Seeing old friends

First of all, I didn't realize that it had been so long since I had posted here.  I do miss blogging, and I miss the friends that I have lost contact with. 

This past week I took a road trip to western North Carolina to visit friends from my distant past.  I started out by visiting Sharon, a friend I sort of grew up with, except she is a lot younger than I am.  Her mom was like a second mom to me, and I spent a lot of time at their house.  She moved to North Carolina a few years ago after her daughter had moved there.  Her brother Glenn was already there, and not too long after, her mom joined them.

We enjoyed talking about "old times."  Sharon lives out in the country.  They have chickens, a garden, quite a bit of acreage, and a lovely back porch with hummingbird feeders.  I enjoyed sitting in the rocking chair watching the birds coming for food. 

The next day I left and drove to Morganton to visit Don and Peg Windmiller, my former pastor and his wife from Bradenton.  They have retired and moved to North Carolina to be in the mountains.  They are not quite in the mountains, but when you drive up to their house, you feel like you are there.  Sitting on the porch you can see them since they are not far away. 

We had a good visit.  On Tuesday, Peg and I drove over to Black Mountain, where Don and Peg's son, Dan works at Black Mountain Children's Home.  What a wonderful place!  It was good to meet Dan's two little girls and his wife Elise.

On Wednesday  I left and drove up to Boone to see Mary Jane Uttley, one of my dear friends from Haiti days.  She was up visiting David, her son.  David was one of my students in Haiti when I taught down there in the early '70's.  David works now for Samaritan's Purse, as does his wife , Cindy.

While there I had the opportunity to visit Samaritan's Purse an learn more of their work  As the group was gathering for a tour of the facility, we were seated around a table, and the tour leader asked us to introduce ourselves.  When we got to the last two couples, the lady introduced herself and her husband, and then introduced the other couple.  She said, "And this is our friend, Damaris Carbaugh, and her husband.  You may know her from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir."  My heart took a leap.  Our choir at Bethel sang many of their songs, and her songs were among my favorites.  That was certainly a highlight.  After the tour was over, I had the opportunity to talk to her some...such a joy.  If you click on her name, you can hear one of her songs.  Be blessed.

Happy birthday, Sarah!

The earth has made another revolution around the sun, and it is time to wish Sarah a happy birthday.  I've thought a lot about this one.  She has the distinction of being born on inauguration day.  The day Sarah entered the world was the day Jimmy Carter was inaugurated.  It was a cold day in Florida, in fact, it was a very cold winter that year.  I had to be in bed for much of the month before her birth, and one morning when I got up, the house was so cold.  I checked the thermostat.  I don't remember how cold it was, but the city was doing rolling blackouts because of the heavy load on power usage.  School was closed for a couple of days because it was too difficult to try to heat the buildings.  This morning, one of the weather men from Tampa posted a picture of the snow in Tampa on January 19.  On Thursday morning, the 20th, as Don and I drove to the hospital, the temperature on the bank said 26.  Yes, it was cold.

Sarah has grown into a wonderful young woman.  She is such a hard worker (like her dad.)  She is kind and caring, a great mom to her two cats, a doting aunt to Ella,  a good sister to David, and I consider her my best friend.  She does so much for me.  I think what strikes me the most is her heart for God.

I wish for Sarah a wonderful year ahead that God will continue to guide her and lead her in the path that she should go.

Not adieu, but au revoir

When I last posted, I ended it with "adieu."  When the members of the von Trapp family were singing their farewell song prior to leaving Austria, they sang "adieu, adieu to you and you and you."  They knew that they were not returning once they left the festival that evening.  When I went to Florida for the reunion of the school staff, I certainly did not go with the thought that I would never see any of my friends there again.

I flew down to Florida on Thursday prior to the celebration on Saturday. My friend, Lorette, has a lovely home and welcomed me to stay there.  It was so relaxing.  On Friday I spent some time with my father-in-law and enjoyed dinner with him and his lady friend that evening.  Earlier in the day I had lunch with Janice, my roommate from my trip to the Canadian Rockies last year about this time.

Saturday was the day of the reunion.  Around 150 people came...former teachers, aides, principals, office staff, custodial staff, lunchroom staff, and former students.  There were a few there who are actually older than I am.  Can you believe it!  The committee who organized the party had photos from different eras of the school displayed around the room.  It was fun to look through old yearbooks that were there.

