Three years

Marriage was designed by God for the mutual joy of two people.

I heard this line in a song recently and it has stayed with me.
We are so blessed to have had three years of (mostly!) joy, and we are so grateful for the wondrous healing that gives us the possiblility of so many more....

Thank you, Sweet Preacher Man....for everything.

"The human body was designed to walk." Dr. Oz

My human body would be so surprised to hear that revelation from Dr. Oz. It truly does not remember what it is like to exercise at all, much less do what it was "designed" to do!

Dr. Oz can be so annoying.

For three years now, I have been complaining that with all this water around us (I can honestly see the lake out of every window in my house!), there is no place to walk around it. I have gone with my husband to a walking track, joined a women's health club, and tried to walk around the church and in a nearby neighborhood.....seems as though nothing quite worked for me.

My human body is very discerning about where it does what it was designed to do.



















And then I found it! Paradise. I drive by it almost every day, but it had never occurred to me to walk there, perhaps..... because...... I really did not want to walk.

But the time has come. And the place is here. Honestly, it takes...oh, less than a minute by car to get there from my front door. It is a new resort and because it was private property I had not thought about intruding. However, when I heard Dr. Oz make his annoying proclamation, I got in the car and started driving, determined to find a place to do what my body was designed to do.....and there it was. I called the owner to ask permission and was told I was welcome to come anytime I wanted to.

Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore....

I was even invited to park my car in one of the 'carports' for travel trailers so it would be in the shade while I walked. Have I mentioned how much I love living in The Wilderness?







The first day, I did not take my camera. The next day I did and recorded some of the beauty I saw along the way.



A mother duck sitting on her nest trying to keep from being seen, blue and white herons feeding and flying, pink and white water lilies, birds, dragonflies, benches and palm trees....and miles and miles of water and plenty of cool breezes coming off the lake.

And did I mention water and cool breezes?




























I photographed my virgin walking shoes (as I rested on the above-pictured bench after a long walk) which I hope before long will be less embarrassingly clean and white.



I have found paradise...right in my daily path.










Isn't that just how life works?

Friendship's First Fruits

One of the nicest things about living on the lake is the friendships that we have here. And how lucky are we that our friends have wonderful summer vegetable gardens! We currently have a bowl of beautiful fresh squash along with the abundance you see here. We were too tired to cook last night and too tired to go eat....and had already discussed just forgetting all about supper. Then along came Angie and Bennie with a brown bag full of goodies....we just grilled some sausage and potatoes and had a delicious meal at the end of a long day.

Our friends take very good care of us. Quite often, John and Stacy show up on our doorstep with fish caught that morning...all cleaned and in a storage bag ready to fry. Sometimes they even add side dishes of fresh okra and green beans. Jerry and Linda keep us supplied with tomatoes all summer, and Jamie and Rhonda bring us the biggest squash and zucchini I have ever seen. Dena and Gary bring us cartons of fresh eggs that are so big many of them are double-yoked.

The people here are so good and take such good care of these native Texans. We are learning a lot from them...Jack and Barbara put up a bluebird house in our yard the first year we were here and we have learned much about the care and feeding of birds from them. And Jack and Sherry have blessed us with so many cuttings of beautiful flowering plants and have helped us learn how to take care of them. Our lovely garden is a direct tribute to their teachings...as well as my husband's natural ability to bring out the best in whatever he places in the ground!

Roy continues his road to recovery and along the way we have found such blessings as Bo and Diane mowing and manicuring our extensive yard each week, a spiral cut ham arriving on our doorstep as result of the thoughtfulness of Ben and Catherine, and of course the home-cooked meals that have arrived just when we thought we were too weary to even eat.

Life is good here on the lake in the wilderness....enriched by the people here and the fruits (and vegetables) of their friendships.

Happy Birthday, Zoe!

Happy Birthday, Zoe, Princess of Zoeland!

You are FOUR years old today and you had the most amazing Princess Party ever! Your pink cake had a princess crown all around it and so many people came to celebrate your birthday because they all love Princess Zoe!

It is a joy to be your Grana...you are such an amazing girl and there are so many reasons I love you.




Here are a few of my favorite things about Princess Zoe:

You are my granddaughter and I am your Grana.

