BLackberry Creek Jottings

Busy Weeks

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:26:34 GMT

July 17. The house is very still and quiet now that the Truth Corps has moved on. We have been very busy for the last few weeks.

We went to Michigan for two joyous occasions in one week. First, was the baptism of our granddaughter, Christi on Wednesday night and then the wedding of our other granddaughter, Jerusha on Friday. Leslie came to the wedding with her family and I got to spend time with our little grandson, Nathaniel. All of our children, grandchildren, and many old friends in one place was wonderful!!!

The only drawback was that we picked up a nasty sickness that had us bedfast for more than a week after we got home, and we were supposed to be getting everything ready for Truth Corps the next weekend. We were barely on our feet again when they arrived. It was a wonderful week with all the enthusiastic young people and their leaders, Bob and Diane Stodel. We also had a couple of helpers that were a gift from God.

Felicity was appointed the “housemother” during the time that Truth Corps was here, and she took over so that I wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Dave Giordano came to help with the driving. He is a regular Mister Fixit. And he did a lot of both – driving and fixing. J

It was very hard to say good-by to them all as they went on to their next assignment.

It has been hot! I am so grateful for air conditioning. We need rain; the Sipsy River is starting to drop again. We hope it doesn’t drop as low as it did last year. It was looking truly pitiful before the fall rains filled it back up.

The last of May

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 04:38:53 GMT

May 31, Sat. Spring is in full swing. The birds are singing of their delight at the balmy weather that has finally settled in. We have had a succession of flowering trees and shrubs throughout the countryside. They don’t last long enough, but there is a new type almost every week. Last week we had bushes that were covered with small white blooms that had an aroma that was almost overwhelming up close, but was just perfect from the porch. I went out often and sniffed appreciatively. Honeysuckle started blooming about the same time and added their aroma to the breezes. Manufacturers cannot make a perfume to equal that blend.

We just had a visit from our good friends, Dan and Janet. It was so good to have them. This is the first time that they have been able to come since we moved here. It is quite a drive for them and we are so grateful for the effort they made to get here. Janet and I share a love of plants, so Troy took us to a local nursery on Saturday. They have the most variety of plants that I have ever seen. I am not totally familiar with Alabama plants yet, and a stroll through their nursery was educational.

Some thoughts

· Worrying about our young friend Trudy who had a serious spill in a horse accident. Please keep her in your prayers.

· Waiting to see if our garden in bags of topsoil is going to work. Some of them look a little sickly.

· Looking forward to seeing our loved ones at Jerusha’s wedding.

The phone just rang and it was Margaret saying that Wesley has to have emergency heart surgery. Please keep him in your prayers!

Spring is Singing

Fri, 02 May 2008 20:39:06 GMT

May 2 Fri. I think we are finally past frost danger. Even this week we have had temperatures down in the thirties a couple of nights. We held our breath because we have already planted tomatoes, but the temperature didn’t drop those last lethal digits. We are going to try and get the rest of the veggies done today.

The people that lived here before us did a tremendous job of working on this property. We are discovering new plants as spring matures. White irises are blooming all across the front yard, alongside the fence and the road. They are the tallest, most lush irises I have ever seen, and there are dozens of them! Elephant ears are opening, and banana tree sprouts are showing their heads.

I was surprised when a package arrived today. Leslie sent me an early Mother’s day gift, a mug with Nate’s picture on it. He is just learning to make a pucker with his mouth and it is so cute. It makes me smile every time I look at it!

Thinking about…

· A singing wren on the front porch, petite and perky.

· How much I miss Nate.

· Getting into art shows again.

· I enjoy turning up a new calendar picture each month.

· It is good to be back in Bar-B-Que land again.

Grass cutting time again

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:42:56 GMT

April 10 Thurs. Wonderful news, Troy's prostate biopsy is benign! What a relief! My health feels better too. I have been weaning myself off of oxygen during the day, but I sleep with it at night and during naps. Sometimes I get short of breath, but I am still functioning.

Troy and I have taken turns mowing this morning, and the air is redolent with the smell of onion. Wild onions grow abundantly here, and pop up all over the yard. The odor becomes almost overpowering when the blades cut them.

Mowing is a lot different here in Alabama than it was in Michigan where most of the ground was level. Our land here is up and down and slanted. In the back there is a sudden drop off into a deep ravine. I avoid getting anywhere near it when I am on the riding lawnmower.

Troy and I were both exhausted when we quit. It is the most exertion we have done since our illnesses. We both wore masks to help with the dust, pollen, and onion smell. The yard looks great!

Our granddaughter, and our daughter are both getting married a few months apart. Jerusha’s wedding is in June, Leslie’s sometime in January.

Thinking about…

· Azaleas are blooming.

· How pleasurable it is to go through the seed catalogues and day- dream.

· In 1900 the average American drank 12 sodas a year. Today it’s 556!

· Redbuds are showing off.

Take a step: You have just used 200 muscles.

