SEPTEMBER UPDATE

I have had several emails

asking why I haven't been posting

and wondering if everything is okay.

So, here I am-saying Hi!

I am going to fill you in.

Since April of 2019 

we have been on a journey

to find out why MyHero 

is having medical issues.

Many of you have asked

after his health.

I didn't want to say anything

because he was still a chaplain

at a local hospital.

As of today, he resigned.

He has endured numerous tests

these past few months.

Here's the good news!

Heart is perfect,

Bloodwork is perfect,

MRI of his head shows nothing

well there are some brains in there

Just had a chest x-ray and that looks okay.

Bad news?

We are back at square one with

2 more tests scheduled.

So-keep him in your prayers.

Meanwhile,

We have been camping on a site

in Door County, WI

with the Minnie Winnie.

Guess what?!

We are selling it!

Are we giving up camping?

Nope!

We are going glamping!

We bought a 5th wheel that is

set up on a permanent site

in the same park we have been in.

We met the previous owners today.

What lovely, lovely people.

They would have been great

camping neighbors.

But, they are in their 80s 

and felt it was time to do something else.

LUCKY US!

I can't wait to show it to you!

Here it is!

Okay- I might have lied about that!

Anyway--that 

WOULD BE FUN THOUGH

wouldn't it?

Fall is quite beautiful up here!

Okay-it's NOT REALLY my own

campground! (you nitpickers)

And-I am still in the process of

waiting for things to get done

here at the condo.

John's health issues have taken

priority so I don't go far from home.

No shopping-No treasures. lol

To be done:

Rug for dining room(one on order)

new lights in upper bathroom,

New faucets in upper bathroom.

Paint cabinets in upper bathroom.

Get window treatments up throughout.

Glass for tile shower enclosure-

using a shower curtain is driving me 

And, believe me, I haven't far to go.

Oh yes- also need-

smoke alarms (really?!)

fan in master bathroom,

too many little things to mention.

We moved in the week that 

COVID 19 shut everything down!

How lucky can I get?

I have had the opportunity to

sort through a lot of stuff.

Somehow, I have managed to keep my

SENSE OF HUMOR--

or maybe I am just crazy in general.

Shut up family!

So that is the 

Tale of Nana Diana.

I will be back with a 

PICK A FALL TABLE 

soon!

Headed up to the campground

right now and I have 

NO INTERNET UP THERE

so will catch up on Monday night.

LIFE & LINDA'S (Fairy Blog Mother) MOM HAS PASSED AWAY

I guess there is no easy way

to say that someone has

passed away, is there?

Most of you in Blogland know 

Linda-Life & Linda

(also known as My Fairy Blog Mother).

She is such a giving person and has

helped so many over the years

solve blog issues.

Many of you know that 

Linda's mom lived with her

for quite a while.

She decided a couple of years ago

to move several hours away

and live closer to her son.

This is the only picture I could

find of her on Linda's blog.

Beautiful lady, wasn't she?

Sadly, her health was already compromised

and she declined in these last 

few weeks/months

after her move.

Linda contacted me yesterday to 

let me know that her

Mom had passed away.

Please send up a prayer for

Linda & her family.

If you are not a 'pray-er',

please send well wishes and

healing thoughts her way.

Thank you.

I will be around again soon to

do a wrap up on the 

Pick Your Favorite August Wedding table.

Thanks to each and every one of you

that visit here.  

You are all special to me!

OFF ON AN RV ADVETUTRE

PACKING UP

AND

HEADING OUT

While I love the seclusion and privacy

of the area where we are located,

I really miss the connection to 

INTERNET

and having 

VERY LIMITED CELL PHONE 

service.

Hope everyone has a

Wonderful Weekend.

Will check in with all of you

next week!

OUR ANGEL ANNA BELLA WOULD BE 15 TODAY-

Today our sweet 

AnnaBella

would be

15 years old.

WHERE have the years gone?

We held her for moments

in our arms but she is

forever in our heart.

She is sister to these
three special little girls

.

Hold every child/grandchild

tightly because you never

know how long they will

be yours -they are just

in the world

on loan.

~Blessings~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLDEST SON-MR. T

I don't often mention

my oldest son, Mr. T,

on my blog.

However~

I am going to do it today.