When you laugh, you cannot stop...you laugh and laugh and laugh!



You like the silly things we do together, like eating blue popsicles until our mouths turn blue and singing songs about Zoe, Lucy, and Kobi at bedtime.

You are the very best sister to Lucy; you take care of her, share your toys with her, and you try to make her happy when she is crying.

You love to dance. You wear a fancy dress to practice your dancing and take your hair down so you can feel it move when you dance.

You wear the purple tiara I gave you almost every day.

You love dresses and want to wear one every day (just like Grana!).

When I come to see you and Roy cannot come, you always say "Let's call My Friend Roy so I can talk to him."


You remind me of my daughter Julie (your Mom) when you laugh, when you help Lucy, and when you feel shy but try not to act like you are feeling shy. You are very helpful and brave like your Mom was when she was a little girl.

You remind me of my daughter Emily (your Aunt) when you put on a song and dance show for your family. You also reminded me of Emily when when you went to your first play. You sat so still and never talked and never looked away from the stage. Emily did that, too, when she saw her first play. And afterwards, you learned all the words to the Annie songs just like Emily did when she was a little girl. You are very creative like your Aunt Emily.

And one of my very favorite things about you is that you are a very sweet girl and you are kind to people, just like a princess should be!



Happy birthday, Princess Zoe!

"Broken wings need time to heal before a heart can fly....." Gary Allan

My husband never ceases to amaze me.

And when he motioned me to come outside one day last summer and showed me this bird he was holding, it was one of those amazing moments...

He has 5 birdfeeders in our front yard that he keeps full of food year-round and we have the most beautiful birds flying around, different types for different seasons. I think this one just wanted to tell him thank you.

Healing wings is never easy when all you want to do is fly. Roy is healing, and his doctor is very happy with his progress. But Roy is ready to fly.

We had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Wonder Thursday. The doctor was concerned about leakage in the kidney because that problem occurred in the hospital and because Roy has not been feeling well. After a very elaborate, lengthy ultrasound he was very happy to report that all is well and there would be no need to go back in and place a stint...the kidney had healed itself.

That was a huge relief. And all looks great, the healing is as it is supposed to be, and Roy is progressing beautifully...even if he can't fly just yet.

The prognosis is excellent and Doctor Wonder told him his chances were 0.00002% that the cancer would ever return. What a beautiful thing to hear.

So now, we wait for the flying. It is difficult for Roy to slow down for any reason and he misses the work, the preaching, and "getting bad guys off the road." But he is trying to be patient and do what his body tells him to do. As Doctor Wonder reminded him yesterday, "I practically cut you in half. It will take some time to heal."

Roy is more active each day and is feeling a world better than a week ago. His pain is slowly subsiding and he is getting to be more like himself each day and I am so glad...it is good to see the light in his eyes again.

With the wings healing, flying cannot be too far in the future.

One more request, Lord...a little patience, please!

"It's a Great Day in America, Everybody!" Craig Ferguson

The Warrior is home from battle. Seven days after D-Day and 1 month and 1 day after we found out about the attack. And I have to say, I am so proud of him for the victories he has achieved. And so grateful to God for being his Commander-in-Chief through this war. And leave it to such a Commander-in-Chief to appoint a great leader for combat.

Wonder Doctor came in this morning after the CT scan with a big grin on his face and said, "Let's go to the house!" He is off the heavy-duty pain medicine, eating normal food, and his war wound is greatly improved. Wonder Doctor told us several days ago that he would send a physical therapist to work with Roy, but he has done so great on his self-induced walking program that he did not have to deal with that. So all systems were go...

...and Roy is home and is cancer-free.

A note about our doctor:
Roy called while Wonder Doctor was in his room this morning and I talked to him. I said, "Good morning, Doctor Wonder!" and he started laughing...one of Roy's visitors met him the other day and said, "You must be Doctor Wonder" and told him about my blog. I told him this morning I did not know if he would want me to use his name or not, so I chose one I thought to be appropriate after the wonderful job he did on my husband's kidney. He told me it was perfectly fine with him to use his name....our miracle worker is Dr. Robert L. Fontane of the LSU Health Science Center. He is leaving LSU in a few weeks to assume the position of Chairman of the Department of Urology at the hospital in Alexandria. I thank the Lord our paths crossed when they did.

