yes!!

decluttering...

if i had

life

to do over...

i would buy

a lot less crap

i've been cleaning

out my mother's stuff

for weeks now

still have a garage full

onto our house i go

last night when

i went to bed

this was my living room

i have nightmares

about it

so very unnecessary

it is just awful

the amount of money

we waste on

needless junk

and then

we hoard

like it's treasure

not so

it's mostly

dust mite collecting

or worse

mold and mildew

we could and

should

learn to live

with so much less

my goal for

this year is to

follow the

 one in - two out

 rule

that is

once i rid the house

of all

the

unnecessary stuff

our happiness

depends on it

blindly into the night...

last evening

i was

calmly driving...

 

when all of a sudden

 it started snowing

within moments

it was nearing

white out conditions

it was hard

 to see what

was in front

of me

i slowed to a

crawl

just making sure

i was staying

on course

then as i gained a

bit more confidence

i eased my foot

further down

on the gas pedal

keeping faith

that the road

 was still

before me

and isn't that how

we live life

we have no idea

what tomorrow holds

the next minute

or hour really

we slowly

build up confidence

develop a faith

that

there will be

a reason to go

on

and then we do

one foot in front

of the other

blindly

like a white out

in the darkness of

night

tattered & torn...

many years

of

healing warmth

 

and love

from this quilt

my very first

paper pieced

hexagon

 stitched by hand while

i was in college

this week

it was my comfort

while i slept

in a chair

due to a frozen

back after

shoveling the drive

there are places

that need repaired

but i can't bring

myself to do so

as the vision

is so alive

when i think

of my

kiddos

curled up

underneath

when they

were not feeling

 so well

i cherish those

memories

and each thread

that is hanging

and

seam that is

 torn open

is there

from their

tiny hands

yet

comforted hearts

thursday thought

another year...

older...yes

wiser

i hope so...

my girl and i

made our annual

trek down to the q

for disney on ice

i watched

her closely

she demonstrates

such enthusiasm

the minute the big

eared mices

skate through the curtain

even though she's

seen them a

bazillion times

and i marvel

at that

i want to live

like sarah

just simply

enjoy

each and every

moment

that's what i wish

for this fifty fourth year

of mine

to simply enjoy

everything

all the little

moments

all we really need...

i recently wrote

a note

to someone...
 

who had been

quick to judge me

and
 turn me into

a villain

my sentiment was

 simply this

i really
 could not understand

the position that

had been taken

when all we

(my husband and i)

needed

was love

i have been trying to

articulate

for some time

a message

and

this week

a friend of mine

said for me in just

a few words

what i've been trying to

for years

using fear, guilt 

shaming and negativity 

does not build love 

trust 

or a feeling of safety 

just supposing

 the call had instead

been about love

just love

the outcome would

have been

 so much

different

today i vow

to spread some love

forgiveness

followed by love

for that is all we

really need

a broken heart...

this is not

the christmas

post i had

 

planned

nor did i expect

my holiday eves

to be filled

with sorrow

followed by

eye opening

 and jaw dropping

statistics

learned from hours of research

this precious baby

girl

the granddaughter

of a woman

i worked with years ago

our sons hanging out

together when we

needed to take them

with us

is celebrating her

first christmas

without her daddy

he died

a few nights ago

just days after

this gorgeous photo

was taken

addiction

it is real

it is frightening

and it is

a very huge problem

in our community

this beautiful blue eyed

princess

is not the only

daughter waking up

fatherless

 this christmas morn

in a very short

amount of time

i've learned of

several

young men

that i have known

good decent families

with one thing

in common

heroin

we need to wake up

reach out

stop being in denial

before it is to late

our prayers

go out to the women

who are now

 alone

as they try to cope

with an empty

bed

a broken heart

and a story

they will one

day have to share

with their

children

to the families

who are heartbroken

have guilt

are asking

 why

they could not do more

how do we help

we must stop

what so many

 police departments are

declaring an

 epidemic

we must

it is killing

too many

snowy splendor

there's just

something

about a...

