Today is my 56th birthday and life couldn't be better. I have a new job that I love, winter is over and a new house mate who is quite perfect. The ranch hasn't looked so good or the list of to dos shorter.

I came home to find a chocolate cake, gifts and flowers. He's very thoughtful. The gift, a Super Soaker, is a toy normally used for shooting water but I will shoot oil at the wind mill. It's another attempt to quell the squealing and groaning made by a tall bit of Americana. It'll be fun to do target practice using a stream of lubricating oil.

It's a good day.

Meet Moon. She's the new pasture mate for Dinah which makes the little mule very happy. When Dinah is happy I'm happy. Moon has settled in and loves having all that room to romp. She's a sweet thoroughbred appaloosa with long legs and a blanket of dark spots. She's a beauty and a joy to have in the pasture.

The most important things first...tack. I like the way it makes the house smell. Wonderfully like leather and horses. The challenge is all the furniture. Big guy big furniture.  Change is in the air or more accurately in the great room. I can do this.

This song puts a lump in my throat anyway but put to this video I outright cried.

Pay attention to the horse's mouth as it's very telling.

I've enjoyed the serenity and challenges of living alone for quite awhile and do just fine but the idea of having a housemate struck me one day last fall. As these things work, someone looking to live in the country and having a place for himself and his horse showed up soon after. We've discussed this over the winter, measured and counted his furniture and come to an agreement. It will be nice to have the company, another pair of hands to help out when things go awry and someone to ride with. He's used to living in the country and having the space and isolation that is offered here. A good man and a happy soul. We read his cards yesterday and, although he's still in a state of transition, this will benefit us both.

The snow is melting. Big applause of jubilation from me! I've been able to move the little car from its snowbank and closer to the road. With a bit more shoveling I'll be able to free it completely.

Despite all the water that's been released during the thaw, the basement remains dry. Another blessing.

My fondness for winter is right up there with my favor of snakes. I just don't like looking or dealing with either of them. This has been a particularly hard winter with recovery from surgery, extra low temperatures, price of heating oil and now this....more snow than has been seen here is seven years. I'd stay snuggled in at home if it weren't for the job. I will try making it into town on unplowed roads. Oh whine! I can just hear my friend Val at this point.

This morning's view from the front porch.

I have a friend, fellow mule lover and JRT owner, who has a most entertaining website. She has posted a warning and I must pass it along.

This has NOTHING to do with home repair or projects. It's just one of my favorite songs. He's a happy guy saying the world is beautiful. It's neither good nor bad just beautiful....sweetheart. He uses the word sweetheart so I guess he's in love. He's got to be to dance like that. It makes me smile.

As anyone who's been faced with this pesky challenge will tell you, cancer is a constant companion that can raise it's hand for attention at inconvenient moments. Actually, when is it ever convenient? I've been ignoring all that hand waving at the back of the room for a few months now.

I had a PET (positron emission tomography) scan in the spring after CAT scans showed that something unusual was going on with my spleen. A tumor. Surgery was suggested at the time but, heck, I had a bathroom to remodel, so I opted to put off having the little guy taken out until I was ready. Since the pain is fairly constant now and it's not magically going away on its own, this is probably as good a time as any to meet with the surgeon again and talk about a body remodeling job. I'm done taking out bathtubs so it's his turn to take out my spleen. My job will be there when I've healed, the bathroom is just about complete and my list of "to dos" will be waiting for me to resume.

I'm writing about this because it's important for us all to remember that a positive attitude and a zest for living contribute to keeping us in this world. I'm not opting out. It's a creative process and I will go forward creating without a spleen.

Time to get dancing! I have indoor plumbing! Woohoo!