First off, I am no longer apologizing for not writing on this blog with any semblance of regularity. So, there!

Secondly, I am diligently working towards a change in my career. Initially it will be part time, then when I am sufficiently self-supporting, it will be full time. Goodbye, boring work, it was good while it lasted. Well, not that good towards the end. Except for the good money. And since apparently I have zippo money management skills, even that isn't security for me. I can go broke making $100K as easily as making $25K.

But while I am here, I will say hello to the handful of loyal readers! And, I can't blame you for not checking in.

I love the Summer veggies and hate the Summer heat.

WINTER comes with a unique set of special effects. The shocking cold air against your skin, the weighty moisture that makes the cold cut right through you, the softness of the falling flakes, the hardness of the ice, the purity of whiteness, the broding color of the gray/blue sky, the mess of brown slush that such a thing of beauty leaves behind when it melts, and a consequential search for warmth and comfort until the season passes.

I have rediscovered the pleasure of wearing PAJAMAS in my search for comfort on COLD WINTER nights. It's funny, really, because I have never been a pj sort of girl. More of a birthday suit kind. I am all about comfort, whether it's food, clothes, relationships, or activities. Which may explain my aversion to the treadmill that sits in my office waiting for a good workout, but functioning mostly as platform to hold empty boxes and such.

Because of living on a very reduced income, I have also discovered Dollar General, my new favorite, budget store. If there is one nearby where you live give it a chance. I would have never thought that I could get so many things for so (relatively) little money. At Christmas I purchased my favorite gift ornament there. Ditto, Valentine's Day. There was this adorable red, felt sack with an angelic looking cupid (not just a heart) in a silky soft, pink material that was worthy of inventory at an expensive boutique or Etsy, and might have sold for $14.99. I got it for exactly $1.00. Then there's the obvious savings you reap from buying the toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Dollar General is a great outing for a bleak Saturday when you have an extra five dollars.

The soft, snuggly, warm pj's pictured above came from Dollar General for --- are you read ? --- $10 for the set. Such a deal. I bought two pair!

Hobbies on a Snow day Being Fifty

SNOW DAYS

It seems that our snow comes on Saturdays and Sundays; of course, the same days that I want options other than staying inside. Nonetheless, I come back to the refrain of how beautiful the outside is after the snow. But the longer I am here the less I enjoy the being stuck inside, away from my partner, and alone with my thoughts. The photo I took today I has inspired me to get a snowboard and play so that the next weekend when it snows, I can add some fun to it.

ON BEING FIFTY

Every decade of life seems to bring with it a different stage of life with new set of issues that grab your attention. I'm newly into the fiftysomething group but recently I have been focused on what will happen to me when I am sixtysomething. Who will look after me? Who will check on me if I'm sick? Who will I enjoy quite evenings with? Who will hang out at the bookstore with me? God help me that I never have to go into a nursing home, but if I do, who will be my advocate? How will I have enough money to live on without a constant struggle? Heavy topics, I know, but, unfortunately, I think they are necessary to consider. I feel optomistic that I'll be okay. It's just that until now I have not taken a good, serious look at these issues.

HOBBY

I'm excited about the bookmarks that I've been making! A little insecure that they may not be good enough for mass appeal, but that will be know in time. I think there is lots of potential with this endeavor since it will get much better as I improve my technique and marketing. There are definitely untapped markets that I have not touched right here where I live. I find that the Winter is not as favorable for taking bookmark photos as the other seasons are.

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THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Reading Country Living, Real Simple, and Oprah

Making bookmarks

Taking photographs

Cooking with a new recipe

Chatting with my Jacksonville friends on Facebook

Return from the Abyss

I would not have guessed I would let my blog, the blog that waited so long to develop, but wanted so badly to write, fall by the wayside. What happened? I don't know. I was inspired by SW today when she asked me how to start a blog - for herself. Maybe it is best for me not to put the pressure on myself to blog regularly if it is such a chore? Funny thing is, that once I begin typing it isn't a chore at all... I can go on and on.

Meanwhile, I continue to ask life's questions and roll around the possible -- a gazillion possible - answers. Oh, the same questions that I've been asking myself for some twenty years now. But they are not the same as I had thirty years ago when I was still in college! That's another topic for another day.

Lately my bewilderment concerns "what is my passion". Do I even have a passion? If not, why not? Everybody must have at least one since everybody seems to be looking for it these days.
I have many interests, and many pleasures, and many ideas, but nailing it down to a passion is elusive. My bookshelf is crowded with books about personal growth and discovering one's passion, and purpose, and career, and etc. Maybe my passion is collecting books instead of answering questions. If pleasure equals passion then I could be up the creek; food, sex, and sleeping. These books always require that lists be made to identify what you enjoy doing which will presumably lead you down (or up) the road to a sign that makes it clear what is your passion. Sometimes I take it seriously, sometimes not so much! I've already stated the short list two sentences ago. On the long(er) list, and perhaps the more serious, is writing, teaching, being the center of attention via public speaking, telling others how to solve their problems, and, more recently, visual art. For me visual art means using photographs to create art. The photographs are art, too. Remember, art is in the eye of the beholder! If I say that what I have created is art, then it is. Art, art, art.

There are some other questions that I am asking and formulating answers for, also, but I'll save those so that there is something else to blog about the next time I get inspired.

Ta-Ta for now, Sallie