Rain and Other Stuff...

Photo by Kerstin Riemer 
From Pixabay, Free Use Images

I'm sitting here listening to the rain coming down, and feeling peaceful. I love the sound of rain hitting the roof!

It's been a crazy couple of days at my home, mostly seen through the hazy eyes my muscle relaxants give me. I'll be glad to be done with those, hopefully very soon! Even so, I still got a little cleaning done, called a couple loved ones, did some reading from a print book, finished a recorded book, watched a little baseball and some more old Survivor episodes, and listened to the news... nuff said about that...

We got our sprinklers blown out earlier today and ready for the coming cold weather, so that's one more item off the checklist! I had also ordered a new vacuum cleaner, which arrived this evening! Paul put it together and took it for a test drive down our dusty hallway. I'm so happy to have a functioning vacuum again! Yay!

Oh, and I'm officially on Social Security. That's so weird because in my head I'm way too young for that, even though my husband retired earlier this year. Funny how that works. That's a quick update on my life. I hope you are all healthy and happy! Now, back to that book I go!

Snapshots of My Summer...

This is a brief recap of my summer so far...

We went from a beautiful, unseasonably cool summer to Holy Cow it's Hot!!! We've been hitting the 100's. Too warm for this gal! I'm dreaming of cool ocean breezes and looking forward to early autumn when the temps drop. I have also been daydreaming about Christmas, thanks to Hallmark Channel and their Christmas in July movies.

I've gotten out of the house a few times, visiting with my sister, some cousins and friends. My tendency is to live a bit like a hermit most of the time, so having multiple outings is a big deal for me. It was a lot of fun! I need to push myself to get out a little more often.

The repairs on Old Blue, my husband's 52 Chevy, are moving right along. After a long and exhaustive search, a replacement door was found. Installing it involved he and a friend sanding, priming, torquing the door frame back into alignment, and ordering new glass for the window. She is well on her way to being ready for a new paint job, but until that can be done, at least Blue is drivable again. At this time, still no compensation from the uninsured driver who wounded her, but what goes around...

On the health front, I'd received very positive news from my last MRI scans. No significant progression of my MS. I'm so thankful. I recently had an outpatient surgery on two arthritic fingers, that went well. Still healing from it, but I can type again! Hurrah!

I'm currently reading Whitethorn Woods, by Maeve Binchy, and enjoying it a lot. She had a gift for creating memorable, believable characters. I've also been catching up on some British TV Series and Netflix Originals. I noticed this morning that Season Two of Anne of Green Gables has been added to Netflix, so I'll be starting it soon. I do recommend you read the books first, of course.

My new Morning Joe mug!
Yes, it's sitting on our Anniversary gift, a book we both want to read.

Another passion of mine is following the news, and Morning Joe is one of my favorite news programs. I like the different people they bring on and enjoy hearing them discuss current events. There's also some laughter to diffuse some of the more serious topics. Yesterday my oldest son handed me a package. Surprise! He had bought me the Morning Joe coffee mug! I love it! This morning, while I watched my recording of the program, I sipped coffee from my special mug. It's the little things that brighten my days the most. Small gestures of love and kindness.

With that, I'll say farewell for now. Love and Blessings, my friends!

© 11JUL2018 ajjahner

Family Time

It's been a wonderful week.  My youngest has been home on break from college, but heads back to the dorms tomorrow.  My oldest son has had some time to drop in and visit this week, which has been fun.  They're both spending the night. and I'm loving it.

I started sorting through some old photos, earlier in the week, I thought had been lost forever.  They were safely in an album, in a storage box, that I'd shoved into the back corner of a closet.  I definitely need one dedicated space for photos, but I have so many that it's very hard to do.  My son suggested scanning all of them and putting them in the internet "cloud" so I'll always have access.  But, what happens if that "cloud" disappears or malfunctions?  Yes, I'm a skeptic!  I may have to give it a try though.

I haven't been able to do any creative writing for a while.  Just have a mind-block I guess.  I read about a well-known author who took a long break when that happened to her.  She just spent months reading every book she could get her hands one, enjoying the journey of other people's stories.  Afterwards, her head cleared and she was able to get back to her writing.  I thought it was worth a try, so I've finished two and a half books this past month.  One is a collection of short mysteries, and the other two are the most recent Agatha Raisin mysteries by M. C. Beaton.  I'm still not ready to write, so I'm splitting my reading time between The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Treasure Island, and another light mystery called Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson.

It's been wonderful being able to read again.  I'm still doing the eye meds and drops, and still delaying the start of the new drug with the vision/heart risks.  I just have too much living to do right now, so I'll think about it later on.  For now, I'm just enjoying each day as it comes!

Day 3 - Beginnings, Art & Books

My love of books started very young.  I'm not sure of my exact age, but one of the first was a very large picture book.  They were called My Big Little Golden Books and measured about 12 by 9 inches.  Mine was called Wonders of Nature and I loved it.  The illustrations were by Eloise Wilkin, and they were beautiful.

 This was the beginning of my love affair with books and art.  Over the years, I've read hundreds of books.  When my grandpa couldn't get me to the library, I would pick up the Childcraft Encyclopedias.  I read them from cover to cover.  I loved reading so much, I read about subjects I wasn't naturally drawn to, such as science.  When I'd exhausted all of my books, and my sister's, I started reading books from my grandparents shelves.  This was everything from Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin to The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.  Then I moved on to magazines.  We always had Better Homes & Gardens, Readers Digest, and National Geographic.

Stories opened a new world for me.  One of travel, adventure, and imagination.  These days I spend much of my reading time online, visiting other bloggers, and continuing my happy journey with the written word.

 © 03JAN12 ajj