Sleepless in Hayesville

Not being able to sleep at night is one of the big downsides of post-menopausal life, but I have to admit one thing. It did lead to me becoming a writer. It started when I woke up around 2:00 or 3:00 AM and lay there wide awake until daylight, night after night. My mind would wander for hours, worrying about the future more than anything else. One night I finally decided to get up and write about the things that worried me, and that led to my first blog. I discovered that I enjoyed writing, and the words came to me easily. Then my friend Kim encouraged me to try writing for publication in a regional magazine that published some of her work. She invited me to a meeting for the contributors to the magazine, and I took a story I had written about Mama with me. I was able to show it to the editor, and she liked it well enough to schedule it in the following month’s magazine. Thus, I accomplished one of the things on my “bucket list,” publishing something I had written. That first story led to two more articles for that magazine, and then I asked a local newspaper editor if he would consider publishing some articles I had written on “Making Your House a Home.” He did, and even let me have a monthly column on the same topic – with my picture and everything! That only lasted until we moved here to the mountains, but for a while, I was actually recognized by people I didn’t even know. That was kind of fun.

Since moving here, I have not attempted to publish anything, but I am still writing. The blog lives on. I hope to continue publishing at some point, but I have been preoccupied with adjusting to our new life here, taking care of Mama and cleaning her house, and fixing up the house we now live in. Besides that, we still have the responsibility of looking after our old house until we can either sell or rent it. That has meant lots of going back and forth to Watkinsville. Then there was hosting the family reunion in October and Christmas for the whole family just recently. We’ve had lots of other company as well, for which I am very grateful. In addition to that, I tutor at the children’s home one day a week. The point is, I am not lacking for something to do; in fact, there is not enough time to do all that needs to be done. For example, Doug gave me a fiddle for Christmas. (Learning to play the fiddle is another item on my bucket list.) I have a book and DVD to help me learn to play it, but have so far only found time to work on it one day.

This week we’ll be going back to Georgia to celebrate Doug’s birthday on New Year’s Day with his mom and dad and, hopefully, Sean and Misty. We’ll be watching the dawgs play in the Capital One bowl, of course. On Friday, we plan to take down some of the wallpaper in our old house and clean out the fish pond. Doug also needs to blow all the leaves off the lawn. I just hope the weather is good.

Next week we will be preparing for our cruise. We plan to leave on Saturday, the 10th and drive to New Orleans, stopping one night along the way. The ship departs on Sunday evening. We should return to port on the 18th and then start home. I know I will be ready to get back here by then. I really am a homebody, and a week away from here is pretty much my limit!

When we get back, Doug and I are committed to going on the South Beach diet together. After the cruise, we will certainly need it! Truth is, we need it BEFORE the cruise! I decided on the South Beach because I think the only way I will overcome my addiction to sweets is to just cut them out altogether. Besides, I am afraid my blood sugar might be getting too high.

I hope Doug is adjusting to retirement. I know he sometimes misses going to the office each day and being around other people. At least he really does like living up here. He always did dream of retiring to the mountains one day. That day just came a little sooner than either one of us thought it would! He is trying to keep busy, and there is plenty for him to do around here. Yesterday he worked on the posts that hold up the deck. If you recall from a previous blog, Daddy nailed 2X6 boards around each one, and I filled the cracks with foam and spackling. Doug scraped and sanded them smooth so we can paint them in the spring. The basement and woodwork still need painting as well.

Doug also spent a lot of time on the net yesterday, researching information on renting out a home. It is looking more and more like that is the thing to do. I don’t think the economy or the housing market is going to pick up anytime soon, and it seems like the only things selling are houses priced well below market value – or at least what WAS their market value. It really worries me having that house just sit there empty. We need to do something right away.

Doug has also found a new hobby – wood carving. I thought he did a good job on the rooster he carved for Vivian and the trout he carved for Sean. Next he plans to carve a bear. I am getting him a wood carving knife for his birthday.

Today is New Year’s Eve day, and we plan to take down and put away the Christmas decorations. 2008 is about over, and all I can say is, good riddance! Let’s all hope that 2009 is better. It will certainly be interesting. Being the political junkie I am, I can’t wait to see what happens when Obama becomes President.

Tonight we have reservations to eat at the Old Hiawassee Grill. Sean and Misty gave us a gift certificate to eat there for Christmas. It is a very nice restaurant, and we haven’t tried it yet. After eating at this fancy restaurant, we plan to go to the annual New Year’s Eve Possum Drop at Clay’s Corner! I’ll let you know all about it in a future blog.

A Merry Christmas

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone! We loved having the family here at our new home in the mountains this year. It was fun decorating a new house. It was also a lot of work getting ready for the invasion! We really did enjoy it, though. Sean and Misty arrived late Christmas eve, about 11:30. We watched the end of A Christmas Story and then went to bed after midnight. We were up around 7:30 Christmas morning to give each other our stockings and gifts before the rest of the family arrived. Sean's big gift from us was a camera that is waterproof and shockproof - I call it Sean-proof! (He has already destroyed two others.) He wants it to take fishing, of course. His other big gift was rather special. Doug has taken up woodcarving, and at Sean's request, he carved him a trout, shown here. I painted it, so it really is from both of us, though Doug did the hard part! It turned out well, and Sean was really pleased with it. Misty received a plethora of smaller gifts, mostly clothes. Dixie got a new stuffed duck to destroy. She loved it - carried it around in her mouth all day.

After we opened gifts, I made waffles for breakfast and then Misty and I started cooking dinner. I had put the hams in earlier, so all we had to do was make the casseroles. We watched the Disney Christmas parade while we worked.

The rest of the family arrived just around noon. My sisters brought lots of food with them, and as soon as we could get it all served, we ate dinner. Afterwards, we opened gifts again. Our house soon looked like a wreck! Everyone got lots of nice gifts. One rather unusual gift was the one we gave Mama - a stuffed pug dog that breathes and snores. Mama just loves pugs and would really like to have one, but she can't take care of a dog, so this was the perfect pet for her. She slept with it that night.

Speaking of dogs, this Christmas literally went to the dogs. Besides Dixie, we also had Spooky (a black minature poodle) and Daisy, a chihuahua. They demanded lots of attention! They also provided plenty of entertainment. Of course, Blackie and Dallas had to stay outside, but they got some attention as well.

For entertainment, we played games - Balderdash, monopoly, and triple solitaire. The guys either slept or watched ballgames. We munched on sweet stuff all afternoon. That evening, Sean, Misty, Doug, and I went to see Marley and Me at the theaters. It was very good, but don't go unless you take a box of Kleenex with you! We came back and watched The Dark Knight on DVD with the rest of the crowd. I know, we really know how to pick feel-good movies for Christmas! That's what happens in a family where guys rule.

I fell in bed exhausted that night and slept great. The next morning we had a big family breakfast and then just crashed. The guys went out to explore some local thrift shops - they were desparate to just get out. When they returned, we ate some more, and then Cindy and her crew left, followed by Sean and Misty. Mary Jane and Mike watched Rush Hour 3 with us that night. The next day was remarkably warm and the sun returned. Mary Jane, Mike, Doug, and I ran around all over Hiawassee looking for bargains and found some great ones. We stopped at Hawg Heaven for a barbeque sandwich. When we got back, we spent some time with Mama and Daddy, and MJ made pralines. Then they went home, too. It sure is quiet now that everyone is gone! It was great having the family here for Christmas.

We also had a wonderful time the weekend before Christmas with Doug's family. We celebrated on Sunday evening at Doug's parent's house and spent the night there. The night before we enjoyed seeing all our friends at the Lavender's Christmas party. That morning I had joined the Breakfast Club at IHOP for the first time in months. Doug went to see Pastor Joe at Angel Food and had breakfast with him. The day before that (Friday), we met Dennis and Charlise and her mom in Clarkesville on our way back to Athens. We ate lunch and had a great time shopping together. The best part of Christmas is spending time with all the people you know and love! But the most important thing to remember is that Christmas is all about Jesus, and that was really made clear in the sermon we heard at Athens Church the Sunday before Christmas. Today we were back in our home church for another great Christmas message and beautiful music, another part of Christmas I especially love.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday as well. 2008 has not been the best of years, but that shouldn't stop us from enjoying the simple pleasures of life, especially the people who mean so much to us! Please keep in touch in the coming new year.

Christmas Pictures - 2008

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

First REAL Snow!

On the Monday after Thanksgiving we had our first real snow. It snowed all day and covered everything. It continued snowing the next day, but it all had melted by Wednesday. We had a nice day on Monday. We put on Christmas music and decorated the tree while the snow fell outside the windows. When we got tired, we sat and drank hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. It was really cold outside all week. I am finally wearing some of the sweaters I haven’t worn in years. I knew I had better not get rid of them!

Doug is trying to get used to staying home all day. It is an adjustment for him, as I knew it would be. He has been writing lots of thank-you notes to the people at work who donated towards his retirement gift. That gift will pay about half the cost of the Caribbean cruise we have booked in January to celebrate his retirement and our 35th anniversary (December 21st). If any friends or family are interested in going along, just let us know!

Doug has also been working on some wood carving. He is trying to develop a new hobby. Another task that has kept him busy is going through papers and files. He has needed to do that for a long time!

Tuesday we went to a warehouse in south Atlanta with a group from church to pack shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. It was a great experience! I never saw so many shoe boxes in one place – thousands and thousands of them. We had to inspect boxes to make sure nothing was inside that wasn’t supposed to be. We stood for hours at an assembly line on a hard concrete floor, which made me very thankful that I don’t have a job where I have to do that everyday! Riding over there on the church van afforded us a great opportunity to get to know some of the people in the church better. We had a ball! There are really sweet people in this church. On the way back, we all stopped for supper at a Cracker Barrel.

On Monday I took Mama to a specialist in Asheville. This involved a two-hour trip over the mountains. We only hit one patch of ice! I sure am glad the RAV has four-wheel drive. I think the biggest drawback to living up here is the lack of really good medical care nearby.

The house is now decorated and the gifts are bought and wrapped. The whole family will be here for Christmas Day. I’m looking forward to it. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas! I probably won’t send cards or a newsletter this year since the blog pretty much keeps everyone up on what’s going on with us. Please let me hear from you.
We love all of you guys!
Doug and Paula