The Grim Reaper visited My Neighborhood . . . so to speak

It's absolutely the truth and when it happened, it caught us all unawares.  Death tried to come calling, and needless to say, and that almost-visit managed to be a significant wake-up call.  Enough with the flowery language.  We've had a scare in our family.

For my family which is made up of a preponderance of women, the spectre of breast cancer had never been a problem.  We were all careful to get our mammograms, to do our self-examinations, to eat well and keep our immune systems health.  But at least one woman in every generation(on my mother's side) of my family have had cystic breast disease so we have sort of held our collective breath to see if the condition would get lethal.  Well, it finally has.

Last week, one of my three daughters had breast cancer surgery.  And yet, her story is one of those that almost has the listener's jaw dropping.  She had her regular mammogram at the end of 2012.  Clear as a bell!  Thankfully, she has a family doctor who looked at those films and didn't like what she saw.  The radiologist didn't either.  So there was enough uneasiness that they convinced the insurance to pay for a MRI biopsy on the left breast.  Benign!  But . . . the MRI revealed a mass in the right breast that didn't even show up on the mammogram.  So another MRI biopsy was scheduled.  Again . . . benign.  So since the masses were fairly significant, the oncology surgeon recommended removal which was done.  No problem, right?  Wrong.  When the mass from the right breast was examined post op in the pathology lab, it was discovered that it was malignant.  All this after a mammogram and two biopsies that declared everything was fine.  Good thing she had doctors who weren't comfortable with the test results.

Now she has had the follow-up mastectomy with the beginnings of reconstruction and is doing well in her post-op recovery.  I did tell her that getting up in the middle of the night to give her pain medication was reminiscent of night feedings, and helping her with her showers was a whole lot more trouble than when I used to give her baths in the kitchen sink when she was a baby.  But all in all, she's doing well, and even when she had a bit of an emotional melt-down--something we all have when we are on the other side of a crisis -- she had to admit that the idea of being a cancer survivor was mind-boggling to say the least.

We seldom realize how close death comes . . . we may not even realize that we were just "that close" to having a terrible accident, or that if we had been just a few moment early or late we would have been in a life-threatening situation.  We live without concern that we may be days away from heart attack or stroke (those kinds of things happen to other people) or that people we love are in some kind of danger that could bring about their death.  So now that we have felt the faint breeze caused by the flapping robes of the Grim Reaper in our family as he made his presence known, we all have a new appreciation for the joy of living, of knowing that every day is precious.

Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow isn't here yet.
We only have today, and that is why we call it "The Present."

Many, many thanks for the gift of today and the lives we all share.

It Ain't The Taj Mahal But It's Ours . . . AND the Mortgage Company

Yep, it's finally ours and it's a relief to finally be able to stop worrying that the VA underwriter will find something else to get upset about.  It's a 1926 vintage Craftsman House -- the kind that actually came in a crate back in those days from Sears Roebuck, and all the friends and family got a house building party together and put it together.  It saved architectural fees and such.  There are loads of Craftsman houses in this area of Tennessee.  Obviously, it was a popular thing back then and they have held up surprisingly well.

This particular house has been well cared for, has been added to so that there are now nine rooms.  An office and rather large family room were added through the years.  At one time a doctor owned the house and had his practice upstairs.  But get this . . . he had all the hardwood floors taken out so he could install carpet.  Can you believe that?  Now don't get me wrong.  The carpeting is beautiful.  But it's beyond belief that someone would think that it has to be one or the other.

Added in with a 3376 sq. ft. house is 1.3 acres of yard complete with peach, pear, weeping cherry, hickory nut and pecan trees.  And with all the spring rains it is rapidly coming to the point when we will have to be mowing all that grass.  We are getting lots of pecans out of the year that weren't picked up last fall as no one was living in the house for almost a year before we bought it.  But between us and the seller, lots of deferred maintenance has been done and we are really reaping the harvest of being in a solid and very nice home.  Now if we could just get all the boxes unpacked.  The hardest part is figuring out where to put everything.  Oh well, life moves on, one day at a time.

Thoughts on Life in Tennessee

It's winter-time in the Blue Ridge Mountains and while the mornings may be sunny the clouds move in pretty fast and then the gray skies are a reality the remainder of the day.  Of course, as one who has enjoyed lots about living in So. California for decades, I have enjoyed the rain but again, as was true in my growing-up years in the Mid-west, the fact that rain makes its appearance with little notice sometimes can become wearisome, to say the least.

