Moving & My Mamaw’s Table

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blessings, family, generations, grandparents, memories, moving, table

The table once owned by my beloved great-grandmother hasn’t been in my possession for almost 7 years. My darling and I moved from the old farmhouse, with dedicated formal dining room space, into our cabin, which barely had a bump-out for an eat-in kitchen table.

Today We Plan for Tomorrow

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family, friends, house, moving, planning, saving

Today we meet with the contractor who will design our new home. Not to be confused with the new home we just moved into.

No, this will be our forever home. This home, to be built on 20 acres we already own, is the reason we chose to downsize, to leave our beautiful cabin by a creek.

February Highlights

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books, camp fradd, family, february, fiction, moving, my darling love, reading, Valentine’s Day

Once again its time to review the month and share the things which stood out most for me. February has flown by, but I’m pretty sure that’s just a combination of stress and old age. Between the doctors’ follow-up visits for Jay and the pressure of the impending move, my hair stylist is going to earn her pay coloring my hair at the end of the month.

Romance – Camp Fradd Style

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1000gifts, adventures, beer, blessings, family, gratitude, holiday, local flavor, marriage, movies, my darling love, sickness, story, tavern, Valentine’s Day, wife-of-the-year

Valentine’s Day was low-key at Camp Fradd this year. We’re in the process of a move, in addition to the medical issues we’ve faced this year.

Me: What do you want for Valentine’s Day this year?

Jay: To just take you out to dinner, and you to be happy with nothing more.

Me: Throw in a giant card and you’ve got a deal.

Life 2020: In Sickness

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family, free-writing, health, illness, life, marriage, my darling love, pain, sickness, treatment, wife-of-the-year

LIFE – This was the one-word prompt provided for the Five Minute Friday link-up a couple of weeks ago. LIFE got in the way and prevented me from turning in my homework on time. But our LIFE has been a bit crazy these past 6 weeks, and I wanted a chance to unload my brain a bit.

The dominos fell slowly. Camp Fradd came down with the flu just after Christmas. Jay got sick on Friday, by Sunday he had given it to me. For Jay, pneumonia followed closely behind.

Only God Knows

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family, running, scripture

Despite never being one for exercise, my Papaw Delmer has always been on the move. He grew up on a family farm in Appalachia, walking the hills as he completed his chores. Farming helped feed his family.

When Papaw hit retirement age, he stopped working at the factory and found more time to spend working with his cattle and garden. He never set out to exercise, yet still logged miles and miles walking the hills of our East Tennessee home.

January – Four Somethings

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books, family, illness, january

January has been a tough year, but we made it!
Just kidding, but seriously.

At the end of each month, Heather Gerwing hosts the Share Four Somethings link-up. While January felt heavy and smelled strongly of Lysol, I wanted to challenge myself to do a monthly recap. By writing about something I loved, read, treasured, and something ahead, I can remember this month for more than just “Camp Fradd got the flu – and then some.”

After all, I turn 40 this year. I’m determined to squeeze every bit of happiness I can out of 2020.

Direction – Looking Back to Move Forward

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2019 lists, adventures, bullet journal, concerts, family, hiking, journaling, my darling love, project, scotland, storytelling, west highland way, writing

In reviewing 2019 and looking forward to 2020 (the year of my 40th birthday!), I’ve considered what direction I want to take my writing. Seasonal fatigue mixed with stress about moving to a new house (if just up the street), has left me with not much energy to devote to writing. Then I got the flu, which I’m still recovering from.

Gratitude, Revisited

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blessings, family, gratitude, holiday

I’ve kept a gratitude journal for several years now. Originally, I took Ann Voskamp’s challenge from her book 1,000 Gifts, never dreaming I could reach that number. I reached that goal in 2013 and decided to just keep going.

Here’s to October

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books, concerts, fun, halloween, holiday, learning, monthiversaries, my darling love, reading

The leaves are finally starting to turn here in my corner of the Smoky Mountains. As we wrap up the month of October, I wanted to share a few of my favorites this month.