charlotte bell

This adorable little girl is my brother Frankie's granddaughter.

She has two little baby brothers and one big brother.

As you can see, she brought her own baby to our lunch last week.

She is the best little mother I have ever seen.

She entertained her "Aunt Cathy" the whole time.

She cannot deny for one minute that she has "O'Quinn" blood flowing through her veins.

It is the last day of February...

warm and balmy as most of the month has been.

Spring is lurking right around the corner.

Cannot wait to start planting some flowers.

And I love, love, love the longer days.

Light brings it's own magic..

it brings it's own special incandescence to a day.

I am putting away all things Valentines...

getting ready for Easter.

There is a trip on the horizon...

lightweight clothes,

sandals,

and all growing things becoming new again.

Teach my to love You more O my God.

Your blessings permeate my days.

You are my reason for living.

You are my praise and Glory.

You are new birth.

You are perfect in all of Your ways.

You are generous and kind.

You gave Your son so that I might have eternal life.

Thank You!

just do it

This fit-bit watch was my birthday gift last year...

when I turned seventy.

Birthday 2018 was the first of a six week run of radiation to my neck and face.

I was thrilled with the gift.

My thought was...

"This will help me stay super fit while I'm getting treated."

I was delusional on that first day of radiation.

I had been walking in January after my surgery...

getting my strength back.

Once I started radiation I never walked (for exercise) again.

Truthfully,

I could hardly make it from the bed to the nearest chair.

A few weeks in I quietly tucked the fit-bit away in the corner of my closet.

I knew it was there.

I just ignored it.

This February I decided to get it out and start using.

The kids always ask why I'm not wearing it to count my steps.

So...the premise is to walk 10,000 steps every day.

I've never done that.

(I first typed 10,000 miles) 😓

I've almost made it to 3,000.

Yes, that is abysmal I know.

 but most of the time I forget to put it on until half the day is gone.

My goal is to start walking again.

My course is set, all I have to do is go outside and start.

If I ever make 10,000 I will post another picture.

I have my new running shoes already...

got them this year for my birthday.

The kids love the chartreuse sole and the chartreuse socks.

I love them too.

The wilder the colors the more fashionable.

Now...

Set goals!

"Just Do It."

conquering my new computer

Okay...Here is my new computer.

Everything that has anything to do with it is included in what you see surrounding the screen.

It is absolutely amazing and faster than the speed of light.

I am still struggling with getting to my pictures.

I will persevere until I conquer this machine!

On the day after my birthday we went to dine at 

Pearl's Saltwater Grill...

(one of my most favorite places)

It was my first time back since my birthday last year.

We had the big round table overlooking the water.

It was high tide,

the sun was setting,

the pelicans were swooping and diving.

Lucy got this picture for me.

Ordering was so much fun.

We got an appetizer to share and each of us had a delicious entree.

My Lucy is growing up!

It was so much fun having her eat with us.

The food was delicious.

Amanda had a large plate of fried shrimp.

She looks very happy about it!

The conversation was entertaining.

The view was stunning,

The evening was unforgettable.

My birthday month has been the best ever!

All of these latest blogs are test runs.

I spend a lot of time "finding the things I need."

Hopefully it will get easier.

Hopefully there won't be so much time between them.

Hopefully you won't stop reading.

😉

musings on turning seventy-one

Amanda snapped this shot of me going in to church back before Christmas...

without me knowing.

I decided to use it for my "71" picture.

It was a cold day.

I was wearing my black "fau fur" wrap, my black suede boots, and my dark sunshades.

My 71st year was like none other.

Battling tongue cancer was the fight of my life so far.

I won't go on and on about this...

but the year was spent struggling for the most part.

I had a 5 hour surgery in my mouth,

My face and neck and throat were fried with radiation.

I was in sometimes excruciating pain.

I lost a lot of weight.

I learned to subsist on chicken broth and milkshakes.

I read a lot...

Got through the Bible twice.

Spent a lot of lonely days.

Visited a lot of doctors.

I started to feel better in the Fall.

More energized to do things.

try a few new adventures.

I still tire easily.

I am quieter.

Sometimes it wears me out to talk.

My mouth is so dry.

My salivary glands were damaged permanently.

My God has carried me through this last year.

I never felt abandoned by Him.

I knew He had plans for me,

things He wanted me to learn,

places He wanted me to go that I had never been before.

Areas of my heart where only He could take me.

Glimpses of heaven that I would never know apart from adversity.

Bubba was my rock.

My children and grandchildren a constant source of joy.

My friends the happiness of my days.

Jesus my Savior my source of hope and inspiration.

What a blessed year for me!

Thanking God for always giving me exactly what I needed..

I read these verses yesterday...

"The days of our lives are seventy years;

And if by reason of strength they are eighty years.

Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;

For it is soon cut off and we

FLY AWAY.

So teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90: 10&12

Hopefully this past year has given me a heart of wisdom,

or at least more than I had when it started.

Cathy C

❤️

birthday party #71

It was the best of birthday parties.

David and Erika made this gorgeous cake for me...

Devil's food with whipped icing, chocolate ganache studded with raspberries.

It was a raving success with everyone.

Lucy planned games, of course.

The girl can do anything.

She knows her grammy loves party games.

We played the shell game...

Walter won.

And we played the name game...

David won.

They brought gifts!

Gus was the gift handler.

He did a great job.

Gus made me a beautiful card.

His writing skills are outstanding!

The card is now on my fridge.

