Writing N Reading N Stuffs

Hives! I woke up with hives all over my neck! (thanks mom .. this too shall pass!) Came to work armed with Extra Strength Benadryl AND calming Chamomile Tea!

Had some 'twitter' problems on the drive in this morning too.
About a half mile out of my driveway, out comes a wild turkey. Slowed way down .. they don't always travel alone you know .. then had to come to a complete halt. Turkey standing in middle of road .. staring me down! Then, it slowly started leading me, broke out into a gentle Turkey Trot while I idled slowly along. Finally after about 2 minutes decided it had toyed with me enough, crossed to the road side and down into a ditch, into the weeds, and ... freedom!
Got moving along again only to turn a curve and see a bird sitting in the middle of the road. I got closer .. it still sat. I got closer yet .. slammed on the brakes .. backed up, and yeah .. it was still sitting there. Upon close up examination through the windshield, I realized it was a very young bird that just didn't have flying down pat yet. Put emergency blinkers on .. got out of car .. walked up to bird, who is ruffling his feathers but still sitting there. Pushed him gently back to the shoulder of the road into some weed coverage. Apparently mom had gone to get breakfast and baby was waiting for her return. Back into car .. back on my way to work.

A bit further down the road .. right where I come into civilization (meaning where the road turns from dirt to actual pavement ... aka where Oakland county outbacks end and where Genesee county begins) .. there is momma and daddy swan swimming along at the side of the road ... and they had their three baby swanlings with them! (I know, they're called cygnets, but that's a stupid word .. I like mine better!) I had seen them earlier in the month from quite a distance and I was so glad to see babies .. we've had this pair in that small lake for several years now and this was a first!!
So .. stop the car, turn on the 4-ways, just happened to have my camera with me (for once) and got these pics before daddy swan got his family well away from the dangerous formidable 'me'.

Nice start to my morning ... still itchy though!
And .. not to help my mental matters any .. I just finished another book. Read about this one on Gloria's (Milady's Needle) blog, went to Amazon and downloaded a 'preview' of it to my Kindle, read that chapter, and bought the book to be downloaded fully. Called "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova .. it's a portrayal of the Alzheimer's journey from one suffering from early onset Alzheimers at age 50. From Publishers Weekly: Neuroscientist and debut novelist Genova mines years of experience in her field to craft a realistic portrait of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Alice Howland has a career not unlike Genova's—she's an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard, living a comfortable life in Cambridge with her husband, John, arguing about the usual (making quality time together, their daughter's move to L.A.) when the first symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge. First, Alice can't find her Blackberry, then she becomes hopelessly disoriented in her own town. Alice is shocked to be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's (she had suspected a brain tumor or menopause), after which her life begins steadily to unravel. She loses track of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard and eventually cannot recognize her own children. The brutal facts of Alzheimer's are heartbreaking, and it's impossible not to feel for Alice and her loved ones, but Genova's prose style is clumsy and her dialogue heavy-handed. This novel will appeal to those dealing with the disease and may prove helpful, but beyond the heartbreaking record of illness there's little here to remember.

Powerful .. disturbing .. I have symptoms (Dave told me to 'knock it off' LOL) .. and I'm so glad I read it (finished it last evening) Did that cause the hives this morning? (if so, thanks Gloria!!!) Or was it my mother calling my husband last evening to tell him her phone didn't work and she couldn't call anyone? (yeah, you read right .. and then when he called back, she didn't pick up)

Deep sigh .. off to immerse myself in WORK!