Mary Jane 364/365

Before I explain the picture, let me just say, holy crap tomorrow is our
last day and that makes me feel sad, happy, relieved...a plethora of
emotions. That said, here's a dog in doggie heaven. Nathan and I went to
Social Circle, Georgia tonight for auction business. Social Circle
is about an hour's lovely drive through the country and I mean
country....like farms and little towns kind of country. The couple that we
visited, Bo and Angela, have an incredible farm. This picture shows just a
small part of their property, the backyard that is fenced in for their 4
dogs. Here's one of them smiling for the camera. See the little white
house with the red doggie bone over the door? Yes, that is the dog house.
Yes, it is lighted, heated and air conditioned (eat your heart out
JackBastard). I had a hard time deciding which picture to use because of
all the animals (I've posted the rest on Facebook if you are interested).
Not sure how many acres they have, but they had a ton of cows, three
donkeys, goats, guinea hens, chickens, turkeys, bunnies, dogs, ducks,
horses, and a pond full of fish. It was beautiful, serene, peaceful. And
to top it off, they are really nice people. Just good, kind, down to earth,
nice people.

Mary Jane 365/365 (I am boo hooing) :(

I thought it only fitting to end this year just as I started it....knowing
that everything WILL be ok. Because really, in the end, everything is ok.
We've been through babies, food, clothes, therapy, growing up, school,
sickness, total freaked-outness, laughter, tears, triumph, failure, new
dogs, old dogs, kittens with mittens, gardens, sunshine, moon glow, did i
mention food?....we've been through so much together and it really does
break my heart for this year to end. But we did survive and for this
moment, everything is ok!

4 months ago, I couldn't wait for the end....and now that it's here...i want
it to go away! But it won't...we'll move on, find new pictures, find new
friends, settle in with returning friends and feel the bittersweet absence
of old friends. Not only did I have fun, but I have made some of the best
life long friends from this blog. And a special thank you to Sarah for
bringing this project together, for without it, I would have never met you
guys! I shrudder to think it.

Most of all, I cannot thank each and every one of you enough for your
comments, your love, your support and especially for trusting me with just a
brief moment of your lives.

Yep, everything will be ok. (((HUG)))

Mary Jane 363/365

See the blue in this picture? That's summer leaving...and that makes me
feel so melancholy. There's just something about the end of summer that
always gets to me.

Mary Jane 362/365

Had lunch with some high school chums today. Front row, left to right,
Melanie, Leah, Jeannie. Back row is yours truly and Virginia. Melanie has
been my friend since we were in first grade. She's also my cousin by
marriage. The other three girls, never even really knew them in high
school. Would have never spoken to Leah as she was a cheerleader..she was
in a different circle than I. And I wanted to be a cheerleader and be in
that circle. So basically, I was jealous of her. It's amazing what time
and Facebook will do! I connected with all these girls on Facebook and Good
Lord, we are fast friends now.

Mary Jane 360/365

Uh oh. Storm's a brewing...gotta get home and put on JackBastard's
Thundershirt. Best $40 bucks I've ever spent. Poor Jack does not like
thunderstorms. A friend of mine told me about the Thundershirt. It's just
a cotton t-shirt, but instead of slipping it over his head, it velcros
snuggly underneath his tummy and across his chest. Supposedly the pressure
it puts in those areas, is calming. The first couple of storms he wore it,
it did seem to calm him down, but not 100%. But in the middle of night a
storm hit and Jack was about to stroke out, so on went his Thundershirt.
And I'll be darned the dog curled up and went right to sleep!

Mary Jane 361/365

I don't know what it was about today, but dang, it was a totally crabby day
for me. Seriously had no reason for it. And I wasn't alone in my retched
crabbiness. Some of my co-workers had a bad case of it too. Case in point,
Terry is giving us all the hairy eye ball.

Mary Jane 359/365

Our friend Tony that was sick didn't make it. He died on Sunday. His
funeral was today. He just couldn't fight it anymore. He told his family,
he just wanted to go Home and stop fighting. So he did. These sort of
things, are the things that make me question my faith at times. He was a
good man, 61 years old, with a new grandbaby, great kids, a great wife...a
great life all around. He was kind, gentle and would have done anything in
the world for anyone. Why does someone like Tony have to get cancer and
die? Why can't God just stick His healing hand right out of the clouds and
just even wave it by Tony because surely that would cure him. I can't
figure it out. I'm not going to try and figure it out. I just know that
what I believe in, I have to believe it or else I would totally lose my
ever-loving mind.

Mary Jane 358/365

Beautiful flowers from a beautiful girl named R2....

Mary Jane 357/365

Cheat photo --- this is one from Sunday.

Hey ya'll it's awfully hot down here in Georgia.

Mary Jane 356/365

And so it ends...but really, like I told Andrea when we left the airport,
it's really not ending...it's just beginning. But Sunday at the
airport, this weekend came to a close with bittersweet tears, lots of hugs,
lots of laughs, lots of love and promises of more to come.

Mary Jane 355/365

"E" for life....Bridge's back, my shoulder, R2's foot on the left, Andrea's
on the right.

I wish I could tell you all how awesome this weekend has been....I could
never even do it justice with my inadequate words. I don't recall ever
meeting someone and becoming instant friends like I have with R2 and Bridge,
except for Andrea. I am so thankful for Envisage bringing these wonderful
ladies into my life and enriching the already-great relationship I have with
Andrea. There are so many great photos from this weekend, that I may have
to use a few as cheats this next week. I thought you all needed to see this
one though.

Mary Jane 354/365

And so it begins....one of the best weekends of my life....

Mary Jane 353/365

All gussied up for Envisage company.

Mary Jane 352/365

Oh hai! We got baths tonight. We're nice and clean and happy. Bridget and
Robin Two are coming to see us! We can't wait!

Mary Jane 351/365

Well, what do we have here? Someone is pressure washing their patio.
Because someone has company coming this Friday. :)

Mary Jane 349/365

Sunday's homecoming...a lot of history with most of these people, some I
haven't seen in 30 years. And the coolest part is we could pick right back
up where we left off.

Mary Jane 348/365

I saw the girl in this picture today. This is me in 1980, my senior year of
high school. I went to a mini-reunion today of my youth group/choir from
the church I grew up in. I saw folks that I haven't seen in 30 years. It
was very overwhelming. My first love was there..it was really good to see
David...brought back a lot of memories. Just for a minute, my heart was in
my throat and I was the girl in this picture again. So unsure of myself, of
who I was, of where my life would go. And wow, it turned out so different
than I had dreamed. Some dreams didn't happen, but so many dreams did come
true, maybe not when or how I had thought they would, but they did.
Sometimes I wish I could go back and tell that girl in this picture a few
things, but no. I like the way I turned out just fine. :)

Mary Jane 347/365

This is the same place that I took a picture of on Day 326....seen in a
different light tonight.

Mary Jane 346/365

Nathan was raised Primitive Baptist. Nathan's dad and brother are both
Primitive Baptist ministers so we attended their revival tonight. Primitive
Baptist is a little different than just plain old Baptists (which is what I
am). One of the differences is that they do not use musical instruments in
their church. All music is a capella. The young man leading the singing,
is Nathan's nephew, Craig. It totally amazes me how someone can just stand
up in front of a crowd, start singing and be on key. If you ever saw the
movie Cold Mountain and remember the scene from church, that's what
tonight's singing was like....it was sweet and haunting at the same time.

Mary Jane 345/365

Rather interesting looking specimen. I hear their sex life sucks, if you
are a male.