Celebration Of Life

We often refer to a memorial service as a “celebration of life,” which is appropriate because we celebrate the life the deceased lived.  We celebrate the good things they experienced and the good things they did during their years on this earth.  But we also celebrate the new life they now have in Heaven.  This week began with a celebration of the life my Mom had and we all said our goodbyes and buried her.

A celebration of life also reminds me that life is a gift from God in every way, and should be treasured, celebrated, and offered back to the Giver of Life.  What we fail to do sometimes is celebrate life as we live it.  This does not mean throwing wild parties all the time, but rather experiencing the joy and wonder of the gift of life.  I am reminded to celebrate my years on this earth, and the richness that life can bring.  

This is a photo of the big, old oak tree outside Mom's condo and the wonderful poem sister Jean wrote.

Friday 10/22 - After a very early and busy morning we were on the road for Indianapolis at 9:45.  During our drive, the tree guys called to tell us they were going to finish taking down the tree.  So we had to ask Patty to go out and oversee and pay the tree guys once they finished.  Meanwhile she took several photos of the process.   

This was a big, old oak tree which we hated to have to take down, and now there is a lot more yard clean up to do. 

Meanwhile, on the road, Joe and I made our way through part of Kentucky and up Indiana.  We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for a big, late lunch.  Once back on the road, Courtney was not too far behind us.  

Patty sent more ranch photos.

Maggie over-seeing the yard, with Maslo in the background. 

Look at our view.

 

Seeing what color the maple tree in the pasture is turning, and having looked closely at it's leaf shape, I am fairly certain it is a Sugar Maple rather than a Red Maple.  This makes me feel better because the Sugar Maple are not found to be near as toxic to horses as the Red Maple.


I was delighted to see from this photo, that Patty helped clear the branches from along the side of the drive.  She is the best ranch hand! 

Amiga resting as Zorro looks on.  Patty fed them and gave Zorro a Prevocox because he was still sore. 

We arrived at our Air BnB, got unloaded and settled in, and then Courtney arrived. 

Britney's flight was a little late so there was time to kill.  Then Joe went with Courtney to pick up Britney.  The Subway they stopped at on the way back was closed, so they grabbed food from a convenience store and we all had a light supper. 

I was in bed at 9:00, but was back up at 1:30 after taking my thyroid pill.  I decided to wait up for Daniel (who arrived at 2am) and worked on this blog.  I put myself to bed 45 minutes later, hoping to get more sleep because of the big day ahead of me.

Around 9am Joe and Britney left the Air BnB to get Travis who needed to be at the funeral home early to set up music.  Soon Daniel was on his way and Courtney and I shortly there after.  Meanwhile, others were also converging on the funeral home.  Here is Brianna at Carol's with the border collies (Rick and Meg) giving her a hug goodbye.

We had about a 90 minute drive to Muncie.  When we got to Meek's Funeral Home, there was already a gathering of family, with the rest arriving fairly soon.  We all just basically stood around and chatted, and also looked at the memoirs of Mom.

Then the short little memorial service began and it was a celebration of life.  We talked about the love, and fun, and care, and wonderful accomplishments of Mom.  And we told a few stories and spoke of how we would miss Mama dearly and deeply.

From the funeral home, we followed the head car that was carrying the urn of mother’s ashes.

 

We went to Strong cemetery where Mom was buried near many of her relatives.  We had a short prayer and said our goodbyes. 

From the cemetery, which was in Albany, we all drove back to Muncie where we had a wonderful meal at the Neeley House

The conversation was loud and lively, as we caught up with each other’s lives, reminisced about past fun times with Mom, and discussed what our future might be without her in terms of traveling and get-to-gethers.

We weren’t really ready to quit when the restaurant was ready to kick us out, LOL.  We lingered on the front lawn of the restaurant and many photos were taken.

           This is most of Mama's family: 6 children, 4 spouses, and 11 of 12 grandchildren.
                 Ben and two great granddaughters and their moms were unable to make it.

And of course, per tradition, we had to take a goofy photo, or two.

Most of us went to the hotel where we had four rooms reserved thanks to Patti.  We basically all congregated in the breakfast area, which was closed, but they let us hang out there.  We had several tables where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening, continuing our conversation, sharing our memories, and making plans for cleaning out mother's condo.

Patti gave Dan Ava's baby gift (a fun toy and larger clothes that will soon fit because she's growing so fast).

Joe went and picked up pizza and salads at Mancino’s, which we all snarfed down on. 

Dan made a beer run because what we had was not going to hold out. 

Eventually, most of us went up to our rooms and went to bed. 

Some folks, Daniel and the Sidensticks, hung out and played cards for quite a while.  I recognize this move of Dan's... just like his Dad.

