September...a month that heralds the coming of autumn...my most favorite season. A month that celebrates my marriage to a man I have loved and lived with for, oh my gosh, 46 years now. But also a month that seems to hold so many sad events.
Our anniversary is on September 11th. Well, we all know what that date signifies. It was such a catastrophic event in our world...horror that I had never imagined on our shores and a domestic death toll that was staggering. It's hard to make that day one of celebration.
My mother died on September 10th. She had lived a very robust 82 years. Her life was full....of the good, the bad, the ugly and the riotous. Just her name...if I string them all together...will tell a tale.
Jane Warren Breckenridge, Hickey, Kroldon, Madigan, Madigan. Yes, she married the Madigan not once but twice. She was an adventurer, a writer, an artist, a friend and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She suffered and kept such a stiff upper lip so I cannot wish her back but she is so missed.
My brother, Sean, died on September 24th. He lived a short 55 years. His life was fraught with illness, difficulties, social ineptness, school problems which all led to drug abuse and alcoholism. But, in the autumn of his life he turned it around. He got clean, he went to college and got a degree in alcohol counseling, he cooked on oil freighters and he realized his dream of living on a sailboat. He too suffered from cancer and carried the weight of his pain with such dignity. He moved to Georgia to be with us and died here. But, the memories are sweet since we had some quality time to share.
September...I must focus on your beauty and the gifts I have been given and use the sad events to make the good that much better.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Aging Eyes
Back to the present...One of the signs of aging is cataracts! I went for my annual eye exam and the optician wrote a new prescription that tuned up my prior Rx a bit. I spent quite a bit of time picking out a somewhat fun pair of frames. A bit larger then is recommended for my little face, a hint of burgundy in the color and a shape that has some style. Of course, now I had to wait for 2 weeks for them to be sent from the lab.
My glasses arrive and so does my sigh! I can't really see well out of them. What is the problem? My lights all have rings around them...even in the daylight! and everything is slightly blurry. What is wrong! Back to the eye doctor to be told that I have cataracts that are at the point they could be operated on. Why didn't he tell me this before I spent $300+ on glasses? Well, since I was a new patient he didn't want to sound like he was recommending the knife before I really complained. Hello...I thought new glasses would fix the problem.
So, I scheduled the surgery. Week 1 for the left eye, week 2 for the right eye. Lots of decisions on which lenses to have implanted. The lens covered by insurance just fixes the cataract but doesn't correct the vision to a point where glasses are not required. Option 2 is a set of mono-vision lenses that would give me what I currently have- one eye is farsighted and the other is nearsighted. Between the two I can see without glasses most of the time. But, as natural aging continues to occur I would have to be in glasses. And, if I need just a pair of cheaters then they would have to be prescription lenses since each eye is different. Okay, so new we are at option #3 which is the cadillac or perhaps the mercedes of lenses. A hefty price tag but they are supposed to correct my vision so each eye sees near and far and I might only need cheaters for fine hand work. And, I would be able to use over the counter cheaters! My dream!!!
The reality....both eyes have been operated on and I cannot see worth a darn. I am writing this with my right eye squeezed shut (it's so hazy I cannot see a thing) and my old glasses on so I can see the computer with my left eye. I don't want to complain to Mike too much since these lenses cost so much. I will complain to the eye doctor though when I go for my appointment this morning. Ugh!!!! why
didn't the surgery work like they said it would?
My glasses arrive and so does my sigh! I can't really see well out of them. What is the problem? My lights all have rings around them...even in the daylight! and everything is slightly blurry. What is wrong! Back to the eye doctor to be told that I have cataracts that are at the point they could be operated on. Why didn't he tell me this before I spent $300+ on glasses? Well, since I was a new patient he didn't want to sound like he was recommending the knife before I really complained. Hello...I thought new glasses would fix the problem.
