Still here.....

I know, I know..... can you believe I would put a picture of myself on here? I've been gone so long, I thought I would let you all know that I really am still alive and well. Where have I been? Not on the computer, that' s for sure. My daughter recently moved back in with me and brought her dog and her laptop computer. The laptop is the only thing working in our house right now and I HATE using this thing.... it feels so foreign to my fingers. And.... having an extra dog in the house is keeping me even busier. Work has been busy, but better. Last weekend we traveled home for my sweet niece's wedding. It was a beautiful event and we all had a great time. My mom snapped this picture of me on the stairs at the reception location. It was a lot of fun! Congrats! to Kenny and Holly.... we love you guys!

Still here....

What a week! And it's already Sunday night... time to start another week. We had a very rough week at work this past week.... very emotional, very heartbreaking stuff! But we have to keep going! We had tornadoes in our area this week. We were able to practice our tornado drill at work, which included placing all residents in the halls with their doors closed. Most of them seemed to actually enjoy it.... a break from the monotony of nursing home life. There was a sense of excitement in the air throughout the whole ordeal. I read something today that spoke to me: When you get tired of suffering from trying to do your own will, maybe you should turn it over to God and seek His will. There is a lot going on in my world and I hope I can recognize God's will in all this! This picture was taken several years ago when we were living in Western NC. This was the view from my front porch after a big rain. If you look closely, you can see the little creek below was flooded. We have a creek running beside our house now, that also floods with heavy rains. With the bad weather we had on Wednesday, it flooded once again, but thankfully it has never risen as high as our house sits on the lot. God is good!

Goodbye Willow bench... hello memories!

Who would think that a very tired willow bench could hold so many memories? When we moved to the mountains of Western NC eleven years ago, this was one of my first purchases made there. I bought it at a flea market from a little old man dressed in overalls, whose name turned out to be Mr. West. He told me how he climbed up the mountains in search for the perfect branches for his furniture, then cut the branches, brought them down from the mountain and into his truck, where they were transported to his workshop where he made beautiful pieces of furniture and flower baskets. He was a very small framed man who didn't look strong enough to do the work he did, but he was very good at it, and made lots of beautiful pieces and sold them at the flea market. Shortly thereafter, I met a little woman who resided at the local nursing home, where I worked. Her named was Mrs. West and she had Alzheimer's Disease. Sure enough, she turned out to be the wife of the little man who made my bench. He would visit her, still dressed in his overalls, which was his everyday attire. I tried to take good care of Mrs. West and frequently tried to comfort her while she was crying for her mama to come get her. She no longer recognized Mr. West and it was difficult for him to visit her. I used to imagine what Mr. and Mrs. West's life had been before she got sick, when they were both healthy and raising their own family. An acquaintance of mine started dating a new man and eventually married him. His name was Mr. West.... yep, the son of Mr. and Mrs. West. They built a beautiful log home across the road from Mr. West's home, which was a very humble little white house, nestled at the foot of the mountain, where he continued to make willow furniture. A few years later, a very special wildlife officer, who worked for my husband, was driving down the road and noticed a truck on the side of the road, piled high with branches in the truck bed. He knew Mr. West and recognized that Mr. West was out replenishing his supply used to make furniture. He then noticed a man in overalls lying on the ground near the truck. Yes, it was Mr. West. He was not breathing and his heart had stopped. The young officer called for help and performed CPR on Mr. West, who did not survive. Mr. West had died, doing what he loved..... making furniture. My willow bench has moved with me four times since I bought it and it now sits under a tree near my back door. It is for decoration only, as it never would sit comfortably, unless it had a nice cushion on it. I inspected it closely today to find that it has rotted over the years and can not endure another move from it's current location. I will let it sit where it is for now, but when we sell our home, the bench will no longer be a part of my life. I have several pictures of my bench, so the memories will always be there..... of Mr. West, his family, and of my special time while living in the mountains of Western NC.

The dog lady

I have a best friend at work who always remembers my birhtday by giving me a gift. This year she gave me a night shirt which sports a dog theme. My friend and I have been very close friends for five years and we really have a lot in common.... except dogs. When we met, I was a lot like her, in that I would never dream of having a dog inside my house. Over the past couple of years, we have become proud parents of two wonderful pups, thanks to my dear daughter. I have to admit that I have truly fallen in love with our little guys. I'm the typical "dog lady" now, as I do tend to talk about my little guys at work and to my dear friend. She always shakes her head when I start talking about my little ones, as if she just cannot believe I am now one of "those people." This week, for my birthday, she gave me this adorable little night shirt with a few other "dog" related items. It was probably the best gift I had ever received from her, and she had a big smile on her face while watching me open my gifts. After it was all over, and she saw how happy she had made me, she replied, "You really disappoint me." hee hee So, happy birthday to the dog lady!

Snake Plant

Believe it or not, this is the first snake plant I've ever owned. This plant was part of an arrangement that someone gave to me as a going away gift when I left work a few months ago. It has been in a dark room with very little water or attention since that time. Since it was determined to live anyway, I decided to repot it and give it a new chance at living. Why have I never owned a snake plant before? I don't know... my mom has plenty of them. Did you know that another name for the snake plant is "Mother in Law Tongue"? That's funny! I hope I haven't jinxed this little plant, now that I've decided to give it a little attention. Time will tell!

