With all of the excitement now going on I thought I would add a little of my own.  This is Ozzy, he is 8 years old and a dachshund. He joined me on Dec. 2, 2019.  After losing Jane Doe in October to cancer I didn't think I would get another dog for a while.  Anna, through a friend, found Ozzy and as you can see my respite between babies did not last long. 

I need to unpack.

I am back home and resting in my own bed.  Visiting my friend was nice, indeed, but I am always glad to be back in my own home.
 I pack too much when I travel and end up bringing home more than I arrived with.   There is a pile of bags, suitcases and filled storage baskets parked in my hall waiting to be put away. All for a two week visit to where I already have clothes and necessities. Go figure....I swear  to travel light next time. 

Saw one of these today!

What a nice suprise it was to spot a Pileated woodpecker today.  He was pecking away clinging rather low on the side of a dead tree.  I tried to get close enough to take a clear picture but I wasn't able to.   I was kicking myself in the butt for not having my camera or my binoculars with me.  So far, since I've been here, I've seen a red tail hawk, on the ground (!), a great blue heron, white ibis and sitting, pretty as you please, on a cedar fence post, a puffed up female Eastern blue bird.  I am not a fan of the eastern part of North or South Carolina, the Low Country as it is called here, but I do like the chance to see the different forms of life, plant and animal. 

Visiting Walterboro, SC

I am in Walterboro, S.C., visiting a friend, Mel.  She will drive from Walterboro to Winston Salem, N.C., to pick me up and haul me back to her place.  I'd say that is a real show of friendship.  It is about a 4 1/2 hour drive, one way!  I don't think I'm worth it but she seems to think otherwise.  I usually stay about 2 weeks at a time.  That's just long enough for me to get pretty homesick.  She allows Jane Doe to come and to stay with me, which is a real sacrifice for her.  Her 3 dogs are outside dogs and very rarely step inside.  Jane stays in the bedroom with me and ventures around the house when I do.  Mostly we lie around just like we do at home.  Mel still works so we have the run of the place most of the day.  When Mel comes home in the evenings she takes me out to dinner and to run whatever errands need to be taken care of. 

I don't have an up to date picture of us..I'll have to get one to blog so you can see how well we've aged!  This one is, gosh, about 10 years old.  We've been friends since we met in 6th grade'  We lost touch after high school.  By chance, we worked in the same hospital laboratory for a while when we were in our late 20's.  Then life got busy and we moved to different cities.  We didn't keep in touch for some years while our families were growing, but then we picked back up and it was like we had never been apart.  It is nice to have a friend you share a long history with and can really be yourself around.  

Birthday Wishes for My First Born......

 Born February 9, 1969                                                           

   

 My first born baby will be celebrating his, gulp, 48th birthday in February. His daughter will be making him a grandfather in May.  ( I know he will love being a grandfather and he will make a good one. )   How surreal this all seems to me.  When the kids were little and time was filled with the responsibilities of wife and mother it seemed time was dragging by and that there certainly was an unlimited amount of it stretched out before me.  I thought the old folks that said,  " Enjoy your kids now because they grow up fast. " were nuts, pure and simple. I could not imagine something I had never felt or seen.  I had not lived long enough to look back on the majority of my life nor had I seen enough of life to start contemplating my end.  I am at that point now though.  My children stopped physically needing me long ago and have long since become emotionally independent.  They became, in spite of me, and I hope somewhat because of me,  strong, good, loving and productive people.  I know the vast majority of their goodness and success is because of their own mental, emotional and spiritual strength though. It is a true blessing when your children grow to be better and stronger than you are.  

                                                    Happy Birthday, Son! I love you. 
                                               You are a fine man.  I am proud of you.