Europe 2012
This terrific trip allowed me to share Paris with Rick for the first time.
Fabulous Paris blogger Peter Olson took us to Montmartre cemetery and other sites in that area...
And with our friend Jerry, we visited the remarkable Le Mont St. Michel.
Then it was on to Amsterdam (a first for me) where fellow blogger (now instagrammer) Tara Bradford took us to Kinderdijk, Delft and other spots.
We wrapped that trip with a day and two nights in my favorite city, London where we attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey and "The King's Speech" on stage. (I was thrilled when Charles Edwards, who played George VI turned up as Edith's lost love on "Downton Abbey" the next year or so after!
England/Paris 2018
This was our trip of a lifetime -- a few days in Paris where my favorite attraction was the Klimt installation at Les Atelier des Lumieres...
...before taking the Eurostar to London, connecting with blogger and author Jenny Woolf and then after spending a bit of time in the city...
... then venturing to Windsor, Oxford, the Cotswolds and Bath, where we stayed in a charming cottage about 15 minutes away.
This was the view from one of the cottage bedroom windows. It was like a scene from a novel!
There were other good adventures too -- trips with Rick to Martha's Vineyard, Quebec, Myrtle Beach, Las Vegas, and other spots; visits with good friends, time with family, long summer days at the lake.
Retirement -- 2013
The lead in to this wasn't good. A management change that wreaked havoc with stress and ultimately my health. But the retirement itself has been glorious. Although I miss many of my fellow colleagues, including our now-manager (Susi Elkins -- she rocks!) I've loved every second of the time since, expanding my hobbies and interests by more painting, cooking, reading and travel!
Kevin and Molly's Wedding 2014
What's not to love when a wonderful guy marries the best girl in the world? Kevin's bringing Molly into our lives has been one of our greatest blessings!
Baby Grands -- now the Toddler Twosome 2017 and 2018
Look at this face!
And this one!
What is not to love? We adore these two and can't wait to follow their lives through every step of the way!
Ups and Downs
There were a few down moments, too. In 2011 and again in 2013 I developed a colonized "superbug" called pseudomonas aeruginosa which is not contagious and often dormant. When it kicks in big time it can upset the apple cart and make my bronchiectasis all the worse. We watch them both.
The other health issue was the lip cancer in 2017 with a recurrence in 2018. All is well on that front now but my face was extra hideous during treatment.
Our 2019 wasn't without its health challenges either with Rick's broken leg/blood clots and surgery. But then, he had more than a few incidents over the decade with MRSA, bike accidents and more. This moment freaked the heck out of us! But all is well and of course he is back on the bike -- or will be whenever weather permits!
The Big Sad of the decade was the final farewell to Gypsy, my sweet little orange boy for whom this blog is named. He died in 2012, a few weeks after we returned from Europe and those of you who have said that final farewell to a beloved pet know exactly how I felt. There were times I thought I would never smile again.
The Lizzie came along, this mom-cat who had been abandoned and taken in by a friend with her kittens. The kittens were an easy adoption; Lizzie was a little tougher. She and I had our challenges, to be sure! But I wouldn't trade her for anything. Despite her constant nagging, she's the sweetest cat and I'm so glad she's part of my life.
 |
| Photo credit: Judy Winter |
What's Next?
What will 2020 bring? Who knows? My chosen "word" for the year is "Home." And to me that means taking care of my space, making improvements, welcoming others and taking care of both my physical spaces, our collective space -- the world -- and my personal space. Of course, I pick "home" but one of my goals and plans is another trip to this spot...
...and more time with this guy!
And words I will try to remember throughout what I suspect will be a challenging year in many ways are "be kind." And, I will remember the words on this plaque from an installation at the Tate Modern.
Yes, it is.
Wishing you all good things in the New Year.
Sharing with: Let's Keep in Touch / Pink Saturday
49 comments:
What a pleasure it has been to get to know you, Jeanie. I look forward to many more entertaining features on your blog and enjoying the continuation of our journey together. All the best to you and Rick for a wonderful year. David
Jeannie,
I enjoyed this post looking back on the past decade.....I was so ready for 2019 to be over with and now I am looking forward to 2020 and all the things that I want to do....
Thanks so much for stopping by!!Happy New Year!!
Hugs,
Debbie
How fun to look back with you. Happy New Year!
You're good to do this..I can't even go back..lol..no desire to relive the last decade.
To be Tender.So important!
Happy 2020 Jeanie, I hope it brings you much happiness with good health, travel, art and all the things you love!
Jenna
What a great look back through the years at the ups and downs. The Paris trip; oh wow! That beautiful place is on my bucket list!
What a wonderful review from the Marmelade Gypsy. I love being in your virtual company! xo
So many wonderful trips and I hope many more in your future!
