Time of the Seasons

I do love the fall.

The change in the colors of the leaves.

College football.

Sweater weather and a nip in the air (well that may be a bit off in SC).

Apple and pumpkin spice everything.

The desire to make soup.

It is hard for me to believe that I am putting away the summer tablecloths and decorations.

Time to put out the Halloween tablecloth that I have used for the last 25 - 30 years.  It is one of my favorites and obviously has held up to the test of time.

The plate rack will have Dracula, Frankenstein, a witch and a pumpkin.

The dining room table will have plates with fall leaves on them

The  clear glass pumpkin will takes its place in the center of the table.

The Halloween Dept. 56 buildings will be placed on the sofa table.

The orange and black wreath will hang on the door, near the Halloween banner.

The pumpkins and mums I will purchase tomorrow will be placed on the front porch.

I will be able to sit in the screened in porch and drink my coffee.  No ceiling fans required.

The only negative to this time of year, I hate that it gets dark early.

I leave for work in the dark and arrive home in the dark.

I miss the daylight.

I used to hate raking leaves. It is one of the chores I used to dread.

Not one of the autumn things I miss.

I guess that is the price we pay for the beauty of the change in seasons.

Each season has something to offer.

In the Spring, the flowers blooming, seeing people out of hibernation and days getting longer.

In the Summer, pools, picnics, baseball, barbecues, vacation and central air (especially here in the south).

In the Winter, the possibility of snow (we even had a snow event here last January), the smell of fireplaces and there is something beautiful about the stark bareness of the trees.

Each season has scents associated with them too.

Christmas trees, apple pie, burgers on the grill and spring rain provide our brains with a mental reminder of what time of year we are in.

As we head into the autumn of the year and the toward signing "Auld Lang Syne", we think of the year past.

The good, the bad, the happy and sad.

We have arrived at the time of year for pumpkins.

And yes, I will be watching Hallmark Christmas movies starting Oct. 26th,  Yes, I said October so get over it !!

Soon, we will be shopping for our turkeys and on the lookout for Black Friday ads.

We will barely step away from the Thanksgiving table to lighting the Christmas tree.

This year, I will be decorating the week of turkey day. since I will be on vacation that week. I promise not to light up the house until the bird has been devoured.

And that will be it for 2018, one of my most challenging years will come to an end.

Along with the tough times there have been some good moments.

I will put them all in the memory album of my mind.

I wrote a blog entry a while back that said once Memorial Day is over the rest of the year flies.

And I was right.

But in the circle of life this is how it goes, season to season, holiday to holiday, burgers to soups, baseball to football.

Each year from January to December goes quicker and quicker.

I just wish it would slow down just a little bit.

See you next week!

Trying to get a good night's sleep....

I love the few minutes before I fall asleep at night.

I have my covers wrapped around me.

As I relax and drift off to sleep.

A few years ago, I chose to no longer share my bed. I started sleeping in my recliner. It made sense to me at the time.  I didn't realize that it would be a challenge a few years later to go back to sleeping in bed.

I used to love sleeping on my side.  Now my hips and knees hurt.  I sleep on my back or stomach.

But I am still not up to a full night in bed. It is frustrating.

I will wake up during the night get out of the recliner and climb into bed.

Then I toss and turn.

When I stay at my friend Mary's house each week, I choose to sleep on the couch.

And I sleep pretty great.

I do wake up every now and then but usually fall back to sleep pretty quickly.

Now, I have to figure out how to lay in my bed like I do on the couch.

Maybe I need to use my body pillow like the back of the couch so I don't try to sleep on my side.

Then I have to situate my pillows like the arm on the couch with a throw pillow on it.

You would think this would be an easy task but it's not.

Maybe instead of the nightshirt I wear at home, I need to sleep in shorts and a t shirt.  It is easier to move in the latter but more comfy in the former.

I shouldn't have to think this much about sleeping in my nice comfy bed.

I never thought when I gave up  sleeping in my bed that it would be forever.

If I had known I wouldn't have given it up so easily.

It was one of those rash decisions that I am paying for now.

Due to this sleeping issue, it makes traveling and overnights a challenge.  Unless there is a recliner nearby.  If there is no recliner around, I climb into bed.

Then I stress about not being able to sleep. (I know the stress part surprises you!)

The saying goes"it takes 30 days to make something a habit" .

Unfortunately, breaking a habit isn't quiet as easy.

I feel confident that eventually, I will be back in my bed every night all night.

Hopefully, sooner than later.

Such a simple thing that we all take for granted.

I just have to stop thinking about it.

I just have to not obsess about it.

I also need my sleep.  If I toss and turn that doesn't work either.

I will keep trying.

I am sure one night not too far off, I will drift off to sleep and wake in the morning feeling well rested, in my bed.