And I have to share this: Roy ordered me not to come to the hospital Saturday. He told me he wanted me to stay home and rest. I argued and told him I wouldn't stay long, etc...so he got Wonder Doctor involved. He sent orders along with Roy's for me to stay off the road for one day so I could rest up for the work involved in Roy's homecoming. So I stayed home. And I received this delivery Saturday afternoon:



The card said, "Happy Mother's Day. Love, Roy"

Roy's Strawberries

I bought a strawberry plant for Roy last summer and it has produced the most beautiful flowers and strawberries. I have tried to protect them this week so he can enjoy them when he gets home.....





but Kobi does love strawberries for breakfast!


(I am actually posting this while waiting on a call from Roy. I talked to him earlier and it does not look like he will be coming home today. Doctor Wonder found some leakage in the incision, but is waiting on the results of the CT scan. If he gets to come home, I will post that---if not, I will hit the road again to spend the rest of the day with him. Thanks for all your concern and prayers. We are weary, but grateful. So grateful.)

Hospital Holds Husband Hostage

We are in Day 7 of captivity.

Roy was supposed to come home today, but Wonder Doctor's supervisor wanted a CT scan to make sure everything is as good as it seems to be....and since this is Sunday, that could not take place today. It is scheduled for 8am tomorrow and Wonder Doctor told Roy he will come by in between surgeries to let him know the results of the scan.

I went to see him today and he really does feel a lot better than he has been feeling. I know each day is a step closer to recovery, but it is time for the man to be set free to recover at home!

A roommate moved in Friday afternoon and it was one of those awful experiences. He had a lot of company with no consideration for the other person in the room....loud laughing and talking---amazingly inconsiderate. Even the nurses said it sounded like a wild party in there. Roy was not feeling well and I was getting angrier by the minute, but he did not feel we needed to say anything for some reason... We could hardly hear each other talk. I honestly left close to tears it was such a bad situation. (Roy told me I needed to tune them out.....how does one do such a thing????) I just hated it for him, but he told me he would listen to my ipod and read after I left until he fell asleep. But the roommate talked on the phone all through the night...

The rest of the story:

He and his roommate (Roy calls him Sarge) have bonded and you would think they were the best of friends. Wouldn't you know? I am not even surprised. They had a good talk and Sarge has some serious health problems. He actually came close to dying in the middle of last night and Roy got up and stayed with him for a few hours, talked with him and prayed with him.

What a difference a prayer makes...

They were laughing and having a great time watching the basketball game and talking about everything...and several times, Sarge reminded Roy that he wanted him to keep praying for him. It was pretty amazing. God is obviously not through with this man yet.

So the watch continues at Day 7 with hope for release on Day 8.

I will keep you posted.

Recovery Road

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...and on we go...
(as sung by Neil Diamond 1970)

I did not realize how hard it would be. I knew we had to do it. I was prepared to do it and we did it with the greatest possible measure of success...and now we are traveling down Recovery Road.

Roy is doing very well...exceptionally well, actually. And that is due to his sheer determination and grit and desire to get his strength back. But it is very difficult. Doctor Wonder and his ICU nurses told him that recovery from a 4+ hour intensive surgery has a slow recovery period.

But they do not know Roy like I do. He has taken it on himself to set goals for his recovery. While he was in ICU, he was laying in bed with his eyes closed and told me he had a goal to walk at 3:00. At this point, he had only sat up for a brief period. I was a little hesitant about this lofty goal and asked him "Why 3:00?" and he said, "Because that is my goal." And due to visitors, he did not walk at 3, but did walk after visitors left and walked so much farther than he had planned.....one gut-wrenching step after another. And so that is how our recovery is going....one small goal after another.

No wonder Doctor Wonder likes him so much!

He is now out of ICU. There are no private rooms in the VA hospital. I DREADED--can I say DREADED--going into one of those tiny rooms with a stranger. I stay about 10 hours a day and can I just say I DREADED sharing our space, words, and daily life with a stranger for 10 hours a day??? Plus I hated it for Roy, who did not say one word of complaint, of course. So I asked God if He would mind doing us just one more little favor......