...freshly fallen snow

that brings peace

to my existence

and when it

happens

at just the right

time

late in the quiet
of evening

in front of

a window full

of kate spain

christmas quilts

my heart

becomes full

of holiday spirit

forward with hope...

life has a way

of throwing

roadblocks...

in our path

sometimes

they are tiny pebbles

sometimes boulders

often people

 the necessary part

of living

and growing

and learning

is knowing that

no matter what

one must

keep moving

forward

with hope

for a brighter

tomorrow

the haters are going

to hate

the bullies are going

to bully

the jealous types

are going to

try to cut your legs

out from under you

the insecure ones

are going to

create drama

still

keep moving forward

with hope

just believe
in yourself

nature's beauty

i've had the

privilege

of staring...

at this richness

in our front yard 

for the past week

i'm afraid today

she'll be gone

as the winter winds

are blowing in

 across the lake

her beauty i

am thankful to have

captured

for remembrance

throughout the cold

snowy days

her glory shall return

next year

mother nature is kind

that way

healing threads

for three years now

we have been

stitching for others...

 

 

in beautiful happy colors

our mission is

simple

to help others

feel better

to let others know

we care

it's a simple gesture

that allows our

sarah to create

then share her talents

this week

for the first time

in more than four years

she herself

has been in the hospital

double pneumonia

last night

 at the suggestion

of a customer

i brought her a pillowcase

and a quilt

this morning as the room

became chilly

following a power outage

due to a massive

ice storm

i witnessed first

hand

what a difference

it can make

as she slept so

peacefully

the first time

in more than a week

miracles in the clouds...

days like this

remind me

although i want...

 

to think i'm

in charge

i'm really not

 we indeed arrived in

 new orleans last night

but by four this morning

i knew sarah

was in trouble

 so we called for a taxi

 and headed back

to the airport

 for the first flight

to ohio

the taxi driver

no doubt

divinely sent

 midway through

somewhere over the midwest

it was apparent

her airway

was collapsing

 so i asked

 the flight attendant

for a small tank of oxygen

 instead

 i got multiple emt's
quickly responding
 to her plea
for help

 they were heading to a

first responders

 convention

in south bend

the one who stepped up first

a gentle giant of a man

sarah adored him

the admiration

quickly became mutual

then we landed

to see out our window

three firetrucks

 and two ambulances

 at the gate

as the doors

 of the plane flew open

chicago's finest

 dressed in blue

raced in

to scoop up my girl

 and in the process

we educated

 an entire plane
 full of strangers

who cheered, clapped

threw praises

and blessings our way

feeling very grateful

that we safely arrived home

and thankful for the

strength that

comes over me in times

like this

so sorry to have missed the

wedding

and the quilt shops

we had planned

to visit during our stay

we'll have to make

a return visit

one day soon

especially to thank

tommie walters

of baton rouge

our hero on flight 1792

a grateful crash

i went to

the body shop

today...

 

 

to clean out

the boy's car

as the

insurance company

 has declared

it a total loss

not surprising as

it was more

than a decade old

i started with

the center console

then the glove box

scooped up the

two soccer balls

the empty energy drink cans

before moving

to the back hatch

as i gathered

a single lose sock

my eyes welled

with tears

my heart became soft

realizing there

are parents

who would cling to

this stinky sock

as a remembrance

of a last game played

the scent of their athlete gone

they would carry

this box full of stuff

home to an

 empty bedroom

i said a little prayer

in that parking lot

feeling very grateful

for second chances

this evening

true story...

i don't believe I've ever

gotten

political on this blog...

 

here I am...stuck in the middle with you

 

...but there's a

 time for everything

and today

on the fourth day

 of the

government shut-down

of 2013

over healthcare

presumably

they've left me no choice

happy friday