Reflections & Selections...

I went to my blog to write something along the lines of the past, the present & the future, & I found this post I began last year. I never finished it & it has never been posted...till now! I figure, better late than never & as I read it, it sounded pretty cool so I thought I'd share it with you!! You could always skip to the part of this year if you choose to do so, but then you wouldn't have some of the information that leads into this past year.

So.....here is last years would have been post....

These 1st few weeks of the new year I reflect upon where I've been, where do I want to be, what have I accomplished, what do I want to accomplish next & where I am going to explore on my next adventure. It's a total revaluation process of my life.
The past 2 years I have traveled extensively, experienced many things, spent precious time with family & friends and made a few new friends along the way.

In 2009, I went to Seattle, Washington, and I met a man I have admired for a long time, Art Wolfe. Not only do I admire his work, but the way he lives his life. One of my best friends and I were welcomed into Art's home and even though he was busy with a function that was about to happen there, he took time with us & graciously shared his personal space with us. (Probably thought we were crazy in the end, but...(!), it was nice to know he is as down to earth as I thought he would be.

We traveled down the coast from there to San Francisco. We went to Mount Rainer and drove in total whiteout conditions, seen Rossevelt Elk and seals, meandered through the Redwood Forest and then onto The Golden Gate Bridge. If you ever get the chance to drive the west coast, it's a highly recommended trip.

Last year in April I volunteered in South Africa at Ukutula, A white lion conservation reserve. It was one of the best experiences of my life! I took care of white and brown lions, tigers and cheetahs and learned alot about them and the research that they do there. I bottle fed them, bathed them, drug dead cows for them & taught children about them.

I've been to Monroe, Virginia several times on a family members farm, Galeton, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of July, the Pocono's and most recently, Haiti.

Being in a third world country gives you an entirely new perspective on life and how we live it here.

I believe it should be mandatory for a teenager to graduate highschool that they must spend time in a third world country, of their choice, raise the money to go there themselves and accomplish something productive while there, for 2 weeks. They would come back here with a new attitude and appreciation of everything they have instead of the entitlement they believe they deserve. It could turn them into who they really are meant to be sooner than later!

We brought in the New Year here with some wonderful family and friends, good eats and some really great laughs! We had a bonfire out back and let off sky / wish lanterns at midnight. It was magical!

My birthday was spent at my daughters house with the entire family and an awesome dinner. There's not a better way I could have spent it. I've also been blessed with many wonderful friends that have taken me to lunch. I usually drag my birthday on for at least a week if not longer! On another note, I'm 48 all over again as I had thought & told people I was, for, well I guess, about the entire last year!

We are officially planning our next big adventure to Australia & New Zealand in October this year! I met a friend, Richard, while in Africa this past April whom lives in Australia & we will be meeting up with him somewhere along our travels. I look forward to meeting the rest of his family as well. All new wildlife, landscapes and experiences await us!

Today I spent with a friend whom I have admired for 15 years now, Ann Burns. I met Ann when I volunteered for the blind in response to an ad in the newspaper. I new it was going to be a great match as soon as I met her and we have shared many wonderful moments together. Ann has been an amazing influence in my life. She is a strong, independent, smart & loving woman!

We had lunch at Ram's Head in a room to ourselves & sat at a table by a hugh picture window. It snowed all day & before we knew it, over 4 hours had passed while we talked the day away. Although we don't see each other often, we always pick up wherever we left off like we've never missed a beat.

Currently, I'm booking new art shows for the upcoming year & I will keep you posted as the dates are finalized.

I've recently began a class through Rutgers University held at the ACUA on environmental steward training. I love it & there's only been 1 class so far! We will touch base on many environmental issues, learn leadership skills in helping to make changes happen through the proper government channels, go on field trips to places I would love to have access to & I'll learn lots of scientific information that I'll use to benefit the environment beginning in my own back yard! The Patcong Creek that I live on is a major watershed in our area. Very exciting stuff!!!

This is where you would skip to if you wanted to jump ahead to this years post!

Funny where a year can take you. This past year had been filled with many challenges, surprises, & changes of plans that no one could have ever anticipated, but I guess that how life goes.

March has to be the most challenging month I've had in a long time. Within 1 week, Billy had got into an accident with my son, Steven's truck, I found out my son had a 4 month old daughter that same night & 4 days later Billy fell off the roof next door & broke his back in 3 places. This was the day before I was supposed to get on a plane to Texas for a nature photography conference & 2 days before Billy was to finally go back to work from being out since January.

