Dear Reader:

Haven’t Monday and Tuesday been ‘picture-perfect’ examples of southern winter days? The sun has been out with a bone-marrow warmth to it…a great day for sitting on the deck and/or front porch…depending on the direction of the rays of the sun.

  Lucy followed me around ‘step for step’ or ‘paw for paw’ yesterday… seemingly enjoying my stopping to take photos… while she rolled in the sunshine and warmth.

After taking all the pictures of the garden and yard basking in the sunshine…I took some pictures of the filtered sunlight brightening up the “Happy Room.”

 Then I decided to take my new garden magazine out on the front porch and read in the sunshine. (I felt like Lucy….stretching and yawning as the sun’s rays poured down on me)

“Big Red’ has a new red bloom…so pretty…my “Old Faithful” geranium never ceases to amaze me…hidden in shadows and blooming in sunlight.

In the garden I found beautiful little flowers hiding among the dark coverage of dead leaves…peeking out with a big smile.

I showed you one of my beautiful cabbages earlier but a couple of more patches popped up from their hiding places….

Here it is …the dead of winter with impending “COLD” soon to arrive…yet the garden has found a way to “stay alive” with beautiful bright colors….even my asparagus fern.

When I returned to “my” (on the line/mine) camellia sasanqua bush…it was loaded with blooms and so ‘pretty in pink’. As I shot the photo upward…I could see the gorgeous blue sky in contrast and immediately thanked God for life…to be alive at this very moment to see this amazing gift of beauty from Him.

Add a bright yellow bench with the sun glinting off a white-washed picket fence intertwined with bright red and green leaves of climbing vines and the day is complete…a day filled with warmth and brightness and sunlight. A great day to be alive.

…And it all started, yesterday, with the warmth and sunlight of one special, young, physical therapist named Chrissy who has held my hand (actually massaged it) for the past three months while I underwent treatments for lymphedema..

Yesterday was my last “official” medical appointment which left me with mixed feelings…happy not to have to make the trip over to St. Francis three times a week but also a little sad.

Chrissie reminds me of my own adult children and “Mama” Boo Boo has enjoyed listening to her wonderful adventures with her six year old son Noah. Chrissy is such a good mother!

It was all good news, as far as, the lymphedema went…the swelling is down and the arm, hand, and fingers are good to go!

A big-“shout-out” to Chrissy…the best lymphedema  physical therapist around…I will miss her…but I know our paths will cross again.. maybe lunch one day… sounds good!

So until tomorrow…Let us take time to enjoy the “here and near” with all its warmth and sunlight…leaving cold days ahead to stay right there…ahead. Live for the moment…Lucy does.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 Betsy had another episode but finally  starting to get some explanations on what is happening…here is excerpt from her mother Libby….

...It is basically a problem on the “electrical” part of the heart….signal misfiring and causing rising heart rate and blood pressure….

Her beta-blocker medicine has been greatly increased and she will go in for more tests later this week. So please keep our Betsy in your prayers…