Barbie and Skipper...grown a little older

Ana, on the left, was one of my aides when I had the ESOL children.  She had been a teacher in Mexico, but there was so much red tape involved to get her credentials here that she worked as an aide.  She is teaching now, though.  She was wonderful to work with in my classroom and added so much to our day.

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Sue Gore and her husband, Wendell.  Sue and I taught together for many years at Orange Ridge.

I was standing looking at pictures when this young lady said to me, "You were my teacher in first grade in 1991."  I was so glad she was wearing a name tag.  When she told me here first name and I saw her last name, I remembered her.  She's 31 now and is a buyer for a company out of St. Petersburg.

Jeanette Kelly, one of the best fifth grade teachers we had and one of the best singers around.  

Miss Viola was the cashier in the lunch line who always greeted the children and staff with a sweet smile whenever we came through the lunch line.

Fran Padgett, on the left, started out as principal of the Bullock school.  She later became principal of the combined Orange Ridge Bullock school.  It was she who got the reunion started. Behind her is my friend, Lorette.  We worked together with the ESOL children for four years until I retired, and she continued on for a while after that until she retired.  On the right is Rick, our music teacher.  We loved Friday afternoons because Rick had a singalong for the primary grades.  It was a perfect way to end our week.

Sharon, the lady on the right, used to come to my classroom to volunteer when her children attended our school.  She told her daughter that I showed her how to turn on a computer.  She later became a secretary at our school.

Orange Ridge Bullock School
1958-2016

Farewell...Part 3

When I started to write these posts, I intended to write memories about the school.  Instead, I wrote more about my own personal experiences. To those reading this, who are not former or current employees at Orange Ridge Bullock School, the school is being closed after being open since 1958.  Children are being placed in schools around the county, as are members of the staff.  This Saturday there is to be a gathering of those who worked at the school over the years in one capacity or another.  Because I had just been in Florida for a week, I had thought I would not return, but I really wanted to be there, so I'm going.  I look forward to seeing Barbie and Skipper again.  Yes, they taught at our school.  Some of you will know to whom I am referring.

Looking back over the years, there are some times that one would probably like to do over again or wipe out completely, but hopefully learn from.  Some of us who worked there stayed for many, many years.  Others stayed for a while and then moved on.  We used to say that if anyone wanted to be a principal in the county, he or she must, first of all, have taught at ORB.  

We were a family.  We celebrated babies being born.  We mourned with those who lost a child, a spouse or a parent.  We laughed and cried together.  And, like a family, sometimes we disagreed with each other or got really mad.

I'm so happy this reunion is taking place, to give everyone a chance to see each other one last time in the setting where we spent so much of our adult lives.  Adieu.

So long, farewell....Part 2

I was talking with a teacher at church today, and I was telling her about the school closing and the get-together that was planned.  We were talking about the funny things that kids say and how we should have written them down.  Back in the day when we had readers with controlled vocabulary, the characters in the pre-primers were Bill, Jill, and Lad the dog.  One day, during reading group we were going over a workbook page that had a picture of children at the park.  There were four sentences to choose from that fit the picture.  When I called on one boy for his answer, he said, "Lad is at the park."  Lad was nowhere to be seen in the picture.  When I said the Lad was not in the picture, the boy said, "He's hiding."  I had to think about the one.

I taught third grade for a year when the enrollment for the grade increased.  I really did enjoy that year.  I had taught third grade when I started teaching and always enjoyed how the personalities of those children really began to emerge.  One day in class, I had the children doing some dictionary work at their seats while I worked with a group.  The room was so quiet as the children were working when one boy with his eyes open wide, excitedly, or embarrassed, said, "Mrs. Whitcomb, I found do-do in the dictionary."  What he had seen was dodo.  Some things you just don't forget.

For a while, off and on, I found that after lunch, back in the room when I was reading a story to the children, I found that I was having difficulty pronouncing certain words.  I didn't think too much about it.  I always drank my tea with lots of ice in it.  I figured that perhaps my tongue was just a little numb from all the ice. To make a long story short, I began to have more symptoms and was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis.  I sought treatment, had some surgery, and ended up on various medications.  I felt like I was on a roller coaster for the next four or five years.

Some major construction took place on campus.  The original classrooms were remodeled, and a new wing was added.  In 1995 the construction was finished, and we were able to move into our new or renovated classrooms.  I was fortunate to have one of the new rooms.  Our school was one of the first to have technology in place.  As  technology advanced so fast, we were soon behind times, but we were first!  I often told friends, who were afraid of touching a computer, that there was no need to be afraid of a computer.  If a first grader could turn it on, navigate the desktop, and then shut it down properly, they they could too.

