MY TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL...

Back in the 80's

 there was a movie called 

"The Trip to Bountiful".

 It was the story of

 an elderly woman,

 in the twilight of her years, 

who wanted to return 

to her childhood home town 

of Bountiful one last time.

 It was a beautiful 

and poignant piece of work 

starring Geraldine Page.

 I am not saying 

that the movie is anything 

like my life 

and the story line and character

 are not, 

in any way,

 connected to me...

...the only comparison 

is the title.

  

I make the trip 

again and again 

to this beautiful little store called 

"The Front Porch" 

in our neighboring town of Auburn.

 It holds a bounty 

of wonderful items 

that would please 

the eye and the pocket book 

of any hard core shopper 

and is as

 warm and welcoming 

as its name.

The owner was very accommodating 

when I asked if

 I could take some photos 

and I am so disappointed 

that they didn't all turn out.

  They were mostly of 

their large offerings of fall items

 and the colors of autumn 

are so outstanding 

against the interior of 

barn wood and brick.

 Here are the ones that I did get...

It is always a delight 

to visit this store 

and I can't wait to see 

what they will offer 

for Christmas.

These are my treasures 

that I came back home with...

Aunt Kook's Apple Cider.

  My most favorite 

autumn fragrance from 

Keeper of the Light.

These candles have two wicks 

and are very long lasting.

 When lit, 

the whole Cottage says, 

"Autumn is almost here". 

I just couldn't resist

this sweet little black chicken.

 She has the cutest

 little expression 

on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you all 

for your very kind and caring thoughts

 for Tami.

 She is doing so well,

 as we all are, 

and I thank you again 

from the 

bottom of 

my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dog days of summer 

are upon us 

and there seems to be 

no reprieve from the heat...

Our combatant is 

Herbal Iced Tea..

a recipe I took from 

the Barefoot Contessa

 a few years ago 

and it does the job

 very well...

HERBAL ICED TEA

4 Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea bags

4 Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea bags

4 Cups apple juice

Steep 8 bags of tea 

in 4 cups of boiling water 

for about 10 minutes.

  Discard tea bags. 

 Combine tea with apple juice 

and refrigerate until cold. 

 Serve over ice. 

 It is just chilling 

it is so good.

Thanks for your visit and...

...Judy...

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MATTERS OF THE HEART...

A few weeks ago 

I told you about our daughter, Tami, 

and how she had an issue 

with her heart.

 In case you missed the post, 

you can read about it

here.

After all was said and done, 

we thought that was the end of it, 

but that didn't seem to be the case,

 so here is an 

update.

Tami's cardiologist 

wanted to rule out 

that there was any connection 

between the heart episode and 

her breast cancer diagnosis 

of fourteen years ago, 

so she ordered a CT scan

 which took a week to get done 

and showed spots on her liver.

 The doctor,

 along with orders from 

Tami's oncologist,

 set up an appointment for a MRI.

 This took another week and a half 

to get the results.

 Tami had a MRI in 2005 

and it showed cysts on her liver 

at that time and

 since technology has 

advanced considerably since then

 they wanted to compare the two.

 That is the technical understanding 

of the problem,

but what the machines don't show 

is the 

emotional side of 

the equation.

"You are only as happy 

as your least happy child.

  The umbilical cord,

 it transpires,

 far from being severed at birth,

 continues the flow of emotions

 from mother to child 

and back again,

 in perpetuity."

This was written by

 Olivia Lichtenstein,

 in September, 2015. 

 Words from a mother, 

referring to a situation 

she was having

 with her daughter, 

but words 

that all mothers can 

relate to.

When you don't have the answers,

 your mind goes to a dark place. 

 The less you know,

the darker the place, 

and the waiting is almost unbearable.

 Tami went back to work, 

and we all tried to bolster each other

 but, in the end, 

I don't think anybody

 was fooling 

anybody else.

We now feel so blessed.

 The tests were compared and

 found that the spots were, 

indeed cysts,

 and had not changed 

since the original MRI in 2005.

 The doctors also concluded 

that the fluid found around the heart 

(not blood)

 was the result of the trauma 

of the heart episode

 and will be watched by 

her cardiologist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I suppose 

you have all heard the expression

 that the longer 

a couple is together 

they start looking alike.

  But, have you heard, 

that they start feeling alike also? 

 Both the Captain and I 

came down with bad backs 

(yes, me again!) 

at the same time last week.

 We are in the midst of

 cleaning up the garden and 

had to bite the bullet and 

hire someone

 to come and finish up.

 The Captain 

has always had trouble,

 off and on, 

due to an old football injury 

when he was in high school.

 He finally has given up 

walking the dogs at the shelter 

as the trails are uneven and hilly 

and put strain on his back and knees.

 It is something

 that he loves to do and 

it was not an easy decision 

for him to make.  

It also means 

that I have to give up

 my car office

 and find another place 

to write this blog, 

which actually 

will be pretty easy

 for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We were a few years out of school when these pics were taken. But, we did dress up like this for our 15th reunion.

Speaking of high school, 

we have our 60th class reunion

 in September 

and we are both trying hard 

to get well.

  The last thing 

we want 

is to show up looking old!!

 Ha, ha,

 little late for that!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fun and exciting things 

are happening here 

at the Cottage. 

 Somewhere in there

 is a story to tell, 

but that will have to wait 

for 

another day.

...Judy...

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TAKING A BREAK...

Just wanted to flash everyone 

my beautiful smile! 

 Just spent a lot of 

Dad and Mom's money 

but look what they got for it 

and,

 they say 

I'm worth it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planted one little plant of 

the Chinese Lanterns 

about two years ago and 

this is the first time 

we have had anything to show for it.

I probably will be 

complaining about them,

 sooner than later, 

as I understand they are 

rather invasive,

 but no one would dispute

 that we kind of

 like things that way

 around here,

so for now

I am as

pleased as punch.

  I have never seen one close up 

so did not realize 

that they set blooms  up the stalk.

  

What a fun little plant.

 A few pods

 at the bottoms 

have already turned color...

 ...makes me look forward

 to fall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am taking a break from blogging 

for a couple of weeks.

 When I show you the next pictures 

you will understand why...

"Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time ago...

Peter, Paul and Mary

1964

...this is what 

the Cottage garden looked like 

last summer...

...this is what 

it looks like now.

I have always said 

that I am not a gardener. 

 That, if things 

don't come back on their own, 

they just don't come back

 at all.

Well, apparently, 

they are starting not to come back.

 The flowers that we have had

 growing along side the walkway

 for all the years we have lived 

in the Cottage

 are shutting down. 

 Maybe it has something to do 

with the drought,

 or the excess of rain this winter, 

or the excess heat this summer, 

or something as simple as

 an end of life cycle.

 What is 30 years 

in flower years

 anyway?

 I don't know, 

but they put forth 

such a poor showing and

 are already going to seed 

which normally didn't happen

 until the end of August.

 It looks like

 we may have to do an overhaul 

so will be putting

 all our spare time into 

coming up with a solution.

 It is still very warm here

 so the plan is to work 

in the mornings and evenings 

and regroup during the heat of the day.

  Hopefully,

 there will be something pretty 

and surprising 

coming out of it.  

See you then.

...Judy...

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