by jphilo | Jan 12, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
For some reason, the first week of January 2016 was a highly productive one for a certain inhabitant of our gravel road. Had I known on January 1 what I know now, the following New Year’s Resolutions would have been listed and checked off in 7 short days, rendering the remaining 359 guilt and fancy-free.
10. Come to grips with getting older after learning of several former co-workers and present dear friends, who are our age contemporaries, are dealing with age-related health conditions.
9. Cut back the geraniums wintering over in the upstairs bedrooms and water them less so the woody stems stop rotting.
8. Send out Christmas cards as a staunch proponent of the better-late-than-never school of thought.
7. Find a group to hand quilt Mom’s remaining quilting projects, sewn together by my daughter a year ago, and which have been lurking in the corner of the guest bedroom ever since.
6. Launch a redesigned website full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes that make half the archived posts disappear for a few days.
5. Garner a 100 new likes on my Facebook author page thanks to EA/TEF parents who read the first EA/TEF Awareness Month post at DifferentDream.com.
4. Eat a few Kirkland non-dairy chocolate covered almonds every day.
3. Watch as many seasons of Downton Abbey as possible in preparation for watching Season 6.
2. Call a dear friend in Harding County, South Dakota and make plans to visit next August during the 100th Anniversary county fair.
1. Record personal information in your copy of The Caregiver’s Notebook so you can tell people attending caregiver organization workshops to do the same without feeling like a hypocrite.
What New Year’s resolutions would you make in hindsight? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Dec 31, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- The hand therapist signed my official release from treatment almost 12 weeks to the day from surgery to reconnect my thumb tendon. I can now wear my wrist watch and wedding rings, type as swiftly and inaccurately as ever, drive, dress and groom myself, cook. and dust (sigh) like a a big girl. Life is good!
- Unfortunately, I still can’t use my good hand to lift chips with salsa to my mouth without dripping it on the only spot of white shirt showing beneath a woolly winter sweater. Many thanks to the staff of La Caretta and my husband for pretending not to notice my personal eating disorder.
- And, though the hand therapist’s office was mere blocks from the library, I totally forgot to check out the Downton Abbey DVDs in order and in time to watch all 5 seasons before the upcoming premiere of season 6. As if I haven’t already suffered sufficient consequences from the careless handling of kitchen knives.
How are you preparing for the premiere of Downton Abbey? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Dec 29, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
2015 was a wonderful year that included the births of 2 new grandbabies, the release of 2 new books, meeting more people in the special needs ministry community, and the completion of my mystery novel. (No need to mention chance encounters with kitchen knives and the consequences thereof.) I am looking forward to 2016 with as much anticipation as last year. Here are 10 things I’m excited about.
10. Fresh fruits and veggies from our CSA. Fresh strawberries and sugar snap peas in June. Sweet corn and tomatoes from July through September. Melons in August. Are you drooling yet?
9. New seasons of Sherlock, Doc Martin, and Downton Abbey. I’m even putting together a new outfit, all black, to wear during the final episode of DA.
8. Receiving an email from my agent saying my novel, See Jane Run!, has been accepted by a publisher. I believe in positive thinking.
7. Spending a week in Idaho at Shadow Valley family camp next summer. (See photo above.) Hopefully with the Man of Steel this year.
6. Co-presenting a workshop about special needs inclusion with Katie Wetherbee at next spring’s Accessibility Summit in McLean, Virginia.
5. Visiting my sister and her husband in Phoenix from January 16-23. This one’s doubly sweet with 8 inches of snow on the ground.
4. A year’s worth of Wednesdays with Dorothy playing Rummikub, Uno, and waiting for her sense of humor to peek through.
3. Going to Latvia to participate in a special needs family camp. Yes, you read that right. Latvia. At the end of June and beginning of July. More on that later.
2. Watching our kids navigate the world as adults and marveling at how well they do it.
1. Hugging and smooching the grandkids every chance I get. They’re all at that completely kissable age and love to cuddle. This stage doesn’t last forever, but should hold firm for 2016. It’s gonna be great.
What are you looking forward to in 2016? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Feb 12, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Delight: When you step in the door to visit your kids and your grandchild runs to greet you, arms wide open, and asking, “Grammy Jo and Papoo! Want to play ‘Where are my toes?'”
- When I picked up Mom for her dentist appointment, she made it very clear she didn’t want to go…all the way to the car….all the way to the dentist’s office…and all the time we were there. When I said, “Well, I didn’t like going to the dentist when I was a child, but you took me anyway because you cared about me,” her response was, “That’s a whole different story.” Yes, I am officially parenting my parent.
- Hard on the heels of the Parenthood finale was the announcement that Downton Abbey will end after Season 6. So the search begins now for a good series or two to replace them. Fans of either show, what do you recommend?
by jphilo | Jan 27, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
10. After being very disagreeable for a week or two, the temperatures finally decided to behave themselves.
9. A church fundraiser provided the opportunity to make dairy free “buttermilk” brownies, sample a few, and give the rest away. Check tomorrow’s post for the recipe!
8. Our daughter and her husband moved into a condo, which means we’ll be getting rid of some old furniture.
7. Co-author Katie Wetherbee and I are almost done editing the page proofs for Every Child Welcome, which is scheduled for release on April 27, 2015. (Yes, you can pre-order now!)
6. Whittling away at my to list in the second half of January means February may have some free time to work on the mystery novel again…if I can remember what it’s about.
5. Watching and listening to reporters trying to talk about “under-inflated balls” without breaking into fits of adolescent giggles is highly entertaining.
4. The Parenthood finale. Which is also the worst thing about late January since it signifies the end of a fantastic television series.
3. Downton Abbey, Season 5.
2. Mom’s doing her best to adjust to her new digs in assisted living.
1. The Man of Steel finally gets to meet his new grand daughter this coming weekend.
What do you love about late January 2015? Leave you comments below.