The last four years of my time at Orange Ridge were spent with ESOL children.  I cannot think of a better way to have spent this time.  Most of these children were Mexican, and there were some Haitian children in the class.  Our goal was to have these children learn English well enough to be able to function well in a regular classroom.  We never had to wonder whether the parents would be present for parent-teacher conferences.  I was so thankful for the aides who spoke Spanish so that they could interpret when needed.

In the first ESOL class that I had, there was a young boy named Juan.  During National Education week we were talking about the importance of an education, and I asked the children if they knew why an education was important.  Juan raised his hand and said that his father said he wanted him to get a good education so that he wouldn't have to look for food to eat in the garbage heat as he had done in Mexico.

I recently saw a former first grader from the ESOL class.  She is Cambodian.  I was so glad to see her.  I asked her how old she is now and what she is doing.  She's twenty-six, working in an oncologist's lab or office.  She then said she's getting her Master's degree and plans to continue studying.  She added that her two younger brothers are getting their B.S. and Associate of Arts degree this year.  Their mother deserves so much credit for seeing to it that her children have achieved so much.

At the end of those four years, I took advantage of an early retirement offer and stopped teaching in 1999.

End of part 2...I'm going to do one more short post, with some odds and ends of incidents over the years.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye (Part 1)

It all started out forty-three years ago.  I had returned to Florida from teaching in Haiti in 1972.  I spent some time visiting friends and churches who had supported me during my time in Haiti, and then I traveled to France for an intense course in French in order to return to Haiti and continue working there.  Before I left for Europe, I had met Don, and we corresponded all the time while I was in France, and we ended up marrying that spring.  Settling in Bradenton, I looked for a teaching position and was hired to teach first grade at Orange Ridge Elementary School.y  I had been teaching junior high students in Haiti, so moving down to first grade was quite an adjustment.

Back in the day, we had no air conditioning in our school.  We had fans that sounded like airplane engines when they were running.  There were no screens on our windows, so in the afternoon, when the children came in from recess, they were sweaty and sandy, and gnats became part of our classroom setting.  I thought that if we could just get air conditioning, all would be well.

During those early years that I taught there, we had children come to our school from Cambodia and Vietnam.  These children were so dear.  One year I was given two brothers who were older than first grade age.  Since they did not know English, the other children were eager to help them learn English.  They brought so much joy to our class.

In 1979 while I was on maternity leave with my son, David, it happened.  Air conditioning was installed in our school.  I was one happy person.  No more noisy fans, no more gnats.  Then I began to say, if we just had carpet on the floors to cut down on the noise of children sitting down and pulling their desks in place, instead of scooting their chairs up to the desk.

Our campus was centrally located in the county, and we had a big campus.  There were two separate playgrounds.  We referred to them as the little playground and the big playground.  My classroom was on the end of the wing, and I could look out at the little playground.  I remember one day, looking out and there was a red-tailed hawk in the pine tree.  Another day, when we had had a lot of rain and there was water standing, there was a great blue heron outside my window.

Small animals were always at home in my classroom.  Either a hamster or a gerbil.  The children loved them so much.  One day after the bus riders had left, I let the children take the gerbil out to hold and play with him.  One little boy was holding him, and the gerbil got loose and scooted across the floor.  The little boy said, "Come here, you little b*stard."  I wanted to laugh out loud so much, but I put my head down and stifled the laugh.  I don't know if it was the same gerbil or not, but after a while the animal died.  The children were so sad, and they wanted him to have a proper burial.  So we put him in a small box and went outside and buried him by the room.  At the children's insistence, not mine, we read Psalm 23.

Later on, I had a guinea pig in my class.  The children really loved him.  There was more to hold, and he wasn't as wiggly as a hamster or a gerbil.  On the weekends, I would take him home, and when my husband came home and the gerbil heard him walk in the door, he would whistle and jump all around his cage.  One day, I asked Don to stop by my classroom and hang some strings down from the ceiling (the ceilings were high.)  I said to my aide, "Just watch when Mr. Whitcomb comes into the room, that guinea pig will whistle and jump up and down."  He didn't disappoint.

I once said to one of my friends that I was thinking about getting a snake for my classroom.  My children had for a pre-K teacher at Palma Sola Preschool, who was the daughter of Ross Allen, who was quite the herpetologist.  He worked in his early days at Silver Springs and later on at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.  So snakes and other reptiles were quite commonplace in her classroom.   Boys especially like them.  She let me know in no uncertain terms that if I introduced a snake into my room, she would never again enter my classroom.  And, no, I didn't get a snake.

