The Gallery #1

    On Sundays, a blogger friend of mine [Sue @ Elephant's Child] usually posts photos that have not seen the light of blog days.  She has MS and is stepping back from blogging at the moment, but her last Sunday post of photos was her 665th.   Roughly 12 years, give or take a year.  I couldn't even imagine that at first, but then realized if I counted my previous blogs (REALLY regret deleting them now) I have probably been blogging far longer than that.

    So I thought I would see if I could salvage any of the photos from those earlier blogs and start posting some of them here on Sundays.

I think this is from Mexico Beach, FL in the early 2000s

Trooper & Me at East Bay by our home in Panama City, FL.
It would have been probably in 2009.

Me & Mom.  2007.

My first Christmas at Ft. Hood, TX.  2010.

Trying to be a horse whisperer at Ft. Hood.
Maybe 2011?

How I feel at this moment after viewing all of these pictures.
Like I've been shot through the heart. 
I was not prepared for some of them.
People, pets, places, and things lost over the years.
And people I'd rather not still have photos of.
I need to figure out how to delete some of those old photos and narrow down the ones I want to keep. 
This, by the way, was actually one of my practice targets before I left California in 2000.

Addendum to the 3rd ...

        I just realized that I shared a photo last post on 3 Feb of the creek after it had receded, but never showed what it was like when I watched to see if it was going to flood on 28 January.

    Between the snow that melted, and the rain over the weekend the creek was almost at a flood stage.  Some roads were underwater in different parts of the county, and given the past history of this creek flooding I was a bit concerned.

    But all we could do was watch, wait, and pray for the best.

    Sometimes, that's all life is.
 

8 Feb 24

Lucy & Me

    It's only Wednesday but feels like it has been a year of a week already.  

Last weekend's
art date

    On Monday I went to see my doctor for a physical, and apparently, I'm overdue for all the "fun stuff."  PAP.  Colonoscopy.  Mammogram.  So it is all getting scheduled now.  Staying healthy is a pain!

    Charlie seems to be walking and running better.  Occasionally his right hind leg will go wonky on him, but he's probably around 12 years old, and wonky can come with age.

Charlie and one of 
his BFFs across the street
before his haircut

    I was finally able to get him in for a haircut so he would feel better.  I think when it gets to a certain length it gets itchy on him.  Brushing helps sometimes, but he is very sensitive when I get to his hind legs.

    Two days of jumping in live on my new job and it has been crazy.  I joked that I wouldn't be supervising people, just supervising chaos.  I should have kept my mouth shut!

 

  Tomorrow I am driving Bipin to the airport.  He is going home to see family and then coming back.  He hasn't decided yet where he will go when his program here finishes.

    Oh, to be 24 again and have a world of choices before me...  

   I have signed up for another art date in March, so that will be two busy weekends.  I'm excited for it.  Creating something ... art or words ... is the perfect stress release for me.  I'll need it.  This new position has a lot of stress already, but it's good.  Productive.  Something that can sometimes make a difference.

    With that said, I should get to bed.  Tomorrow will be a long day that starts early with about a four-hour round-trip drive.

    Sleep well ... 💚 Ci

3 February 24

    Happy February!

    Oh.My.Gosh.  This week of training has been mind-boggling. 🙀 New systems.  New processes.  But it has also been very satisfying.  I love my new job!  Love getting to wear my Nancy Drew hat and dig into issues and see results.  It is a lot of stress, but also a lot of reward when I get to tell a provider good news.

 

  The creek behind the house has receded, much to the joy of the Mallard ducks, and many of the residents who remember the 2016 flood.  I'm not sure when it was done, but the city apparently came down the alley and cleared out a lot of the over-and-under-growth.  I hope that in the process it didn't kill any of the non-feathered wildlife that was there, such as the muskrat that I'd seen last summer or the possum.

    Today I was able to finally do an "Artist Date" for myself and went to Wren's Nest for a painting project.  As always it was a lot of fun, and I'm always so grateful to Jane and the others who come out to "play."  This one will be a gift for my cousins, Fred and Silvia.

    Jane and I talked about some other projects she has planned and coming up, so hopefully I can do those in the coming months.  Including another acrylic painting, watercolor painting, and maybe some dried flower decoupage ornaments. 

    Next month, I will be doing a mixed-media project with Wendy Reagor at Wren's Nest.  I love her art, and am really excited about doing this project!

    I'm continuing to search for a forever home since my time in this one will be coming to an end this summer.  

    Wishing you a relaxing, self-care rest of the weekend ... 💚 Ci