February 2, 2026 Nobody is Visiting

 Nobody is Visiting

After years of neglect of this little blog, folks quit checking for posts.  I've done the same thing.  Recently I have checked on a few of my old regulars sites.  As I visit the sites I would check almost daily the posts are dates two to four years old.  I wonder what has happened.  

Some stopped due to burnout.  Lemon Drop Pie, Ginny, was Voice of the Year in 2013 in the Heart category.  Her most recent post was June of 2024.   I met Ginny through a weekly meme challenge led by Second Blooming.  That blog site is gone.  The network she used is now defunct.  I cannot remember her name.  But I remember her joy raising a son, her husband's heart attack, and her seven fishes Christmas tradition.    

A few it was, sadly, due to illness and even death.  There was one 99 years old lady's blog that the announcement was made by her son that she had passed.  Another blog just ended with the post titled 'Cancer'.  Stage 3.  That was written on July3, 2022.  One Italian blogger has posted nothing since the height of the Covid outbreak in Italy.  I pray she was not a victim.

There are still a few of my old favs that I am still following. Little Wandering Wren still posts to Facebook stories.  Doses of Wild YAM is very much still posting regularly.  Wildbird Wednesday blog/photography meme already has posts for February 3rd.  Same with Skywatch Friday as submissions were made on January 29, 2026.  

There are two bloggers in Canada that regularly post.  Seasons in the Valley's writer, The Furry Gnome, resides near Georgian Bay in southern Ontario.  His writings influenced Hubby and I to visit that area in 2016.  That same trip took us to share dinner with Traces of the Soul writer, Cheryl Lynn.  That is a highlight to get to meet a person face to face.  

Through one blog or another I was led to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.  With that blog I learned about the beauty of haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry.  The author/teacher, Chèvrefeuille, of that blog is a nurse.  Due to the Covid pandemic he was unable to maintain the weekly meme challenges.   Attempts to revive the site have not succeeded.  Sure miss this site.

Visitors would be welcome again to this blog.  But first I must begin reconnecting.  I need to look for birds to photograph.  Surely I can take photos of the sky to rejoin that group.  After all, Covid is generally not the invisible enemy now.  But it left a dark stain on our physics.

Hope to see you soon,

Janice

February 1, 2026, Inspiration

 Inspiration

How does one get inspired?  Where can an inspiration come from if one just sits in a recliner?  Wish I had that answer.  Today is just another lazy Sunday.  I took a walk.  We received a grocery delivery from Wally World.  The kitchen was put back in order after breakfast.  The cat is still here while Son and DIL are in Aussie land.  A bright, crisp afternoon on the first day in February.

The walk was started by gathering up all the garbage needing to be removed.  Clean liners placed in cans.  One very full trash bag carried down 3 flights of stairs.  Hefted the bag into the dumpster.  Heading toward the sidewalk glistening grass surprised me.  The sprinkler system had performed its duty in the freezing temperatures.  The grass was covered in ice droplets.  Not the most reliable surface of a middle old person to cross.  The transit was made with nary a misstep!

For the next 20 or so minutes my eyes took in the area around the complex.  Surely there is something inspirational going on along the way.  The disk golfers are out enjoying the hobby.  A gentleman is sitting in the slide door of his van.  He speaks first.  The van was crammed with essentials.  Inquired if he travelled much.  "I try", he responded.  He noted it was his second home.  The feet propelled me onward with no inspiration to be found.

A loop was made using sidewalks.  Thoughts were few.  "If I cross here is it considered jay walking?"  "I'm getting hot so I'll remove the gloves, hat and unzip the coat."  Done and the feet just keep moving forward.  I return to the area with the glistening grass.  I've warmed up but the grass is still covered in ice droplets.  There should be some sort of inspiration in that, but no.  Guess today's post will just be SOC.

Take care,

Janice

January 31, 2026 Where Is Yesterday?

 Where Is Yesterday?

There you go.  Somehow yesterday was missed.  Where did it go?  What so occupied the brain cells that blogging thoughts were nowhere to be found.  It is a mystery.  I know there was a day.  Two loads of laundry were completed.  Four online puzzles were completed.  The cat was fed.  We ate the remaining chicken and dumplings from Thursday's cooking.  January 30 happened but was I present?

