Do you ever see wild animals?

As you know, if you’ve been with me for a while, our neighborhood is full of what we call drag chickens. If you haven’t heard of drag chickens, this meme will explain it.

We also have several deer that love munching on Rhododendran leaves outside of our windows. It’s so sweet each year to see the new fawns.  Currently, when my husband goes outside for a cigarette, he meets three deer, and he talks to them . They aren’t afraid of him and seem to be getting more comfortable with his presence. The hubby is wisely choosing not to touch them, even though he really wants to pet them.

But that’s not the last of it. My husband also seems to be quite a good squirrel friend. There are a LOT of squirrels in the neighborhood . Graham used to look at the little guys through the window .

And then there are the birds. We see everything from seagulls to ducks, to geese,pigeons and sparrows, and even birds of prey, like eagles and ravens. And I can’t forget to mention the owls and the bats. Which for this ornithophobe isn’t so much cute as terrifying. Like I always say, the only thing with wings that I trust is a maxipad.

Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?

I’ve already blogged about my favorite places worldwide, so I thought, this time, I would stay local and blog about our favorite restaurant in which to celebrate . It’s a fantastic authentic Italian spot with a lovely atmosphere, as you can see here,

More importantly, the service and the food are superlative.

My absolute favorite dish that they make is the crab and lobster cannelloni made with fresh seafood.

There’s even lovely garden seating when the weather is nice.

We really appreciate the little details and the thoughtfulness of the staff

Last anniversary we spent there, they gave us panna cotta with a lovely message like this one ❤️ for dessert gratis.

Share five things you’re good at.

Because I’m no longer good at any of the things that I was good at before becoming paralyzed, and those are the things that I miss the most .Dancing, driving, walking (especially in high heels),being independent in general. I really miss my old identity. I’m not complaining, but I am human, and it hasn’t been easy giving any of it up.

What is one thing you would change about yourself?

I would not be paralyzed.

Are you more of a night or morning person?

I’ve been a night owl my entire life. Mornings aren’t really my thing, although I wake easily and I don’t require time to ease into the day.  I’m usually up until 2 a.m., and I usually wake up between 9 and 10 am.

Unless it’s the first nice week of spring weather, then I can get up around 7 am. for the whole week. Oddly, the weather never made a difference until after I had a massive stroke, and now I’m very sensitive to any changes in the weather. If it’s gloomy, I have no energy. If the day starts sunny and gets gloomy later, I’ll have great energy until it gets gloomy, and then I’m sleepy. Weirdly, precipitation doesn’t make a big difference, as long as there’s sun in the morning.

What are your feelings about eating meat?

When I was a little girl, my father used to hunt, mostly deer, but I still remember the corpse of a bear he killed hanging in our garage and dripping blood onto my bicycle seat .I have always been an animal lover and am quite sensitive about killing them unless it’s lessening their suffering . I didn’t eat anything that my father killed. I just couldn’t.

The older I get, the less meat I eat. I get weird thoughts from time to time that prevent me from eating types of meats. I have gone vegetarian several times in my life, and my digestion is the best during those times. Because this year has been about trying to improve my health, I’ve added raw vegetables to my diet and fresh fruits. But I haven’t given up meat entirely. While I don’t eat much red meat or pork unless it’s ground, I still enjoy chicken, which I justify because I’m terrified of birds.  I use collagen powder from several sources in my smoothies a couple of times a week to make sure I’m getting enough protein .