checking in . . .
SARA in FLORIDA - did you receive the email I sent you with Jane in NC's two email addresses that I had?
ROSEY P. - Thank you for the update on Jane. I am sorry to hear about the latest news with her, as she was always an independent person. I have lost track of how many years she has lived in that house, but I do remember the other car accident and the creek, etc.
I don't blame Jane at all for not wanting to live in the desert. My allergies cannot handle it.
DH and I just returned from Salt Lake City, Utah, where he attended a business-related convention. Our hotel was in the downtown area and was lovely. Salt Lake City is very clean and beautiful, and we were quite impressed with it. But there was something in the air that aggravated my allergies. Ugh... lots of post nasal drainage and the accompanying sore throat, raspy voice, etc.
Every time I have gone to the southwest (Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ; Palm Springs, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Colorado Springs, CO) I have terrible allergy problems and come home feeling sick, only to bounce back 24 hours after returning home. I think I am done with that type climate and will refuse to go anywhere like that, again.
SIGNS OF WINTER --- Hhhmmm..... I'm seeing large spider webs again this fall, the squirrels are busy raiding our pin oak trees of their acorns, and the ants are quite busy outside, too. It will be interesting to see if we have another polar vortex winter!
From BedlamFarm/J.Katz
As you may be aware, I follow Jon Katz, never having heard of him until a few winters ago when a friend loaned me several books written by him on his border collies. We tend to settle in during our long winters here, quilt, read books, live more quietly here in the country because we are retired and don't have to deal with the ratrace of life, jobs, raising children and so on. These are called the 'golden years' and in many ways, intellectually and emotionally, I feel they are. For instance, I don't have to say 'yes' any more to things I don't want to do but felt I should. I can choose how I want to spend my day. I'm grateful to have some modicum of health, of family, fractured as it may be, of friends, old friends whom I've known since my youth and two of whom I had tea with yesterday. One is recovering from knee surgery, one has COPD, from smoking for many years but the longterm connection is one to treasure and thankfully, they live close by. We don't live in each others pockets but we know we are there should we be needed. We both live surrounded by meadows and when Jon posted this photo that he had taken, on his blog/website, I thought again of how quilters relate to colour. The focus of tiny flowers and weeds, the blurred colourful background. It spoke to me. It may others who love colour as quilters all do.
Rosey, who woke up dreaming about mixing the three huge batches of organic bananas for banana bread this morning and the fruit flies that will attach themselves in clouds about them if I don't do something with them when I get dressed. I wondered if mashed bananas will freeze. I have guests coming in at noon, so will begin baking this morning.
Mystery Solved
I feel that I should put up a picture of Inspector Clousou (sp) or Nancy Drew. I called Jane Brown this morning and left my telephone number which I hadn't done before. She called this evening and caught me up on what's been happening in her life. She wasn't able to get onto this board as many can't and I have no idea why this is happening other than the site must not be monitored by anyone now. Jane's computer went t*ts up and so she got a small Mac and can't understand it at all...thinks she will have to hire someone to teach her how to use it. All that aside, living on the side of a mountain in North Carolina takes some forbearance and the time has come, due to the fact that she is no longer driving, which I'll explain on further, for her to move. She has one daughter in CA and another in Rochester, NY and since she doesn't like the desert, she is planning on getting herself up to the Rochester area to be near her one daughter. This means emptying the house that she built after her husband died and which she has totally cluttered up...the daughters will come and help her get rid of things...they said. Her two dogs will go to a neighbour who has always said they would take them as the dogs are used to mountain living and not confined to a city. Sara, I looked up where your rental will be and it's nowhere near where Jane is....she is at least two and a half hours from Black Mtn. and you're further east than that with your rental, are you not? She remembered you coming up from Fla to NC though. Now, the reason Jane is no longer driving....she has sleep apnea. When she came here to stay she brought a C-Pap machine but says she's not always faithful about using it, thus, she falls asleep anywhere and she fell asleep driving her car. No-one else was involved in the accident but she totalled her car, wasn't injured. I suspect the police and the criminal lawyer she went to see after the accident because she was going to be charged just wanted her off the road. Which she is. If you remember Jane had that accident where her car slid off the road and into a mountain river which fortunately a neighbour came along not long after and found her. She's not doing much if any quilting as she's not motivated. She fell getting water for the dogs not long ago and fractured her pelvis. She ended up in such pain that she had to go to a residence for three months but came out early last June. Her 80 yr. old brother from NM has been up a number of times to stay with her as well. So that's about it, if she gets her Mac sorted out that she can use it, she might find her way onto the board but otherwise, she promised to stay in touch.
