Happy House-aversary!!!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY we moved into the new place.

The rescue house.

Well, at least we moved our bed on that date...

Because... the day before...

ONE YEAR AGO YESTERDAY

We had received the final inspection and approval. 

The certificate of occupancy...

Finally... we could occupy - and so we did.

The rest of our stuff followed soon.

***

FIVE YEARS BEFORE THAT we had acquired the old place from the land bank and Bob began the rescue.

And the restoration.  

What a journey it was.

An amazing transformation!

...

EIGHT YEARS BEFORE THAT... 

The house had been scheduled for demolition…

But... a neighbor stood in the way.  

...

And now here we are.

Home, sweet home.

 

On this date

Sixteen years ago today…  2003...  Cancer diagnosis

'Twas  a scary time for sure.

Since that year, lots of other memories on this date...

2011

• Officially the grandma of a toddler...  Little munchkin has taken off since I last saw her. Those tentative steps have gained confidence & direction & determination. The best way to describe what she does is "toddle" - so stinkin' cute!
• Also enjoyed rocking this little grand-daughter in the chair that my mom rocked me in when I was little!
• We didn't know it then but that was our last Christmas in that room. The last time the kids came home to Hidden Hollows for Christmas!

2012 and 2013 - living in the log cabin and feeling thankful

2014 

• Living in Angie's basement
• Lying on a table in another hospital for yet another medical test

2015 - living in another basement, somebody else's basement that we rented for two months...

2016 - living in an apartment - grateful to be near family

2017 and 2018 and now - living in our new/old house and loving life

And so they come and go...  good days and bad days through the years.  I am so grateful as I look back on them all.

On this date: Facebook memories

It’s probably not the first time you’ve heard me say that I do love Facebook memories.  I enjoy the reminders of what has happened on this date, silly or profound thoughts I was thinking as well as cool tidbits that I've come across.

Today is no exception.  In fact, I guess today is a special Facebook day for me - because it was 11 years ago today that I joined Facebook.  They even produced a cute little video just for me.  Makes me feel so important and valued.  Hee-hee!

So maybe it’s a good time to enjoy the memories I’ve posted on this day during those 11 years.  

...

2011

Setting: My baby girl was in Cairo - living just 6 blocks from Tahrir Square which was kinda’ the epicenter where the Arab Spring began - that very week.  Yikes!  

Some of my posts that day remind me of the tension we were all feeling about what was happening there - especially since the usual communication routes were totally unpredictable.

…

Sometimes you just have to trust and choose not to worry.

 ...even when one of your kids

is in the middle of one of the world's hot spots...

It's very weird to sit in my living room

watching world news footage from Cairo

and know that my daughter is sitting in her living room

so close to the action that she can hear the chaos
and smell the tear gas from her window. 

And not be able to contact her because the internet

has been shut down in the entire country.

...

2014

"A little kingdom I possess,

where thoughts and feelings dwell;

And very hard the task I find of governing it well."

– Louisa May Alcott

…

2015 - living on Dauphin Island, Alabama

Sting rays, 
bonnet-head shark, 
baby alligators,

soft-shelled turtles, 
horseshoe crabs...

We got to see them all - and touch some of them!

What a great little aquarium at Sea Lab

right here across the street.

Wonderful exhibits.

Friendly docents.

Very, very educational.

...

2016 - living in the Dominican Republic

Missing the grandkids today...  *sniff*

...

Bob posted on my wall:   

Here's to intestinal fortitude. 

We are eating street food regularly.

It's a lot cheaper than restaurant food. 

(30 pesos for an empanada - which is 65 cents)

Remember how we would buy like four at a time and then have them for the next day or two? 

What was the combo one that we liked for breakfast? 

Was it chicken and cheese?

An evening stroll along the beach...

2017

“Writing in a diary is a really strange experience

for someone like me. 

Not only because I’ve never written anything before,

but also because it seems to me that later on

neither I nor anyone else will be interested

in the musings of a thirteen-year old school girl.

Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing.”

—Anne Frank, June 20, 1942

...

2018

"Sometimes I cry on the way to the set... Still. 

There is something that happens when you are grateful: 

You continue to keep receiving blessings.

So I will always be grateful." 

- Chrissy Metz, a.k.a. Kate on This Is Us

...

So there they are, the memories and photos from this date along with some note-worthy quotes from wise people.
I am inspired to:
- Be grateful
- Keep writing
- Govern myself well

On this day, snippets of life

Yep, I really like FB memories - not only because they remind me of places we’ve been and people we’ve seen, but also of thoughts that we have pondered.  Things that have entertained me, things that have upset me and things that have motivated me.

This date, September 20, has provided a variety of some such people, places, events and thoughts through the years.  

The thoughts expressed here are not necessarily my own but obviously have gotten my attention through the years and have caused me to ponder - and hopefully to become a wiser person for the effort.

Here we go...

... on this day

2009

I am thoroughly enjoying the last day of summer. Mmmm......... Everything is beautiful.

2012

Thankful Thursday:

I am feeling thankful that I got to see my grandkids today for a bit.

AND I get to see ALL THREE daughters this weekend!!!

2013

If I had a year…

Anne Lamott:  Someone asked me the other day how my life would change if I only had two weeks to live. I said I would definitely eat a lot more creme brûlée, and not floss at all. But I don't think it's the right question.

