Going to Extremes to Get Out Of Jury Duty.

We can't see sunrises 

or sunsets from our house. 

We're between hills 

and don't have

a clear view of the horizon 

in any direction.

But we do get to enjoy

the color through the trees.

This photo above

is  sunset colors

as seen from our deck.

~~~

Well, about that jury duty...

I'm not on the jury anymore.

An alternate has taken my place.

I ended up having knee pain 

so severe that I asked for an 

ambulance to take me to the 

hospital.  

I was embarrassed 

as all get out,

but there wasn't any way 

I could continue

to be a jury member.

I tried,

 even going so far 

as to head to the nearest

pharmacy to purchase a cane

and OTC pain meds during

our lunch break on Wednesday.

I returned to the courthouse

and managed to slowly

walk uphill to get

into the courthouse.

I  made it out of the elevator

to the third floor, 

and that was it.

I could not take

 one step further.

At the ER they took ex-rays,

gave pain meds,

and removed fluid from my knee joint.

Ouch... isn't a strong enough word.

Now I'm waiting for the referral 

authorization to see a specialist

to get this problem taken care of.

I've put it off for years...

and now it's time to 

get it fixed.

There's a possible torn meniscus,

a bone spur and arthritis.

Dang.

Meanwhile I'm to stay off

my feet and keep my knee elevated

until I can get an appointment,

in March.

OK.  

Tomorrow is my turn 

to cook the main dish for our 

potluck serving about 45 people.

Rick is helping and

 I won't stay up

too long.  

I'm making pot roast

using cross rib roasts.

Back to the trial.

It involved spousal abuse,

and rape at knife point.

I don't want to dwell on that

but I did learn a lot

about the jury selection process,

the trial procedures, and 

the way they protect the jury

from prejudicial information.

We received a crash course

in DNA procedures

and what happens during

a rape examination at the hospital.

I wish I had been able to finish

with the jury process.

I'd like to know the rest of the story.

The defense attorney had started

his case and was questioning the

defendant in the trial  when 

we broke for lunch.

Being a jury member 

was interesting and the 

weight of the responsibility

to determine guilt or innocence

was nerve wracking.

I'm glad I got to experience

that, even though I was 

 anxious most of the time.

Now, back to the good stuff.

Liberty the thief. 

She loves grabbing dish rags,

dish towels, and pot holders 

 out of the drawer if it's been 

left even slightly open.

She also steals from 

  the laundry basket, 

and off the counter.

This dish cloth was clean and dry

so I'm assuming she grabbed it

from the drawer, since it

wasn't laundry day.

I didn't notice she had it

which must have been a huge

disappointment to her.

She rather likes getting a treat

as a reward for 'dropping it'.

She fell asleep with the dish cloth

 in her mouth and woke up 

just as I was taking her photo.

 Feeling rather sleepy still,

she just lifted her head,

looked at me,

and decided to nap awhile longer.

One more thing,

my daffodils are blooming.

The buds turn yellow,

and then Liberty takes notice

and bites them off leaving

the buds on the ground.

I've seen the guilty one do it

and no she's not eating them.

I haven't seen one bloom open.

We don't need to worry about 

the deer eating our plants anymore.

We have Liberty!