Thoughts On Life & Death

This month has been hard, saying goodbye. This week has been hard. Two untimely deaths. Young people-that struggled with life.
This poem came across FB from Maurice Hagar, & it is a comfort to me.
Thank you, Evangeline Paterson.





I used to think--
loving life so greatly--
that to die would be
like leaving a party
before the end.
Now I know that the party
is really happening
somewhere else;
that the light and the music--
escaping in snatches
to make the pulse beat
and the tempo quicken--
come from a long way
away.
And I know too
that when I get there
the music will never
end.

August Happenings

Here it is a year & a half since quitting my Hallmark part time job, & I'm still struggling with what to do with myself. I don't have much motivation to clean all day, although with Seth & Cameron's help, we have cleaned out the garage this summer:)! No creative muse has overtaken me, but I am addicted to my laptop, checking emails & Facebook, and reading:)
Keith & I are trying to walk/bike as many mornings as we can. Through the summer we've been searching for & going to free evening outdoor concerts in the area--great fun:)

We're just back from a special vacation to Beaver Falls, Pa. to visit Jean & Ken, and especially Mom. Skye & Ben came up from Johnson City, Tenn., Cameron & Jen stopped in for two nights on their way to Canada, & Denny & Nancy came down from Wis.! Wish Seth & Kelley could have come, but otherwise we couldn't have planned any better to have a family reunion. (Only Kendall & Kristen & Korey, Molly, & Bryce, along with Seth & Kelley, were missing)

On our way home we stopped overnight in Harper's Ferry, which is a national park in the triad area of West Va., Maryland, & Va. We walked around the area for about an hour & a half:) The town is located at the scenic confluence of the Shenandoah River & the Potomac.

In November Keith's niece Molly is getting married, so we're excited about that:) And today Keith's nephew Kendall & his wife Kristen had their second child, a little girl, Kallie Mae! Her brother Korey will be tickled to welcome her:)

Skye's moving into another apartment not far from her present one. She may be re-located by the weekend. Glad she'll have a more up to date place-with AC & a good heater!:)

The weather's been nice this summer...warm a few days, then mild a few days. And the rain's been plentiful:) Everything is a beautiful shade of green:) The crepe myrtles are bending over with bountiful blossoms....blessed:)

How I Love October!

“Anne reveled in the world of color about her.

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills?”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

September Visit With Skye

Saturday, August 31st, Keith & I packed up & headed to Johnson City, Tennessee, to see Skye & check out her new town:) We hadn't seen her since May, so it was time!
The photo to the left was taken as we passed through Boone where she lived for 4 years & loved every minute. I've always loved that place too so it was sad not to be stopping:/

After meeting Skye & boyfriend Ben at her apartment(right on Main Street), we drove to Jack's Grill for lunch. The photo of the ceiling was taken here. Everything is so colorful & unique! A feast for the eye. And the food was a feast too--very good:)

Since the weather looked threatening, Skye & Ben thought we'd like to see Jonesborough, a historical town about 20-30 minutes from downtown JC. We checked out a few stores & a museum, then decided it was time for Keith & me to check in at the Red Roof Inn in JC--& get a nap before supper:)

In the evening we met at Cootie Brown's, where we ate outside & enjoyed the nice cool evening.
Sunday we met for brunch at Perkins. This Perkins looked pretty new & everybody was friendly:) Their pancakes are wonderful wherever:)
Next we drove out to Erwin to check out a railroad museum. We found the museum but it was closed. Still, Keith had fun taking pictures of a train working behind the depot. Then we drove a "back" way back into Johnson City. Skye & Ben checked out our motel room then we parted ways to rest before supper. In the evening we met at Logan's Roadhouse, where Ben's parents joined us--Dan & Terry. We really enjoyed visiting with them. Could have stayed longer, but it was getting late.



