Daily posts
A dear friend and her Mother send me a small package. It arrived yesterday in the gloomy afternoon that was Thursday. The card is brilliant and the chocolate is my favorite. It was a wonderful way to make me smile. Must I share with Larry?
Love you beyond the Godiva.
Me
Larry has been in Austin for a few days. He was attending a presidents meeting for one of his favorite clients.
We have not been apart since October. I ate poorly yesterday, got almost nothing done and did not sleep worth a darn.
This morning, when Larry called to say good morning, I asked : how did you sleep?
He said that he missed me so much, he slept on MY {robin’s} SIDE of the bed in his hotel room. Larry is OCD and for him to do that is huge.
In honor of Larry sleeping on my side of the bed in the hotel, I changed the sheets this morning. {it is a job that wears me out} I will not put all the pretty pillows on the bed this morning because I will be naping in a few hours.
I have a sweet dinner planned for when he returns. It is going to be a good day.
Love you beyond the big bed.
Me
Last night, Larry and I went out to dinner and came home and cuddled into bed. We spent our time daydreaming about a trip.
Last years {2019} trip to France was postponed. Larry re-booked everything before my surgery…and now we are daydreaming about new adventures. The funny thing is, we get to go on our annual trip twice this year! I must admit, Larry is happy. He hates what we have been going through but, he loves a diversion.
I love to see Larry happy. It makes me feel wonderful.
Love you beyond the Eiffel Tower.
Me
Yesterday I finished knitting a poncho, for myself. I knit one for a friend in Delaware in December and I liked it so much that I made one for myself. Looks like there is enough yarn left-over to knit a hat. YAY.
Yesterday I also went to the DR, walked 2 miles and had left overs for dinner. It felt like a long day, but it sped by. I know that is a contradiction, but it makes sense.
Larry is in Dallas working and the house is very still. It is times like this that I miss having a dog. They make the best, sweet noises.
The easel is looming over me, begging for attention. Today might be the day…..but……I just brought all of the ingredients out to make cookie dough for the freezer.
I do not manage my time very well right now. Sooooo…. I think that I will do everything.
I wish you an “everything” kind of day.
Love you beyond the moon.
Me
Yesterday was wonderful. Is it allowed to be wonderful? Am I allowed to feel OK?
I got up early and baked. Blueberry muffins and Troll cookies to take to Matilda.
Since Matilda was 3 years old, we have lunch with her on her 1/2 birthday. Yesterday was the day. She is eight and one half years old. We took her little gifts and had lunch with the Millers. It was WONDERFUL.
After we left Matilda, I discovered that Larry had tickets to a movie. A vintage {1951} at the Cinemark. We went to the movies. An American in Paris was the movie and Larry had never seen it. WONDERFUL.
Our visit with Matilda was perfect, the movie was romantic and after the movie, I felt sluggish, sore and sad. {the triple “S’s”} We went to the lake and I walked around the lake twice. WONDERFUL.
It is super early this Monday. I have an appointment this morning. Larry is dressed and in his office till it is time to go. He will come with me. WONDERFUL.
Love you beyond the moon.
Me
I have been painting rocks for as long as I can remember. As a Senior in high school, {1972} I painted a rock for my all-time-favorite teacher. Mr Keating was my ART teacher. After moving every 2 years as a family and going to three high schools, getting to know teachers was difficult. Mr Keating and I became friends immediately. Mr Keating died during my senior year in high school. Upon his death, I was given the rock I painted him, back. I still have it.
The rock above came from the Dallas Zoo on Tuesday. I painted it yesterday and started varnishing it today. Matilda’s unbirthday is this Sunday!
In the back garden, the landscape is littered with painted river rocks. My absolute favorite thing to do is paint them with Celtic designs. {They are huge rocks}
It is raining outside this morning. I had taken my camera and went to look for one of the Celtic rocks. But…it is so wet and I found….
Outside the kitchen window, I saw a rock that I painted awhile ago. It is a basket filled with flowers. I think that I painted it for Larry.
