Roses in Winter...

Just sharing a couple of photos

 of roses my sweetheart gave me recently:  A bouquet of deep red roses and carnations for our anniversary this past October, of which I am sharing a photo of one particular rose that had just opened up.

And a bouquet of pink roses for my birthday in November.  He also purchased a portable light box for me with lights included for my product photo-taking efforts and dinner at my favorite restaurant, which is also his favorite restaurant.

We have had a very good year together, and I am happy to report that he passed his 3-month follow-up checkup with flying colors.  His physician was all smiles.  A wonderful blessing.

I am very happy to report that I have kept the commitment I made to myself just about 3 years ago in support of my well-being, and every day it proves even more to have been the right decision.  I have been firm and strong in this, and I am proud of myself for it, thankful for it, and for every day that gets better as a result.  

Kickin' It On Saturday

My Darling is Recovering

The Guy is feeling better each day following his surgery.  He gets worn out by afternoon, but the pain has subsided a lot and the incisions are not even scabs any more.  We continue to be very grateful and joyful about his outcome.  Our bond is deeper as well, having gone through the not knowing, then the knowing, then the surgery, and now the great results and the recovery together.  And he has the best attitude of anyone I have ever known.  I am really blessed to be with someone who looks for the best in his experiences.  A lot of people out there act like they have good outlooks, faith, etc, but if you talk to them for 2 minutes, you know they are full of crap and do not practice what they say in any way.  Well, The Guy does practice what he believes, and that is so rare in today's world.

The big outing today was to go to the local Dollar Tree.  I needed onion powder, which they strangely did not have in stock today.  But that is okay, because they had packs of Wyler's Blueberry Lemonade drink mix that I can't wait to try, and I purchased some Wise Cheese Doodles in Jalapeno and Cheddar, my favorite combo.  I realize they probably are not that different from other puffed cheese balls on the market, but they are the original Cheese Doodles, which were made famous by the character Norm on the old television series, Cheers.  And this is the first time I have seen any products from Wise at a Dollar Tree in the Upper Midwest.  

I also splurged and purchased 5 books because they all looked so good.  I mostly find mysteries at Dollar Tree, and I have not been much of a mystery buff before, but I purchased two one day and really enjoyed both of them, so today I splurged.  I will get hours and hours of cheap entertainment, and I won't incur any late fees at the library.  Bonus.

Speaking of books, I am making good progress on my own book that I am writing.  Starting it out was not the most comfortable, but beginnings tend to be tough in most things.  Once I got over the beginning bumps, the process came along more easily.  It has been quite fun at times, and sometimes it is quite a purging experience.  It's a lot to say about many things that have happened.  It's the truth.

Wishing everyone a great remainder of your weekend.

Happy. Grateful. Relieved.

In this world, we are hammered from every side with bad news all day long.  But on Friday, my Sweetheart and I were treated to some:

He is in the clear!  The surgery was successful!  It was so stunning to hear the news that I could not even react at all for about 1/2 hour afterward.  I was silent and dazed like a deer caught in headlights.  Then I cried for a long time, could not seem to stop -- all the emotions came out.  It was a great day, and he is so happy and relieved.  He was so strong through it all, and I knew he was worried deep down, but now he has this great result and grins from ear to ear.

This illustration (not my art) depicts our feelings about this and about each other through this:

We are older than this and look it, but this pretty much conveys the feelings and actions taking place this past Friday.  Feeling very blessed, fortunate, and grateful.

A New Year Is Underway

What will this year mean to you?

I hope it means a time of building for you, building your dreams, making them realities, learning new things, enjoying relationships with good people who care about you.

I hope every day brings you some opportunity, however big or small, to make something better in your life, your home, your work, or your environment.  I hope you take those opportunities.

I have been enjoying a good year so far -- opening to dreams, making productive changes in business and life, and learning -- always learning.

I have continued keeping my resolution that I made at the end of 2015, and it continues to benefit my life daily.  As a result, I deal with far less hassles and am able to be far more productive, more focused, and do better overall.  And I am just happier.  Yes.  I still have health concerns and will be seeing a new specialist soon, but even that is much less a burden now that I don't need to wade through other peoples' muck to take care of my own health and well being.

