My beautiful Mama!

This is a favorite picture of my Mom and I. She looks so young
and beautiful! Grandma Martha always lovingly referred to her as "your little Mama". A lady of small stature and a big heart. We called her Mama for years. It took a while to transfer to the more grown-up name of Mother or Mom.

I woke up today feeling stronger, and my vision is improved. Thank you Jesus! Whenever I'm tempted to fall into the depths of dispair, I remember my Mother's courage. Not just the final trial of cancer that ended her life, but all the disappointments, losses, and hardships she faced. Many, only her closest family knew about. She faced her trials with humor and courage. When she commited her life to God, it multiplied the strength she was born with. She was a brave little warrior. I take that back, she still is a brave little warrior! I think the Saints in Heaven must rejoice to have her there, and I like to think she has them all laughing right along with her!

Multiple Sclerosis

I have it. MS. I wasn't going to bring it up, but it has recently added some new complications to my life and my overall health. Don't worry, I will try not to bore you with the details. I just wanted to be able to "say" it here where there are no sad expressions, no uncomfortable moments when friends don't know what to say, no pep talks about faith and thinking only on the good things.

I have tremendous faith. I believe in healing. I ask for healing. I have experienced healing in my life. But for this moment, and for the past couple of months, I have lost ground with this particular obstacle in my life. This is not a "pity party" post! I'm just stating what is... not what will be. I fully hope to wake up tomorrow and find my eyes are again seeing as they should, my hearing has returned to it's former level, my internal functions are once again on track, my thoughts and speech are clear, and the spasticity in my legs and back have decided to disappear.

Just typing it out is a form of release. I don't know what tomorrow holds for me, but my faith tells me that all is in God's hands. He doesn't leave me carrying this burden alone, in fact, He carries it for me. All I have to do is to call on Him, to let Him give me peace in the midst of it all.

We all have storms in our lives of one kind or another. How we weather those storms is up to each one of us. While I am in the midst of this most recent storm, I may lose my balance or turn my words around, but be patient with me. I am a work in progress, and I am continually learning and growing in faith. I am thankful for my family and friends, with their constant prayers and uplifting words. I know I am not in this alone. God's mercy and grace are sufficient.

Rainy Friday

It is a rainy, cold Friday. Winter is having it's last stand! Earlier today I had to run errands and the wind was whipping. Came home with an entirely new hairdo!

Does anybody else still say hairdo? I remember childhood Saturday's. We got our hair washed and then put up in curlers. When your hair was all rolled up, you covered it with a pretty scarf. If we went into town, you'd see plenty of girls, and grown women, with their hair up like this. You slept on the rollers overnight so that you'd have a beautiful, curly "do" for Sunday. When I was very small the rollers were those wired, plastic bristle, torture devices. It's a miracle we got any sleep at all! I remember getting the new "state of the art" pink foam and plastic rollers. They were such a soft, modern invention. Anything for beauty. These days it's just wash, dry and go for me!

I am the age of women I thought of as ancient when I was little. On a TV program recently, Nora Ephron said it was hair color. When we were young, less women used it. I gave in a couple months ago and rinsed away my grey. It did make me feel younger until I did the closeup look in the mirror. Now I have younger hair, but the wrinkles haven't gone anywhere. That's okay though. I earned every single one of them, and I intend to wear them with pride! The hair color takes the place of a pretty new hat. I will change it to suit my mood or the occasion. Even an old girl has to have a little fun.

The Ducks Return

Last spring, we were fortunate to have a pair of nesting ducks in our front flower bed. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see a couple little yellow faces.

It was exciting to watch the entire progress from nesting, laying, hatching, and departure. The only downside was I worried a lot about wandering dogs, cats, etc. as my front garden is not very protected. A couple eggs were destroyed by a snake. There were four little healthy ducklings in all. They followed their mama duck to the canal that is a block from our home. We were able to see them swimming there for several weeks after they left our garden. It was a joy!

This morning as I stepped outside to shake my dustcloth, there was a familiar flapping of wings in my garden! I had hoped they would chose a more secluded place this year, but that is getting hard to do. The open fields and farms are becoming a thing of the past, so we are seeing more "city" creatures than ever before. Nature in our own back yards. I don't know if they have definitely settled for our garden, but I'll keep you updated if they do.

Today I read a little poetry, started to rearrange and organize my family room, and watched The Fellowship of the Ring with my niece. Yes, I'm a Lord of the Rings fan. It had been such a long time since I watched it, but I enjoyed it as much as ever. I even took a couple minutes to play my piano... it's been years since I have done that. Boy, was I rusty but it felt good to try. My niece has been playing, and I have really been enjoying it.

A Beautiful Day

It has been a beautiful Easter Day. We made it a family day, and just spent time together. PJ and ETJ even helped peel the potatoes... I made scalloped potatoes from scratch for the first time. They were so good. PJ had picked up a ham from Smoky Davis and pies from Marie Callendar. It was the easiest holiday meal I've ever had to do. PJ also made French Toast and bacon breakfast! I felt very pampered today!

I spent some time thinking about my upcoming art projects. I'm going to design some greeting cards. If they turn out well, I may be creating and selling them on eBay. If not, family and friends will receive them anyway! I have a certain look in mind, and I'm hopeful that I can accomplish it.

I have a huge photo project that I need to complete first. I'm scanning old slides and negatives, then I make prints of some to share with family. I love my scanner! It does this even better than I had hoped.

Thought a lot about Mom this weekend. Her birthday would have been yesterday. She's been gone almost five years now. I still miss her, though it's not that heartwrenching missing like it was at first. I'd just like to have a nice chat over coffee or a trip to Savers with her. Last week ETJ and my niece went with me to the new Savers Grand Opening. They had some really good "junk"! I love secondhand stores and yard sales! I found a couple of treasures to take home for under $10.00! One person's junk....

Well, I'm off for a bit of cleaning before turning in for the night.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter morning! Another night of insomnia, so I decided to finally set up my blog.

I've named this place after the documentary film, Grey Gardens. I am a Gilmore Girls fan and they referred to this film in one of the episodes. I rented it and fell in love with the two ladies. They are mother and daughter, and they are sanely insane. Much like myself at times. You'll have to see the film to understand.

I thought about Grey Havens (Lord of the Rings), but feel the implied craziness of Grey Gardens suits me better. I want this to be a creative haven, where I hope to discover more about myself. I hope you enjoy sharing this journey with me.