Do you ever have days like that?  You know they happened.  You see you made comments on Facebook posts.  You vaguely remember watching Shannon Makes.  You vaguely remember watching the latest Pateron member vlog post on Reawakening Château de Purnon. You leave comments on both sites.  You check on the blogger in Scotland via her blog, Doses of Wild YAM.  

Somehow you make it through the 50+ emails.  Mostly ads that come because you signed up to get a discount on some something or other xx number of years ago.  Then one of the emails takes you down the rabbit hole of reels.  Or personal business issues.  Or the remembering to apply for the refund of the broken item from Temu.  Or one of the hundreds of distractions that have become the life of an aging lady.

WARNING:  Rabbit Hole Ahead!

Awhile back, don't even ask me when, I became curious as to what age was considered 'elderly'.  Would I be ranked as elderly in able to qualify for some sort of rate cut, I seem to remember.  Google to the rescue.  "What age is classified as elderly".  Talk about a rabbit hole!  By the time I came out of those tunnels I had aged 10 years.  And I had learned a new set of labels for age classification for 'old'.

Here is a summary from a bunch of probably young researchers at Mayo Clinic.

Key, detailed aspects of aging from Mayo Clinic-related studies include:

• Definition: Generally, 65 years or older is the standard for defining the elderly.
• Sub-groups: 
• early-old (65–74) 
• middle-old (75–84)
• late-old (85+)
• Health Focus: The focus at this age is on managing chronic conditions, physical/cognitive changes, and maintaining independence.
• Research Metrics: Studies, such as the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, often analyze populations within the 65+ range to determine health trends. 
  

So, there you have it.  Far from young but a bit shy of ancient.  I'll give myself a by on neglecting to write a blog post for yesterday.  Yesterday found me square in middle-old age.  In addition, I am a full fledged member of the popular We Do Not Care Club.

Thanks for stopping by,

Janice

January 29, 2026 Birthdays

Birthdays

My three sisters each had two sons and one daughter.  About 4 years ago when sending out ecards I noticed something kind of interesting.  Each of my nieces' husbands had January birthdays.  All three were in the last 3 days of the month.  What are the chances of that!  Two of the nieces have May birthday, only 3 days apart.  The youngest niece was born in September.  Youngest is probably 20+ years younger than the other nieces.  So, they did not all fall under the same sign to influence those choices.  Just a freak coincidence.

Each month I have a goal of sending e-cards to everyone in my PEO group.  In addition, family members and close friends are included in the greeting sending out.  There is a variety of choices so no one receives identical cards.  I cannot guarantee that the next year someone might get one I sent out last year.  They received a greeting cause they are on my Luv Radar.  If you read this blog, which no one is since I was radio silent for so long, and do not get a greeting there is a reason.  Usually it is either I do not have a good email address or I do not have your birthdate on record.

Last December I reached 79 years circling the sun.  Well, outside the womb.  Hubby reached 85 in September.  Those six years difference made little difference until about the last 5 - 10 years.  These days the difference is showing a bit more.  Some days I think how hard I pushed him when he was just too tired to keep going.  I work to not do that any more.  Yes, age does have an influence on how well our bodies serve us.  All the years of not lifting correctly, carrying too much body weight, rotating shifts at work, the air we breath, and our inherited DNA are huge determining factors.

In the US and Canada it will be interesting to see if births rise in about 9 months.  Blackouts and other events that cause folks to stay home are like some sort of love potions.  During my recent hospital stay I was in the maternity wing.  I had to giggle at the irony.  One of the nurses and I were joking about that.  Then we drifted to the effects of blackouts, etc on birth rates.  She noted there was a huge surge in births following the Covid shutdown.  Now I am wondering how many births are a direct result of boredom.

Regardless of what circumstances surrounded the conception of the children in my sisters' lives I am glad.  Lots of fun memories to recall on a cold winter day in January.

There are 41 folks in this photo.  All but two are members of my sisters' and my families.  And there are at least 2 buns in the oven in the group.  BTW this is only part of the family.  

Take care,

Janice

January 28, 2026 Doctors and Memory of My Mom

 Doctors and Memory of My Mom

Today was a follow up day with the eye doctor and my GP.  Follow up for what you may ask.  You have no reason to know as I have been silent for years.  Let me catch you up on the happenings of the last few months.

