Beleaguered Blog Postings

I sat down at the laptop this evening prepared to berate my lack of blog communication then decided to the contrary. My reason for not writing is a simple one: I've been busy with life. And that, dear readers, is a good thing. A respectable percentage of my busyness is the usual, work. But, I've also taken time to get together with friends, hang out with my work colleagues, visit and lend my big sis a hand, go hiking, and more. I'm hoping to get even busier, too, with a possible mentoring opportunity. Now, with eyes closing, I sign off, having at least let everyone know: she lives.

One more shot from the Hocking Hills Winter Hike:
Craig B. with his 2-year-old yellow lab, Larry.
Sedona was too distracted by the scent of bean soup
and corn muffins to sit still for the camera!:)

And it Continues!

Was in a meeting today that included yet two more of my former ODNR colleagues, although both have been gone from DNR even longer than me.

It was a frustrating Wednesday. It didn't go my way at all. Forgot to pick up a Rx at the pharmacy, took the wrong laptop to work, got thrown a curve ball at the office that knocked me off my planned course for the day. Made me surly. Made me curse. Made me laugh, eventually. Wow, how quickly I forgot not to get so twisted up by the insanity of humanity. Got home, loved on my pup, ate healthy (except for the pink Canada mints) and thanked God for the blessings in my life.

Pic o' the Day

Dave Pagnard, Jim Lynch, moi

Our backdrop? The governor's ceremonial office at the Statehouse

Cheeky, no?!

Old Home Week(end)

It was a DNR kind of weekend for me. Kicked it off on Friday evening at a retirement party for friend and former colleague Vicki Mountz. It was great getting to see so many of my former Wildlife workmates. So good, in fact, that I shut down the joint with a few of them! That, however, made the next morning's DNR reunion a little more difficult. Nonetheless, I got up early and, with Sedona in tow, headed down to southeast Ohio for the  48th Annual Winter Hike at Hocking Hills State Park. We met up with Director Jim Zehringer and his wife, several DNR admin staff, my State Park pals, and my fellow RR Committee members. It was a beautiful day and great hike. Had one klutzy, whoopsie-daisy moment on a patch of ice, but thankfully avoided any real damage. Sedona loved the adventure and more than once proved to be a great trail partner, helping me up a couple steep inclines.

We were both pretty tuckered by the time we got home and, I don't know about Sedona, but my muscles let me know it's been a long time since we were on the trail!

Pics o' the Weekend

Friday night festivities at the Iron Grill
1st Pic: w/ Vicki M.
2nd Pic: w/ BB

ODNR Dir. JZ & wife Sharon at Cedar Falls
Sedona and me along with gal pal Susan

Sedona sacked out on Saturday night (I wasn't far behind)!

Lay-zee!

I don't know if it's the winter weather, work, or post-treatment fatigue, but when I get home at night all I want to do is get in my PJs and let my brain go on siesta. That's bad for many reasons: 1) there's office work I want to focus on, 2) exercises I need to be doing, and 3) a golden retriever who deserves lots of love and attention! Sigh. Maybe I should lay down and sleep on it ...

"Oh, that I had the wings of a dove; I would fly away and be at rest." 

Psalm 55:6

On a related note: during the course of this blog post, which I'm composing on my iPad, I noticed for the first time the microphone icon on the keyboard. Out of curiosity I pressed it. Nothing happened. "Oh, well," I said aloud and hit the button again. Wonder of wonders, I watched as those spoken words magically appeared on the screen! Too cool, I can now dictate my blog posts and the iPad will type them up for me; it even inserts requested punctuation. iPad, take a memo: this is the ultimate in laziness!

Pic o' the Day

Since I have sleep on the brain, here's one of my
great-niece, Audrey, who is snoozing away with
Jolly, a musical kitty that once belonged to
our kiddo, Lindsay - makes me smile!

Ah, Youth

I posted a new profile picture on Facebook today, one showing off the "new look" a la CBitch survivor. My previous pic was of the long-gone brunette, so those who haven't seen me in awhile and those unaware of my battle last year are going to be surprised.

