Outside with my dogs

Hello my friends - I'm still alive and kicking, only not as high as I used to - more like dragging, but we are hanging in there. We is me, my dogs Weezie and Teddy. This morning we went to Roquemore Memorial Park and afterward visited Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Weezie at Roquemore Memorial Park

Teddy at Roquemore Memorial Park

Teddy enjoying the Park

Weezie (left) and Teddy on a bench at the Park. Teddy's getting bored with photo sessions!

We left at 7:30 and returned by 9:30 and it still wasn't quite 80 degrees. If tomorrow is the same as this morning was, then we're out there again - come August, we're done with summer. Couped up and cranky knowing we still have another three months of heat before it starts to cool down. I saw Halloween candy in the store today, can you believe that? Anyway, here are a few photos from this morning. Please enjoy and forgive me for not being here much anymore. I'm always on Facebook and I simply can't handle both, my blog and the Facebook. Please, come and see me there! I'd love to hear from you! Take care and I'll try to check in more often than just once a year.

Weezie walking on the boardwalk at Banks Lake Nat'l. Wildlife Refuge

Weezie at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Teddy Bear at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Teddy (left) and Weezie at Roquemore Memorial Park

Teddy (left) and Weezie at Banks Lake

Weezie at Banks Lake (she lost one of her eyes to a severe ulcer last year in February, the same day my father died)

Teddy enjoying the view at Banks Lake

Honeybee on Waterlily at Banks Lake

Swamp Cypress and Waterlilies in Banks Lake

Swamp Cypress (or Bald Cypress) growing in Banks Lake  

 Thank you for reading this and I will try to visit you soon. I'm in the process of crocheting for Christmas and fall fundraisers plus will be spending a lot more time outside as soon as it cools down (which won't be for a while yet) and once I get on the computer, it takes me hours before I get back off... so often I don't even turn it on so that I can get things done ;-) I'm sure some of can relate.

Again, it's nice to visit again and I wish you all a wonderful day and a great week ahead!

Bittersweet Memories

Hello my friends and Happy New Year! Another year gone by - Christmas is over and we're off to make plans to make this year better (I hope!). I've started Weight Watchers (again) only this time I'm going to the meetings because doing it by myself just on line did not pan out for me last time. I failed miserably. Obviously, I need the support meetings give you. My next meeting is on Tuesday morning, so we'll see how well I did. I gained a bunch of weight over the holdiays and my blood pressure was over the roof and that really scared me so that I can no longer afford not to go to Weight Watchers. I know it works because every time I stick with it, I lose the weight ... I love this plan better than anything else because you are not restricted and can have anything you want. I don't have to buy supplements or special foods unless I want to and it's ok to use with any foods that you like, be it vegetarian, low carb, even the Paleo diet. You can do it all with the help of Weight Watchers. It's just a matter of being reasonable and accountable. I'm an impulse eater and often over eat, so now I'm mindful of what I put in my mouth and it seems to work because as a bread addict, I have not eaten any bread (except a few whole weat tortillas to make some wraps) I do not miss it. It's all a matter of establishing good habits. I suppose only time will tell because I'm in it for the long haul.

I hope you all survived the holidays relatively unscarred and made some good memories. Mine were quiet and somewhat melancholy. I had some health issues (as usual) but for the most part, I'm ok. I look healthy, so if I ever drop dead unexpectedly, people will say: "oh, my gosh! I just saw her the other day and she looked so healthy!" well, that's me... I rarely look sick unless I'm dying or under general anesthesia ;-) Must be all the water I drink and the veggies I eat, they give me a healthy glow. I'm lucky to love fruits and veggies, that makes losing weight easier. My problem is carbs and portion size, but I'm getting that under control.

As you know, I live on Facebook now and if you ever want to visit, just type in Doris Sturm (in Lakeland, GA) in case there are other Doris Sturms and even my dogs have pages. My Weezie Mae and Mr. Ted E. Barker (aka Teddy Ruffhausen).... and I still keep Gizzy's page up ... I miss him so much and it's been two hears since he died.