Last year, he thought we all

FORGOT his birthday

because there was a surprise planned

for him for another day

and we kind of avoided acknowledging

his actual birthday.

Anyway, I want him to know 

I did not forget,

and will not forget it ever!!

Mr.T does NOT like a 

fuss made over him.

He runs from the camera like I do.

However, his wife, Lisa,  is pretty good at

MAKING HIM

have his picture taken.

His only flaw is that he has an

extra set of eyes on his forehead

which he often keeps covered with sunglasses.

oh~he is gonna get me for that

I tease him about it all the time.

To show that is NOT TRUE here is a

picture of him with his wife, Lisa.

Pretty handsome, huh?

Please wish him a happy birthday.

His life has undergone some major changes

in the past few of years.

I am proud of the man he has become

and, even more importantly,

I am proud to call him my son.

Happy Birthday, Tyler-

Love you to the moon and back!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HERO

There are lots of birthdays

and lots of days to celebrate

in July for our family.

However----

Today is 

My Hero's Birthday!

Yep!

I let him live another year!

TODAY he hits the 

BIG 70!!!

Dat be soooo old

This was taken a few years ago

before cancer exacted its toll.

Today he is dealing with some health issues

and we are seeking answers for them.

So far, they have ruled out

just about everything.

He has two more specialists to see

and we are hoping they will have some

answers for us.

That is the reason I have been 

scarce in Blogland.

Just know that

I do miss all of you!!!!

ANYWAY-------

Happy Birthday, My Hero-

I love you

like 99% of the time-

the rest of the time?

Well, we just won't talk about that

now, will we?

Wait till he sees the 

SURPRISE I have in

store him!

-yeah-baby-

It's COOL-

That's a hint....

It may or may not be this....

We are in a place this weekend

where we have very

LIMITED PHONE SERVICE

and 

NO INTERNET

so bear with me 

as I try to answer any comments

or make visits.

Have a wonderful weekend 

AND

Stay Safe!

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY -SWEET ETHAN!

Eleven years ago today

after a long, arduous labor

this sweet boy was born

into our family.

He has been such a blessing to us.

He is smart, sweet, silly

and has a tender heart.

We won't be with him today

to celebrate-

but we hope to see him soon!

Happy Birthday, Ethan.

Nana & Papa love you!
Wasn't he a cutie?

Today he looks more like this-

My Little Irishman!

We might even have sent a present

for you, Big E!

MAYBE it is 

markers you can share with your sister!

In case she runs out!

Have a great day, Ethan!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY IN HEAVEN-Charles DeVerne Wilcox

My father was born and raised on

a farm in Pennsylvania.

He was a medic in WWI~

YES! WWI~

He taught Agriculture/English Lit at

Penn State for a few years.

He was an insurance salesman

with his brother, Guy, for

a few years..

but finally,

he went back to what

he knew and loved~

dairy farming.

He bought a farm 3 miles

from the one he was raised on

and moved an old schoolhouse to

the property and made it into

his home.

Then he met my mother.

He was well-settled into bachelorhood

when he met my mother.

She was 16 years younger

and I think he felt pretty

lucky to have snagged her.

She had never had children

either and was 36 when

I was born~

Unusual for that era.

My father was 53 when I

was born and I was his

first child.

Can you imagine what he

must have felt like to

be blessed with a child

at that age?

Well, SOME people didn't think

I was a blessing..but I won't mention

their names here.

I was the apple of my

father's eye.

He took me everyplace....

to the livestock market,

to the little juke joint down

the road from the market,

where he would buy me

an orange soda,

to the feed mill,

to the doctor,

to ride along and

check out the fields

and crops.

When I was 10 or 11

I remember a series of

trips he took.  I was left

with my Aunt next door

and he and my mother

would disappear for a few hours.

And then a few more trips,

and voices at my Aunt's house

that would stop when I would

walk into the kitchen..

I would see

 my Aunt's reddened eyes,

and the odd look on my mother's face,

but I still didn't know what was

going on.

At that age, you think life is

just going to go along as

it always has...

easy~ with long days ahead to

enjoy being a child.

Soon after that my brother

and I (who was born 4 years

after I was) learned that

father had

Parkinson's Disease.

A disease that would

eventually rob him of his

strength and his mobility

but never his spirit.

