Deep Cleaning

Cleaning is really not my favorite thing to do.    I tend to live by the principle that if one maintains their environment in a neat and orderly fashion every day,  then doing actual cleaning can be postponed for a long long time!

I am getting ready for visitors this weekend----daughter and son-in-law, so some cleaning is definitely in order.

 What I don't do all that often is dust the furniture.  I suppose other more dedicated  house-cleaners have a regular schedule for that,  but for me it is "when I happen to notice."

There are a couple of similar things that get postponed frequently also, such as dusting the baseboards.   I have noticed that whatever requires one to bend over or get on their hands and knees, or contort one's body--- definitely gets more difficult with age!

Part of the getting ready for guests involves 'opening up' the guest wing of the house.  We do not generally heat the guest bedroom.  It is on a far corner away from where we generally spend our time, and it is also the coldest part of the house.   It takes most of the day to get it up to an appropriate level of heat.

The bed has a thick memory foam pad.  I have noticed that when the room is quite cold,  the memory foam turns as hard as a board!   If for no other reason,  warming the room gives the pad back its memory! It is rather comical actually.   Once or twice,  I have slept in that cold room with the cold memory foam pad.   It warms up where I am, and I sink down into that spot,  but the rest of the foam pad stays as hard as a board. When I had to get up in the middle of the night, I was unable to propel myself out of that hole!

I definitely would not want guests to fall into a hole in the bed and not be able to get back out!

Above Freezing

As everyone knows only too well,  it has been a long cold winter.  It may well go down as the coldest in a century;  or so I heard one night on the news.

We have spent so many frigid days and nights,  that just having a day above freezing is really really something to look forward to.

Tomorrow, it may get well into the 50's.  Oh, how I hope so, though rain is also predicted.   Can't wait for that day when it is both above 50 and the sun is shining!

My husband is a passionate, avid, committed, every-day skier.  Even he is ready for spring.  Of course, this has been a great year for him, and for all those who actually keep a count of their number of skiing days.

People have begun to post pictures of spring on Facebook, to show their longing.  And, oh how lovely they are.

I will be so very happy to be able to sit on the deck and enjoy my morning cup of coffee!
May that day come soon!

Back to Blogging

I have been on a hiatus from blogging for a while, because my head has been 100% in writing a sequel to last year's novel.  Writing fog.  Totally engrossed.  Lost in the story.   I noticed the other day when I was driving that I had been thinking about the novel and its characters, and had no memory of driving the last ten miles.  I was surprised to find that I had arrived.  Probably not a good thing.

Last year, some of my readers suggested that I do a sequel to In Its Time.  Although I originally had no intention of doing that,  it did kind of make sense because there were so many potential directions for the story line which could be explored.  So I have been deeply exploring the lives of Del and Eli.  It is kind of like mining, looking for nuggets, golden strands, a rich adventure. Living their lives.

Writing is my retirement hobby.  All I really want out of that is some readers, which thankfully,  I have had.  It has never mattered how many, just so it is some.

I had such a wonderful surprise today.  A blog reader took the time to send me an email to tell me how much she enjoys reading my blog.  That was completely unexpected and I was pleased and flabbergasted!  Thank you, my friend.

So now, having completed the sequel, except for the more mundane and non-creative stages, I do think I can safely say that I am back to blogging.

My True Home

In my last blog, I posted about making a pilgrimage to Mississippi, my first home.  Then I celebrated that New York is my current home.

I have lived in Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Hawaii, New York,
and in Dryden, Moravia, Fayetteville, Cortland, just to name a few of the places I have resided over the course of my life.

Tonight I am reminded of my absolute true home.  The one place where I have always felt comfort, belonging, love, meaning, challenge, peace.

It's hard to put the right words on it.  It is not exactly a place, but many places.  It is not exactly many people, but one people.   It's not exactly one idea, but one Lord.

The Heart of God.
Church.  The Word of God.  Worship.
Old familiar hymns.
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God.  Amazing Grace.
Jesus Christ.

Pilgrimage

Recently,  I decided to go on a pilgrimage to re-connect with my "roots".   That meant arranging to see what few relatives I have left in Mississippi.

I saw one elderly uncle on my father's side, as well as three cousins (children of my father's siblings).

 On the next day,  I drove to Jackson, Mississippi to have lunch with a cousin on my mother's side of the family  (daughter of her brother).   The following day I had a visit with an elderly uncle on my mother's side. We also went to visit all the family graves there in the cemetery, from both sides of the family, including both of my parents.

Along the way,  I took in the sights.  That included many delta views.  The Mississippi Delta is flat, and surprisingly at this time of year,  it was a rather drab brownish gray.  They have also had a very severe winter.  In fact, on my last day of driving back to Memphis, I encountered the results of a severe ice storm, coated trees, broken power lines, outages and the fallout from that storm.

Some other year,  the trees might have been in bloom in March, and the daffodils in all their glory.  I had hoped that when I went south, I might get a break from the cold winter weather.  I did enjoy one 70 degree day.  Then it plummeted.

In my driving around the north eastern part of the state, I saw signs for towns reminding me of many of the places where I had lived or visited when I was a child growing up.

 I learned some information about family members that provided important insight.

Perhaps the most important insight is that which was gleaned about myself.  I have come a very long way from my roots and I am so very grateful for my family, the life I have made,  for my accomplishments, and for who I have become.

It was a challenging travel experience in every way, from navigating to weather to technology.  But I am glad that I made this pilgrimage.  Clearly, the little girl who grew up there is a faint and distant memory.

At this point in my life, I have actually lived longer in New York State, and this is my home.

How thankful I am!