HAPPY 2012! Happy 30th Danny

Happy 30th birthday to Danny! My youngest son. We had a great surprise party for him in December. Happy New Year to you--I wish it to be your happiest, healthiest and most prosperous. Wow, the past 8 months have really flown right by and as usual a lot has happened since then. The summer being hot, humid and wet, made for a lot of disease in the garden and unproductive chickens, ducks and rabbits. All of the White Midget turkeys that we ordered bit the dust, but that was due to some problem at the hatchery. Really sad. I just loved the turkeys. My friend Bailey who was living in the city, had Animal Control come out and try to confiscate his chickens and ducks so they were moved right away and spent a few months here. Now Bailey and Thomas are living on a 110 acre farm in Central New York and they have all of my chickens and ducks living with them...interesting how the tables have turned. I really miss the birds, so strange without them. I still think I hear them sometimes. I miss Bailey and Thomas much more. I tried hard to keep the birds, but reality hit me with no mercy and I'm more at peace with the decision now. There were several reasons that caused me to let them go, but the deal breaker was the pain caused by caring for them, which robbed me of any real, restful sleep. My neurologist insisted that my plate was overflowing and causing more complications with my memory. So it's done. The rabbits are easy, the dogs, well they're another story. In any case, the good news is that I don't have Alzheimer's, my brain is healthy and normal, my EEG is normal. So the problem is still with the Lyme Disease, which remains to be dealt with on a more serious level. My studio is a total shambles. The damage from snow, ice and rain has totaled it. Of course having an asshole for a contractor, whose work was an absolute debacle, just put it over the top. Be careful who you put you trust in. There are sociopaths out there who have no integrity, heart or conscience and won't accept responsibility for their work. The room itself has been gutted, now that we had to have a new roof put on. The nightmare of black mold treatment is next, then putting it all back together. The impact has been just awful. I'm anxious for this whole scenario to be over. I need to get back to painting again. Still, I have so much to be thankful for in the new year. Family and good, faithful, true friends are more precious than ever and for that I am eternally grateful.