Hope

Today marks 11 years since I put up my first blogpost. My life was so different then and I could not have imagined what the future held. I think the blogging turned out quite differently than I imagined, but that is ok. I have made many friends through the shared interests we have.

My first few blogposts had azalea pictures too. Azaleas are a core memory of my life. They bring me such joy. We drove to Pensacola this week and all along the way they were just showing off. The older the neighborhood the better because they had those huge unchecked ones. The azaleas have been such a blessing to me. We have to always look for the good and the beauty amongst the crazy.

I am blessed with 4 beautiful grandchildren from my two amazing children and their spouses that I love like my own. I often look around and think how did I get so lucky to have so much. BUT, we know with blogs and all forms of social media there is life behind the pictures too. This blog has been the highlight reel for certain. When I started this blog, no one would have known that I was driving an equilateral triangle between my home here in FWB, to Brewton to take my stepdad to chemo in Pensacola and then back to FWB on many of those days. I was spending the weekends going to Brewton when I started this blog and my house was a mess. I had planned a wedding for my daughter on many of those drives home from Brewton. I would cry the first half and pull myself together for the second half so I could get all the things done. I was a mess, but I was hopeful for better days a head. There is a book by Ronda Rich titled, There's a Better Day a Comin' that reminds of just that. One of many she wrote to inspire us to draw on God's goodness through struggles.

Yesterday, Mama turned 90. 

The senior living had a banner outside her door. They celebrate the 90, 95, 100, etc.

Lindsay and I both agree that Mama is the most photogenic person we have ever seen. She can be hardly moving around and yet, she looks like a dream. 

She always does her best to look nice. 

I got her early in the day and brought her to my house.

The kids are all on spring break so they arrived early afternoon for entertainment value:)

They all loved her crown which had a 90 woven in the jewels.Those doggone balloons didn't want to cooperate so the boys helped out.

She got to hold Valerie who is  growing and holding onto her black hair.

Later on we had her favorite pizza for the party. She ate quite a bit of salad and 2 small slices of pizza. We were amazed at that.

Then it was cake time. She also ate a large piece with strawberries and whipped cream. Truly that is more than she ever eats.

We got her a new outfit from Talbots. A leisurely outfit but quite nice. I know when I go over today, she will have it on. She likes to have new clothes.

We celebrated her well and told her what a big deal it was to be 90. I think she knows that.

I have been stitching on Valerie's name. This is my current location on it. 4 more letters to personalize.

I will back at stitching it today at some point between watering plants, checking in on Mom, and watching the basketball tournament.

A couple of things to share....

Jeff and I have decided to no longer look at homes. We have had time to look at retirement plans and have decided we will not be traveling or doing all the things such as that. Sitting on the dock and looking out at our water is vacation enough. We will continue to stay here for now which gives me a big sense of relief. God will show us if we need to make a change. For now, we will  hire people to do some of the bigger things we can't handle such as yard work. 

On that note, I kind of thought at some point I would share more about the Parkinson's journey because it might help someone. That has not flowed from my fingers yet. God will tell me when to do that too. What is more pressing at the moment is that Jeff has a bladder tumor. I have been sitting on some of that too. I am sharing it not for pity. 

I serve an amazing God and am so blessed, but to say that, I can't really be authentic without writing that we are facing another challenge. He had the telltale blood in his urine and that set off the trail to find the cause. Monday, we had the final tests in Pensacola to find the cause. He will have surgery on April 2nd in Pensacola. On Monday, we have to get him through all the pre surgery details like the EKG, so prayers would be helpful.

It is a heavy weight right now, but we will tote it. For those outside the rural south, tote is the word we use for carry. 

I am grateful for spring right now...azaleas brightening my day, grandchildren to come running in with hugs and joy, and so much more.

On this blog anniversary, I will continue to find joy in the things of home and have hope in the days ahead.  I am looking forward to summer and all the hot days. That is me!

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

This Week

One morning this week, I captured the sun just as it came up over the tree line. We are loving the new view minus the pines.