In 1984, the Bullock school was added to our campus.  This school was for children who were physically and mentally handicapped.  Our campus was centrally located in the county, and with the school there, the children didn't have to travel so far or so long on the buses to get to school.  We teachers in regular ed received quite an education during those first years.  I remember saying to some of the teachers once that I didn't know how they did their jobs, even though there may have been five students in a class with a full-time aide.  They, in turn, said to me that they didn't know how we did what we did with twenty-five students at one time.

The Bullock school had been named for Jo Berta Bullock, a journalism teacher at Manatee High.  She was teaching there before I started high school and was there for some time after until she retired.  She was physically handicapped, dependent on crutches to get around.  After the school was opened, she would visit from time to time.  Even though I had not taken any journalism classes, she knew who I was and always spoke to me whenever she saw me at the school.
(End of part one)

Mother's Day and other stuff

For having said that I was going to blog more, I certainly have not done it.  I love keeping up with people on Facebook, but I find myself passing over a lot of stuff and "unfollowing" pages, especially during these days, and I think you know what I mean.

I drove down to Florida a couple of weeks ago.  I was really wanting to visit with my long-time friends, and I wanted to see one couple before they left for the north for the summer.  I have so many people who question my driving to Florida all by myself.  I've done it during the past nine years since Ella was born, and so I did again this time and didn't feel any worse for the wear.  I spent the week visiting and eating.  On Tuesday the girls from the class of '59 had lunch together.  There were three of us there from out of town, so it was a grand time, catching up with each other's news.

On Thursday morning, I met some ladies for breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  I visited with them, and then another friend came and we ate and chatted for a long time.  While there, I was visiting with a gentleman whom I've known for a while, and sitting opposite us was a girl I had in first grade twenty years ago.  She was in one of my ESOL classes.  Her family was from Cambodia, and her English was limited, so I had the joy of helping her learn English and learn to read.  I asked her what she is doing now, and she told me that she was working in an oncologist's office, that she's working on her master's degree and she plans to go further in her studies.  That makes me smile a lot.

This past weekend, I enjoyed Mother's Day with Sarah and David.  Sarah came over on Saturday to be with Ella for a bit, and then we enjoyed lunch together at a local restaurant.  Yesterday, David cooked lunch for me.  He went online and looked for some Haitian recipes.  He made red beans and rice and Haitian chicken for me.  I did enjoy it so much.

I appreciate so much being close to my children.  Sarah and David both do so much for me.  Of course, it is wonderful being close to Ella and being able to spend time with her almost any time I want.

Maybe it won't be so long before I post again.  When I repost some of my posts on Facebook and read some of the comments that people make, I realize how much I miss hearing from some of them.

Quite a day!

I spent the last two weeks in Florida.  I had planned to go to attend Women of Faith with my good friend, Peg.  I left on the Sunday before Labor Day on the auto-train.  Arriving in Bradenton, I spent a few days with my father-in-law and a few more days with Mary Jane, a friend whose sons I taught in Haiti.  And then I spent a couple of nights with my friends, Don and Elsie.  I got to see a lot of people, got the last bit of stuff out of storage, and then I went to Orlando and went to Women of Faith to attend their farewell tour.  It was a busy two weeks, and while I loved being there, I was glad to come back home.

When I made to decision to move finally from Florida to Virginia, there was no looking back, and I have not regretted at all the move.  I have a lovely home.  I've found a warm, loving church, and I'm getting to know some of the locals, as well as a lovely lady down the street who has moved here to be nearer her grandchildren.  I've had a young woman staying with me since the middle of August.  She is here, interning in our church for a year and working in the community.  We've had a good time together.  I've been "living history" to her...since she's so young, and I'm older.  I will not say "elderly."

The air is beginning to be crisp.  I had to close the back door this afternoon because the air coming in was a bit cool.  I posted a photo of a tree beginning to turn yesterday, and someone said,  "You know what follows fall, don't you."

Anyway, back to today.  I went over to Chick-Fil-A this morning for breakfast, and I saw a poster advertising a senior trip to Sight and Sound for the Christmas program.  I had called a travel agent about a similar trip, and it was all sold out, so I was thrilled to see this and make a reservation to go.  Later, I had a doctor's appointment with an endocrinologist, and I mentioned to her that I had not had my A1C checked since January, and she said that they could do it right there in the office.  It was the lowest that it had been for a while.  That made me SO happy.  The doctor said, "If we could only see more of those..."