Sunday 10/24 - I hadn’t heard Daniel slip into our room where he crashed, and he was up before sunrise and quietly slipped out to head home to Nashville.  I got up and went down to try to get on my computer and start some blogging about the weekend.  Once Britney came down and soon after Patti, my computer was set aside and I enjoyed conversation with them.  Slowly others woke up and joined us.
Alas, it was time to check out of the hotel so we all went to our rooms and packed up.  Sadly saying our goodbyes, we headed our separate ways.  Courtney was taking Britney to Joliet where she had business for the week.  But first they dropped by Dave’s bridal shop in Naperville to pick out a bridesmaid dress for Britney. 

Cathy and Ralph packed up Jean and Brianna and took them to Dayton.  The Sidensticks all loaded up and headed to Cincinnati, and Joe and I started our long trek back to Fairfield Glade.  It rained quite hard at times during the first several hours of the drive but thankfully cleared off later in the day.  I always sit behind Joe, so I can't see the speedometer and won't hound him about how fast he is going and so I can change positions regularly to relieve my sciatica pain.  I often lay down and try to nap also.
 

Meanwhile, during our gloomy drive, we were getting up-dates from Patty and photos of the pretty, sunshiny day at the ranch.  The big burn pile was still actually smoldering.



Maggie was enjoying resting in the sun on the pile of hay where Amiga sometimes lays down. 

Fall colors were continuing to emerge and the maple tree was getting more orange. 

I love this photo of Amiga and Zorro.  They are usually very close to each other, and are so sweet together.  However, it is not entirely good that they have become inseparable.

Joe and I finally got home, arriving just as Patty was dropping off Maggie.  I continue to say, 'There's no place like home,' and always feel it is so nice to get back home. 

We unloaded and unpacked everything, settled right in, and had a quiet evening, Joe watching football and me computerizing.
  

Monday 10/25 - Rain had been in the forecast, but it hadn't come yet and looked like it would hold off.  So we planned to get started on tree removal out at the ranch. 

First we had to pick up the other UTV which was finally repaired after months of waiting for parts.  I dropped off Joe and he followed me back to the ranch.  Just after we arrived, it started raining and soon the skies opened up and it really started coming down.  

So cleaning up this mess in the yard would have to wait.  When I went to look at how big the logs were, I was surprised to see that the tree was not as hollow inside as originally led to believe.  Then I was feeling remorseful for cutting it down.  But Joe had a good point, a lot of the branches were in bad shape. 

Switching from farm clothes to workout clothes, I went to the gym.  I made it through my whole workout, although at less weight and less reps.  Then I made a much needed trip to Food City on my way home.  

It had cleared off and actually started warming up some, so I went back to the ranch.  I had to feed Wanda and the horses anyways.  But I decided to start on tree clean up.  Wanda was very glad to see me, and really wanted to be pet.  She would stick her head out the crate door for chin scratching, but quickly retreat back to safety.  I plan to release her after Halloween, because this time of year is not a safe time for black cats to be wandering outside.

I raked the ashes off the top of the burn pile, and exposed hot coals beneath.  Then I threw onto the fire all the brush Patty had brought down from the driveway.  They quickly caught flame. 

 





Back up at the house I started work on clearing this pile from the sideyard.  Notice the close proximity of Amiga and Zorro to each other. 

Once I got the trailer loaded, I went and fed Amiga and Zorro and cleaned up some manure. 


I was home by 4:30 to make a big salad for dinner.  This got my fur babies riled up to eat, so I fed all of them just before sitting down to eat.  Below is a photo of the broken sprinkler system across the pond.  I called to report it and soon guys were out to fix it.

It was Joe's poker night, so I tried blogging, but am always just too tired in the evening to accomplish much.  And I actually went to bed (with the lights off even) at 7:30.   

Tuesday 10/26 - I got a lot of blogging done from 2-4am.  Joe was meeting somebody to look at the big UTV so left for the ranch at 8am.  I had laundry going and wanted to wait for the ground and sticks and leaves to dry up before going out to work on brush clean up.  It was sprinkling some so that didn't help matters, and there was no sunshine.  Joe sold the UTV at a nice profit. 
  

I arrived at 10:30 and the horses came right over to see if I had treats.  I didn't so they moved on to the greener pasture.  

My first task was to clean this and a smaller matching rug.  When Andy had been at our party a week ago, he felt bad for Maggie because she didn't have a rug in the living room to lay down on.  He had these two old rugs he had been wanting to get rid of, so I took them.  They were pretty grungy, but soap and water helped.

Other than taking a break to feed and pet Wanda, and later feed the horses and dog, I worked on brush clean up and tending the two fires.

We used the trailer for the small stuff and the tractor for the big logs that were too big to saw or split or go in our fire pit by the house. 