Doctor Day

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:36:35 GMT

MARCH

March 6 Thurs. It has been a busy day! Troy had two doctor appointments today, and the last one was not pleasant at all. We pray that they find nothing seriously wrong.

Our furnace and air conditioner are all in one unit and for some reason the coils are freezing up. I hope it doesn’t mean its being ruined. We have to get someone out to look at it tomorrow. We had to be at the doctors today, but it was a worry in the back of our minds all day.

It was nice weather today, but the possibility of freezing temperatures this weekend still hangs over us. I am wondering when the safe date to plant starts in northern Alabama.

Thinking About…

· Planting some tomato plants, cucumbers, and squash.

· We are already seeing daffodils blooming in the pastures and roadsides.

· Nate is doing new things and I am not there to see them L

· Hopefully, my mother will soon be able to communicate by computer!

· How much comfort our pets bring to us!

Illness

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:27:55 GMT

FEBRUARY

Feb.15, Fri. I am finally at the computer again after being sick and being in the hospital. I am having a slow recovery. I think there is forward motion to the progress, but I slip back a bit too. I have ‘congestive heart failure’ and copd which is ‘chronic obstructed pulmonary disease’. It has been quite a shock to my system to come to grips with all of this, especially coming home from the hospital attached to oxygen!

Nathaniel is a beautiful name that slips lightly over the tongue and means Gift of God! Oh how I love that sweet baby!! He is breathtakingly cute. I can’t get enough of looking at him. Leslie and Nathaniel were here for over a week and broke my heart when they had to go. It was worse because I feel weak and weepy from my illness.

I am finding that Alabama can get MIGHTY cold. There is very little ice and snow, but the thermometer can drop very low this time of year.

Thinking About…

How precious ‘normal' is when you don’t feel normal.

The reality of mortality.

The house still unsold.

How much I love my family and rely on our Heavenly Father.

About the wonderful visit we just had with My Mother, my aunt Seba Faye, my brother John, David, Joanne, And Christi. Thank you all for coming and cheering me up. I love all of you so much.

For writing purposes, Nathaniel is going to be shortened to Nate, which is what his dad, and grandpa already call himJ

Nathaniel

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:13:44 GMT

Stormy Weather

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:28:30 GMT

Jan, 10 Thurs. It is raining and the wind is howling through the pines in our front yard. We are under a weather watch, but the worst of it seems to be north of us. There have been tornados spotted in other places, but we don’t seem to be in the pathways. Much of the south has needed rain badly, so this should help. As long as we don’t have damaging winds, it is soothing to hear the rain pounding against the windows.

Some thoughts:

· I love natural stone walls.

· Four-year-old Hailey already knows her ABCs and can write them.

· Most nights I have Bella on the outside edge of the bed, Max between Troy and I, and Eeyore on Troy’s feet.

· The differences between Alabama winters and Michigan winters.

· Pink lilies in a milk glass vase on the counter.

· Our house in Michigan still unsold.

· Old fashioned pimento cheese sandwiches like my mother used to make.

Winter Robins

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:58:46 GMT

Jan 7 Mon. The sun is shining and the temperature is supposed to get up to seventy today. We just had some very cold weather, but it just lasted a couple of days and then warmed back up. We are enjoying a winter without snow for the first time in thirty years

We looked out the window the other day and we had a yard full of robins. That was a sight that we hadn’t expected in January. We never saw robins until spring in Michigan. Now we were seeing where they go for the winter! Actually, they seemed to be passing through, probably heading even further south. The next day there was a different sized group, and a couple of days later there were a huge flock in front and in back yards. It is fun to see them at a different time of year than we are accustomed.

I miss my little grandson. I find that I need a dose of him often to keep me happy. Leslie is good to send us pictures and update us on his latest doings, but that tends to make me yearn to hold him even more. I need for them to be close enough to let us be more hands-on! I am grateful that we have already been with him twice and he isn’t even two months old yet, but I am greedy.

Empty House

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:24:51 GMT

December 28, Friday – Thunderstorms last night, and a heavy downpour this morning, but now the sunshine is turning the raindrops to tiny crystal balls clinging to twigs and grass. The area needs the rain so we were glad to see it.

We had such a good visit with the loved ones over the holidays. Leslie came first with her baby Nathaniel. He is our first grandson and we enjoyed him so much. Then came Jerusha our granddaughter and her fiancé, Ryan. She is wearing a sparkly ring now, and they are both beaming.

Lastly, Justin came to pick up Leslie, and he brought his four-year-old daughter, Hailey. Then the place was really hopping. J Hailey is the busiest little girl you ever saw! She is also sweet and smart, strong willed, and quite single minded. She is a handful…and I miss her. I sighed a sigh of relief when Leslie and Justin took her home, even as I had a big lump in my throat because she was crying for me as they drove away.

I miss all of them, and the house is very quiet. I regret that I get so tired, so quickly these days, but even so, having loved ones here is of one of my greatest joys.