1/24/09 Sour Lemons

This morning as I was getting dressed, I idly glanced out the window into the backyard, a view I don't look at often -- the window is high and the shades are hard to use so are usually mostly closed. I was stunned to see: lemons! There's been a lemon tree in a corner of our backyard, right next to the strawberries, all this time! They're not Meyers, but they're sweet and fragrant. I've really missed having fresh lemons at the ready. It stings to have to buy lemons in California.

It was a cloudy, rainy day, so naturally I used this surprise as an excuse for a photo-op.

It's actually three lemon trees, each with a trunk barely an inch in diameter -- but all three are bearing lemons. On top of it, our next-door neighbor's orange tree is spilling a little branch loaded with oranges on our side of the fence. A citrus windfall!

Random photos.



I dodged a bullet with my back, sort of. Whatever popped didn't bring me down entirely, so I've been able to stand mostly straight and avoid all the secondary problems of hunching over. But, there are still many consequences: the return of the foot-buzzing from sitting, difficulty lifting things from the floor, discomfort from too much sitting or standing. Also, if I bend my head too far forward, like if I slouch on the couch or sneeze, I can feel a sharp twinge my lower back, a very very strange sensation.

I had a huge agenda for the weekend, hoping to push through some of the remaining last remodeling decisions and ordering, and address some new problems. I did a lot online (including finalizing the calendars!), but my back reached a hard limit and I had to lie down. Combined with a rainy day, this turned into a serious veg session in front of the TV, for which I was grateful when Julian joined me. Such a cuddlebug, that one. How apt: PBS was airing a bunch of home improvement shows. Katrina and Gabriel joined for the last show, and I liked having a few terrific excuses to hang around and be surrounded by my children.


My back was pressed into service again for dinner-making and serving and cleaning up, which was fine. I can run around the kitchen longer than I can sit upright in a chair, but lying down is the only way to take all pressure off my back. It's got to be better fast, there is no room right now for a debilitating injury. At least I don't have to make a trip to the store for lemons.

1/24/09