But as people who are awash with moving mess, we pay little attention to what's going on outside.  In fact, on President's Day, we just hunkered down and wrapped up in robes and lap blankets, dozed and read, listened to music or did jigsaw puzzles (hubby), or maybe nothing at all.  It was a day away from the boxes.  Now, after cleaning out the office so I could set up my desktop computer, I have boxes piled on boxes once again in the middle of the kitchen.  Just seems like a revolving merry-go-round of mess.  Oh well, I guess one just has to accept that it took lots of energy to put in those boxes in the first place, and now it's just going to take time and energy to find a place to put stuff away in the new place.  At least, my realtor has found someone who can use the boxes for their move, and I am glad--I'm still in the "recycling" mode from So. Calif, and while people here in Tennessee speak of conserving, they don't have a clue what it is like to measure water out by the dribble instead of the gallon.  I'm always worrying about water saving shower heads and such, and folks around here still use hundreds of gallons of water to wash down their driveways.  People here use low-costs lighting lots of times, but there are still myriads of lights that are big gulpers of energy.  It's just a different culture.  Our little town is right on the edge of one of the larger TVA dams and reservoirs and energy is relatively cheap.  It certainly changes how people live and what they view as "normal."

All in all, it's beautiful, it's bare-root rose season and we're getting ready to dig the holes, and it's time for us to watch the fifteen or so fruit and nut trees in our backyard to burst forth in spring bloom.  There are about 75 pounds of pecans lying the grass outside, so we're going to picking those up, shelling them, and then onward to those glorious pecan pies and pralines.  Life is good . . .

Boxes, Boxes Everywhere, and no place to put it all away!!

I'm absolutely serious -- hubby and I are floating on a "sea" of packing boxes and the more we unpack, the more tired my brain becomes with trying to decide where to put everything.  I understand those who just pick up piles of stuff and shove it into any empty spot, but for some reason, there's a lazy streak that runs right down the middle of "me" and I always stop and think about the drudgery of having to go back and find a place for all that stuff--the place I REALLY want all that stuff.

There's another problem, too.  I collect art glass--boxes and boxes of depression , early American pressed, and antique and contemporary blown glass. And I love it all.  They are like my secondary family and friends and when I see each piece after having it packed away for so long, it is a sense of greeting something beautiful that I have really missed having displayed on my shelves or in my china cabinet.  The problem is really that I need about three more china cabinets. As it is now, I have to pick and choose which pieces I will unpack and which will remain in their cozy packing boxes.  I. DON'T. WANT. TO. MAKE. THOSE. KINDS. OF DECISIONS.  I want it all, but life and money and room and all such things have meant that I have to pick and choose.  To add insult to injury, in a funny kind of way, hubby bought me a beautiful six-piece set of antique wine glasses for Valentine's Day, and I can't figure out where to put them now.

Anyway, we had snow in Tennessee on Saturday--driving, big flakes that covered everything and it looked beautiful.  It was all gone by Sunday morning, but it was fun while it lasted.  I'll get back to blogging on a regular basis soon, but it's President's Day and I don't even go near a box on a holiday--that kind of reasoning has always worked for me.  Greeting to you all -- stay in touch.

What A Mess -- What A Mess!!

Moving is the pits!  And now that hubby and I are in deep with the 39th move of my life, I am more convinced than ever that anyone who undertakes a move is really a bit on the crazy side.  We are 24 hours away from the arrival of the moving van and we are still looking at stuff waiting to find a home in a box.  What a mess!

Somehow I am trying to keep positive thoughts.  It isn't easy but I have to admit that I am encouraged after a couple of my kids showed up yesterday, had the efforts of some granddaughters who did lots of good stuff, and the help of a friend who is like a wind-up toy--you start him in a specific direction and he just keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny.  But it is almost overwhelming to think that in 30 hours or so this house will be empty and we will be looking at a four day drive to Tennessee.  Never thought I would live "back East" but I guess it's going to happen.

Funny though, when speaking with the loan officer at the bank that is handling our house loan, I was reminded that my maternal grandmother's family arrived on our shores in the 1600's, moved years later to South Carolina, then to Tennessee, and finally to Western Kentucky.  So in a way I am returning to my roots.  Having been born in Georgia, and even though I only lived there until I was six years old, I am absolutely positive that there is a southern accent buried somewhere deep inside me.  I think with a bit of coaxing it will surface and then I won't sound like a "yank" anymore.  No hope for my Iowa-born hubby, though.  I guess he will just have to remain an honorary Southerner.