While I was there, David called to see if I could pick Ella up after school and take her to get her glasses adjusted.  Of course, he didn't have to ask twice.  I love being close by and being able to help out whenever needed, or just to be with her.  After going to the optician, I took her with me while I had some blood drawn.  While there, a nurse who had worked in her school clinic came into the cubicle and saw Ella.  She was so happy to see her again.  We mentioned a little boy who accompanied Ella to the clinic to get her meds before lunch, and the nurse said, "When you see H., give him a hug for me."  Ella said, "Well, now, that would be awkward."  So then the nurse said, "Well, tell him hello for me."

After David and Ella left, I went to Ruby Tuesday to get my birthday hamburger, and the server said to me, "You're a teacher, aren't you.  Did you get your air fixed?"  It must have been three months since I had seen her.  I told her how much it meant to me to be recognized by someone here.  Those of you who know me well know what I mean by that.  Coming from a town where I lived all my life and knowing so many people to a place where I know so few, her comment to me meant so much.

All the little things that happened today were big things for me.  I know every day won't be like this one, but I'll welcome them.

Look Who's Nine

When I made the move to Virginia and then took an almost month-long trip out west, I thought I would blog a lot about those adventures, but so far I haven't.  But this week is different.  We've been celebrating Ella's ninth birthday.  Those of you who have followed my blog for a long time have been along the journey of this lovely little girl.  

 As she celebrates this year, we are celebrating that new drugs are appearing on the scene that are making a real difference in the lives of those with cystic fibrosis.  Recently a drug was approved that is targeted at Ella's mutation.  While right now, it is only available for those twelve and over, trials are being done in children younger.  We are so thankful that Ella has been very healthy and pray that this continues to be the case.

 The highlight of her day on Sunday was a trip to Build-a-Bear with several of her friends.  When they were done, all returned to Ella's house for a cookout and playing in the yard.  In just a few days, she and her friends will be starting fourth grade.  Can you believe it?  Happy birthday, Ella.

Out and About

Spring is certainly in bloom in the Shenandoah Valley.  During the last couple of weeks, the weather has warmed up and flowers and trees are blooming and beautiful.  This weekend I drove over the mountain to Charlottesville, and all along the side of the highway, the redbud and dogwood are just so pretty.

Waynesboro is the home of P.Buckley Moss.  A prolific artist, she moved to this area in 1964 with her husband and five children.  She grew up in New York city.  When she entered school, she was a poor student, and she was found to be dyslexic.  She then began to study art and found her gift there.  You can read about her early life here.  When she and her family moved to the valley, she found Amish and old order Mennonites living here. (I have referred to these dear people in an earlier post.)
When you look at her art work, you will find that they became the subject of many of her paintings.

She has a gallery in downtown Waynesboro, right next to Stella, Bella, and Lucy's.  After having breakfast the other day, I stepped into the gallery, and as I was looking at the art work and the prints that were for sale, in she walked and we talked for quite a few minutes.  She has had a home in St. Petersburg and a gallery there, but she has recently sold that and moved back here.  As I was looking, I found the print that I just had to have.  She has a couple of prints of a mama manatee and baby.  I bought one.

This weekend she has had a barn show where she greets people and signs works that they have purchased.  I went out early Friday afternoon with my print and got it signed.  Now I'll have to wait a little while before I get it framed.

All the photos that I've posted here are from that signing day.  I took photos of some of the prints.  You will see the glare of lights on some of them.  The best way to see them is to come visit me, and I'll take you and show them to you!

Sing God's Praises

Sunday night was another wonderful experience in my new life here in Virginia.  When I was a girl, all-night gospel sings were popular, and many times we went to hear the gospel quartets sing.  They didn't quite last all night, but they did go on for a long time.  And then, in our town churches used to get together on a fifth Sunday for a hymn sing after church on Sunday night.  I remember how I always loved going to those.

Last night there was an evening sing at one of the local Mennonite churches.  Several churches gathered together to sing and to listen to groups from the different churches.  One of my early memories of Mennonites was that they used no instruments in their churches, and all the singing was a capella.  In some churches, that may still be the case, but last evening there were lots of instruments.

Bluegrass music is popular here.  I don't know if it is because of the part of the country we are in, or just what the reason, but it is popular.  One family sang and accompanied themselves on banjos, guitars, bass fiddles, and I believe I saw a mandolin.