"To sleep per chance to dream", maybe Shakespeare had trouble sleeping in bed too??

I am starting to feel tired.

Maybe, I will give it a shot?

See you next week!

(The bitmoji below seems more appropriate now that you know where I spend part of my sleeping hours.)

Not the week I planned on........

Last Sunday, I had my week all set.

Monday, a day off.  Jenn and I going to our friend, Mary's house.

It was her birthday.  We were going to hang out and watch movies. We were spending the night.

The rest of the week BAU. Work.

The day went as planned through our first movie.

Then a news bulletin. 

The governor ordered the mandatory evacuation of all the coastline counties due to impending Hurricane Florence.

Jenn and I headed back to our place. 

Now remember we had already driven 150 miles to Mary's.

Another 150 miles back to the house.

We arrived home at 6:30. 

We then had what I think of as a three hour fire drill.

This involves walking around the house and taking down what needed to go with us.

Important papers, med's, cash, checkbooks, credit cards, jewelry and items that cannot be replaced. 

YES, there are items that cannot be replaced!!

I know, I know, people cannot be replaced but neither can the painting of Dad's courthouse, Mom's Christmas Angels, the wind chimes with Mom's ashes and the only ornament I still have from Mom and Dad's Christmas Tree.

(the courthouse painting and Christmas angels)

We close blinds, unplug things, move things away from the windows and mark off on the list the things we need to do to secure the house.

By 9:30, we are back on the road.

Already tired. 

Another 150 miles to go.

Traffic is heavy as if it is the rush hour.  Most likely, drivers like us trying to get a rush on the lane reversals that were starting Tuesday morning.

We finish our 450 miles of driving at 12:45 AM.

We bring in the essentials. 

I fall asleep quickly. 

Next thing I know, it is after 7:00 AM.

The rest of the week, we stay at Mary's. 

I watch the weather reports and try not to let it consume me.  I am not successful at that part of my thought process.

The governor lifts the evacuation for Beaufort County on Wednesday.

Now, I try to decide what to do.

It makes sense to stay the rest of the week since the lane reversals are still in effect.

Friday night, the wind starts to pick up in Lexington.  The good news is the lanes are now back to their normal patterns.

The weather reports for Lexington/Columbia are not so great.

Jenn loads up the cars and we are on the road by 9:30.  A quick stop to pick up Jeter and off we go in our two car caravan.

We drive in some rain and wind.

The whole trip I see less than five tractor trailers which in itself is amazing.  One of my concerns was driving next to tractor trailers in high winds.

We pull back in our driveway around 1:30.

HOME!!!!

Everything looks fine.

The unpacking and putting things back in place begins. 

At some point, I sat down in the recliner.  I wake up an hour later.

Today, we are continuing to get back to normal. 

It was a nerve wracking week to say the least.

We had a hurricane impact our area last year too and there was one the year before we moved here.

And for 50 out of 52 weeks the year, it has been so worth it (we had a snow/ice event in January and the hurricane now).

It is the price I pay for living where I do.

See you next week!

PS Thank you Mary Mefford !! Once again the Mefford Inn provided wonderful accommodations and made us feel at home.

I Hate When I Don't Write It Down

I had a great idea for my blog entry this week.

Did I write it down? Ugh NO !!

Am I sitting here thinking what was that brilliant idea? Yes.

Maybe if I start writing about the week it will come to me.

OK so we are under a State of Emergency right now due to a possible hit from a hurricane.

Made a list of what to take that is not replaceable.

I know people say you can replace anything but people.  Wrong.

I cannot replace the painting of the courthouse my father tried many of his cases in.

I cannot replace the Christmas angels my Mom made me on her last visit before she died.

I cannot replace the pillow made out of material that was found in Mom's apartment after she passed.

Yes, I have included on my list to take: the important paper bin, med's, cash, jewelry.

The cars each have a full tank of gas.

We bought two cases of water.

We have batteries, lots of batteries.

If they order an evacuation, we have to get back here from Lexington/Columbia asap to get our stuff.

Then drive both cars up to Columbia/Lexington.

The weather alert warning went off once and scared the hell out of me.

I am watching the weather reports.

We brought in most of the things we had outside the house, just in case.

We do not have storm shutters.

We did shut all the windows on the porch.

I do not know if we have hurricane proof windows (but think that's a no).

And only last week, I got a quote for flood insurance.  When the agent called me about it, I was on a conference call.  I told her I would call her back.  Did I? No.  So I won't be able to get flood insurance until AFTER the hurricane passes.  Darn conference calls.

Now we just wait and see what happens.

But that wasn't what I wanted to write about ugh.

I did get two gifts this week from my friend, Jenn.  A damn-it blessing box and a lovely pendant that was exactly what I had told her I was looking for and it was her grandmother's which makes it even more special.

