Goals For 2026

Well folks, it's time to start thinking about making New Year's resolutions! 

Geez, I dislike that phrase! Resolutions? They are made and then promptly forgotten. 

                            I say we ''Set Goals" instead.

Goals keep us focused, on task, and gives us such satisfaction at their completion.

                             Here's my Goals for 2026

1. Finish that book I am writing and get it published. I'm about half-way through when I just quit! So onward, I go!

2. Exercise more. I've never liked exercise but I know I need it now more than ever. So, onward I go with that goal as well.

3. Learn something new each week. Anything from a new word to a new skill. Learning keeps us young and connected. 

4. Finish reading the Bible from cover to cover. I am almost there.

                            What are your Goals For 2026? 

That's It, Folks!!

 Christmas is gone... for most people. 

For me, alone on Christmas Day, I just pretended it was not a holiday. It was just Thursday!! 

Our Christmas will be celebrated on Jan. 3rd. Shirley says she's sure she will feel up to it. She's getting better every day now.

So, I got up, said 'Merry Christmas' to myself. Fixed me some breakfast then I dragged out my watercolors. I figured painting was a good way to kill some time. 

Well, that's done!

Hmmmm.... it's not even 1 p.m. what shall I do with the rest of my day?

I turned on Netflix and started watching 'It's All Her Fault' and let me tell you... I was hooked. I sat there all afternoon, one segment after the other. You know they always leave a 'hanger' at the end of each one so Yes, I just kept watching and wondering who did it. Story was about a 5 year old boy who was kidnapped. And, just when you think you've got it all figured out, it takes off in another direction.

So, I'm sitting there on the edge of my seat, popping one chocolate truffle into my mouth after another. A friend gifted me those truffles. They are from Trader Joe's and oh, my... well, anyway, they were good company while I watched tv... until they were gone! 

So,  that's how my Christmas went and that was alright. Different,  a challenge maybe but we all need to shake up our mundane routine from time to time and Shirley's flue really did a bunch of shaking around here. 

It's just amazing how content you can be with the more simple things in life as you age. And, as old as I am.... I am pretty content. hehe. 

Christmas Eve

 On a good note:

Daughter Shirley is home from the hospital but is still very sick. She is the only child I have living near me and now that she is quarantined and doesn't feel up to visitors or should she be having any, this is the first Christmas I will ever spend alone in my entire life. Why don't you all come over and visit.... I'd love that. 

Christmas Cheer

 You girls are amazing! As I read the comments on my 'ice cube' post, I felt heard, understood, supported. It felt soooo good! Thank you all for that!

A quick note: dau. shirley is in the hospital with the flu. For goodness sakes, you all be careful and don't catch that awful stuff. Since our Christmas festivities are centered around Shirley's household and family we will not be waking up on Christmas morning to gifts and hot chocolate and family and fun. It will all be postponed until she is up to it. 

The other day (when she was well and perky) Shirley hosted our Christmas Cookie Decorating get-together downstairs. Last year we decorated gingerbread houses but this year it was cookies. It was fun. Some of the cookies looked like 'store bought'.... some looked like they were purchased at a junk yard. hehe. I was sort of proud of mine.

Do you see my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Cookie?

 I hope that each of you stay healthy and that you have the most fabulous Christmas ever! 

The Melting Ice Cube of Life

 As the weeks, months, years go by I can't help to notice the changes that are being made in my life. That's ok. I am not complaining but I do think about this aging process and how it will all end up. 

The other day I made up a little story about how I was feeling. I told my baby daughter... she understood, supported, listened. Same with my son but when I told this story to my daughter Shirley along with 2 of our friends, she and one of the friends just didn't get it... sort of made fun of me. 

So, I decided I'd tell my little story to you and see what kind of reaction I get from you. 

It was a cloudy winter day and a bird was flying high in the sky. He had an ice cube in his talons and suddenly he dropped the ice cube and it fell down to the ground. It landed on the sidewalk.

It was cold so the ice cube just sat there .... for a long, long time. Just being what it was meant to be. 