May you have a healthy and Happy New Year!
I love this look back and I think you sound like you have a great 2020 in store. I have a couple of trips planned, including one with 2 girlfriends to that same place you are heading. It is exciting to have plans, isn't it? I think home is a great word and but home can be the whole earth, can't it? Smile. Thanks for the comment on my blog about the new year being a mystery book. I loved it. Happy 2020 Jeanie. I hope it is a super one. Hugs-Erika
Delightful review of The Marmalade Gypsy. So happy that you and Rick are doing well and that more adventures are in the future!
Love that Quote-tender is always a good thing.
xo
Jemma
This is a GREAT post.
1st Prize for travel host. Felt like I have been there or want to go soon.
I wasn't around for the superbug. That is downright scary. As was Rick's accident. It's been quite a year, hasn't it?
Thank you Jeanie for the trips, tips, art and the smile that never fails to warm my heart.
Well-written, captivating post!
Not everyone likes/wants to look back (uaually superstitions are in the way). You've done it beautifully!
2020- nice number, hopefully a nice new year!
You've had quite the decade and how much work it must have been to comply all these highlights! May your next decade be full of nothing but good times and happiness. I'm glad I found your blog last year and look forward to following your 2020.
Hello Jeanie,
Your travel photos are amazing, a great look back at the past decade.
Everything looks wonderful, except for Rick's accident.
I wish you all the best in 2020, a happy & healthy New Year!
Oh my, Jeanie, what a momentous decade ... looks to me like you've made every moment count! Here's hoping that 2020 brings you bright skies, good health, enjoyable opportunities to explore and learn, and lots of loving connections. Happy New Year!!
A wonderful look back, Jeanie ~ I love getting to know more about you!!
Hugs ~
Jeanie, a few of these were before I knew you. I always enjoy your travel and all that you share about home. Looking forward to all that you will share in 2020!
What a wonderful post! I love all of your pictures. Hope you and Rick remain healthy throughout 2020.
Happy new year! Aloha from Hawaii.
Jeanie, you had one heck of a decade and now, I am privileged to return to a few of the spots that you enjoyed. Hope the next 10 years goes along well (we will take them one at a time) and that I will continue to follow along. You are such a bright spot in the blogging world and a very photogenic one too, I might add. Have a wonderful New Year, my friend..xxoJudy
WOW, it's been great looking back on your past decade Jeanie. Your travels looked like so much fun, not so much for your illness, which hopefully is a thing of the past. Thanks for sharing more of your life and family with us fellow bloggers. It was wonderful meeting you in the blog world in 2019 and thanks for your comments as well. See you around in 2020!
Another wonderful review Jeanie. Have a great year, hugs, Valerie
I enjoyed your retrospective Jeanie. with it's ups and it's downs. I pray you will have all your wishes come true in the next decade. Hugs and much love, ♥♥♥
May the next decade bring you health and happiness. Happy New Year! Janice
Happy New Year, Jeannie! Enjoyed your look back at the decade and send good wishes for the new year.
Wonderful memories, the cat sure caught my eye! Fun pictures of you too, so much happiness!
Oh such cutie pies, this is such a very cute age!
Health.... oh, I know....
Gypsy was a beautiful boy. We lost our dog to cancer and I still feel bad I did not, as a 14-year old, help her to go earlier.
Lizzie looks smart. Oh, that is a cute pic of you two!
Wise last words. A Happy New Year to you and yours.
You've had a great decade, and navigated through the ups and downs with great spirits and a sense of adventure. Happy New Year Jeanie, all the best in 2020!
Jeanie, what a grand post! The photo of your view from the cottage windows near Bath was my favorite until I came to the one of you and Gypsy--aaawwwww! What a magnificent cat he was! Love your word for the year: home. I might well make that my own word of the year.
Sadly I haven't known you for a decade, but I do love all the Paris posts and your family photos.
Lots of lovely memories Jeanie. I hope 2020 is healthy and happy for you xx
Gorgeous photos of your memories of the past decade, Jeanie. Thanks for sharing them, both the lovely and the sad. I would love to visit all of your favorites! So beautiful.
What a lovely way to remember the past decade. Saying the final farewell to a beloved pet is so hard - heartbreaking actually. I'm glad that you found another feline that you could give your love to.
Wishing you all the best for the new decade with more travels to destinations you want to visit, wonderful times with your grandkids and Rick, and everything else that you want.
