Author: Susie

My sister Sarah, artist extraordinaire, creator of beautiful art; Imaginer of color and shape, walks slowly and crawls into bed, worn out. We are blessed a hundred times because Sarah, felled by a micro artery stroke was found by her daughter soon after the stroke. Erin called 911 who picked my sister off the floor and carried her to a premier stroke center at the Mayo clinic here in Jacksonville. She’s home a week later, unimpaired, but tired. Life isn’t easy and then our body starts betraying us! Little arteries start to clog with plaque. Dentists scrape plaque off my teeth and warn me to floss, but there isn’t a plaque scraper for arteries, until one fails us. We have had a busy first day home. Eat breakfast, get dressed, negotiate to pay a bill tomorrow, meet visiting nurse for an hour, talk with sister Susie (me) and daughter Jennie. Finally, eyes giving up and closing, Sarah sleeps. Let us live our lives with energy. Move a lot and exercise. Make our brains work. Create! So that when one nasty clogged micro artery goes, perhaps a new one is standing by to take over. The brain will regenerate. Trust you will survive. Angels with us.

Is it possible I wonder that an inner city could be rehabilitated so that children could play and go to school in peace? Is it possible that children could eat breakfast and then read and study, color, paint, play music and dance, learning that they have beautiful talents? Is it possible that Federal money intended for growth and cleanup is misspent? Is it possible that everyone, "we all", could stop talking and go take a look at our own inner city, take a tablet and make a list of "things to do". And make it happen? Today I pray that rhetoric stops and conversation begins. I pray for peace in every heart and honest thinking. God bless us.

So Karla says as she steps out onto the deck, coffee in hand, dog at heels. George Winston plays the piano on Alexa and we sip coffee and remember this last fun week. "Did you sleep well?" "Yes with the door open"… 60 degrees outside the open door. Quilt pulled up snug under my chin. Karla’s son Brad and family of lovely wife Becca and 2 little sweet kids and 2 dogs are coming for a visit. The Boone mountain house will hear laughter once again!!! Ahhhhhh…. long sigh of a little sadness that we have to leave, but also some excitement that we will be receiving the keys to our new house in Lake Placid on Wednesday. I think they have Bible study at Lake Placid church at 10 am after Mass… but I don’t think we will get there in time. But in the future. And future is a good thing to think about and all the gifts God has to offer. Say yes! this beautiful morning and live. God bless you!!!!!

It’s getting to where we are spoiled with cafe eating, wonderful leftovers (not beanie wienie), wine, fires set by Chuck in the fire place, movies, walks with "the dog" Jessie, petting the dog who comes to sit next to me and is so grateful for attention! I think both the ladies in this house (Jessie and Karla) are very sad because 9 months ago they lost a husband and a friend, Mark, with a boisterous laugh, a fine sense of the beautiful and thereby a fine talent at beautiful art, a love of music and singing (shall I repeat boisterous?). We lost a good friend, but the angels received his joy! What a soothing vacation this is for all of us! Today is Saturday. Clear and starting at 51 degrees. We already took a walk and found a centipede! Jessie sniffed it and probably most intelligently, left it alone. I’ll bet they sting if you chomp into them. Ok my gentle readers. On the schedule for today in Lake Placid is the Calladium festival which we will miss this year but make it next year!!! Join us next year! God bless you. Angels with us!

Jessie the Golden loves to be petted and I think she has found her match in Susie who will pet as long as the dog likes. We drove into town and Jessie sits on her side of the back seat and puts her paws and head in my lap … She is all ready for a nice dinner where she sits under the table and eats what we drop which… we do.  I tried to give Karla some of my salad and some dropped so the dog chomped on salad greens and corn with joy. It is quiet and peaceful here on the mountain in Boone. A lovely place to send kids to school (Appalacian State U)… and celebration of Appalacian Summer is underway. We are home now from dinner and ready to watch a movie (I’m thinking Gray Gardens)… Last two nights I was off to bed at 8 and then 9. Tonight I’m going for it! Going to stay up for the movie!!!!  God bless you!

We are visiting my college friend Karla in Boone, NC. The red dog is Jessie a red Golden retriever! She has a big fan tail which she happily waves like a plume or a flag when she goes out for a walk on trails smelling of deer and squirrels! Jessie loves attention so a dangling hand gets the occasional nudge with the unspoken plea "Nobody pets me! Please pet my ears, my muzzle . My forehead!" So I just sat down on the floor and spent some time with her! We took a walk earlier and now Jess is curled up with her bunny. What a quiet life the mountain here in Boone is. It’s a lovely cool day. We drove up to South Windsor, CT. In soaring temperatures up to 101 to celebrate cousins Barbara and Kenneth’s 60th wedding anniversary. Stayed with Chuck’s sister Thelma and ate great food including lobster, clams and oysters!!! It started a deluge of raining the afternoon we left CT and didn’t really let up while a cool front moved in. We would have taken the blue ridge parkway to Boone but it was shrouded in fog and rain. Mountain roads in fog just not for me. Today Karla and I will go to Mass at noon and then pick up Jessie and Chuck for a outdoor cafe treat in Banner Elk! Angels with us! Thank God.

First: About the Mama Morehen. She finally forsook the nest with kids in tow. We saw her yelling at some rather large ducks to stay away from her babies and then she took off. We normally see the morehens with babies in the more quiet canals not out here in the big lake. Anyhow, the boat will be gone next time she gets ready to lay eggs…. They normally return to the same place for egg laying. Like the ducks. The back of my house against the house wall is a favorite place… Then we can’t walk on the path for 40 days. There was a lot of me peeking out the window and Mama duck (Mike named her Dolores) peeking back up at me. The babies hatched and Mama duck was gone inside of 24 hours! I also saw a turtle laying eggs in my flower garden near the art room. If I ever feel like pulling weeds there, I have to be careful. Good grief, nature is amazing.

