Oh Happy Day!

Has it really been 6 months since I last posted? Guess so, the date doesn't lie. I thought I would be more faithful to blogging, but life got in the way and I didn't think it was the kind of things that everyone wanted to read about.



So here is the short version:

Sam, my beloved, got sick in January - really sick. Turned out to be pneumonia that wouldn't go away. After months on antibiotics with other odd symptoms showing almost every week we decided that something else had to be going on. Well, you know the military heath care system - that took time and time and then some more time!

BOTTOM LINE: He has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, (RA) and just FINALLY began treatment last Friday. He has had numerous appointments and test along the way to rule out other things before we could proceed with treatment, but we are now on the way. He has lost a lot of weight, not dangerously, but through Weight Watchers (and my excellent cooking) and is feeling 100% better. Last Saturday he actually did some manual labor by cleaning out the garage and he did fine. We are thanking the Lord for the healing that is and will continue to take place.



Another thing that has happened is the loss of my sweet kitten Oriella. It has been hard to go back to look at her pictures in this blog so I have avoided doing that. She died, quite unexpectedly, on June 28 of FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) and we grieved for a very long time. Pocahontas is fine except for the fact that she misses her playmate terribly! I have become her new playmate and she is now very spoiled!!



Good news is that she has a new baby brother; literally because he has the same parents as her. His name is Wolfgang Amadeus Brown and was born July 18. We will get him mid-October and we can't wait. He is a cutie, the only boy in a litter of 5 and he is already almost twice as big as his sisters. Pocahontas will have her hands (paws?) full when he arrives. We call him Wolfie for short.



THIS and THAT:

Trips:

#1 - #5 - I have been to Texas 4 times since January and I'm so thankful I get to go often to see Mom and the rest of the family. I always stay with Scott and Ally and love my time with the boys! Next trip there will be Sept 3 - 7 for Austin's birthday.

#6 - I took a few friends to the Longaberger Homestead in April and we had so much fun. It was the Collector's Club Gathering. We drove from here to Morgantown WV to spend the night. Can you say "room party"? We got up early the next morning and drove to Fraseysburg OH where the Homestead is located and spent the day looking, playing, eating and oh yea - shopping. We all also worked with a Longaberger basket maker and wove out very own Lady-Bug Basket. TOO CUTE! We left late in the day for the 3 hour dirve back to Morgantown - more room partying and then the next day back home again to Virginia. We were tired but it was oh so much fun. We have plans to make it an annual event and hope to add to our numbers next year!!

#7 - Sam and I went to the Longaberger Bee (convention) earlier this month. If you have been then you know just how special this is. If not come with me next year. I can't describe the fun, learning, excitement and pride in a company that we get to experience for 4 days. It is something we will NOT miss. Both of us made a basket with one of the talented basket makers on the last day and they are beautiful. Tomorrow I promise pictures!

#8 - We leave this Sunday for Nags Head!!! It will be our first trip to the Outer Banks and we can't wait. We are spending the week with the Taylors. ALL THE TAYLORS! The older Taylors are treating family and friends to a week in a beautiful 8 bedroom home that is located right on the Atlantic. Oh yes, we are watching the tract of Hurricane Bill with great interest! For those of you that don't know, Randy Taylor was Sam's roommate (old lady as they are called) at A&M. He was best man at our wedding and he and Lois have been our dearest friends forever! This will be a treat for us to get to spend a whole week with them.

#9 - I already mentioned my next trip to Texas but I thought I'd also throw in Sam's travel to Atlanta Sept 11 - 13 to be with the Brown II while Austin participates in the Triathlon Iron Kid Event. Wish I could go...boohoo!

#10 - Speaking of Browns....September 25th - Oct 4 we will be in ANCHORAGE! It's been since January 2008 that I have visited and even longer since Sam was there. Thank God for the video conferences we have ever so often because we at least get to see the girls and Andy and Lisa often, but this is a dream trip for us. We can't wait to get there!

#11 - Might as well add this one that is really a trip within a trip. When we get to Anchorage on Friday, we will board the train the very next day and have a side trip to Seward AK. Yup, you read that right! You know me and trains. Well, Andy found us a trip that features a jazz festival while on board the train. We will party on the way down, spend the night in Seward and come back to Anchorage the next day.

#12 - When I get back from AK I will have to go to Texas to see Mom and the family, then rent a car to drive North to Dallas to pick up Wolfie and fly home from there. That will be a fun, but busy trip but look at the reward at the end.