Thanks to all my followers who check in from time to time and realize that I haven't posted anything for a while.  Just more things to do than hours in the day.  But I have been sneaking in a bit of reading and will be posting some reviews and comments very soon.  Just let me get to Tennessee and then things very well may return to normal.  By the way, the town where we are moving is Dinah Shore's home town.  I always like her and her music.  Keep us all in your good thoughts and prayers.

A Really, Really Good Freebie and a Full-length Novel As Well! Who Would've Thunk It?

Brains before Beauty, that's Rachel Newberry's motto, especially when her quiet, orderly life is interrupted by international rock star, Jaydon Hawke. And true to her word, brains take center stage when she discovers Hawke has a lot more on his mind than beautiful music. Targeted by a madman, Rachel puts her trust in Hawke, a move that may cost both their lives.

I seriously doubt that there are any of us who don't roam the book sellers and publishers for good free reads.  Most are short stories--some are so short I don't even think of them as short stories.  Miniscule snippets seems a better description to me.  Yet once in a while there comes a long a really good book, not often, mind you.   I always feel like I am really getting a treasure when I find one of those and especially when it is a full length novel.  

Mia Dymond is a new author for me, and I have to admit that I found this book on Amazon and the description and reviews sounding intriguing.  So I downloaded it thinking it could be a clunker and if so, I can always delete it.  Well, as it turns out, it was anything but a clunker, and it turned out to be a book that was vastly more entertaining than expected.

It is also the beginning of a very good four-book series, one that I ended up buying and which turned out to be as engaging as this first book.  Each of the guys who are the heroes are former special ops/SEALs and each is powerful, formidable in their abilities and mental strengths, and of course they are all gorgeous sexy alpha males.  This first book introduces us to a man who has the entertainment world by the tail, has women coming out of his ears as fans, and yet he has a whole different personna, a hidden life that doesn't come out until the reader is well into the book.  It's all good stuff and the kind of ingredients, the kind of story that makes for a novel that grabs one's imagination and just doesn't let go.  Add in the fact that it was a "gift" and you just can't not like it.

It was released late in 2011 so it isn't all that old.  The subsequent books in the series all feature individuals first encountered in this first book and the following stories keep the reader "up" on the ensuing activities of all the characters.  It's a great piece of writing and it mixes some suspense, some romance, so very hot loving, and some undercover stuff all together and makes it a novel that is never very quiet.  It's intense and entertaining and turns out to be the kind of book I really like.  So I hope you will investigate this author and maybe even download this book.  It's really worth it and would still be a "keeper" even if it had cost anything.  Enjoy!

Free At Last, Yes, Free At Last!!

And with apologies to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, I can say with deep feeling, " . . . thank God Almighty, I am free at last!"  Yes, as of 12:01 AM, Januay 1, I have begun a new life, and it feels wonderful in many ways and very strange in others.  For nearly 30 years I have worked with and been involved in the lives of some wonderful people, and now that phase of my life is over.  Right along with the new year comes my new life.  It involves a new location -- can't afford to stay in Southern California anymore -- and some new friends, finding a new church, getting to know my new neighbors, setting up relationships with a new bank, getting new license plates for our cars, a new driver's license, and on and on it goes.  2013 represents lots of newness in my life.

But actually, new beginnings never get old.  Those of us who read and review lots of romance writings know that authors are always bringing in new beginnings. For many it is the new location, a new job that takes one of the characters out of harms way or puts a bad love affair or marriage behind them.  For others it represents a second chance to find deep and authentic wholeness amid the ashes of a crashed relationship.  In all cases, it is the new beginning that we all sometimes covet.

Each year we have that opportunity--a chance to try once more to get a grip on life in a new and meaningful way, to do better with relationships, to re-connect with those who have wandered away or from whom we have become estranged.  It is a time for reordering priorities, getting a grip on what is really important and setting aside the trivia that tends to overwhelm when we are least looking.  And most of all, 2013 represents another new beginning in which we can take advantage of all that comes our way--all that is positive and character-building, all that makes us better people, all that stimulates us to never stop growing within ourselves and in our connections to others.

So, Happy 2013 to all my followers and all who stop by here on their wanderings on the Information Super-highway.  May your days be filled with that sense of life well lived, and may the blessings of a prosperous life be evident in as many ways as possible.