The southern part of my state is all rolling hills and deep ravines, pine trees and majestic oaks and maples. For years, I rode my horse in these parts–up hill, over dale, and across creeks.We camped in the state park and spent long fall days wandering the forests on horseback, to the point that sometimes it seemed as if the horses knew the trails better than we did. They’d pick up their pace when we were headed back to the horseman’s camp–they were always anxious to return to the campsite where they knew they’d be relieved of the heavy saddles and given a good brushing and hay and fresh water.…

…and we’re talking about cyber-chondria http://bettyverse.com/?p=712. You know, that proclivity to feverishly check the Internet every time you have an ache or a pain? I confess, I’m an Internet hypochondriac. Am I alone? Come by…talk to me… we’ll think of it as therapy!

Back in August, I guest blogged at the Bettyverse about a special ring that my siblings and I gave to our mother many years ago.  Here’s the post…and below a picture of the ring. When we did our annual Black Friday picnic at the winery yesterday, Kate gave it to me to wear–it’s my turn. When I was first married, my siblings and I decided to give our mom a “mother’s ring” for Christmas. Remember those? They were hugely popular in the seventies, but we wanted something different, not the typical gold band with birthstones that you could pick up at any department store. Nope, our mom needed something truly…

…the Bettyverse, that is. Come join in the conversation. We’re talking about special childhood memories and little-girl dreams realized–things that affected your whole life. I know you have great stories to share!

Our first summer at the lake is over. Today, we closed up the cottage, packed up food and other stuff to take home, covered the furniture, and winterized the water pipes.  We can go up during the winter if we choose to, and we probably will to check on things, but our weekends at the lake are done for this year. The park has gotten very quiet as our new compatriots go back their other lives, and after the holidays, some will even go South for three  months to avoid the cold and snow. We had a great last weekend, though.  One of the five couples that we’ve become good…

I just had a wake-up call on a day I’d much rather have stayed asleep. My fortieth high school reunion is coming up next year. Meep! Fortieth! I have the clearest memory of a time too many years ago when an old (as in older than me, not long-time) friend told me she was going to her fortieth high school reunion. I recall thinking, “Forty years! Sheesh, she’s way older than I thought she was!” Now, I’ve never been to any of my high school class reunions–the first three, I wasn’t inclined because I was fat, and everyone told me that the people who got fat after high school were…

I have a sucky relationship with food. I try hard to control it, but more often than not, food controls me. All the great words about being perfect just the way I am, dieting doesn’t work, I’m beautiful…they’re wonderful thoughts, but the bottom line is my joints hurt. So I need to lose some weight. I know myself well enough to know that I’m not going to diet–Weight Watchers is a fantastic program, but I’m not going to pay to fix my body and I’m not interested in weighing in or going to a meeting. Been there, done that and it worked–for a while. All the other choices leave me…

…at the Bettyverse. Come on over–we’re talking about being a lefty, that’s handedness, not politics…

So, today was the day we got the boat out of the water for winter–much harder than putting it in, I’ll tell ya. We did get to enjoy a small ride up to the Beach and back down to the Point where we waited for our storage guy to come trailer us home. He dropped the boat on the trailer  in the driveway of the cottage and then it was our turn. Holy Mary, Mother of our Lord! First, we scraped algae off the pontoons–a wicked nasty job. Just FYI, algae stinks. Then we worked with a scrub brush and a couple of different kinds of cleaners and the power…

…at the Bettyverse, today, Mes Amies. I’m on my favorite rant…if you visit here regularly or know me at all, you’ve heard it before, but come on over anyway and join in the conversation.  Love to hear your viewpoint! Maybe you can change my mind… 😉