Tag Archives: #mylifeinpictures

December 30, 2022 · 2:03 am

The highs and lows of 2022 in my life…

As this year closes out and we all catch the end-of-the-year reflection bug, I can’t help but think what a rollercoaster 2022 was – in the world and in my own life.

My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Sinclair, used to say that whenever we think of something bad happening we should balance it by thinking of something good. Makes sense, no?

So, here are the bad things that happened (to me) in 2022, first:

~ I got Covid. REALLLLLY bad covid even though I was double-vaxxed and triple-boosted. I was laid up for 10 days with a wracking cough, incredibly high fevers, and no energy at all.

~ I developed a ridiculous double ear infection that rendered me 95% deaf for almost 2 weeks.

~ I watched the slow, progressive decline of my parents’ health and mentation.

~ I didn’t win Powerball. Not even once!

~ I didn’t win Megamillions.

And now, the positive:

~ my grandson took his first steps, said his first words, and recognizes me enough to dive-bomb me with hugs and kisses whenever he sees me.

~ I wrote, and subsequently had published, 7 new books

~ I got a new writing/publishing contract from Magnolia Blossom Publishing for 5 books

~ I had my first 3 Paranormal romances published. Merry’s Ghost, The Haunting of Wilton June, and It’s Witch O’Clock Somewhere

~ I sold more books than any other year! ( Hubby likes this one best of all! hee hee)

~ I lost 21 pounds ( so far)

~ I attended 3 in-person romance conference/book signings this year – this was major since I didn’t do any in the 2 years Covid raged)

~ I had two personal book signings at a local bookstore.

~ I was a double-RONE nominee

~ I won a New Jersey Gold Leaf award for my very first Paranormal Romance, THE SHERIFF & THE PSYCHIC

~ My daughter finally had her many-times-Covid-postponed wedding celebration on Mt. Washington

~ My Grandson turned 1!

It’s nice when it’s all laid out like this that I can truly see the positive far outweighed the negative.

Here’s hoping 2023 is the same.

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January 22, 2022 · 12:07 am

Photo of the day, day 22

Sign of the times we live in….le sigh

Luckily, I am still, and I remain, negative.

Get vaccinated, peeps. Wear your masks. And for God’s sake wash your hands!!!

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January 21, 2022 · 12:34 am

Photo of the day, day 21

When I was pregnant with my daughter, 32 years ago, I embroidered this for her nursery room. It hung in her bedroom for 5 years and then was transferred to a hallway with other things I’d made.

This now hangs in my grandson’s room. I gifted it to him when he was born and my daughter was glad I did.

I love stuff like this that you can pass down, you know? PS> this is the original mat and frame – I never changed anything.

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January 20, 2022 · 12:00 am

Photo of the day, day 20

This is one of my favorite paintings and was the basis for the cover of my fourth book, THE VOICES OF ANGELS. I spotted this photo in a museum eons ago and it always stuck with me.

See the resemblance between the two?

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January 11, 2022 · 12:00 am

Photo of the day, day 11

I always show you Maple’s puppy stew when it’s already in the containers. This is what it looks like when it’s cooking. Today was cooking day. I have enough for the next 21 days now. She gets fed this every morning and since day 1 of giving it to her she’s had no more diarrhea, skin allergies, or weepy eyes.

Here’s a quick funny story.

You all know I cook every week for my parents. I usually do It on Mondays. A few months ago I was cooking Maples stew at the same time I was cooking my parents’ meals for the week.

After I delivered them I got a call from my mother saying, “Peggy, that stew you made was the most delicious stuff ever.” I was baffled because I hadn’t made them stew that week. Then it hit me: I must have given them some of Maple’s food by mistake.

Of course, I didn’t tell her she was eating the dog’s food. I may be dumb at times but I’m never stupid!!

Here’s the recipe if your dog has severe allergies to EVERYTHING like mine does.

