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SummerShine

Summer and sunshine go hand in hand. It means so much to children who have freedom from school as the sun invites them outside. Workers stare out their windows wishing they might get a glimpse at lunchtime. Retirees enjoy gardening and evening peace on a deck or patio with an icy cold beverage. Some only able to get outside before the heat of the day.

I drove by a field of Sunflowers the other day but was not able to stop. It reminded me my daughter planted some in her yard for her bees and to shade her chickens from the sun. I went over to admire her crop early yesterday and already the had their faces open to the sun. Tall, majestic with many bees buzzing from flower to flower. What a beautiful sight, I just had to take some pictures.

Smelling the cool morning breeze, sitting a while and enjoying a cup of tea and conversation I only dreamed of while I had been working last year. It was awesome to enjoy the view!

Bee paradise
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Bright Faces

Summertime reminds me of smiling faces. My daughter planted a sunflower garden and has begun to open its faces to the sky. These tall stalks reach for the sky to look upon their maker. I am awaiting the other colors to open up so I can share this added sunshine to this rambling post. Summertime colors bring my senses to a new height. Sunflower bliss!!

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Heat waves in Pennsylvania offer creative ways to cool off. I went with my daughter to the City for her work an by 1pm ourcar said 94 degrees. Even sitting in the shade was HOT!!! We had brought our lunch in a cooler bag and decided the best way home was through the mountains instead of the 4 lane highway. As we climbed the back roads the shady ride began to drop the temp. I opened the window and the smells of the woods brought back thoughts of my childhood memories. We stopped at World’s End state park, ate lunch and could not resist putting our feet in the creek. Under the trees the temp was 80 and a great breeze. Wish I could have stayed longer but soon a thunderstorm came up. Picture is when we were dipping our toes. Loving where I live and thank God for the real beauty he provides.

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Supplementing

Retirement has its benefits and downfalls. The benefits of sleeping in are awesome and setting your own schedule of things to do is easier as well. Finding things to do that are not expensive and making a difference in the quality of life for myself and others can be a struggle. One way I have found to supplement my shortcomings is to sit with those older or less healthy than myself. I love to chat with them about their likes, memories as many can definitely pull from the past. It is a slower pace but there is a lot to be said for good conversation. I have even read a book or short story I found to match their interest and learned something new in the process. Many times just listening to others makes their day. Even if it is the same story I heard yesterday. Here is to sitting on the porch rocking and reminiscing to the beat of our own drum.

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Exploring

I have been busy revisiting and exploring new places and wanted to share some great places in Pennsylvania I have been to lately. Yesterday my daughter took me “Jeepin” on the back roads in Sullivan County. We took our dogs with us and enjoyed seeing the wild life which ran from us and in front of us as we went. We had lunch near World’s End in the little town of Forksville and had some wonderful sweet potato fries by the creek. We then went exploring and saw some great finds like an old Chevy truck in the the hedge row of an old farm and a covered bridge leading to more dirt roads we explored that were reopened after flooding. I love this part of Pennsylvania as my parents lived near here when I was growing up yet I had never been to the parts she took me to. We found ponds, camping areas, picnic areas and even an out house to make the day enjoyable in the state game lands. This is a beautiful area that has much to offer including my favorite park, World’s End. We actually needed sweatshirts due to the cool breeze that came into our Jeep through the open doors of the soft top jeep. Retirement is great to explore what you know and find during a simple ride through some wooded areas of Pennsylvania. Below is the picture from the passenger seat as we drove through the covered bridge and out the window of the covered bridge. Hope you enjoy the view as much as I did.

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Retired Nurse

I retired from my main profession in December and found myself many things to do at first. We went camping, tried some flea markets and did jobs around the house I could never get done. I then realized I wanted more and remembered I left my blog site unattended for a long time. This was due to many factors such as time constraints, injuries and fatigue. Now that I am retired I am coming back to share my insights as a retired nurse and retired nurse practitioner to those who like to learn new things or are looking for information to help an issue. I will be writing about what I know best and also my experiences as we continue to go camping. I hope you enjoy my rambling and thanks for reading my blog.

Nurses Day

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Living History

Our local school requires our 8th graders to do a living history project for a grade. I was honored to have my granddaughter to choose me and it brought tears to my eyes to see how much work she had put into the project.

I was amazed to check out all the projects that each child did on someone they admired. I was humbled and amazed to see so many people there to view each one and stop to chat. Many I had not seen in quite a while. I feel blessed n loved beyond words.

Love ya Grandma

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Windows of time

Today I have. Celebrated my 44th wedding anniversary with my childhood sweetheart.  The time from 1973 to now seems to have flown out the windows.  We found that there is no way to stop time from marching on.  Our minds tell us we are still able to do things our bodies say no way.  Staying up with changes seems daunting and impossible.  Time seems to go faster with each passing year yet in our minds we are still young.

We still love one another but that love is shown differently.   Little things mean more and caring and sharing is more important.  We are struggling trying to move into retirement.  It appears that life is forcing us to kdeep us going.  Love keeps us encouraging each other even when our bodies can’t.  Just to have him hold me brings such joy n comfort.God’s design is perfect.  Enjoying the journey together as one.