Then the weather got warmer. The ice cube started to sweat just a little around it's top. After awhile some trickles of water slid down it's sides and after some time puddles began to form on the sidewalk around her. 

She realized that she was smaller, still an ice cube but part of her was not with her anymore so she felt sad. The puddles grew larger and larger as the sun shone brighter and brighter. She knew that one of these days she would only be a puddle.

I am that ice cube. Being dropped from that bird was my birth into this world and I spent years sitting on that sidewalk being me. Now, I see myself diminishing, sweating away lifes time, trickles begin forming around me and I am growing smaller and smaller. 

I thought is was a great analogy but evidently my daughter couldn't see the picture. It is rather nutty, isn't it. But, that was how I was feeling and I am entitled to that. Right? 

Christmas Present. Christmas Past.

 I decorate less and less as the years go on. That's ok. Leave it to the younger ones to expend all that energy to only have to take it down again in a couple/three weeks. 😁

But, on this Sunday morning I will share with you some of my this year decor.

But, in years past I went all out!! And, yes, I did have to take it all down after Christmas was over! 

So..... time to sit back and just enjoy my time and not work so hard to make it all happen. 

75th Anniversary

 My my how time flies! 

Yesterday I celebrated my 75th wedding anniversary. Alone but yet I celebrated the wonderful day that my marriage to Elbert began. He's been gone 14 years now and the pain of loss lingers on. 

We were just kids - me 16, him 20. Didn't know our head from a hole in the ground! But, we loved, we learned, we perserved, we survived and we thrived. And, what a journey it was! I wouldn't have traded it anything else in this world. 

At times, yesterday, I felt sad, down in the dumps but I also felt so honored to have spent all those 60 years and 3 weeks with him by my side. 

My Elf In The Snow

                                                                We Got Snow!!

The first of the year here at the Commons at Centerbrooke. It was beginning to stick late in the afternoon and by the time I went to bed we had a couple inches. 

While I lay slumbering in my bed, all cozy and warm.... my Elf On A Shelf got off his shelf and sneaked outside. He had a fabulous time in the snow! 

I'm gonna have to keep my eye on that fellow!! No telling what he'll get into next! 

Living Our Best Lives

 Yesterday set the mood...

Shirley and I attended a performance of 'The Nutcracker' at our local art center. Local talent, all but the sugar plum fairy, whom they imported. haha

It was such a delightful event. I hadn't seen that dance since my granddaughter danced in a performance how many years ago!! She has a grown son now so it was awhile. 

A little 5 year old sat next to me. The place was sold out so Mommy had to sit just behind her. She was quite nervous about it all to begin with and then that child got so caught up in all the excitement of the Nutcracker and the little mice and so on. Pretty soon her body was pressed up against my arm. It did my soul good to see all of that through a child's eye again. I loved it. 

So, on to other things. 

My college football team (Alabama) played like junior high kids on Saturday and lost the SEC championship. I turned off the tv at halftime. So, here's  what I did instead.....

I'm pretty old. And, I have had a pretty good attitude about growing old,  I think. I have spent some time over the last years discovering who I was and what I was supposed to do with these last remaining years. I regularly get comments from others that I inspire them. I don't know about that. I am just being me but it has been a dream of mine to set an example for  others. And to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren. 

I see so many older ones that just sit around waiting to die, no interest in anything, constantly complaning about everything, making themselves and everyone around them miserable. I decided a while ago that I was not going to be that person, nor was I going to be around people who are constantly negative. 

So, on Saturday afternoon instead of watching my football team lose a game, I set up a facebook group for us older women. It's open to anyone of a 'certain age'. I have 20 members so far and I hope it grows. I want us women to be there for each other, to support each other

My blog is so dear to my heart. I have made so many wonderful friends here and sure want to keep them close to me forever. I won't give that up but, I just wanted to do something a little different as well as keeping my blog going.  This woman must have tooooo much time on her hands. haha

If you are interested in joining, go to facebook and look us up. We'd love to have you. 

