So, where have I been for more than a year?

Well, I have traveled almost 25,000 miles since I last posted. I have been to Hawaii with my husband which accounts for about 1/2 the miles. (The picture above was taken on a Honolulu street near Waikiki!) I have also made 12 trips to Florida and back for most of the rest.

We have bought a new home in Florida, although we are still based in Philadelphia, but not for long. DH is going to work at least one more school year. I am, and have been, on medical leave from teaching- the last school where I worked was just too much for me. I spent a lot of last year in Florida, and hope for more time there in the coming year.

My mom in Philadelphia had multiple medical issues this past year, including a broken hip. Our Auntie in Florida has also had medical issues. And, DH had major surgery in the spring.

So, I jaunt back and forth from Philadelphia to Florida, depending on where the sickest or most needy one is.

I miss going to school each day dreadfully. I miss the teaching, the students, the real work. BUT, I do NOT miss the latest curriculum changes, the revised lesson plan format, the increased paperwork load, the constantly changing schedules, the data input demands and expectations. It was these, and not the job of teaching, which pushed me into such poor health, with pain and exhaustion an every day crisis, and which meant I had to make the painful decision to take a long term medical leave.

So, I am back. I am still scrapbooking, both digitally and traditionally, and I am following the ongoing bankruptcy drama at Creative Memories. I bought several more Hawaiian quilt kits while there last summer, so those get my attention sometimes. I am still crocheting, and also dug out my old knitting looms last year and did a lot more with them, and with several new looms, of course, lol. I have not touched a stamp, or a marker, or watercolors in that time, but they remain on my shelf, and will be going to Florida for future use. I pull out the tatting shuttle on occasion, but not frequently, and those supplies will go to Florida as well. And, I still read voraciously.

Before I post again, I will be revising my sidebar- eliminating a few things that are no longer relevant and adding a lot of new stuff that has kept me busy and amused during my limited free time in the last year.

It has been so long that I don't know if anyone is out there who will still read this, but it serves me well as a sort of diary, remembering what was going on and how I felt about it when different things happened.

So, I am back. Yes, really.