So much to say..so much has happened..from very good to very bad...

2015 was a pretty rough year and I couldn't be happier to say good bye it on January 1st...

We lost our beautiful daughter-in-law, Rachael,in November. Depression + pain pills + alcohol = death at a young age. She and our son Jeff had been married a little over 8 years. They found they couldn't have children which only added to her PTSD from a sexual assault a few years prior to her meeting Jeff. She had demons none of us could help her with.  I ever in the world imagined having to comfort my son in loosing his wife. We weren't entirely sure he'd made it to the other side. But, with love and support, and sheer strength we didn't know he possessed, he has and has found his "new normal"

We lost Braxton, our sweet old man of 15, after many arduous months of him loosing the use of his back legs and us trying acupuncture, doggie wheel chairs, a stroller and pain meds to no avail. We knew we had to let him go..and we miss him each and every day..Lulu is still calling all the shots around here and because she is not "other dog friendly", we have decided to let her live out the rest of her senior years alone with us all to herself. She is a sweetheart you know...

Our  great grandson, Oliver celebrated his first birthday.. MrB and I fulfilled our dream of going to Ireland,,, it was the trip I never expected but always wished for. And, it was everything we had hoped for with the exception of it being only a week and not a month!

We took a few great camping trips in Gracie, our home made trailer. I've started painting again. Got 2 knees replaced..well that was silly..I only have 2..guess I should have said BOTH knees ...

Fell into the trap of FaceBook, Instagram, Pinerest, YouTube and all sorts of time stealers.

And that in a nutshell is why I've been gone ...but I did miss blogging. So, here I am again. I look forward to catching up with all of you ..

Oh, I'll still enjoy FB, Instagram and YouTube...but I will be here, my first "social media" love
-me

I don't even know if this works anymore, but...

..I wanted to go back, reminisce, look at what was my passion for so long. Blogging. Before FaceBook....before Instagram... chat, messenger..

And I realized I miss blogging. Using more than just a few words to convey my day, my feelings, my life.

So..what have I been up to? Getting older, which is " a privilege denied to many" so that's not really so bad.  What is bad is what I can do in my head but cannot do with my body.

Like Zumba, Walking long distances. Kneeling. Being able to make a fist..or ...

Complain, complain, complain! That's another thing..I complain. Geesh..as they say, getting older is not for sissies..

Well, I'm no sissy, so, bring it on..my sciatica and I are ready for you..