About

I am me, mother of two adult children and grandmother of two. My son taught elementary grades in California and international foreign schools in China, South Korea and Oman for several years. When he returned to the U.S. he pursued his career in photography for awhile, and is now teaching in Southern California.. My daughter taught elementary grades in an international foreign school in Thailand, after teaching for three years in South Korea. She is now living and teaching in northern Oregon. I began to blog in the fall of 2009 as a way of posting pictures and keeping up with friends and family when we traveled back to Minnesota to visit my brother and his wife. Then I found several blogs by people whose writing style inspired me, and I was hooked.

In the summer of 2007, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and subsequently had a mastectomy, followed by four months’ chemotherapy treatments. There are residual effects; I lost my hair and was on a medication that completely blocks the production of estrogen for five years, so my hair will probably never again be what it was. It’s very thin and very fine. Husband was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer early in December, 2008, when he was given three to five years to live. He died December 25, 2013, going beyond the five-year mark by 17 days. The last two of his years were shells of what his life had been, and were filled with pain and his regrets that he could no longer live as he wanted to. He is now at peace, he is now able to be himself again. I have realized how short life can be and I’m not a spring chicken anymore, so now I spend more time doing what I like to do and less doing what should be done. I appreciate this life, and all of the good things it gives me.

In the fall of 2020, I ended up in the hospital for a week with pneumonia – I knew I didn’t feel good, but had no idea how serious it was until I sent my daughter a text message that was all gibberish. That message prompted her to contact nearby friends and ask them to call the ambulance, which they did. The reality is that had she not taken that action, I could well have died because my oxygen levels were so low. While I was in the hospital she drove to my house and packed up the personal items I would need, and upon my release took me home to live with her and her husband. That move has been a good thing, and I am now enjoying good health, a good life, and the opportunities to enjoy new adventures with both of my “kids”.

Thank you for visiting my site. I hope you enjoyed your visit and will return.

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