It's been a while!

I can't believe it was nearly a year ago that I last posted on this blog! How does time go by so quickly without my knowledge of it passing? Maybe this is what being middle-aged is all about. But hey, it could be worse, right? Time could *not* be passing...and that would be bad, m'kay?

So, to catch up:

Completely recovered from the rotator cuff surgery (YAY!!!), but hubby had to have it in January, so BOO! for that, but he's completely recovered from that now, too. However, he had to have knee surgery in early June, and it resulted in the complication of blood escaping from the surgery site and lodging in his calf muscle -- VERY painful, from what I could tell, and it caused a tremendous amount of swelling that really freaked me out at first. But now his leg/ankle/foot look pretty normal again. Still, he has to wear a compression stocking for another month, but hey...at least he can walk, and now is almost pain-free.

Lived my life-long dream last month by singing lead with a rock-n-roll band! Three words for y'all: SCARY. AS. HELL!!!!! But I got through it, and maybe will even be willing to do it again. I need some vocal coaching, but it's for things like breath control and being sure to sing from my diaphragm instead of shallowly. One of the big challenges I've had is selecting songs that work well with my voice range. I am fortunate to have a pretty decent range, but I find I do a lot better if I start off singing low notes, and work up to the highs. I guess that may be true for anyone, though.

Baby sister is out of rehab, has almost a year of sobriety under her belt, and is working through the legal system to deal with custody issues for the three children. They are, unfortunately, back with their father, who insists that she must come there to see them. This is something that is not going to happen, because this man is abusive, controlling, and dangerous. I can't understand how a court ever even allowed him visitation rights, much less anything else, but it doesn't matter whether it can be understood or not -- it just has to be dealt with. And I'm very proud of baby sister for being able to step up to the plate and work on getting her life in order. It takes a tough cookie to do that, and I'm betting on sis being able to rise up to the challenge. I am learning to distance myself somewhat from feeling like I have to do something, and have really made some significant strides toward being less swayed by difficulties, or even dysfunctional people/groups/systems.

Growing upside-down tomatoes for the first time, too! I've never grown food before, so this is all very new and exciting to me. I know -- it's crazy -- but I don't care. :) I go out every day to look at my babies. lol I water them, examine them for any problems, compare one day's size or quantity to the next...lol! It's just ridiculous how much I enjoy this. Hubby and I are talking about what we want to do with the yard in the years ahead, and trying to go ahead and make some plans. The thing is, it's a lot easier (and cheaper!) to talk about than to actually start doing. lol Oh well -- we're happy here regardless, so I guess we can just keep talking until we feel like getting around to doing something about it. :) I have lots of other things growing, too, but these are of the decorative variety. My garden contains: clematis, marigolds, coleus, bleeding hearts, astilbe, Jacob's ladder, a GINORMOUS hydrangea, calla lilies, and a tea rose bush. There's also the hanging basket of mandevilla, and the baskets of other flowers I've grown from seeds, like vinca and sweet peas. It makes for a lovely site out my front windows, and I'm so proud of having accomplished this. Mind you, hubby does all the really hard work, bless his heart, but he lets me take credit for what just happens naturally anyway. lol He's a good man, let me tell you.

Later this month we're looking forward to having his son and new girlfriend stay with us, and also will be welcoming a friend I met online probably 12 years ago. We met once, in 1999, and ended up spending 2 wonderful nights with her in Colorado Springs, when we were out there last year. It was wonderful to spend time with her and to get to know her better. Her "excuse" for coming here is to attend a concert -- Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, followed by one of my friend's favorite bands -- Def Leppard. So, hubby and I are going to the concert with her, if you can believe that. I've never been into hard rock, so this will be a real experience for me. Wish me luck! I need to remember to bring my earplugs so I don't blow out my ear drum! :D I'm going to have to find some appropriate concert attire, too. What do you imagine that would be for Joan Jett and Def Leppard? I'm thinking black.

So, anywho, that's the news from Lake Woebegone. Now, this was a nice post, right? But in the days to come, I hope to work my way toward discussing current events and matters of spirituality. If you've been reading this in times past, you know I'm a Unitarian Universalist. I find that the longer I participate in this denomination, the more deep and wide my search for meaning becomes. I feel I am now outside "Plato's cave", but does that mean I'm really outside, or am I in just an outer room of said cave? How would you know if that was the case anyway? You can really take off from there, considering how large the physical world is, and realizing there are things unseen to us, because they're too small, or because they're too far away, or maybe because they're in a form that can't be seen, like sound waves and ultraviolet rays...

And now I close this post, because I don't want to start thinking about all that again, late on a Friday afternoon & all. Thanks for reading, if you have, and I hope you'll be back soon. I have neglected this for much too long and hope to make amends for that now. :)

Peace, out -- yo. (What is the correct punctuation for that anyway?)