2lbs skinless, deboned chicken pieces

2 lbs stew meat, or lamb cut into bite-sized pieces

2 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

1 lb shelled peas

1lb green beans

1 lb cut carrots

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled, and chopped

2 cups barley or brown rice ( i alternate every month)

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cups cut squash ( if you want)

1 lb corn kernals ( if you want. Some dogs don’t digest corn well)

Place everything in a stew pot. Cover with water until just covered. Bring to a boil then once it is, cover and simmer for 2.5 hours or until meat and veggies are very tender ( no longer than 3 hours).

Place into individual containers and freeze. I have 2 cup containers. Defrost one per day. Maple gets hers as her breakfast.

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January 8, 2022 · 12:30 am

Photo of the day, day 8

So I didn’t go once during the pandemic year 2020 and only went back right before Omicron hit.

But…I have been going 3-4 times a week with hubby, masked, and keeping my distance from everyone. It actually feels good to be out and exercising instead of on the treadmill all alone in my basement ( which is where I spent 2020/2021.)

Keep fit, kids!

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January 7, 2022 · 12:00 am

Photo of the day, day 7

I’ll be taking this down today and returning it to storage until next year, but wanted to show it to you for today’s photo.

This is my Nativity set. The reason it is so near and dear to me is that the stable was my beloved mother-in-law’s. It is over 60 years old and get this: the light bulb still works and has never been replaced. It’s true when people say they don’t make stuff like they used to — even lightbulbs!

The Nativity set is mine, a Willow Tree set it took me three years to collect. I simply love it. The figurines may not be in proportion to the stable itself ( in real life they would be Amazonians!) but I think the overall aesthetic still works.

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January 6, 2022 · 12:27 am

Photo of the day, day 6

In my never-ending quest to be healthier, I purchased an Aerogarden for our family last Christmas. I grow lettuce, exclusively, in it because hubby and I like salad every night as our first course to dinner.

It’s a breeze to operate and so far we’ve been through 3 cycles of new plantings. AS a cost differential, I pay 15 dollars every 6 months for 1 box of 9 lettuce pods, which last me between 4 and 6 months of daily use. If I purchased the same amount of lettuce every week in the inflated grocery store now, I would pay about 4 dollars a week/16 a month.

15 dollars for 4-6 months instead of 64-96 dollars for the same time period?
Yeah, this garden is a good thing. It’s already paid for itself twice over.

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January 5, 2022 · 12:21 am

Photo of the day, day 5

This goofball has an abscess on her paw and continues to lick it despite our continual verbal commands not to, hence… the cone of shame.

I love this picture because she looks like she is smoking a cigar when it’s actually one of her organic bones she loves so much.

This dog is the love of my life and the bane of my existence. In the 15 months we’ve had her she’s been to the vet’s office more times than my older lab had been in 12 years. She’s definitely my middle child, kids – rambunctious, energetic, off the wall at times, but so sweet, loving, and smart, too.

~Peg

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January 3, 2022 · 12:38 am

Photo of the day, day 3

This little cutie is my 85-year-old mother. I took this right before the holidays when she had a routine MD appointment for a follow-up visit after her last hip surgery.

She’s wearing a Christmas sweatshirt I bought her last year – at her request – and the faux fur hat is from 1969. Yes, she’s had it that long. The blue jacket she bought on the dollar table at a local church bazaar 15 years ago. The woman knows the value of saving a penny and never paying retail if you can avoid it – lessons I learned at her knee.

In the past year she’s had an outbreak of shingles that incapacitated her horribly and left her with nerve damage in her forehead, broke her right hip in a fall at home that resulted in surgery and a 10 week stay in a rehab center, and welcomed her first great-grandchild. She is no longer mobile without the aide of quad-walker or a wheelchair, so she hasn’t been outside the house for anything other than hospitalizations and doctor visits in almost 2 years.

Despite that, she wakes up every day and the first thing she does is say a prayer of thanks to God.

When I was giving her a shower a few weeks ago she said to me, out of nowhere, “I can’t believe I’ve lived this long.”

I mumbled, “Me, either,” to which she shot me the glare she used to when I was an errant child.

85 years old and she can still instill parental fear in her 61 year old daughter. That’s the power of an old-school, Irish-gened mother, kids.

Cherish your parents, peeps, no matter how old you are. You won’t have them forever. Tell them you love them daily and show it whenever and however you can.

~ Peg

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