Find below, Celtic rocks on the patio. It is raining so badly….even the pansys are frowning.
I read an interesting article about people who do not use their talents. We all have certain talents. I wish that I was good with numbers or could talk in front of a group of people without puking first. {I taught ART classes/ Floral Design/ knitting/quilting/smocking/ and many other classes for children} for the City Of Plano Parks and Rec Department for many, many, years…I would always be sick before any class I taught}
I wish you a day filled with talent and happy moments.
Love you.
Me
Wednesday. I have made it to Wednesday. Christmas thank you notes beg to be written and the day is gloomy with fog and drizzle. I hope that Thursday will be better.
Yesterday, on his lunch hour, Larry took me to the Dallas Zoo. We walked for an hour. {with breaks} And took a wonderful lunch break near the giraffes, where we nibbled popcorn and drank a Dr Pepper. {I gave up caffeine awhile ago and now it is a treat to have it} It was a beautiful day and we talked a lot, did not solve any world problems, but we talked about them.
Today I am painting. Matilda invited us to come to her house on Sunday January 19 because it is her 1/2 birthday. We have celebrated this occasion since she was tiny. I am painting her a rock. A paperweight. I found the rock at the zoo yesterday.
The sketch is simple and fun. I will post the completed project photo later.
Last Saturday, I had stepped outside onto the porch, and there was a box. We did not hear a delivery man…and found this sweet box on the porch behind Garfield. {Garfield is 3′ tall and is a concrete gnome. He is the Tolbert welcoming committee} Inside the box was a book for me!
I am obsessed with this book and pick it up whenever I am near it. I REALLY NEEDED THIS TODAY~ words to live by~ Hoda Kotb.
Reading this book and its interesting contents, gently reminds me that I am OK. I am not the only person in my situation and it is OK to be feeling what I am feeling.
As you can see, Hoda’s book is in my work room. It is a book of support, kindness and quotes! Each day {yes they are dated} Each day has a quote. They are positive reminders, nudges and downright comments on what is going on in your life and the life of the people around you. It is so unlike my devotionals that I am in awe of how the quotes work into my days.
Dear Hoda. Your book was sent to me by a sweet friend and her Mother. Honestly, I have been struggling lately and your book is a bright spot in my morning. {or afternoon if I need to read it again to just smile} I find the quotes instrumental in my daily attitude.
The times in our life, when we are the most vulnerable, I have noticed that the most wonderful friends make themselves known. Hoda, I have to consider you one of these friends now. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.~ Toujours, Robin
So, comes the end of today’s Post. I never know if I will post tomorrow. The blog is one of my favorite things and I dislike how it is “up in the air” right now. Completing goals are difficult right now but Larry says that I am getting better every day! If he says that it is true, it must be, right?
Love you beyond the moon.
Me
This morning, I read the blog of one of my favorite bloggers. She, like me, blogs on a intimate level, somewhat like a journal. Her subject was marriage. She includes a photo with each entry and her message is personal.
I thought, maybe I should share about my marriage. Larry is my favorite person in the world and sharing would be so easy. But not really.
Because people are so different, marriages are that much more different. The shelves in my work room are facing me right now and hold a photo of my parents on their wedding day. They were married for 47 years when Mother died. Norman, my father, found a woman within one month after mother died. I know that Norman loved Mother on some level, but to forget her within a month? Did he forget her?
Larry and I have been married since 1977. I feel like my life started when I married Larry. {My family story is one of dysfunction and abuse} Larry and I are… get ready for it…soulmates! Sorry, but true. I find myself content, protected and so much in love with this man. Our faith binds us, our spirit encourages us and our love covers all the bases when everything else falls apart.
OK, so it is true. I have not been well. I wake up tired and get more exhausted as the day progresses. My mind gets foggy about a lot of things, but not Larry.
I watch him pay the hospital bills, cook me dinner and protect me as this journey goes on. There is not a Thank You big enough to cover what he has done for me. Being a soulmate gives me the ability to know, in my heart, that one day, I will be able to do the same thing for him.
