Well in China

Beth called this morn!! It just took her a while to get the phone/internet hooked up in her apartment. It was such a treat to get a call from her!

She was pleasantly surprised with her new place (which is on campus & she expected to be dorm like) - it's got a living room & kitchenette, bedroom & private bath. She's made a couple trips out to the grocery store - which she said was wild - so many strange new things. It's very pedestrian friendly there - very few cars, but folks on bicycles everywhere.

A little worry

We've not heard from Beth yet & so the family is apprehensive. It's been almost 72 hours now since her flight was scheduled to land. Did she make it there okay? Has she been detained? Has she been quarantined? It's hard to be on the waiting end - wondering where our sweet little soul is.

Beth in China

I've been thinking of my younger sister Beth these last few days. On Wednesday morn she began her journey to China. First a short flight to Toronto & then a 14 hour flight to Beijing. She arrived at 4am (our time) on Thursday. They are 12 hours ahead & so it was 4pm Thursday afternoon there when she touched down.

She's got a teaching position at a university there for the next 10 months & most likely will not come back home during that time. So it was tough leaving Wildwood this last time & saying bye to Beth for such a long time. We are still waiting to hear word from her - on her arrival & what her new apartment looks like - maybe later today...

Dog days

Dog days of summer here & my potted plants are thriving on lots of rain & sun. Inparticular, my newly acquired (for my bday in March) Staghorn fern - it's at least doubled in size since I brought it home.

I killed two while living in Athens so I'm pretty stoked it's doing well here. Not that I'm doing much differently with it - this just happens to be the perfect climate for these epiphytic plants. Much like orchids they attach themselves to trees & really don't need much in the way of dirt to survive.

When I see this:

I think of cooler nights, outside parties with a fire, wood smoke, dark beers, football, & Athens.

Bow season opens in matter of weeks. And for us that means fresh venison. It's our main animal protein source = wild, fresh, & local. And better yet, it's processed completely in house (I have to put props to Joe here - as I'm usually only involved when it comes time to wrap & tape). Since we buy almost no 'grocery store meat' - it's a time to stockpile for the coming year. By our calculations (and judging from our very empty freezer), this year we need 8-10 deer to see us thru.

Pondering deep ecology and our role in the food chain

On that note, I'm off to check my venison roast. Family pics tomorrow, so tune in!!

Redfish

Swimming this morning - dinner tonight.

Wednesday night

I'm having some camera/computer issues - as in they're not speaking to each other, and therefore, at present cannot extract the 200 some odd pics of the recent weeks that are being held hostage on my camera - so all that to say sorry, yet another boring text post

I'm trying to be more diligent in posting

We had a spectacular thunderstorm here late this afternoon, that gave way to a lovely gentle rain that is continuing even now - 6 hours later - my plants smile & soak it up

Packing continues in the slow meticulous way I love to do it. What I really love to do during this process is get rid of stuff. My Goodwill pile is growing steadily. We moved here to Savannah a year ago - anything I run across that we haven't used in this past year is getting the axe.

I'm thinking of my youngest sister Sarah tonight - she is leaving home for the very first time tomorrow. Sarah will begin a RN program at Gordon College in Barnesville, Ga. Mom & Beth will be helping her move into her dorm room tomorrow. My Mother will soon have an empty nest - for the first time in 31 years!

I'm off to sew. A little project I'm just wrapping up...

9 years today!

It's our anniversary today! Easy to remember which year we're on too - since we were married in 2000. Dinner out & then over to the rec fields to let Levi run out his last bit of energy before bed. :)

August anew

It's been a long while since I've been here - Or online at all for that matter.

Joe, Levi, & I went to St. Augustine, Florida for a few days with the Burnam's - then Levi & I turned around and made the long trip home to Wildwood, Georgia. All said & done I've been away for most of the last two weeks.

I've returned to a home that's in motion. Our lease is up here at midnight 16Sep, and we've decided to take the window of opportunity & change the scenery. And so the packing has begun. As well as the deep cleaning a 'For Rent' sign in your yard demands.