Another reason I hardly blog is that every time I come here, I remember my boy and all the wonderful times we've shared... this blog isn't about crocheting at all (as it turns out) but a memorial to my Gizzy and it just hurts me so much to remember those times of us together - even though I should be over it by now, especially since I have two other fur babies to love. But, so be it!

Again, I'm on Facebook, but will try to check in from time to time. I can barely keep up with my friends on Facebook, so blogging on top of it would eat up all my days... I'm trying really hard to get away from computing so much. I enjoy it, but it really takes up most of my time if I'm not careful.

Oh, by the way, I'm in a new apartment. They refurbished/redid all our units, so I'm living in another location, but same complex. I love it. We have a much bigger kitchen now and a dishwasher (my new best friend) I love cooking and baking because clean up is so easy now. They also provided all of us with a Whirlpool energy efficent front loading washer and dryer, so I sold my Kenmore set and they're working on making us a community carden. We each get a 4' X 4' bed to grow what we want ... a lot of people won't want to gaden, so who ever wants that space, can have it. Also, our Social Hall has a computer room with three computers with internet access and a small gym with two recumbent bikes and a thread mill...so I'm pretty happy about that :-)

Tomorrow is Holy Three Kings day, or the Epiphany, so that's when I'm taking down all my Christmas stuff, so here's a photo of my little 4' tree and some decorations. I made it look cozy for myself and the dogs. I had no company, but got lots of cards and a few packages in the mail, including a new digital camera from a friend in Singapore. My Fujifulm Finepix finally broke and the cell phone photos just did not cut the mustard (so-to-speak) All in all I feel blessed and wish you all a happy and healthy 2014!

 Weezie Mae, the sweetest and calmest dog in the world.

Teddy Bear (aka Ted E. Barker, Teddy Ruffhausen, The Tedinator, Teddy Kreuger, etc)

Teddy loves the squeaky doggy toys I crochet and here he is chewing on a drumstick I made for him.

A collage of my apartment with the decorations.

Weezie wearing her pink hoodie she got from a friend in a Christmas gift exchange.

Teddy wearing his hoodie he got from a friend in a Christmas gift exchange.

Hello there ... it's been a long time!

Hi everyone! Some of you may remember me, but I've been gone for almost a year. Been busy mostly with my health and find Facebook more efficient for me to handle.

Without going too much into the boring details, I survived a six-months anti viral treatment and have been Hep C free for several months. My six-months check up will be in a couple of weeks and I hope for good results.

During that time I was anemic and so weak that I could no longer keep up with Romeow and had to find him a new home. I still miss him, but I know he's happy. I periodically hear from my friend and he says that Romeow is a happy boy and that he is very well loved.

I did however adopt another Peke from Facebook. Teddy is from Alabama and he came to me in December. On the day I picked him up, I ended up in the ER for another surgery and my neighbor took care of Weezie and Teddy for the three weeks over Christmas and New Years while I was hospitalized.

I'm feeling better now, but I know I'll never be well again since I suffer from chronic infection (I was on a PICC line for 8 weeks) and was seen by an Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in exchanging hip implants. His office is in Atlanta at the Emory University Hospital. I was going to go to the Mayo Clinic because of the complicated procedure of the process, but they were not accepting any new patients at the time. My metal implants are leaching Chromium and Cobalt in my blood and that is poisionous and can cause all sorts of serious health problems, but that's another story.

Right now I just want to introduce you to Teddy, who is about 4 years old and a riot. He's a silly boy and loves to play with his squeaky toys and enjoys his food more than any dog I've ever had. He wants to try everything I eat and even enjoys some fruits and veggies. Weezie is basically a meat and potato gal, but she loves cheese.

I'm so glad I have my energy back so we have been walking around the lake every morning, except today is raining again - our third day of rain in a row. Teddy's not happy and he makes sure I'm not either ;-) I may try taking them and bring my rain coat. The dogs need a bath anyway. They don't exactly love each other, but learned to accept each other and more or less pass each other like two ships in the night. Weezie is slowly coming around and it may take a while, but at least we have no confrontations. Teddy is not pushy with her and considers her moods and follows her lead, so all is well, but he does torment me sometimes, simply because I let him. I'm afraid I have spoiled him rotten, but I call it: customized to my needs.

