this and that
MaryJo, so pleased you are thinking again,the hospice are wonderful and need all the help they can get. I still weep at times, we were married 48 years, a long time and I miss him so much.My memories make me laugh , his sense of humour was amazing, we spent a lot of time trying to keep serious but it never worked. Whenever I feel sad I remember some of the daft things we did and I smile again. He was a golfer,fisherman and hunter, never a handyman,should be underlined and in capitals. Very very wise and witty,ask my boys!!!!
Rosey, love Tai chi I use the stork exersize and it has helped my balance a lot.I may look odd standing there but at my age who cares.My exersizes are given to me by my cleaner and even my back is better. She is a reg nurse and has done courses in helping older people,I know there is a word for that but can't spell it .I think as one grows older a sense of humour is most important,each morning I wake up, feeling s### and then try to think of something stupid I have done recently ,very easy,it happens alot.
Great news, I have a chair it has arrived, no sofas yet but a chair is so important, Gus is estatic he has his back again. Mine is another leather lazy boy with all the trimmings, pressa button and all sorts of things happen so far have had a problem keeping the family out of it and playing with it,not the little ones supposedly the adults. Thinking of MaryJo 's son posting one, so heavy I don't think our Post would do it.It is quicker to get mail from the UK than the South Island.
Time to think of planting salads, in pots ,in case of frosts but I am over winter soups and needing fresh greens,my son, who has been reading over my shoulder,is muttering about rabbits, he is here for his Sunday pancake. If he expects sensible comments from me he has never known his mother. HUgs to all and enjoy the Fall . Bee in a 3 degrees NZ.
B&B guests this past week
I wonder from year to year if I will be given the energy and health to continue running my Bed & Breakfast, which I simply fell into twenty-two years ago when I was sitting in church one day and my neighbour next to me whispered in my ear, I have a friend who is starting a B&B accommodation agency would you be interested in joining. Without giving it any more thought than discussing it with my husband, who said, " if you think you can handle it while I'm away (he was an airline pilot), go ahead". I thought when he retired in 1997, I would close the B&B and we would travel. Hmmm...he said: "I don't want to see the inside of an airport again" and so that is when I set up websites and got serious about running this B&B, something that has given me great pleasure and some (more) grey hairs as well...98% of our guests are such nice people but there is that 2% who do challenge me. This week was teacher's retraining week at the International Health Centre of the Taoist Society (the link below, if you have time to read it, will allow you to understand what Tai Chi is about). Several years ago, the Centre, which is five minutes from our home & B&B, built this temple on the grounds. I can say without doubt, that the teachers I have in here staying with me this week demonstrate in all areas of their lives, the teachings of Master Moy, who set the centre up some years ago. Run mostly by volunteers, with few paid staff, this property and their Health Recovery Programmes are an enormous undertaking. I only wish I'd started taking Tai Chi years ago but with an inflammatory condition which is permanent, I couldn't continue. Our guests come here for many reasons, mostly weddings, horse shows, some tourists, family gatherings and so on. So, today is the big clean-up before tomorrow's guests arrive. I swear I'll wear out the sheets from washing them as for people sleeping in them. Rosey in S. Ontario, Canada
http://thetigersmouth.org/
Beautiful Summer
MARY JO it is good to hear you are getting help while going through your grief. What a great idea you have for helping others go through the process as well. It seems like a good thing that you have your gardening and quilting to keep you busy during this time. I know parts of quilting keep my mind occupied when there are troubling issues. Who would have thought you could mail a recliner? Good to know.
Our weather in Iowa has been delightful for nearly a month now. Right now we are getting rain and as long as it does not come too fast or too long it will be good for the corn and beans. Since the temperatures are right around normal and a bit below the weather guessers have tried to make it into a polar vortex - really! I have no idea why they think they have to hype every bit of it - ratings, I suppose. No wonder we get so stressed since they dramatize everything they report rather than just giving us the facts.
I've been putting together flannel blankets with satin binding for our soon to arrive grandson. His quilt is still at the quilters so I still have binding to do for it. In the mean time we are being entertained via Facebook by pictures of his 20 month old brother as he grows into the "big brother". It is so fun to watch how fast they grow and learn.
I also made a couple of back to school dresses for the grands in Arizona. They start school so early there. The two in Wisconsin will not begin school until after Labor Day.
Later this month we will be attending my - are you ready for this - 50th High School class reunion. I'm still in shock. I have never internalized that people actually go to a 50th reunion! I still pretend I cannot possibly be old enough but everybody there will know the truth. LOL
From MaryJoG via Rosey's posting service
Coming up on 5 months since John passed. Feel that I have turned a
corner in that it is not so raw. Still sob but can control it now. Will finish
a grief recovery group this week which has made a huge difference. Puts all in
perspective. Will always miss him but am getting on with life. It is time to
give back and I've come up with a project. I'd like to train volunteers
(hopefully those who have experienced grief a year or more back) to work with
the caregivers after a death. Hospice calls once a month but that doesn't begin
to cover needs. I'd like to work with Hospice the last month or so by meeting
with the caregiver while they do their tasks. Once extended family has left,
the volunteer would be there to walk them through the hard things: Social
Security, banking and all the accounts that had the deceased name on them which
have to be changed. Cannot tell you how difficult it was to return his cell
phone and have to give them a death certificate.. Had to change plans while I
came undone.... Now to find an agency who is interested. Hospice feels they
are doing enough so will look elsewhere.
