My 2018 in Words and Pictures

Today, I'm reflecting on my 2018. It was a good year. Stressful at times, but mostly very good. 

Each month I took long walks with the Spartanburg Walkers.  I won't include those here, but please know the walks happened several times EVERY month and they were GREAT!! 

I also got together with my high school friends once a month all year. I've so enjoyed reconnecting with them since moving back to the area.  I won't include all those meetings here either, but please note that they happened and they were GREAT!!

Okay, here goes!  My 2018.  Enjoy!!

January 2018

January dawned full of hope and joy! I spent a lot of time with my sweet sister, Miniver, in January. 

For Miniver's birthday I took her to lunch at Fatz in Gaffney and then we shopped for hours and hours at Hamrick's before picking up dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the food court at the Yellow Mall. It was a good day.

On other days in January, Miniver and I explored Spartanburg. We ate Thai food downtown at Lime Leaf Restaurant one day. Delicious! We went to Costco a lot as Miniver loves going to Costco.

The last Dean I worked for at The Citadel, Larry Daniel, and his lovely wife stopped by my house on their way home from Asheville, NC one day. I cooked us lunch, and we had a nice visit.

On a Tuesday in mid-January, I had dinner in my hometown with several high school friends. We get together monthly. It is always good to see them.

The very next day there was SNOW!!! My dogs were soooo excited! Stark did not like the snow much, but I had to make Dolly come back inside. She LOVES snow!

Dolly and Stark in their backyard, January 2018.

February 2018

In early February I joined my nephew, Chris, and many members of his family at Caro-Mi Dining Room in Tryon, NC to celebrate his birthday.  It was a lovely evening and the food was delicious!

Caro-Mi Dining Room, Tryon, NC

Later in February I bought Girl Scout Cookies from my friend Heli's daughter and Heli delivered them in person and gave them to me as a housewarming gift!  I had not seen Heli since the 1990s, so this was a rare and wonderful treat indeed!  Such a happy day.

Towards the end of February I went to hear Carroll Brown sing and play guitar at Delaney's in downtown Spartanburg.  Seeing Carroll is always good, but that particular night, Hugh Price and Fayssoux McClean showed up and joined him!  What a great night!

March 2018

March brought Wisteria and our whole world turned a fragrant lavender purple.  Beautiful.

My little orchid that my friend, Kathy Jones (God rest her soul.) gave me bloomed its little heart out around St. Patrick's Day.  Gorgeous.

The dogs and I took long walks in local parks and generally had a wonderful time as spring sprung.

Cleveland Park, Spartanburg, SC

April 2018

April was the month my sweet sister's high school class had their reunion with several other classes at Kelly's Steak House in our hometown.  Miniver's reunion was her 56th. Seems impossible that it could have been that long since she graduated from high school, but there you have it.  I took her to the reunion and had the BEST time visiting with all her high school friends.  I remembered all of them.  Such fun!

The Spring Fling happened in downtown Spartanburg.  It was literally a sea of people.

There was all kinds of things to do and see, but I didn't stay long because it was hot that day.

A little rabbit showed up at my house in April and stayed throughout Spring.  He made friends with the local wild rabbits, so we may have some black, white, and grey rabbits in Spring 2019!

The dogs and I spent quality time peacefully walking in beautiful springtime places.

This evil sign distracted me more than once and caused me to eat very yummy things.

Miss Dolly had her yearly grooming and summer haircut.  She loves having short hair!

I drove down to Summerville and Moncks Corner, SC to attend my Great-Niece Robin's baby shower.  It was just a day trip.  I had lunch with my friend, Judy, and then spent the afternoon with family I had not seen in months.  It was a good day.

I did one of those painting workshops where you paint your dogs at Paisley Paws in downtown Spartanburg.  FUN!  The painting turned out okay for just three hours' work.

I had my dogs' DNA done and discovered that my boy Stark is indeed a purebred Australian Cattle Dog, but Dolly is NOT a Border Collie!  She is a Collie mix...very mixed.

 

Did you notice that the Chihuahua mated with the German Shepherd?!!

I bought and planted flowers and tomatoes and enjoyed my first Spring in my Spartanburg house.

May 2018

In May my flowers bloomed!  Hydrangeas and Spiderwort.  Gorgeous.

My childhood friend, Ruth, and her daughter and I went to tour the Houser House near Kings Mountain Battleground, SC. An artist was there that day and people were dressed in period clothing.  We had a good time.

I attended a dulcimer meeting this month and played dulcimers with friends old and new.  It was fun.

June 2018

June was just wonderful!  It is my birthday month!

My granddaughter, Sharon, graduated from high school!!

My Great-Niece, Robin, had her son and named him Thomas after my brother, her grandfather.  What a happy thing!

My friend, Judy visited THREE times!  

I won the lottery to see the Synchronous Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains.  It was absolutely magical.  Judy went with me.  We stayed the night in lovely Sylva, NC after the fireflies put on their show.  I had THE BEST time and did NOT want to leave the forest, but we had to leave.  

