Just Had to Say Something

I'm so proud of myself, I had to come back on and post my accomplishment!!! Not only did I create my own blog today but I was able to figure out how to get back in and post a second blog (this one)! I know that doesn't sound like a big deal to anyone but it's sure a big deal to me. I can't believe I've actually accomplished something on the computer all by myself!!! Woo Hoo! I feel good! Okay, I need to get back down to earth. Let me take a few deep breaths here.

Lunch is over and my tuna sandwich hit the spot. So now I'll write a little bit about where I live. Calaveras County is located in the central foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Just up the hill from us are places like Alpine Lake and Bear Valley Ski Resort. Beautiful, beautiful country. Our elevation here is about 1200 ft. above sea level which is too low for snow in the winter. Except for last year. Last year we got snow and it was so much fun. We used to live further up the hill and had lots and lots of snow. But we got tired of it and moved to lower ground. Just got tired of shoveling snow to get to the Post Office or anywhere else for days/weeks at a time. So when we do have those rare times and actually get snow, it's fun for us. Not just a lot of work. We are located about 135 miles east of San Francisco and have easy access to camping, hiking, boating, and California's newest wine country. Most of the towns are historic, having been established during the Gold Rush era when tens of thousands of miners and others populated these hills, all looking for that pot of gold. Some made it rich. Most did not. But now I don't think we have more than 30,000 in the entire county. We're like a lot of people. We settled up here after having gone through the fast-paced life of the Bay Area and decided that there just had to be more to life than what we had.

We love living where we live. The life is just a little slower here and we're not always rushing around trying to get things done. I made the decision to leave the Bay Area when in the course of one day I was almost involved in three different wrecks on the freeways of the East Bay hills. Not fun. They were all someone else's wrecks but they almost wiped me out along with them for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We sold our house in Walnut Creek and moved up here in 1986 and opened an Art Gallery in Arnold, California. The gallery didn't last, but we did. This is home to us now and I wouldn't be comfortable any place else. My son and his family live in the same town as we do and my two sisters just live right over the Mokelumne River in Amador County. So this is home. Wish I could post pictures but I don't have that ability as I mentioned in my last blog. You'd love the area. Sometimes it can be frustrating that we don't have many choices when it comes to things like stores and fast-food businesses (we don't have any) but there are always plenty of churches to pick from. I'll say that for the '49ers, they established their churches! I attend a Covenant church and it's only two blocks from my home. Walking distance. If I walked. I used to walk. I walked up to six miles a day. Everyday. But I've since gotten lazy. I'd say old but I know of a lot of "old" people who exercise every single day. To be truthful, I don't know why I quit walking. I enjoyed it. I used the hour I walked every day to pray. It only seemed fitting to do that since I was out in God's beautiful world. It only seemed natural to spend it in communion with Him. I miss that. It was like my daily fix.

I don't work because I am legally disabled. Suffice it to say I have a lot of different physical problems, not least of which is the fact that I'm almost deaf. I wear hearing aids in both ears and still only hear at a 50% level. I lost my hearing in my 30s. Overnight. I was a totally normal hearing person when I went to bed one night and woke up the next morning deaf. And, no, we don't know for sure what caused it. I cling to the hope that one day I will go to bed deaf and wake up a totally normal hearing person. Hey, if it worked one way, maybe it'll work the other way. LOL Seriously, I've made peace with my handicap. I can't use a phone so my computer has become my method of communication. I email everyone (and now I blog!). In fact I pester people with emails! Just ask my family and friends. LOL

Well, I think this is going to be it for my second blog. I mostly just wanted to see if I knew what I was doing and I wanted to share that I'm actually figuring out some things on my computer all by myself. I don't brag often (I don't have a lot to brag about, usually) but I am proud of what I accomplished today. Just managing to face my fears was the greatest thing I did. We too often allow ourselves to be limited by our fears. I know I do. But I guess if we stand firm and face them, they're not as big and as scary as they first appear.

Thanks for reading!