# ????? - After that we don't know, but probably will make plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas that involves travel somewhere. When you live so far from family you love (wait a minute; they live far from me) you travel to go see them so as long as we have the means, then we will travel. Thank goodness for piano/voice lessons!!



Guess I need to get on with my day. It involves getting the house ready for Bunko Friday night and an HUGE Open House the day after we return from Nags Head. What was I thinking??? Oh, I remember - I wanted to have an open house so I could make money to take more trips!!



Look for pictures tomorrow. I have lots to download to the computer and and then to this site. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!

WB

Happy Easter...Happy Spring...Happy, Happy, Happy! I hope you are happy whatever your circumstance, wherever you are.

Happiness has eluded me the past two months, but I'm pretty sure I have discovered how to get it back and when I have it within reach there will be no stopping the smiles, joy and sense of well-being in store for me! Before I get there though, I need to make a list of things that have caused this doom and gloom I have been feeling. After that list is complete I WILL move forward with a major attitude adjustment and find the happiness that usually defines me.

I Stand Corrected....and more pictures!!

....okay, so I was a little harsh with my words. Thank you Josh for reading and if you were the only one, it would be enough!!

The new furniture is in place and we love it! Unofrtunately, so do the kittens. We alreayd have some very tiny scratches on it when they go zoom, zoom, zooming across. Pocahontas loves to sit and hide at the corner to watch for Oriella and THEN, it's Katie Bar the Door....off she goes. We're okay with that because it will have that lovely lived in look.

Sam asked me to take some pictures of the kittens up close and personal so I have included those as well.

have a wonderful Wednesday wherever you are. We have snow today, but it will be gone later when all turns to rain! UGH!!

The Kittens LOVE their Valentine flowers from Brownie!

Is This All There Is?

I think I'm about ready to give up. I have blogged a few times. The last one was really a tribute to son Andy. No comment/s. I at least expected to hear from him. He probably didn't read it. So I am asking myself what is the point of all this. Are people; family, friends, acquaintances just to busy to read or comment or maybe both? I'm so confused! I thought this and "facebook" was a way to keep up with all the above, but I am pretty sure I'm getting just a little discouraged with the lack of responses.

NOT IMPORTANT! I'll just keep on adding a few words here and there and keep waiting to strike a chord in someone, even if it is a dissonate chord.

Today is Valentine's Day and there isn't much going on here. No celebrating for the Browns. Myabe it's a day for young people, newlyweds, people who are hopeful of a developing relationship. Maybe it wasn't meant for couples who have been married for almost 41 years and who, before that magic wedding date, went together for 5 years so, hmmmm, that means a total of 46 years of togetherness. Seems to me like that would be a reason to celebrate, but so far other than obligitory flowers, no plans for celebrating. In fact it is almost 2:00PM and I'm still sitting here at the computer in my jammies and Brownie is out making bank deposits, making purchases at Home Depot and visiting his mechanic that recently screwed him when repairing the truck. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

Oaky, enough belly-aching I will sign off and try to post a few pictures of the kittens who were more excited about the flowers than I was.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 3RD BORN CHILD, ANDY BROWN!!
I love you!!!
....See below for comments about this day!

Some random pictures taken at the Leadership Conference in Columbus

This is David Wesley. Sam and I met David several years ago when we were weaving our own basket at the Homestead. He is the most amazing basket maker. Shortly after meeting him we ran into him again and again; once in Williamsburg for a Longaberger Away Tour, then in Killeen TX for another Away Tour. Each year we went back to the Bee or to the Homestead for an event we would see David. Apparently we weren't the only people impressed by this man. Tami Longaberger chose him to "star" in their first edition of Longaberger Home, a video magizine. PLEASE check it out on my website www.longaberger.com/willabrown.

The new Mother's Day Basket. What you can't see in this picture is the beautifully hand-painted lid knob that accompanies this beautiful basket and compliments it perfectly!

Ah, the ultimate! This is the 3rd in a series from the Master Crafters of Longaberger baskets. It is truly a work of art and one I shall have, by golly!

Taken from the 5th fllor of the Hyatt Regency, downtown Columbus Ohio on a very cold snowy day. No matter; I was toasty warm inside and all our classes, demos, and exibitions were inside the building so we didn't have to venture out unless we wanted to.....And I did not!

