, they're very good friends and very reliable)  Here's what my plant now looks like in the pond.

You have no idea how much I'm enjoying this fish pond!  I love hearing the water as I sit in my studio typing or at night through the open bedroom window.  And I really enjoy wandering out to the yard to feed them or check on them.  I find it so relaxing.  And I'm also finding the larger fish have a definite personality.  Now when they hear my voice they come swimming toward that end of the pond.  Okay, okay.....so maybe they ARE only coming because they're looking for food, but I think we're "bonding."  I've now got the larger ones named.......the largest orange one is Hemingway, the smaller orange one is Kiki, one of the speckled ones is  F. Scott and the other is..........yes, you guessed it........Zelda.  And here they are......

Oliver is extremely knowledgeable with fish and I've bombarded him with a million questions lately.  He's so patient, explaining everything to me and he's really whet my appetite to get seriously involved in these fish as a hobby.  So much so.........I'm going to be getting an inside aquarium for my writers studio.

I'd thought about going with saltwater fish, but after Oliver explained everything, that's a bit too involved for my sometimes extremely busy schedule.  There's some really pretty freshwater fish (like I have in the outside pond) and that's what I'm going to get.  Mother's Day is next month, and I know Ray will be looking for a gift for me......so I told him, not to worry!  Let's get me a freshwater aquarium now.

So we're heading to Gainesville tomorrow to a fish shop there that Oliver recommended.  I called the owner today and he said he'll talk me through it, etc. and what kind of fish I could put in there right away.  He said he knows it's a one hour drive each way from Cedar Key and he'll explain which particular fish I could put in there right away, rather than get the aquarium set up first and then drive back in 24 hr. for the fish.

So I have the spot all set here next to my desk and I'm looking forward to greeting my new fish arrivals.  Hey, I'm a Pisces.....what can I say.  So join me here next time and you can meet them too...........