Who Likes Fruitcake?

 Just before Thanksgiving I received a package delivered to my front door. 

                      It was a fruit cake I had ordered. 

I had made fruitcake over the years, I'd bought the Claxton slices in the grocery store, I'd ordered them from online but they just weren't all that good.

However.... what's Christmas without fruitcake, right?

I saw an advertisement for this fruitcake and decided to try it. It's made by the monks at Assumption Abbey in Missouri. I was not disappointed at all. That cake is  GONE. I've ordered another one. 

Let me tell you a little about the monks who make these cakes. Monks ordinarily make their living by farming or having a dairy. But, the monks in Missouri are on poor land and they had to find some other way to get some cash flow. Ta Da.... they'd make fruitcakes.

A famous chef helped them get started and the monks have been doing this for years now. They just bake, bake, bake... the cakes are injected with rum and let set to 'ripen'. Not anything like any fruitcake I've been had. 

Just thought I'd share that little tidbit with you... just in case you like fruitcake!

Stuffed with Blessings

 I hope you all survived the Thanksgiving feast and are now rested and still stuffed. We had a fabulous day surrounded by family and you can't ask for anything more. 

To top it all off, we went today (2 days after the big meal) to a seafood restaurant and pigged out again! Looks like we'd learn. hehe. 

And, of course, this is big Football time for all us college football fans. Sorry to see Texas A&M lose. Was thrilled that the Navy midshipmen won. They have a great team this year. And, tonight we watch the Iron Bowl (Alabama and Auburn) slug it out on the field. Half my family roots for Alabama, the other half for Auburn. Makes for interesting dynamics around here! This will be one game I WILL NOT MISS! 

I certainly hope that all of you that celebrate Thanksgiving had a wonderful one. For those of you in other areas of the world, I hope you were blessed, too. We all have so much to be thankful for. 

Thanksgiving Week Festivities

 

                            Let the thanks begin!!

Son Michael arrived last night from Alabama to spend Thanksgiving week with me (and other family members). 

Of course, his little Sadie came along, too. She was so happy to see me as I was her. 

Tomorrow we will celebrate a large gathering of residents and others here at the Commons at our Friendsgiving feast. That will be lot of fun and tons of good food. 

On Thursday (Turkey Day) we go to my granddaughters where the family will stuff themselves once again. Gee, I wonder what the scales are gonna read when we all go to weigh ourselves come Friday morning!! 

I am so thankful for family, friends, food and being blessed beyond measure. 

On A Journey of Self-Discovery

 Personally I have never been a fan of  'long-winded' blog posts. And, here I am doing one. But, please bear with me. This is just on my heart to share this with you all.

I was a shy, awkward country girl who never seem to fit in at school, no friends near where I lived. My self-esteem was pretty low. 

By the time I was 17 I was a new bride, a new mom at 18. And, so I took on those roles of Mother and Wife when I was in my mid-teens. And, those are the roles I played for decades! With our busy life I had not time to concentrate on me.

When I was 65 my husband and I moved from Alabama to Virginia. A couple years into being in our new home I met a woman who fascinated me. She was into healthy eating, connecting with nature, mediation, yoga, self-discovery. That was so new to me and I wanted to know more. I've always been a curious sort and love to learn about new things. My talks with her were so enlightening. 

My first self-help book I ordered was 'Who Will Cry When I Die' by Robin Sharma. I quickly became a follower of his and I began to delve into who I really was. I felt that there was more to this individual walking around in my shoes than just wife and mother. By this time my kids were all grown and I was the full-time caregiver for my husband who had Alzheimers. 

Who was this person that my Mother had given birth to. I wanted to find out. So, I set out on a self-discovery journey of my own. 

I read lots of books, most of which were 'crap' (excuse the expression) but I have found a few that has opened my mind, my heart and my soul that made me dig down and bring up all those old fears, wounds, scars that I had shoved so deep inside me over the years. I began to discover a sense of peace, of calm, of truth and being authentic. Oh, I'm not there yet but I know more of who I was meant to be, of who I can be, of peace and happiness and just a sense of being alive than I have ever felt. 