Spring is still doing its best to pop out here. The trees are either budding beautifully or dropping their leaves right on time (live oak leaf drop season is spring). The camellias have their last blooms on them this week and the azaleas are popping out all over the neighborhood. I added some day lilies to my front bed. I happened to come across some more Alabama Jubilees and one called South Seas. Jeff says I pick my day lilies because of their names and he might be right. 

In my last post, I had been so busy that I didn't cover all my goings on in that post, so here are a couple other things I did in February and early March....

Jeff and I along with friends went to Pensacola one evening to see Sean of the South and Three on a String. Saying it was good doesn't even come close to the experience we had. Seriously, we all left in the very best mood talking about it all the way home.

The tickets to this had been purchased back in early December - before we took the trip with friends to Atlanta and the holiday lights at Calloway Gardens. You may remember that trip was not as easy as I had hoped.

I sort of thought to myself after that trip that we would do this one with the friends, but I would not plan anymore trips like this with friends. I put out of my mind until about a week before. Jeff seemed fine so as it approached time I thought he would be ok. The night before the event I panicked big time. He was putting off the driving to Pensacola on our friends and I could see his anxiety. We had even driven over to Pensacola to check out the parking over the weekend prior to the Thursday night event. Here is the thing...I know Pensacola as well as I know Fort Walton Beach. I spent my entire life going there...I am completely comfortable driving there. I tried to assure him of that, but this new Parkinson's thing attacks him at random times with anxiety that I have explained before is so NOT my Jeff. 

Anywho, when he kind of pawned off the driving to Mike which again is not like him...I went into panic mode. Was this going to be like the December trip? After talking to my wiser than years daughter, she said I really needed to talk to my friend Cindy and let them know what it might be like. I heeded her advice and let Cindy know how the Atlanta trip had gone and that I sensed Jeff getting anxious about the parking and getting there on time, etc. 

Bottom line: that was a good idea and God guided me the whole time. Parking could not have been easier with hardly any walk to the theatre. The event was in historic downtown Pensacola that I love so much. The seats were incredible and the music and stories were amazing. 

If either Sean or the group is ever near you ---Run to it. The music was so good. It covered all genres and I truly can't say enough about it.

*****

Tucker's first field day happened. I enjoyed it so much. You know being a teacher I really missed my own children's field days. Jeff would attend them, but often I was dealing with my own class while my kids had field day. I got to watch and enjoy my oldest grandson have fun. I just wish the powers that be would not do Field Day in March. It can be 60 something degrees and freezing. The wind here in this month can make the same temps seem completely different depending on said winds. It happened to be a cold day for his field day:)

This week has been lots of baseball games but mostly at home during the days which I needed. Friday, I kept Tucker and Palmer because there was a teacher workday. Spring break is this next week. Katie brought Miles and Valerie over to play. I had to take Mama to get her nails done but brought her back over for play time. I think she thoroughly enjoyed watching them all. It is loud with 3 boys in the house. 

I have done a good bit of stitching this week and will share soon on Valerie's name. 

Bad weather is expected today and I am trying not to listen to the weather reports because they are scaring me. I have the alerts set, but I can't just listen constantly to it.

My dad's first cousin posted this prayer poem today ....(I thought it to be very appropriate.

Until next week,

Sandy

 

Spring Time

Life has been full these few weeks. I never intend to stay away so long from blogging, but it just happens. I am in a stage of life where I know these little grandchildren won't be young long, and I don't want to miss it.  I don't want to miss out on their energy, and the fact that they still enjoy grandparents.  I have attended baseball practices and opening day for baseball. I have taken Mother to appointments. I am watching nature come alive daily for spring. All good things.

Outdoor Time

February gave me 3 out of 4 glorious spring like weeks...can't beat that.  I enjoyed them immensely. While I always say spring begins for me on March 1st. I know March can be a crazy month. The weather will be all over the place and the wind lets us know why on elementary bulletin boards everywhere a kite is the symbol of the month. Nature just starts giving me things to watch for daily....the ending of camellia blooms, the buds of azaleas, the poking through of all the lilies, the beginnings of the lives oak leave drop and so much more. It is truly such a special time in my eyes.

