A Moment in Time...

Two thousand and nine

slipped in on a cold and snowy night..

rushed right by me

leaving my head in a whirl...

Yesterday , seems it was slipping in

tonight

it is creeping out...

a new year waiting in the wings..

to come rushing in...

not stealthy on the hushed whisper

of snow to lie in drifts..

but, on the flash and thunder

of fireworks.

Accompanied by the promise of

a new beginning..

a better day, a lost pound,a kinder thought...

May the new year come around the corner

lighting your home with love and glee..

tonight and all year through!

***

post script...

Christmas pictures will be posted

as soon as my computer comes back from the shop...

such as trimming the tree with Michael W and his Mommy,

Carrie here for Christmas, and Michael W. back for a week...

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and that y'all have

a safe and happy new year! Much love, D.

Watch Out Nelly!

I am inclined to believe that the old saying

that goes something like..

"the best laid plans of mice and men..."

might,...

just might be describing my life...

Any time I think a day or a situation will go a certain way..

Well, Watch Out Nelly !

It will change!

At the beginning of last week...

even though I still needed to unpack more boxes..

we decided we would make a trip home..

take care of needed business

and see family..

then come back to boxes and the prep

for Christmas celebrations!

To make a very long story short...

This past week

Atrial Fib has reared it's ugly head again..

(Many of you will recall, it came calling the first time in Savannah)

This time however, when it came knocking

it stayed around for awhile before being mentioned..

thus, letting a window of opportunity

for electric cardioversion slip by...

(In the past chemical cardioversion just wouldn't work)

Driving into Alabama,

we stopped and Michael spent till Friday

on the unit in the UAB health care system...

Russ and Tim came by and visited while he was on the unit..

He was discharged Friday...

with all kinds of discharge instructions.

We ran up to Cullman to take care of that
all important business..

and Mike got to see his mother for about 10 minutes

before we headed back to South Carolina...

Meetings were in the plans for monday morning..

no more time to spend...

***

Felice and Michael W. are headed this way tomorrow...

a Christmas tree was bought on a lot..

it still stands in the garage in a net...

boxes are still here and there..

guest rooms still need tweaking...

and the Christmas decorations could be in a box marked "artifacts"

I am not real sure...

But, one thing is for certain...

this will be one of the best Christmases ever...

"Why?" you ask..

Because, I still have my Michael here with me!

***

***
Michael, if I could sit on the porch with God...
the first thing I would do...
is thank him for you!

It Wasn't Quite a Reprimand..But,...

I would not go as far as calling it a scolding..

maybe not even a reprimanding..

however,

in the last couple of days

it has been called to my attention

that I have not been blogging..

enough...

as of late...

so in order to stay in every ones good graces..

let's see what I can come up with..

now..remember

I have for the past two weeks been ear deep,

then chest deep and now finally

only knee deep in two rooms..

in moving boxes..

and not just any moving boxes..

these were special boxes...

I am not sure

if the packers need a class in

"box labeling"

or if they just had some

"sick" sense of humor..

but with three out of four boxes

it became a surprise as what you might

actually find in that box..

for instance

...a box marked towels...

had bottles of medication..

(such as Tylenol, Ib-hurtings),

hair brushes, hand mirror, razor blades ect ..

oh, yeah and two towels...

No box ever said "dishes"...

some boxes say nothing other than "Ryan" SC...

however..

.there are two boxes that have grabbed my curiosity..

so much that I have not opened them..

just upon occasions I will stop short in my tracks

to gaze in open bewilderment at the inscription on the side...

trying

to imagine what wondrous surprises

they could possibly hold..

It has to be some grand prize

given out by the moving company..

what else could it possibly be?

For Mike and I are not rich..

we do not come from "old" money..

or "new" money for that matter..

Uncle Moe did not pass

leaving some grand estate's treasures for us..

Yet, on the side of these two boxes ...

written in large black marker

are the very words

"FRAGILE"
"ARTIFACTS!"