Monday morning we packed up & checked out, then met Skye at Hardee's for a late breakfast before heading home. Ben had said his goodbyes the night before. We stayed for a while & talked, then said our goodbyes. It was so good to see her & see her in her element:) Hoping all goes well with her in this nice Tennessee mountain town:)

September/Fall

“That old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air ... Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year's mistakes had been wiped clean by summer.”
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

Our RV Vacation With D&N

Just back from a big "Go West" RV vacation with Keith's brother & sister in law Denny & Nancy. Our ride was a huge Greyhawk RV.

Keith & I flew up to Milwaukee Friday, May 24th, where Denny & Nancy met us. Saturday we picked up the Greyhawk, packed up, & headed West. We crossed the Mississippi River, traveled through Nebraska, & crossed the Missouri River.

Our first night out we camped at a KOA in Nebraska. It rained all night. The next day we drove by the Corn Palace, in Mitchell, S.D., an amazing building covered in corn & corn husks. A unique idea & surprisingly well done!

Next stop, Wall Drug. We bought some delicious donuts for breakfast the next morning--& Keith found Annie Oakley!

From there we entered the Badlands of S.D. Beautiful sandcastles rising out of the grassy plains. Before scouting out the Badlands we toured the Minuteman Missle Site nearby. The photo here shows Phil, our enthusiastic & fact-filled tour guide. He was so good! Check out: http://www.travelsd.com/Attractions/Minuteman-Missile-National-Historic-Site
This was one of my favorite & most informative sites!

Afterward we hiked a bit through some of the Badlands trails, ate supper at the National Park cafe, then camped right outside the park at Interior Campground. The wind howled through the night. I really thought we might be blown away. Didn't bother anybody else, it seems?:/

After having a wonderful supper at The Longhorn in Rapid City, S.D., we camped at Horse Thief Campground in the Black Hills. A chilly night, but a pretty site with a nice bathhouse--very important:) The following day we headed to Mr. Rushmore:) Such a beautiful place! Denny, Nancy, & I enjoyed a hike underneath the carved figures (lots of steps), while Keith stayed at the amphitheater to take photos. Next we drove to the Crazy Horse Monument, which was begun in 1948. Impressive, but it will take years to finish.

The next night we camped right outside of Custer State Park, at Custer's Gultch RV Park & Campground. The following morning we drove into Custer State Park & ate breakfast at Blue Bell Lodge, a beautiful log cabin style lodge with fabulous food:) Our favorite dining spot of our trip:)
After leaving the lodge we drove through miles & miles of the State Park seeing buffalo, pronghorn deer, & hundreds of prairie dogs--rolling grass-covered prairie as far as the eye could see.
Before leaving Custer State Park we checked out the cabin of Badger Clark, S.D.'s first poet laureate. He lived a simple solitary life, never married, yet loved people & traveled throughout the U.S. often.
Then Nancy, our scout & weather-watcher, checked her radio, & realized we needed to turn south because of threatening storms & possible flash flooding. So, we altered our route toward Hot Springs, S.D., where we camped for the night at the local KOA. A rainy night, the beginning of our weather turning gray & rainy & wind:/

Our next destination; Fort Robinson State Park in Nebraska. We toured the museum, the officers' living quarters, & ate supper in the dining hall. That night we stayed at Eagle Rest Campground, my least favorite spot of the trip:/ The next day we started back east through Nebraska & Iowa, as cloudy skies & rain & wind led the way. We camped in Sioux City the following night. I was so glad to see civilization again, city girl that I am. We arrived back in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, Saturday afternoon.