My camellias have just shown off this year. February kept me daily outside looking and admiring their beauty. I kept camellia bowls on the kitchen counter and the living room coffee table. I think they are on their last week this next week, but I don't have to worry because the azaleas are about to explode. My camellias showed off because I fertilized them pretty heavy. Last year I felt like they were a little lack-luster. The fertilizer was explosive for them. I used a fertilizer designed specifically for camellias and azaleas. 

My roses are pruned and starting to pop with new growth. I added one. Can't wait to they open up. 

The orange pansies are putting on a show too. 

The pine trees have not been missed not one bit. In fact, Jeff and I have agreed that the view is prettier than ever without them. The deck is certainly not going to have to be swept as much. We have begun eating our meals out on the upper deck. Yes, I am happy for spring.

I am in wait and watch mode for the citrus trees and bottle brush dwarf shrubs. The citrus trees are alive, but they don't look like they will do much this year. Wait and watch. The bottle brush look dead to me. They can survive low temps but the snow made them very unhappy. Jeff says we are waiting for a good long time before we dig them up. Again wait and watch.

Yes, spring is wonderful. For my blog friends to the north, hang on - it's coming.

Building Routines

I have definite routines in place for my Bible reading/prayer time, chores, tending my flowers, etc. However, one routine that fell out of favor when the grandchildren came along was my exercise time. Before them, but after retirement from teaching I hit the gym. Then they came along and I didn't go and it has been hit or miss since Tucker's birth in 2018. I wanted to make an exercise routine just that;  a routine in 2025. I knew it wouldn't be easy to add it back and I have had ups and downs. It takes a while to add something like this back to where it is second nature and a priority. I walk daily...if you have a dog you have too. I love those walks with him, but I know that strength training is important. After much pondering I decided on a plan and have tried really hard to be faithful to it. I pick myself back up when I fail and keep at it. I know one day I will have it as routine again. 

I found a plan on Pinterest and printed it out and now I am trying to add it back slowly. The three day rotation has 6 exercises using free weights and body weight. It is meant to do 3 days a week. Currently, I am doing 3 of the 6 exercises each day and spreading it out over the 6 days so I won't upset the joints. I also am not up to doing 3 reps which is the intended for each exercise. I read my body. I'm actually pretty good at that due to the rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid issues. Slow and steady is my goal, but for it to be a routine. I printed the routines out and along with my weights put them in the front bedroom. I go in there all through the day and do the next exercise on the lists. I try to do 3 reps with each exercise and depending on the exercise a different set of weights is chosen. Anything lifting my arms above my shoulders gets a 2 or 3 pound set. Anything that works the legs like a squat or a lunge will get a 5 or 10 since I have pretty strong legs but weak shoulders.

Working on it but not beating myself up and hey, I am home and not having to go to the gym.

Cross Stitching

Oh my y'all ---I made a costly mistake and had to start over on Little Valerie's name. As always, if you just take a breath you get inspiration to correct your error. I had the V and the A all stitched that I shared with y'all on a previous post. When I removed the Q snaps I realized I didn't have enough linen. I was shaken for a moment, but realized there was nothing I could do but order a new piece and begin again. This time I stitched the bottom row of each letter carefully counting all the spaces between. I have the V done and with the inspiration given I decided to personalize the stitches as I had done with the 3 grandsons. I gave the V's little girl darker hair because my heart is telling me Valerie is going to have dark hair. I am now planning the other letters with all the motifs personalized for my little granddaughter. 

While I was waiting on the linen to arrive, I stitched her Christmas stocking. See all this dark hair. I think I finally have one that is going to follow in my line of hair. I had black hair before I turned silver and now snowy white.

Family Time

Since my last post, I have been a busy lady with family. All of it good for the most part. Yes, there are the usual appointments that I could do with less of, but there has also been lot of time with my grandkids. I have even gone to a baseball practice. Palmer has wanted to play ball so badly. He has watched older brother, Tucker play. He barely made the cut off date for tee ball but wanted to play so badly. I guess curiosity got the best of Jeff and me, so we went out to watch his first practice. He was fantastic. He won't be 4 until late July, but he paid attention and did everything asked of him. He was all in. The opening ceremonies for the league they are in was today. This is number 3 of these that we have attended. They do such a great job of this ceremony. They have a parade down the neighborhood from the school to the ball park and then festivities at the ball park. 

