Full of Positive News for a Change!

Yes, the world is a trying place, so I am even happier when I have uplifting and positive news to share.

We spent most of last weekend with family. Long drives but well worth it. Saturday we had a casual dinner with two of our daughters and some of their families at a brewery. No alcohol for us, but lots of good food and much loved time and conversation with children and grandchildren.

The following day we drove back, this time to Clemson University, to watch our granddaughter’s ring ceremony. It was quite lovely as they were each presented with their class rings – a tradition full of encouragement about what the future holds. Afterward we had family photos and then went to our granddaughter’s apartment for food, fun and conversations with friends and family.

We also found out we would have two of our grandchildren for the weekend in early May. Since school has been in session we do not get to see them that often, so this is a real treat for us and a chance  for mom and dad to have a weekend away.

We have also had generous amounts of rain which have thankfully helped get all the fires under control. What a blessing!

NOW FOR THE MOST JOYFUL NEWS OF ALL!

If you are a long time reader you may remember me writing about my sister and the fact that when she was younger she gave a baby up for adoption. It was not her choice to surrender the child and even though she searched, she never found the child she had painfully given to someone else to raise.

Now, 52 long years later, I have connected with my nephew.  Through the miracle of DNA, we were able to find each other. I am of course a little sad this comes too late for he and my sister to meet, but I will have the chance to share with him as much as I can about his biological family and the biological mother he never got to meet. I am beyond excited. We are already planning a time to meet face-to-face. I feel like somehow my sister had a hand in this and I hope if there is a connection or vibration or spiritual energy out there, she sees and she is happy. I am sure I will write more about this in the weeks and months to come.

Care to Share My Blog?

It has been far too long. It seems like the world has been turned upside down. I feel like since Helene hit and left such a swath of destruction it has been difficult to get back to an even keel. Of the 249 deaths from Helene, 106 of those were in North Carolina. There are still people unaccounted for, at least 6 in North Carolina alone. The property and emotional recovery will take years.

I did manage a trip to Florida to see the family, then managed to come down with a respiratory virus that lasted six weeks. We did get to see much of our family during the holidays which was nice.

Then of course, there came the political upheaval left in the wake of our presidential election – if you know my blog you know I try to stay away from political topics, but suffice it to say this has been an extremely difficult time.

Most recently we have been hit by wildfires. It has been extremely dry. Helene left a lot of debris, and with the tree canopy destroyed in many places, the underbrush is dangerously dry. We have had three fires (one from which we feared we would be evacuated) started by downed electrical lines that sparked fires that spread quickly. We finally had some rain Sunday and Monday which helped. Our neighboring state is currently fighting a fire started (unfortunately) by careless teens. It has burned well over 5,000 acres.

Now on to the good news. Spring is here – my favorite time of the year. We are planting a few small container gardens. Flowers and trees are alight with color which feeds my soul tremendously.

My friend and I formed a small women’s group. Out of about 150 women, there are 10-15 that are active. A few of us started a book club so at least I am reading again. The current selection is The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone.

I hope this finds you all well. I cannot possibly catch up, but I will try to catch up on what is current. I’ve missed you terribly.

 

Quick Update Post Hurricane Helene

A little fall above my rooftop

I am sitting in the parking lot of our library where we have Wi-Fi. Today our power was restored after nine days without power. Fortunately we have a generator and sustained no damage to our home. Our cell service and internet are both still out, but we count ourselves fortunate. The devastation here is unbelievable. So many people lost their lives and their homes. The geography of this region has been forever altered and it will be years before this area comes back to near what it was before the storm.

The Valley where I grew up and blogged about so frequently has sustained extensive damage as well. The people of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are hurting. People have been generous with donations, but we will need so much more in the months to come. At this moment another hurricane is building, focused on the state of Florida where my daughter, her wife and two children live. Any positive thoughts you can hold for those in the path of the storm I will appreciate.

I will update more when I can.

Life is a Mixed Bag, Isn’t It?

Dragonfly on a Path – AI Generative Art

Well, I, made it back. I am trying to make good on my promise to be here more frequently and try to get back into the groove of things.

My last post was a little heavy and sadly, life isn’t always a bed of roses. My heart was broken to read about more school shootings. This time I had Tik Tok and all those children took to that platform to pour their hearts out. I watched every video I found as hard as it was. I felt like these kids were owed something from someone. They are begging us as a country to save them and protect them and it is gut wrenching.