The new Botanical Weave shown on the ever-popular Boardwalk Basket. This is the basket I take to the grocery store with me and when they say, "paper or plastic," I say BASKET!!

The beautiful Potomac River at sunset on December 25th, 2008. You know geese mate for life, so here is Sam and WIlla Goose having a "stroll" on the river.

On the way home Pocahontas decided to help Brownie drive. It reminded us of a photo of Sam and Sadie when she sat behinf him almost the entire cross-sountry trip when we moved from Las Vegas to Dayton OH so many years ago. BYW, Sam and Poca use the same hair colorist!

The beautiful Oriella guiding the way home from in front of the wheel where she gets a much better view of what's coming ahead.

Catching Up....after 2 months!

Andy has shamed me into blogging. I have learned so much about him from reading his blogs. You think as a mother you should know your kiddos inside and out, but not true. I continue to be delighted when he shares his and Lisa's story with humor, sincerity, and thoughtfulness as he grows into fatherhood, advances his career and matures with the love of his life, his beautiful wife, Lisa. Today, on his 33rd birthday, I celebrate him and all he means to me. I treasure the memories of this day throughout the years and the belly laughs he has always had for me. While he will always be my baby, I'm very, very proud of the man he has become and the example he sets for his girls! I love you Andy and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So where have I been these last few months? I guess it took me longer to recoup from the musical than I thought it would. Actually I took off for Texas the day after closing to see the family and haven't stopped traveling since. Sam and I enjoyed a very unusually quiet Christmas and New Years. All the children were busy doing their own thing so we stayed here and they stayed...well...there. Christin and Tom, C, R, & O were in Florida spending their last Christmas in Florida before the big move to California. Scott and Ally, A & T moved into their new home the week between Christmas and New Years. Andy and Lisa, A & C socked into the cold and snowy winter in Anchorage where Santa lives close by. .....And a good time was had by all.

I'll include some pictures from some of our trips but here's the rundown; After we got home from Texas we went to Williamsburg for the Grand Illumination. We took the kittens with us for their very first vacation. They loved it. Sam, not so much. He practiced being a "cat whisperer" and tried to come up with an authoritative sound that would whip the kittens into submission. They thought the "psssst" was pretty funny and it just made them scamper faster up the curtains. I think he was thrilled to head home after the week-end.

During the holidays we stayed by the fire most nights, went to see several movies and FINALLY put the Christmas tree up on the 25th. I called all the kids on the 26th to wish them Merry Christmas because we celebrated a day late! BTW, if you haven't seen Australia do yourself a favor and go see it. Sam and I loved it. It truly is an epic and a wonderful film.

Right after the New Year I went to Columbus Ohio for the Leadership Conference. It almost felt like a vacation because I had so much fun, well, not counting the fact that I had hive from the day before I left to after I got home. Don't know what caused them, but they didn't keep me down! B and I went to Baltimore the night before I left for Columbus because I had such an early flight. That was a fun night away for us and a night without being awakened by kitties. They spent their first night at home alone...and did just fine! My flight home was delayed twice because of weather and I finally got home on Sunday afternoon, tired but inspired. I love the Longaberger Company and once again have been given tools to go out there and make my business fit me! Look out world!

The day after I got home, and everyone that knows me know I always take a day off after a trip TO DO NOTHING, I got a call from Alison telling me that Scott had been admitted into the hospital with a raging mean, angry "bug". I felt I needed to go and help out wherever and however I could, so off to Texas the next morning bright and early. He was in the hospital for 3 days and then it was an uphill climb for strength as he recouped. I got to visit one day with Larry, I spent time with Mom, and one Saturday Jan and I had a blast being together. THE I GOT THE BUG! It wasn't pretty and again I had to delay my flight to come home.

Now, a few days later, I'm trying to get caught up from what seems to be several months of getting nothing done. Everything is messy and in a state of disarray here and I think it is due to lack of attention. I'm hoping to jump into the many projects in my "I need to do" list. First I have to heal my back though. I messed it up two days ago and even though it's a little metter today, it is very hard to move and get things done.

Okay, I need to stop NOW. This is beginning to sound like a version of the Perils of Pauline and I have found that once I go down the pity party road it's hard to make a quick comeback.

Check out the pictures and let me know what you think. Oh, I guess I should tell a few more people about my blog. That might help the response!

HEY, It's SNOWING! I love snow.....