It started out rainy on this one, but cleared up in time for all the good stuff. Paul Allen brought Miles out to see this one. 

Here are few pictures to share of that.

I will close with Gus in his St. Patrick's Day bow tie after his grooming. I think I will pop it back on him for the 17th.

Grateful and blessed, 

Sandy

A Bunch of Random Things

Today’s post will not be a theme, but just random things going on and what is going on in my noggin.

Lately too much time has been spent on financial things or those related to aging and fully retiring. My brain rejects all things like this. It has no natural inclination to delve into such matters. My brain screams, “Run!” These things don’t bring me anything but stress. I turn 65 this September and decided I should start thinking about signing up for Medicare and social security. I am sure some of you are thinking, she is just now doing this… Yep! I didn’t get as far as I would have liked with it last week, but maybe next week since I am in Auburn this week and I am relaxing my brain! 

Jeff and I have decided to do a few home improvement things and that has been the focus of things lately. One of which is a fence to enclose a portion of the back yard in Auburn. This way when it is 30 degrees outside in the middle of the night and Gus needs to potty, I can just let him out and wait in the warm house.  Also when we are all here as a family that means 4 dogs who are hanging out with us on the side yard won’t be constantly trying to escape the front.

We priced this a long time ago and I think the guy quoted us a wrought iron fence which does line part of the front and side yard. It was an astronomical price so we let it go. Then while we were up here at New Year’s our neighbor had switched her picket fence to this….

this…

So we added one to match. It is much cheaper, but will do the trick.

It it not my best photography but now a large portion of the side yard is fenced in.

Then we decided to have the windows washed at our main home which led to more as it always does. The windows look amazing even for 40 year old windows. The upside besides having washed windows was we are now able to see what was really grime or broken seals. I think we need to replace 3 window panes,  but they are not in real visible locations so we can take our time on that.

 

Here is the living room before the screens were put back on, but even with the screens they look amazing. An interesting thing is all of the windows in the home used to have these pop in things that looked like window panes. I popped them out right after we moved in to clean one day and we decided we liked the look without them.

The other thing we did was have the house washed and the gutters cleaned out since the pines would no longer be clogging them up with straw. There were 2 places I was constantly digging pine straw out and the gutters had gotten so dirty.

This corner was always clogged with straw. It is going to be super nice not to be digging that out.

We also got the decks and stone cleaned. The downstairs was bad and I think Jeff just felt overwhelmed by it all. This was surprisingly not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be, so I will be handing his off again when it becomes more than I can manage. They did a great job and had it all done in 2 days. 

Jeff has been working hard on decluttering the garage and it is looking great. That is a more manageable task that he can handle in small spurts.

On to other random topics… I love orange and this room is so pretty.

Jeff says it looks like the Tennessee Volunteers, but I don’t agree:)

If you are wondering where it is -it is at our church. We teach an 8 week class for those that are new to faith or returning. It is a place to ask questions …we do have an amazing curriculum and Jeff is a fantastic leader. I am the hostess figure. We once did it twice a year, but we finally got another couple to do it one of the times it is offered and now we lead once and they lead once.  Anyway, you can see mine and Jeff’s spots for leading this group. 

The group has been just about everything you can imagine or maybe you can’t imagine. Years ago, I felt it was people who just had bad church experiences in their younger days, but not nearly as much the case these days. Many have ended up here with someone that liked or admired or were at the end of their rope and know nothing about faith in Jesus. Nothing. It always makes me humble and Jeff loves doing it. I have learned so much from it and in my prayer journal I have a list that I still pray for. One guy never showed up, but I had corresponded with him about it. A whole year later I get a text from him. I remembered because of the odder name. He was living in Pensacola. We had about an hour long texting conversation. You just never know. I gave him some advice at the end to seek out. All I can do is pray he chose to seek out the answers he needed. So yea. That is a biggie 8 weeks out of the year. 