We got in the room yesterday and sure enough, the other bed was a mess, stuff laying everywhere. I thought the other person must be in the bathroom, but the nurse told us he had just been released.....Glory, glory. We had the whole room to ourselves yesterday and last nite. They even brought me in a chair/bed to sleep beside Roy.

God never acts as though He is tired of hearing from me....

When I talked to Doctor Wonder last nite, I asked him if I could take Roy home today (Friday). He so hated to tell me no, but he said a few things have to happen first in order for him to let him go. He wanted him completely off his pain medication of any kind and also wanted to make sure the wound was travel-ready. He told Roy Saturday at the earliest. Roy just called and Doctor Wonder told him this morning that everything looks great---his kidney function is great, his vitals are great, he was very proud of Roy for only using 1/4 of the allotted pain medication, and very impressed with the long walk we took last night before I left. (A new personal goal set and achieved)

However, he wants to watch the incision and see how he does with no iv, no meds today.

So here we go....I know it will be more difficult for us when we get him home. But we both want him home. Not to mention poor Kobi, who looks for him everywhere.

The patient just called and told me his nurse wanted to give him a bath, but he told her he wanted to wait for his wife to give it to him because she did such a great job yesterday. So he is taking a nap while I travel back to Shreveport...talk about a long, long road. I am on that road three hours each day. But it is part of the Road to Recovery, which we are traveling as fast as the law and Roy's body will allow.

Thank you SO MUCH for your notes to Roy in this blog. I am printing it out and taking it with me today. It will be the best medicine he has had to date, I promise you. (Well, after the morphine....) You will never know the part you played in the healing process with your notes and your prayers.

And on we go....

"We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness." Anonymous

Although we have not exactly been waiting in the darkness, we certainly have been waiting for two weeks in uncertain, unknown, unwelcome circumstances. We have both felt led to trust and obey and enjoy the beautiful light of the days in spite of the darkness that threatened to invade our world.

Monday morning we packed for a week-long stay in the hospital, packed Kobi off to the doggie hotel with her pet nanny and headed north for a doctor's appointment. We so dreaded the ordeal ahead of two back-to-back surgeries, but also wanted to persevere and "gitrdone" so we could prepare for the mountain we would need to climb next.

The Wonder Doctor informed us everything was set for surgery the next morning. He told us he had taken Roy's MRI to a urology specialist that he consults with before each surgery, as he had told us he would do. They had an hour long meeting Monday morning going over the tests.

The conclusion: One kidney did have a cancerous tumor that was to be removed from the kidney as scheduled Tuesday morning.

AND ONE KIDNEY IS CANCER-FREE. The bad kidney. The kidney that was believed to have been so cancerous that it had to be removed in fact has no cancer in it at all.

We were so stunned we could hardly speak. The doctor was so happy he could not stop smiling. It was a wonderful appointment. Dialysis was no longer a fear and the second surgery was no longer needed.

Roy asked Wonder Doctor if he would mind if he prayed for him and before Roy and I could bow our heads, he said "Absolutely!" and took both of our hands in his.

The surgery was Tuesday morning and lasted four hours. When Wonder Doctor came in the waiting room, I could tell by his face it was good news. He told us the surgery could not have gone better. The tumor was tested and found to be cancer; it was removed and 75% of the kidney was left and working perfectly.

Roy is in ICU for a day or two, then will be moved to a regular room. He should be home in a few days.

We are humbled and grateful that God loves us so much....we are so thankful for the hundreds of people in eight states (that we know for sure) that have prayed for Roy. It is our prayer for you that you always remember that you had a part in a miracle displaying God's Amazing Grace.

"A miracle is an event which creates faith. That is the purpose and nature of a miracle." George Bernard Shaw

(I have been praying all along for 1/2 of a kidney to be saved.....that is all we needed to avoid dialysis. Oh, ye of little faith....we ended up with 1 + 3/4)

"Delight in the joy of words." Wordsmith

April Showers

April has been a beautiful month in The Wilderness. We have had lots of rain, lots of flowers, lots of baby birds, and the lake level is up....not too far from our back door! We never get tired of watching the sun set over the water.

It is truly amazingly beautiful here.



