myself.  There is probably a carton of milk in your fridge with my picture on it.  Yes, I have been lost in cyberspace for many weeks now, and it’s time to get back into the world of blogging.  I have missed it.

If you’re a Facebook friend, you already know most of my life.  Here is the Reader’s Digest condensed version of the last 4 1/2 months of my life for everyone else.

We returned  from Texas mid-March.

Two days later my mom had a stroke.  She spent four weeks in rehab a 35-minute drive from our home.  I went to see her nearly every day.

It was determined she shouldn’t live alone any more.  I stayed with her in her apartment for two weeks, while we looked for an appropriate assisted living facility and started packing.

Packed about 25% of her belongings and moved her close to our home…only 7-8 minutes away.

Three weeks later she had serious respiratory issues, resulting in two ER visits, intensive care, then an elderly ward — all within a week.

She lived with us her last seven days under the Hospice program (wonderful, caring people).

Planned and arranged for her funeral.

Cleaned out two apartments with much family help.

As executor, worked on seemingly endless financial matters/paperwork/phone calls.

Fun trip to Huntsville, Alabama, for a quilting retreat with my Aunt Bert and 11 other lovely quilters from Memphis and Huntsville.  I bet you were starting to think I would NEVER have any fun!

Finally caught up on my own doc appointments, only to have them find a rare phyllodes breast tumor (found on the mammogram).  Benign, but these buggers are treated very conservatively, removed with wide margins.  Healing.

Trip to North Dakota for the Hubster’s class reunion.  Fun, but too many hours riding in the car.

Home, facing half a very hot garage full of my mom’s belongings.

Tired.  I just realized this tonight, but I am probably just now having time and space to allow for some grieving/mourning.  I am tired doing nothing.  I am two+ weeks post-surgery, so I should be getting some energy back soon.

I am giving myself six weeks to deal with everything in the garage.  My house needs major shoveling cleaning.  I need to sew.  I need to knit.  I need to play on my Gammill.  I haven’t taken any pictures of birds or bugs all summer long.  I feel like I’ve lost *me* a little bit, but I will get it back.  This blog post is the first step, and tomorrow I will find a bug to photograph (such lofty goals…).

Thank you, Jordan Cousin Judy S., for the call tonight.  You helped get me back on track.

–Sue

p.s.:  Thank you for checking on my blog or following me on Google Reader (or similar service).  I am amazed I have any followers/readers left, and I appreciate every one of you!  I did get some sewing done at the retreat in Alabama, and will share pix soon.

Last Friday, June 1st, my mom, Velma Jean, passed away.  A very sad time, but at the same time we’re all so glad she’s free of the pain and suffering.

So we’re in funeral prep mode now, with the funeral on Thursday.  I’m searching through mom and dad’s old photos, looking for fun pictures to share on posters.  I always enjoy looking at old pictures, and getting to see the various times and people in the departed person’s life is always interesting, I think.  This is my favorite picture of my mom.  I think she was probably 18 or 19, as she’s not wearing a wedding ring and she was almost 20 when my parents married.

There are problems with the picture.  There’s a crease in the lower right-hand corner, white flecks on her chin, and brown spots across her face and on the right side of the photo.  They almost look like fingerprints broken down into dots.  Darn it, I wish I would have learned how to use Photo Shop!

So last night, I dug into some tutorials on line.  My third tutorial I tried was the charm, and I did get some clean-up done on the photo.  (Kerry, I so almost sent you the picture with a plea for help!)  The somewhat fixed picture:

When I have time to experiment more, I’ll have to take another stab at cleaning up this picture.  I know I can do a better job, but I am pleased with this as a first try.

Sue

P.S.:  CLICK HERE for the tutorial that was simple and straightforward enough to work for me.

Believe it or not, there are people who read this blog regularly, and I sometimes get phone calls or emails when I haven’t posted for a while.

If you don’t know, my mom has had a series of serious health setbacks over the past 10 weeks or so.  She is a tough woman and has been fighting her way back from each medical event.  Until this week.  The latest series has been respiratory and heart issues.

Very long story, short:  Mom is staying with Jim and me under the hospice program.  We are doing our best to keep her comfortable.  It’s so nice to have her in a home setting rather than the urgent care / emergency room / intensive care / rehab / hospital rooms that she’s inhabited this past 10 weeks.

Don’t view this as a sad post.  Mom’s ready to meet her maker and requested (repeatedly!) that she go to hospice and not be subjected to more testing/treatment/rehab, and Jim and I feel privileged to be caring for Mom during her final days or weeks.  So I guess I’m saying that I’ll be busy for a while doing something entirely different, but I’ll be back.

–Sue