Dear Virtual Friends and Book Lovers,
I have been absent for months during a huge transitional time in my life. For years we had traveled back and forth between the temperate mountains of Mexico and a cabin in the colder mountains of the Southwest. About two years ago, we pulled the plug on Mexico and bought a home in the Four Corners area, a mere two and a half hour trip between houses. The plan worked perfectly as we loved our home, our church, our friends, and our new town. Unfortunately, the state governor destroyed the economy of our town along with the rest of the state and the spirit of the people during one of the worst state lockdown regimes in the U.S. Our response has been the selling of our home, moving our goods into storage, and exploring states that value freedom and individual rights as found in the U.S. constitution. We have retreated to our cabin, made an offer on a house, and are going through the next steps.
For anyone exploring the current status of the real estate market in the U.S., you will realize what a miracle it is that we were able to get this far in purchasing a new home. In many areas, homes are selling within 24 hours of being listed and for above the asking price. My sense is that God held this particular home for a few days for us. I rely on God to guide me, and therefore my prayers are that He will not allow the deal to go to completion if it is not the right home or location. I know things will get complicated again for me personally, but right now I am enjoying a cup of tea as I watch a gentle rain outside my windows. Through God’s grace I survived a bear encounter (not attack!) yesterday while walking my dogs. Last night I worked through all my emails executing mass deletes regarding posts by fellow bloggers. I hated doing that just as I have hated not being able to keep up with your blogs. I have not accomplished much reading during this crazy time, but I have been writing reviews as I finish books and will hopefully post them in the coming days and weeks.
Happy Spring! I look forward to reading your posts and interacting as we discuss books and life!
education pathways 
I have missed you very much and wonder if you were okay. I am between caregivers right. Caregivers are not many. Instead of getting are 8 hours a day. There is one coming for 3/4hours occasionally. This is hard on mental beings. I turn 90 in July and one to live for that birthday. It is a mess and like you, I know God has a plan and so be it. Be well and Idaho is not a place to here. I am doing fairly well. Good luck and be safe.
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I’m sorry you lost your last caregiver. She was so good at meeting your needs. I know you need more time from a caregiver than that too. I think it is awesome that you are nearing your 90th birthday and you are still such an active reader and blogger. I will pray that God sends the right caregiver your way soon. I look forward to reading your reviews and seeing your amazing wildlife photos again.
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I am do glad you are back Linda. I was wondering how you were doing and just figured you had decided to take a hiatus. You have had a lot going on and I am thankful that you are okay. I agree, if we put our trust in the Lord, he will guide us. I pray all works out for you. I am glad you did not have an issue with that bear. Walking your dogs could have attracted him and things could have been worse, again, God was on your side. I will watch for your reviews that you have coming. 🤗🙏😁
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Thank you, Carla. I have been reading about bears, and there are various viewpoints. A lady in Durango, CO was killed recently by bears and they speculate that her dogs were unleashed and got between mama and cubs. Bears have a huge territorial range, and we have at least 3 that have been sighted at various times all over our area. The one I encountered was a juvenile, larger than me, who was meandering from one side of the road to the other. He didn’t want trouble and neither did I. My dogs were leashed and didn’t bark at him (for which I am very thankful).
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Good Luck to you and enjoy getting settled. Watch out for the bears!
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Thank you, Nancy. I love being at the cabin, but the bears have put a damper on it this year. We have never had this much of a problem. It seems to be a combination of their looking for food because they are not finding enough higher up and a few neighbors not handling the situation well. (No, they are not pets, don’t feed them, and don’t put a bear buffet out unattended on trash day.)
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I’ve missed you Linda, and glad to know you’re okay, but sorry about all the stress…when you do get settled I hope you can relax and feel more normal again…I hope you can give us some more excellent book reviews soon too!
Jenna
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Thank you, Jenna. The word relax sounds so good, as does normal. I am trying to get things under control a bit at a time. Our cabin is adequate, but not large so even combining consumables from two houses, plus some more things that are important but not furniture, is a space challenge. I am getting there one area at a time and each one makes the whole project more doable.
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Welcome back, Linda. I’ve been MIA myself due to circumstances, so I know where you’re coming from.
You can’t go wrong with trusting in God. Hoping all the best for you. 🙂
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Thank you for your well wishes. I understand about circumstances. Sometimes we get surprised by life, but we know we can count on God to work it into His plan for good for us. I hope things settle down for you as well.
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Thanks, Linda. 🤗
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Good to see you! You were missed!!💗
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Thank you. As you know, sometimes things happen that change our best plans and intentions. I think I am up and running again until the next wave hits. I am looking forward to the always interesting discussions on your blog.
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💗💗
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Hello my friend! I am so glad things are working out. I am sorry you had to go thru all of that too. 😦 You deserve so much better. xoxo
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Thanks, Jay. The last year has been hard in so many ways for us all. I feel for those who have lost their businesses, jobs, physical and mental health, and loved ones. The saddest part for me is that so many lost their lives needlessly because proper medication was not made available.
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So very true. 😦
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