Since it was Palm Sunday, a lot of the music centered around the resurrection.  The group above sang "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"

The group from our church sang an Easter canon and a number about the price He paid on the cross.

We did do some a capella singing.  At a couple of spots a lady came up with her pitch pipe and led in a couple of songs.  I think that was my favorite part.  When she introduced one of the songs, she said that it was one that "we had all learned in school." When she blew the pitch, you could hear all the parts coming on right on pitch, and then it started.  I loved it!  I love it at church when the accompaniment drops out and all you hear are the voices.

I looked for it on the internet, and I found a video of it being sung by a men's chorus in India.  You have to listen hard to hear all the words, but you certainly can hear all the parts.  I'll be singing it in my head for a while, and I hope our church sings it so that I can learn it better.  Click on the link to watch and listen.

The photos used in this blog were used with permission of Ginny from Let Your Light Shine.

An afternoon at an auction

Earlier in the week, my friends told me about an auction that would be taking place on Thursday afternoon at the home of one of the ladies in the church.  She has sold her home and is moving into a retirement center in the area and had an auction at her house to sell all the "stuff."

The auction was to start at four in the afternoon.  Even though we had arrived a bit early, there were already a lot of cars there, and with them a lot of people who were milling around, looking at all the treasures to be sold.

Do you see the telephone on the table?  I remember my aunt's having one on the wall of her home in Florida many years ago.  I would have loved to have it on my wall, but I resisted.  The bell still worked when you cranked it.  Remember the party lines?

The accordian was another treasure that was there.  Everyone looked at it with interest.  The case was old and worn, like the accordian, but I know it became  someone's special purchase.  Seeing it reminded me of my cousin, Mary Ann, who was a serious accordian player in her day.

Not something that would be useful in Florida, I'm sure someone will know just what to do with these.

Jars, jars, jars.  I can just imagine that these were a hot commodity.  My mother would put these to good use.  When she died, there was a wall of food that she had "put up."

 There were lots of books there, but this one in particular caught my eye.  I would be interested  in reading this one since Mennonites are pacifists, and I wonder what role they played.  Perhaps they were in a support role.  I'll have to find out.

There were quite a few folks from the church there that I'm attending, so it gave me an opportunity to get to know them all a little bit better.  Names, names, names, I'm trying to learn names.  And so far, I'm not doing too badly.

A simpler way of life

On Monday, I went a few miles north of where I am now living to visit the Shenandoah Market. After we had finished looking around there, my friends took me to see some of the surrounding area.  Phil said, "I want to show you a church that is quite unusual."  When he drove up to the church ( and for some reason, I didn't take a photo of the church,) I saw that there were no parking spaces for cars.  The entire area around the church was filled with places to hitch one's horse and buggy

.

 This particular church was of the old order of Mennonite.  There are no tire tracks, only the marks of the buggy wheels.  The parking lot, or hitching lot, is very organized.

 There are posts to hitch the horse and a concrete slab at each spot to put the feed for the animals.

Next to the church, as is seen in many areas, is the cemetary for the members who have gone on.  

 On the way back, we stopped by the lake where we saw these lovely swans.

In several yards I saw something that one hardly sees any more.  I remember we always hung our clothes out to dry.  I remember one time my mother got so upset because someone had come along and stolen some of the clothes from the line.  I don't imagine that would happen in a community like this.

In this area of Virginia where I have moved, there are a lot of Mennonites, and there are several different kinds, just like the Baptists and the Presbyterians, and other denominations.  When I got home, I googled "Old Order Mennonites" and found a very interesting article that was published a few years ago in a Virginia magazine.  I think you would find it interesting too.  You can read it here.

It's a Small World, After All

It's a small world, after all.  No, I haven't been to Disney, but I'll bet you'll be humming that song all day.  I've been in Virginia for two weeks now.  When I arrived, it was very, very cold...at least very cold for this Floridian.  Snow was on the ground, and there was more to follow.  Temperatures hovered around zero for a couple of nights, but two weeks later, spring is definitely in the air.  Right now at 11:30, it's 62 with a high expected of 72 today.  It isn't going to stay quite that way all week, but it's getting there.  Crocuses are popping up .around the city  I understand they are the first flowers of spring.  At least, they are the first I have seen.