***

Today I have received pictures

from my sister, Mary

and my niece , Cathy of the snow fall in Alabama...

Carrie and Felice in Virginia

got snow...

And tonight Michael got a phone call from

New Hampshire..

it was snowing there as well..

No snow here in South Carolina..

made my lip quiver ..

for half a moment..

I did enjoy looking out at the snow..

and playing in it a little..

I loved taking pictures of Chloe in the snow...

Maybe before all is said and done Thibodeaux will get to play in

a "little" snow..

Enjoy the pictures..

of snow in North Alabama!

Thank you both for the pictures!
***


Here at the new house
the puppies have a nice big back yard...

Chloe has been enjoying

the deck..

elevated so she may keep a watch on

every ones back yards!

They really like that!

Thibby stayed busy the first few days

letting everyone know that

A new "Big Boy"

had come to town...

they sure needed to straighten up and

fly right now!

Miss Bo-Bo has had a virtual amusement park among the boxes!

Could they too be in awe

of the two boxes marked

"ARTIFACTS"

Thibodeuax likes to stand at the rail

on the deck with Michael

gazing out across the

neighborhood yards...

Chloe comes around for

her share of loving attention!

Sometimes a boy just needs

to talk over a few things

with Dad.

Dad must approve...

so all is right in the western world..

and the neighborhood watched over by these

trustworthy Pyrenees!

***

As you enter the front door,

the living room is to your left,

dinning room to your right..

above your head is a

rail and banister

on the second floor.

Today,

while hanging pictures in the living room,

arranging what-nots

and do-dads

in one room and then the other..

Miss Bo-Bo

started carrying on some more conversation with me..

look as I may,

I could not find her..

this became somewhat concerning to me..

for Miss Bo

has had a tendency to be "closed up" in areas..

such as closets or pantries..

finally ,

with her still deep in conversation..

I looked up...

She seems very pleased with

her

new house!

***

Happy Birthday

in December

to

Daniel Ryan

December 2nd

and

Melonie Ryan

(Mee-Mee)

December 19.

May you both have such

wonderful birthdays

that they last all month long!

We love you!

***

The Fog Rolls In and Then We Roll Out.........

Last week all the moving plans

were coming together...

after considering the fact that we would no longer

be close to Petey's...

one evening we headed down Love Lane and then east on South Road..

toward the northern Atlantic shore...

The fog had begun to roll in, when I took out my camera

for a last few pictures...

We have always slowed to a crawl passing this golf course..
a snail dragging through spilled molasses could probably
give us a run for our money...
but, there must be something interesting in the lay of that land...
other than the way a fog will roll across it like a fuzzy blanket...

It was low tide for our last viewing...

low tide, fog and sunset made for an interesting subject

as we pulled over for a few last shots of

Rye, Harbor...

One day the moving company sent in the packers...

and then early the next day

in came the big truck and the movers...

Around 8:30 that night

the truck cranked up,

pulling away from Love Lane...

The next day our new adventure began...

Chloe, Thibodeaux and Miss Bo-Bo

accompanied me in the Gamma van..

to begin with Michael followed...

Being contrary to the talking lady (GPS)

Michael wanted to go his own way

so I asked him to take the lead..

this time no NYC, no GWB, and no Washington D.C...

she must have said

"recalculating!!" every few minutes..

at one point she repeated it so quickly

I feared she might suffer

a cerebral attack...

at least (I could tell) she was mad enough to spit!

We drove somewhere around 1040 miles in

one and a half days...

and in the end we drove into a bright and sunny day...

the sun spread a warmth across my face I

had not felt in several weeks...

Yes, we were back in the south!

Friday, the movers met us at the house and began to unload..

Neighbors would drive by throwing up a hand to wave..

as if to say

"Hey ,Y'all.. Welcome home!"

It feels so good to be back down home, again!

***