Getting back to blogging - and my personal heartache....

I haven't posted here since January.  Sigh.  If you read my last post, we had bought an r-pod and it was in the shop.  Here's what's happened since:

We spent a month in Yuma AZ....snowbirding for the first time and just loved it!  We stayed at Las Quintas RV Resort, trust me, we were the zit in the park.  70' RVs that we could have fit the r-pod and truck in to!  My sis and her hubby were about a mile away and we had a great time!  We shopped for "toys" for the r-pod.  Made a ton of plans as to where we would travel in it.  Went to dances.  Talked for hours on end.  And got rested!

When we got home, we started the interior remodel.  And we had to make a parking spot for it in our back yard.  That took about 3 months.  Had a carpenter come build drawers under the dinette for more storage and make the front wider so one of us could sleep on that end.

Took out the top bunk and added more storage.

Decorated everything in denim!  Even the refrigerator door.

Kerry put in a ton of electronics.  We had high speed internet no matter where we were and he created a library of over 500 movies.  This was our traveling entertainment center:

We customized it to meet our needs and I think we both just loved it.  In June, we took off for the Oregon coast and our very first "r-pod rally".   There were 30 r-pods at this place and we loved every moment of it.  I drove the entire way.  Kerry's health had been declining over the past 3 years, and this was on his bucket list.  He wanted to see the Oregon coast and the redwoods in northern California.  

I got to see one of my very good friends and she took me for a drive right on the beach!

I found some wonderful rocks on the beach and started painting them....

this is perhaps my favorite photo of all.  It's like he was cheering me on.....or was he waving goodbye?

We had the best time ever on the beach.  We extended our stay.  Neither one of us wanted to come home.  We headed out and the moment we started climbing in altitude, Kerry started having problems.  I knew we had to get home fast.....as fast as we could.  We made it home on July 6.  The following Monday, he had a heart attack and went to the cardiac care unit at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs.  Excellent staff.  But there was nothing they could do and they sent him home with hospice.  The following Monday, he had another heart attack and passed away.  It was July 16.

I love that he had the chance to see his kids and say goodbye during his hospital stay.  I love that my family was here and surrounded him 24/7.  I love that we had a chance to tell each other how grateful we were that we had spent the last 20 years together.  We recanted our travels, our funny stories, our happy tales....right up until the last minute.

Of course, my life fell apart after that.  As much as we had talked about it and prepared for it....it cannot be planned.  Diabetes took him.  No doubt about that at all.  But how grateful am I that we checked 2 more things off his bucket list and had a wonderful trip being crammed into an 8x20 travel trailer for the last month of his life.  Memories I will keep forever.

Life goes on however slow it is at first.  One step at a time.  Sorting, cleaning, giving away.   I think I cried for a month solid.  Then I was just plain weepy.  And I knew that it would get better...but I didn't know how hard it would be to lose him.

By September, I knew that I couldn't sleep in the master bedroom, so I decided to turn it into my art room.  I invested in a Workbox3.0 in order to get all my art supplies in one place.  It was a good decision.

So, maybe the sewing stuff didn't make it in there..... I'll worry about that later!

I finally got back to creating.  And experimenting.  This is Various Inks on Yupo with diecuts on top.

This is watercolor on yupo.  I love the background effects you can get on yupo.

I started making cards out of paintings that no one wanted and I love how they turned out.

 And I got back to watercolor painting.  Art is therapy.  It helps.  You can lose yourself in art and not think about the daily issues.

I signed up for Jenn Dove's Copic Boot Camp in November and made this collage for her daughter.  It's filled with hidden thoughts, photos that have special meaning, and tons of love.

Flew to Phoenix for Boot Camp which truly got my creative juices flowing again.   Jenn and her team were insane!

Classes from 9 am to 9 pm.  I learned so much.

And I still can't believe I colored this with copic markers.  I only hope I can remember what I did!  LOL!

So when I got home, I really started playing.  This is distress oxide re-inkers on photo paper - one of my favorites!

 More of the cards I've been making.  In some of these, you can see how I cut up a painting to make the cards.  Just fun!

So what's next?

I am starting to ebay some of Kerry's things.  I would like to leave Facebook, so I'm going to try blogging again.   I want to travel so my sis and I are talking about our next trip to Israel.  I have decided that I'm at a great crossroads in my life.  And while I don't know what tomorrow will bring, I want it to be filled with life.  I'm looking forward to it!

Finally, to Kerry.  Thank you.  I will love you always.  I am grateful that you are no longer in pain.  I cherish our life together.  And I pray that your memory will be a blessing.