My daughter, Sarah, has been helping me get settled in by unpacking boxes and moving some things to the basement that I won't be using for a while.  She has broken down boxes to make them easier to take to the recycling center.  I hope I can find someone who might need them before I take them.  David has been a great help too.  He did all the legwork in my buying this house.  In fact, he found it for me.  It is a perfect fit.  I really like being on one level, but this means I have to do more exercising since I don't have stairs to contend with.

I was at a dinner the other night at David's church, and I sat at a table with a couple who have ties with Haiti.  As we were talking, the gentleman said that his wife's parents had been missionaries in Trinidad, so I asked him if they knew one of the missionaries who had been with the board I was with.  It turns out that the ladies were best friends.

This morning I had occasion to go to the post office, and when the clerk saw the package I was mailing, she said, "Oh, I used to live there."   She graduated from Riverview High School in Sarasota, was in the band, and later lived in Bradenton.

There is another couple here in Waynesboro whose daughter graduated from BCS with my son.  I found out about that when I mentioned Waynesboro to a friend at home before I moved.  He said, "Oh, I'm going to be going there for a family reunion next summer.  My brother and his wife moved there to be near the grandkids."

So, it is a small world, isn't it.

Spring is on its way

The snow has melted.  At least the snow that had accumulated on lawns.  There are still piles of snow in parking lots, and it will probably be there a while.  The photos in this post are from years past.  Looking at them has made me want to get my camera out and start taking photos.  Nothing is budding yet, but it will come!

 In my old age, I'm experiencing some things I haven't before.  Someone asked me in church yesterday how long it had been since I had seen snow, or if I had ever seen it.  When I lived in Cincinnati back in the late 60's, there was some snow, although it wasn't the norm.  I've been here in Virginia a few times in the last few years when there has been some, but I haven't lived here during the winter.

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 I did have a frosty welcome.  Friends in Florida had asked me if I was sure I wanted to come when I did.  My response was "If winter come, can spring be far behind."  In Florida one of the signs of spring is spring training for baseball, and I must say I am enjoying the posts on Facebook that show the Pirates and the Rays getting ready for opening day

 I am quickly becoming a fan of UVA sports.  The basketball team has been ranked #2 for most of the season, having lost only 2 games.  It will be fun to see what they do in the post-season.  The baseball team does well too...if they can just get the football team up there, we'll be all set.

 

 Back to the snow...the other evening I made the mistake of getting a caramel mocha about 9 o'clock and found myself awake most of the night.  As I was lying in bed, the light was so bright outside, and as I looked out, I was in awe of the light of the full moon on the snow.  That was a first, and one that I hope I will see again, just not this year.  In the morning when I got up and looked out, I saw the hoof prints of deer in the snow, some large and some small...perhaps a mother and her fawn.

David said, "Mom, you might see some on your street at night. Be careful when you're driving home."  Sure enough, last evening when I came near my house, there was a large deer in the middle of the street, and when I turned to go into the driveway, I saw a small one run toward the back of the house.

Now back to unpacking....stay tuned.

Changes

Over the last year, I pondered making a move to Virginia to be near my children.  All my life, except for college years and ten years after that, were spent in Florida.  I'm one of those rare Florida natives that one runs into occasionally, and I've always been very proud of that fact.  I love looking at sites, like Old Florida on Facebo*k and seeing photos of cracker houses and sugar cane mills that remind me so much of my grandparents' home in north Florida.

Whenever I'm out with friends, I invariably run into someone I've known, either from high school, from church, from work, from Sweet Adelines.  I've always loved that...that feeling of familiarity with everything around me.

Well, at my ripe old age, I've moved from Florida to Virginia, to the Shenandoah Valley, to new surroundings, where I will find I have to find my new normal.  I've been coming to Virginia for the last eight years, spending lots of time here with my granddaughter and my son.  Five years ago, my daughter moved here so that she could be closer to Ella and David.  The only time she would see Ella was when they might come to Florida, and she said to me, "Mom, I want to see Ella grow up." So she moved.

So I've moved.  They are the only family I have.  I've bought a home here, and I am in the middle of boxes being unpacked and things put away.  I'm waiting for the delivery of bedroom furniture tomorrow...hopefully, but it is supposed to snow, so I don't imagine it will make it tomorrow.  It will be over a week before I get internet and TV, so I'm spending time during the day at David's using his internet.   It's amazing how unnecessary TV becomes when you don't have it.

I hope to blog more.  I'm looking forward to a trip out west in May, and then I hope to get really settled in and get to know this area more.