Heading further south we stopped at The Museum of the Fur Trade (www.furtrade.org) in Chadron, Nebraska, located on the original site of James Bordeaux' trading post. Beautifully decorated beaded Indian outfits were my favorites. This place was chocked full of rifles, guns, everything the early settlers & Indians used & traded. Also had a nice gift/book shop, something I had trouble finding in our travels. Items in various shops along our route were too pricey or too cheap, from Pendleton blankets to plastic water globes:/ Found some pretty silver jewelry here:)


One neat stop I forgot to mention, in southern S.D., was in a small railroad town in the middle of nowhere, Edgemont. It was raining pretty hard. We decided to get dessert late morning (crazy:)) & found a little cafe open. The owner had just baked a chocolate cake, so 3 of us had cake & coffee & hot tea. Keith had a brownie. The owner, nice & friendly, sat down & talked a while:) A special side trip:)

Nancy, our guide & map-reader & weather gal:)She's always thinking ahead:) And Denny was a trooper to drive most of our trip:)
We really enjoyed spending time with them:)

Monday evening I began feeling bad, had chills. I was very tired but figured it was normal after all our traveling. We packed. Tuesday Nancy drove us back to Milwaukee to catch our flight to Atlanta, then to Raleigh. I felt pretty funky the whole day but made it home ok. By Wednesday I was really sick, especially suffering with sweats. Friday Keith finally got me to the doctor. She diagnosed me with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Keith & I were both shocked. I'll never know when I was bitten by an infected tick, but I am so grateful for a doctor who recognized my symptoms & gave me Doxycycline, a miracle drug. (My mama's sister Margarette died of RMSF in the 1920's before Doxycycline) Even weeks later I haven't fully recovered, but am doing better. Was it a souvenir of my trip? Or was it a NC tick? It'll be a mystery.

May Day

But winter lingering chills the lap of May.
Oliver Goldsmith
Posting this as we welcome in May with cool temps & late blooming azaleas. The trees have just put out their finest greenery in the last week.

April Ponderings

Here it is, Sunday, April 7th.
I no longer work part time, I no longer work (away from home):P
I've retired & and am working on recuperating...
I've spent two & a half weeks recovering from arthroscopic surgery & tomorrow is my post operation appointment with Dr. Boes. My big push to have surgery, after suffering a torn meniscus in Dec., was to return to walking an hour a day to stave off the diabetes nipping at my heels:/

My well worn couch has become my friend & my enemy; I need it, but am tired of it:/ I've lived there for a while. Even now the aching knee needs to be elevated often.
I haven't slept well since--two or three pillows placed here & there, tossing & turning to get comfy, 2 Tylenol & wishing before morning I had more--you get the idea.
Physical therapy is probably a given after tomorrow so am hopeful that will strengthen the joint muscles & relieve the pain.

But now I'm looking ahead, & what will I do with this time the Lord has given me. Definitely walking if all goes well, & what else....facing a different season in my life:/

Every day I'm looking through a new window:)

Love

Abide With Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

A New Month

“Slayer of the winter, art thou here again?
O welcome, thou that bring'st the summer nigh!
The bitter wind makes not the victory vain.
Nor will we mock thee for thy faint blue sky.”

William Morris

March holds the promise that winter's days are numbered:)
This photograph was taken last March along the Slippery Rock Creek in western Pa.:)

Blog Update/Retirement

I have an update to my last post. I am retiring February 28th. Change is one of my least favorite things to go through, but the time is right to say goodbye to my "Cardland Career":) I've worked with these two ladies in the above photo the entire 7 & 1/2 years. Yvonne, as manager, Toni, as my co-worker & our engineering expert:) Love these girls:) Yvonne is retiring the 28th as well, which she's been planning for a while, even dreaming of for as long as I've known her:) She's leaving to move to Lake Norman to be near her grands:) So her leaving nudged me to make my decision:)

This is one of our special events with two more dear co-workers & friends, Rose & Jane:) Rose was our assistant manager for a short time, then left to manage the Hallmark store at Cary Towne Center. Jane is the Tigger of our group--our sunshine gal that brightened our lives every workday. She was our assistant manager until October when she left to return to family life & anticipate grandmotherhood!

Teresa, Kristi, & Shirley, three more wonderful co-workers:)

Last Sunday evening, February 17th, a number of us who have worked together through the years at Beaver Creek congregated at Brenda C.'s home to celebrate Yvonne's retirement & to show how much we've appreciated her:) We've truly enjoyed working with one another & for Yvonne:) I've been blessed over & over to work with so many nice, unique, & gifted ladies. I will miss y'all:)

What Will 2013 Bring?

