It has been so long since I have posted, I feel I am a tiny speck on a distant planet calling out to all my long lost blogging friends.
So much has happened since I last checked in.
Eldest daughter has remarried and moved to the country with the granddaughters. They are having so much fun raising chickens, of which I am the proud recipient of dozens of fresh eggs.
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| Hubby has lost his job. Although we have had some sleepless nights fraught with hard decisions to be made, we have been very blessed. He has been at his new job for one week now. |
We had thought we would have to sell our home and make some major lifestyle changes, but his time of being unemployed was short. It has been good to take a hard look at our expenditures and cut unnecessary spending and fine-tune our budget. It is amazing how careless we can become with our finances when we are lulled into a sense of security and ease.
I have to interrupt myself here to talk about my Lady Banks rose. These pictures were taken just a few days after a huge storm had dumped over 3 inches of rain and pelted everything with hail. Although the blossoms are a bit beaten-up, I wanted to show you the symbiotic relationship between Lady Banks and the Redbud tree it has intertwined. The tree has thrived more than the other two Redbuds I have, and it taller and fuller than they are. It looks less bedraggled at Summer's end, and is always the first to bud out in Spring.
We have had several good rains, and although they have not lifted the water restriction caused by the severe drought, I have heard some cautiously optimistic predictions that the drought may ease this year. Fingers crossed! I am hopeful that we will not have the high temperatures of the last two summers again this year.
I am threatening to move to Alaska if we do! How nice it would be to live in the cool north during the summer and live the rest of the year in Austin.
I don't think I could leave this area for good. Just the thought of having to relocate during Hubby's job search was giving me panic attacks! The thought of leaving the grandbabies was more than I could bear.
Libby would die if she knew I was calling her a "grandbaby"! She turned 15 in February, and has shot up several inches taller than me this year, gotten her braces off, and turned into a beauty (she said with grandmotherly pride).
Charley has gotten glasses, and entered middle school. Loudon is busy with soccer and bug collecting, while Gibby is busy exploring everything he can touch.
Bocephus is still my gardening buddy and bird watcher--well, he does like to chase the starlings and squirrels. Go Bo, go!
While Tucker and Kiefer guard me while I am "computing". They give each other baths and doze or watch the birds and squirrels while I am working.
I hope that you all are well, and I look forward to catching up on all that has happened in your lives while I have been away in my self-imposed exile!
20 comments:
Oh Jenny!! What a lovely surprise, welcome back!! :-)
You have had an eventful time! I am so glad things are at last settling down for you and your family. I know only too well how unsettling it is when there is redundancy to deal with. It happened to my husband twice in the past!! Thankfully, in time things sort themselves out.
I enjoyed all your photos and reading updates on your grandchildren and old friends such as Lady Banks :-) and of course dear Bochephus.
It's good to hear from you, and good to hear you and your garden are not only surviving, but thriving.
Dear Jan,
Yes, the job situation is always tenuous at best. Any sense of security one has seems to be false in this day and age. This is the 3rd time in our marriage that it has happened to Hubby. It is such an emotional time. He had survived 3 buy-outs with the last company he was with. I'm afraid we had gotten to think he would never be touched by new owners cleaning house. His job was always so vital to the business keeping going. We are just praying this new job will last until retirement--but one never really knows what is in store!
I am looking forward to visiting your blog and learning all that has been going on in your world. Thank you for being such a good friend and checking on me, Jan.
Hugs,
Jenny
I'm so glad you're back, Jenny! It sounds as though you have been through some unsettling times, but I'm glad to know that everything is looking better now. My son was laid off from his job some time ago, so I know how difficult it can be to find employment today, that is, something that pays enough to feed the family! I'm happy to hear that your husband found something else, and that the two of you have turned this into an opportunity for change instead. Even your daughter leaving with the grandbabies must have been hard at first, but I'm sure you're very happy for them.
