Glad to Be Back!

Hello my friends ~ I'm so sorry for the long absence.  It's been a difficult four months, but I've always been a "the glass is half full" person, and always pretty sure someone is going to be right over to top off my glass!

We're in the midst of construction to build a new studio for my husband, and a garage to replace the carriage house lost in the fire.   Ulysses has made a marvelous recovery from his burns.  I'm still working on the inventory for everything we lost in the fire - much to my husband's consternation!  Memories of items stored in the carriage house pop into my mind at the oddest moments - "oh....., the pet carriers!"  I get a lot of questions from friends about how I'm going to prove that we really did have those items stored in the carriage house....  Fortunately, we live in a small community, 30+ years now, and our insurance agent knows us well, so there is a huge trust factor at work.  I do research on line and come up with a mid-priced item as close as possible to what we lost.  Everything is recorded on a thumb drive.  I do have 6 friends who will sign a deposition stating that indeed there were 8 large tubs of  yarn, and 6 large tubs of vintage Japanese kimonos, etc., etc., if required.  Having helped me pack and move it all, they are superb witnesses if we need them.  Two weeks ago I had a truly exciting moment when a box that had been stored elsewhere revealed the three antique Navajo rugs I inherited from my great-aunt Verna.  I was positive they had been in the carriage house and lost.  What a wonderful surprise!

I had a right & left heart catheterization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_catheterization)  6 weeks ago ~ arg!  While it wasn't screaming painful, I kept thinking of movies where aliens do strange things to humans.  Why do aliens always want to torture humans???  I've been out of breath doing the simplest things around the house, dizzy, and very tired over the past year.  I learned I have diastolic dysfunction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diastolic_heart_failure), which combined with the atrial fibrillation I have makes quite the combination.  Those two are not good travel companions!  I'm still trying to process the information - seems sort of unreal.  There's no treatment for diastolic dysfunction, so the best I can do is to be diligent with a prescribed exercise program and learn to live with it.  And of course, slapping on some lipstick helps almost anything!

I'm slowly getting back to my normal routine and my plans are to follow up later this week with some photos.  It was disappointing, to say the least, to be off to such a grand start with this blog and then have such a crash and burn experience
Stay well, count your blessings, and don't lose your lip gloss!

Blessings  ~   Angela!

P.S. I haven't forgotten about things that need to be mailed out!