January of a new year is drawing to a close, so quickly! Last year I had lung surgery & Keith had a quadruple bypass surgery. This year I'm nursing a bad knee. My left knee, suffering with a torn meniscus & arthritis, is defining my daily activities. I have yet to return to an eight hour workday at my part time job because of pain. This week I discussed my health issues with my family doctor. She says my diabetes is my most important concern-since I can't walk 3 miles a day my sugar levels have risen far too high-that I need to call my orthopedic doctor to find out how soon it will be till I can return to walking, or consider arthroscopic surgery. (Amazingly, miraculously, I hadn't gained weight while resting the knee over the holidays!) Also, I had been pondering whether to quit my job. My wonderful manager is retiring & moving to Charlotte. My dear co-worker & assistant manager, Jane, quit in October to become a grandmother/babysitter for a grandchild. The knee has been one more reason to get serious about it. It may be time. I feeling more & more there are other things to concentrate on at this point in my life. Will keep you posted.

Wintertime

“When the cold comes to New England it arrives in sheets of sleet and ice. In December, the wind wraps itself around bare trees and twists in between husbands and wives asleep in their beds. It shakes the shingles from the roofs and sifts through cracks in the plaster. The only green things left are the holly bushes and the old boxwood hedges in the village, and these are often painted white with snow. Chipmunks and weasels come to nest in basements and barns; owls find their way into attics. At night,the dark is blue and bluer still, as sapphire of night.”

Alice Hoffman - Here on Earth

Alice here describes winter so beautifully. I feel I'm in the midst of the gray & colorless chilly days of the year. Yet this morning we saw above snow-blanketed Pittsburgh a brilliant red-orange sunrise, then sapphire colored mountains through West Virginia. What a reminder to me winter isn't always drab & dull:)

Christmas has passed. Today is New Year's Eve. I'm facing another possible surgery in the beginning of the new year (as I was doing this time last year!)?

What's in store for 2013? Time will tell.

But I know God is guiding & leading me so I will strive to keep my eyes on Him.

Blessings to all:)

Thanksgiving

From C.S. Lewis:

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with. . . .

If it were possible for a created soul fully . . . to 'appreciate', that is to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme beatitude. . . . To see what the doctrine really means, we must suppose ourselves to be in perfect love with God - drunk with, drowned in, dissolved by, that delight which, far from remaining pent up within ourselves as incommunicable, hence hardly tolerable, bliss, flows out from us incessantly again in effortless and perfect expression, our joy is no more separable from the praise in which it liberates and utters itself than the brightness a mirror receives is separable from the brightness it sheds. The Scotch catechism says that man's chief end is 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.' But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.

The Calm Before The Storm

Today is a chilly Saturday--too cold to think about leaf raking or biking. And I'm feeling quite unmotivated.

After posting on FB that I was looking into buying a treadmill, my cousin sent over, via hubby Max, an exercise machine she no longer used. Knowing Max would be here by 10 am I slept in til 7:45, walked Wyatt & vacuumed & mopped the kitchen.
This machine is a flex 'something or other'. I'm not sure it's what I want but, since Beth was so gracious, I will try it:)
Max is such a friendly fella:) We always enjoy seeing him so we visited for a while.

After getting a few birthday cards in the mail & folding a small load of clothes, I decided to enter Keith's mom's Thanksgiving recipes into my computer--wonderful recipes I don't want to lose, like how she cooks a turkey & her wonderful potato salad dressing & many others:) Mom was a great cook & she misses it now that's she lives in a tiny studio apartment:)

Keith began working on our Christmas letter. I wasn't sure I wanted to send cards/a letter this year, but in the last week or two have changed my mind. Figured with the letter written & printed before Thanksgiving, along with paring down the address list, I could get them out without too much worry.

