Back in business!

After not working for many months, my blog is back up and running--thanks to my friend Susan (the friend I wrote about the last time I blogged last fall) Since then, we came to Arizona (Surprise, to be exact) in October and spent a couple of nights sleeping in the camper on the street in front of the house since the house was empty except for a couch we bought from the previous owners and a huge Lazy-Boy recliner they left here that is as comfortable as it is ugly.  We also had a pile of stuff we started to collect last Spring after buying the house, including my bed, recliner and a table for the breakfast nook. We set up the table with our camping chairs and put my furniture together in the guest room using the super comfortable mattress from the camper. Mom and Dad brought their sleep number bed from Denver and set it up in their room so we all had places to sleep while we started the process of  getting the rest of the furniture we needed for the house. Little by little we found family room and living and dining room furniture, area rugs and more comfortable chairs  to go with the kitchen table. Mom and I began a Tuesday morning routine of going to the two Goodwill stores closest to us for senior day and came home each week with decorative stuff like wooden bowls and pottery pieces  as well as wastebaskets for the bedrooms and bathrooms. Dad came up with a plan for the backyard and worked with a landscaper to remove rocks and cactus and create more usable space with a larger patio and synthetic "lawn" We also  made decisions about how to redo the bathroom in the casita, making it more usable for me so I could move out of the guest  room and into the casita. The cabinet and counter and fixtures were in great shape and match everything in the main house, so the biggest job was to remove the tub and replace it with a walk-in shower. 

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Mom and Dad and Maddie drove back to Denver in early December and I flew back a week before Christmas. It was the first time I'd flown by myself since my stroke and it went smoothly after I made it through the hassle of security. We celebrated Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary with a beautiful dinner party at my sister's home and spent Christmas morning at their house as well. The three of us drove back to Phoenix together the day after Christmas and I was able to move into the casita  in January.  The casita is really one big room with a bathroom and small walk-in closet though we do have neighbors who have added small kitchenettes to the space. Since we usually eat as a family, it makes sense for me to use the kitchen in the main house and it's only about 10-15 steps from my front door to the big house. I do spend quite a bit of time in the casita since I have a television and it's so comfortable.Maddie is not allowed on the furniture in the main house, so she is pretty happy to be with me since my bed is her bed too and she's always welcome on it. When it's hot, she really prefers the floor since we have tile everywhere that feels cool on her tummy!

 

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I went back to my church (Open Door Fellowship) as soon as we arrived in October, but didn't start women's Bible study until January when the new semester began. We did Nancy Guthrie's book, The Son of David: Seeing Jesus in the Historical Books and it was very good. If you love the Old Testament, I highly recommend the series. (The books are easily done out of order and the material would work well on your own or with a group!)I've done a few of the other books in the series--one in Denver with Mom at the church I went to with Mom and Dad and one here in Arizona last winter This summer, I am part of a group studying Hebrews together and writing curriculum for this next year from September-April. The group is filled with a bunch of great women and the study has been really good.

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In January, I started volunteering at the Surprise library in the bookstore in the lobby that's run by a nonprofit group called Friends of the Surprise Library. The group receives donations of books, magazines and movies and sells them to support the library and local education. I volunteer on Friday and Sunday afternoons each week and love meeting people coming in and out of the library. As I tell people, I'm indoors on a hot day, surrounded by books and other people who love books, so it's really a pretty terrific gig! One of the super cool things the group does is offer grants to teachers and also invites local teachers to come and shop for their classrooms for free. School started here a couple of weeks ago and we had lots of teachers come shop for their new classrooms, thrilled to gather books and magazines for their students. 

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Mom and Dad and Maddie went back to Denver in early May and came back to Arizona in late June. I flew back to Denver in late May for a week of medical appointments. Mom and Dad stayed here until the end of July and got to experience a bit of Phoenix summer. I am enjoying living here on my own until they come back again in October for the winter. (I do have plans to be in Denver for a quick trip the week of Labor Day--it will be time for another round of Botox injections with my neurologist and I have a filling that needs to be replaced at the dentist.)

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This update got a bit long, so thanks for sticking with me;  I am going to get ready for bed and call it a day! 

As I always mention, I am most active a daily basis on Facebook if you'd like to follow or friend me there... It's great to reconnect with you here again after such a long and unintended break! I hope to check back in again here before too long!

With love,

Joanne

Comments

[Michelle]

Oh my gosh I was so excited to see you are posting again. I have thought of you so often. I don't have a Facebook account so wasn't able to keep up with what you were doing.

I am so glad you are doing so well!

[Deborah]

I couldn't see an option on Facebook for sending a friend request, I'm "following" but don't see anything recent posted.
So thankful to see this update.
Deborah in Canada

[Dona Haggerty]

So good to see you back at it and to read your catch-up! I look forward to reading lots more! 😍

[Kim Feth]

Yippee! I love your updates! I'm so glad you've got some independence and rhythm in your life - those are so important. Thanks for catching us up - I'll keep checking back for more updates!

[Cathy]

Welcome back!!
So glad you're doing well!

[Barbara]

So glad you are well. You have been missed! 😊