You don't know what you've got till it's gone!

About 10 days ago, I had a chance to go to Atlanta to visit my sister at a hotel where she was in a training seminar. I didn't think I should go. I have a kitchen I'm trying to get together after remodeling. I've got painting to do, dishes to recabinet, and a pantry to arrange.
Finally I realized, I could go by and see Barbara a friend of 26 years and Bertha who has recently had some health problems that aren't out of the picture yet. I could also see Crystal Moon, but that seemed like too many things to try to get done in a 24 hour period.
Getting to see my friends was the turning point. I drove down on Tuesday morning, had lunch with Barbara as we drove over to Bertha's for a good visit. When we got back to Barbara's, I had to head into Buckhead. My sister and I had a great time visiting, eating at the Cheesecake Factory,  and reminiscing about our years living in Atlanta together. And a luxurious hotel didn't hurt.
The next morning after Rebecca headed down to class, I got myself together and got onto the highway. As I drove the opposite direction of the morning incoming traffic, I decided I had to go back by and visit a little more with Barbara. So I did. We sat and talked about 2 hours and caught up on the latest news. And I headed back to Middle Tennessee.
Once I was on the road and out of Atlanta, I got a phone call from Crystal Moon. She was also on 75 headed North about 25 miles ahead of me. So we stopped and had lunch together. What a treat! Visiting with Barbara for that 2 hours allowed up to have a special meet-up.
This was probably the best 36 hour trip I have ever had. Saw my sister and all my friends who live in Atlanta.
Yesterday, I was truly grateful for that visit with Barbara. I got an email that said she was gone. She had died early in the morning in her bedroom while she slept. I will sorely miss her. She was my yardstick, my confident, and my lifter-upper. Anytime we spoke on the phone when one of us was down, we'd both be laughing before we hung up. Barbara, I already miss you mightily and will always love you.

Can you hear me now?

I thought about starting this when I changed from employee to unemployee. Is that a word? Anyway, so many things have happened since then, I couldn't catch you up if I tried.

But here are the highlight: John has had 3 eye surgeries this summer; I sold my motorhome; We're remoding our kitchen; and I just spent 2 days in Atlanta.

You can see pictures of our kitchen and my front porch on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/profile.php?id=1364355181&v=photos. I updated those today. There are a couple from Atlanta.

I am also working on starting a business that will hopefully use all my talents or most of them, and will give me the variety my heart craves. I'll update everyone as I go along. This week I've been working on policies and procedures. I'm not sure about procedures, but I'm getting the policies down.

Feel free to comment on my comments or share with your friends.

Care for yourself, too!