Exploring Sylva the next day was much fun!  We ate good food, went antiquing and just had a wonderful day before returning home to Spartanburg, SC.

In June I made a bowl for Spartanburg, SC's Hub City Empty Bowls event that raises money to feed the hungry in Spartanburg.  

Later in the month Judy and I followed the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy in the Land of Oz Amusement Park in beautiful Beech Mountain, NC.  The park is only open weekends in June and one day in the autumn.  You have to buy tickets way in advance, so we were glad it didn't rain us out during our time there.  It did rain, but not until the very end.  We were so lucky!

On my actual birthday, Judy and I visited Biltmore Estates in beautiful Asheville, NC.  A Chihuly glass exhibit was there.  Beautiful.  It rained that day so there weren't many people, which was nice! This photo is in the rose garden near the greenhouses.

The Crepe Myrtle tree in my own backyard rivals all the other beautiful things I saw this month.  It was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful!

Oh...and before I forget, let me tell you about my unexpected visitor!

No.  I didn't kill it.  Black snakes are good snakes.  This one lives under my house.  No mice for me!

July 2018

July was HOT HOT HOT! The fireworks on the 4th were noisy, but at least they stopped shooting them before midnight.

July brought new neighbor dogs!!  Dolly was soooo pleased!  She is a social butterfly.

My sunflowers grew very very tall and bloomed!  

I met my friend, Cindy Crawford (NO! Not THAT Cindy Crawford!), in Asheville for lunch one day.  We had a great time!

July also brought FIREANTS FROM HELL!  NOT GOOD.

I served on our 45th High School Reunion committee and created a poster in remembrance of those of us who have passed away.  It was a sad job. 

I had my ductwork cleaned in July.  I believe it was needed.  What do you think?

My walks moved from open lovely places into wooded paths in July.  It was too hot to walk in the sun.

August 2018

In August I had plumbing problems, which are always a royal pain.  I had to snake my kitchen drain, which was not fun, and a few days after that, my garbage disposal broke and I had to replace it TWICE.  The first replacement's motor lasted less than a day, so I took it back and bought a more expensive but nicer model.  I'm happy to say it is still working perfectly in 2019. -knock on wood- 

The dogs and I discovered more beautiful and shady places to walk.

My fig bushes grew into trees!!  HUGE!!

 AND there were FIGS!!  Yay!

September 2018

September brought apples and the Apple Festival in Hendersonville, NC!  But I had more fun in the apple orchard I visited.  YUM!

My friend, Gwenne, visited me in September!  I hadn't seen her in decades.  We had the best visit!  

In mid-September, Hurricane Florence reared her ugly head and the Lowcountry was evacuated.  My friend, Judy, brought her cats and stayed with me a few days. While she was here, we went to Greenville, SC and I finally got to meet her friend (Now my friend too!), Madhuri! 

Judy and I attended the Spartanburg Little Theater's production of The Little Mermaid while she was here.  We loved it!

The wisteria that was so lovely in the spring broke great branches off a tree and I had to have it cut because I feared the winds from the hurricane would make the broken branches fall and take my fence.  The loggers cut it but left a HUGE mess.  Took me weeks of hard labor to clean it up, and the larger logs are still there as I type.

My son, Dave, married his lovely fiance, Sarena, in September!  They had a beach wedding near Wilmington, NC.

In September, my new friend, Madhuri, and I went to dinner in Greenville one night and also to the Greek Festival near my house in Spartanburg and had the BEST time! 

I went to the Hub City Bowls event and actually found and purchased the bowl I made back in June!  Can you believe it???

My girl, Dolly, grew more beautiful and precious every single day.

October 2018

My son, Dave, and his lovely wife, Sarena announced that they are expecting!  We now know the baby will be a boy to be named Emrik Davis Hambright. He is expected to arrive in late February or early March 2019.

October brought many visits to the vet for Dolly.  She had a lick granuloma, and had to wear a "cone of shame" most of the month unless we were out walking.

Dolly's lick granuloma healed but then she developed a tumor on one of her legs so we scheduled surgery for November.

My roof started leaking this month.  Over the next couple of months I had to have the roofer come fix different leaks four times.  This ended with me having to purchase a new roof for the new year. 

I won a theater ticket lottery, and Madhuri and I saw Anastasia at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC.

My friend Madhuri, the dogs, and I also took a long walk at Furman University in Greenville, SC this month.  It was a beautiful and great day!  The arboretum and rose garden were favorite areas too.  The rose garden was so fragrant!

Another weekend, Madhuri and I went hiking at Paris Mountain State Park near Greenville, SC.  Beautiful.

I attended my 45th high school reunion in my hometown and we all had the BEST time!  First we had dinner at Kelly's Steak House and then we went to Wisefire for coffee and dessert.  

