* IT'S SO GOOD TO BE BACK*

Once again, I am stunned about how long it's been since I blogged.

 No excuses this time...just that I hope to post more often.

 ~~~~~

I'm happy to say that life is so much better again and not because anything extraordinary happened, but because I remembered how to...

 

Bloom Where I Am Planted!  

And I really love it when blooming includes fruit and chocolate! 

I do believe in myself.

I'm back to my old wacky self...and I DO mean OLD! 😊

                            And autumn is coming soon...my favorite season! 

 Oh, one more thing. I am thrilled to say my friend (living intentionally) 

and I are meeting for lunch next Wednesday! I'm looking so forward to it!

(I have no idea why my paragraphs aren't following my orders to post properly. 

If anyone has answers, pleat let me know!)

 

* I Haven't Been Here in Two Months! *

I am alive. Just been lazy about any kind of writing, including blogging, and just kind of depressed. 

As I read my previous post, I must confess that I haven't done anything about "living intentionally". But it did at least remind me to email my friend about lunch. 

I've been down lately. Our world is in such chaos. 

My country's leader is incompetent.

My beloved vehicle, a 2009 Equinox just shot craps and we'll have to sell it for parts. We only had about 6 more months until it was paid off. 

I want peace and harmony, the kind I can only find in my dreams...

I know that so many others have a terrible life and I feel guilty for being sad and depressed, but right now that doesn't help.

I DO have some happy news to share. Sometime after my previous post,

Ron and I adopted this sweet Beagle! His name is Spark and we call him Spark, plus Sparky, Sparkle, AND sometimes we forget and call him Charlie! 😊

Isn't he beautiful? He's only 2 years old, which is very different for us. We were going to adopt another senior dog, but this guy came to our attention, and we couldn't say no! (He reminds us so much of Charlie, and I have trouble not calling him Charlie! Spark is all beagle and Charlie was a beagle/mix.)

That's another long story, so I'll save it for another day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

• From the 1998 movie:  Pleasantville [almost at the end of the movie]
• 
  
• (David's mom) I used to think, "This was it. This is the way it was always going to be. I had the right house. I had the right car. I had the right life.""
•  (David) "There is no right house. There is no right car."
• (David's Mom) "God, my face must be a mess." [she had been crying]
• (David) "It looks great."
• (David's Mom) "Honey, it's really sweet of you, but I'm sure it does not look "great.""
• (David)  "Sure it does. Come here."
• (David's Mom)  "I'm 40 years old. I mean, it's not supposed to be like this."
• (David)  "It's not supposed to be anything. Hold still."
• (David's Mom)  "How'd you get so smart all of a sudden?"
• (David) "I had a good day."
•  ~~~~~~~~~~~
• 
  
• When I first saw this movie and ever since then, those lines made me stop and think about MY life, because many times it was up-and-down, and I'd think practically the same words as David's mom. This isn't how I saw my life years ago.

• Why did these things have to happen the wrong way, and/or why didn't other things go the right way?

* Note: One very happy item to share. Our youngest son, Mark, is coming home Sunday, the 26th to visit for a couple of weeks. Wish he could stay a lot longer, but I'm grateful to see him at all. 😊

* LIVING INTENTIONALY *

I posted this on my Facebook page earlier today 
and wanted to also share it with my blog friends. 

 I met a lovely woman almost 20 years ago, and although we haven't actually been in each other's company very often, when we do email each other it's usually because of serendipity: "I was JUST thinking of you!"

When we met, I didn't think we had anything in common, and yet we have that connection that I haven't had with many people in my life, and that's why it's so special.

We've emailed about getting together for lunch for about two years, and because of Covid and other responsibilities, it still hasn't happened.

In her latest reply, she wrote: "Let us please try to be intentional about getting together this spring/summer!"

When I first read it, that word "intentional" just sounded "nice." But after reading it a few more times, I looked up different meanings for it, and came across "intentional living," and websites and blogs all pertaining to living an intentional life. Although I'm happy 99% of the time, I'm also living by "habit", not by intention.

I'm so happy this happened to me today. Please send good vibes to me that I can begin this journey.

* SPRING - WINTER - SPRING - WINTER *

Today was a cold and dreary day, which is how the entire month of March always seems to be. As the title of this blog post says, we've had crazy weather which seems to be normal for most of the country/world. 

I love hearing the birds chirping in the mornings. That is one of the things that brings me joy. I also love to hear wind chimes, as long as they're not banging too much, as in a horrible wind storm. 

Tomorrow is April 1st. My husband always used to try to play tricks on his teenage sons. It worked for a few years, but then they got wise to him, and the jokes were gone. (He never tricked me with any of his wild stories. I knew him too well.)

I'm looking forward to long days of sunshine, warmer temperatures, the feeling of warm breezes, and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. 

Below are random photos I came across this evening, that have been posted on my blog over the years.  

I liked the way the sun and shadows looked

 on the wall and the items on the table. 

This was our living room in what we refer to now as 
"The Big House". 

A cute set of salt & pepper shakers.  

 

 

(I haven't unpacked my collection yet, 

because I have boxes left to unpack!) 

Four friends from grade school and Girl Scouts! 

Cheri, Barb, Becky & Christy

 

"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but the long and winding road has the better soundtrack." -- Robert Brault

* IT'S OUR ANNIVERSARY! *

Today is our wedding anniversary ... our 39th.

What? How can that be possible? 

It seems like 20 years ago, 

and yet in reality it's almost twice as long as that!

Ron bought me red roses, which was a wonderful surprise! 

He's certainly gotten me flowers before, 

roses, carnations, etc. but it still was a surprise.

My eye surgery was this past Monday, Feb 7th. 

It took longer than the first one on my other eye

a few years ago, but that was explained to me up front.

I go back Monday, Feb 14th for my post-op check up.

My vision is still a little "off" which was also explained. 

My eye is supposed to "relax" soon 

and my vision to be back to normal. 

I certainly hope I'll be able to see well enough

 to go back to my part-time job sometime soon. 

I'm getting a bit bored. 😀