Happy New Decade, Jeanie...you are truly the kindest blogger out in cyberland...stay true to yourself and all will follow. I've saved all your Paris posts for our hopefully/finally trip to France. :)
Happy New Year Jeanie! Oh, how I love that photo of the red booths in London. What wonderful photos of you and your cat. I like how you're looking on in the background with your warm sweet smile. I hope much goodness comes your way this year, Jeanie, and I hope it's a good one for you and me. ; )
~Sheri
Jeanie, such a great post. Love reading about all your travels. Certainly hope 2020 brings you and Rick both, a healthy year. It is no fun to be sick and these bugs that are around now, seem to be evil, to say the least. Looking forward to seeing what you get into this year. Happy New Year, my friend.
I love this post of your last 10yrs. I've never visited Paris nor Amsterdam. Your photos are beautiful. Gypsy was a beautiful cat, and your Grandkids are adorable.
I have visited all your Christmas posts but could not leave a comment with Google. Your decorations were beautiful. I will leave this one with Google Chrome and hope it works.
Happy New Year and wishing you good health for the coming year. Thelma xo
Jeanie, I enjoyed your look back at all the blessings and the tough times that visit us all from time to time! Loved seeing all of your adventures. Wishing you more good times in the next decade. Happy New Year, my friend! xo
A great blog post, Jeanie! I liked looking back (and forward) with you. Wishing you good health and many adventures in 2020 and beyond.
Great sounds for "the next" :)
May your New Year be filled with peace, happiness and good health!
You may have noticed I didn’t stop by to visit, or I didn’t host my own Second on the 2nd. The reason is quite simple. Wednesday evening, just as I was saying good-bye to my dear friends SC and ND who dropped by to wish me a happy new year, my electricity went out. When I looked outside and saw the neighbors across the street, whose lights NEVER go out when mine do were also out, I knew it wasn’t a blown transformer. My friends decided to stay to see what the problem was. Not more than three or four minutes later, we heard sirens, not just police, but fire, too. We knew it sounded close, so we walked in the direction of the sirens. It was quite dark, but my friends had their cell phone lights to guide them. Two blocks west and one block south we saw that someone in a big truck had hit a light pole so hard, it knocked it over and stretched the wire so hard, the electricity went off in the area on one side, while the other side was draped over someone’s house and was zapping live sparks on the ground in the road.
At first we thought it was a drunk driver, but after the ambulance arrived, we saw the man either had a heart attack or possibly a seizure. As the electric company was arriving, they told the crowd it would be at least a day before we would get our power back. Instead of staying home in the cold and dark, my friend SC, who lives in another town, invited me to her home. I am just now getting home. Even though she has an I-Pad, I don’t know the password that gets me onto blogger (which is stored on my computer only). I’ll be back soon, just want you to know why I wasn’t around to visit and play host. The electricity is on (I’m not sure how long it’s been on), but it’s freezing here. Thanks for understanding, Jeanie.
This was a beautiful retrospective, dear. And to think, it covered an entire decade. I think one of my favorite photos was seeing Gypsy, since I didn't know you then. Hope your New Year was fabulous, dear friend.
What an amazing decade Jeanie! Here to a marvelous new one!
Loved your Decade retrospective Jeanie.
Some great and some bad, but we all have such moments.
Loved meeting Gypsy (I had a dog with that name over 30 years ago :(
Such great memories Jeanie.
Oooh, I love this reflecting post as I remember all of these moments - good and bad. It's hard to believe you've been retired since 2013. Time flies! I am glad that retirement has been good to you!
I dread the day we say goodbye to Oscar. Hopefully it's far off. She'll be 5 this April. It will be hard for me, but it will be REALLY hard for Phil as they are so attached. She is like his shadow. Paul loves her, too, although that is a one-sided relationship as he's still too loud for her liking. ;)
Happy New Year, friend! I love the word you chose!
Happy New YEAR, Jeanie! lOVED this backward glance! A LOT happens in a year, and even more in a decade! HOME is a great things to focus on. Home is so important, it's where is all starts in a way, doesn't it? We have to take care of ourselves, our home--personally, community, globally. Many blessings on your HOME journey in 2020... and May you be able to get back to the UK--woo-hoo! ((HUGS))
Quite a decade of memories!
Happy New Year.
Wonderful recap . .
And this . . .
IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO
FIND A WAY TO BE VERY TENDER
love love . . .
lynne
A lot happened to you during this time.
I hope the next decade will bring you more ups and less downs.
I'm so sorry about Gypsy, I know how you feel... :( It'll never stop to hurt, you'll only get used to the pain :(
Your travels are awesome! Try to visit as much as you can! Memories are the only things which can stay with you forever!
I'm familiar with the management changes that lead to retirement. Yuck. I'm happy to see some of the things that happened before we started following each other. I really hope you don't face another super bug! Here's to a wonderful decade.
Katie
What an incredible journey through the decade! Your travels, family moments,
and adventures are so inspiring, and it's beautiful how each experience, big or small, has shaped the last ten years. Your 2020 word, "Home," resonates strongly.
Post a Comment