On a quasi-related note, I got a good chuckle out of a memory that was jarred loose after reading Proverbs 16:31, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life." The laugh is because I quoted that verse to my mom many years ago when she was debating whether or not to begin again coloring her hair. I was a teenager at that point and I don't recall what fueled my indignation -- young mind, strong ideas, I guess?! :)

The photo for FB was taken this past Saturday when I met with a group of gal pals for breakfast at La Chatelaine. (Thanks, Beth, for coordinating.) It was an invigorating couple of hours spent talking books, movies, a little politics:), and life. Advice to all my female readers: keep your girlfriends close -- I know having those kinds of relationships has been significant to me getting through the storms of life.

Beth, Brenda, Kathy, Mary Beth, Michelle, & Me!

This Too Shall Pass

I decided to move forward with participation in a five-year clinical trial I mentioned awhile ago. My hesitation back in November was that it required a bilateral mammogram, as in both breasts getting the big squeeze. The way I was feeling then -- very tender -- there was no way I could have endured such a thing. But, time did allow for some healing and put me in a mood more disposed to giving it a whirl. Yesterday (Tuesday), I went to the Spielman Center filled with much apprehension. It didn't help, either, that they had the wrong information on me and made me wait another 30 minutes. Still, once I did get in the 'mam-room,' the technician I had was very kind and gentle. I won't say it was a painless process, after all whether you have a half or whole breast, putting it in a vice isn't fun. However, it was o.k. and I didn't do anything embarrassing like cry or wet my pants.

By the time I left, the waiting room
was jam packed with patients.

Waiting room with a view

The Power of Love

It was a sad day. It was a beautiful day. Losing someone we love, regardless of their age and regardless of how, brings grief. My brothers and I made the short trip to Ashville to join Julie's family in a celebration of her life. There were her children, grandchildren, friends from days past and more recent,  all sharing stories, laughing, smiling, hugging -- a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person and a life well lived.

Pics o' the Day

Me and Jana

Treasured memories: I remember the
day Jana's mom took us to buy our
tricycle license plates and fabric for
our matching doll-clothes bags

The Gift of Love

Learned today a dear woman who left an indelible mark on my life passed away. Julie Ramin was the original "craft mom," teaching her daughter Jana and me how to embroider, crochet, make sit-upons, bake cookies, and more. She was full of hugs and love. She was a second mom.

Julia Ann Weaver Ramin

Last month Jana took me to visit Julie who was in hospice. Jana prepared me that Julie had good and bad days and that she might not know me. For the next 30 minutes, in a soft and slow voice, Julie reminisced with us about life on Shamrock Drive. I think (I know) Jana and I both received a grace-filled gift that day.

"No longer will the sun be your light by day, Nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night; the Lord shall be your light forever, your God shall be your glory." Is. 60:19

Pic o' the Past

Peggy Haunty, Julie Ramin, Barbara Atkinson

A Resolution Already Foiled

Yesterday, New Year's Day, I was all set to kick off 2013 with my "return" to bosomundheit, but Time Warner Cable foiled my plans with an unexpected outage of cable, Internet, and telephone; one of the cons to bundling?

Twas the season for spotty blog posts -- a bosomundheit hiatus of sorts, I guess. It did give me some time to reflect on what this blog has meant to me the last seven months. And, on New Year's Day for Auld Lang Syne, I went back and read some of my early posts, which resulted in a strange, disconnected "did-I-really-go-through-that?" sort of feeling. Weird.

Twas also a season for big and small miracles.
In early December, our home church was asked to pray for a young student from Harambee Christian School who was undergoing treatment for a horrible affliction called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a deadly skin disease. Not only is it a life-threatening condition, it's almost always terribly disfiguring and some cases result in blindness. The miracle? This young boy defied the odds and was home for Christmas with comparatively minimal impact to his face -- a total reversal of what the doctors anticipated just a couple of weeks earlier. God's touch.

A much smaller miracle by comparison, but still significant in my wee world, is resolution of the conflict over the attack on Sedona. Things were pointing toward me having to take them to court for the $1,000, but my heart wasn't in it. Instead (again after lots of prayer) I wrote them a letter, explained a bit about my life the last 13 years, what it's meant to live on our street, and the benefit of being able to call on good neighbors. Of course there was more, including wanting a guarantee that they would keep their dog away from my girl. Upshot: a bag of cookies for me, homemade treats for Sedona and a heartfelt note that reassured me they were sincere about Sedona's safety. God's presence.