Hello Again

Gosh, I miss this place. What’s the matter with me, not writing more often?

Life is still at a busy pace…I continue to wonder when that time of retirement will happen: of doing nothing much, reading all those books I’ve collected for my lesiure years, time to bake more, teach the Border Collie (rescued, of course) to catch a frisbee because all black and white dogs are seen catching frisbees.

Seems like everyday is full but if I get the chance to cancel something so the daughter can bring over the baby, I do it in a heartbeat! To heck with any old appointment. Grandbaby time is far more important.

After he was born we really wanted to see him more often..but that wasn’t happening. The new parents barely had time to breathe, let alone sleep or eat. Like his mother was as a baby, he was a difficult baby to care for. So we waited, barely complaining.

And our patience was rewarded because now she brings him over at least twice a week, sometimes more. It works for everyone. Terry and I get lots of time to love, play, get to know Max and she gets to relax, watch a little tv, eat all her parents’ food (which is always better than what’s at home) and get a little time at the computer.

Terry is the loving, nurturer and I’m the fun-time, talker with the baby, which is the opposite at his home, as far as who does what. He already knows when I start with “Patty cake,” brillant child that he is!

Let it be said that we’re having THE BEST TIME EVER with this adorable boy. He’s going to be very intelligent, have a very determined opinionated mind, and enjoy laughing a lot, kind of like his mom and his grandma.
I could go on and on and write pages about this fabulous child but I won’t.

Still not smoking. Miss it every single second of the day but having an Electronic cigarette really helps. I think it’s been about 6 or 7 months now.

My brother and sister in law came for a week’s visit from North Carolina. He and I can’t get enough of each other but we have to settle for almost everyday emails. We don’t talk on the phone that much because we usually end up laughing so much and then we both start coughing because neither of us were blessed with great breathing mechanisms. He actually has asthma and allergies but never smoked. I just had allergies and a tendency to get bronchitis and surely didn’t help myself with smoking so long.

Actually, my breathing is so much better now, even after all the damage that happened that kept me in a coma for so long. I’ve always thought of myself as a small but sturdy little person and I guess that’s true. Only 20% recover from what I went through and those that live usually have pulmonary problems for the rest of their life. I can’t say I’m 100% back to normal but I’m getting there. Long walks and fast walking still cause me to stop and rest a little but I’m extraordinarily grateful for that being my only problem. I tire out more quickly now but even that’s improving.
I even had a cold when my brother was here and for the first time, it only lasted about 5 days and no lingering, awful cough that usually would go into bronchitis. Ahhh, but I still miss those cigarettes. Damn.

Gave our annual Halloween Bunco party and it was nice that everyone got to meet my brother. And after it’s over, I always swear I won’t do it again….and then the next year, I do.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving. We’ll be a very small group this year as opposed to past years. Probably for the best given my endurance time still. Then the next day, we will be attending another dinner at a family members home. 3 people in Terry’s immediate family got re-married in the last year and a half, including his 85 year old father last month! So family get-togethers have become huge with all the extended family. Terry and I are the only ones still married to their old spouse. Just celebrated 24 years last month and we have no intention of changing that status.

Haven’t done much regarding my painting for quite awhile but I’ll be back in class soon and I’ll be back to painting at home again also.
Am busy now, crocheting afghans for all Terry’s family for Christmas. Figured something homemade would do for these extremely wealthy people who have everything. It’s always difficult to find something for them. Got a little creative with a few and added some metallic thin yarn to the regular yarn to give just a little sparkle.

Then towards the end of January we’ll be joining a bunch of Terry’s family and flying to New Zealand and then taking a cruise thru New Zealand and Australia. I’m not much of a traveler but a cruise with a lot of nice people (the un-nice ones aren’t going!)sounds like fun and cruises can be so relaxing. My new mother-in-law has been a travel agent for a long time and was able to get fab deals for all of us so even the expense of such a trip was too good to pass up. I’ll never travel anywhere without a very good travel agent…they know all kinds of things that the average person doesn’t.

My hair really fell out a lot. It was awful, depressing and stressful. My girlfriend who’s also my hair stylist suggested a few extensions and that really helped me deal with it. Other friends suggested taking Biotin supplements so I did that too. It finally stopped falling out and I have lots of new growth now…baby hairs but I’ll take them.
Now my daughter’s hair is falling out, as per all new mothers and she’s having problems dealing with it. Actually told me that maybe it was her punishment for not giving me enough sympathy when mine did, which is silly. She was very supportive but you don’t really understand until it happens to you. Her hair is sooo long, way down her back and has always been extremely thick so she’ll be ok, like all us moms were. She’ll be 37 tomorrow..hard to believe my “baby” is that old.

Did I mention how incrediably impressed I am with her as a mother? She’s absolutely wonderful. I just sit in awe as I watch her. Didn’t expect that much perfection from her at all. Glad I was wrong.

Here’s a picture from a couple weeks ago. Max’s head looks like it’s backwards but he just happened to fall asleep while I was holding him. We had had friends over for dinner and my daughter was there and couldn’t resist staying for a dinner of mom’s pasta. I didn’t get to eat much but I can always eat and Max will only be a little baby for a little while.

PS: that’s my nose and my mouth…even tho my daughter thinks they’re hers which is true since she looks like me….but I had them first! 🙂