Merry Christmas!

Joy Ride by Grandma Moses (1953)

I wanted to share a poem with you by John Greenleaf Whittier which I think epitomizes my feelings about this time of year. I hope you enjoy it.

Somehow not only for Christmas

But all the long year through,

The joy that you give to others

Is the joy that comes back to you.

And the more you spend in blessing

The poor and lonely and sad,

The more of your heart's possessing

Returns to make you glad.

(~John Greenleaf Whittier)

So it's Christmas Day and I'm feeling many things - happiness, peacefulness, and gratitude for all the good things that have happened to hubby and me this year. Unfortunately, blogging took a back seat in 2007. Hopefully you, my faithful friends will forgive me. I'm normally not a person to make New Year's resolutions, but if I were, the one I would make for 2008 would be to be out here on Blogger more often with you, my good friends.

Hopefully it will HAPPEN.

I wish you peace, prosperity and everything that makes you smile.

I've missed you all. Very much.

New Beginnings

I have no excuses for my long absence except to say it was necessary. LOL.

I woke up this morning and realized it's been almost five months since I posted an entry here. A few of my loyal and generous readers have been still stopping by to see whether I posted any news and to you I say, "THANK YOU" from the bottom of my heart.

You are the cream of the crop.

We moved into our new house on September 1st. It's been a slow steady process of unpacking, moving furniture into place and consolidating. This house is a tad smaller than the one we owned in Pittsburgh and of course, living in Florida there are NO BASEMENTS.

Haha..

Also, I started a new job three days after we moved. More about that later.

So life has been hectic, at times almost running on empty, to quote an old Jackson Browne tune.

And so I am back. At least for abit.

Here's a picture of the new house as it was nearing completion. I need to take some updated photos and I promise a virtual tour once all the boxes are unpacked and the place looks more lived in.


Thanks again to those who follow my humble blog.

You so rule.

Where's Carol?

I think this about says it all, doesn't it?

A thousand apologies again, friends and fellow bloggers...I have too many irons in the fire here in sunny Florida but I promise to be back very soon.

Hello, It's Me....

Hello all...

I know I've been more than remiss these past few weeks for not posting something...A few of you even contacted me asking if I was alright.

It's downright embarrassing...

Yes. I'm quite well, thanks. Life in Jacksonville gets better with each day and I'm actually starting to find my way around the city without needing my Mapquest directions each time I leave the house...LOL.

Our new home is going great guns. I'll post a few pics here so you can see the progress. Things are shaping up and soon the builders will begin work on the inside...

So this is my way of a brief apology to everyone who thinks I've quit blogging.

I haven't.

I'm just having alot of fun getting to know my new hometown..

I promise they'll be more from me...

And lastly, a Happy Memorial Day to all my fellow bloggers. May tomorrow find you at peace (even in these unpeaceful times) surrounded by the love of family and friends. That's what makes holidays so very special.

God Bless America...she's still worth it.

Cheers!

Happy Mother's Day

Here's to all the lovely ladies who blog out here and who do the world's most difficult job - BEING A MOTHER!

Today is for you.

Here's to breakfast in bed, a clean kitchen and someone else's turn to take out the garbage! LOL.

Croak

This move to Florida has taken alot out of me. Within three days of arriving at our rental house and beginning the arduous task of unpacking hundreds of boxes, I came down with a first-class head cold kicked off by a day of flulike symptoms. Reduced to shivering on the couch covered in a blanket in 90 degree heat outside, you have to laugh at the pathetic image I made.

One box of Kleenex later and my energy somewhat renewed, I'm back to putting this house in order. I would take a picture of the inside, but shame to say, it still looks pretty disordered. More on that later.

Hubs went over to check on our new homesite this morning and snapped these. Building permits have been approved and the builder has already roughed in the plumbing.

Things look promising. So far, I love this town and think this was the perfect move for us. The folks down here are obliging and friendly, something you don't always find up North.

End and Beginning

It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to blog. First I lost the time to blog because I had to pack up the entire contents of this house (eight rooms plus a full basement and a shed), secondly because things started disappearing when Hubs decided to pack everything up a week in advance of our move, and thirdly because now I'm reduced to blogging with my laptop perched atop two packed boxes while I sit on a footstool. LOL....The dining room table and chairs are gone. The kitchen chairs are loaded full of boxes and lampshades. There's just enough room for the two of us to have dinner each night. Dinner - that's a laugh. The last two weeks have been an experiment in terror with me trying to use up the contents of our downstairs freezer as well as what's still on hand in my frig and also taking into consideration Hub's salt restrictions.

Next Thursday a 53-foot semi will come to take away the contents of this house plus one of our cars. Since the closing on our house isn't until the following day, Hubs and I will stay at the local Holiday Inn since I don't particularly want to sleep on my bedroom floor. My 50+ backside couldn't take it. The movers have told us they will need three days to transport our stuff to Florida which means several additional nights at a motel on the road. We've rented a nice house in Jacksonville surprisingly close to where our new house will be built and Hubs is jumping up and down with glee at the prospect of being able to secretly "direct" the construction firsthand. (N.B. Little does he realize they build all these houses exactly the same way..LOL)..but no matter. If it gives his macho ego a little boost, I'm all for it.

I haven't been able to figure out who our cable provider will be in Florida. I contacted Comcast and they THINK they service the area, but aren't quite sure. Hmmm. I was hoping to keep our email addresses intact since everyone knows what an enormous BORE it is to have to change a gadzillion places you use it. As for Internet service, well, nothing's been done about that yet, so to my fellow bloggers in crime, please don't be disgruntled or nervous if you don't hear or see me for several weeks.

I plan to get back into my blogging groove sometime in May.

In any event, thanks to all who have wished us well with the move. This has been a dream and at times a nightmare for me. There were times when I thought this place would never sell and that life couldn't move on. But it does. It is. And if you hear some grunting and groaning next Thursday as you go about your day, think of us and say a silent prayer to the gods of Ben-Gay that we get this truck loaded up with our stuff and our bodies intact.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: HOBBY

Grab the Photo Hunt code. Join the blogroll.

Hobbies! Boy, do I have hobbies....now this is a topic I can really identity with. I had a little problem trying to decide which one I would focus on for this week's post, but when it really came down to it, this is probably my favorite.

Gardening. I have been gardening and getting my hands in the dirt since I was a baby standing at my grandmother's knee. She used to take me out into her gardens and let me smell her flowers and taste the various veggies she grew. I learned at an early age to identity alot of different plants. My mother is also a terrific gardener and I learned a great deal from her.

There's such a vitality in seeing the "fruits" of your labors. Now that I'll be moving from a Zone 5 to a Zone 9-10 (being Florida), I may have to adjust my growing habits. But it should be fun getting to "know the turf", and I may even plant a palm tree in my front yard.

Stay tuned...

Here are some photos of my gardens from years past. I will miss them terribly.