Life on Devil's Hollow: Goodbye 2015! (And Good Riddance!)

Life on Devil's Hollow: Goodbye 2015! (And Good Riddance!): Gosh what a beautiful day! We had early spring temperatures which is weird for this last day of 2015, but so wonderful after so many days...

Goodbye 2015! (And Good Riddance!)

Gosh what a beautiful day! We had early spring temperatures which is weird for this last day of 2015, but so wonderful after so many days of rain!

I spent the day cleaning out and throwing away. I felt this was a wonderful opportunity to weed out so many old, unused, and unneeded items from my home. Out with the old and in with the new!

I finished up by smudging with rosemary, sage, cayenne, bay and lemon balm. I'm ready for peace, new hope for the future, and new confidence. I'm ready for a renewed faith and a new outlook on life. So it wasn't what we expected. Does that make it less wonderful?

It is time for counting my blessings. I live in a beautiful part of the country... out in the country. I have great friends and a family that loves me. I have a job that pays the bills. Most of all, I have my beautiful, wonderful child. Life goes on.. We walk by faith, not by sight. Better times are coming.

I am ready!

What Brings You Peace? (AKA Filling Up Time)

Another new aspect of my life...filling up time when my daughter visits her dad. That's new.

If it was spring time I'd be working on some outdoor project- gardening or adding to my wild bird habitat or doing some much needed work on the goldfish pond. But it's December- and RAINY and STORMY. I had planned to visit some indie bookshops in Atlanta tomorrow with a bestie, but the floods and flood warnings have put a damper on that. Instead, we are meeting with another friend for lunch in Summerville. Lunch with the girls is always good.

I NEED to clean out the back room (aka guest room). My plan is to create a study/ office in there. I worked on it a while this past weekend and made a pretty decent-sized donation to Habitat for Humanity. My pastor's wife works there and they are always glad to take donations. I've still got some work to do.

We are also converting the loft into a hobby room of sorts. It has been a rec room, a den, a play  room, and now..well...it needs help. I've also got to repaint the front door where my German Shepherd "knocks" over and over, scarping away the red paint.

But to relieve stress, you need a creative outlet (or three). Recently I took a transparenting class (required by divorcing parents in Georgia). One thing I learned is that hobbies are an excellent way to relieve stress and depression. I agree. Right now, concentration and organization are not my strong points. I'm forgetful, I flit from project to project like a butterfly from flower to flower.

One minute I am reading, the next I am cleaning, the next I am working on my next book, and five minutes later I am blogging. I am rearranging furniture, looking at seed catalogs, and I have even taken up my old hobby of candle making...I'm a mess. Is this normal?

I'd love to hear from anyone who can feel me on this. I love your comments!

BIg Changes on Devil's Hollow

It has been an unforgivably long time since my last post. Our little family has gone through some big, unplanned (well, on my part unplanned) changes in the past year. I'll spare the world the TMI details. Let's just say that we are no longer "a small family living in a farming community in Northwest GA". We are now a single mom and child living in a small farming community on a mountain in Northwest GA". Enough said.

So I had to ask my self, "Do I still keep the blog?" At first I decided to chunk it. Then, I got to thinking. The fact that our family has changed is not a reason to give up. Seriously...this is still a blog about country living. It might be interesting to see how the changes affect us here on Devil's Hollow.
Things are certainly different now.

Also, my daughter is watching me. Daily she watches the things I say and do. Does a woman curl up and die just because there is no man there to "take care" of her? Is that what a woman is? NOOOO! That is not the example I want to be setting. That is not who I am. I am a survivor, not a victim. So on with it.

I'm having to get used to either doing it myself or finding someone who can. (Thankfully I have some helpful relatives here on the mountain.) I grew up here. I know how to garden and can and all that. But there are somethings I can't do- like drive a tractor. You know this is the time of year I begin planning my garden. Did I mention I can not drive a tractor? Did I mention that I never really wanted to drive a tractor? So I guess things will be interesting. It's an adjustment, to say the least.

Everything has changed, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have a new book coming out soon with Schiffer Publishing called The Legend of the Ghost Hearse and Other Spooky Tales from Northwest Georgia. This has been a long-time dream of mine- to be published-so I'm all excited about that.

And of course there are the usual changes that occur when a divorce takes place. Our schedule changes. The meals change. The laundry changes. The entire routine changes.Therefore, this blog has now changed somewhat. We are all going to find out whaat it is like to be a single mom way out here in the country.

Any advice? Been here and done that?