A Different Life II

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by westcoastas

I was a bit late to your original thread so it's pretty cool for me to see you've started another one. You continue to provide inspiration for me and remain a cornerstone for my decision to hit the road. I'm glad we're along for the ride.

Thanks.

It's true....do what you can, when you can, because in a blink of an eye it can be too late.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by cwf

Maggie,
Glad you only got a wash for the AS!!!!

Lily was taking care of you!

Hi Channing,

Lily protects me from all perceived danger.

It was quite the storm, but did rinse the new gravel dust off my just-scrubbed Interstate.

The gravel roads in rural Iowa lay the dust on like nothing I have ever seen.

Fortunately, there is a nice car wash in Kolona, which we...now I....always hit after coming in off that gravel, and before headng to Iowa City.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Had a good visit with Doug's mom, who is actually in the assisted living section of the nursing home. That was not what I had understood, but am glad to know it because it means her mind is still as sharp as it can be for a woman her age.

She seems happy and comfortable there, likes having others to talk with, and was very glad to see me....also Lily, who she loves, and who was allowed in once I showed her current vaccinations.

I took her an Edisto shell. We had a nice visit, and I will be back by whenever I am in the area.

Got Alice from school, her parents took me out to dinner, and then we watched a movie from the bed in the Interstate....she loved that.

I had to stop Lily from waking her this morning, as once I started my coffee Lily went to Alice, tail wagging vigorously, and was going to find her face under the covers, licking her awake. She thinks when their faces are covered, they are hiding from her. Booger dog.

Lily loves her kids. This is a picture of her with the Iowa City man-pup.

Had a good visit there, all is well, we have settled into a new normal, for which we are all grateful.

Tanks are emptied, I am home, unloaded, soaked in the tub, and in my favorite chair with a glass of white wine over frozen raspberries....a new favorite...yum.

Starting tomorrow.....serious yard work. At least there is not a 5-6 cord stack of wood to move across the yard, like last year.


Maggie

[cwf]

)

[PurdueMom]

Maggie,

Your posts read like a favorite book. Good medicine.

~Allyson




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[Msmoto]

Hi Maggie,

I will try to put a word up, and when I am back online with my primary computers I will drop a photo of Lily into the thread.


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

[Hoobiedoobie]

So glad to have your writing back. 😊 I enjoy following it!

[Lily&Me]

Thanks, y'all.

I picked up a couple of large, 1 1/2 lb+, chunks of butter in Kolona....enough butter to last me a very long time, in smaller chunks whacked off to fill my butter bell on the counter. A lot of butter, but a very good price, for very good butter.

Also a sack of cracked wheat bread flour mix, which I will try in the DO bread with a little coarse-ground wheat flour. I have used a cup of their 7-grain with great success, just reducing the salt by 1/3.

Grains are good for you.....scrubbing bubbles for your arteries.

I took Alice to her ballet lesson yesterday morning, after wrestling her hair up into not-quite the required bun. The spring recital next month is Alice in Wonderland.

Spring with grandchildren is dotted with their must-attend recitals and concerts. I remember how odd it felt last year to drive myself to these, and walk across the parking lots without Doug beside me.

It all still feels odd, tho less so, and I suspect that is just the way it will be.....noting his absence in all things is an acknowledgement of the love and companionship, and the longevity of the relationship.

I am starting to look st the maps and ponder what new area I can explore.

Not too far, and not for awhile, as I will be busy here for a month or so......



Maggie

[cwf]

Definite benefit of having all 'boys' in our family, no worry about "Hair Do's".. When boys wanted 'longer', they were required to maintain to OUR standards if they were to maintain ownership. ;/ Hey, it sorta worked.. all 3, USMC...OooRah! So, I learned to 'boot camp barbering'...

Now, with our granddaughters... wow.. 'Taming of the Shrews'.... The oldest is the most difficult.. She has 'The Hair'...naturally curly.. and thick! Her sisters have less curly but just as thick hair.. and... now... they let 'Pop Pop' brush it out for them... they even bring the brush!

It is the "little joys".. the moments..., ya know...and perfect time to talk to them... when they aren't talking about Dragons and funny colored winged horses... and ice palaces... etc.. I don't get it... but......they like it.. and it opens doors with them..