I asked Keith earlier if he'd be interested in actually going to see a movie this evening! We never go to a theater, relying on our Netflix movies, but I'd like to see the new James Bond movie, Skyefall, on the big screen! Keith's pondering it. Duke, State, & Wake Forest all play football at 3:30, so we may watch one of those while he's still considering...

After Thanksgiving I'm going to wish I had this calm "day off before the holidays" back! I'll have to get in high gear to get everything accomplished that I'd like to have done. (My work schedule will go to 5 days a week beginning in December) I've been begging for a Christmas list from my kids, but they aren't really motivated yet:)
Keith just handed me the addresses to sort through so, better get busy:)!

PS. Decided at the last minute to see the movie Argo--a good movie, a great true story of rescue.

An October Saturday

Blog, I have abandoned you lately. So here's a short note:)

Today I'm loving our mild fall-like weather in central NC:) Slept in. Walked Wyatt along Shepherd's Vineyard's leaf strewn green way. For breakfast had Harvest Loaf pumpkin bread with a cup of hot coffee. Then vacuumed, dusted & washed clothes.
Now am watching the Wake Forest/UVA football game. 

Keith blew mounds of leaves earlier, between computer blitzes. 

Nice to have a day without plans once in a while:) 

If I can't be in the mountains, then give me a laid back Saturday watching football, baseball, or basketball:) And now & then a bike ride:)

My Favorite Season:)

“I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it.” 
― Lee Maynard

A Labor Day For Skye--A Journal.

Over Labor Day Weekend Keith & I loaded up the Cruiser with our luggage, plus a chair for Skye, and headed to Boone & West Jefferson. On a trip home a few weeks ago Skye & I had found an inexpensive reading chair for her new larger bedroom.

The chair's a Queen Anne upholstered in a blue floral polished cotton--it's in perfect condition. And I didn't even take a photo of it--oops:(

She & friend Ian are renting a neat fifties era cottage  located at the end of a winding curvy road overlooking the App Campus. In the winter, the view should be spectacular!

The next job, after delivering the chair, was to buy Skye a new mattress, then do some shopping.
The mattress was found easily. Then she decided on a platform bed rather than a boxspring. That meant Keith and Skye needed to assemble the bed. Ian tip-toed around, staying conveniently out of the way, as the two of them worked most of the afternoon into early evening. (Ian did provide tools:))

After eating supper at a local bar and grill, Keith & I said goodnight to Skye, and struck out for the cabin in West Jefferson where we were staying through the weekend.

After spending a relaxing Sunday morning checking email, watching TV, eating breakfast, we got our showers then drove into Boone to meet Skye to shop for sheets, etc., at Walmart, the big store in town. For lunch we ended up at Jimmy John's:) Next stop was Blowing Rock and the Tanger Outlets. After wearing ourselves out we vegged and napped at Skye's house til supper. Keith and Skye convinced Ian to eat with us:) Keith voted for Chili's. It was neat to visit with Ian. After dropping Skye & Ian back at their house, we were ready to get back to "our" cabin and rest.

Monday, Keith & I enjoyed another quiet calm morning---aaahh, so nice. The mountains were covered in fog and a light rain. But after a while we had to get in gear to pack and clean before closing up our "home away from home". We'd made plans to meet Skye and boyfriend Ben for an early lunch before heading back down the mountain.

One of our favorite Boone breakfast places is Sunrise Grill:) We waited in line to get a table, which is pretty normal there. It's a tiny spot, but the food is so delicious! I had cranberry walnut french toast with raspberry drizzle:) It was really neat to see Ben again and get to know him a bit more. Since he works in a restaurant  it's hard for him to get off work to drive to Boone. We  appreciated his effort:) So did Skye:(!

A great weekend with our Skye Girl:)

She's got a decent paying job while she looks for a job closer to her field, she and Ian love their cozy place, she has a new chair and a new full size bed, plus she and Ben see each other almost every week.
Whew.
I think she's settling in:)
Life is good:)