He told jokes until

the day he died.

I was one of those kids

that never said what I really

felt.  I cannot tell  you the

opportunities I missed to

tell him I loved him.

Oh- he knew-

but I never said it.

I actually don't ever

remember telling him that...

even though I loved him to the

core of my very being...

and I knew that he loved me

and accepted me

UNCONDITIONALLY.

That doesn't happen often in life..

that we are loved

unconditionally.

I was 21 and living in FL

when he passed away.

It was eerie, I was

working in an office and

my phone rang.

Nothing unusual about that ,

my phone was the main line

in to my boss and it rang

nonstop.

I was sitting in an office across

from a guy named Jack.

Before I picked the phone up

I looked at Jack and said,

My father just died.

I KNEW..Somehow..I KNEW.

That was exactly what

I was told, by my mother,

over her crackly phone line.

I hung up and Jack was

as white as a ghost.

How did you know that? he asked.

I just knew~ I answered.

It's been a long 50 years.

My father never saw any of his

grandchildren except my oldest son.

He missed out on the joy of

seeing me grown and happy.

He missed my brother's life story

and his children.

I missed the opportunity

to say

I LOVE YOU..

So...here it is...

a little late.

I LOVE YOU, DAD~

Never, never miss the opportunity

to tell someone

that you love them.

(Providing you DO love them,

of course!;>)

I do it everyday,

every chance I get,

because you just never know~

life, as you know it,

can change in an instant.

Just say it...

Say I LOVE YOU to

someone you love.

You'll be glad you did.

I promise!

CONDO GARDEN BEFORE AND AFTER

I finally figured out how to

get my pictures from my phone

to my laptop.

Chalk one up for 

'old broad genius'...or not....

Anyway,

There were no gardens at

the condo although there were

two mulched areas.

So, I started with a blank slate

but had to dig everything up.

This is to the right of the front entry

as you head up the walk. 

This is the outer area.

This is a close up of the corner area.

The baskets on the bike need to

fill and spill yet.

This is the front door which

has been replaced. 

The old door was solid and had no window.

This is to the left of the walk.

This is the small back area off the patio.

We have hundreds of birds that visit~

View looking the other way.

The fence boxes are just starting to 

fill in nicely.

And this is what I see

sitting on the patio swing.

At the outer edge of the back garden.

The patio is not ready to show yet.

The concrete needs to be power-washed

and I need to get things rearranged a bit.

There is also an inner courtyard

in the front that is not ready yet either.

More coming soon.

I'm working as fast as I can!

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

Bear with me for not being around

as much as I usually am-

there are some family health issues

which I am not at liberty to discuss yet.

Keep us in your prayers or

send good and/or healing thoughts

our way.

Thanks so much-

Love you guys-you're the best!

MY SURPRISE---SHORT AND SWEET-

I told you that I had a 

WONDERFUL SURPRISE

sitting outside my door.

Here it is!

Stock picture

but at least you can see it

and at the bottom of the post

is a picture of ME in it!

I have wanted a VW 

convertible beetle for years.

Not just ANY VW though.

Nope!  I was specific in my desire.

I wanted a white convertible

with a tan top and

tan leather interior,

turbo engine and

all the bells and whistles.

Of course- that is the hardest one

to find...of course it is!

Now, I know there are a lot more

expensive cars I could have wished for,

but this one has stuck in my mind

since I rode around with my old roommate,

Dona, Bless her heavenly soul,

in her VW bug.

I retired from the business 

my son and I started,

KOS Realty Group

the first of February. 

My son, Ryan, had this delivered

to my door early last week.

A "see ya, Mom' sort of good-bye. lol

I am beyond thrilled, blessed,

grateful, surprised, overwhelmed..

name anything and that is how 

I am feeling.

Yep!  Dreams-even crazy ones-

do come true.

I hope all your dreams come true

and that you all stay safe and well

to enjoy them.

See you soon with some pictures

of the condo.

Finishing up the outside areas

today (I hope)...,

MEMORIAL DAY-2020

It is the strangest

Memorial Day

that I can ever remember--

but

the message remains the same.

Blessings to you and your family.

Stay safe and

err on the side of caution

by distancing when you can.

Love to all my followers,

fellow bloggers and readers~