So, I scheduled the surgery. Week 1 for the left eye, week 2 for the right eye. Lots of decisions on which lenses to have implanted. The lens covered by insurance just fixes the cataract but doesn't correct the vision to a point where glasses are not required. Option 2 is a set of mono-vision lenses that would give me what I currently have- one eye is farsighted and the other is nearsighted. Between the two I can see without glasses most of the time. But, as natural aging continues to occur I would have to be in glasses. And, if I need just a pair of cheaters then they would have to be prescription lenses since each eye is different. Okay, so new we are at option #3 which is the cadillac or perhaps the mercedes of lenses. A hefty price tag but they are supposed to correct my vision so each eye sees near and far and I might only need cheaters for fine hand work. And, I would be able to use over the counter cheaters! My dream!!!
The reality....both eyes have been operated on and I cannot see worth a darn. I am writing this with my right eye squeezed shut (it's so hazy I cannot see a thing) and my old glasses on so I can see the computer with my left eye. I don't want to complain to Mike too much since these lenses cost so much. I will complain to the eye doctor though when I go for my appointment this morning. Ugh!!!! why
didn't the surgery work like they said it would?
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Thanksgiving...Callaway Gardens...A New Home!
Thanksgiving 2011 and it was just Mike, Toby and me. Kristi did not have the kids so she was going to Orlando to be with Linda and her family. Amanda was going to spend it with Josiah and his family so...we made reservations at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA for their holiday weekend.
What a weekend! We headed back to Orlando and my head was spinning. I was dreaming and decorating and planning. I could not believe that we had bought our house!
We have visited Callaway Gardens before and really enjoy the whole atmosphere. It's like stepping back in time a bit. Quiet paths to stroll down, benches that are strategically placed to provide a breathtaking view, nature shows and a gorgeous chapel for reflection. In the summer there is a lake and beach area that has shuffleboard courts, canoe rentals, an amphitheater, hot dogs and ice cream and fun.
This is our first visit in the fall and it is spectacular. The weather is cool but not cold, there is some color left on the trees and the Christmas decorations are going up. Mike, Toby and I wandered the paths and enjoyed all the gardens had to offer.
Then....we got a call from Wendy, our Georgia real estate agent, checking in and once again urging us to make an offer if we still like the house. The owners wanted to sell and were actually moving in to their new house. Mike said 'ok' but we are offering $60K less then they are asking. Well, I won't bore you with the details, but it got all the way down to $1K dollar difference and Mike would not budge! I was a wreck. But lo and behold the owners took our offer and the house was ours!!!!!! Of course, all of this was a flurry of emailing, faxing and phoning to get to this point and the internet at Callaway was spotty at best. I had one corner near our room that I could receive a signal at. So I was racing back and forth to the office trying to get reception to send and receive all of these communications. YIKES! But at long last...signed, sealed and delivered.
Thanksgiving Day was almost anticlimactic after all of that. We truly enjoyed it though. The dinner was excellent, we met some nice people and the day was lovely. That evening we took the little train ride though the holiday light show that Callaway is known for. How much fun! The weather was quite cool and crisp, the holiday music was very festive and the light show was great.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Catching Up
How the time has flown! And how much has happened during that time. Major milestones....Mike, my husband, retired. Amanda, our granddaughter, has graduated from high school, and we sold our home and in July 2012 moved to Gainesville, GA.
This is our new house and to say that I fell in love with it...well, that is an understatement. I feel a deep affinity with this house. Mike and I saw it in October....the leaves were brilliant, pumpkins on the porch, fall swirling the leaves around the yard and that wonderful smell that accompanies that time of year. It was out of our price range but I had the realtor take us through the house 3 times in the weekend we were there. She kept telling us to put in an offer that the owners were ready to sell since they had already purchased their new home.
We left and I dreamt...literally...of this house. Mike kept telling me it was out of our price range. I dreamt some more!
I loved the brick enclosed patio and the birdhouse! I loved the way the trees dipped over the tops of the wall and draped them with color.
This was my house....Mike just didn't realize it yet!
Mike did love the property though and the heart of pine wood floors.
Time will tell.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Petulant
Petulant -insolent or rude in speech or behavior. 2. : characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor : peevish. — pet·u·lant·ly adverb.