You can tease me about being so in love with my husband. Somethings are just so wonderful, teasing does not hurt us at all.
Love you beyond the moon.
Me
In 2012, when I was recovering from breast cancer, I gave myself goals. I started taking yoga classes and wanted to learn chess. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE yoga, but am very picky about my classes. I just cannot take yoga class with 20 year old jazz dance girls. Sorry, but I just cannot keep up. The Senior Center is just to s-l-o-w for me, so I practice here at home and to be honest, it is not that great. I use THE LITTLE BOOK OF YOGA and Restorative Yoga is my favorite. Bottom line is, I still practice yoga {sometimes} and I still play chess.{very badly} But a GOAL is a goal. Right?
Larry, being the creature of habit that he is, on surgery day, (fast forward to October, 2019) he asked me what I would like to do in 5 years when I am cancer free for the second time in my life and of course I shared my goals with him.
The 5 year, cancer free wish is private for now, but I will gladly share my goals with you.
I want to get in shape and continue with the quarter marathon at The Dallas Arboretum. {this current episode has taken a lot out of me but I have already started walking. Three miles on Saturday were do-able, but the fatigue has lasted a few days}
And I want to learn the science of…BREAD MAKING
I have made bread, pizza dough, rolls, etc. over the years, but I have never studied the science of bread making. I have not started this goal yet. My upper body strength is a bit weak from surgery, but just wait! I will be slapping bread dough around in no time. I bought suggested loaf pans on Amazon and a used book that looked simply wonderful! {what it it about used books that make them so charming?}
Don’t tell Larry, but I am secretly coveting a Lodge cast iron loaf pan. I was thinking that maybe I should learn how to bake bread before I started buying fancy loaf pans.
Wish me luck!
Do you have any good bread making stories? I would LOVE to hear.
Love you BEYOND the moon.
Me
I was never a pink girl. All my life, I thrived on greens and the random splash of red or yellow but these days, my life is PINK.
Much to my dismay, I was diagnosed with breast cancer again this past October, 2019. (first diagnoses was in July 2012)
When I had breast cancer the first time, I survived because of EARLY DETECTION. This October, my breast cancer was a different cancer in a different breast. (had genetic testing and everything is ok) The second breast cancer was found during my yearly mammogram screening. EARLY DETECTION.
I am now the poster child for early detection. I was not around when they voted me in, but I accept the title with honor knowing that it comes with responsibility.
I shall always support any organization that assists women in getting their yearly screenings. There are times in our lives when it is just not part of our budget, schedule and everyday problems, to find time for a yearly mammogram.
Komen can remind us, drive us to appointments, find funding for screenings and be a huge support for the women going through this ugly disease.
That is why I am MORE THAN PINK~ A poster child for early detection.
This year I am once again captain of TEAM BELIEVE! And I need your support. Please come walk with the team on Saturday May 16, 2020 or donate to TEAM BELIEVE or go for an over due mammogram or whisper prayers for us in our efforts. Early detection saves lives. It has saved mine twice…
TO DONATE……Please find below, the link to Komen MORE THAN PINK walk. I would love your support in any way that is comfortable for you.
http://northtexas.info-komen.org/site/TR?fr_id=8305&pg=entry
Go to DONATE
Select Participant or Team: and choose TEAM
Team Name is : Team Believe
This should take you to our donation page.
*****
TO JOIN TEAM BELIEVE…….If you would like to join Team Believe, go to the link below:
http://northtexas.info-komen.org/site/TR?sid=6202&type=fr_informational&pg=informational&fr_id=8305
Scroll down to Join an existing team… Click on find your team…(Team Believe) and there you will register for the MORE THAN PINK WALK Team Believe.
Thank you for listening to me, supporting me and now, thank you in advance for being part of this amazing event in Frisco Texas
I have just finished my treatments for this second go round of breast cancer. I am sick with radiation and the massive fatigue is driving me mad. I cry. A lot. Dear ones, take it from me. Have your screenings and stay well.
Love you beyond the moon.
Me