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My first attempt at a blog ... what is a blog, anyway? |
| I've enjoyed reading so many of the blogs/journals on this site, I thought it was time to try starting one of my own. So here goes! |
| Well, I was typing away (and this time at least had saved the first part!) and suddenly, it had been sent, when I was still thinking I was working on it! Oh, well - Anyway, as I was saying - the remainder of the spring and summer I spent time, individually and together as a family, with my three granddaughters, son David and his wife Suzanne, and daughter Betsy - celebrating anniversaries, holidays, and birthdays, and just "hanging out". In the home where we have lived for fifty years, and where my live-in handyman, Jerry (Sophy's dad) has been gone for six years, things were wearing our, breaking down, and needing repairs, so a lot of time was spent getting people to come and take care of things - and then waiting for them to get around to coming. I did also manage to get some more piles sorted through, and took a coupls of loads to Goodwill. By the time Labor Day came around, I was ready to return to Illinois, where I am mostly responsible only for my social calendar, which books to read, and which movies and tv shows to watch, while enjoying being with Sophy and Bob, and watching the ongoing drama of the changing of seasons, as the leaves turn from the green of summer to the drama of Autumn's arrival, with her canopies of deep, rich reds and gold and bronze everywhere we go. And soon (in a little over a week) we will be leaving for Hunting Island, South Carolina, one of S and B's favorite places to vacation, to camp for two weeks on the beach, listening to the surf, basking on the sand, and eating delectable fresh sea food. So - before I somehow screw this up, I will stop for now. (Turning Eighty has been quite a transition - maybe someday I will talk about it.) |
| Really I am, even tho I have not blogged in over a year and am now a real Octogenarian. And have been since May. But that isn't the reason I am so incompetent when it comes to trying to write in my blog. I was incompetent even before then. I spent a long time on a really good entry last winter or sometime a while ago, and it just disappeared before I could send it. I was so traumatized and discouraged that I hadn't tried again until today (computers intimidate me), when I ventured again, and once again, after writing my usual informative and wordy entry, it disappeared. I have no idea where it went, or what I did to make it go away - but it makes me wonder if the Forces Out There just don't want me to blog. However - Sophy insists that I try again - so here goes. After spending a vivid, colorful Early Spring here in Illinois, I returned to Southern California in May to celebrate with family and old (in both senses of the word) friends at a beautiful, spectacular, and amazing (in the old original sense of that word) party that my kids put on for me. I am still basking in the wonderfulness of it. (It was following the party that Sophy and her sister left for the memorable River Rafting adventure in Utah with Bob, which most of you have read about.) |
| ..... and I guess it's time I "blog" again. It's hard to believe it's been a month since I returned to southern California, but when I look at my calendar I can understand why I have not been making much progress in the cleaning/sorting process. After spending a week in Laguna, I came home, unpacked again, sorted more mail and email, socialized with friends, had my hair cut, repacked, and headed for northern CA to celebrate the 80th birthday of my college roommate (she must be much older than I - ???), and visit with other friends in San Jose, returning home to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our long-time neighbors and friends, and have overnight guests of their family for a couple of days. It was all good, and fun, a privilege to share these rich times with people who have been important in our lives, through many, many years. There was reminiscing, sharing of pictures of the days of our youth(s), and of course, an abundance of laughing. And the time together was made more poignant as we saw the pictures and told stories about the ones who are no longer with us ..... Now it's time to get down to business, and "accomplish" something, as I try to keep up this house and yard (where we have lived for nearly fifty years), without my lifetime live-in handyman around to help. While I was in the Midwest, my yard-person had forgotten to pay attention to the sprinklers in the back yard, and reset them when there was no rain (there was no rain here this year, all winter or spring), so when I came home, the lawn was brown and nearly dead. Two huge, old, gorgeous oleanders had also died, and had had to be removed, along with a lovely volunteer tree that was sending out destructive roots, so half of our concrete block wall is now exposed, and much of our formerly mostly-green and shady yard is bare and forlorn. I finally made contact with the yard- man yesterday, and he replaced worn-out sprinkler heads, reset the sprinklers, and promised to scatter some fertilizer and seed today. So - we should have lawn again, in a week or so - but it will take years for new plants to grow to any size, so I will just have to get used to seeing the rosy concrete blocks showing through the new bushes I hope to get planted soon. I pruned and chopped a huge pile of overgrown ferns and rose- and mock orange-branches last evening, and it felt good to begin to create a little bit of order in the chaos - Meanwhile - summer moves along, with family celebrations coming up - wedding anniversary, birthdays - more time with friends, and maybe some actual cleaning/sorting, one of these days..... |
| After spending a little more than two months in the Midwest with Sophy, I have returned for the remainder of the summer to my "other home" in Southern California, where my own house is, and where the other members of my family still reside, as well as friends of many years. I arrived home late one night, and after unpacking, checking email and phone messages, etc., etc., the next morning I repacked and came down to Laguna to spend a week with granddaughters, grand-dog and -cat, and grand-garden, while my other daughter spends a few days in Oregon. So far, I haven't done much that is productive - just mostly basking in the fresh ocean air, reading, and relaxing. It's always an abrupt change when I return here. Gone are the vast fields of summer green - corn and soy beans - and huge, full green trees everywhere - and the proximity of everything I need to drive to - five minutes, or at the most, maybe ten. Instead, the vast asphalt and concrete freeways, always full of cars, hurrying to wherever they are going - housing developments, industrial complexes, amusement parks - and having to remember to leave at least thirty-sixty minutes ahead of time to get anywhere I need to go. ( I am fascinated at how quickly I readjust - just as though I had never left.) At present, the weather is beautiful, lots of flowers are in bloom, I can see the ocean from the front windows of the house, and gas is a bit lower than when I left in April. When I return home next week, it will be back to the job of cleaning/sorting closets and garage, after nearly fifty years of living in the same space. (It's hight time!) For a genetic pack-rat, that is quite a project - though not without its pleasures, as I relive nearly-forgotten parts of our lives while going through the remnants of those long-ago days. So much for my first blog. Brevity has never been a strong suit of mine - as you may be noticing! |
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