I have been walking the property since it has been quite cool. The mosquitoes give me a temporary reprieve in the cool weather. Otherwise you can hardly walk in peace without twenty to thirty mosquitoes attacking you.
I love the honeysuckle growing on the property. We have the invasive kind which is shown in the first photo. And we also have native honeysuckle. We also have three wild rose bushes growing along a property line. It smells divine.
I have finally found the energy to tackle paring down my things. Surprisingly I have found I am no longer sentimentally attached to many things now. I still love my books and art work. But otherwise I have packed up four boxes to go to goodwill. I finally feel able to tackle a second bedroom where I have thrown everything for the past five years with the intent to go through it one day. Now that my mom is gone I no longer drive every day. I put 80,000 miles on my car visiting her and caregiving over the last two years since I purchased my car.
I look forward to walking more, reading more and cooking more.
I have been focused on participating in caregiving programs the Veterans Administration provides. They have been a big help. Two of the programs are brand new. I have a therapist via the caregiving program and she has helped me more than any therapist ever has before. I feel stronger mentally and emotionally. I feel better able to handle stressors where as nine months ago I was a wreck. I have found myself again. I am still a work in progress. I need to get out more. And find a hobby or volunteer position that I can look forward to each week.
I need to get back to making supper now. Do you like to cook or bake? Maybe grill? What are your favorite dishes to prepare? I love cooking with a Dutch oven or a baking sheet. I am a big fan of one pot cooking.
Have a wonderful week.
becca's event horizon 
I highly recommend the hobby of posting photos of insects, birds, plants, mushrooms and more on iNat.org . It’s a free app/account and serves as citizen science nature observations. I use my cell phone. It gives purpose to my innumerable photos. The AI helps identify what you post, if you don’t know what the species is. Very cool stuff.
Thank you! I will check it out.
Hi Becca, as always I love your photos. Keep them coming. It takes a LOT of energy to start paring down. After my mom passed, we weren’t sure whether we would move to be closer to Andrea or stay. We have decided that the Western shore is no place for us and we are pretty set on staying where we are. In that regard, we have decided to add an addition(s) to our house. And like you, I no longer have the sentimental attachment to many items; reading about how/why to “lose” the things that I was hanging on to has been very helpful. When I come across something that I no longer need or want, I offer first to family, mainly daughter, nieces and grand nieces. If they don’t want it, I donate it to a second hand shop in St. Michaels. I’m glad you are involved with the VA; they seem to be doing a better job re: the veterans and families. Tyde has been getting better help from them, faster appointments and even a referral to a specialty clinic in Richmond after Labor Day. It’s good to hear that your therapist has been so helpful; it makes such a difference to have someone that can help clear up what is going on (personal experience 😉 We have started to grill more now that the weather is better and I like to use left-overs to make “bowls”. Thank you for being so open and sharing. Best to you and your journey! Vicki
Thank you. I hope Tyde does well with the specialty clinic. Keep me posted.
Sheet pan cooking is good too—lots of quick easy recipes out there and best of all, since a lot of them feature foil or parchment lining the pan, cleanup is a snap.
I like sheet pan cooking too. I love the easy clean up.