~~~~

“A woman of vision may have lost her eyesight, but she can see afar; because through her mind, she conceives far beyond what eyes can see.”

― Gift Gugu Mona, Woman of Virtue:

 Power-Filled Quotes for a Powerful Woman

Brrr, It's Cold Outside

 It's Friday night and half the country is freezing! Our temps have been up and down and crazy, but I think our coldest was this morning. The weather icon on my cell phone said 1⁰ Fahrenheit !!

Just one little tidbit of news. My presentation for last Tuesday, the 18th, at the library was canceled due to Covid! It's a fairly small library and too many of the employees were out sick. They hope to be able to reschedule.

I hope to write another blog post soon. 

Bye for now. Stay warm if it's cold where you are. Stay cool if it's hot where you are. And stay safe and well!

“Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people's legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world.” – Sarah Addison Allen, "The Sugar Queen"

 

   

* IT'S JANUARY 10, 2022 & STILL NO SNOW! *

1) Have I mentioned I have double vision again like I did a few years ago? And did I actually tell y'all then that I had double vision??

It started for no reason (just as before), but this is different because sometimes I can see if holding my head a certain way. Last time that wasn't the case.

I got to the point recently where I didn't feel safe driving, and my neck hurt from bending it a certain way. It's a good thing I only work two days a week now, because Ron drives me to work, and picks me up to come home. (it's about 45 miles each way.)

I will have surgery (like last time) to correct the problem and I wish it was right away, but I still have an appointment for another consultation on January 24, with the surgeon. 

2) I had been scheduled to speak at our local library since before I developed the double vision...and it's next week - January 18th! I explained to the woman in charge about it and she is going to help in any way she can. I can read okay if I look straight ahead, and I intend to look at the people most of the time.

I was asked to speak because of the recent Chicken Soup for the Soul book I have a story in. The attendees will be seated at tables, and the woman in charge is bringing a crockpot of chicken soup. What a fabulous idea! 

I'm also going to have a raffle for copies of the book, and also my memoir. 

I'm looking forward to a (I hope) fun evening. I've never been nervous to speak to people before, so I hope this goes smoothly.

"Yelling really loud can sometimes ease tension…and sometimes it makes everyone else in the library jump out of their skin." – Maxine      Gotta love that Maxine!