Face and shadows to start

 

A self-portrait by my son, Tai Rogers. He's now a high school art teacher, a challenge for which he's quite capable. But the logistics are somewhat daunting as he begins this new avenue of endeavor.

As winter lingers (though a respite of 70F degree days has surprised us) this redbud has just it's own limbs to show still. It lives near our Black Mountain Library.

By Susan Seddon Boulet

Thanks for all the positive  feedback about the divine feminine and Women's Day last Sunday. It really touched my heart. Especially since I heard that day of two deaths of dear ones, one a sweet pet, the other a husband of a blogger. There are now empty spaces in my friends' lives. And it reminds me how easily we can lose one another. Give out some hugs today!

Yes the Bradford Pear is beginning to blossom. Will we have more freezing weather? Due Thursday night this week!

Lunch back in the dining room at the Lakeview Senior Center! Here Trivia, the manager, interviews a new participant.

Wandering around to say hi, or taking a  seat and catching up with others, the group of seniors was so happy to be together again!

More signs of spring, green leaves appearing on a bush.

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Life

gifts me with breath.

All i have to do is allow it in.

I have been holding my breath long enough,

afraid of life itself...

~ Barbara Heile

One of my sons

 

Happy 44th to my youngest son!

My choice to raise a son without a father was never regretted by me. He’s amazing, and I’m so very proud of him.  I’d been divorced 8 years and my boyfriend who I loved deeply left me and married another woman. These things happen. But the wonderful life that I got to witness as Tai grew with his playfulness and high intelligence has made me let go of my grief. He’s brought nothing but joy!

I am also terrifically grateful for the various villages of Unitarian universalist churches that helped me raise my son. My ex-husband and two older sons were also very accepting and loving towards him.

Today's quote:

There are two kinds of fools: One says, "This is old, therefore it is good"; the other 

says, "This is new, therefore it is better." -William R. Inge, clergyman,

 scholar, and author (1860-1954)

Enjoying life

 

Wildflowers on the slope by the Lakeview Center where I pick up lunch most weekdays.

Last week we had delicious tuna salad, (with wheat bread, lettuce and tomato for sandwich fixin'), potato salad, beets and vanilla pudding. Did I mention the suggested donation is $1.50 by the Council on Aging? Most of us leave $2 or more each day. The program is continuing to serve just those who were coming before Hurricane Helene knocked out the dining facility at the Lakeview Center for Active Aging. We aging folks are maybe a bit less active these days. I do miss the socialization.

Two views of St. Augustine FL. I lived and worked there in the late 90s. I learned that damp winters on the ocean didn't agree with my breathing.

Another enjoyable Florida location, Ichetucknee Springs. There's a wonderful little "run" from the springs which has tubing or rafting  on the clear cold water...very shallow and under wild trees hung with Spanish Moss, and maybe a cottonmouth or two. Great summer memories here!

There's hopes that the stretch between Asheville and the Pisgah Inn will open up this month, so we can take one of our favorite drives and see some of the vistas for which the Parkway is known. We have missed this scenic area for the last 10 months. Red is of course the closed portion.

It's of course interesting to know that these maps are skewed such that north is in the top left corner, rather than directly up, as most maps show. I live in Black Mountain, near the parkway but can't drive directly to any overlooks at this time, the stretch near Asheville is just through woods.

Repairs on the Blue Ridge Parkway are steady but slow.

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Tiny little bursts of flavor, from last week's Tailgate Market

Two nights around 60 F degrees, I decided to bring this lady inside, perhaps to help her bring those bumps into blooms!

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Today's quote:

The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within.

Ruby Dee An old photo: My youngest son, Tai at 1 week old. ------------ Sharing with Tom's Tuesday Treasures

Today's quote:

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.

HELEN KELLer

An imaginary trip

Considering

          mountains...

              and valleys ...

                          and rivers!

The attraction of the Appalachian mountains...the wonderful vistas.

In Colorado and Utah, hikes are working through different formations of rocks. Here son, Tai, and wife, Kendra, pause for a dual-selfie.

Tai is standing next to a little stream under a cliff.

Me standing near the overflow falls from Lake Susan which continue the path of Flat Creek from Montreat to Black Mountain NC.

Flat Creek in Black Mountain, a few summers ago, when it was behaving itself. It goes under a highway and joins the Swannanoa River waters, which definitely ran amok in September 2024.

Flat Creek when it flowed nicely by Ole's Guacamole restaurant, before 2024 when it flooded it for the second time. Ole's is being renovated at this time, and due to reopen.

A brilliant high school buddy, Jinni Stahl, spent her later years using scooters to help her get around after MS took so much of her mobility.

My other high school friend, Rosemary Beddingfield, had breast cancer that was in remission the last 5 years of her life. She always had a positive silly attitude. Both of these friends may be gone from walking the earth in their bodies, but their spirits are still part of my life. They both had birth anniversaries last week.

Son Russ and wife, Michelle seem to have found a way to cool off, maybe in FL.

And where our American adventures all began, when Giles Fitz Rogers came to Jamestown VA in 1664. (Here are replica ships moored in Jamestown VA, much as his would have been.)

And that reminds me to check out some Ancestry "hints" to see if there's any new information that can be substantiated. My cousin who's a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution thinks we descended from Giles' son, Peter, where I think it was more likely through his son John.

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Today's quote:

Incorporating human touch into our everyday lives is vital to the healing of our emotional and physical selves

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An old photo:

Granddaughter Cayenne and her Great Uncle Norm Dewolfe in 2011. Norm is husband to my ex's sister.

Beauty and love (and Good Trouble)

 

My neighbor's planters with abundant flowers!

Summertime at Lake Tomahawk, 2025

An unframed version of wedding photo of Michelle and Russ Heym, April, 2000. 

Some of the wonderful people at my son Marty Heym and Barbara Baker's wedding in May, 2019. Barbara is in the great white hat. Marty on far right with bow tie. I know Beverly Baker is in center with the black lace dress. But the rest of the folks are unknown to me.

Hiking in Colorado, 2025, here Kendra uses 2 poles on rocky trail.

I love this with Kendra stretching her hair out while by her left elbow Zora has her tongue hanging out. They made it to this wonderful flower-flung place of rest!

Family portrait with Zora dog, Kendra and Tai Rogers, 2025 July.

Today's quote:

We cannot have harmony and balance in our lives if we forget to include the Earth and natural rhythms in our lives.

An old photo:

Myself as bridesmaid for my friend Rosie, in 1962. (Dress was pale blue chiffon which I never wore again.)

Today there will be demonstrations of "good trouble" as taught by Congressman John Lewis.

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Personal update!
I found it!

In a file folder between "Pets papers" and "Pottery," was one called "Papers - Important." And there was my original birth certificate. I received it from my parents when I got my first passport in 1963.

I do hope that will serve, it has numbers and a seal of Texas.