Rewind

Don't you sometimes wish you could hit the REWIND button on your life?  Maybe to go back to the moment before you made a huge decision...that you now see was exactly the wrong decision to make.  Possibly to go back to before you said something you wish you hadn't said to someone.  Or, just to go back to the moment you thought "I don't have time to stop for gas this morning; I'm running late already.  I'll stop this afternoon on the way home."  Yeah, right.

I downloaded some photos from a couple of weekends ago, and it allowed me to hit REWIND on my own life...if only for a brief period.  Back to before we had gotten the news about Mom's lung cancer...and our whole focus changed.


Ella Rae and Dixie in the garden

Missy M was here then with my grand-dogs her sweetie-pie-mutt-mutts, Dixie and Ella Rae.  They are both such bundles of energy...and make it almost impossible to snap a decent photo.  Believe me, I tried!  All I had to show for my efforts was a half-frame shot like this (right).  They loved being able to get into the garden...but, they didn't seem to get the concept of walking/running on the paths, NOT on the nice rows.  You should see the row of lettuce I planted with Dixie's help that weekend:  it now has tiny plants growing in these huge Basset-sized paw-prints, right in the middle of the row!




Maredith and Thomas
warming up on the deck on a cold night
in early February



We had some steaks we wanted to grill out, and we didn't let a little (hahahahaha) cold weather stop us. Bring it on!

We opened a cold bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling. (I toured that Washington State winery before Missy M was born...and I still love their wines.)  Mr. T got the grill going, and then he rounded up the little firepit and the fire-starters we use as mini-logs.  Missy M raided the hall closet for jackets and gloves and hand-knitted scarves (photo, left).  The night was remarkably clear, and the stars were out in force.  It was just lovely.



Trimming the boards for the Piano Bar Veranda

That was the same weekend that Mr. T built us a new deck onto the garden shed.  It was designed as a simple rectangle, about 6 x 8...just big enough for a couple of chairs and a small table, where we could enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning...or a cold beer, after a long day working in the garden.  Well, he's constitutionally incapable of building something as designed...even if he is the one who designed it!  By the time he'd finished, he'd re-worked the deck-top into what we are now calling The Piano Bar Veranda (imagine:  the top of a baby-grand piano...:).  Amazing!

Was that really just two weeks ago?  Sigh.

Ah well...moving forward. 

Mom's had a good week, with more good days than bad.  Her pain meds are working well, she's tolerating the increased dosage, and we are thankful for that.  We are baffled about nerve pain in her feet that wakes her in the night (no other symptoms).  And, while her good humor is present most of the time, her energy level is low.

Bro T will be with us through Thursday when he heads back home to KY...although I really don't know what we'll do when he's gone.  He has brought such a ray of sunshine that we will all miss terribly...until he returns in April.  We've got fingers (and toes) crossed that SIL LaD's health is improved and can come back with him.

And, I must say that all the cards and messages that have arrived here at Casa 3917 have made her (and us) feel so loved and supported.  "Thank you" seems so inadequate...but it's all I can think of at the moment.

Thank you.  From the bottom of my heart.