There have been some really good things, too. I have been engaging in more self-care and little things like an occasional pedicure and a facial (courtesy of my daughter and her wife). I try to have coffee with my friend, Molly, frequently and now we are adding walks and short hikes to our outings (she has always been fit – I am trying to build my stamina back.) It has been nice.

I stay in touch with our grandchildren via text and FaceTime. My daughter and my one-year-old grandson FaceTime me every morning before he goes to daycare. The older ones are very busy. The oldest will graduate from Clemson in December. The second oldest is starting her junior year at Clemson. We have two in high school, two in grade school and one in daycare. They are the joy of my life!

Since my surgery I have delved into the world of AI. Not for writing, but for education and image generation. It is interesting and I want to be knowledgeable about how it works and how the good and bad balance the other. Most of my banners you see here will be AI generated. I do not try to replicate artists and their works and I never reference artists in what I create.

We have had some cooler weather, too which has been a welcome change. Our overnight temperatures are getting down into the mid 50° F. We are finally able to open our doors and enjoy some fresh air for a change. Our dogwood leaves have turned their lovely red and it will not be long before the other trees will follow suit. I hope we have lovely fall color this year so we can take our drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and take in all the autumnal changes.

Last Saturday hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. We celebrated quietly by exchanging cards, languishing over our morning coffee and going out for a quiet dinner. Afterward we went out for ice cream which we intended to enjoy sitting on a bench on the sidewalk. It was so windy and cool so we ended up sitting in the car and enjoyed our ice cream there!

I guess the lesson is to enjoy every little moment as they come. When you turn the corner into your 70s (which we both did this year) you realize even more now precious each and every day is.

Enjoy the remainder of your week!

 

It Has Definitely Been Too Long

A few weeks ago I received a kind e-mail from Pete Johnson  asking if I was okay. It was so sweet of him to reach out and inquire about my well-being.

I am okay, but this spring and summer have been a lot. I decided to make this post to clear the cobwebs and hopefully return to a more predictable blogging schedule.

I had my knee replacement mid-April. I got through the initial recovery quickly, but this surgery has a long-term recovery period of 9-12 months before one is back to normal. In two weeks it will have been five months since my surgery. There are still areas of my knee and leg that remain numb from the nerve damage.  Hopefully most of the feeling will return eventually.

Of course after surgery there is physical therapy which kept me busy. I also had trouble with my ankle after the surgery. After X-rays it was determined I have arthritis which was most likely aggravated by the surgery. Follow that up with some shoulder problems brought on by difficult sleeping positions post surgery and we have quite a trifecta. Slowly I am recovering, back in the gym and getting out to walk and strengthen my muscles. The doctors and the physical therapist tell me I have surpassed most in my recovery so I motor on.

This year my birthday fell on Mother’s Day. It is also the day my brother passed away. Although not unexpected after his long battle with lung cancer it hit me very hard. He was the last of my siblings, the last of my nuclear family. I remain the last from a vibrant family of six. I am finding it difficult there is no one left now that knows my history and our family history besides me.

The day before my birthday, hubby invited close family and friends to help me celebrate. I am so thankful it was the day before and not the day of. This was only 3.5 weeks post surgery so I enjoyed the company as much as I could.

Three weeks after my brother died, my husband’s aunt passed away. She was the last of his mother’s siblings. It was a lot of loss in a very short time.

Without going into too much tedious detail, I will just say my family and friends all have a lot going on. Hospitalizations, surgeries, job changes, moves, etc. I am the sounding board and the shoulder for my nieces and nephews and while I can not do much rather than listen, I at least try to do that.

A few weeks ago my ex-husband passed away which was extremely stressful for my son. He was completely abandoned by his father while he apparently served as a loving father to his step-children. Again, I just listen and comfort and feel completely ill-equipped at times.

After graduating from PT for my knee, ankle, and shoulder I took a much needed three week vacation to visit my daughter and her family in Florida. It was hot, of course, but I was elated to have time with my one-year old and seven-year-old grandchildren. The time flew by.

Now I am back home trying to get back into a more regular swing of life. I am going to try to post here once a week to start and see how that goes. I have missed you all and would love for you to drop me a comment and let me know how things are going in your life.

Much love to you my friends.