"Auntie Paula"

I don't really talk much about my family here...  We're the typical dysfunctional type and small in numbers...

The family

But this past week, we lost one of our own.  Suddenly and unexpectedly.

My "Auntie Paula" (as she signed all of my cards and emails) is my mom's only sister.  She has two daughter's both in their 20's.  Paula and the girls are very close.  While Paula lived in NC, the girls both got jobs in Tampa, FL.  Paula JUST bought a house down there and was making plans for her move there, as soon as she sold her place in NC.  But tragically, she was taken away before that day came.

Paula with her oldest daughter on her wedding day.

When you lose someone, you "remember" all kinds of things.  I remember when I was 14....  Paula lived in Jacksonville, FL.  She picked me up in VA, and took me to FL to hang out for a few weeks.  We went to St. Augustine, FL which is still one of my most favorite places because of that trip.  She also took me to Disney World for the first time, and as fate would have it, she couldn't ride a single ride with me as she had just found out she was pregnant with her first child!

She also made the best fudge ever.  She swears it's the recipe off of the cocoa can, but I KNOW she must have doctored it somehow.  It was something I looked forward to every single Christmas.  No matter where I was, she always made sure I had a container of fudge.

So beautiful, so classy, so loved!

She had a great sense of humor, and always sang a very off key rendition of happy birthday to me no matter where either of us were in our lives.

I do have many, many, many happy memories of her, and I'm very grateful for all them.

But honestly I'm so mad she was taken way too soon.  It's just not fair...

I'll miss her beyond words.

Rest in Peace, sweet Paula.

AMW

Winter Retreat

A few months ago, I shared a little slice of heaven with you.  And when we were there in August, we bought another week, which happened to be last week.  The last week of the year.  


The beach in December?  Why would we do that?  Well, honestly, to relax.  


Pictures are the best way for me to tell you about the week, so if you'll humor me, here you go...

Snow, friends, and the beach!

Our home away from home.

The ocean was in a frenzy.

We're in the top floor, far right.

And while I was there, I had the opportunity to visit Endless Possibilities.  By all appearances, it looks like a great little boutique/crafty store.  But under the surface, it's a fundraising project for local hotlines and charities.  They take discarded clothes that were donated to local thrift stores, and are unsellable, and volunteers create rugs, bags, and more to sell. 


And more importantly, they have CLASSES!  

Here I am in the beginning stages of weaving my rug.

Taking this bin of scraps...

And weaving them bit-by-bit...

Into a rug.

And the back.

(I think it's going to end up as a wall hanging, and not as a rug....)




And the sunrises and sunsets are pretty good in the middle of winter, too.  See:

Sunrise, from right outside the door.

With a view like this out the window, what's not to love???


AMW

The Bad...

Rest In Peace, Nannie! My grandmother passed away last week while I was away. She had been suffering, and is finally at peace. I'm glad I made it home in time for the funeral, which is today.

AMW

Moving once again

No, not me.  But once again I helped someone move.  You'd think I'd have learned by now....  But NOPE.  Who was it this time?  My folks!

Now, my folks moved into the house I grew up in when I was 5 or so.  And they lived in it for over 30 years.  (Now you know I'm over 35.  That's good enough...)

In those 30+ years, my mom didn't throw a whole lot away.  My dad did.  Repeatedly.  When I was growing up, and didn't take my shoes up to my room, my dad would threaten to throw them away.  And he did.  More than once.  He was usually good about not putting them in the kitchen trash can, so they were salvageable.  But he'd also go on periodic cleaning sprees where he'd throw all kinds of things away, much to my moms horror.  

Fast forward to this move.  They had months and months to plan, and my mom did a pretty good job of throwing things away.  But they still had a LOT of stuff to move.  They were smart, and hired movers.  Even still, I spent all day Saturday at the new house.

I showed up at the old house, to pack up the fridge and freezer into coolers, to take straight to the new house.  I threw half of the old fridge away.  There were dressings from 2004, limes wrapped in cellophane that I'm pretty sure was from when I was in high school, and unidentifiable objects that I don't think I want to know what they started out as.  Freezer was slightly better, but not much.  Got it all put away in the new house, and it looked like I threw out 90% of what they had, only because the new fridge was BIGGER.

I thought I'd tackle the kitchen (since I already had experience with the fridge), and try to get it a bit settled.  When the truck got there, they started bringing boxes in.  I backed my self into a corner, and just told them to pile them up, I'd work my way out.  BIG MISTAKE!  After half-a-dozen LARGE boxes, I know that had to be it, but noooooo.  There were more.  I lost count.  I managed to get it ALL put away (9 hours later) with room leftover.  Of course, I had to go through the spices and the food, and throw some more stuff away.  BUT I made mom make a list of things that needed to be replaced.  

I also managed to hang the electric can opener (which meant emptying the bottom shelf of one of the cabinets  I had worked so hard on), and hanging a light over the built in desk.  

Having not moved in 30+ years, my mom was getting frustrated as to why it wasn't all coming together by Saturday night.  And why there were still so many boxes everywhere.  BUT she did get connected.  By Saturday night, she had all of the TV's in the house hooked up, and her internet up and working.  For her, that's heaven!

I'm hoping most of my friends and family are pretty settled for now, and that I don't have to do this again any time soon!

AMW

Helping People Move

Do you remember a post I did a few months back about physical labor? I should have added that moving falls into that category as well. Some folks are cut out for it, and some folks aren't. I will admit, that I have this odd nack for packing a car or trailer or truck full of stuff to maximize space. I must get that from my dad. He can pack a space like there's no tomorrow. And so that was my Thursday last week.

Now, I don't mind helping someone move. Especially when (like this person) they would help me out in a second (and she has). I just don't particularly care for all the lifting and carrying and such. If there was a job for moving that just involved getting things packed into vehicles, that'd be all for me....

And it was a WARM day. 98 at it's hottest (which felt like all day). But we got an awful lot accomplished, and managed to get the majority of it done. I left a little lighter (from all the sweat) and with a few more marks that weren't there before... But I sure slept good!

AMW

Google People

Do you ever "google" people that you know? Maybe someone from high school, or old friends, or even family members? It's amazing what you can find. Sometimes, there are no hits on who I'm looking for, but other times, it's a jackpot.

Try it sometime. When you have a few minutes, google people that you know. Be prepared, though! You never know what you'll find.....

AMW