This is the word that best describes Amanda right now. I'd hate to think that this was her permanent personality...I'd hate to think that she exhibited this demeanor to people other than family...but, I know this is who she is with us.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Find a Positive Memory Every Day
I am usually a positive person so doing a posting a day would be a rather negative journey. Raising a very good teenager should be a piece of cake. But, my very good teenager is also an opinionated, stubborn, non-communicative, strong willed young woman. There is no real talking to he, she knows everything, she is always right and she has to have the last word. It makes documenting the positive difficult. Perhaps I should change my journey from 'A Thought A Day' to "Find a Positive Memory Every Day'.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Thought A Day
Perhaps the best way to remember the year is to post a thought a day....I'm sure I will skip some days but I'm going to try and keep on track.
So, my thought for today is on projects. I have so many in the Que and my mind keeps conjuring up additional ones that I want to do. There is an urgency to these thoughts and plans. Why? Well, time is marching on. As I sit and write this I see my hands typing away and I see...I see the aging...the veins becoming more prominent, the skin a bit drier and crisscrossed with a few more creases each day. And it is these hands that I need to create, and the eyes that are seeing a bit less clearly that I need to transfer the thoughts to fabric or paper or computer. It's the mind that has such clarity and sharpness at one moment and then, with the blink of an eye, the edges blur and the thought disappears behind a veil of years. So....I hope I remember to place a thought a day here!
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Tuesday, September 3, 2013
September....
September...a month that heralds the coming of autumn...my most favorite season. A month that celebrates my marriage to a man I have loved and lived with for, oh my gosh, 46 years now. But also a month that seems to hold so many sad events.
Our anniversary is on September 11th. Well, we all know what that date signifies. It was such a catastrophic event in our world...horror that I had never imagined on our shores and a domestic death toll that was staggering. It's hard to make that day one of celebration.
My mother died on September 10th. She had lived a very robust 82 years. Her life was full....of the good, the bad, the ugly and the riotous. Just her name...if I string them all together...will tell a tale.
Jane Warren Breckenridge, Hickey, Kroldon, Madigan, Madigan. Yes, she married the Madigan not once but twice. She was an adventurer, a writer, an artist, a friend and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She suffered and kept such a stiff upper lip so I cannot wish her back but she is so missed.
My brother, Sean, died on September 24th. He lived a short 55 years. His life was fraught with illness, difficulties, social ineptness, school problems which all led to drug abuse and alcoholism. But, in the autumn of his life he turned it around. He got clean, he went to college and got a degree in alcohol counseling, he cooked on oil freighters and he realized his dream of living on a sailboat. He too suffered from cancer and carried the weight of his pain with such dignity. He moved to Georgia to be with us and died here. But, the memories are sweet since we had some quality time to share.
September...I must focus on your beauty and the gifts I have been given and use the sad events to make the good that much better.
Our anniversary is on September 11th. Well, we all know what that date signifies. It was such a catastrophic event in our world...horror that I had never imagined on our shores and a domestic death toll that was staggering. It's hard to make that day one of celebration.
My mother died on September 10th. She had lived a very robust 82 years. Her life was full....of the good, the bad, the ugly and the riotous. Just her name...if I string them all together...will tell a tale.
Jane Warren Breckenridge, Hickey, Kroldon, Madigan, Madigan. Yes, she married the Madigan not once but twice. She was an adventurer, a writer, an artist, a friend and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She suffered and kept such a stiff upper lip so I cannot wish her back but she is so missed.
My brother, Sean, died on September 24th. He lived a short 55 years. His life was fraught with illness, difficulties, social ineptness, school problems which all led to drug abuse and alcoholism. But, in the autumn of his life he turned it around. He got clean, he went to college and got a degree in alcohol counseling, he cooked on oil freighters and he realized his dream of living on a sailboat. He too suffered from cancer and carried the weight of his pain with such dignity. He moved to Georgia to be with us and died here. But, the memories are sweet since we had some quality time to share.