Teddy

  

Teddy at Lake Irma

Teddy and Weezie on my rollater/walker when I pushed them home

Weezie (l) and Teddy having a conversation

Us

Weezie in back and Teddy up front

A collage of my three dogs, past and present in the same kiddie swing at Roquemore Park (and a dragonfly that I photographed.) Gizzy is top left and Teddy beside him and below is Weezie.

My pretty Weezie girl

Our new neigh-bors!

Looking pretty in her new summer cut (from last Spring)

Recent photo of me (from last week)

Last but not least, my Gizzy boy in heaven, whom I still miss very, very much!

Have a nice weekend everyone! I'll try to write more and share more photos, even if it's just with my cell phone camera because my digital broke and I don't know when I can get a new one. Take care and stay healthy!

Strawberry Fields Forever!

Every year I look forward to strawberry season, so "Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever." (Remember?) I don't think I ever fully appreciated the songs of the Beatles until I got older because it wasn't till then when I started to pay attention to the lyrics. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me. Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever." Southern Grace Farms operates this strawberry field every year from the beginning of April till the end of May. People can come and pick their own berries or purchase them ready picked by the gallon or flat. As soon as you drive up, you can smell the strawberries. What a lovely scent! Here's Gizzy peeking out of the passenger window where the car is parked at the entrance. You can see rows upon rows of strawberry plants and in the very back are some people picking strawberries. (It helps to double click on the photo to enlarge it.) I don't know why I felt compelled to look down to take a picture of this lonely little strawberry that fell to the ground - never to be eaten (poor little berry!) I asked the young lady to take a picture of me for my blog after I purchased the strawberries. Simple things in life make me very happy! Here I'm beaming some more in the sunshine. I decided to purchase two one-gallon containers full; one for me and one to give away to a friend. Here are my sweet, red jewels in the back seat of my car, awaiting their final destination...Yummmmmmm, I can't wait! Hope you'll be eating fresh strawberries very soon too (if you're not doing so already) and, thank you little honey bee, you did a fantastic job! The strawberries are delicious! ...and may you be around for another 30 million years so that we might enjoy "Strawberry Fields forever!"

It's a Great Day in May!

Today I'm blessed with another beautiful day and the mosquitoes are not bad at all. Maybe all that spraying the city's been doing helped or maybe the breeze we've been having blows them away, but I'm thankful about having a little reprieve - for now! I visited my friend at Bank's Lake again, and, as usual, we sat outside on the bench, just talking and watching nature. I did see another alligator (with the binoculars) but it wasn't close enough for a good shot with my little camera. She told me that earlier this morning a big 8 footer was laying on the boardwalk and I could have got a really good picture. Maybe I'll try going there earlier in the mornings and see. Here are some pictures that I thought turned out really well, considering I don't have a fancy camera: This picture to the left, is me looking down from the landing of the boardwalk, onto a protruding patch of land with cypress roots growing up from under it and the reflection of the opposite trees in the water. I thought it looked kind of interesting. Afterwards, Gizzy and I stopped at Roquemore Memorial Park. We saw a few new memorials that were added recently. Gizzy had to run straight to his favorite "Rocky's Bridge" memorial. Then, we strolled around while I took some scenic pictures. This memorial is one of my favorites. It commemorates the departing of a beloved daughter. It's a lovely statute of a girl reading, surrounded by beautiful roses. The roses' first bloom is almost over, but they bloom continually all year through autumn. They have a lovely, fruity fragrance. Here's a close-up of one of the remaining big blossoms: Lastly, Gizzy tried out the swings to see if they're still Gizzy-proof and that's the resulting short movie clip of him swinging: (just click on the right-arrow to view - it's very short!) Here are some stills for those of you with a slow internet connection and no patience - you know who you are ;-) Maaaaam, I'm ready to go now..... And this, ladies and gents, is what happens when a woman has no grandkids. Have a nice May!