Rosey (I'm not checking this for spelling mistakes(
Scotland
So Rosy, and others who know more about Scotland and international things than moi, why does Scotland want to be independent of Great Brit? Is it old wounds that have never healed? Or is it the blood of "Braveheart" still running in their veins?
I have been battling sinus gunk for about 4 weeks now. Saw my eye Dr. last week, and was doing so much better with the drops he gave me. Now it is in the sinuses and post nasal drip going on. I feel like I'm walking through mud just moving around.
Found an allergist who can see me Fri. at 1:30PM, and he is near my home. have a 14 page question form to fill out. The printer ran out of ink in the middle of it. Hopefully DH can pick up one on the way home today.
I'm going to see my Mom this morning, then come home and flop on the couch.
Haven't heard back from Jane in N. C. I e mailed both the addys that Doris sent me.
I may have her phone # in my old notebook that is totally out of date.
Sara inFla.
Modes of transport....
Lovely photos thank you Rosey. Well done to that young couple with a babe in arms and a toddler in the carriage behind ! Wouldn't have been my idea of fun , when my girls were that age ! Nice to be able to fly around the country. When we had our little 'plane we did enjoy dropping in to visit friends who had room for us to land. We leased our plane to the Aero Club while we were overseas years ago, and a student crashed it. We did get insurance money ofcourse but decided to buy a boat with that . It was a more "user friendly" toy and could be used by us all... all that's a long time ago... Now we have neither ! DH . still gets the chance to fly, thanks to our neighbours who have a plane and an airstrip next to their house.
Lots of people here are favouring converted buses as a chosen form of transport/holidaying. We were quietly sitting in the garden on Sunday when a bus came chugging up our drive. A cousin of the DH and his wife. They bought an old school bus and have done it up beautifully. Very cosy, and with everything you could possibly need for a 48yhr break away. I could be tempted..
Election week here this week and all sorts of things going on... I'll be pleased when Saturday has come and gone so that we can settle down and get on with the job of running the country !
Off to a funeral now. Friends of ours took the risk of going over to Europe for a holiday, leaving three parents, aged 90 and beyond. behind. The parents were all in reasonable health. Unfortunately the fittest one fell last week, had a head bleed, and ultimately died.. Our friends were within a week of finishing their trip so flew home at the w/end. Sad way to end the trip but the risk was always there..
Enjoy the day.
Marion.
This & That
Most of our B&B guests arrive by car but occasionally some will arrive on foot, hiking the Bruce Trail through the Niagara Escarpment region here in Southern Ontario. And then there are the very few, one of whom arrived this past week-end by their own aeroplane, parked it further south at the Brampton Flying club, rented a car and stayed two nights with us attending a 75th b-day event Saturday. The pilot, retired AirCanada, his wife also has a pilot's licence as of last year figuring that in their 70's it might be a good idea to have a back-up. And then there was the young couple who took the bus up to a town an hour south of us with their bike and proceeded to bicycle up to us with a toddler on the back and a babe in arms. They were an amazing couple, now I believe they are living in Minnesota, last they contacted me. Never did I expect, when I fell into this B&B 'business' which is between a paid hobby and a community service, really...don't ever go into the business expecting to make much money at it...food costing what it does, breakfast fruits in particular, plus your advertising (mine runs at least over $1,000.00 per year) and that is paid out before my season begins, not knowing what kind of a season I will have or how busy I'll be. But it keeps me busy, gives me a good focus for later life and we meet some of the most interesting people....and then there are the 2% that sometimes I miss in the whole year that could cause me to close my doors. Here's hoping I miss that 2 % this year, last year, three men were so rude to me, I could have cheerfully closed up the B&B. But the next guests who arrived were so nice, it erases the aggravation of those few difficult and challenging guests.
Rosey
