We had our indian summer this weekend, glorious days filled with warm sunshine. Although I went out to the beach for a bit yesterday I didn't take any photographs - just sat in my chair thinking, contemplating, taking it all in. There's definitely a different feel to being out there at this time of year, and many of the people who had come out were having fun, playing amid the snow fences the DNR is in the process of putting up; 'IT' is coming as much as I do not want to face it.

My photo, above, was taken while I was in Florida, a different atmosphere there too during the week although the weekends still bring out crowds of people. I enjoy the solitude so much.

...but I'm not quite ready,

so off to Florida for a couple weeks.

{photo taken when I was there this past April}

good-bye summer xoxo

The other day being a gloomy one I spent some time browsing around a favorite antique mall, here a few of the treasures I picked up. The small ledger book was used as a diary, unfortunately just a few pages of entries and no author attributed. However, I find this one fascinating, a peek into history:

"War ended Nov. 11, 1918. It ws the 11 mo. 11 da. & 11 hr. peace was signed. Lake Linden* had a big celebration, stores closed, mills, etc. Large parade in the afternoon. In the evening the C. & H. made a bonfire at the Caledonia park, crowds of people were present, 3 bands played & everybody singing & shouting. The bonfire consisted of 100 bbls. of oil & on the very top they had the kaiser & the crown prince displayed."

*Lake Linden a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan).

And, in case anyone (?!!) reading this wonders why I am not working, I am waiting for the call to see if I am to go in this afternoon - my doctor has been on jury duty for the past week and a half. Supposedly, hopefully, things were to have wrapped up sometime today.

Cathy & I gave our nephew's fiance a shower on sunday - where I got stung by the bee as I was loading up the car to go home. This is the thank-you I received this afternoon, a cookie bouquet of buzzing bees! She didn't even know about the incident! Too cute.

Red Flag

Yesterday was just a red flag kind of day. High winds at the Lake made it impossible to sit and relax at the beach. I was stung by a bee, a big bumblebee, on the shoulder and today the hurt and swelling tremendous. Lots of antihistamines have me so groggy that's all I wanted to do was sleep in the sun, unfortunately it didn't happen there.

Life has a way of getting away from one, especially when difficulties make going forward a very hard upward battle. It's having to dig deep to find the real meaning in the everyday that I'm trying to recall. Onward, I hope!

This photo taken at the Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park a few weeks ago following my neice's wedding there, my youngest son Joe and I.

The package may not look the same as it once did, but inside I am still young at heart! How did this day get here so fast?!!

Happy Thanksgiving

(postcard to Mr. J. S. Glen in West Toledo, Ohio, from Harry in Chicago, Illinois. Reads, "Very best of wishes ahd hope you and all enjoy the occasion immensely and partake plentifully of the famous bird." Postmarked November 21, 1921 at 11pm.)

and the other engagement!

My nephew, Dan, and his fiance, Sarah, will wed next August - aren't they cute?!! Sarah faced alot a few years back when she was stricken with a serious medical emergency as many of my CollageCat art friends may remember as they rallied to send her some wonderful art pieces to decorate her hospital room and lift her spirits. She still talks about the generosity of that with me and how much lifted her spirits.

the night before...

...getting ready for tomorrow!

It's been a long time, two months, since I have blogged. My world turned upside down about that time, and although I know there are far, far worse things going on in the world than what I am dealing with, nevertheless the challenges I face are my own, the disappointment and heartache that which I have to live with every day. With that I have had to focus as much of my energy as I possibly can on my new job and career, and it has left little time for much else - to say I've been exhausted, both mentally as well as physically, an enormous understatement.

So I decided taking time off for a weekend up north last week was exactly what I needed as I continue to try to clear my head and heart and deal with keeping this old battery charged. My boss gave me keys to his cottage for a few days when I'd asked for a friday off, and I delightedly accepted his generous offer (well, to interject, he thought they were keys to the place, but we had to actually break in!). It was the last amazing weekend of the season, the weather in the 80's for the whole of it, so wonderfully warm we actually swam in Lake Michigan - in October (absolutely unheard of in the nearly 50 years I have been alive, anyway). We had a very few sprinkles of rain, not enough to keep us inside, and this picture I took as we walked down the beach saturday afternoon. That moment served to remind me that even when life seems to be darkest, with hope and faith, it can, and will, get better.