Recitals.. wow... My Mom, God rest her soul, was a dancer and instructor. My Grandmother insisted (forced) her to dance when Polio was running through the country. She got a small touch of it, but the DANCE saved her... When she was attending the Convent, she put on recitals and the Sisters would 'inspect' the whole show... some good stories!

Enjoy the time, Maggie... they will always remember...

[Lily&Me]

I remember ballet lessons when I was a little girl......in our underwear and undershirts.

There were no dance costumes and no recitals.

Even by the time my daughter took dance lessons and had recitals, they were quite the gala production.....multiple performances, glittering costumes, tickets sold, etc. We would devote an entire weekend, and a lot of $$, to her recitals.

Alice's sounds like it will be the same. Her mother really has no idea what is coming, I don't believe.

Alice was a stinker about having her mop of hair brushed, and so has had it short for a number of years. She now wants it long, so is growing it out, but it is not really long, as required for a proper bun with little equipment required.

The best I could do was a tucked-under pony tail, but her teacher didn't care.

My son's daughter, on the other hand, has beautiful hair, to her waist.....a very girly girl, who lets Grandma braid and twist and all those fun things.

It is a joy, tis true, and I am glad to be a part of it.

They grow up too quickly.


Maggie

[rmkrum]

Yeah, they do. Daughter grew her hair long from birth until she was 12 years old. She let Dad braid it every day. When she hit 12 and we moved back to California she had it cut. It was long enough to sit on. Donated her glorious hair to Locks of Love.

She now is almost 21 years old. Her hair is almost as long, but she trims it up a bit for college days.

Couple days ago I noticed she had braided some in front just for fun. Got a bit misty over that.

They do grow up too fast.😥


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[Lily&Me]

I was mixing a loaf of DO bread yesterday morning, while on Skype with my daughter.....multi-tasking is such a hard habit to break ....and poured 2 cups of lukewarm water in the dry ingredients instead of 1 1/2 cups.

That is a lot of extra water. For a moment, I thought I would just throw it all out and start over, then thought.....what the h---, this dough takes a licking and keeps on ticking....so I just added flour til it seemed the right consistency, covered it and set it to rise.

It was a more moist dough than usual, but I patted it around to try to shape it, gave up on that, transferred it to the parchment paper in the bowl and then baked it as usual.

It made a huge loaf, needless to say, but baked up beautifully.

Between the high heat which seizes up the outer crust, and the support of the parchment paper and DO sides, it baked up just like it was supposed to....chewy, crusty, and delicious.

High-quality carbs.....done! Breakfast toast.

The two strapping young men who mow my yard, whose lawn care business is a second job for them, are going to remove the posts and trellis Doug & I put around the pretty large back patio probably 15 years ago. This was before the fenced in back yard, in order to provide a bit of privacy in the low-rent district within which the little house rests.

The trellis served its purpose, but the fence has been up nearly 5 years, so it is time for it to go. Its removal will open up the patio to the back yard, which will be nice. I was delighted these guys I know and trust agreed to do it, as I now do not need to search and find a handy-person to take this on.

Am also looking to replace my gutters, original to the 30-year old house, with those that are covered and don't require someone getting on the roof to clean them out late spring every year. It's time.

Had an email from Doug's sister today, wondering if I had been by to see their Mom, as when Sandy was there yesterday Louise could not remember if I had been there or had called.

Ahh, well.....she is 97 1/2, after all. If short term memory is her biggest issue, she has certainly earned that right.


Maggie

[Ganado]

Maggie what is DO bread? I don't recognize that term.

Fresh bread yum!

[Lily&Me]

Dutch Oven......baked covered 30 minutes in a DO, then uncovered for 10.

Artisan bread, at home in your oven, or with charcoal on the road.



Maggie

[Ganado]

Nice! Ty for replying

[Lily&Me]

One of the upsides of yard work is the immediate gratification element....you look around, and can see exactly what you have accomplished.

I put several hours in this morning on the most physical things, that I personally do best to tackle in the mornings , and there is a tidy yard and patio to show for it, along with a large pile of leaves and debris at the street to be picked up. A lot still to do, but it is too early to put in flowers so I can chip away at those things over the next few weeks.