Long weekend :o)

I have worked and worked and worked the past couple of weeks. Now I'm off for a four day weekend.... yay, yay, yay! Daughter and I will be going to see hubby this weekend. We will be doing a couple of things for a niece's wedding while we are there. Daughter has to pick up her dress (she is a bridesmaid) and we have a shower to attend on Sunday. I went to the doctor today, thinking I was going for my "yearly" exam. It's never that simple, is it? I will be going back in a couple weeks for more tests. I guess the older we get, the more tests they find to do. That's okay, though.... once the results come back normal, we're glad we did it! My pups have been with their "daddy" all week and I've missed them. It will be great to be with hubby and puppy babies this weekend. I hope you all have a great weekend too!

Summer Time

Do you remember how we, as kids, always looked forward to summer? No school; just many long days of playing, hanging out with friends, going to the beach, swimming, and thinking of fun things to do? Wouldn't you love to go back to those days.... just one more time? I have so looked forward to summer this year, just to realize that it is passing right before my eyes! It's been tougher than I thought, being apart from my husband during the week. We are, once again, rethinking our situation and if all goes as planned, I hope to reunite with him by late Fall, if not before. :o) Then I hope to find some of my "lost" summer days. I hope you guys are having a wonderful FUN summer!

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! I hope your day is full of fun and fireworks. One of the things I love about living in my current home is that we see free fireworks from our front yard. We don't even have to fight the traffic! We live a road over from Victory Junction Camp and get free access to their show every year. Also, we have very extravagant neighbors who put on a huge display of fireworks over their little lake just across the road. I love the peaceful feeling of pulling out a chair into the middle of the driveway, in my summer gown, with barefeet on the warm concrete, relaxing in the quiet of the night, without the crowds and noise, sipping coffee, and having my very "own" firework display. I'm looking forward to tonight. Hope you all get to see great fireworks!

My little quilt

I've had this quilt for at least 12 years. I bought it from a little flea market in a very tiny town in NC for $5. It is all sewn by hand.... the flowers, the quilt, and the quilting stitches. I have had it tucked away all this time, as I didn't want my children to "mess it up". Now get this... I brought it out over the weekend for my little dog to sleep beneath when she lies on the couch next to me. What kind of mama am I? I wouldn't let my kids touch it, but now I'm using it for my little dog??? hee hee The funny (odd) thing is, that after all these years, I noticed for the first time ever that there is embroidery on the back, that I never have seen before. It says 1984-McClung. I'm sure a Ms. McClung made it in 1984, but I think some of the fabric looks older than 1984. What do you think?

PS. My little birds flew away today! (see posts below) I was a little sad when I came home from work to find the empty nest. But that is nature... and I really enjoyed watching them while I could.

Country Living

These pictures cannot reveal the true beauty of this recently cut hayfield near my home. This field seems to go on and on, but my camera could not get a view of the whole area at once. I love these huge round bales of hay and how pretty they make a landscape look. Believe it or not, there is a pretty blonde lady who is responsible for cutting all this hay. I've seen her in several fields in the area, on her red tractor, working away in these fields, while someone else comes along with the baling machine to finish up. I'm proud of her... I have no idea who she is.
I imagine she is used to hard work and probably doesn't enjoy her work nearly as much as I enjoy seeing her handiwork. This is country living at its finest... true beauty found in what is a necessity and money maker for the farmer, yet such a pretty site for others to enjoy.
By the way, Mom, this field is just a yard or two away from our very famous neighbor. (The King of Nascar)

See how we have grown!

Look at my baby birds! There are still six in the nest and look how crowded they are! I hope they can continue to live together as they grow and that none fall out of the nest. Look at all that YUK! that I will get to clean up after they fly away. Do you think Mama bird poops on the edge of her nest? Or does part of that mess belong to the baby birds? Whatever it is, it is surely making a mess on my front door. I look forward to cleaning it!

His eye is on the sparrow....

This is what we saw on Sunday when we peeked inside the bird's nest. Lots of little feathers, with one egg not having yet hatched at this point. Now, look what I see today: Scrawny little birds packed tightly inside their very tiny nest! It 's amazing how much they have changed already!
They seem to be just flopping around in the nest... apparently, waiting for Mama bird to bring some supper in this picture. I've had new carpet put down this week and new furniture delivered today.... all without disturbing the birds. Everyone is still using either the garage door or the back door. This has been a little inconvenient to all of us, but it has truly been a gift watching these little miracles right in front of our eyes.
And you know, God not only watches over the little sparrows, but he truly watches over ME. There were fatal shootings at a nursing home this week, in our new town where hubby transferred recently. As many of you know, we decided to keep our house, and I've moved back home and resumed my former job. However, if we had not made that decision, I would have been at that very nursing home when the shootings occurred. My office would have been just down the hall. I don't think I would have been in any danger, as the shooter did not intend to take anybody's life, other than his own, his wife's, and his mother's. But I don't think my mind or my body could have handled the horrific events of that day. I turned down that job just days before returning to my current job. I pray for all those involved and I thank my dear heavenly Father that he truly watches over me!