Following about 4 years of inner thigh pain and what appeared to be muscle atrophy.  My right leg would just collapse while I was trying to walk.  The symptoms seemed to be similar to issues from 1985 when I had a ruptured disc, l4/l5.  I set up an appointment with the spine specialist at my ortho clinic.  He sent me to a pain specialist.  After more x-rays, CT scans, shots, 12 weeks of physical therapy a decision was made.  The pain was not improving and the issue was the hip joint.  So back to the ortho group  to the hip and knee specialist.

The hip doctor had replaced my left knee in 2016.  Had worked with me on muscle and adductor issues.  He even had done surgery on Hubby after his bicycle fall.  We knew each other.  The first words out of his mouth when he came into the exam room, "Your hip is a disaster!  Oh, hi, its been a while since I saw you."  The leg collapsing under me was the bone spurs catching on each other then giving away.  Well, good to know.  June 9, my hip was replaced.

That same day the elevator in our building died.  We live on the fourth floor.  I walked down to go to the hospital for the surgery.  After surgery I was to return home the same day.  I had to explain to the doctor and staff that to send me home meant my climbing 3 flights of steps.  I was not prepared to do that no matter who was going to lift/help me up those steps.  Nope, please, let me stay over night.  They did and Medicare paid the bill.  The elevator was out for over 2 weeks.

Cousin came to help with my care for the first 10 days.  What a blessing.  Hubby was in no shape to care for me at the level I needed.  I will say that hip recovery is soooo much easier than knee recovery.  I did all PT from home than released back to the same PT tech that had helped me before.  All went great and now I can climb the steps to the 4th floor apartment!

Last spring I was 78 and the eye doctor had noted cataracts in both eyes about 4 -5 years before.  We had been letting me wait till driving was a bit iffy to schedule the surgery to correct the issue.  It was time in early 2025 but hip issues and surgery caused eye surgery to be postponed.  Finally, August 19th the right eye was done.  The was d left eye was done one week later.  I chose not to pay extra for dual vision lens so reading glasses are used.  Distance vision checked at 20/20.  My vision was the best in decades.

Except for floaters.  You know those irritating blobs of protein that float on the inside of your eyeballs.  So hope you do not have to deal with those things.  I even had developed a dark one in the left eye.  It would float in from the side and look like something was stepping out in front of me while driving.  With a hybrid that already is a problem as folks do not hear my car moving when in electric mode.  

On the final day of my cataract surgeries I mentioned that I had heard there was a surgery to remove floaters.  Yes, there is a surgery and the eye clinic has a surgeon on staff.  In mid October I was given the all clear from cataract recovery. An appointment was set up with the floater surgeon for evaluation.  It was December 3 before he was available.

Once Dr. Fisher, the floater surgeon, gave the go ahead January 8 surgery was scheduled.  Arriving before 5 AM made for a short night's sleep.  I was home with an eye patch by noon.  In hand was a schedule for eye drops and the do's and don'ts for the next 3 weeks.  Today was the follow up.  All is good to go to  schedule the right eye floatie removal.  The left eye was and is so crystal clear.  I can hardly wait.

So why a follow up visit with a second doctor today.  Severe abdominal pain that radiated into my back sent me via ambulance to the ER.  I was alone when the pain had me in its grips so I called 911.  Basically an early diagnosis of a kidney infection changed to maybe bladder.  I was admitted for 2 days for IV antibiotics and morphine shots to manage the pain.  By the next day the diagnosis was no infection anywhere.  The follow up today leaves us all puzzled.  None of the commonly tested bacteria were detected in the cultures.  All I know is I no longer have pain.  Only one antibiotic pill left and I am done.  "Just watch yourself!" sweet Dr. Daniel said.

One last thought on this January 28.  This is the anniversary of the morning in 2015 following a night I spent at my Mom's bedside.  She begged me to make the nurses quit hurting her by putting clean bandages on her sizeable bedsore.  "Jannie, make them stop!" That was about 3 AM Those were the last words I remember her saying to me.  Around 6 AM I stepped out of the room for a bit of a break.  When I returned, her soul had left her body.  The night before she had angrily said, "In the morning I'm gonna standup and walk out of this place."  As with everything Momma did through out her life, she stood by her word.  She was 96 years 4 months and 17 days old.  Her life is covered more here.