 







This is what the big stuff, burning in the fire by the barn, looked like.  Once Joe was too exhausted to do anymore lifting and moving of the big logs, he quit and went to mow. 
 

I continued with moving (rolling and stacking) some of the manageable logs by the log shed, and raking up all the sticks, acorns, and leaves.  I put them on the fire behind the house where a little more stump is left that we are trying to burn out.  We discussed the giant new stump that we now have and decided to leave it as a seat.  
 





This is all the farther I got before calling it a day.  Once again, I was running out of daylight.  Joe had already left for home. 




I could not get this log stacked with the others, it was just too big, so I rolled it over to the fire behind the house to just burn it there.  The fire was inviting and I thought about sitting by it and having a beer, but didn't want to drink alone. 

 

I got home at 7pm, quickly did all my cat chores and then had beer and popcorn (and some nuts) for dinner while watching Survivor with Joe.

I decided a sleep aid with pain medication would be necessary, took a pill and went fast to sleep.

Wednesday 10/27 - I slept till 6:45 (waking briefly to take my thyroid pill at 3am).  That was ten hours of sleep.  I have come to realize, the regular (plain) sleep aid pills do not really work (They only allow me to sleep about five hours and leave me groggy the rest of the next day.) but if it is the pill with pain medication, it does great (lots of sleep and I wake feeling rested).  

Stevie with a bit of attitude because she gets irritated by some of the other cats.  In this spot they can't surprise attach her and she can keep an eye out for them.  

It was a golf and poker day for Joe so I headed to the ranch at 10:00 on my own.  Well I had Maggie with me.  I had decided to skip the gym because I was going to be doing some heavy lifting and was still a bit sore from moving logs the day before.

First off, when I went down to get the tractor in the machine shed, I fed the catfish at the lower pond.  This is an activity Maggie loves to watch and sometimes get too involved in.  

 

After cleaning one last area in the machine shed, and hauling three plates of glass up to the garage for Habitat to take, I got started on tree removal.  This is what I had stacked at the log shed the day before.

All of the big leafy branches had been removed but there was still a ton of sticks, leaves, and sawdust on the ground.  Much of it was under the logs so I had to get them picked up first. 


When I took a tractor load of two big, un-stackable (too crooked or Y shaped) logs to the fire by the barn I realized Maggie had been missing for a while.  When I went looking for her, I discovered she had caught a catfish.  It was still alive, and swam away when I put it in the pond, but I think it might have been critically wounded.  Maggie was reprimanded but I didn't think that would stop her from continuing to 'go fishing.'
 

The old stump in this spot of the yard was now completely burnt away, so I decided to start on this other little stump near the swimming pool.  










First I dug all around it to expose more of the stump and larger roots I wanted to remove.

Then I stacked around it a big log, some smaller, very dry, old split logs from the shed, and lots of brush I raked up.  I got the fire started using a little diesel fuel. 

I kept hauling raked up sticks, leaves, and sawdust to this new burn pile.  The brush was a bit damp from laying on the ground so nearly put out my fire several times.  It would smoke for awhile and then catch fire.

This was my view, while inside eating a late lunch.  I never get tired of it.

Late afternoon, when I was in the hay loft feeding Wanda, I had a little mishap while cleaning her cage.  I had cornered her in her bed box and since she was feeling threatened, she nearly escaped.  Well I had to grab and trap her to block her from going out the crate door.  She turned and went back in her bed box, but I had scared her and lost her trust.  Dang it.  It took awhile to get her to let me reach in (she was growling and I thought might bite me) and scratch her under the chin.  When she started purring instead of growling, I retreated from the crate and hay loft and let her be.  

I worked out at the ranch until 6:30.  By day's end, this photo (taken Thursday because it was dark when I was finishing up) shows the additional logs I had stacked at the shed. 

 

Once home and on my computer, I got news (and photos) from Jean and Brianna, who flew home today.  I also heard from Britney down at Greenville College and Courtney, who had gotten home from Michigan, having put 1250 miles on her car in the last six days. 

Jean also sent this photo she took before Mom's Memorial Service.  We titled it 'Red, White, and Blue.'  It is me, sitting between Courtney and Brianna.  We will continue to celebrate life, enjoy each other's company, and be silly.

Thursday 10/28 - I was going go to the gym because it was supposed to be raining all day, but the forecast changed and we had a window of opportunity to move more of the tree off of the lawn.  So Joe, Maggie, and I arrived at the ranch at 8:30.  I had been wanting to move the tall storage shelf unit into the master bathroom but needed Joe's help.  So first thing when we arrived, I had him help me.  We also brought in the wicker coffee table I was going to repair.  

