I started this blog on January 18, 2006. Happy belated 17th birthday dear blog.
17 years ?!?
I shouldn't take credit for 17 actual years of blogging because in the past handful of years, the posts have been few and far between. So here I am again, picking up where I left off in 2022, 2021 and 2020.
Really, every time I'd come here to share something, I'd type a few lines, delete them and log out. I believed too many of my own thoughts of "who cares"and "nobody reads blogs" and it turns out, not everything I think is true. Truth is, right now as I type, I am at that "just delete it" and do something else point but I am going to practice what I preach to everyone else and "write it out." I am committing to work on this post until it is finished and then push the "post" button. NOTE: I originally wrote this post in January 26, 2023 and today is June 14th, 2023.
Once upon a time, I shared pretty much everything that was going on in my creative and family life. With the overwhelming presence of Instagram and Facebook in our lives, blog posts got left behind for a quick photo, a sentence, and a hashtag.
While we "share" on social media, there is no story attached to read, and if there was, our attention span has shortened significantly. Give it less than a minute reading and onto the next.
Today, I want to introduce you to an idea:
Take time to scroll through the photos on your phone instead of scrolling social media. You may be surprised at all of the memories that come flooding back that may have been forgotten. Can I suggest starting with 2020?
We all refer 2020 as "that year" but not all in 2020 was hard, dumb, stressful and confusing.
REMIND yourself that there was good in the midst of hard.
Take a moment to go through 2020 photos on your phone and be reminded of the ways you adapted to the moment we were all in.
I'll do it here to give you an example and to also remind myself of some good memories:
At the end of January 2020, we lost our dog Coco after 15 1/2 years. That is when I realized that I had missed out on 15+ years of loving our dog because I knew someday, he would die and I didn't want to be attached. Turns out, I was sadly wrong and from this very sad lesson and hard time, came good..
We lasted 6 days because the silence was too loud and on February 1, 2020 we rescued this little sweet thing (that we thought, based on the size of his mom, would be a small dog) We named him Wilson and nope, he is what we now refer to as "medium sized dog with long legs."
God knew exactly what our hearts and home needed as we had no idea what was coming the following months, which turned out to be a few years.
Wilson became my instant and constant companion as John continued to work through most of 2020. Or maybe, I became Wilson's companion. Either way, we were always together and I was officially that lady I claimed I would never be..
a "Dog Mom!"
Creativity kept my hands busy and my mind at peace as what some described as the world "spinning out of control." Maybe part of it was and for those parts, all I could do was remember Who/Was and always will be in control.
Running, roasting vegetables, journaling in my Bible, teaching Wilson how to walk on a leash, creating fabric kits, organizing embroidery floss, playing with watercolors, and using plain ol' paper and pens to write things down helped me stay aligned...and in March of 2020, Walmart still had thread. No toilet paper, but still thread (but not for long.)
On March 23, 2020, Ben got to spend his 21st birthday with John and I at home as we all social distanced from everyone outside of our homes for "14 days." This was my "Ben approved" post on instagram. John & I got to celebrate our 50th birthdays at home too, as we continued to be "social distancing."
In May of 2020, as the "stay at home" orders lifted slightly (in some states) we took the boat out as often as we could.
July 2020, Ben & I became "positive" and spent 14 days in. Mild cases for both of us and once I had some energy back, I stitched a little patch to commemorate it. When all else fails, create.
In July 2020, our family experienced what the fireman described to us as a miracle. Continually thanking God for his protection over Jack & Hailey that night. Thank you God.
This photo was taken by me as we sat outside on the curb of the ambulance bay at Mission Hospital. It was during the first months of Covid and we were not allowed to go in and be with them. I sat as close as I could to the double doors of the Emergency exit so that I could look in each time the doors opened.
If you look closely at the photo, way out in the distance, there are three illuminated crosses that are at the top of a hill at the Saddleback Rancho Capistrano campus. I do believe God gave us a miracle that night and this image to remind us.
July 2020 also birthed a new project for me. Originally, this project started as a “Safer at Home” quarantine project to keep my hands busy and my mind at peace. I laid out a ½ yard of fabric and honestly just grabbed a pile of scraps and started cutting squares, rectangles and triangles. It looked to be a big project, but honestly, the “safer at home” looked equally as long so what the heck.
What it turned into was a fun kit for many in the form of "stitching-at-home kits" as teaching & traveling for me halted.
and throughout the months, my constant companion was always by my side as his legs just got longer.
In September 2020, Jack and Hailey welcomed a little shiny black Labrador puppy into their lives and named him "Bowie." Bowie is still dark black and shiny but not little. He is a big boy that loves the beach and ocean waves... and little cowboy Jack turned 25 ?!?
In November of 2020, Wilson got a Christmas sweater and was thrilled about it
My hair grew out the whole year (and I saved a TON of money) due to the fact that no salons were open and while I was fussy about it then, I look now and think it was sorta cute. WHY do we not appreciate what we have IN THE MOMENT!?!
Thanksgiving was spent 1/2 and 1/2. We were at home with my mom and dad and my sister was at home with their family and inlaws. What did we ever do without FaceTime?
December 2020
On December 24, 2020 at 3:27 pm, God gave us this rainbow as we prepared for Christmas Eve on the driveway at Grandma and Grandpa's
Do yourself a huge favor and take some time to look back at the past year or two and be reminded of things you did do, you just forgot to remember. Looking back at the year in pictures reminded me of the good.