We have had April showers of another kind this year....
and we had our visit with the doctor today.
I will give the brief report for today, Thursday the 23rd. It is so late, and I am so weary, but I will write more about it after the weekend. The doctor is waiting on more test results and he will have additional information at the beginning of the week. We spent over an hour with the doctor and had the opportunity to ask questions until we honestly had no more to ask. He answered each one patiently and honestly. We both felt very good about him.

Surgery is set for May 5.

The doctor will operate on the least affected kidney first, hoping to remove the cancer completely in order to save that kidney.

Hospital time will be anywhere from 3-7 days.

There will be a recovery time of 2-3 months before the second operation, in which the doctor feels 99% certain that the other kidney will have to be removed.

Those are the big picture facts. You can understand why we so much hope and pray that the first operation will leave us with a kidney. Or even half of one.

We are very weary at our house tonight---except for the brown and white Kobi-tsunami that greeted us when we got home! She still has PLENTY of energy! I wonder if she could be taught to shelve library books?

Thank you for caring about us and for praying for our situation. Prayers are up in so many places for Roy--- from Washington state to Boston, Minnesota to Kansas, Tennessee to Texas, and all the way from West Texas to Eastern Louisiana--- as our dear long-distance friends as well as those we see daily have let us know they are praying for Roy. I have had friends from work tell me they added Roy to their church's prayer chain---and at last count, I believe that was a total of 7 churches in and around my school district.

As one of his friends told me tonight, "Roy is loved by so many people and he honestly has no idea..." So true.



Thank you for your prayers.


"Sweet April showers do spring May flowers." (Thomas Tusser 1524-1580)









We are ready for May and the flowers we will find along the way.

Or as Roy said, "Let's gitrdone!"
(he knows quoting the cable guy drives me crazy, so he works this into conversations at any possible opportunity)

The C-Word:
I am still having trouble saying or even writing it. But I need to share our sad news with those we love and who love us, even though it hurts me to bring sadness to your world.

My wonderful husband has cancer. My strong, tough, courageous warrior of a man is fighting a different kind of war this time.





We are still in the early days of diagnosis, but here is what we know:

Both kidneys are affected, one worse than the other
A detailed MRI was done today (for 1 hour and 20 minutes) to give exact information
It will show the extent of the tumors and surgery will be scheduled
If they are on the surface rather than internal, the tumors can be easily removed
If they are ingrown into the kidneys, the kidneys will have to be removed
The largest tumor is Stage 1 on one kidney
The other kidney has tumors that appear to be very small--the new MRI will show more
One kidney will be operated on, then recovery time before the next surgery
These kinds of tumors do not respond to chemo or radiation, only surgery
Best case--the surgeries will take care of everything
Worst case--if both kidneys have to come out, dialysis

And here is what we know that we are grateful for:

Roy has no fear. And he tells me I have no reason to fear either (I am working on that one) He is ready to do battle.

The doctor told him he should be back to preaching and deputy-ing in three months
(Roy says no way will he wait that long on the preaching---3 weeks is his goal)

There are no symptoms for this kind of cancer. It could have gone on so long....But it was found miraculously on a ctscan for his back. And that was ordered miraculously by a brand new doctor assigned to him after we could not get in to his regular doctor of 3 years. His back pain was so severe he thought he had kidney stones (We spent Valentines Day in the ER for what we thought were kidney stones. Because it was on a weekend, we could not get into his regular doctor, and that has turned out to be an amazing blessing as his case for his back seemed to be put on fast forward with the new doctor. And these tests were ordered----and the doctor was far more concerned about what showed up on his kidneys than with his back pain)

I am grateful that he does not have to go through chemo or radiation. Not that surgery will not be very difficult, but then it will be done. For a man like Roy, I believe that will be much better.

Roy asked the surgeon that gave him the diagnosis and will do the surgery:
"Doc, how good are you?" And he said the doctor looked him right in the eye and said, "I'm good."

I told him I wish I could go through this instead of him. He said "No." I told him that I am strong enough to do that, if I could take it from him.

He told me he was not that strong.

We are so grateful for the quality of our lives. I recently heard marriage described as designed by God for the mutual joy of two people.

Amen and thank you for the joy.




We go to the doctor together one week from tomorrow on April 23. He will have the results of todays MRI and we will hear the battle plan on that day.

