If I had a Million Dollars....

Whitney (a.k.a. Kitter's Mama, Grown Up Baby Child)

 

Have you ever had one of those moments where, if you had a million dollars, you would have given every single dime of it to get to somewhere? I've had a few. One of them was when my youngest daughter, Whitney, was about 8 years old and had an asthmatic bronchitis attack. AND, I was 3 states away. At times like these, Whitney needed breathing treatments to help her breathe.

Cliff and I were on our way to Mississippi for a wedding. The girls were staying with mama and daddy. Mama phoned to let me know that Whitney was starting to get sick. She needed her breathing machine and it was locked up in my house. AND, she had no key. Well, bless daddy and my sister, Carla's heart. They broke into my house to get the machine for Whitney. Mama promised me that she would get up around the clock to give her a breathing treatment. But, Lord, I felt so guilty and I wanted to be home in the worst kind of way. I couldn't just turn around and drive 36 hours back home. Whatever was going to happen, would have happened by then. BUT, if I had had a million dollars....I would have given every dime of it for someone to fly me home. Long story short, mama was diligent with Whitney's treatments and she was okay.

Now, nearly 20 years later and 1488 miles away.....if I had a million dollars I would have given every dime of it for someone to fly me to Colorado.

BUT, it wouldn't have done any good.

I only found out one hour before she was to go into surgery that my grownup baby child had to have her appendix removed. Thank God for Jason. He took very good care of her and was updating us constantly. It seems her appendectomy was textbook. She came home from the hospital yesterday. She is sore for sure. She sent me a text this morning saying, "I need one of those handles that are attached to the ceiling to peel myself out of this tempurpedic mattress topper."

Bless it!

She's on the mend. Whitney will be out of work a couple of days, but the biggest inconvenience to her is that she will not be able to exercise for 4 to 5 weeks.

Bless it!

Get well soon Whitney!

Love,
Mama (a.k.a. Ma, LaLa, Laurie or the parental unit)

Little Chiggers

 

My little chiggers came to visit us at the beach this weekend. It was wonderful. I got lots of forehead kisses, cheek kisses, neck squeezes, waist huggies and lap snuggles.

The weather was nice which meant there would be tons of stuff to do. But, we were relegated to two of their favorites.....rock climbing and swimming (indoor pool, of course). Their imaginations were stoked and running wild. With sticks in hand, they journeyed to the nether depths of LaLa land. In situations like these, I rely on the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

So, here you go. Lots of visuals and you don't have to hear me ramble on and on. There are a few pictures and a couple of videos from their visit at Christmas that I never got around to posting, also.

Sawyer lost another tooth at Christmas.

I told him that he could be the poster child for the song....

"All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

 

Testing the newly installed zip line.

 

Yep, seems to work just fine...and comes with warnings. Ha!

 

Camp provisions over Christmas break...Sweet tea, Squirrel-grilled over open fire,

a little salt and bubble gum. What more could you want?

 

Sawyer FaceTimed me from his iPod last week and this is all I saw. HaHa!

 

 

Beach time this weekend.

Sawyer would give the rest of his teeth to be able to climb these sand dunes.

(Strictly prohibited by Lakewood authorities....and for good reason. We need to preserve the sea oats.)

 

So, he settled for the rocks instead. Here, his stick is actually a video camera and Lidia is giving instructions as to how or what to video as the tide rises.

 

"Gosh, do we have to pose, LaLa? We have business to get to."

 

Where's Waldo?

 

And last, but not least....my grandkitty.

It's Kitter being all cute, wooing her mama for some food.

 

 

Cherishing my chiggers,

Laurie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random Autobiography

My blogging friend, Carol, at  http://artandsand.blogspot.com did the sweetest thing for me. She took the words from this blog post and turned it into a poem and what I would consider....ART. 

Carol told me that when she was teaching, she had her students write a "random" autobiography and that since the last few years of teaching her school had become a technology magnet, she was always looking for programs for the kids to create their work online.

She said that my words reminded her of the "random" poems the kids wrote. So, Carol took my words and turned them into a "random" poem and put them into Tagxedo - http://www.tagxedo.com/.

How cool is that?

Thanks again, Carol!  I'm still smiling.

If you want to experience a real treat.....y'all should go pay Carol a visit. Just click on the link above...it will take you directly to her blog. You will be amazed at how colorful and cheery her blog is. She is a very talented lady, indeed!

Randomly yours,

 

 

P.S. In case you were wondering...........