I am fully ready for spring, but it is back to cool this week. My pansies are showing off, but I am impatient  for more. The spring like beginning of February made it too hard to accept cold, but I must.

So my last piece of randomness is my biscuits that I learned to make with Einkorn flour. It took a while but I mastered them. I basically used the same ingredients as always with biscuits but the Einkorn flour is much softer and can make for a stickier dough. I used more baking powder than I  do with regular flour. The reason for learning is that I had heard this flour was good for gluten intolerant people. I have loved them and done well eating them. Here is a link for the flour I am talking about. https://jovialfoods.com/einkorn/flour/

You will have to forgive all the typing mistakes as I did this entire post pecking out on my iPad. I didn’t bring my computer for our few days away.

Stay warm and let’s pool out energy for spring shall we?

Home Improvements

I didn't plan to be away this long. My days are never the same and this routine loving girl doesn't always like the "never know what my day is going to be like." However, I am very blessed and so I keep moving forward.

I haven't had nearly as much time to stitch on Little Valerie's name, but I do have the V and am over halfway on A, so I will share V. The linen is one I have used for Christmas ornaments and has a little lustre to it. I tried to match the letters' color to the wall. I came up with Classic Color Works Tennessee Red Clay as the floss color.

I have my plans for the stitch -just need time and not to make mistakes. I seem to be having trouble there, and honestly I think my mind is just cluttered.

Moving on... the pine trees are gone. We as a family struggled to see them go...probably for different reasons. For me, I hated to remove such majestic pines and the perch for so many amazing birds. I have seen an osprey and a heron eat a fish sitting on its branches. There has been an owl who likes to get at the tip top and hoot in the early evenings. I also knew they had to be very old, but.....

The first picture was taken at the end of January. We said it would be the last picture taken of the sunrise with the pines filtering the sunlight coming up.

That has been such a view etched in my mind for a very long time. We wondered what it would look like when they were gone. Now we know. 

The weather has been so warm that it has been mostly foggy in the mornings, so I have not been able to capture a pretty colorful sunrise like the one above. Praise Him for the warm start to February. I am loving it.

I will capture the beauty of the new view one morning, but Jeff and I have both decided it is ...

Not Better or Worse; just different. It is definitely a more open view. The water seems bigger like we have rounded that point up there, and it is the bay and not just down the bayou.

I will share more later. Lately, it has been warm, but foggy or cloudy for the most part. 

The view from the inside changed too. I took this one day to share the old look.

And then--- they are gone. I will share this one again too when I get a sunnier day. Now, this may change how warm it is going to be on this side of the house...

Once we made the decision to have them cut which WAS Really NOT OUR DECISION- (they are on the edge of the neighbor's property), we had to just not fret anymore. 

They had to actually make the decision, but we paid half when they agreed. They just wanted more sunshine on their dock. Here I was fretting over the loss of habitat for the birds and the loss of something that old. The largest on of the three had a diameter of 39 inches. I estimated it was between 80 and 100 years old. There had been so much erosion that they were no longer on land but standing in the water for three fourths of the year. A hurricane like Michael and they would destroy our house. The birds are still coming well except for the owl. I haven't heard him, but he wasn't there all the time anyway. They have adapted to the other trees. 

It was sad and yet enticing to watch them cut them down. 

Valerie is growing and here are some of the pictures of her and her brother.

She is two weeks here.

Valerie is 3 weeks old today and is more alert and looking around each day and growing.

Seeing how busy I am I decided to hire someone to wash my windows on the outside. I have always been able to keep up, but I got behind when Mom fell that summer and then selling her house. He comes today to give me  a quote, but I am pretty sure unless it is just astronomical I am deeming it worth my money and time and well being.

Enjoying this spring like weather and have plenty of things to keep Miles and me busy.

History Was Made

 Historical. Unbelievable. Bizarre. Surreal. Exciting.

Those are just a few of the words that could be used to describe January 21st and 22nd. 

