Louisiana in Tennessee writes her friend, Jenna Aurora Doucet, a letter. She realizes that she has yet to answer Jenna's letter, and she feels a bit sheepish in not doing so.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 2:11 p.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Jenna Aurora (And Michael)~
Hey! How are you guys doing? I got to thinkin' about y'all, and I saw your last letter you wrote to me; and I have realized that I hadn't answered it, so I am going to do so now before you wonder what happened to me or if I am still alive! LOL
Well, I am happy to report to you guys that I AM indeed alive (very much so, in fact!), and I am well (as is my family). We did have some minor flooding to our basement (due to the after-effects of former Hurricane, Ivan the Terrible!), but it has all been resolved now, and our basement has since dried out. We did have to replace the paneling, as well as some books and boxes that were damaged by the floodwaters, but thank God it was nothing more serious! We had over 6" of rain reported here in Nashville, and parts of the city got flooded, and it was a regular MESS! We also had some tornadoes around our area (but none here at the house, thank the LORD!); we were, however, without power for a few days, but our trusty ole generator kicked in, so while everyone else was in the dark, those lucky souls who had generators had power! (The regular power was restored last Friday; and we have been enjoying the benefits of having lights and electricity ever since!)
How has the weather been there in Alaska? Is it still warm there, or has it FINALLY started cooling down there? That is, are you back IN Alaska, or are you guys still on your honeymoon? (KISSY-KISSY! LOL) How is your honeymoon going, or how DID it go if it is overwith now? Are you still in love with one another, or are you starting to get on each other's nerves already? LOL Hope this finds you and Michael well; I really miss you guys, and I still miss your family! Michael, your family's awesome; such a nice group of brothers and sisters y'all have! But ALL of them with M names! YIKES! LOL Sounds like my Pepere' 's family: besides my daddy (Armand), he had brothers named Augustus, Jr., Andrew, Anthony, Allen, Albert, Aubert, and Boulon (poor Boo was always picked on for his name; he was the ONLY one with a B name! Guess Pepere' and Memere' ran out of A names! LOL), and sisters named Antoinette, Anne, Angelique, Aurelie, and Amelie! There were 13 kids in Pepere' 's family! (One more than your Michael's family!) Hope your honeymoon went well, and hope you had a safe journey on your travels!
Life here in the hills of Tennessee couldn't be better. We are drying out from the flood, as I mentioned previously, and we have had a houseful of guests. We have guests from Texas, as well as Finland and Greece. The ones from Texas are my friends from Fort Worth, Phoebe Pearson, and two of her 11 kids, Hanh Ly (14) and her little sister, five-year-old Linn Chan, and the ones from Finland and Greece are friends. I met Sari Annike Gustaffssenn last year when her friend, Helvig Gustaffssenn (no relation; he was originally from Finland, and he now lived in America, and he injured himself when he fell down the stairs and I had to care for him; I met Sari when she was waiting in the E.R. waiting area, and she and I became fast friends; we have been in contact with each other ever since!), and as for Nikolas Constantinos, he is Sari's boyfriend (and the two of them have since become engaged; they will be married sometime next year). Nikolas and Sari met while they were both working at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and they immediately connected, and they have been best buddies ever since! I met Nikolas when he flew in from Greece, to visit his sister, Athena, who was in the hospital (she was shot; she is leaving today for the rehab hospital; she is going to be having intensive physical and occupational therapies, in the hopes that she will learn to walk again; she lives here in Nashville), and he is just as nice and personable as Sari!
So now you know the Sari-Nikolas saga! LOL Sorry about that! (I have a bad habit of getting carried away!)
I also have a new friend in California. She is a friend to my other California friend, Kendra Williams, and her name is Louisa. She lives near Kendra, and she has three kids, two little girls ages 7 and 6 years, and an even smaller boy, who is three years old. She and her husband Jeff say the kids keep them busy. She wrote to me when she heard about Jamee having muscular dystrophy, and she wanted to offer me support and encouragement, especially since she and her oldest daughter (Asia) both have Becker's muscular dystrophy. Louisa is in a wheelchair, and her daughter is starting to have problems, but both have very strong attitudes, and they try to go on living despite the circumstances (plus they have the Lord to turn to if things get sticky!). She wrote to me, and I wrote her a book, as a response to her heartwarming letter! LOL (NO kidding! I think I wrote more than a letter: I think I wrote a durn EPIC! LOL) I am waiting to hear from her; hopefully, I will hear from her again!
It seems that is all I ever do anymore: besides working and taking care of my family, all I ever do is write, write, WRITE! It's no wonder the arthritis in my hands keeps flaring up! But that is what I LOVE to do: write! I am a writing FOOL! LOL I hope you don't mind my blatherin' mouth or my wordy letters; but I just have so much to tell, so I write it down as my brain thinks of it! I swear my brain is on overdrive! LOL
Has your mother recovered from her illness yet? I hope so; it is always such a worry when our loved ones are sick! My other Alaskan friend, Sikik Eegeesiak (remember her?), is taking care of her mother, who recently got out of the hospital from pneumonia, and she is still pretty weakened, plus she is on nasal oxygen, Sikik says, and she is also busy taking care of her daddy. So she has her hands full! But at least her brothers and sisters can relieve her and give her a break now and then! She says her mother is on the mend, but it will be while before she is back to her old self again. Well, it does make sense: Naiomi isn't exactly YOUNG, you know; she IS in her mid 80's! She just wrote to me yesterday, and I have yet to answer her letter! Tell your Mom that I hope she feels better soon, and that she is in my prayers!
I liked the picture of the red aurora that you put on your last letter; but that looks a bit intimidating, if you know what I mean! I have never seen an all-red aurora, and I don't think I would want to, especially since you and Sikik E. both tell me that an all-red aurora usually means a harbinger of death or misfortune! GEEZ! Talk about SCARY! YIKES!! Still, the aurora IS rather pretty; but I don't know if I could handle it if I saw one THAT red! LOL No wonder you were so upset! I pray things are better for you!
I am glad to hear that you are coming along in your therapies; but I am sorry to know that you still can't use your one hand that well. That has got to be so frustrating! I will keep you in my prayers, and ask the Lord to give you strength, so you can make it through your "dark days"! We ALL can use a break now and again! And the Lord WILL provide; you just can't give up, and nothing lasts forever!
Well, Jenna, I will let you go; I have to go and get ready to meet the kids. Their buses should be rolling in soon, and then I have to unlock the door, so I can let them in! Oh, goody! LOL So the peace and quiet that I have had all day since coming home from work will soon be a distant memory! I will write more; sorry so short!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your Tennessee friend, Louisiana Mayrah. :)
Karen, as usual your story provide food for thought. Welldone, Friend. And what a lovely picture this is Karen...
When was this taken? Where is it?
Safi
The familiar lament of dual-career parents raising children is, "I just can't do it all." The Libra Solution provides an alternative - a more satisfying and sustainable work and life approach - to the overwrought modern day norm.
It's almost Christmas. Lynn Basil is writing her last book about a secret entrance into the magical doll land of Sha Bebe that she loves so much. Bagannos have taken over the world! Lynn finally meets her dolls in real life. Can she write in a Secret
Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 2:11 p.m., C.S.T.~
