Saturday Slight

"Our life is frittered away by detail. 

Simplify, simplify, simplify!

I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million, count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail."

                                                                                  ---Henry David Thoreau

For some reason, the message above was speaking to me this morning, actually almost yelling. 

It could be a subconscious reaction to the zillion things I think about whenever I awaken in the middle of the night. 

Why is it that life never wants to simplify on its own?

Why is it that just when we think we are finally leading the simple life, other stuff starts factoring in, dumping a whole bunch more complexities? 

Why is that we're constantly having to make decisions on how to make life simpler in an effort to allow ourselves fewer items to ponder on sleepless nights.

It seems weird to have to work so hard to keep it simple.

I don't know that answer to any of the above, but the words do resonate from time to time. 

So, I'll ponder during the day at this juncture and focus on Thoreau's guidance. 

If that works, there may be better sleep ahead. 

In the meantime, it rained last night, enough to wash away a few piles of snow in the yard and to add another welcome shade of green. 

Plus, our fields and barnyard are filled with new lakes. Finding high and dry ground around here is a luxury when the spring rains come. 

Easter is supposed to be a nice day, although the weather gods keep suggesting that we may have another dose of rain, followed by even more on Monday. 

At least, April is fulfilling its annual promise.

On another subject, I joined my sisters and friends yesterday for Laurie's birthday lunch.

We had a wonderful and efficient server, and one time when she came to the table, I could not help but pull out my camera and take a picture of her side pocket. 

This woman comes to work prepared, and it shows in her service to restaurant customers. 

Speaking of efficiency, I reported on this blog on Thursday about my Wednesday morning bank alert about a fraudulent Amazon Prime charge and how my debit card was subsequently blocked. 

There's now a little more to the saga.  

Since Wednesday, thanks to a staff member at our bank telling me her own Amazon Prime woes and how they were quickly solved, we have received an apology from Amazon Prime customer service AND Bill's credit card has already been reimbursed for 27 months of fees for an Amazon Prime account that had never been used. 

In addition, my new debit card has already arrived, and I've used it. 

Talk about efficiency and a renewal of some faith in the system.

Ironically, had it not been for the fraud alert, we may never have known about the ongoing charge for a service we were not receiving.  

I have learned that it's important to read all the details in the menus on websites where we make purchases.  

 

Below:  radishes are looking better each day out in the greenhouse. 

It's bunny time. 

The past couple of days I've heard about Easter bunnies delivering baskets to the food bank.  I've heard about Easter bunnies for sale, right here on our road, and I've even been sorting through my bunny pictures for a story not related to Easter.

So, this morning, I went through my photo library and pulled out a bunny Bill and I saw on a drive up Caribou Creek on a summer night a few years ago. 

This bunny was among several which seemed to be having a bunny convention right in the middle of the road. 

Finally, Bill said he drove through Farragut yesterday on his way home from Costco and spotted a bunny aka snowshoe hare similar to the one below.  He said it was at the half and half in its seasonal color transition. 

As much as rabbits are known to reproduce, I do hope that my middle of the night sleepless pondering sessions don't add to the mix by including bunny thoughts. 

I need my sleep. 

Happy Saturday.