Some of my problem was not knowing that we all are capable and should set boundaries for ourselves.  When I discovered that I could request ... no, demand.... boundaries, wow, that gave me such a sense of freedom to be me. I've learned to be more open to forgiveness, to even forgive myself and especially those who have hurt me. This life is too short to  hold those wounds as sacred evidences of past wrongs. 

I'm working hard on that low self-esteem and it is a work in progress. I've had a great life, I've done a ton of things in those years, but I feel like I wasn't worthy or good enough so it always felt like it was someone else who did all that stuff, who travels all those miles, who held weeping mothers in my arms in MADD, who served on committes, who wrote books, and painted and quilted and so much more. BTW... singing is not on that list. 

'The Artist's Way' is a favorite book, so is 'Original Me' and now I am reading 'The Awakening'. All exellent sources to guide us to a better place in our lives. I also really enjoyed 'Women Rowing North'.

I encourage you to find your own path, your own self. You may be wonderfully surprised. 

And, I end with this... With an open heart I embrace each and every one of my blogging buddies. You are such a blessing to me. Love you. 

Waiting..... Waiting....Waiting Still

 I keep having some UTI issues so I made an appointment at Urgent Care for yesterday afternoon at 2:20.

Got there at 10 til 2.

Guess what time I got out of there!! 

Yep.... almost 3 hours later. 10 til 5..........

You can't get in to see your regular doctor anymore and then have to wait all afternoon in Urgent Care.. 

I was sooooo bored. My back hurt, my butt hurt and my legs hurt, all from sitting so long in those uncomfortable waiting room chairs. 

As they say "If you aren't sick when you go to the doctor.... you will be when you get out". 

Forgetting

I swear.... I can remember every detail about something that happened last year, back in 2000, back when I was a child even but if I am telling something to someone and get interrupted, it's GONE.... Like I never thought it in the first place! 

I know, I am fortunately and mightly blessed to have the sharpness I have but I sure would love to finish a sentence without forgetting what I'm talking about. 😁

Does that ever happen to you? 

 

Mountains in Watercolor

 Shirley asked me the other day what I thought I was best at painting. I thought about it and then told her 'mountains'. 

I was already working on this painting when she asked. Maybe that's why I said what I did but regardless, I do enjoy doing scenes. People are buggars to paint, least for me. And, I have trouble with flowers. They always look flat to me. 

So far I have painted 9 mountain scenes. 

Finally finished this one today... 

November 6, 2025

Check out my latest youtube post! 

 

If

Beautiful Sunday Drive

 A Beautiful Sunday...

Too nice to stay inside so I headed up to my daughters, 35 miles away, for a visit. I don't drive much anymore so I got in that right lane and I stayed there. No switching lanes for me!! 

We had a lovely visit. Shirley and I went  for Italian food for lunch leaving the guys to fend for themselves. The salad I could eat a ton of... 

We then drove around searching out all the signs of Fall that we could find. 

I came home, happy, content and tired. Crawled up in my recliner and turned on the tv. But.

What a beautiful Sunday it was! 

Our Halloween Shenanigans!!

              Our Halloween party was a blast! 

Several people did not 'dress' for the occasion but that's alright. Several did and we had music, games, food and some surprises. 

Alisha and Lois spent a lot of time making this Bus from Haunted Brooke and made a grand entrance with it. The get-up was used as a photo opt. They have the most fun doing things for our events. (see below)

         Daughter Shirley dressed as The Iron Chef 

I thought Beverly's face mask was quite impressive.

I went as............

Had lots of fun, lots of attention, everyone loved my outfit!

I'm glad it wasn't a cold day.... my feet would have frozen if it had been!

Our maintence man took a liking to my little boy (my doll) and he and the staff had their picture made with "Aaron" (doll)

Some more photos from the day!

Now, I have to get busy and come up with another costume for next year's Halloween!