I am not going to let him defeat me, not again.

engaged!

My niece, Becca, (our only girl), is a doctoral student (microbiology) at the University of California at Davis. She and her artist boyfriend, Chris, had some vacation time and took a trip north, up the coast, where he proposed at Crater Lake this past weekend! They plan on marrying next summer at one of the Lake Michigan beaches. There will be two weddings next summer as her brother and his fiance (Dan & Sarah), are in the planning stages for theirs, to be held next August. Happy times, as we open our hearts to two wonderful kids and expand our family.

I am an optimistic person. I do believe in signs. That said, I don't know what kind of day must be ahead that I wake up with the words to the most annoying song on the planet running through my mind, "achey breaky heart" - what the ?!!?! It doesn't bode well, I don't think.

****must have been the $439 vet bill, the rest of the day was great! Thankfully it was mostly preventive maintenance stuff I was paying for, along with the chronic floppy-ear syndrome-type ear infections he is prone to which require swabs and tests and cleaning fluids and medications to make my little guy comfy and healthy. All a day in the life.

3 things

Three things I am crazy about: stones, shells, & books. These two clever books are so adorable and artistic, with simple sweet stories. I can certainly relate to the message of infatuation, who doesn't come home from the lake or ocean (and bookstore!) with as much as you can carry - well, I do! The stones in this picture were picked up along Lake Superior this past fall, the shells, some of them from Sanibel I know, the little tan one in the forefront of the pile had a hole in it when I found it way, way back when (high school) so it seemed perfect worn on a chain, which I did sometimes in the summer. As for the books, they are written by a very talented Tracy Gallup and picked up at B&N, one a month or so ago, the other today. Simple, simple pleasures, just the best.

let's hear it for 'chick flicks'! This is a beautiful movie.

it's raining, it's pouring...

...and god knows we need it, but come on, it's saturday! And it's only 66 degrees - inside my house on a July morning, sigh.

not so good ideas
~clean the house.
~organize the art room.
~purge.

good ideas
~socks.
~coffee (lots).
~stacks of magazines (started perusing old issues of ME Home Companion at 3:30am - seemed like a good idea at the time and one to continue now it's so dark and dreary).
~a nap under the covers.

better ideas
~if Yesterdog delivered.
~if my new Netflix movies had arrived.
~someone to play with.
~that nap.

birthday party!

We (Cathy, Dad & Karen, Peggy & Kevin, and I) went to the first Grand Rapids Symphony Pops concert of the season tonight at Cannonsburg to celebrate my sister Cathy's birthday - as you can see from the first photo as we picnicked it was a gorgeous evening. That is right up until just before intermission when the sky reminded me of the one in The Wizard of Oz just before Dorothy's house was picked up and spun away (fittingly the program was Sci-Fi music, and the orchestra was playing the theme from Star Wars when this blew up)! Thus the evening ended earlier than expected as the place tried to empty out before the storm hit. However, as we were waiting in the parking lot to exit, a gorgeous rainbow appeared!! Had to snap a picture of her (and her new car she just got yesterday) as it seemed another birthday surprise just for her! This picture was shot well before the time the sun actually goes down - you can see how dark and ominous things were, luckily we didn't get but a few sprinkles of rain on us out there. Here at home it appears the heavens let loose.

they all seem to run together - ahh, summer!

it seems i am posting all out of sequence these days, but isn't that what summer is all about - a wonderful blur of fun! here's what my 07/07/07 looked like, complete with a picnic from a perfect vantage point for another perfect sunset which was to come (in mylifetime i will never get enough of them)!

Had a health scare last week, entered the hospital in an ambulance and spent the night. Upshot my potassium level was very very low, and the symptoms I suddenly started to experience mimicked what I've always associated with stroke. Thankfully they were able to put me on an IV and get it to a normal level and there are no permanent repercussions. And as you can see from the last post, I was able to go on and celebrate the holiday just wonderfully. I am very pale this summer which put a bit of a scare into my sons when they first saw me thinking it was due to being sick, however, being I've been studying and working thus little free time and no pool as we'd been accustomed to all their lives I am undergoing quite a change in lifestyle. It hopefully a very healthy and long one!

I am being gently chided to eat more bananas now from all concerned - it will take more than that but I appreciate the thoughts!