I have never in my 64 years EVER seen anything like this. I know there will people from other parts of the country and even the world who will read this and just wonder how can this be such an important event, but folks I am telling the truth... The Gulf Coast of the Panhandle of Florida witnessed an historical event.

I have been super busy since Friday, but I feel like I have to document all of this as it is still fresh on my brain.

Snow was predicted for the Gulf Coast and like everyone else around here, it was a little hard to believe. Jeff said he would believe it when he saw it. He never could have dreamt this one up.

School was canceled in the expectation of it and it was being hyped on all the local news sources, but still could what they said was coming really happen.

On Tuesday, I fell in love with Facebook. I have never been a fan, but it was so fun seeing all my cousins and high school friends from Brewton sharing pictures. But then... we were seeing it everywhere but here. Sadness tried to creep in for our family. The radar was saying we were getting a wintery mix, but no we were not outside our windows.

That little oval purple blob was not showing up anywhere near us. It must have been up in the atmosphere. WE were all seeing nothing despite the radar. I was seeing pictures from Brewton and Atmore where family and friends live. Pensacola was snowing.

Then around 2:45 yesterday it began. Snow ---not ice, but real snow started coming down hard. Hip hip hoorays started going up from everywhere. It continued until almost 10:00 PM and gave us 6 inches. Y'all I have never seen that much snow in my life. 

I honestly realized I had seen ice and a dusting of snow with maybe and inch in Auburn back in the 80's, but not genuine powdery snow such as this. Can you believe it?

I am going to share the pictures that don't do it justice at all. 6 inches here and 8 inches in Brewton. You can see it on the above map. The old record was in 1895 with 3 inches recorded in Pensacola and Mobile.

By the way, with such an event I put on real winter clothing and embraced it. I went out multiple times and took walks yesterday and today in it.  

This picture was my first trip out with Gus. About 4:00 yesterday.

I walked out of my cul-de-sac to look down the road.

This was looking back to the house.

Down by the water... even snow all the way to the water.

One thing I loved about Facebook was all the pictures from everywhere. You couldn't tell snow from our sugar white beach sands. CRAZY!

This morning... I took more. Why not?! This is history here.

Spanish moss mixed with snow.

The little cottage two doors down.

Out my front door this morning before I went out.

Down on the deck...

From my bedroom window of the downstairs.

It is all just incredible. Real snow ----people----real snow! On the Gulf Coast of Florida. That is the Choctawhatchee Bay people. Do you understand how rare and odd this is?

Here are pictures of the kiddos? Who by the way have had the time of their lives. I wish you could read my family's texts messages from the adult children who have never seen this.

Lindsay and family in Destin. BTW, we couldn't go see either kid because the bridges were closed. I have to cross bridges to get to both.

The much too large gloves are compliments of Paw Paw who made it to Target before all of this started and got what they had. 

Paul Allen and family in Shalimar. Yes, that is little Valerie for a quick trip outside to get her picture taken in the snow. 5 days old.

This one was yesterday when it was coming down.

WOW ---truly amazing. I needed this recorded.

The other big news is that sweet baby girl up there who came Friday morning early and was safely home before the crazy cold came.

7 pounds and 5 ounces with a perfect birth. Mommy and baby are doing great. Her head is covered in jet black hair. Valerie Layne (I spelled it wrong in the last post).

Lindsay, Tyler and the boys made it over to see her on Monday before the snow.

Palmer is so smitten with her. Miles could probably be fine with her going back:)

I will stop there, but will be back soon with just other stuff. It seems I have lots to share. I had my cousin take a picture this morning of the little church in my sidebar and a source of inspiration for one of my stitched samplers. It is my family's church in the woods. All of my cousins live around it on the little dirt road. I texted my cousin to take a picture of it for me this morning,

Just beautiful!

I am closing for now, but I will catch up tomorrow with everyone. I have my small group coming in a few hours. I didn't think anyone would get out since the roads are going to be an icy mess tonight, but most said they were coming. 

Be back soon....from the snow capped flat lands of the beach...

Sandy