I ran 3.26 miles with my running buddy, Christie, this morning on trails. And, my sisters and I spent 4 hours completing the clean up in mama's yard. She has like 20 huge pine trees on her property...all of which had numerous fallen limbs. That should tell you something. I stopped counting at 159,000 pinecones. I burned a lot of calories today. And, mama is once again a happy mama.

 

9-Mile Trail Run

 Last Saturday, Cliff and I ran an almost 9-mile trail run from Buck Hall near Awendaw, SC. I had a couple of weeks before starting to train for my next half marathon and thought I would like to try something different.

 

I liked the description I read about the trail from the event organizer. He said, "The portion of the Palmetto Trail that we will be running on is The Awendaw Passage. This is the coastal terminus of the Palmetto Trail, ending at the intracoastal waterway, the "sea" part of the Mountain-to-the Sea Trail. This is also where you'll see palmetto trees along the trail. The trail follows Awendaw Creek through a maritime forest and offers sweeping vistas of the salt marsh."

 

Cliff and our friend, Tom, ran a portion of it last November. I guess that's what started me thinking about trail running. You can read about that adventure here.

 

It was raining Saturday morning and I thought we might have to cancel, but as a long-time follower of the Weather Channel, I determined that the rain was quickly moving away from the area and that we would, indeed, run the trail. AND then......wouldn't you know it. My cockamamie nerves decided to throw me a curve ball. I had not been feeling nervous at all and was actually looking forward to running. But the nerves decided otherwise. I dealt with them all morning. I guess they sensed that I had never run on trails before and got a little out of sorts. So it goes.

 

The crowd had gathered and the line up was according to age. Wasn't that nice to give us older runners a head start. It wouldn't matter. I still got passed...a lot. I only passed one person. I need to work on that. My goals for this run were: 

1) Finish in 2 hours

2) Not to break a foot or ankle

3) Not finish last

And, I am happy to say, I met all my goals.

 

The trail run was an out and back. For at least the first 1/2 mile or so, this is what the trail looked like. The path was clear of roots and was quite enjoyable to run on.

 

 

 

We ran on several bridges, which I loved. They had just the right amount of give.

 Then there were the Palmetto fronds. You can see a few roots in this picture.

 

 

And even more roots, in this one. To the right of the trail is the Awendaw Creek.

 

And this is the Awendaw Creek vista showing the salt marsh.

 

 

Being a novice trail runner, I would have to describe this run as very tough. We had to run over roots and dodge holes, there were up hills and down hills and slick mud built up over one area like a dike. I walked that, maybe 8 foot, section. I was not about to come out those woods looking like I belonged in a Rambo movie. My feet hurt so bad and my ankles were very sore. Obviously, I did not have the right shoes. When I finished, I told Cliff, "never again!"

 

And now, one week later, I am scouring the Internet for more trails. I am going to buy trail shoes this weekend. The pain? I described it to someone as birthing a baby. You hurt for a while, but when it's over you forget the pain. You are left with a beautiful experience and can't wait for the next one. Yes, I have to say that after the initial learning curve and pain, I think I fell in love with trail running.

 

On to the next adventure,

Laurie

 

Post Pax

Live Oak thinned by the Ice Storm

It's been a week now since Winter Storm Pax graced us with it's presence down south. Remember, we had ice and freezing temperatures. And then today, the high is supposed to be 79 degrees F. It's 77 now and is a nice change, for sure. I love winter weather, as you know, but even I was ready for a little warm up.

Day one of the ice storm and just minutes after losing power, I was actually having a good time. I jotted these notes down so that I could remember them later, when posting about it. But now, I've decided to just give you a few bulleted points. I'm so over this storm.

ice in trees

pine limbs breaking all around

freezing rain

Cliff went to work

home alone

power went off about 11:30 a.m.

phone battery low

put on car charger

started a fire in fireplace

hungry, want something hot....it figures

heat dumplings in fireplace

lunch ready soon

I'm having a ball

Pioneer Woman

We were without power for six days. Yes, we lost everything from the fridge. It took me a few hours to chunk everything and then wash the fridge/freezer from top to bottom. I put a spit shine on that thing like you wouldn't believe. My yard still needs a little work. With this gorgeous weather, clean up will be a breeze. Mama is still without power. Hopefully, it will be restored this week. We still have a large pile of debris to remove from her yard. And we're already getting quotes to repair her roof.

So much going on!

The carpet installers were just getting started good when the ice storm hit, and now that our power is back on they are back and hopefully finishing installation today. I'm so ready for that to be over, too. Although I am happy about getting new carpet in the bedrooms, having people in my home making a mess, causes me stress. I like things neat and tidy and organized. I'll be spending the next couple of days putting things back like they were, I'm sure.