Having the trellis removed means relocating the wood on the patio so the guys can get to it.....the same wood we hauled across the yard last spring. I still have at least two years worth of wood from those trees, in 3 different piles, which will all eventually find their way to the patio.

Good for my aging bones...every time I move them...I tell myself.

Am having the front bumper replaced on the Interstate....cracked thru for several years, patched up some and now looking pretty awful. It has to go. This particular part is on back order, and there are 17 in line before mine.

Doug always said this area hung very low to the ground.....damage there is apparently a common problem, and this will be our second replacement bumper in 8 years of ownership.

I am no less aware every day that I am doing alone the things we always did together, but I am doing them better, stronger and with more determination and sense of ownership than the forced, slogging thru of these same chores last year.

It is an odd co-existence....my current life and my old one, side by side in my head.

The new normal.


Maggie

[Air Cruiser]

Maggie, this thread made my day; I just came across it this evening! I had three surgeries within two months last Fall (gall bladder & other two were biopsies to rule out melanoma), since I couldn't work for some months, my workload was very backed up & I have been working long hours to get it out the door. Anyway, I haven't been checking in here much for quite some time. I'm looking forward to following this thread -- it was such a let down when you closed your previous thread.

We're planning some trips for this summer, one we're thinking of doing is a trip to the Finger Lakes in NY, have you been there? If so, any suggestions of where to stay (thinking state park -- would love a COE Campground, but couldn't find any around there......did I just miss them)?

Deb

[Lily&Me]

Hi Deb, and thank you.

We did not do the Finger Lakes area, and my AllStays app does not show any COE campgrounds there. There are some state and local parks that pop up.

If you don't have the AllStays app, it is a good one. I really, really like the Filter feature, where you can click just what you are looking for, and that is all that shows up.

So much easier and more efficient than opening every NF site to see what amenities are available.

I like efficiency.

We spent about a month in upstate New York some years ago, roaming around the Adirondacks and the Catskills, which are lovely. Saw a grey wolf early one morning in the Catskills, which was amazing.

Sitting, drinking our coffee, and a deer came tearing out of the bushes across the road from us, with the grey wolf after it. Might have doubted what we saw, but that the wolf came back about 15 minutes later....minus the deer, which must have escaped. Cool to see.

We poked around the Hudson river area, too, which is also beautiful and full of history.

I had thought about heading across the Great Lakes back to upstate NY this late summer and fall, but have decided not to......as I cashed in my frequent flier miles for a trip to Greece late September-early October. The miles paid for almost all of it, day trips included, the Euro is very low, and I'm not getting any younger.

I will be in Athens for about 10 days, staying in one hotel, and doing day trips from there. Have a nice balance, I think, between time with small groups and time on my own.

Am looking forward to it, and any who have been who have suggestions, feel free to share them.

I remember saying last year that there were still countries I wanted to visit but couldn't imagine going alone to a country where English was not a primary language....yet, here I am. And, there is still Italy and Spain.

One of the good things about this last, long trip was that I became more comfortable being alone. Such an enormous adjustment from our joined-at-the-hip life.

I remember the first, tentative trips out in the Interstate last year....making myself go, get away, start again. I knew I needed to do it, but it was so sad and hard, in so many ways. I've come a long way, baby.

I posted this in my other thread, but am going to do it again here, as it is just so true.

Gone, but not forgotten.....our lives intertwined, even in death. It is comforting to me, and a good thing.


Maggie


From the book, Orphan Train:

"Vivian has come back to the idea that the people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments. They're with us in the grocery store, as we turn a corner, chat with a friend. They rise up through the pavement, we absorb them through our soles."

[paiceman]

Air Cruiser near the Finger Lakes but not in the exact area is an Indian Casino, Turning Stone Resort. They have a first class RV park, little pricey but beautiful if you want a relaxing night or two and just down the road is the casino if you are into that with great food and three championship golf courses if you play. They were customers of mine when I worked.. There is also a very small little campground in Oswego NY overlooking Lake Ontario, don't recall the name. Only problem is it is next to a great hot dog and fish stand so we can't stay there as that is all I'd eat.

Enjoy

[paiceman]

Maggie:

What are you doing with Lily when you fly to Greece? Enjoy your writing by the way, it flows.

Be Well