“Making choices to find more joy…that’s my approach to winter this year.”

I started dreading winter with a vengeance after Mr. Virgo died. I wasn’t crazy about it a long time before that, but after he died the snow shovel only had one name on it and that was mine. Before long, I began to dread fall because winter wasn’t far behind. While I was out on the West Virginia Tour in the RPod, it began to dawn on me how negative this was becoming.

“Quilts always have stories, don’t they? Sometimes we know them…sometimes we don’t.”

Yesterday I showed you the jelly cupboard with my quilt collection inside. Several of you asked about the quilts…their origins, where I got them, and if I made any of them. Here’s a photo collage of the main quilts. I didn’t include the chenille bedspread that I bought at an antique dealer in Delta, Colorado when I started my three month odyssey. It matched the one on my bed when I was a little girl. I also didn’t include my first attempt at making a quilt. I used a fabric panel of an Amish quilt and just hand quilted it like it was pieced. 

“The antique jelly cupboard from the farm now houses my quilts.”

When I showed you my beautiful jelly cupboard that I recently moved from the farm, many of you asked to see it when I had the quilts inside. As I sat working in the living room at the Ponderosa yesterday afternoon, the warm sunshine streaming through the big windows made its way to the cupboard. The shelves sat empty and glaring at me. I set my work aside and went on the hunt for my quilts. They have been put away since the wedding a year ago and it was about time they were brought out for all to see.

“It’s Monday…Let’s do something different!”

It’s Monday! It’s a brand new week and I wanted to do something different. We will be heading into the holidays soon and I’ve been reading posts where people already have their holiday shopping done. And wrapped! I wish I could say the same…but I’ve been a little busy!

Do you, or someone close to you, have an online business that sells gifts appropriate for holiday gifting or decorating? If so, please leave a link to your website or favorite item in the comments. I’m all about supporting small businesses and independent artisans.

“Walking among the dead, speaking their names.”

I’ve always been drawn to old cemeteries. The headstones that are crooked and worn, the names fading away with time till someday…no one knows who the departed was nor to whom they were dear. There is always a note of sadness in that. I’ve had people say as long as you continue to speak of him and keep him in your heart, he’s still with you. Yes…and no. HIs memory is always and forever with me. He is not. He is gone…never to return. The finality struck me deeply in the second year of my grief journey when I was no longer numb and couldn’t pretend anymore.

“The cold, arctic air is hitting deep into the south in the coming week.”

I think Mother Nature has other ideas for me than traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains through an Arctic cold front. Last week, I had every intention to knock out the arm-long list of things that needed my attention and be back on the road by this time. Then, I got home. And got a real look at what needs done around here. The temps have gotten increasingly colder day by day with next week looking even worse. To top that off…there’s the new kitten. We can’t just up and leave now. It’s going to take more planning than it has in the past. That’s not to say we won’t be going anywhere, but honestly…I do not want to be off somewhere and not be able to get back because of bad weather. 

“Popeye’s chicken sandwich…does it live up to the hype? Meh.”

Who remembers the Cabbage Patch Kid shortage of 1983? Parents were beating each other over the heads to get the last doll so little Susie wouldn’t be disappointed come Christmas morning. There were adults…fighting over a toy…at Christmastime. Peace on Earth…fa-la-la-la-la!

Then, there was the McRib from McDonald’s. Shortages caused a feeding frenzy the likes of which would make any Great White proud. And now? Now people are getting killed. Over a sandwich.

“One week. Two vet visits. Still in love!”

The tale of the little black kitten continues. If you’ve been following along, Mr. FixIt broke the news to me gently over breakfast last week that he’d been seeing another woman. Young, sleek, athletic, this raven-haired beauty had stolen his heart when I so ruthlessly left him to his own devices at the Ponderosa. At first, I was stunned that he could so blithely betray me in such a way. And without even a touch of remorse, too! Humph!!!

“Being safe in the woods means staying aware of your surroundings and listening to your gut.”

There were only two times on this last trip that my antennae went up as I paid close attention to what was happening around me. The first time was when I was at Calhoun County Park trying to see a meteor shower. This park only has eight campsites in the first place. And I was there in the middle of the week after school started so there was no one up there camping. There were people in the community building both evenings but they didn’t come over near me.

“This year’s crop of Asian Lady Beetles is massive.”

We went to the farm yesterday with one of our granddaughters and our great granddaughter. They’ve never been there. And I haven’t been there for over a month. This is the time of year for the Annual Asian Lady Beetle Infestation. The last few years they weren’t so bad. But this year is another massive invasion and I was appalled at the carnage in the house.