I'm done with this story. It's time to move on.

What's new on the horizon? Well, let me just tell you. We will be adding on an exercise room. I'm so excited. We met with the contractor yesterday. Yay! This time, I won't have to deal with them in my house so much.....until they bust through the wall to make an opening from the family room to the exercise room. I better stock up on Advil for that one. We are planning to use the same contractor that did our kitchen remodel, so there should be some good stories to come out of that. They're a hoot.

I see Spring quickly approaching around here. Soon, it will be time to start a garden and pull out the lawn mower. Good days ahead for sure.

Does this post feel disjointed to you or like I'm rambling? Oh well, I'll shape up before the next one (no pun intended)....it's an exercise post. Ha! And....and.....my spell-checker has gone MIA. I hope you don't find any misspelled words. I hate that! Just be forewarned, ok.

And in case you were wondering:
I ran my first 9 mile trail run Saturday. I'll have that post ready soon.

Until then,

Laurie

Be Careful What You Wish For

The Oak outside my kitchen window. The limbs,

heavy with ice, are dragging the ground. This was early in the ice storm.

 

I know, I know....I was wishing for more winter weather in the form of snow and 20 degree temps, but not ice and not power outages and tree limbs down and messes to clean. For crying out loud, not that!!

Winter Storm Pax..........akin to a hurricane in that we were left with downed limbs over power lines, through roofs, on roofs, around the yard, across roads.....we were left with no power and no water. And like any disaster, we also experienced neighbors, friends and family checking on and helping each other, sharing food if they saw a need. Or offers of a hot shower (if they were lucky enough to have power and water) and some help in cleaning up the debris.

A few differences....it's cold (a wet cold, the worst kind) instead of 150 degrees Fahrenheit with 100% humidity. We do have ways of staying warm, though - be it a fireplace, lots of blankets, space heaters that use kerosene (dangerous by the way) or warming centers set up at the elementary school. We don't have to worry so much about the food going bad since it's in the 30's outside, unless the outages linger. And we won't have to deal with the gargantuan mosquitos the size of helicopters that arrive a few days after a hurricane.

We have a mess to clean up. I had a beautiful oak tree just outside my kitchen window that is now riddled. It had many huge limbs to break off, one of which landed on my roof. There was minor damage. Mama, however, was not so lucky. She had a pine limb about the size of a half dollar come completely through her roof into one of the bedrooms. She's fine...a little upset that she had to leave her home. But with all those pines around her home, it was way too dangerous to let her stay there. She is at my sister's home and a good thing too because she along with everyone else in our town not only lost power and water, but her phone service.

Here, I will leave you with a few of the pictures I took from inside the house looking out. I wouldn't dare go outside to take them for fear of being impaled by a flying pine or oak limb. We will be busy cleaning up for the next few days. Hope everyone affected will be safe and warm and that their electricity will be restored soon. I will post more about Winter Storm Pax, I'm sure. It's a rare occasion for us. The story needs to be told.

***These photos were taken with my cell phone, so the quality is not the best.

More of the Oak.

Still more......

The beauty of this in real life is far better than this photo shows...

Broken limb from the Oak ....

Another view, and very minor damage.

Seed pods on a crepe myrtle.

The quality is lacking here as I had to zoom way in to get this Cardinal.

 

Just so pretty.

And pretty still.

 

 

So, I guess the next time I go wishing for more winter weather....I'll need to be more specific. Ice is pretty, but so dangerous. We are not equipped in the south for this type weather, really I don't know who could be. Snow is one thing, which for us can be crippling. But ice, that's a whole other ballgame.

 

More later,

Laurie

Happy 10th Birthday Lidia

This is Lidia, my granddaughter and the sweetest girl I know.

Today's post is what this blog is all about. I blog to capture moments and memories to preserve for my future generations. 

Lidia is:
...Compassionate
...Funny
...Smart
...The best big sister anyone can have. She loves her brother like no other. They spend copious amounts of time together playing, talking and just being.
...A well rounded girl

Lidia has:
...A curiosity about things that stretches her imagination and draws in anyone she engages with it.
...A love of learning about whatever she hears in a given day.

Lidia loves:
...Science. It is her favorite subject in school.
...To socialize and spend time with her friends.
...Her family, deeply!!!

And, We Love Her To Pieces!!!!

