YES, I'M BACK!

Did you miss me? I missed you all...

I know, it's been a long time since I've posted here. The last few years have been hectic for me, what with babysitting the grandkids and taking care of my mother. I'm a writer by trade and a crocheter and crafter by choice, so in order to have enough time for both, something had to give. That something was blogging.

Well here we are nearly 3/4 of the way through 2020, and with all the virus stuff and political hoohah, I find myself wanting to just de-stress by concentrating on the positive things in life. I used to do that by gardening and cooking. Unfortunately, disability via degenerative spine and moderate to severe osteoarthritis have made it hard for me to stand longer than 15 minutes, climb, walk any distance, or bend and lift. For the most part I've had to give up all but the simplest garden chores like seed starting, potting plants, and offering advice to my more able helpers. I can still cook, but not standing at a stove, so I've gotten some appliances that allow me to cook sitting down. Plus I have a lot of help. So I get by, and while life for me has changed, it's still very rich and filled with creativity and wonder.

In 2011, the other half and I bought an old farm some miles from the family homestead. After we moved here my sons, DIL, and grandkids now have our old house. My mother was supposed to move with us but the bedrooms needed work, and that became expensive. Her Vascular Dementia diagnosis in late 2013 put an end to that idea, as we as a family felt she'd be happier and safer in the house where she had lived in with us permanently since 1985. The intervening years had their ups and downs, but we made the most of it, though sometimes it was hard on everyone. In March of 2019, my mother passed away. I had been part time caretaker for her and I handled all the arrangements and dealt with the endless stream of paperwork and things that had to be done. I had help from family but it was still overwhelming, and frankly it took a lot out of me. It took me that entire year to get myself together.

This year started out great, with lots of promise, and the then the death of a close friend followed by the Covid-19 virus made everything complex. I have no idea if any of us ever had it, but we took all the precaustions we needed to regardless. My husband is 71 and still working full time, I'm 63, and we have a 58 year old heart patient (co-blogger Lee Houston Jr.) living with us. Protecting our health and that of our family was paramount. This was the first year that both the two younger grandkids were in full time school, and that got cut short. They did distance learning and we avoided visiting one another until we felt that things had settled down enough for it to be safe. I had to cancel and reschedule a bunch of routine tests and doc appointments and I'm finally getting them done over the last month or so. Because I can't stand long in lines, other people are doing my shopping for me. It's been a big adjustment, but the bottom line here is my family is safe and healthy, and the state of Connecticut, which had a big outbreak that started in the western half of the state, has seriously flattened the curve of infection.

My heart goes out to all the grieving families all over our country and the world, who have lost loved ones and could not be there to either share those final moments or see them interred. It's been a agonizing year for so many. I understand your pain, and you are in my prayers.

My other half did try and plant a garden this year, and I was the advisor. Between work and his own health issues, it got away from him. We have had some fresh veggies, but it's a tangle of weeds and the critters have been getting in. So no pictures of that mess this year! I will say, I had really missed those garden grown, vine ripened tomatoes and I've been gorging on them. You can't buy one that juicy and tasty. I have some plants in pots up by the house, and planted a few for (or with) the two youngest grandkids for their own house. They also now know that food can grow in your yard and taste really, really good. The fruit trees and blackberry/raspberry canes, and blueberry bushes that we planted years ago are still there and they get a little something out of those each year. It's important that children know that the food that we buy starts out in some patch of soil somewhere (or a hydroponic setup maybe). Self-sufficiency skills have always been important to me, so along with the gardening, I've shown the kids that some things can be repaired rather than replaced. I've also introduced them to various crafting projects. As time permits I will be posting pictures of some of the things we've created as well as things they made, toys I repaired, handmade dolls and costume bits, and various other projects we have done.

My youngest son Brian has gotten interested in both woodworking and forging, and he's been making handmade knives and giving them as gifts. He made me a lovely wrought iron hook with a heart for Mother's Day. The little grandkids have helped to paint some of the wooden projects, and they are getting good at creating homemade greeting cards. I get paintings all the time. We've done a lot of beading projects, some scratchboard, and just sat and drawn things or made Play-Doh creations. Legos are another creative toy they both enjoy. The youngest granchild, Terralyn can't get enough school, so she bugs me to be the teacher even after a full day of classes. She also loves to sing. Fridays are generally my day to visit them, and I try and come prepared for just about anything.

So you will be seeing a lot of random things posted here over the next few weeks. I have a lot of catching up to do. Writing keeps me busy most weekdays and any weekends where we don't have some big project or the immediate family over. But I'm still busy being creative, and that's not going to stop until the day I pass to the other side of the veil of life. Hopefully that is a loooong way off, because I have plenty more I want to do first!

Be well,

~NANCY