Some years have past again, it is now January 1, 2023, just minutes after midnight and the end of 2022.
Once again I missed the ball drop on television because I got hooked on the computer and winding up with my blog, which I had forgotten a bout for some time.
Not much has changed in my life. I still live at the same place, which I call my paradise. Surrounded by trees and some little wildlife, like raccoons, rabbits, some birds, and other wildlife I don't normally see, such a deer crossing your my sections of the woods.
The past Christmas was spent in Columbia, SC with son, as was the previous one. There I made friends, of sorts, with his cats. They are very aloof, and the oldest one, who I know longest, finally would walk up to me, not to be touch so much, even though I got a quick pat on her back in, but to sniff the tips of my shoes. This was the part of/on me that was nearest her without having to come too close to me.
Yes it was great to be with one family member at such a time, as it is at all times. And he lives in easy travel distance, so a visit here a couple of times a year also are possible. However this past summer my elder son from Hawaii was able to make a trip to here, so that was an additional treat. So for a couple of days, as we jointly visited my son in SC, I had what I have in family, together. Those times though seem so fleeting.
My health is still such that I take care of myself, but I no longer desire to do outside yard work, instead have it done. Also, the pleasure in cleaning house is no longer there, so I always ask the Lord to give me "a swift kick" so I will do it. Do a lot of reading, besides news paper. Especially enjoy some of the lighter reading, like mysteries. But also read bigger tombs, such as "Alaska", but it is slow reading, paperback, very small print on thin paper, about 1100 pages. So the mysteries are the fun read in between. Even my son has become enamored by them, end reads mine when I am finished. He, too, reads heavier material, classical, science fiction, etc. as his big books.
In these past 3 years I have not had too much done at the house, as nothing was needed except little odds and ends repairs, which my son would do on one of his visits. Oh yes, both my sons gave me a larger screen TV for Christmas 2 years ago. But it is in the living room as a replacement for my old TV, which still had the big backside, and because I spend so much time in den, I have not watched it as much as my smaller TV in the den. But it is nice to have when I do sit in living room.
However, much has changed among the people I know, here in US and in my home country. Many died, and most of them younger than I. I often wonder why I am still here. But I assume the Lord has a good reason. Maybe because I asked him years ago to let me do something for Him. As time when on I found myself often speaking of Him on Facebook in response to some comments regarding God, heaven, eternity, etc. So maybe this is the way He decided I could spread His name and words. In my daily life, living secluded and having basically no visitors, a repairman here and there, I have no chance to talk about the Lord to someone who does not know Him well.
My "partner" Tipsy is gone for three years now. I still miss her, lying beside me on her floor mat when I sit sit on couch in the evenings. I would often talk to her, and she would look at me, as if she understood as I miss all my dogs that have been gone for some years now. Equally gone by now, but after Tipsy, is my neighbor's dog. So even he is gone as a visitor. He would at times come over by himself to the deck door looking for a handout and initially for Tipsy. Then he would wander back home.
The raccoons and birds I no longer see either. I had to move the bird seed, which the raccoons also eat, off the deck to the ground in a flower bed. They made such a mess on the deck scattering them while eating, or rather scattering the hulls of the seeds. And also mess up the newly painted deck wood railing and seats and floor boards.
During a motorcycle tour of some of the Alps, my son took this past summer in Europe, I followed his daily reports and pictures on the internet and felt somewhat like being there also. It made me homesick, recognizing many of the names of places, and a couple where I had been in many years past.
Among the people we lost this past year was also our Sheriff, Hubert Peterkin. He was a very kind, Christian person, but also an exceptional Sheriff, well liked by his employees and the community in general. He was born and raised here, so a real local. He was still in his life's prime, so it was really a shock to learn he had died. I enjoyed the few times I had a chance to chat with him. Yes, life is really fleeting. But eternity, when we know the Lord, is something to look forward to.
I meant to watch the ball drop, but when I looked at the clock a while back, while still writing, it was already past midnight. So again I missed it this time.
Considering it was three years since last blog, still not much to report. It is good to say though, that my son who had a heart attack nearly three years ago, is doing well. I pray that it will continue this way.
Oh yes, a granddaughter got married in Idaho in the meantime. My son and I traveled there. Had a bad experience with the flight on our return, wound up with the 12 hr. wait at the airport in Idaho, Boise, because the plane had some problem and it took that long to get another plane. It is an airline that recently had problems bringing on a flight after an overall nationwide stop of flights because of weather.
Yes and the famous Covid virus raised its ugly head which laid off nearly everything except the most needed workers. With vaccinations available now, and many having been vaccinated, the virus has done a bit of a retreat, but it is still there and causes some death still. But people, because all restrictions are gone, feel it is safe, and act as though there were no virus, especially again attending events in great crowds. So people still get sick and die from it. Also among them one of the Il DIVO singers and he had had the shots. This is were it is convenient that I am as secluded as I am and don't have too many friends or attend any mass events.
A couple of good friends and I do go out for a cup of coffee once a month, but there is nothing crowded about the places we go. Both are Christians also, so that always makes for good conversations, because we have a great subject in common.
And this year I will lose my direct neighbor, Mike and Diane. They have a home now in the Tennessee mountains, where they for some time have spent any free time, and where they will move to this summer. If, as planned their granddaughter with family will move in, I shall be happy, as I know them and know what to expect with a new neighbor. But with her husband in the service, I am not sure when they will move here, and the house will be empty as of this summer. So I will see.
And now I truly am out of subjects. So this is THE END.