Today, Lidia turned 10 years old. I'm a little sad because I don't want my grandkids to grow up.....I want to keep them little forever so I can hug on them and kiss on them and be astounded by what they are learning and laugh at their new discoveries. But time marches on. So we need to make the best of it, while we can.

Lidia has been asking me to teach her to sew. I have looked forward to teaching her the things I love and grew up doing. And, I had my chance last weekend. Lidia's daddy gave her a sewing machine for either Christmas or her birthday, last year. And since Emily and the kids have been in transition with the move upstate....trying to get settled in to new routines, we've just now got around to taking the sewing machine for a spin. I actually thought it was a toy until we took it out of the box. The thing was real. So we had some serious business to get down to.

First order of business......shopping for fabric, a sewing box and sewing notions. That evening, I taught Lidia how to sew. And she has been sewing up a storm, since.

Lidia's first project.....a brown kitty with yellow eyes, holding a heart. It looks kind of wonky because we made the pattern ourselves. Anyway, during the making of brown kitty, Lidia had a great idea. I've already mentioned that she is a compassionate child and this next little story will tell you just how much.

Joyce and Ronnie are our neighbors at the beach. Joyce is the one that Sawyer calls Mrs. Joyous because that's how he interpreted it when he was just a little thing. Mrs. Joyous loves Lidia and Sawyer like they were her own grandchildren. She brings them surprises and bananas and apples. And they sit in her swing and talk about all sorts of things.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from Ronnie with bad news. Joyce's son had passed away unexpectantly. I called to check up on her last week and she was just completely heartbroken. Actually, heartbroken doesn't even begin to describe what Joyce feels. Her hurt is deep, as it would be for any mother losing a child. So when I was at Emily's last weekend, I told them about Joyce's son and Lidia just really took it to heart. She was actually sewing the brown kitty at the time and turned to me and said, "LaLa, I want to give my kitty to Mrs. Joyce. I hope it will make her feel better." I nearly cried. That was about the sweetest thing I had ever heard. Lidia was willing to give what she had spent her time and energy on, something that meant a lot to her, to Mrs. Joyce in hopes that somehow it would make her feel better. I'm telling you.....that child is sweet! So, she finished up the brown kitty and asked if I would mail it to Mrs. Joyce. And of course, I did.

Not only did Lidia sew brown kitty but, she made a skirt also. She sewed the seams and casing for the elastic and I inserted the elastic for her. I also hemmed it because I thought that hand hemming would be a little challenging until she gets a little more experienced. She was so proud of that skirt and actually wore it to school the next day.

I think it is so important to teach our little ones the art of making things by hand. So far, I am not only teaching Lidia to sew, but to knit and crochet also. Cooking is next. I hope Lidia always remembers our time together and grows to love these things as much I do. She already has a compassionate heart and I hope she continues to use her talents to touch others.

Lidia making her first skirt.

Here she is modeling it.

Lidia sewing brown kitty.

Brown kitty holding a blue heart and the note.

The Note.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Love,

LaLa

***I received a voicemail from Joyce today saying that she had received the kitty and that she and Ronnie were so touched by Lidia's gesture. She said she has never, ever had anything to touch her heart any more than that note and little kitty did. Joyce wants Lidia to know that the kitty will always be with her and she will cherish it as long as she lives.

I nearly cried again!

Crocus Confusion

Is it me or my Crocuses? Someone is confused.

The last time I checked, Crocuses are supposed to bloom in March.

Or maybe it's the variety I have....maybe this is the fall blooming kind that blooms into February.

Do they need a colder climate to bloom that long? Maybe that explains why they are showing themselves just now.

 

Who knows?

But get this, not only are the Crocuses in bloom, but the Grape Hyacinths, too.

 

I've decided not to question Mother Nature.

She has her reasons and I sure don't want to get on her bad side.

She can wreak havoc of epic proportions anytime she wants.

And I don't want her slinging an almighty hurricane in my path this summer.

 

And even though, I really want more winter weather....like snow and 20 degree days.......

 

(No....I am not crazy)

 

I'll accept her fabulous gifts of these lovely flowers. She is saying something, people.

 

It's a promise of spring.  

 

*******

 

In case you were wondering.......

 

I'm still huffing and puffing at the gym. It seems to be getting a little easier.

I don't heave and holler, "Oh Lord!" anymore.

I hope that means I'm getting stronger. I can't wait to see what it does for my running.

Speaking of which, I'm running 5 miles tomorrow and then a couple of 3-mile days, this week.....before my 9-mile trail run next Saturday.

 

More on that later,

Laurie

 

 

 

Winter Storm Leon

(If you're visiting from the GYBP, you might want to start here.)

