A Welcome to Fall

After going to a Bunco Birthday Dinner on Tuesday evening, with sneezing, eyes watering, and nose running I thought I would be in bed recovering from a bad cold on Wednesday.  But after taking 3 Advils, 1000 IU's of Vitamin C, and a Benadryl I went to bed and slept (not surprised with all that) and woke up feeling almost normal again.  Took another in the morning Benadryl and another 1000 IU's of Vitamin C just in case and got up, got dressed and went to Bible Study.  I am really enjoying this new book about Martha and Mary and I sure didn't want to miss the first lesson.

Since I was having Book Club at my home on Thursday evening, I had to get busy and finish the book....it's always appropriate that the hostess reads the chosen book and leads the discussion....so off to bed I went to read, read, and read.  I did finish, and I liked the book, "The Language of Flowers".  So interesting how flowers can speak and relay the exact emotions you may be feeling.  Interesting and different from anything I have ever read.  Good book club read.

Then it was time to drag the Fall decor up from the basement.  Having the girls coming over sure helps me get my motor running to get the house ready for Fall.  Last year I think I finally put up a few things in November, hardly enough time to enjoy before the Christmas decorations were saying "it's our turn".  And I love all the Fall colors.  So now I can enjoy these beauties until early December.

For bookclub I decided it was also time for something Fall tasting....so I called my culinary friend and asked how I could make pumpkin cupcakes using a cake mix.  Use a white cake mix, reduce the liquid, add 1 cup canned pumpkin and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice plus I added 1 cup chopped pecans because I just love nuts in just about anything and voila....they are now baking in the oven and I will add a cream cheese frosting to these delicious morsels.  Oh yum, I frosted one in a hurry and oh wow, these are really tasty...moist, pumpkinny and with that cream cheese frosting...bliss.  My cupcakes are not the most beautiful specimens, but they sure are good.

OK, must run, girls are going to be here in about an hour and I still have bunches to do.

Linking to Deb's This and That Thursday and Nancy's Rural Thursday....

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."  ~  Annie Dillard

Until next time....

Alone

Today is "I want to be alone day" in honor of Greta Garbo who was born on this day in 1905.

What a stunningly beautiful woman she was, one of the great beauties of her day who was also known for her tendency to want very much to be alone. "I vant to be alone..." was her mantra.   That was her choice...!!  This post today is not really about Greta Garbo, but about being alone and not really by choice, like Greta.   After living alone for just over a year, following the decision to place my sweetie in a Memory Care Facility, I have found that I have embraced "life alone".  If life would have continued the way I thought it would, living together with my sweetie and enjoying retirement together I would never have considered living alone, nor did I ever have the desire to fly solo.  After being so tightly wound in the daily trials and tribulations of having a spouse with Alzheimer's I feel a certain relief and freedom that had been so foreign to me.  The relief that he is well taken care of, he is safe, he is content and the freedom to live a fuller life.  To be able to enjoy Bible Study with my spiritual sisters, to join an art league, to have lunch with an old friend, to continue my passion for photography, to enroll in adult education courses at our local college...these would not have happened if I was not living "alone".

There are days that the only voice I hear are the voices from the TV or perhaps the voice of a telephone solicitor if I happen to slip and answer the phone without checking the caller ID...that's OK.  These are the times when I really want to be alone, like Greta, but indeed there are times that I need to be with people.  I am blessed with a great group of friends that I am with regularly and my blogging buddies, eventho we do not see each other or have never met I feel a definite connection and I am not alone when I read your posts, or your messages posted here.

While I was walking the beach on the shores of Lake Michigan last weekend we began a conversation with a man who was waiting for his wife and daughter to return from a walk.  During the conversation he talked about his Dad and the fact that only a few months after the death of his Mom, he was dating.  He stated..."Men can't be alone, you women are much stronger than we men.  We need that companionship."  What I really think he meant was that men need women to take care of them..hee hee.  But I have known several men who have lost their wives and they usually re-marry within the first 6 months.  And on the other side of the coin, I know many women who are perfectly satisfied and happy with their lives alone and do not need that "companionship" of a man.  They do not need to be taken care of...they take care of themselves.

While I was living in the horrors of Alzheimer's I did not think that my life would ever improve, and that I would continually sink into the hole of caregiving.  But after living life alone for this past year I know that God was holding my hand during the bad times, leading me to this new and different life, knowing that I would embrace it.  I am alone, not by choice like Greta Garbo, but by circumstances.  I have learned that sometimes my plans are not God's plans and that life can be good alone.

"For when a woman is left too much alone, sooner or later she begins to think - And no man knows what then she may discover. "  ~  Edwin A Robinson

Until next time....

Barn Charm & Texture Tuesday

I do like to participate in Tricia's Barn Charm every Monday, but this week I didn't go out "barning"...too much other stuff going on...start of new Bible Study, out of town for the weekend wedding etc etc.  So dug into my archives to get these.  These all were taken early in the summer in DeKalb County, IL when there was a promise of good crops.

And I am also adding Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday challenge for this week.....orange.  Is that cheating, I don't think so....I am gonna call it conservation of time.  That sounds real good.  I used two textures on each....one by R H West called Chapel and the other by Kim Klassen called Sweet Treat.  Both are applied with soft light.  I just love those beautiful Fall colors of oranges, greens, purples and blues.

Hope everyone has started out on a good foot this week and it continues...

"Life is a succession of moments.  To live each one is to succeed."  ~  Corita Kent

Until next time....