Long Time, No Write…

Long Time, No Write…

Hello family and friends…

Sorry, I have not been very good at writing here lately.  I have no reason to excuse myself from leaving you wanting to hear from me.  I just felt like I had nothing to write about.  It is safe to say that when I do not write, that I have fallen into a mind state that makes me feel as though I just have no reason to write as no one really cares what this simple, old lady is up to.

I fell into that state of mind while I was trying to go though the remaining boxes from the house I sold at the end of the year.  I have been doing OK, getting the things sorted and either placed somewhere in the house, given away to folks who can better use them or tossing the things that were beyond the point where anyone would want them.  I have cleared all but two boxes off the deck and I have reclaimed my kitchen.  The rest of the house, not so much but after writing this, I am heading into the bedroom to try to get rid of the clutter there.  I still have stuff in the garage and in the bed of the pickup…. But that is all that is that remains.

The hard part is when I run into something that belonged to Rudy.  Since I was unable to do all of the sorting and packing before the boxes arrived here, each box presents the possibility of coming across something that belonged to or was used by Rudy when we were at Indian Acres.  I was really going great guns.  Boxes on the deck, boxes in the kitchen and then a couple of boxes in the Living Room.  And then…. There they were… a simple, gold Timex watch and a 50 tape ruler (the one that was used to correctly separate the cornhole boxes for parties).  Stopped me in my tracks.  These were items that he always had either on his wrist or in his pocket/toolbox so he was ready to measure, at a moment’s notice, something that needed to be built or repaired.  Stupid simple things, but had tears streaming down my face and I have just not been able to get into any new boxes. 

I have been finding it difficult to remove myself from my recliner (Molly is very happy) and the daily  round of tears have gone from torrents to the occasional glistening, so I am better.  Thank goodness for my ever-growing  list of activities.  I am going to church every Sunday and have been helping in some of the extra activities there.  The Lions Club has me out at least twice a month.  I have joined a Widows and Widowers group that meets for breakfast once a month.  I have also found a quilting guild that meets monthly and I am thoroughly enjoying working with these new friends.  I am still the Secretary for PABA (Parkesburg Area Business Association) and we were in the Memorial Day Parade here in Parkesburg.  I have been sewing some.

One of the things I have done is to hire a lawn service to mow my grass.  I was spending close to an hour and half to just mow my grass.  By the time I was done, I had no energy to do the trimming.  That, plus my right knee is getting harder and harder to do lots with, so the trimming was not getting done and I had tall grasses in some areas of the lawn.  So I hired the Cochranville Lawn Services and every week they come by.  The one mower can unload, mow the ¾ acre yard (hills and all), trim all over AND blow the clippings off the driveways/sidewalks with 30 to 35 minutes.  I should have done that to begin with, but no more buying gas, making sure the tractor is running and finding time when the grass is not too tall is a wonderful thing, allowing me to have more time to work on my other projects.

I am getting ready to go on another road trip.  I will be heading out the middle of July with Molly and we will be driving west.  After a night in Cleveland we will arrive in Lake Villa, IL which is just outside of Chicago.  My cousin, Linda, and her husband, Dave, live there.  Linda is only 6 days older than I am, so we always grew up being compared to each other by our mothers who were sisters.  She has always lived in Illinois.  I have lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Since becoming adults, we have not seen each other much and when we have, it has been for just a couple of hours or a quick overnight.  This time, I will be staying in the area for two full days.  Linda has promised some quilt shop visits and some relaxing time with wines as we celebrate our birthdays.  Then I will head north to Minneapolis to spend a little over a week with my youngest son, Brian.  I already have boxes started so I do not forget the small stuff.  It will be my first road trip with the van so I will have plenty of room for the things I want to take.  I have a web site that is set up where I will post pictures and descriptions as I travel.  If you have not received the link already and would like to follow along, just email me and I will send you a link.

Upon returning I will be going into doctor mode.  As I mentioned, I am having knee issues.  My right knee is the worst one, but the left is not far behind.  I had X-rays of the right one last week and the report was not good.  It seemed to be a surprise to my primary but not me.  I will be scheduling an MRI, hopefully before I leave for the trip, and then set up an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon after I get back to be further evaluated and see what the next step will be.  I will keep you all informed.  Just as long as, if surgery is in the future, that I am back on my knees by the October trip to the Outer Banks!

So, I am back.  Maybe not daily, but I will try to do a better job.