September...I must focus on your beauty and the gifts I have been given and use the sad events to make the good that much better.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Aging Eyes
Back to the present...One of the signs of aging is cataracts! I went for my annual eye exam and the optician wrote a new prescription that tuned up my prior Rx a bit. I spent quite a bit of time picking out a somewhat fun pair of frames. A bit larger then is recommended for my little face, a hint of burgundy in the color and a shape that has some style. Of course, now I had to wait for 2 weeks for them to be sent from the lab.
My glasses arrive and so does my sigh! I can't really see well out of them. What is the problem? My lights all have rings around them...even in the daylight! and everything is slightly blurry. What is wrong! Back to the eye doctor to be told that I have cataracts that are at the point they could be operated on. Why didn't he tell me this before I spent $300+ on glasses? Well, since I was a new patient he didn't want to sound like he was recommending the knife before I really complained. Hello...I thought new glasses would fix the problem.
So, I scheduled the surgery. Week 1 for the left eye, week 2 for the right eye. Lots of decisions on which lenses to have implanted. The lens covered by insurance just fixes the cataract but doesn't correct the vision to a point where glasses are not required. Option 2 is a set of mono-vision lenses that would give me what I currently have- one eye is farsighted and the other is nearsighted. Between the two I can see without glasses most of the time. But, as natural aging continues to occur I would have to be in glasses. And, if I need just a pair of cheaters then they would have to be prescription lenses since each eye is different. Okay, so new we are at option #3 which is the cadillac or perhaps the mercedes of lenses. A hefty price tag but they are supposed to correct my vision so each eye sees near and far and I might only need cheaters for fine hand work. And, I would be able to use over the counter cheaters! My dream!!!
The reality....both eyes have been operated on and I cannot see worth a darn. I am writing this with my right eye squeezed shut (it's so hazy I cannot see a thing) and my old glasses on so I can see the computer with my left eye. I don't want to complain to Mike too much since these lenses cost so much. I will complain to the eye doctor though when I go for my appointment this morning. Ugh!!!! why
didn't the surgery work like they said it would?
My glasses arrive and so does my sigh! I can't really see well out of them. What is the problem? My lights all have rings around them...even in the daylight! and everything is slightly blurry. What is wrong! Back to the eye doctor to be told that I have cataracts that are at the point they could be operated on. Why didn't he tell me this before I spent $300+ on glasses? Well, since I was a new patient he didn't want to sound like he was recommending the knife before I really complained. Hello...I thought new glasses would fix the problem.
So, I scheduled the surgery. Week 1 for the left eye, week 2 for the right eye. Lots of decisions on which lenses to have implanted. The lens covered by insurance just fixes the cataract but doesn't correct the vision to a point where glasses are not required. Option 2 is a set of mono-vision lenses that would give me what I currently have- one eye is farsighted and the other is nearsighted. Between the two I can see without glasses most of the time. But, as natural aging continues to occur I would have to be in glasses. And, if I need just a pair of cheaters then they would have to be prescription lenses since each eye is different. Okay, so new we are at option #3 which is the cadillac or perhaps the mercedes of lenses. A hefty price tag but they are supposed to correct my vision so each eye sees near and far and I might only need cheaters for fine hand work. And, I would be able to use over the counter cheaters! My dream!!!
The reality....both eyes have been operated on and I cannot see worth a darn. I am writing this with my right eye squeezed shut (it's so hazy I cannot see a thing) and my old glasses on so I can see the computer with my left eye. I don't want to complain to Mike too much since these lenses cost so much. I will complain to the eye doctor though when I go for my appointment this morning. Ugh!!!! why
didn't the surgery work like they said it would?
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Thanksgiving...Callaway Gardens...A New Home!
Thanksgiving 2011 and it was just Mike, Toby and me. Kristi did not have the kids so she was going to Orlando to be with Linda and her family. Amanda was going to spend it with Josiah and his family so...we made reservations at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA for their holiday weekend.
What a weekend! We headed back to Orlando and my head was spinning. I was dreaming and decorating and planning. I could not believe that we had bought our house!