***************

February 2010



You remember this photo from our snow storm in 2010.....This is what I was looking forward to last week from Winter Storm Leon. Everyone in South Carolina was ecstatic. We watched the Weather Channel like it was our job. The storm would start with freezing rain or sleet and turn into snow.  There were warnings of power outages, if the ice got really bad. The Weather Channel was giving us a STORM:COM of 7. They were telling us that it was going to be significant. We could possibly get 3-5 inches. For Heaven's sake Jim Cantore came to Charleston. And we all know what that means......he goes where the weather is going to be the worst. So, we set about making preparations.

Prep 1: Heat. In the event we would be without power, I needed my fireplace in good working order. I had already summoned up Mr. Tanner the Chimney Sweep to come out that Tuesday to give the fireplace a clean bill of health. Well, as luck would have it, that's when the ice was supposed to start. So, I thought Mr. Tanner would probably want to reschedule so as not to be stuck on the roads in the slick stuff. And, He Did Not! God love him, he came anyway. I was so happy. That meant I could have a fire that night, in case we lost power. Heck yeah!

Prep 2: Water. I live in the country and we have a water pump. Because our water pump operates with electricity, if we lose electricity, we lose water. Get it? Ok.....so our preparations are that we run the tub full of water in order to flush toilets (we do the same for hurricanes).  For drinking, we either buy it or store it in empty milk jugs. I did both. Milk jugs are plentiful around here. Mama saves milk jugs like nobody's business. She is the epitome of preparations, y'all!

Prep 3: Food. I didn't really need anything...I had just been grocery shopping a few days earlier. But, Cliff felt like we needed extra cans of dog food for Spooky. So off to the grocery store I go. After arriving, the parking lot was full. Everybody and his brother was stocking up at the last minute. I did not feel panicked like some...after all I was just there for dog food. So I got one of those small buggies and head for the dog food aisle. I passed the bread aisle and it was wiped out. Don't know what the milk inventory looked like, but if it was anything like the bread.....there were going to be some people in a world of hurt. Why is it that, in times like these, milk is so important? I loaded up on can dog food and headed for the register. Well, you would have thought I was slightly retarded from the looks I got. They looked at the dog food and then looked at me and back at the dog food. HaHa!  Here they are frantically looking for bread and milk and all I have is can dog food. I can only imagine was was running through their minds.

Preparations were done and now I was ready to hunker down and ride out Winter Storm Leon. I waited all afternoon. Finally, we started getting some sleet late in the evening and I got excited. Cliff built a fire and I sat there in front of it and knitted for what seemed like hours. I kept getting up to check the sleet hoping it had turned to snow. It just wasn't happening that fast. I went to bed with hopes and dreams of seeing drifts of snow in the morning. I rose early the next day, fixed my coffee and headed to the windows to check for our winter wonderland.......and this is what we got.......

January 2014

Gah, I was never so dissapointed! I wanted to jack slap Jim Cantore. Oh well, nothing left to do but get out in it. Can't let an opportunity like this go to waste. So, I woke Cliff up and we decided to ride around town to see how pretty it looked with a dusting of snow and a little ice. I guess the roads were a little worse, they did have ice on them until traffic picked up and then they cleared up quickly. I had my camera at the ready mark, but who can get a good picture when Cliff hits the breaks every two minutes to see if his Jeep will slide on the ice. Lord! Even so, a little more exploration was needed on my part. So, Cliff took me to the Francis Marion National Forest....the place where he hunts and the following photos are what we saw. I would have to say, ice can be pretty in a whole different way. I enjoyed our little adventure. And now, I'm ready for some more. Come on Mother Nature, cooperate...please!

Johnson's Swamp...just down the road from our house.

Black River

The Hell Hole Swamp area in the Francis Marion National Forest.

Ice coated Pine needles.

Ice covered Holly leaves.

An old gas station near the Francis Marion National Forest. Notice the ice hanging from the tin roof.

 Day 2 of Winter Storm Leon: Icicles hanging from my roof.

I am very appreciative that no one lost power. Ice events are nothing to sneeze at. It could have been really bad. The ice stayed around a couple of days because the temps didn't rise out of the twenties. And now, it's just a distant memory. I sure do love winter weather. And I hope, we get to experience a little more before spring pops in. For all of you that are sick and tired of your snow and cold weather, I'm so sorry. Time does march on and it will be hot, sweltering and humid before we know it. For now, let's enjoy what Mother Nature has gifted us with.

Talk soon,

Laurie