Okay, 1 story at a time. Billy was fine from the accident as was the truck, well it was drivable & only suffered minor damage. He was pulling a trailer with logs on it for the mill that were 10 feet in length & approximately 3 feet wide. The poor guy who hit him never had a chance. He was okay, but his car was totaled.

That night, I found out about my newest granddaughter, Lily Rose. She's beautiful, healthy & had her 1st birthday November 4th! Yes, quite the surprise!

On Sunday, there was a storm coming & Billy had wanted to cover the roof on the house next door because the rubber roofing had blown off. He mistakenly stepped on the rubber roofing with wet feet & fell 25 feet, to his feet, on the ground, then fell over. My brother was visiting from Tennessee, was standing there & thought he died. He then got up, came in the house & said to me he was going to take a shower & that he had just fell off the roof. MEN. Billy argued with me for the next 4 hours about going to the hospital till I called his cousin in Virginia. She gave me the words to say to him that I couldn't seem to come up with on my own at that moment. I told him, after refusing to walk on his back, that he had a choice....do you want to go quietly with me to the hospital or do I have to call the ambulance & you'll have to deal with them. He decided to come with me. We found out about the 1st break in the hospital, the 2nd within the week that followed & the 3rd, 3 months later. The next 5 months were long, but we got through it. I just thank God that he was still alive & not paralyzed for life. Billy is doing great now & is back to work on the steel. Yes, alot of jokes came out of his dilemma from some of his iron worker friends!

During this time, alot of issues came up that we had to deal with & so we found some cool solutions in handling them.

While drinking some of our "wineshine", (our homemade wine) on our deck with some of our good friends, the garden came up. Billy usually does the tilling for me & that wasn't going to happen this year. I asked our friends if they were interested in having a community garden & they replied yes! The garden was the best garden we ever had! There were 4 families involved & we grew food for many more! We canned, froze, dried & ate out of the garden all summer long! It was all organic, whimsical, & productive & I began it all from seed in my greenhouse. There were children involved & it was wonderful for them to see where their food comes from! With global warming happening, we now can grow vegetables into December.

We never made it to Australia or New Zealand. It just wasn't in the cards for this year. I did, however, make it to the Artic to photograph polar bears. (refer to older blog posts) It was an awesome adventure! I now want to go back in the summer for summer bears & the beluga whales. I had made some new friends there & had been asked to teach a beginner photography course. Something I am seriously considering.
The 2 day train ride is the tough part!

I've had an alright year with sales, considering how much I was actually able to work with taking care of Billy & how bad the economy is. All in all though, I can't complain. There's food on my table & my bills are paid.

I finished my environmental steward class in June. I learned more than I ever thought I would! I met some incredible people & I am now working on a book on Patcong Creek as a result on of it. The book is coming along, but not as fast as I thought it would. I now understand writers block.(!) It's also a little overwhelming at times, but, I'll be finishing it in the next couple of months. It won't be a hugh book, but it will be very informative. A new class begins in January & most classes are held at the local ACUA. If you're interested, contact Bruce Barbour, (098)975-6505, or barbour@rce.rutgers.edu

The holidays were great, considering I was down the entire week before Christmas. It puts things into perspective as to what really is important. But, I've had a year of that! I'm still struggling with a bad back, yes, my turn I guess! I've been seeing Dr. Harvey Haslet, a chiropractor in Galloway Township, (609)748-1444. He's really great at what he does & has worked miracles on me!

It's not New Year's yet & I already have a jump on next years tasks! Not sure about my next adventure, but sometimes not planning every moment is the best plan of all.

I Love my life & am very grateful for all that I am, all that I've yet to be & all that I come from because that is what makes me who I am today. #49 is in a couple of weeks & I don't mind a bit. I love getting older because I am. Every year is one more year I have conquered & I can't say there is much I would ever change as I try very hard to not live with shoulda, woulda, couldas. For this is not a rehearsal...make it all count. Life can change in a heartbeat forever more. Love every minute of it. Tell the ones you love that you love them & never resist a moment to enjoy them. We never know when they will move on to their next life.

As always, much Peace, Love & Happiness, stay well, Love & let yourself Be Loved. Oh, & don't beat yourself up!
Till next time....