2025 IN RETROSPECT- AND YES, I’M LATE WRITING ABOUT IT

 Boy, time flies!! Here I sit on a Friday afternoon in January, snow’s in the forecast, and I’m hunkered in as if there was a major storm on the way.  Only 1-3” are predicted, but even that small amount allows me to feel like a night of knitting and listening to my new book is the best plan for the evening.

I’m feeling good about the past year. Of course, there were moments I wouldn’t want to relive, and losses over the last12 months really saddened my heart; however, all in all, I can say 2025 was a year of good memories and great adventures. 

Family wise, I visited Samuel, Cait, and Winnie in Nashville in the spring and got to hang with them for a few days. We played, went to the park, and read books. At that point, Winnie was just under 18 months old - a favorite age for me. Samuel and Caitlin are very, very loving and attentive parents, as evidenced by Winnie’s growth and understanding of the world at that age. Several months later, Samuel unexpectedly went through a layoff at this job, leaving him to pound the pavement for something else. Luckily, in less than a month, he found employment parallel to that which he left, and life returned to normal for him.

                                      (I knitted this sweater for Winnie, and it was none too big!)

Eliza and Alex worked all year getting things done around their house and yard - projects for which  I hold them in great respect as first time homeowners. Their house and yard are spectacularly beautifully, and at Christmas this year, they were able to open their lending library in the corner of their yard, a project they initiated earlier in the year. Both of them are very handy with tools and paintbrushes; no project seems to overwhelm them. Alex and Eliza define a good, loving marriage. With their three cats, their loving friend group in Cincinnati, and their travels, they enjoy a life full of love and joy!

All the family was home in Boone for Christmas, and we had 4 wonderful days together. Myra and I were able to be in Boone a few days before the kids came in and had enjoyed visits with family and friends. The weather stayed tolerable, nobody was sick, and we hung out in love and laughter.

2025 Highlights

1. I got two little white kittens. I saw a post about them on Facebook, called Kara Seaman, Eliza’s riding teacher, and went right out to get them. I had been longing for some companionship in the house, unable to decide what animal I would want. I’ve always love white kittens, having had 5 before these girls. They are very, very active, and sometimes I go through two spray bottles a day as I discourage the from jumping on tables, chewing cords, and climbing up on chairs, curtains, etc. They’re named after Barney’s and Andy’s girlfriends in Mayberry - Thelma Lou and Helen - but I’ve taken to calling them Lulu and Ellie. Sweet, loving, mischievous, smart, curious, and energetic little hellions they are.

2. A super great highlight for our entire family is that grandbaby #2 is on the way in July. Caitlin and Samuel are expecting again. This was announced by Winnie when she walked into the house in a “big sister” sweater. 

3. And the best time in my life in a LONG time was spending 11 days with Myra as we took a tour through Italy with Gate 1 Tours.  In late August until early September, we explored the entire country, beginning in Venice and ending in Sorrento. Oh my, what a great experience!! We made wonderful friends, had succulent Italian food, and drank our fair share of wine and Aperol Spritzes.I had forgotten how I love Europe, European life, the beauty of ancient buildings and sites. From a gondola ride in Venice to an evening under Tuscan sun, to the beauty of the Vatican, to a boat ride around Capri, every moment provided wonderful experiences and memories I’ll never forget.  I do believe I could live in Italy,  I certainly want to go back and explore. And Myra’s the best traveling partner a person could have. We plan on more adventures together in the future.

 

I’ll likely add to or take away from this post as I review it over and over, but for now, I’m looking at the snow and dreaming of Italy. 

Here’s to 2026!

2024 - IT’S REALLY OK TO SEE YOU GO!

As I sit in my office/studio upstairs looking out on snow-covered fields, it’s nice to see sun in the sky, a cardinal in the tree across the driveway, and spots of earth on the lane that will make coming and going to the house easier with fewer icy patches. It’s almost three weeks into the New Year (2025) now, and I find myself eager to get moments and events of 2024 written on my neglected blog before I sweep them under the rug of my memory.

What can one say about the passage of time? Inevitably, many things that nurture the soul and bring great joy come to pass, and inevitably, events that one could do without permeate the days, weeks, and months. There’s nothing profound in that assessment, except life’s moments create our memories - those that fill our hearts with unadulterated joy and those difficult, sad times that heavily dwell in the heart. 

