Castle in the Clouds

I had heard about Faster Horses but this was my first time attending the three-day country music festival. The headliners were Morgan Wallen, Eric Church, and Tim McGraw.  An important note: I was a big country music fan back in the mid-90s and early 2000s. This means I know a lot of Tim McGraw's backlist and was excited to see him perform.  However, this also means I hardly knew any of his new stuff, had listened to only a handful of Eric Church's songs, and absolutely none of Morgan Wallen's music.  I am not a Morgan Wallen fan. Sorry. I tried. I really did. Just not a fan. Eric Church has some songs I enjoy singing along with in the car.  Tim is Tim. He was the musical highlight of the festival for me.  The true highlight of the festival, though, was getting to spend a weekend away with my sisters and sister-in-law. I'd include Gage and Hallie in that, too, but they spent most of the weekend with Gavin and his friends. I think they may have also hung out a b...

 I created a Travel Bucket List post back in March 2014.  The first part of the list was dedicated to destinations outside the US.  Sadly, that portion of the post remains the same.  No travel abroad for me.  However, I do need to update the Travel within the US portion.   Let's dive in! Travel within the US 1.   Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming I've always wanted to visit Yellowstone.  In 2013, we made it happen.  It was a two-week vacation filled with many, many hours of driving.  We drove across the country to get there.  We drove through the park.  We drove through Beartooth Pass into Montana.  We drove down to South Dakota to visit Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, and the Badlands National Park.  Then we drove home.   I wouldn't change a thing.  It was one of the most beautiful trips we've taken so far.  I'd go back in a heartbeat. 2.  Badlands National Park - South Dakota Another national par...

  My New Camper Before he passed away, Ken made me promise that I would keep camping. He knew how much I enjoyed it and he didn't want me to give up something that brought me pleasure. When things weren't looking good near the end, I had even asked him if he thought we should sell the fifth wheel right then because I knew I wasn't up to hauling it. He shot that idea down pretty fast. He told me I could take care of it later. In retrospect, I don't think he had the mental, emotional, or physical energy necessary to deal with selling it. My first camping trip after his passing was in that giant fifth wheel.  Gage hauled it over to Wolverine Campground for me. I followed behind in my Traverse. After getting set up, Gage and Hallie went home and I was camping once more.  It was strange for so many reasons. I had camped by myself before but this time I was a widow. I was responsible for not only the inside tasks, which I had always been in charge of, but now I was also respo...

It's been a little over eight months now since I lost my husband to pancreatic cancer. Overall, I think I'm doing fairly well.  The house is still standing. I am still standing. Those both seem like significant wins.  I get through most days now without hardly a tear but there are those other days, days when I find myself unexpectedly crying.  Maybe it's a song on the radio or a touching scene on the screen setting off memories or reminding me of dreams unfulfilled. I cry then. It's impossible to hold back the grief, the self-pity, the wishes for more, or the distress at what happened in those last few weeks.    But for the most part, I think I am functioning fairly well. I am keeping my shit together. I am getting stuff done. I am taking care of what needs to be taken care of, whether that's the house, the bills, the car, the camper, the day job, the kids, or the grandbaby.  Every now and again I give myself permission to do nothing, though, because the lo...

This likely comes as no surprise given the year it has been, but I did not successfully complete  my 2021 reading challenge . I started out strong. I even decided to have some fun with it and create a dedicated Instagram account  to help catalog my reading adventures. That didn't last beyond April 2021.  Considering what was going on in my life then, this is no surprise.   So...here's hoping next year's challenge goes much better. 

  I shared a post on Facebook yesterday about how different people express and process their grief. It resonated because I recognized not only myself in it but those grieving around me.  All of us are struggling in our own way.  My boys seem to find some solace in the distraction video games provide but they are burdened with bouts of sadness and anger, too. A good friend of ours has decided to remodel his entire house. Others have made it their mission to take care of me and the boys as much as we will allow it.  I welcome the distractions my friends and family provide. The things we do and the places we go bring much-needed smiles and laughter. They give me something to focus on other than the empty recliner in the living room or Ken's clothes hanging in our bedroom closet.  In the months since Ken has been gone, I've done so much. It wasn't always easy but I'm glad I pushed myself to say yes even when I really wanted to say no. Saying yes kept me connected t...

My updates here on the blog were almost non-existent during Ken's cancer diagnosis and treatment. I realized this today when I was looking back through some of my previous posts.  I've only written a handful of times about what the beginning of 2021 looked like for our family.  Our rough start was written almost three months into Ken's journey. Then I shared a bit in early May about the ups and downs of pancreatic cancer . A little over a month after that post, I put up a brief  announcement  regarding Ken's passing.  Writing about Ken's cancer here was difficult for a few reasons. First and foremost, he didn't want to plaster the news all over social media because he didn't want complete strangers reaching out. So we created a Facebook group for our family, friends, and coworkers. It was there where he and I most often posted about things.  Funny enough, the man was so well-loved, that group had over 100 members. I made my first post there on February 6, ...