Revisiting An Old Friend...My Blog

I can't believe that is has been so long since I have visited my blog. Time has gotten away from me and I am determined to get back to "blogging". It is an escape for me really, a way to put into words the day to day happenings in my life. It is also a diary of sorts. I've been away from so many things that I love to do on a daily basis. I love to escape to my tiny studio to create my artwork. Last Spring we had some damage to our roof during those terrible Spring Storms here in the Mid-Atlantic region. My studio suffered some damage which my wonderful husband repaired. We are so very lucky that he is in the construction industry and has built homes for so many years. If he were not a builder we would not be able to have our sweet Victorian home. But, I digress! We had to move all of my creative cubbies, etc. It was a big job! I did not feel like creating with all of the mess so I focused my time on other things. My husband tels me I have more things in my studio than I could ever possibly use in a lifetime! I don't think the dear man realizes that one can never have too many wonderful things to create with. He tolerates my "collections" because he knows they make me happy and provide an escape for me whenever I need a little creative diversion! During this time of the storms and damage, we lost one of our beloved Great Danes, Zeus. He was a magnificent fellow! He was a Fawn Dane with the most gorgeous eyes! Then, only a few short momths later, in the late Spring, we lost our dear Mantle Dane, Theo, and my beloved deaf Dane, Keller. There is a photo of Keller here...the handsome boy with the blue eyes. They were all getting to be senior citizens and they all had separate health issues. We miss them terribly. It is so very hard to say good-bye to these beloved companions. We still have our deaf girl, Maggie and our vision impaired Major Tolliver of Calmar, both rescues. Just a few weeks after losing our Keller in March, we found out about a sweet Harlequin Great Dane puppy who has Sub-Aortic Stenosis, a serious heart condition that will shorten her life expectancy. She needed a home for as long as she might live and we decided that we wanted to love her. We brought her here to live with us. She is all puppy and into everything! We named her Zoe which is a Greek word that means "Life". We pray each day that she will beat the odds with medication and a lot of love. We are raising our dear little grandaughter who is now ten years old and will start the fifth grade in Septemeber. I can't beleive she is growing up so quickly! She has been with us since she was four weeks old, except for a brief period when she was six months old. She is the light of our lives and keeps us young and sometimes more active than we might like to be. I've also struggled with health issues for the past two years but keep moving forward. My art and the process of creating helps my recovery in more ways than I can say. I so hope I pass on to our grandaughter the love of "pretty things" and art. I hope she will always have a little sparkle in her life. So, as of late, now that the summer has arrived, we spend our days enjoying a swim, sitting on our screened porch, watching the Danes frollick in the back yard. We enjoyed watching a family of birds and their babies in the bird house that my husband built many years ago. They return every year and it is always a highlight of our early summer. In the evenings we have quiet time reading the books we love. I'm trying very hard to make the time to create with my little grandaughter. I also steal away to my studio late at night to create a bit. It is a special time for us. Weekends have been spent with my dear husband getting things done around the house. We have lived here for almost 30 years and what was once our restoration now needs "tender loving care" once again. The landscaping needs to be freshened up and the beds need fresh plantings. A new fence is going up and an arbor will be built. It seems there is always something that needs to be done! And so, I've realized that I need to "journal" and keep my blog or my "diary" close by. I have a friend who tells me I should have been a writer and I think she may be right. She knows who she is...she is the one who lives too far away and we have a date for coffee somewhere down the road! I'm going to try to set aside a little time each day to visit here on my blog as if it were a secret place. I'm determined to become a better photographer, too! I bought a new camera which I am trying to figure out so that I can post better photos of our lives and the people and things we love. This week is the 4th of July. Here in our tiny town that is a huge event! There is a parade, lots of festivities at our park and sailing on the Delaware River! There will be barbeques, swimming and just enjoying our town. It is a place where people who grew up here and have long sinced moved away, come back to remember a special time. Our town is a magical place. I always feel, when I come home from being away, that I am stepping back in time and that is exactly what I love about this place. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and remember how blessed we are to live in this country, protected each and every day by the wonderful and brave men and women of our armed forces! Happy Fourth of July everyone! I will be back again very soon! I feel such a sense of accomplishment at having made my first blog entry in two years! I hope you will come back to visit with me again and again.....