Life...

has been sad; crazy; and peaceful...all at the same time.

Sad...last July, I lost my younger sister to cancer. I still have all the memories; holding her and rocking her in the old rocking chair in the kitchen when she had the chicken pox and the mumps so bad the doctor said he never saw anything like it.

I remember her excitement at seeing cows in the fields; the swooshing sound she would make when I took her for a walk and pushed her stroller past a creek that was next to the road. My sister was 10 years younger, but we were best of friends. She was the flower girl at my wedding; my babysitter when I needed a break; my confidant; and my travel partner. I miss her everyday; my heart is broken.

Crazy...we were in the middle of buying a new house when my sister passed away. Started out looking for a small ranch and ended up with a bigger colonial than we were leaving behind. Fifty plus years of memories and "stuff"; we are still going through "stuff" that we must have saved for some reason, but at the moment we can't think of a good reason to keep it anymore.

Peace...is now found either sitting at the kitchen table my grandmother gave me; part of a dining room set she was given by her aunt back in the early 1920s; sipping on a cup of hot coffee watching the squirrels and birds enjoy the food we put out on a regular basis or working on my latest needlework project.

I make it my priority to enjoy every day; take nothing for granted and live life with no regrets! Life is good!

      

Where has the time gone?

Oh my, it is already almost the end of July.  This month has been very hot & humid in Central New York.

It's been busy at my house; between remodeling and trying to re-organize my workspace, the time has just flown by.  I did, however, manage to find time for a trip to the Utica Zoo with my grandson where we were accompanied by a white peacock as we ate lunch on the gazebo:

I took several pictures as we strolled along the several trails in the zoo, but many of the animals were not out in the open; I guess they were trying to stay in the shade.  Here are the camels...aren't they great?

The lions and lionesses were just lounging around under the shade of the several trees in their enclosure...

At the end of our "safari", my grandson wanted to visit the playground.  Actually, it was even too hot to get excited about playing that day.  We will have to plan another visit...in the Fall...when it is cooler.

No Regrets...