Good to see Bocephus doing well, too, as well as the rest of your fur family:) Spring has arrived early this year in the Midwest and has been keeping me busy. I'm glad to hear you've gotten some much-needed rain--'Lady Banks' appears to be doing well.
It's always good to hear from friends across the universe again!
So glad to see you back. Also glad to hear that your husband has a new job. It is good to take stock of how we handle our finances, as we do become too complacent thinking things will always go along as they have been. We've had to do some cutting back too, and we appreciate everything so much more.
I love your Lady Banks rose. I've seen them in magazines and books. It's amazing how huge they get. Do they just bloom once a year and do they have a scent?
Wishing you and your family well.
FlowerLady
Dear Rose,
So good to hear from you. Yes, you are quite right. All the changes have been tough, but I think the changes have been hardest on the granddaughters. They look to us to be the constant in their lives, and when we were talking of selling our home, it was almost more than they could bear.
Our fur-babies have been a source of comfort during these rocky times, and I don't know what we would have done without them!
Lady Banks is quite well, and covered in blooms unlike last year when she had very few. She is huge, and needs a good haircut, but I can never find a time when I can give her one. She can only be cut back right after blooming, and she is such a haven for all the nesting birds then, that I let her go. We even have cardinals nesting in her!
Dear Flower Lady,
I always feel that something good comes from every experience. This has not been an exception, and like you, feel so grateful for what we have.
I will try to get a closeup of Lady Banks cluster of flowers. They are so artfully arranged. They do not have any fragrance, nor thorns, and only bloom once in the spring. It is never bothered by fungus or disease that usually plague roses, but grow to such a huge size, they have been known to engulf abandoned cars and houses!
Caroline, thanks. It's good to hear from you too. I am relieved and surprised to see what has come back this spring. Guess we are made of tough stuff. ;-)
Hi Jen,
Welcome back! So nice to hear from you. I don't blog as much any more - just don't want to be at the computer all the time, especially now that winter has passed.
You certainly have had your share of ups and downs! I can only imagine how panic stricken you must have felt to think about leaving your grand babies. And don't they grow up fast? 15 and a young lady. My eldest granddaughter is 15 also. Wow!
Love your pics. The garden looks scrumptious and your furry friends happy. I hope you have a good summer too. We had such an amazingly mild winter this year and a week of summer in March. Incredible! Now, we're back to winter, but it's bound to warm up again soon.
Hugs
Hope blogger didn't eat my last comment. It disappeared!
Dear Wendy,
It is so good to hear from you. I am so glad that you are busy and able to get out more now that the weather is warming up.
Stay in touch, Wendy. I love hearing how you are doing.
Hugs,
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
I was pleased to hear from you. I didn't take you off of my blogroll, just in case you posted again. I hadn't noticed, though, because I don't get it checked every day. Thanks for stopping by!
I'm sorry about your husband's job loss, and am glad he found a different job. The grandkids sure grow up fast!
When it rains it pours huh? Glad all is going better for you and your family. I, too, don't want drought or super hot this summer. Someday I will have a huge L.Banks. I will love her, and she will love me (thornless-ly)
I can't believe I haven't checked for news from Round Rock since March! It was good to hear from you and catch up. Best wishes and hugs from Marie.
I can't believe I haven't checked for news from Round Rock since March! It was good to hear from you and catch up. Best wishes and hugs from Marie.
I can't believe I haven't checked for news from Round Rock since March! It was good to hear from you and catch up. Best wishes and hugs from Marie.
Welcome back. So glad things have settled down and you can turn your attention back to the garden and blogging. We haven't forgotten you!
Very nice pictures. I like this post.
Hi Jen - just wanted to know if you are okay. It's been ages and ages. What's going on in your life?
Wendy, so good to hear from you, and know I have not been forgotten. Life has been crazy dealing with health issues and going back to work. There seems to be no time for blogging. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds, and we have been blessed immeasurably. How are you and yours?
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