Recap 2023

Two aniversaries have gone by since I was left alone. I have settled into life in Lancaster PA for the most part. Even though I am free to do as I wish, I can't shake the feeling that I should call home if I'm running late, but I'm afraid that isn't true anymore. I plan to break that habit by exploring, hiking and reviving my love of photography.

I had my right hip replaced in April 2023; I went to rehab for 3 months then continued in the MAG (Medically Adaptive Gym) with a personal trainer.

I spent a few days at Ocean City NJ, enjoying the sandy beach and swimming in the ocean.

Despite all this activity, I was hospitalized with DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and pulmonary embolism, meaning blood clots traveled to my lungs. My doctors were all puzzled why this happened to me, so I'm on blood thinners for life.

My Christmas guests included brother Ken and daughter Carla and her fiance Arthur and we had a Christmas Eve fire. The warmth of family, good food and libations kept us cozy in the chill air.

Games!

Strasburg Railroad

Stockings, even for the kitties

Sunny

I got trekking poles for Christmas!

Goodbye 2023, Happy New Year!

Hummingbird Cove RV Park for the Holidays and Beyond

December 1, 2016 - January 31, 2017
Hummingbird Cove RV Park
Rio Hondo TX

After our short stay in New Braunfels TX, we headed down to the Rio Grande Valley for the next couple months.  It was a time to relax and have some down time before we head out in the spring.

In the evenings, there was always a game at the clubhouse (usually cards) and they had loads of activities almost every day.  Field trips and speakers are on the agenda and potlucks were a way to meet other residents.  Once in a while there was a fish fry when there was enough fish in the freezer.  Everyone brings a dish to share and it's well attended!  

During the Christmas holidays, they sponsored a parade of golf carts. Anyone who had a cart was welcomed to participate and many folks did!

My brother flew in from Florida and spent Christmas with us.  We went on the nature tour at Laguna Altascosa and had a delicious potluck holiday dinner at the clubhouse.

These are some of the gifts I received from my daughters.

Peggy, Patricia and their husbands came down for a few days.  We went to Hugh Ramsey Nature Park in Harlingen and saw a couple Javelina from our blind! 

And we visited the county park nearby, Adolf Thomae Park. There are fishing piers as well as camping and a boat launch along the Arroyo Colorado River.  

Burning a field of sugar cane.  

It takes over a year for sugar cane to mature in the fields.  When they are ready, they post warnings to people who are hiding in the sugar cane fields.  When the wind is right, they burn the fields before harvesting. The fire burns off the leaves leaving just the stalk, reducing the amount of manual labor.

Harlingen has excellent medical facilities.  I got my new C-PAP which I had gone without for months,  Shelly had eye surgery to remove a cataract and also saw an oncologist.  There are hospitals, clinics and Dr. offices everywhere. We go to a family clinic in Rio Hondo for checkups and prescriptions.  Just so you know.  

You have to eat at Chili Willies before you leave!  A nice homey place to relax and eat to your heart's content. 

See you soon in Rockport TX!

I'm back!

It was a long holiday season, but I'm back.  Right now I'm mired in paperwork getting ready for tax season,  always a good excuse to completely clean and re-arrange my studio and office.  

Time to regroup.  

The best all-around show I did was the Indie Garage Sale in Utica NY.  It was a 2-day show the last weekend before Christmas and it was by far the best and well-attended.   Many of us were situated in separate boutique-like shops, so it gave an upscale feel to the show.  That's my booth right behind the window with the light green tables. 

I had a wonderful holiday.  This was my tree, and a great tree it was!

Well, Ok I lied.  We went to NYC for a couple days. 

So this is really the tree:

Believe me, it was better than the Charlie Brown tree we had last year!

Wilbur got some new clothes (but he's more interested in the edible goodies)

Carla and the animals had a good time.

We feasted  

 

Christmas buffet





and partied 

and a good time was had by all

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

The holidays are over and it's time to start anew

Well, after the Indie Garage Sale in Utica NY, which was a lot of fun and a huge success, I had to scramble to get ready for Christmas.  I had done very little shopping, decorating or baking, so things got pretty hectic.  The Garage sale was tons of fun, even if it was a very long day, not including the 2 hour drive each way. It was great not having to navigate the NYC subways with my bins and hand truck at 6 am.  And I met some great crafty friends that I hope to meet again at future shows.  Now that this is my fulltime gig, I plan to do as many shows as possible in the upcoming year.

A few days before the Garage sale, I took a quick trip to NYC to see Carla in her Lincoln Center Debut at Alice Tully Hall.  While in the city, I had a chance to visit the Union Square Market to see my candles being sold by Re Jin of BaileyDoesntBark.  http://www.baileydoesntbark.com/  I enjoyed immensely working with her to create her Jae line of candles.   I'm sure she's still recovering from a month at the market.

Carla's debut was awesome.  She sang a selection of Charles Ives songs and was mentioned in the Times review.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/arts/music/12axiom.html   "Mr. Adams’s gentler side was heard in a set of light-textured orchestrations of five Ives songs, sung with an appealingly burnished tone by Carla Jablonski, a mezzo-soprano."  

So on to Christmas and the hub-bub of activity.  I baked way too much stuff, so I'm shipping it out this week with the gifts that no one took with them on buses and planes home.  The girls left on the bus yesterday afternoon, and Ken left this afternoon to fly back to Florida.  His trip up here last week was a nightmare because of the east coast snow storm.  He rebooked, then flights were cancelled, and we even drove to Buffalo to pick him up only to find out that flight was also cancelled.  He ended up spending the night in the Charlotte airport before finally making it up here the next day.

The girls got their Snuggies.

Nina got her jar of pickles

 

And they went ice skating in Binghamton

And Ken and I took an afternoon trip up to Lake Cayuga, one of the Finger Lakes near Ithaca to take in the sights and walk around in the fresh cold air. 

It was a wonderful Christmas and as much as I looked forward to relaxing after everyone was gone, I feel lonely and listless today.  I miss the bustle of everyone eating, talking, and enjoying each other's company.  But I guess I'm ready to settle in for the long winter days, puttering around here, perusing seed catalogs and planning the year ahead.  Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone!