An Overveiw of Life as I know it

Let's play Catch-Up, shall we? I sometimes forget that while my close family and friends know the things that are going on in my day-to-day life, my blogging friends may not. Real life is much more than cooking and taking pictures of a vintage outfit each week ;). So, I thought I'd do a little overview of life at the ole Doss-ienda.

Hmm, what to say first? I think I will go back to December 17th. That was the hubby's last doctor appointment. Some of you may remember that he had stage 4 throat cancer almost two years ago, but came through chemo and radiation with flying colors. His checkup showed that he was still cancer-free, so we are very blessed. He is back to fishing with a vengeance and that is how I know he is well!

Then in January I had a mammogram. They told me there was a dark spot that showed up in multiple views. So I went to get a second mammogram. I tried to tell her to just look at me. There couldn't be anything hiding in there; there's nowhere to hide! But she still squashed me between the metal plates like a tater chip, until I literally could not breathe. Afterward I told her I was going to have to roll up my bosoms like paper-thin tube socks to tuck them back in my bra. I was ready to run away after that, but she stopped me. "No", she said," he wanted to read these as soon as they were taken. I need you to wait." I hadn't let myself think the worst until that moment, and I will tell you that a cold sweat broke out. Doctors always take a week or more to decide to tell you anything. If he wanted to read them that moment, there must be real cause to worry. I sat with my book, staring at the page and not seeing any words, until she came back in. She declared me "all good" and said that the dark spot was gone. There was no sign of it in any image. God is so good!

Other than that, I have been doing my normal- cooking for folks, and trying lots of new recipes. It's soon to be two years that I have been working Fridays at The Wooden Spoon. And I have made some amazing new friends through my blog.

Great Aunt Add's Engagement Ring

January 26th, my youngest son proposed to his sweetheart, Ms Belle. Will and I had looked through the family rings several weeks earlier, because we both knew she would cherish something that had history and love already in it. He chose the one above, one that that I wore for most of my teen years because I adored it. They decided that their wedding date would be May the 26th, their one year anniversary of dating. After that, Belle was able to tell him that I had already bought a wedding dress for her back in November. Hey, I found it at Goodwill and could not leave it behind. It looks like a Princess's dream and fit her perfectly. They are going to be married down at the creek, following a tradition that Duane and I started, and the other boys continued. It will be so very exciting, and I get to make the cake!

Belle and Will

So, soon I will have an empty nest. This year, 2018-2019, was the first school year that I have not been teaching kiddos in approximately 20 years. I homeschooled my boys all the way through, and even after Will graduated I was teaching high school biology and cooking classes to groups of homeschool students. This year the planned class fell through. I thought it would be a nice break, almost a treat. Instead, I have missed teaching and having lots of kids in the house more than I could have imagined. I did have two of my former students send me a letter at Christmas saying that they missed me and thought of me often. Oh, salve to my soul! But I am supposed to have a biology class gathered up to start this coming August. I will definitely be ready to chop some frogs and poke some eyeballs!

The snake for our reptile day in biology

An empty nest. That is hard to believe. Since Will has been dating, I have had him and his sweet gal at my home more nights than not. The table will seem very empty when they are in a home of their own. But, my middle son, Seth, and his dear wife are mid-way through building their house here on the farm. Emiley was saying the other day that the view out their kitchen window looked over the creek toward us. "I will be able to watch our kids go over the field to visit you!" Now that is a thought to bring joy to my heart!

Seth and Pop at the very beginning. Now there is a roof and siding with electricity coming.

My oldest son, Devin, and his wife still live an hour away. That seems far to me, but they come back every Monday for our family dinner night, and whenever we have a party. And you know that is pretty often! He and Savannah went on a big trip last summer through New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Montana...He came back with an intense desire to move out there. As a mother I want him to do what makes him happy. As a moma my heart is screaming, "That's too far away!"

Devin and Savvy in Colorado

My Moma and Pop are still going strong. Pop had a failed back surgery, and Moma has knees that are rubbing bone-to-bone. They both have chronic pain on a daily basis, and yet they are always doing. Making things, gardening, going on trips, gathering wood, helping to build the kids' home. They do not let pain stop them, or steal their joy. They are my heroes.  

Our 2018 Christmas photo. Once a year I attempt to make the Mongul Hoard be nice for a picture. Back- Seth, Emiley, me, Duane, Savannah, Devin. Front- Will Cole, Belle, Moma, and Pop.

Spring is coming and that always makes me feel like a tree. Bare and austere now, but the sap is rising in me to bloom out leaves and hold them to the sun. I have great plans to renew my flowerbeds, to plant more berries, to write more, to sew. Why is it that the turning of the season makes me feel like everything is new and possible? (If I think that me sewing is possible then that is truly high hopes ;)

Things change and keep on changing, and that is what makes life. They say that without despair you have no reason to hope. Not that I am despairing of anything, Dear Reader. I am simply saying that sometimes you just have to take a breath and wait to see what happens next...It's bound to be beautiful.