Let's Bring Everyone Up To Date...

What a month! Everything that could happen has happened!
Lost 2 alpacas, one rooster.
Okay...I can deal with that. It sucks, but I can deal.
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Then...a car wreck. Some idiot passed me on a double yellow line as I was in the middle of a turn into my driveway and ripped off my bumper, bent my tie rod and various other small damages.
So, been dealing with that and the insurance company, etc.
Okay....
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A cousin of the Darlin' Man passed away the start of the month. He was only 49, but he had abused drugs and alcohol from a young age. He died of cirrhosis.
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Then last Friday my Uncle George died. He was 88, he and his wife had been married 67 years, almost 68.
Uncle George was the last of his generation in our family. He out-lived all of his siblings. And was the longest lived of any of the men in his family as long back as we can trace! He had a long life and, according to those who were there, seemed "ready to go". He asked to be helped with a bath, saying; "I need to be clean, I'm not going dirty!", got his pajamas on, laid down in bed, sighed and was gone. A peaceful passing.
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Then yesterday, the Darlin' Mans son called to announce the birth of his first, a boy.

The Darlin' Man is now a Grandpa!
The Darlin' Man will be going down there this weekend to meet his new grandson.
Life goes on!
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The past couple of days were vicious cold, but today we will be in the 30s, tomorrow in the 40s (YAY!!!).
Spring comes...a little later than most folks out there, but Spring does arrive nonetheless.
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This morning:

Breakfast!

Champagne with her private spot.

 

Uhmm...it's Spring, why is there snow still here!?

Champagne graciously shares with Mambo the sheep.

Chaser, our new buck!

A Bit of a Change Here...

I usually don't get too much into personal issues or my personal life here, other than prepping and recipes and such...but that is going to change a bit. I am also going to be able to take more photos, as my room mate has a camera that he is willing to let me borrow.

Now, I said I will be having a few changes in my life, and I will. The main one was advocated by Thoreau:
"Simplify, simplify, simplify!"
That is what I am doing with my life. Some may choose to call it *down-sizing*.
I won't be disposing of those things I consider prudent for me to keep, of course. But I have noticed, since moving to smaller quarters, that I sometimes have too much of many good things!For example, I have about 45 home made tote bags...good for shopping--I carry home my groceries in them! Great for tossing in the car for going on long trips--attractive little trash bags or to put sandy beach clothes in, etc.I have baby quilts I made simply for the fun of it, or for gifts--and I didn't get them finished in time...by the time I was finished with one, the child was out of diapers!
Anyway...those are a few of the items that I will have up for sale starting the second week of August.
I am just starting to get over-whelmed by the sheer volume of stuff I have!

I want...no, I NEED a Zen quality calm in my life. All this stuff just feels chaotic.
I went through this before when I was managing the rooming house...pretty bad when I consider that *just* as I got my room absolutely perfect for me, I lost my job there!
Ah, well, I do hope whomever got the room is enjoying the pale gray walls and white trim I so carefully painted!
So, tonight, I continue *weeding* the un-necessaries from my living space and putting them in a storage closet under the eaves so I can catalog them in preparation for my *virtual garage sale* as a friend of mine has taken to calling it!