Thursday, July 16, 2026

Miscellaneous 2026

 


The saying oft-repeated by my mother was:

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

This is a winter (maybe early spring) 2026 view out our picture window. 

By May the trees have leafed out, 

and you cannot see the houses nor the red sky.

I am seeing metaphorical red skies  

as I find it increasingly difficult to blog on my laptop. 

It's easy from my phone, but difficult for me to type on the phone. 

My laptop fights me, wanting to use only Microsoft when I want to use Chrome. 

It's not the best laptop anyway.

Blogspot deviously fights me, insisting I allow tracker cookies if I want to blog. 

Is the aggravation worth it?

God, help me be patient - there's a long-time prayer.


I like this poem and saved it.

*****


Now here is a wonderful photo I found recently.

This is my paternal grandfather and grandmother.

His name was Ferdie Leo Moffett; not surprisingly, everyone called him "F.L."

Her name was Lenore Janes Moffett.

To their ten grandchildren, they were Granddad and Grandmother.

She once told me she wondered if her parents

had named her after Lenore 

in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "The Raven." 

Lenore rhymes with nevermore.

I found the photo when I was digging for cause of death

for my grandparents and great grandparents.

This is important when you have been identified as having

the beginnings of coronary artery disease.

In my family mostly everyone died of either old age or accidents

especially accidents caused from alcoholism.

I told my doctor: "Alcoholism runs in my family!

Obesity runs in my family! Breast cancer runs in my family!

Heart disease does not run in my family"

(only maybe it does)

Grandmother died from a stroke when she was 84.

My paternal great-grandfather and great aunt

both died long ago from an "exploded heart." 

What does that mean?

Aortic aneurysm?

My sister and brother both have one, small.

I haven't even asked the doctor to look; I don't want to know.

My problem seems to be cholesterol so I'm addressing it.

I have a horrid memory of Grandmother lying in a nursing home.

I don't want to have stroke unless it takes me immediately

as an aortic aneurysm would.


Here are Michelle and Zach being photobombed by their puppy Archie.


I'm so proud of our red buckeye

 even though it gets too much sun

and looks half dead by July.


Here is a photo of Keith and his sister Judi

taken in Philadelphia this year while the cherry trees were blooming.

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Family Trip to Orlando - Spring Break (really?)

 


Eric, Michelle, and Cheryl
Orlando escape room (Alice in Wonderland) - March, 2026

So - There are only three of us in the Escape Room 
because Zach and Katherine were both sick,
and Keith didn't want to go.
Zach and Rachel stayed in the lobby where Zach fell asleep.
Katherine stayed in the Air B&B where she slept.
Turns out Katherine had the flu, and both Zach and Eric had Covid! 
No one else got sick!! 
The escape room was fun! 

Eric and Zach at Universal (before illness)

Universal was desperately crowded
because it was spring break
all across the country.

"Mimi and Grumpy's Bench" --
Gramps and Mimi visit the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens

The Gardens were pretty, 
but Gramps dropped the rental car key
somewhere on the grounds.
A kindly visitor found it
and turned it in. Lucky us!


Swimming with the manatees at Crystal River - cold! 

I was too cold to get in the water
which was murky and not at all clear like I had seen in photos.
Zach and Gramps stayed on the boat, too.
The manatees were friendly that day,
and Katherine especially loved the outing. 

Monday, February 23, 2026

Family Scrapbook February 2026

 

There has been more than the usual amount of snow and ice so far during 2026. 

Here is Eric and family out playing in January's snow/sleet. 

Eric and Rachel took Keith and me out to brunch

as a late Christmas gift

Keith and I at a neighborhood event in January. 


Jonathan and Katherine on a camping trip to Virginia February 2026


A Valentine's costume party for Eric, Rachel, Zach, Michelle

Monday, January 26, 2026

California, January 2026


I took a four-day trip to Palm Springs, CA, and Joshua Tree National Park with Katherine and Jonathan in early January. Above, Katherine and I take a selfie at San Jancinto State Park, a really cool place accessed by a rotating arial tramway. At the top of straight-up rocky mountains, there is an unexpected magical place of forests, streams, overlooks, trails, and snow. 



After that, we explored Joshua Tree National Park, which had very different terrain. 
It's a desert: dry, rocky, cold, windy, and other-worldly. 
Photos below.


The Mormons gave the Joshua Tree its name. 
They thought the trees looked like the Old Testament prophet Joshua,
his arms raised, guiding them to their new home. 
They had good imaginations, ha.



 
The sandstone rocks were weirdly formed by eons of blowing wind. 
Here we are at "Skull Rock." 

Heart Rock

I eventually ditched the hat because it kept blowing off

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Some of My Favorite Things

I love trees, especially in the winter.
Could be many trees....

Or just one (or is it three?)

Could be artwork too.

Yes, that's me.

Seems like it is just for me.


Also for me.

I love water too, and beautiful colors. 

Now for some comic relief...
My children think it's funny how much I detest Sponge Bob.

I love this!

The blog software would not allow me to download the last picture
so I will just copy what it says:

Dear God,
Thank you for 2025.
For every closed door that protected me,
every open door that surprised me,
and every step where you went before me.
Amen.