Blanketed

 

Time to Write

 

Possibly,... The Orchard Walk II

    "The frozen prairies thawed with the warm sun turning puddles into small glimpses of glass, the only assurance that the world would soon not look so dirty. This was to be the first spring rain. God had a way of cleaning up the grey of winter. Since moving to this faraway land life had been one uncomfortable change after another. All the idyllic ideas of a peaceful life in the country had been soundly thrashed by crime, violence, and a string of tragic events that were hard to explain in earthly terms.

    The words of a preacher rang in her ears as she thought about the loss of lives. Every loss was a change for someone, and not just small changes but very big changes indeed.

    Although no priest of white collar, confessions came anyway, to Simmy.

    The basic lesson seemed to be... anything we take from someone else, when maybe we shouldn't, causes loss to another. A illicit affair, sudden death, and then children would go through life without a father. To take what belongs to another, especially in relationship, is no small thing... especially not to God. Of this, Simmy was quite sure.

    Undoubtedly, the need to forgive touches every life."

    

Gardening

 

My sweet pea tree produced the most flowers this summer... I called it a tree because it grew into that shape.

The old with the new... 

Spending Time

 

Writing, 

quilting,

gardening,

building a wooden outdoor shelter,

contemplating renovations,

interior,

kitchen, bathroom,

wondering who might visit this year.

Here we are

 Well, it's been about a year since this trip. Neither of us had been across the seas before... it took courage, prodding, and gobs of money. The best advice I can give is to determine, in advance, where the money should come from... and, of course, pay before you go. This will ease all the tensions of travel to pave the way for pure enjoyment.

What I would change for the future...

Be a bit more prepared to spend for sightseeing admission fees. If you've never been to a country you've long been awaiting a tour of... as the two of us in the photo,

 ...budget for these possibilities. 

We've had a year to talk about what we would have wanted to see if we would have had more time there. It's a long way to travel, from here to there, so plan well.

I chose a difficult photo to guess the location we went to...

where do you think this is? 

New Everything

 ... almost. 

Truly, I was not imagining I would be doing more renovations. What have I learned about renovating? Do not invest in property without a reliable partner. 

Here's why. Unreliable partners steal. An unreliable partner will take your money, your time, your energies, your good will, your human spirit, your hope... and, if yet it could happen, a partner like this will try to take your faith as well.

Don't let that happen to you... it happened to me. Unresolved, I'm still waiting for remuneration... lots of work I did... I should get paid for it. I have receipts, of course, but I have not taken legal action... yet.

I don't enjoy fighting.

So, now my partner and I are legal and binding and there should be no more problems in the future. The room, pictured above, is a basic renovation I did... enjoying good nights' sleep now. 

Quilts

 

Many items still for sale... quilts, made by El, myself, representing the story 'The Orchard Walk by El Dueck,' a novel I wrote.