I will post weekly updates on how things are going to keep those who care about us informed. I will try to send out a group email when I have posted each week and you can read the news if you choose. (And, please, let me know you were here--leave a brief comment if you come by.)



I do not ask for prayer lightly or often, but we would appreciate your prayers for a while.

Home Again

I took a break from blogging this past year. I chose to put time in other areas of my art as I seem to have such limited free time during the week. But blogging is always on my mind and I am constantly writing mental notes for the next entry, so I decided it is time to come back.

In this season of renewal, I am renewing communication through my blog.

I challenged myself to post one new photograph each day to reflect the joy in my world...but knowing the reality of free time in my days, I will choose one per week. Photography is my passion and the photo to me is always much stronger than the words.....pictures do truly speak in a strong, quiet voice.

If you have visited before, welcome back. Maybe we can start meeting here regularly again. I do miss the contact with old friends and new friends I met in this space.

Spring is alive everywhere on the lake, and we had new babies hatch on our front porch this Easter week. I bought the red birdhouse at Christmas to hang on our porch as decoration for our annual open house, with pine sprigs and red berries in the opening. I hadn't considered birds actually building a home in there, but one day this week, I heard hungry babies inside. Pictured above (and below) is a tired mama or daddy wren coming back from a food run.


This birdhouse photo was taken in spring last year---also on our front porch. I guess the wrens agree with us that this is a great place to have a home!

Have a wonderful Easter and I will be back next week.

And what books are you reading this summer?

I was reading one of my favorite art blogs the other day, Pomegrantes and Paper, and there was that question: What books are you reading this summer? Readers were invited to post all the fun books they were into this summer....and I just had to laugh.

The above photo is exactly half of the books I am reading this summer. As a librarian, we are required from time to time to update our education....and this summer I am taking 4 graduate classes, one of them being Literature for Young Adults and one Literature for Children. I am drowning in books!!!

Not much time for making art or playing with grandchildren this summer, I am so sad to say. But as I go through these books one by one, I am reminded of the great joy we bring the children we love by reading to them. I ordered one for my elementary library this year that I loved reading to my daughters when they were in elementary school. I encourage you to buy one new book this summer just for a child in your life. Then sit down and read it to her. You will both be blessed.

A Happy Anniversary...and a sad goodbye

Three years ago, I first visited this house I am now living in. As I was coming up the driveway, I thought to myself how beautiful a double rocking chair would look on the front porch. I married the man living in the house a year later. And last week, for our second anniversary, my husband surprised me with a double rocker. The Wilderness views of the lake, trees, flowers, birds, squirrels, lizards, dragonflies, etc. are somehow even more beautiful from the double rocking chair.

Max enjoyed the rocking chair, too, if only for a few days. Here, she is fussing at me to come feed her supper instead of taking her photo...her tail was caught in the purple flowers and was wagging so hard, the flowers were moving back and forth with it. She was trying to be so serious, barking at me...but that wagging tail and wagging flowers...it made me laugh, which only made her bark louder!

A couple of days later, she was gone.

And the pain is everywhere.

I think the most amazing thing I learned from living with Max for 14 years was the lesson of Unconditional Love. We lived alone for most of those years, and we took care of each other. I think she wanted to stay around long enough to know someone else would love me like she did...and she gave him two years to prove himself. After deeming him worthy, it was time for her to go.

Lord, please let her know how much I miss her...and you know how much she loves her bacon treats...

Happy Fourth of July

Greetings on this holiday from the Lake in The Wilderness. My hometown has such a wonderful July Fourth tradition----Small Town America with a parade, craft fair, food booths, carnival, and fireworks in the park. It is a wonderful tradition and seemingly never changes, except that it seems to become more nostalgic each year...

We are not there this year, but our day consists of planting some flowers, cooking on the grill, and watching the fireworks over the lake. I hope yours is peaceful and filled with joy.....God Bless America on her birthday.

My Best (Canine) Friend

This is Max. She is my beloved dog and has been my constant companion for almost 14 years. She has been blessed with such great health and energy and love of life. We have had a wonderful life together.