Let’s start with the downers and end on a note of joy and delight:

Losses are a part of life and remind me of the importance of long-lasting, loving, soulful connections, as well as the impermanence of our lives on earth.

Late in the spring, I received a call that Dean Myers passed away. Dean lived down the road from me when I lived in Advance NC, and taught in Winston-Salem from 1976-78. He was a handyman for everyone in the neighborhood, and though he worked at RJ Reynolds full time, he always had time to help on the farm where I was living with my horse-loving roommate, doing everything from mowing the fields to helping with the horses. He’s the only person I know who ever went to bat for me when he thought someone was trying to make unwanted advances, and in doing so, he broke his fist on his cousin Buck’s jaw for what Dean deemed as not nice behavior. He later took his first flight to visit me and Sam in New Orleans. Imagine a big, burly NC farm boy running down the airport aisle, jumping with exhilaration as he approached to share the news that Leon Spinks (who was going to fight in NOLA the next night) was on his plane. He had such a good time in the city, becoming NC’s first champion for Popeye’s Chicken. Dean’s love of life was pure and innocent, even when a farming accident destroyed his foot and led to years of pain and medical problems. He supported me during my divorce, called me many times with a tidbit of news from. NC, kept me up to date on his tracking dog, Roscoe, and unfailingly shared his friendship and love. I last spoke with him a couple of days before he died. He was in a nursing home, suffering from sepsis from his foot, as well as congestive heart failure. He didn’t talk much at all that last phone call; I told him I was grateful for our friendship…. And then he was gone. Humble, funny, talented, country as all get out, loved by everyone who knew him - Larry Dean Myers from Advance, NC. And boy, oh boy, he could cook some really tasty BBQ!

In June of this year, my beloved corgi, Mac, passed away, just shy of his 14th birthday. I’ll write about him in time because despite the passage of 6 months, I still grieve his loss. I just can’t find words that aptly describe what that little guy meant for me. Memories induce a flood of tears, and the grief overcomes me. He and I had 14 years alone together here at the farm, and I miss him every minute of every day.

Then Hurricane Helene hit western NC in late September, and the beloved mountains that are not prepared for the fierce weather that belongs over water, along coastlines and in the gulfs, got socked with days of incessant weather, flooding, landslides. The unimaginable strength of the storm brought death and destruction to the area unlike any natural disaster beforehand. Today, I saw a list of over 500 names of people who have never been found; people who have lost everything are at the mercy of those who continue bring them services and supplies; many families are still living in tents, despite the cold weather, and the land is so rearranged that geologists anticipate it will take centuries for the land to modify and strengthen again. One of my college roommates and her husband lost everything in their home in Lake Lure, and my childhood friend (since 1st grade) Shirley Ray, died in her home. 

Shirley, who was much like a sister, became friends in 1st grade at Appalachian Elementary School in Boone, NC. We both liked sports and were the “tomboys” of our class. Her mother, Clara, would eventually become the second mom to a group of girls who stayed together as Girl Scouts for 12 years. Every week, we’d have a meeting at Shirley’s house as we planned and worked toward a trip to the Bahamas our senior year. Nerdy scout uniforms, bake sales, garage sales, Girl Scout cookie sales, and day camp defined our sisterhood, and we have never disbanded. To this day, most of our troop stays in close contact. So in November, six weeks after the hurricane, some of gathered again to say goodbye to Shirley. Her health had been bad for a long time, and she required 24//7 oxygen. In the last couple of years, she and I had been in close contact as she prepared for her passage. She knew her life would be short lived as a result of lung and heart conditions, but I don’t think either one of us thought she’d never make it back to Boone. And then, the hurricane hit, caused a power outage, and her oxygen support was cut off. I had spoken with her on Wednesday before the storm can sweeping over the mountains. I tried to get her to leave her house and take shelter, but she wouldn’t leave her beloved cat, Cleo. Without electricity, her oxygen support couldn’t sustain her. Damn, that hurts.

(NOTE: I’m going to go ahead and publish this even though I didn’t finish the post. All in all, 2024 was the pits a year, so I’ll leave it at that.)