:. nutshell .:

So how do you catch up on 2 years of life? Bullet points, I imagine.
In no particular order:

• it's Lewy Body, not Parkinsons. Silly neurologist! You should've listened to me from the beginning!
• if you want to know how selfish you are, try caregiving 24/7. Eye-opening, I tell you.
• Cohen Russell Saldanha. Mmmmm.... that taste of heaven is new since we last spoke.
• 7 (SEVEN!) grands! The most wonderful little people in the universe. And they have become...
• ...cousins who love each other deeply. What a joy to see them enjoying one another.
• hours upon hours spent in my studio. So thankful for that space in which to create.
• dozens and dozens of bags, pillows, hats, scarves and etc.
• my kids. May I just say I am so grateful that God has blessed us with such loving sons and daughters. They refresh my heart in so many ways.
• westwind church continues their great care of us. I have said so many times that I have never seen people be so consistently like Jesus. It's a beautiful thing, indeed.
• my garden has never really recovered from too many seasons of neglect. I think of it as a microcosm of the world God created: intended for great beauty and perfection, but pretty much overrun with weeds and decay and disarray.
• I've learned to let a lot of things slide. A LOT of things. 
• I've also learned how to change a furnace filter and put air in my tires and take down a light fixture (and actually get it wired back up without getting electrocuted!)
• it's really, really hard to be needy. I imagine there's some pride involved, but I think a lot of it is I don't like putting other people out. I know, I know. But YOU try it. It's HARD to ask for help.
• I've never been so exhausted in my life.
• emotional strain is more wearing than lack of sleep. Emotional strain PLUS lack of sleep essentially zombifies a person.
• sweet little Mozart #5 (or 6, I lose track) is such a delightful beauty. He sings like there's no tomorrow. Hmmm.... perhaps he knows something I don't know??
• I repainted my living room and my bathrooms (gorgeous!) as well as my bedroom furniture (also gorgeous!)
• our bedroom is next on my list, but so far I haven't been in the mood to paint. And trust me, you MUST be in the mood to paint.
• after years of heavy-duty sewing, I FINALLY purchased a heavy-duty sewing machine. Wow. Just wow. A dream machine!
• and of course, most importantly, my God has never left my side. He has walked right beside me through it all. Oh, who am I kidding? He has CARRIED me - a loving Father tenderly carrying His weary daughter.

Surely there's been more, so much more in the last 2 years.

But this is a good start 'for the record'.

:. hello 2016 .:

Wow. It's been over 2 years since I've posted. I'd pretty much given up blogging; it's so 2010.
And then a funny thing happened: I went back to the beginning. The other night I logged on to this old blog and read some of the very first posts. That's when I realized why I blog. It is history, my history. It is a record of how things are at a particular moment in time. Of course... so obvious, right? What I didn't count on was how much I'd forgotten; how many little snippets of the past had been wiped from the old memory banks. Joy and pain, good and bad, it's all important in shaping who we're becoming. And it's nice to have a written record.

So..... I may or may not start posting semi-regularly. But it is my best shot at remembering who I am and where I've been.