So...while they're singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in Florida, folks here are singing "Let it Snow" or, maybe I should say, "Snow, Snow, Go Away.  Come again another day."

I Can See Clearly Now

A few weeks ago, I posted on Facebook, asking friends to tell me their experience with cataract surgery and which doctor had done their surgery and the results.  I got many responses and recommendations

This photo has nothing whatsoever to do with this post.  I just like it.

In 1999, I had a hemorrhage in my right eye which took my central vision.  Most of you will recognize it as "wet macular degeneration."  That was quite a blow to me, but I carried on.  It was obvious that I could still see well with my left eye and had good peripheral vision in the right eye.  Doctors did tell me that when I developed cataracts, they would be very hesitant to do surgery on them, for fear of something going wrong.  Listening to the folks who posted on Facebook, there were some who did experience difficulties.

I had consulted with a doctor about six months ago, asking about cataract surgery, and he assured me that if I had the surgery, I should not expect great results because of my problems.  I drove to Virginia in August, and when I got on the road, I realized I was not seeing nearly as well as I should.  When I got home, I began pursuing surgery.

To make a long story short, I had both eyes done.  The doctor assured me that in my good eye, where the cataract had really taken over, he could bring the vision back to 98% of what it should be.  I had that eye done first, and, oh my, the difference the next day was just incredible.  I had heard people talk about the brightness of colors.  They were right.  I found myself just looking and looking and soaking in the wonderful colors and sharpness of vision.  My right eye was done the next week, and while the central vision was not improved, the peripheral vision is good.

I just read a post on Facebook from Humans of New York.  He interviewed a young woman who is losing her eyesight due to retinosa pigmentosa.  That is a condition where the peripheral vision narrows until the vision is totally diminished.  She said that she is looking at everything...the clouds, the sky, the green grass, knowing that one day she will not be seeing them at all.

That's a bit how I feel.  I'm loving every day of seeing well.  And if the day comes, or when the day comes that my vision is diminished because of dry macular degeneration, I will have had this gift for this time.

Don and I used to sing a song in church that had the words "Heav'n above is softer blue, earth below is sweeter green."  It's true.

And I guess the moral of the story is...if you are 50 or over, have a thorough eye exam by an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist.  An optometrist is great for prescribing glasses and should be able to catch problems, but they don't always.  Mine didn't.  I am thankful, however, for the technology and knowledge that is available today at our disposal!

Past Halloweens with Ella

Looking back through my files, I decided to post some photos of Ella in past Hallowe'ens.  She was just three months old when her first Hallowe'en came around.

 By the time the next year came, she was ready for trick or treating, pretty little flower.

 Then along came Little Red Riding Hood, her basket all ready to receive treats.

By the time she was three, her love for elephants began to develop.  Here she was a Heffalump.  I'm waiting to see what she will be this year.

Along the Way

I've recently returned from a trip to Virginia.  One of the pluses of driving is being able to stop along the way to visit friends.  On my way home this time, I went by Raleigh and visited with Mr. and Mrs. Kenju, from Just Ask Judy.  this is the fourth or fifth time that we have gotten together for lunch and lots of talk.  This time was no different.  Mr. and Mrs. Kenju just celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary yesterday, so that occupied some of our conversation.

After I left their house, I drove to a friend's house to visit and spend the night.  It's always a delight to stop there. Even though she lives close to the interstate, when I am at her house, I feel like I am in the country.  As I drove to her house, I saw fields of tobacco growing.  It really is a beautiful crop.  The leaves are full and green, with blossoms at the top.  On either side of her house were fields of soybeans.

Her home is the house that she grew up in.  Her parents have been gone for some time now, and she has remodeled the house to her fancy.  Her dad's old barn is still there, as well as his old pick-up truck.  Beside the house is the old tobacco barn that was used in years past.

One of my favorite things, besides visiting with my friend, is her cat, Fred.  Fred came to live with her after she retired from her main job.  They are quite the pair, and I love petting her.  Fred is being pestered by a mockingbird who has made it his object to pester the life out of her.  

After a good dinner, sitting out on her new patio and a good night's rest, I was on my way home to Florida the next day.  Because I travel a road where there are not a lot of good places to stay, I stop in Kingsland, Georgia for the night instead of driving all the way home.  The last two times I've stopped there, the desk clerks have said to me, "You have stayed here before, haven't you."  I like that.

By the time I got home, I really wasn't all that tired.  I hadn't driven a whole lot any one day, and traffic was light on the interstate coming home this time.  That was a good thing.