We have visited Callaway Gardens before and really enjoy the whole atmosphere. It's like stepping back in time a bit. Quiet paths to stroll down, benches that are strategically placed to provide a breathtaking view, nature shows and a gorgeous chapel for reflection. In the summer there is a lake and beach area that has shuffleboard courts, canoe rentals, an amphitheater, hot dogs and ice cream and fun.
This is our first visit in the fall and it is spectacular. The weather is cool but not cold, there is some color left on the trees and the Christmas decorations are going up. Mike, Toby and I wandered the paths and enjoyed all the gardens had to offer.
Then....we got a call from Wendy, our Georgia real estate agent, checking in and once again urging us to make an offer if we still like the house. The owners wanted to sell and were actually moving in to their new house. Mike said 'ok' but we are offering $60K less then they are asking. Well, I won't bore you with the details, but it got all the way down to $1K dollar difference and Mike would not budge! I was a wreck. But lo and behold the owners took our offer and the house was ours!!!!!! Of course, all of this was a flurry of emailing, faxing and phoning to get to this point and the internet at Callaway was spotty at best. I had one corner near our room that I could receive a signal at. So I was racing back and forth to the office trying to get reception to send and receive all of these communications. YIKES! But at long last...signed, sealed and delivered.
Thanksgiving Day was almost anticlimactic after all of that. We truly enjoyed it though. The dinner was excellent, we met some nice people and the day was lovely. That evening we took the little train ride though the holiday light show that Callaway is known for. How much fun! The weather was quite cool and crisp, the holiday music was very festive and the light show was great.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Catching Up
How the time has flown! And how much has happened during that time. Major milestones....Mike, my husband, retired. Amanda, our granddaughter, has graduated from high school, and we sold our home and in July 2012 moved to Gainesville, GA.
This is our new house and to say that I fell in love with it...well, that is an understatement. I feel a deep affinity with this house. Mike and I saw it in October....the leaves were brilliant, pumpkins on the porch, fall swirling the leaves around the yard and that wonderful smell that accompanies that time of year. It was out of our price range but I had the realtor take us through the house 3 times in the weekend we were there. She kept telling us to put in an offer that the owners were ready to sell since they had already purchased their new home.
We left and I dreamt...literally...of this house. Mike kept telling me it was out of our price range. I dreamt some more!
I loved the brick enclosed patio and the birdhouse! I loved the way the trees dipped over the tops of the wall and draped them with color.
This was my house....Mike just didn't realize it yet!
Mike did love the property though and the heart of pine wood floors.
Time will tell.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Petulant
Petulant -insolent or rude in speech or behavior. 2. : characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor : peevish. — pet·u·lant·ly adverb.
This is the word that best describes Amanda right now. I'd hate to think that this was her permanent personality...I'd hate to think that she exhibited this demeanor to people other than family...but, I know this is who she is with us.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Find a Positive Memory Every Day
I am usually a positive person so doing a posting a day would be a rather negative journey. Raising a very good teenager should be a piece of cake. But, my very good teenager is also an opinionated, stubborn, non-communicative, strong willed young woman. There is no real talking to he, she knows everything, she is always right and she has to have the last word. It makes documenting the positive difficult. Perhaps I should change my journey from 'A Thought A Day' to "Find a Positive Memory Every Day'.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Thought A Day
Perhaps the best way to remember the year is to post a thought a day....I'm sure I will skip some days but I'm going to try and keep on track.
So, my thought for today is on projects. I have so many in the Que and my mind keeps conjuring up additional ones that I want to do. There is an urgency to these thoughts and plans. Why? Well, time is marching on. As I sit and write this I see my hands typing away and I see...I see the aging...the veins becoming more prominent, the skin a bit drier and crisscrossed with a few more creases each day. And it is these hands that I need to create, and the eyes that are seeing a bit less clearly that I need to transfer the thoughts to fabric or paper or computer. It's the mind that has such clarity and sharpness at one moment and then, with the blink of an eye, the edges blur and the thought disappears behind a veil of years. So....I hope I remember to place a thought a day here!
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