It has been some time since I have last shared a post. We have had lots of changes in our life since my last submission in August of 2019.
It was as our daughter was moving into her new home, that Papa and I received the news of my brother's being air lifted to the ICU and his subsequent admission there. Sadly, four days later he succumbed to his life long illness and was finally at peace. As I said goodbye to him that Sunday night, I knew then that it would be the last time I would ever see him. He was on full life support and his prognosis was not good. My sister and her husband sat with him until his final breath. Life is so fragile and we get so caught up in our busy-ness that we take for granted that our loved ones will always be there. Sadly, this is not so.
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| The beautiful African Violet my dear friend Joyce gave me after my brother's passing. It is thriving. I keep it at my kitchen sink window. It reminds me of him whenever I look at it. It also reminds me of how dear and fragile life is and how important it is to maintain your most intimate relationships. |
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| My Brother was a whiz with the Rubik's Cube. He could solve the puzzle in under 2 minutes. |
It was during this same time, that we were still waiting for Papa's back surgery. At this point, it was 2 years since his diagnosis and he was no closer to getting any relief. It was painful for me to watch this strong, independent man, so quickly aging, right before my very eyes. His pain was so intense that he would break out in a sweat, simply just standing at the counter.
Finally, on January 20th, he was able to have the decompression and fusion that he so very desperately needed. Within hours of his return from the recovery room, my husband was able to stand up tall and take his first pain free steps in over 3 years. He regained over 2" in height as he stood for the first time. I wept tears of joy for him.
It has been 9 weeks now since his life changing surgery and he continues to get stronger every day. He still has a few struggles, but in the big picture, they are nothing to complain about. We are back to walking again - something he hasn't been able to do in over 3 years - and we are doing up to 5 km per outing. He hadn't stepped foot inside a grocery store in over a year and now looks forward to accompanying me whenever I need to go shop. We both feel that he has been given his life back again.
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| Papa and Wilbur joined me for a walk just a few weeks after his life changing surgery. From our home to the postal box and back again is 3.2 km |
Living the lifestyle we do, we don't make a daily outing anyways - unless it is to work in the yard, shovel the snow or do chores! And since Papa hasn't been able to work since February of 2019, we have gotten very much used to being home. I keep a running list of what I think I need and unless it is absolutely necessary to go to town - to pick up a parcel or drop off eggs - we have been known to skip a week anyways. And now, with this pandemic, nothing is that important that we are willing to risk our health for. Having contracted a virus in 2016 myself and struggling with it for a full year, I am simply not willing to take a chance. To this day, four years later, I still haven't recovered to my former state of health. It is sad to hear many aren't taking this pandemic seriously. Hopefully they or their loved ones don't contract it and have to live with the consequences of their choices.
Charles Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, . . . Although this story was written long ago and on a different premise, it is pretty safe to say that we are currently undergoing perhaps something similar – as far as the words go. As we try to navigate our way through Social Isolation we can be angry, fearful and resentful. Or, perhaps, we can use this time to reflect, discover, rest and bloom.
The world has become a fast paced society these past 50 or so years. We are more mobile, more connected, more affluent than perhaps any other time in history. And yet, so many don’t truly live, but just float through the paces on a daily basis. The “yuppies” of the 1980’s and 90’s taught us to multi task and corporate ladder climb. They shopped and accumulated and set the tone for the next generations. Has society become any happier? Not really.
Sometimes you just have to sit back and look at the bigger picture. Your Joy doesn’t come from things, but from within. If you believe that you are happy, then you are. If you believe you are sad, overwhelmed, angry, then you will be. The best gift we can give someone is our time and our love. Since we cannot do this in person right now, write a letter, call a friend, send an email or a text, use social media to video call a loved one. We may need to physically socially distance ourselves right now, but it doesn’t mean we need to isolate entirely as we self-isolate.
What have we been doing at No Regrets Ranch? Papa has been painting his new wooden yard art. He installed a bunch of them today along the fence line.
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| Papa's wooden yard art from his Christmas display this year These have been replaced with a spring set |
He also just opened up our little greenhouse again for the season. He has started hundreds of plants already. Many have already been moved out to his workshop to make room for more new starts in the house. By the time garden season begins, it is not uncommon for him to have started 1200-1500 seedlings – many from our own gathered and saved seeds from the previous year. His yard, garden and greenhouse bring him so much joy.
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| Some of Papa's plant starts |
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| Tomato plants waiting for the greenhouse |
As for myself, I have been doing some “pieceful therapy” in my studio. In times of grief, I turn to my quilting and needle arts to give me peace. When two dear friends passed away 15 years ago within months of each other, I became a quilting machine. I made dozens of quilts that were donated to a palliative care unit, in their memories. This time, these “pieceful therapy” quilts will go to the ICU in the hospital where my brother spent his final days. As I stitch, I reflect. This brings me closure and peace. I will never hear his giggle again, but perhaps my work can bring comfort to someone else who is also losing a loved one.
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| My latest Pieceful Therapy Quilt made in memory of my brother, who passed away last September |
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| The label I include with each memorial quilt |
What is my point? Bloom where you are planted. Find peace and joy within your situation. It may not be an ideal time to be without your job, your routine or whatever else you are missing, but use this time to rediscover your true self. Reconnect with a lost friend. Start a project you have always wanted to do. Take a walk, read that book, write that letter, make that call. Bloom.
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| A magnet on my fridge to remind me daily of what is important in life |
I made these delicious Stuffed Green Peppers yesterday because I wanted something different for lunch rather than the usual homemade soup I usually serve. They made a nice change. Since we only ate two halves yesterday, we reheated the other two today and they were just as good today.
Gremlynn’s Stuffed Green Peppers
2 Green peppers, washed, stems removed, cut in half and seeded, to make 4 boats. Set these into a greased 9x9 baking dish, to be stuffed with the following made up filling.
1 cup of cooked of either white Or brown rice – your choice
½ cup shredded cheddar or cheese of choice
1 cup chopped tomatoes – stewed or fresh
6-8 ounces of ground beef – omit if vegetarian version
½ a diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste (I use about ½ tsp of each)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Cook rice as per directions on box or bag. Set aside. Doesn’t need to cool.
- Meanwhile, scramble fry ground beef (if using), onion and garlic. Season with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Once meat scramble and rice are thoroughly cooked, combine and add the stewed or freshly chopped tomatoes. Stir until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture among the 4 prepared green pepper boats already in the baking dish
- Top with shredded cheese
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes until green peppers are tender. We prefer ours slightly firmer. Bake longer or cover if you prefer your peppers softer.
- Serve hot with a side salad. Makes 4 lunch servings or 2 dinner servings
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| The Finished Product - Hot from the Oven and ready to serve - sitting on one of the Wine Cork Trivets that Papa made for me this winter. |
Wishing you peace and joy,
Gremlynn