Mom holding her youngest great grandson.

So there you have it.  Some of the not so fun things over the last year and a memory of my Mother, Mary Helen Rogers.

Y'all stay safe and warm,

Janice

January 27, 2026 Lunch

 Lunch With Grandson #4

Lila

With Son and DIL in Australia, we are to be checking on GS#4.  We are, also, cat sitting Lila, DIL's 15 years old American bobtail.  She sleeps either by my head or Hubby's head at night.  When I sit down she will get in my lap.  Other times, if she is on the sofa and I get up, she claims my chair.  I put off visiting the loo so I so not lose my seat. But, I digress.  This post is about sharing lunch with GS#4. 

Youngest Grandson will be 20 in about 3 months.  He moved from his mother's home to Son's home a couple of weeks ago.  He is attending a nearby community college.  He chooses to live there as there is bus service nearby at Dad's place.  You see, GS#4 chooses not to drive. Why?  According to him, "..it's the other people on the road.."  Wish I had noted those same folks are on the road if he is just riding with someone else.  

GS#4 is the only grandkid within 200 miles.  The other 4 are spread from Waco, TX, to Arkansas, to Colorado, to Melbourne, Australia.  So our Son and DIL were empty nesters for about 2 months or less.  GS#3 moved out in August.  On and off Arkansas came to visit with her German Shepherd.  The last visit was for about 3 weeks.  She left and GS#4 moved in with them within two weeks.  So technically Son and DIL are still not empty nesters.

Now, there is another side to the empty nesters.  That's grandparents.  We moved to this area to be with our grandchildren.  We spent weekends travelling from one soccer field to another to cheer for our grands.  We sat in 100 degree temps to watch swim meets.  We bought bleacher seats to watch football games, basketball games, and track events.  We attended plays and choir presentations.  Hauled kids to practice.  Brought or made meals when the parents had business meetings or travels.  

Some days we were tired from the activities. At times, it took most of the week to recover.  Especially as we aged.  Thankfully, GS#4 chose to leave sports for the fine arts.  Well, except his senior year he tried football.  He hated it.  It was one of the hottest falls on record.  We took our stadium seats.  He ran less than 10 plays the entire season.  We were there.  Because we love him.  We donated the stadium seats the day after his last game.

His last year in high school my 84 year old Hubby took him to lunch at times.  Every Tuesday and Thursday he picked the boy/man up from school and took him home.  Often they stopped to grab some ice cream or other fast food.  Grandpa would purposely do things just to aggravate GS#4. Grandpa was there for him.  GS#4 came to appreciate the quite, gentle man. Grandpa became his safe place.

So today it was time to take GS#4 to lunch.  Even with the possibility of slick sidewalks, we made our way to the car.  We drove to him.  Then we drove to Haymakers for lunch.  Burgers and tater tots.  A double order of tater tots so he would have them to reheat in the air fryer "back at home".  We chattered about football, Super Bowl, new coach for Pittsburg.  Stuff I don't really care about but he loves.  After lunch he guided us to his school.  Cause Grandpa may drive down to pick him up some evening.  

Not sure what we will do when this last grandchild truly leaves the safety of his parents' nest.  Only time will tell.

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice 

It's Time.

January 26, 2026       IT'S TIME!

I am still alive and kicking.  Just took a break from blogging for quite some time.  It seemed that there was nothing to write about at the time.  The muse had disappeared.  There were trips with Son and his family.  There were funerals, reunions, health challenges, hip replacements, cataract surgeries, grandkids graduations, and Son and DIL wedding.  I know, there was plenty to inspire my writing.  It just did not happen.  If you are a blogger you know the dry spells.

And then there was the first year of Trump.2.  The defects were not worked out during the 4 year absence.  Deep sigh.  I just cannot even go there tonight. 

So I will let this post go with a hello to all.  Welcome back.  Hope I can come up with some fun posts for you to enjoy.

Take care,

Janice

Hubby, Granddaughter, DIL, me, Son.  12/24/2025