He also gave me a flower from the Japanese Plum Tree in his backyard

which I wore in my hair for the rest of the evening.

Granddaddy was super relaxed at the party.

This is David and Erika's home.

Dodger Smalls, their cat is over by the chair.

He came to the party!

Amanda came for my birthday this year.

This was super exciting for me.

We had two days of non-stop celebrating and shopping.

I miss her this afternoon.

😢

Some of the happy people at my party.

Lucy made this macrame hanging planter for me.

Like I said earlier,

this girl is super talented.

She also has caught up with me in height.

Thank you God for these people and these memories.

I know how blessed I am.

God gets all the glory that is due His name.

❤️

willy wonka & my new computer

Friday evening Bubba and I went to the theater.

Veritas Academy presented Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Our Lu played an  Oompa Loompa.

That's her on the far right with the long, flowing, green hair.

It was a delightful evening in beautiful downtown Savannah.

Here we are after the show...

Lucy with her bouquet of flowers and me with my tired eyes.

(I was up past my bedtime)

I do so much love watching our awesome grandkids grow up and follow their dreams.

I think I have just about figured out my new computer.

It is a dream come true for me.

 My hardest part is finding the pictures that I need.

This morning I took a picture of the new set-up.

I put the sym card into the computer and uploaded it.

Problem is, I have searched everywhere and cannot find it.

This too I will conquer!!!

The most amazing thing is...

everything concerning the new computer is included in the screen apparatus.

And, it is completely quiet.

I love my new computer.

Best birthday present ever!

ps...if i find the picture anytime soon

I will edit it in.

pss...I found the imported picture this morning but I can't figure out how to get it on my blog.

Frustrating!

😕

good-bye to my faithful computer

Tomorrow I am getting a new computer.

I love my desktop...

cannot do without this set-up.

I will be getting a similar but greatly improved super fast business machine.

No more tall tower taking up so much room and making a lot of noise.

This screen is 24 inches,

the new screen will be 27 inches.

Thank you Bubba for this wonderful gift!

A couple of things will be different.

Picasa, the site that I use to edit my pictures is going away.

This makes me and all other Picasa users very sad.

Hopefully I can find another editing site as good as Picasa has been.

I love editing pictures...

one of my favorite things.

Also,

the wallpaper on my blog may go away as well...

that's the brown map background.

Google is dictating a lot of changes to my site, much to my dismay.

Navigating a new system may be overwhelming for a while.

I don't take well to change.

Hopefully it will be a smooth process but one never knows.

In spite of these things I am still happy to welcome a new system.

It just may take me a while to learn my way around.

I spend a lot of time at this desk.

It feels like home to me.

Good-bye to this tower.

You served me well.

the burning of the christmas tree

So, about a month ago, 

our most beautiful Christmas tree ever was removed from the living room 

and thrown out into the forest behind our house

where it has been finishing the dying process.

It had turned completely brown.

I was always a little sad seeing it tossed aside out there.

Yesterday, in a burst of energy,

Bubba declared that he was going to "burn" the Christmas tree.

Knowing that burning is against the law in Chatham County,

and experiencing the wrath of of next door neighbors during our last "burn,"

I ran into the house to hide.

Of course, the huge amount of smoke produced, 

wafted in a straight line right to our neighbors back door.

I was hoping mightily that it would drift in the opposite direction.

Wielding the chain saw, 

Bubba sets to work cutting the tree into small, burnable parts.

He stacked pine straw, leaves, and the dead Christmas tree parts to form a large pile.

Adding fire from a fire stick resulted in a rather robust, scary inferno.

He had the garden hose ready to extinguish if it got out of hand.

Seeing the beauty of the flames, 

I quickly snuck outside to take a picture.

Thankfully...

The 2018 Christmas tree is gone.

We didn't have to haul it off.

Apparently our neighbors were not at home during the controlled burn.

What they didn't know didn't hurt them.

No policemen caught the scent and followed their noses to our backyard.

We got away with it!

😉

please pray

Please be in prayer for my niece Grace Utomo.

She needs a miracle.

Grace suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was hit by a car over two years ago.

Many of you have been following her progress on her blog.

The latest news from Ivan, her husband, can be read by clicking on the link below.

I know that God can heal her if He so wills.

eklegomal.blogspot.com

"The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

James 5:16

Thank you for praying for Grace.

welcome february

This is why I love the month of February...

It is my birthday month.

We celebrate our Valentines...

the people we love most in this world.

The days are getting longer.

More daylight.

Yay!!

Last year I started my radiation treatments on my birthday.

It's been almost a year.

I saw my cancer doctor yesterday.

He has been checking me every three months.

He couldn't find any trace of the disease.

He said, "I'll see you in six months."

What sweet words those were!

It was like a little load had just been lifted away.

I practically floated out of the building.

My taste is slowly coming back.

Strangely I don't like to eat much of anything I loved before.

Coffee is intolerable.

My sweet tooth has been extracted.

(everything sweet tastes bitter)

Really I just like soup...

yep that's about the extent of it.

Evidently my salivary glands were severely and permanently damaged by the radiation.

The doctor said this about them...

"They are probably not going to get much better than they are now."

He said,

"How do you feel about that?"

I said,

"I'm just extremely happy to be alive."

He smiled.

God is so good.

"He loads me up daily with all of His benefits."

How can I complain when my Valentines are constantly loving on me.

I'm here to celebrate life.

Thank You dear, sweet, Jesus for my life in You.