And I am in love -- Yup!  There was a time following the end of my marriage when I was sure I was done with the whole love thing, just did not want to go through the loss, the pain, and the rebuilding again.  Also, at my age, I pretty much thought love was not going to happen.  But the delightful surprise is that it has.  I have been seeing a wonderful man since October, and we get along very well.  I have been keeping things kind of low key in that I have not told very many people, and I am not sure if I will change that.  Unfortunately, a couple of people were so extremely rude and behaved in such a toxic way over my former marriage and the marriage ending that I know for sure I will never make the mistake of exposing myself to any repeat performance of that.  Their behavior over something that did not affect them and was not their business was frankly bizarre to say the least.

So yes, looks like 2018 will have some great times and some roller coaster times in store.  And I look forward to every day because it is my life and how it unfolds is interesting to me.

Hoping life provides you lots of joy and great learning experiences this year.  Peace.

A Short Update

Round One of Healing Treatments 

was over on August 31.  I am on a break of sorts until after the 18th of September.  I am doing well, getting good reports back and getting good and useful feedback.  I like my care team very much.  They are trustworthy people, and that is a quality that in the larger world has been all too rare.  I am doing my work, my part of my healing -- every day.  One of my care team members tells me that is not something they see a lot with patients, so I am something of an anomaly -- a good anomaly.  She said a lot of people never do their part in their own healing; they want the easy way, which does not exist.

I was running some errands a couple weeks back and came across this lovely collection of flowers in  a sidewalk garden, so I thought I would share it.  Of course, I love that there is purple in it.

After A Long Time Away...

I am back again.  Transforming...

It's been a very interesting few months, a time of some heavy-duty changes and inner transformations.  It's been a time of great blessing as I have received much tender caring from friends old and new.  It's been a time of intense meditation, prayer, and doing the work required when one is seeking spiritual connection, answers, and tools to live by.  Working at it is necessary because what is sought requires more of a person than who that person was at the starting point.  Work strengthens. There is no other way to get there than by doing the work in the journey.

I have been spending as much time in nature as I can.  Nature is one of life's Great Healers, Great Rejuvenators, Great Friends.  Several days per week I spend hours among the flowers, trees, grasses. I am there in both sunshine and rain, does not matter to me.  My time spent in the natural world has been amazing -- very cleansing of old inner junk that needs to go.

I am happy to say that the decision I made so many months ago is still firm in my soul, and it is one of the best decisions I ever made.  It proves to be increasingly valuable and helpful.

Something new...

Tomorrow, July 12, I start a new journey of discovery, healing, and again building my life.  I am quite nervous about it, but I am relieved and proud as well.  I did the work necessary to reach this place and go the next level.  I am ready.  Ready does not have to be synonymous with brave.  I don't feel so brave, just ready.  I know I need this gift of grace and I am accepting it, and I am beyond grateful to have the help and guidance I will need.

For now, a photo of one of my sweet nature havens:

Finding Abundance Right Outside Your Door

I tried a few times to write an article to go along with this entry, but writing about it is not really getting the point across.  Anxiety levels are running high for me this year (just part of anxiety disorder, which often operates on its own set of rules, often without actual cause).  One way I am helping myself to move past those anxious moments and bringing enjoyment into my life is by visiting a local park every day (alternating parks as I have several of them near me).  

Autumn is my favorite season. I love trees any time -- but most especially when the air is cool and there is a breeze to flutter the leaves, which are sounding a bit more crackly than they did in the summer.  Spending time enjoying my favorite season in the glory of the outdoors each day is a very abundant experience for me.  It brings me peace and helps me get over the anxious bumps in my day and keep moving on tasks when I return home rather than allowing myself to become bogged down and non-productive.  It's easy and free (except for the bit of gas used driving there)  It's been lovely, and I am grateful.

Sometimes a very minor activity that does not cost much if anything and is very easy to do can make a lot of difference in our perspective on life, can pour some abundance into our laps, can make us smile from the inside out.

Sharing some of the tree photos I took while at the park yesterday (yes, the sky deep above was that blue):