We are in Bowling Green Florida after spending the day at Lake Placid. We dropped off a truck full of yard furniture and a few boxes of delicate angels. Hand carried to the new house. Then we went to lunch at what I call the American Cafe. It’s a diner with a big American flag…. Wonderful! I met 3 new lady friends who have been in Lake Placid all their lives….. a long time. We swapped names and numbers and I’ll text them when we come to the Calladium festival and when we are living here. Then to the tag agency which in Miami is a long and drawn out experience – need to make an appointment… We took a number and were called within 10 minutes. Did everything: Registered the boat and bought a tag; changed address on drivers license (I have a star so mine was easy; Chuck had to prove he was actually really a human citizen of the USA with social security, passport, 2 envelopes mailed to him in Lake Placid…. He also took his DD214 so he will have veteran on his drivers license; registered cars in Lake Placid; filed for voters registration, and I applied to volunteer at the polls! Whew! We walked out of there smiling. It should all be this nice. Then we went to the bank and did our first ATM deposit at Heartland bank! Easy Peasy! Then Chuck talked with the concrete man (need a slab for planned shed) while I shopped for bathing suits at Bealls Outlet. He packed all my swim wear, including cover ups! So I had to shop. Found 2 suits. Then we headed out for Bowling Green, Fl which is a pretty drive up route 17. Had too much dinner and brought leftovers back to the hotel. I might snack on leftovers in the room between swims if Chuck is busy with Convention stuff. OK! That’s it for the day!!!! All is well in small Bowling Green. We look forward to Convention starting tomorrow. God bless you!

We can want someone else to do something because it’s the right thing to do. In our opinion. It’s the right thing to do NOT to build a nest in the engine well of our pontoon boat. It’s the right thing to do NOT to overspend yourself into overdraft mode or pay only interest on a credit card. It’s the right thing to do to DO the exercise in a rehab hospital. So is this just my opinion? In the last few days I’ve stared a Morehen and 2 friends in the eye …and they stared back. Eye to eye we disagreed, and I walked away frustrated. Need wisdom here. I once had a boss say to me, "Care, but not too much." She didn’t want me to eat myself up from the inside out worrying about things I can’t control. So today, I stared at the Morehen, who by the way seems to be sitting on 4 tiny hatched babies, I finally said, "OK I’ll leave , but can you get going soon? I want to take a boat ride." Honestly I think she shifted her weight a little. That’s all. No boat ride tonight.

Thanks to a lot of prayer both Bonnie and I have settled down and are allowing the Lord to lead. Bonnie has been in hospital over a month but seems to have rallied. She has good care and good rehab people and she is regaining her sunny smile and is working hard to get up and walk around on her own. I told her "This is rehab, treat it like a spa!!!!" Warm showers, soft clothing. Handsome young men to help her exercise. What’s not to like? I don’t think she is eating yet, but that will come soon. It awaits a swallow test and great breathing on her own. (soon)… Family will meet soon, and Bonnie and they will make a plan for "at home care" whenever that is because I imagine Bonnie will not want to be alone just yet when she is released from rehab. I remember when Chuck was released from rehab, he needed some quiet time and help by friends and family before he was able to be on his own. So… Thank God this miracle has occurred!!!

As as for me. I have finally become accustomed to having the ascending aortic aneurism. It’s so close to the heart that it scared me but 3 doctors and the echo cardiogram technician and my lawyer all assured me that repair is more risky than just watching…. so we will scan with CT machine every 6 months and if the little critter gets bigger then we go to treatment. So, I’ve become one who cannot help lift things which puts the burden of moving on Chuck. I pack the boxes and call for my mover!!!! We are at this time awaiting the first interview with a mover called All My Sons. I like their web site and their voices on the phone…. Let’s see what the contract looks like. We will interview others also. This is a big move from Miami to Lake Placid. A house full and 3 sheds full…. God help us! Thank God my dear readers for blessings and miracles. Ask for peace and then sit back and let it happen. Love!!! and God bless you.

Hi dear readers! I went over to the hospital all full of foreboding because the last time I saw Bonnie she was all fight and frustration and no calm. Today she was sitting in the easy chair all smiles and happy because the trach doctor is coming! Well within 5 minutes he came and Bonnie was all lighted up. She wanted to talk to him, but he was all business, so I said to him, "she wants to talk to you." He looked at her big smile and he softened up just a little and greeted her and told her what he was doing and that she would cough a lot…. so "just relax." You should have seen. This obstreporous angry lady just settled like a lamb and did exactly what the doctor said. He pulled out a tube and put in a smaller one and immediately she is able to talk a little. It’s like a little more than a whisper, but boy oh boy does it make a difference. She wanted a mirror to look at the trach. How would we feel not being able to "see" what’s poking out of our throat? She also felt for the stomach tube. OK that’s still there. Speech therapist has to do a swallow test and the oh boy oh boy!!!! food and water coming up! I sent photos to her daughter and granddaughter. I sat with her for a while and she adjusted herself in the chair with help. She is back folks!!! Bad Bad Pneumonia almost got her. Let us all go get flu and pneumonia shots.

Chuck and I are midstream and almost drowning in books at this moment. I reached the half way point in the library, dividing my side (mostly religious books), into mine, garage sale, and church. This morning I started on the fiction and am organizing by author and searching out duplicates for garage sale and I’ll let Chuck decide if any of his precious James Connolly or Clancy or Patterson etc etc books will go to garage sale. Kathie has a lot of our stuff on internet and in her store so…. We look forward to halving our bounty!!! It’s sunny and beautiful today after a blustery grey sky day. God bless us and let us thank God for blessings!!!