Am spending two hours each morning and evening this week in the front
flower beds weeding, transplanting, pruning and taking out overgrown plants.
When they come out, I'm surprised to find something hidden and move it to the
front. Half of the new mulch is down. Hope it protects the plants better and
keeps in more moisture. 100s here for about 6 weeks now all is dry. Gave up in
back and took out the plants from the dozen pots. Soil was too hot for them and
no shade back there.. If I keep this place, will go to raised beds instead of
pots.
Half of the stash is in order in the shelves and 23 tote bags are emptied
and stored upstairs in the new quilt room. The tote bags were moved from AZ.
Lots of work left before it is functional.
Made reservations to fly to AZ mid September for a week to prepare that
home for sale. Will stay with a good friend. She has enlisted the guild to
help empty the quilt room for the donation. Hope to leave all but the personal
things intact and sell it ready to go for winter visitors. My son says I can
mail the new lazy boy recliners by taking the backs off. We only used them a
few months. He mailed one to Alaska.
MaryJo
this & that
Finally made it to Chiro Doc. this AM for neck/back adjustment. So much better even before I left his office. More ice packs, neck is almost "normal". I am too old to be a headbanger!
Drove by my local quilt store and went in to look for ideas to use the S.F. fabric. Going to look into the versatile wave interchangeable purse. I can change out the outer covers & keep basic purse the same. I need some "fun". Too much nose to the grindstone makes Sara a dull girl.
Sara in Florida
checking in from Fla.
People who know we went to San Francisco keep asking me if I liked the trip--well, yes and no. Going away for a vacation, even a short one, is fun. But flying from the east coast to the west coast of USA with the time zone changes in 5 days is a bit much. Thankfully the media group paid for most of everything. We stayed at a luxury hotel right on Union Square, the Westin St. Francis. The group that put the tour together met us at the airport the early morning we left, had us check in on the computer, and our boarding passes were printed right there. We didn't have to take off our shoes, as the group went through the pre-screened area. We went to wine country in Napa Valley the Wed. we were there. (bus with driver provided) There were about 12 of us from Jacksonville,, and we met up with about 12 more from the Orlando area there. If I were a wine snob, and really liked red wines it would have been so wonderful. Alas, red wine, even the expensive ones give me a headache. So the tour was beautiful, gentle rolling hills. The 2nd winery had a beautiful picnic lunch for us, white table clothes, they had a special gluten free sandwich for me. :). Beautiful rose bushes and all. The cave where the wine was stored was interesting. A "wine blending" hour or so, where we were divided into tables of 8, mixed wines, etc. I let DH do it, I took pictures. Again Merlot and etc. The people who really enjoyed the reds loved it. They could tell the differences in the types, etc. I smiled. On Thurs we went to Alcatraz prison. Ferry ride out to the island, and headphones to hear the tour, (there were about 12 languages to chose from) I would say "interesting" and I'm glad we did it. That night a fancy dinner - now I usually have dinner at night between 6-7 PM. On west coast time 7 pm is 10 pm for my body. There was much wine flowing, again all reds. :(. The steak was good, it was on Washington Square where we watched the little Chinese ladies do Tai Chi in the park. OK, know this is too long.
We paid for a separate trip to Muir Woods with a small company on Fri. S.F. is a small, compact city, so over the Golden Gate Bridge, to that area is about 1 & 1/2 hr. drive. Multi-million dollar houses in the woods, the island of Sausalito was pretty. We had about 1 hr. to eat a quick lunch, look in shop windows. They were having their version of a "heat wave". About 85. Beautiful place. The tour driver said S.F. and area is the 3rd most expensive place in U.S. to live. I believe him.
The bad part was coming home---leaving there at 11:00 AM west coast time. Fly to Atlanta, quickly run to the "plane train" to go to another gate way away. pack in like sardines on both returning flights. Arrive back at 10PM our time, drive home -
Sunday pick up dogs, who were traumatizes by being left for so long. The dog place I took them had a doggy door, which they learned to use, but there were too many dogs there (16) and poor Polly was a mess for 2 days after. She would go to our back door and sit and look. That and the real estate people coming in almost every other day is getting too much for her.
I had a head injury on Wed. hit my forehead hard on bike rack in garage. Ice, Tylenol, 3 days of lying around on the couch. Now my neck is stiff, so probably a minor whiplash.
(The best part of S.F. trip was going to fabric store) Off union square , next to the fancy Chanel, Jimmy Choo's shoes, etc. is Britix Fabric, went there once to look around, went back and bought 2 yards of "San Francisco" fabric. I'll either make place mats or a travel bag, maybe both.
Getting late.
More Tylenol before bed, etc. Good to go, better to be home and sleep in my own bed.
Sara in Fla.