I bought and planted some plants from Hatcher Garden-Woodland Preserve's plant sale.  I LOVE them.  Here are a couple of them.

 I noticed that my boy, Stark, grows more handsome everyday.

My friend, Kaye, had an art exhibit and reception at Wofford College this month. I attended and had a great time with my Spartanburg friends.

The tiny Lantana plant I planted last spring grew into this gorgeous blooming wonder!

Halloween came and went.  No trick or treaters this year, but we did a Spartanburg Walkers' walk through a very decorated neighborhood that I enjoyed very much!

November 2018

I voted!  I hope you did too.

Autumn finally arrived!!

My childhood friend, Day (Debbie), and I got together for lunch one day.  The years fell away.  How good!! I hope we can get together again soon.

My HVAC system broke.  It was the heat exchanger, which costed over $2300.00 to fix, but it is fixed now.  Those holes you see in the photo below were allowing CO2 to be pumped into my home!  It had to be either replaced or fixed.  It was way too much money to replace it.  Let's hope this fix makes it last awhile longer...especially since I just had to spend $5900.00 on a new roof!

It took a week for the part to repair my HVAC to arrive, so I had to heat my home with the gas logs in my fireplace.  It worked!  Heated the whole house just fine.  I was very pleased.

My friend, Vicki and I visited Biltmore Estates to see it all decorated for Christmas.  It was beautiful.  We also visited the winery while we were there.  It was a lovely visit.

Thanksgiving Day I had traditional Thanksgiving food for lunch with my friend Mary and her family at her house in Boiling Springs, SC.  Then my friend, Madhuri, came over and brought homemade Indian food for dinner!  Both meals were absolutely delicious!

My dermatologist found a suspicious mole and removed it. Developing skin cancer. She got it all! 

Dolly had her surgery in November.  The tumor was benign!  Thank God!  She promptly removed her stitches, so she ended up having to have staples.  She did not remove those and eventually the wound healed.  My bank account will not heal for a very long time though.

December 2018

December brought more roof leaks and a snow and ice storm.  

The ice broke the awning over my back stoop, but I was able to fix it.  Thank goodness.

I signed the agreement for a new roof with DK Mason Roofing and borrowed the money and paid him.  The roof is being installed on January 2, 2019.  The new roof should last longer than me with any luck at all.

I finally put up my Christmas tree.  It was hard to get in the Christmas spirit after having to go into such debt for my HVAC, Dolly's surgery, and a new roof all within a few weeks of each other, but after I put up the tree, I enjoyed looking at it.

My dogs had a special visitor Christmas Day, the little Chihuahua from down the street crawled under the gate to play.

Stark accidentally broke my cell phone, and I had to buy a new one this month.  I can't believe how much debt I've accumulated over the past couple of months, but it can't be helped.  Everything I have had to purchase was necessary...a need NOT a want.  Oh well....

My son, Dave, invited me to his house in Lake Wylie, SC for Christmas dinner on Christmas Day.  I enjoyed it very much.  We had turkey and presents and my grandchildren were all there, including the little one not yet born. 

My friend, Madhuri, came home from India bearing Christmas gifts!  The dogs got lots of treats and I received presents too.  I especially love the red scarf, and the yummy Indian candy.

New Year's Eve I went to see the new Mary Poppins Returns movie with my friend, Kaye. Then I spent the rest of the night at home with my good dogs while the neighbors shot fireworks until 2:30 AM. Ugh.

I hope 2018 was a memorable year for you. 

As you can see, my year was full of ups and downs.  When I look back on it, like today, I see more ups than downs, so it was a very good (although expensive!) year.  I lived in a beautiful home in lovely weather and was surrounded by good food, good friends, good family, and good dogs.  Life doesn't get much better than that.  

This was my first full year of being retired.  I sure hope I'm able to stay retired for the rest of my life.  I love retirement so very much!

I should also mention that my Mama's baby sister, my Aunt Jean, passed away this year.  She was born in 1927, so she had a long life, but I'm still sorry she is gone.  I love her.  She walked many of the pages of my youth.  I can still hear her Aunt Jean voice. "Alice," she'd say.  

My sweet sister, Miniver, sided with the man who once strangled me and left me for dead, instead of supporting me at a time when I needed a true sister this year. She no longer deserves my time nor attention. No one who truly loves me would side with an attempted murderer over me, no matter who they "think" he is.  

I still love my sister.  I have always been on her side, but right is right, so I lost my older sister this year too.  

I deserve to be believed and supported when I am telling the God's truth.  If no one else on this earth loves me, I have to love myself.

All things happen just as they should.  I believe this.  

May 2019 also hold many more good days than bad for all of us.

Are you still reading?  Amazing.  I hope you enjoyed the post!

Oh...nearly forgot! I won $10.00 tickets to see Hamilton in Charlotte, NC!! Judy met me there. We enjoyed it so much! Wonderful!!

I also saw the play, Calendar Girls in Spartanburg. 

Yes. A good year. :-)