THAT"S IT !!!!!! 

I REMEMBERED WHAT I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT !!!!!

The ages of friends !!

I always used to think that friends had to be close to my age. 

And when you are young that is true.

I am not sure when that fact changes  but it has for me.

I have friends who are older than me.

I have friends my age.

I have friends younger than me.

I think the younger friendships are interesting.  It has to do with life experience.

Younger friends have younger children, teenagers or children in college.  I did once too.

Friends my age or older have grandchildren and I see the joy of that life experience.

I have friends that are single, married, divorced or have lost a spouse.

I have friends that have retired.

I have friends that won't be retiring for a long time.

I have friends that love sports. I have friends that hate sports.

I have friends that travel.  I have friends that like to stay home.

I have friends with varied interests from knitting to photography.  

Not a writer among them until recently.

Due to attending writing seminars/classes and having a developmental editor have opened up the opportunities to new friendships in the writing world. 

I guess that's part of what makes life interesting not just spending time with people the same and and with identical experiences.

Each friend adds something to my life and I hope I do to theirs.

I have laughed until I cried with them.

I have cried until I couldn't cry any more with them.

They put up with me and my many moods. I do appreciate that so much!

Friends are different from family.

Unlike family where you have no options, you choose your friends which makes them special. 

Yes, you can have family that you would have chosen as friends.

Who wouldn't want to be chosen?

I do not take the word friend lightly.  I have a lot of acquaintances.

I am also blessed to have some very good friends. even best friends.

I know I sound like a 12 year old saying friend, good friend and best friends.

Sometimes friendships happen quickly when you have an unusual shared experience.

Some friendships fade as our lives change.

And the best are the friendships that endure the test of time. You may not always agree but they always have your back.

Well, I am glad I remembered what i wanted to write about today !!

Even if it took half an entry to get there.

See you next week !

PS a little prayer that we do not have to evacuate would be appreciated!!

PPSS Cindy, You were right, your told me "just write" and it worked!!

PPPSSS Cindy, Note # two- I did have to look at my notes from yesterday to see if I write out the number vs using the numeral.  See I do listen to you !!

PPPPSSSS Cindy, Note # three- yes I will work on my timeline.  Maybe during the hurricane !

It's A Lot Harder Than I Expected- Writing and Life

The writing part:

I have always had a great respect for authors.

I knew it was hard work.

Until I finally started getting serious about my book, I didn't really understand how hard.

Trying to get my writing done in between my full time job can be a challenge.  Add the long commutes, housework, bills to be paid and all the other routine tasks of life makes it more daunting.

I envy those who can spend their days writing.  I try to carve out time and once I get going it is hard to stop.  Fortunately, I have Cindy (my developmental editor) to email me and prod me  and remind me I haven't sent her any new material.

Yesterday, I knocked out a lot of entries. I had been at it for 13 hours.

I emailed what I had written for review and suggestions at after 1:00 AM !

I had thought when I first started writing my order would be logical. I would move ahead in some kind of an orderly timeline.

That is not the case.

I am reworking what I have already submitted and then try to follow that part in some kind of order.

Then another thought pops into my head.  I can see it, feel it and hear it so clearly I start putting the words down as quickly as I can.

If a thought comes to me, I now add it to my notes in my phone so I don't forget it later.

Did I really think every word I wrote was perfect? Yes.

Did I think my original idea for the book would change so drastically? No.

Did it ever dawn on me the revisions can be a challenge? No.

But there I sat at 1:00 AM. still writing.

Words, sentences, ideas all kept flowing like a faucet that couldn't be turned off.

My brain was tired and my eyes were burning.

I knew once I stopped  for more than a minute I would fall asleep quickly.

That is unless another idea for an entry popped into my head.


The life part:

I know a lot of it has to do with me.

In previous posts, I have gone on about my inability to be impulsive. Why on earth do I get sad when I see others making decisions or doing things that I would like to do but just can't.

Finances play a part in my decisions.

Trying to get out of my comfort zone is a continual battle.

Seeing people step out with the appearance of no concerns is something I admire.

Doing things alone is very, very hard for me.  The reality is I have to push myself or end up not going out often.

Yes, I know when I have gone it alone more times than not  and I have had a good time.

Operating without a safety net is not my specialty.

With a certain amount of encouragement from you and maybe a little gumption, I will get over myself and stop thinking it's all about me!


Let me end by sharing some good things about the week:
-pumpkin spice is all over the place
-enjoying a 4 day weekend
-spent some time Friday night with my neighbors and had a lovely time and better yet they sent me   home with some barbecued chicken wings which Jenn and I devoured for dinner
- and college football is back !!!! GO COCKS !!!!


And along with start of football a little outside decoration was required.

See you next week !