The better question is, What would you change about your life if you had a year or so to live? Of course you would have to floss, or you would become repellant with your oyster-y breath; and you'd probably have to limit yourself to one creme brûlée (or two) a day. But would you write? Would you exercise? 

I would not write for publication, that's for sure. Stitches, the handbook on meaning, hope, repair, will be my 15th book. It's a little unseemly to keep cranking them out. It's unnecessary for me to keep publishing. Besides, I always say the same things: you are loved and chosen, a unique, lovely, wild and slightly screwed up creation. Try to get a little writing done every day--it will help you know and forgive yourself, which is why we are here. Earth is forgiveness school. 

...

And yes, I would still exercise. I'd walk the dogs and take myself on a hike in the hills, in the woods and around town, because that is where I most directly experience the divine, in the glories of nature, in breezes, breath and birdsong. I'm amazed on every single walk. Maybe that makes me a simpleton, but Simpletonian principles would be the way I'd want to live my last year.

...

So if you want to have happy, loving feelings, do loving things. That's the secret of life, whether you are at all Jesusy or not. Be of service. Get people water. Clean up the litter on your block, even though there will be more tomorrow. 

...

So that's how I would live, starting right now, if this were Day One; which it is.

2015

Referring to view from our bedroom window - just below the chimney

What an awesome view. The SS Badger is heading out across Lake Michigan past a row of four sailboats as a speed boat zips past all of them. There are several fishing boats spread across the horizon as well.

Photo cred:  Bob Sims at SimsShotsPhotography.zenfolio.com

The storms have passed and left us with gorgeous weather around the dunes and the lighthouse. Our 2-week tour of duty is about half done.

2016

Bob Goff:  Don't let being "right" talk you out of being kind.

…

Ian North:  What degree of racist violence will break our national blindness, bring us to grief, and compel us to acknowledge that black lives matter? 

2017

Winnie-the-pooh:  How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

…

Rich Mullins has been gone 20 years but his words live on:  If I want to identify fully with J.C…. the best way I can do that is to identify w/ the poor. This will go against the teaching of a lot of the popular Evangelical preachers, but they’re just wrong. They’re not bad; they’re just wrong.

Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can life with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you.

Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved. 

And Jesus loved the poor and the broken.

...

And there we have it.  

A day's worth of wisdom from some of my favorite modern-day prophets.

And some lovely scenery and fun memories, too.

On this day...

I really do love Facebook memories. 
That "on this day" feature that pops up every day.  
It reminds me of adventures we've had and places we've been, but it also reminds me of my wonderings and some of my silliness in a typical day.  It is so fun to see the variety that pops up on a specific date through the years.  
Oh, the wonderings and the wanderings!

2010

… is excited about a week-end with her girls!!!

 we're going to a beach house at St. Joe. Too bad it's gonna' be rainy, but we'll have fun anyway!!!

...This was to celebrate my 60th and it was very wonderful to hang out with my favorite women...

2011

 Lina's here! Yay!!! And her parents, too!

2012

Courage is not the absence of fear,

but rather the judgement

that something else

is more important than fear.

The brave may not live forever,

but the cautious do not live at all.

-Genovian prince

...I like to pay attention to famous thinkers even when they are not real…

2012

"Fry bacon, add onions”

Now there's a free Kindle title that just might be worth “buying."

Yep, it's a cookbook…

2013

Earth Day. 

What can I do to take better care of this amazing planet? Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all the things that I SHOULD do, but I can pick one new habit at a time.

2013

Note to self: Read things carefully before reacting.

"Fried in deep pan" is quite different than "Friend in deep pain”

Yes, read carefully...

2013

I've been wondering what surprises I might discover at our new place this spring. I was thinking of flowers and didn't expect a pair of ducks on our lawn lake - probably because I didn't know we might have a lake. That's fun.

...This was when we lived in the old log house at the tree farm...

2014

I picked oranges today - first time ever!

...Longer version:

I found a new friend! A Spanish-speaking one. All of the other neighbors I had chatted with so far have been English-speaking. But finally I found one that will help me learn Spanish. Yay!!!

… And she invited me to come and visit.

… At least I think that's what she said!

AND she gave me some oranges and avocados. She let me help pick the oranges - my first time to do that! How fun.

...While living and working in a little county park in Southern California...

2015

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.  What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”

 - Jane Goodall

2015

Today's walk around the lake has been interrupted by frozen nose and has officially been scuttled. Replaced with clam chowder. Yep.

...Our campground in Ortonville, Michigan, included a small lake.  Walking the mile-mile trail around the lake was a regular daily activity for us...

2017

Walking to the Farmers' Market to do the SuperHero Fun Run...

I am a superhero today.

The Superhero Races raise funds to help kids at risk of violence. Every child needs a hero.

...We had just moved to Flint and I did the SuperHero Fun Run with some of the grandkids.  Just call me SuperGram.  The little guys walked home with us afterward.

It is SO fun to live right here in the city where we can walk to and from all kinds of places.

And then the other kids and other grandkid arrived for their first visit to our new place.  What a wonderful fun time together...

Taking the little guys for a walk. 

Found the orange playground where the cousins introduced Riley to slides! 
Much shrieking and laughter! 

Back home another way. I told the kids there are a thousand ways to our house. My grand-daughter told me that she can't believe we got a house with a table big enough for us all to sit.

What a fun family visit!