My daughters brought her to me when my husband walked away....I think they thought it would really help. And you know, it did. Max was so small that I could hold her in my cupped hands, but she was a fireball. It didn't take long for her to rule the house and pretty much our world. She was with me during the time of my divorce, the huge move from the only home she had known to the big city. She and I were on our own for ten years. Then The Man came along, and we packed up and moved to the country, a beautiful place on the lake. She loves it here. She adores The Man. She loves walking around the lake, smelling all the smells and laying in the grass, surveying her kingdom.

She is not doing so well right now---she has arthritis in two legs and it is just about to get the best of her. In the last two weeks, she can hardly get around at all. It is heartbreaking and yet she wags her tail every time I come to pick her up. I am so happy to have her around this summer while I am home, but I am trying to be careful not to be selfish about it.

My vet says I will know.

Once a few years ago, I took her to the vet and he told me she had the two most expensive things wrong that she needed medication for--he looked at Max and said, "I hope you are worth this." I told him you could not put a price on unconditional love.

Unconditional love. What a gift.

September Morn

Do you remember how we danced the night away
Two lovers playing scenes from some romantic play
September morn still can make me feel that way...

Neil Diamond


I have always loved September....it is my New Year. The new school year represents new beginnings to me. When I close my eyes, I can feel the September mornings of my childhood as I went to school wearing a beautiful dress my mother made me... and as a teenager about the time this Neil Diamond song was playing on the radio...

Summer has gone out in a blaze of beautiful glory and September is here again. It happened so fast.



My highest priority this summer was devoting time to my art and one of my favorite projects was an ABC book for Zoe. Using my own photographs as illustrations, I made her a wordless book in which she can recognize people and things in her life that she loves as she learns her ABCs. It was a fun project!



I also had more time to spend with my husband. While we did not dance the night away in the ballroom-dancing sense that Neil wrote about, we dance our own dance as married couples do; I truly have enjoyed the extra time spent together during this unstructured summer.

More of the joys of this summer: becoming a grandmother again---the best!---and spending time with both of my daughters, celebrating our first wedding anniversary, visiting my parents and other family and friends, watching granddaughters play softball, planting our first garden together...and having so much time for art. I even finally tackled Adobe photoshop!

And now it is the New Year. School has started and I have a more-than full time job, the days are structured and more tiring, time for the art is harder to come by...

but the wonder of September is here again... and change and autumn and new possibilities call to me.

My camera and I went out this morning and recorded some of the beauty of this September Morn. I hate to let summer go, but am anxious to see what the new season holds for me. Neil Diamond's latest CD, released as he is sixty-something, is I think possibly his best work yet. It came 37 years after his first album.

May each new season bring out the very best in us as we Begin Again...no matter what our past accomplishments or how many Septembers we have seen.

Zoe Is Two.

"Before you were conceived, I wanted you.
Before you were born, I loved you.
Before you were here for an hour, I would die for you.
This is the miracle of life."
M. Hawkins


This is one of my favorite quotes. As true as it was for my own two daughters, how amazing that it is possibly more true for a grandchild! I waited so long to be a grandmother. My daughter and son-in-law were married almost seven years before Zoe came along, and every time I would whine about not being a grandmother yet, my son-in-law would say something like: 'OK, Pam, that is 6 more months that you will have to wait...' And wait I did. I guess I finally learned to wait quietly....

And now Zoe is two.










One of the most joyful things for a grandmother to see is the happiness in her grandchild's face when she sees you. The last time I talked to her on the phone, she said, "Hi, Grana" for the first time and my heart just absolutely melted. The pain of not seeing her more often is with me daily, but it is easy to forget that feeling when we are together.




After the long impatient wait for grandchildren, I was blessed with Zoe and then exactly one year and one month later, was unbelievably blessed with three more beautiful, wonderful granddaughters when I married their grandfather. In the year since, his son and wife have given us a grandson--a grandson!



". . . joy comes in the morning." This is the promise in Psalm 30 and I think becoming a grandparent must be what God had in mind when He wrote those words...

And Lucy just arrived!

Joy of joys, Zoe's new sister was born at almost midnight on July 4. Luciana Lee arrived three weeks early, but with firecrackers exploding all over the country welcoming her arrival!

(Photos soon!)

All of my beautiful grandchildren work their way into my art....it helps close the distance gap somehow. If you are an artist and you are separated from those you love, you know what I mean.

The heart and the art become one to express the joy of loving.