The next job for Joe was to get this metal ring out of the ground.  This is an enlargement of yesterday's photo of where the stump had been.

  

Using the tractor and a chain, it came out easily.  But look how long the rod into the ground was.  Later when showing it to Terry, she said they thought the previous owners had a dog chained to it.  It had somehow been hidden in the tree trunk/roots when we started the burning process. 

The rugs were finally dry, so I moved them from the slate floor in the sun room, to the wood floor in the living room.  |

Patty arrived for our 10am meeting with Susan and Bonnie, the co-owners of Cowboy, who will start boarding him November 3rd.

After we were done with ranch business, I went out to work on tree removal with Joe, and Patty worked at hanging the new window shade in the master bedroom.  Here are some of the big logs Joe had hauled with the tractor, to the fire by the barn.

Patty finished with the curtain and had me come look.  I really liked it, so she was going to order five more for other windows.

Before Joe left for the day I helped him move this big log (stump) from the tree trunk in the yard, to the woods out past the gate, so it can be used as a mounting block out there.

Wanda was still not ready to warm back up to me, so after scratching her chin while she cowered in the box, I let her be.

I put hay in the loafing shed and some in the field for Amiga and Zorro.  They took a break from the wind (and sometimes spitting rain) and snacked in the comfort of the shed.

I was able to get all of the moveable logs stacked up at the log shed.  I had to start a second row of the short ones because they were just too heavy to lift any higher.  I struggled with some of the long ones also, but got-r-done.  

I didn't rake up any more of the brush off the lawn because it was too wet and was raining even harder.  So this is as far as I got.  We are now waiting on the tree guys to come back one more time to saw these into manageable pieces.  They are too heavy to move even into the tractor bucket. 

Before leaving for the day, I put the towels in the master bathroom shelving unit we had moved in there earlier in the morning. 



As I was heading out to my car, during a downpour blowing in from the south, I noticed Amiga standing on the side of the shed out of the wind, but still getting wet, while Zorro stood inside the run-in.  Was he not letting her in?  Silly horses. 





I spent several hours in town, shopping at many stores, and buying many things for the barn and ranch house in addition to supplies for our house.  I got a text message from Michelle just as I was parking in the garage.  I was invited next door for ice cream cake and beer.  It was 7pm, I had not had dinner, and it sounded good to me.  So here was my meal for the night.  LOL

Friday 10/29 - This photo of Amiga on the left and Zorro on the right was definitely not the weather scene today.  Patty sent it from a few days ago.  They are so sweet together.  Below was the sky this morning.

Joe wanted to get an early start so he could get home for a nap before poker.  I had a few jobs for him, so decided to go to the ranch in the morning and move my gym visit to the afternoon. 

I had mentioned wanting to move this big rock to the door of the potting shed, but had no intention of doing it today because the ground was too soft and I needed some gravel to put under it and I didn’t want to dig around in the mud where it was going to be put.  I also asked Joe to keep the tractor off the soft lawn, and look what happened when he ran into difficulties with the front end fork loader, putting the rock here by the laundry room door as a temporary 'holding' spot. 

Because it was so cold, windy, and rainy, I concentrated on jobs inside the house.  Before leaving, Joe helped me put this light together that I bought the day before.  The shades are a little too funky for my liking, but it was under $25.00 (much cheaper than having an electrician install can lights in the ceiling).  I love that there are so many lights that can be aimed in different directions which really lights up this section of the room.  I wish the stand was taller though because the bright lights hit you in the eyes when they are aimed down towards the table.  I may go with lower wattage bulbs or setting the whole lamp up on a side table. 

Using white duct tape I had also just bought, I fixed the three holes in the walls.  Also a lot cheaper than re-dry-walling them and a good temporary fix until we make a decision about the walls (whether to remove parts of some) in the master suite area.

I repaired the broken wicker coffee-table /  storage-bench using black duct tape.  I also put a new lampshade (that cost 30 bucks!) on a table lamp that did not have a shade, and I liked how it fit (one less thing I would need to return to the store).

It pretty much rained all day long, with a little break mid-day.  When the rain let up I went down to feed Wanda.  She actually came out of her box and greeted me, meowing, and let me scratch her chin a little bit.  But man is she skittish.  I also moved a couple bales of hay from the trailer in the machine shed, up to Amiga and Zorro's feed room and put a couple bales down in the barn.

I headed home about 3 o’clock so I could get to the gym.  But by the time I got home, I was just too cold and tired and had jobs here at the house to do.  So I did a load of laundry, washed some dishes, filled pet food storage containers etc.  I made myself a bowl of soup using Ramen noodles as the base.  When you add veggies and meat, it comes out pretty good. LOL.  I caught up on emails and Facebook before my evening devotional and then succumbing to sleep at 8:30.