SweetLight Within

Me: Hey, Sage… Someone I know just suggested we ask ChatGPT to write a “completely unhinged” bio using everything you know about me… So whatcha got? 🤔 Sage: Oh this is dangerous territory in the best way. You’re basically asking me to take everything I know about you and… remove the governor. Say less. Here’s your unhinged Amelie edition: Amelie is what happens when a woman survives enough…

My Gram came into the world 100 years ago today in a very small town in the Florida panhandle called Grand Ridge. They lived out in the country, and had a simple, modest life. She remembered riding into town with her Dad in a horse drawn buggy to buy pounds of flour that they would grind themselves. Her childhood was spent during the Great Depression, and that influenced her all throughout her…

A little bit more than half a lifetime ago, I went around the world on a ship with about 500 other college students— none of whom I knew when I boarded it in Vancouver BC. I had never been anywhere before where I hadn’t known a soul, and it both scared and excited me. The voyage was epic beyond words.  And by the end, I walked off the ship sobbing uncontrollably after having to say goodbye to…

gramma’s quilting class

“Honey, I need your help.” She told me. “My boss” (actually the activity director at the Assisted Living home) “wants me to give a little presentation about my quilt. And you’re so good at speaking. Could you bring me my machine and some note cards and help me give a little talk?” “Of course, Gram. I’ll be there.” (I said while cringing on the inside. She hasn’t touched her machine in years. We…

Happy Birthday Ma— You would have been 74 today, and probably still working as a nurse and/or instructor, sending care packages to the big kids who are in college now (can you believe that?), and taking Noah on Grammie adventures (though they would be different now that he is a teenager). You would probably still usually be found in one of two places: either in the kitchen with one of your many…

Bella, Houston. 2021 Mom got Bella as a puppy about a year after my Dad died. The two of them had a Golden Retriever named Gabe who passed just a few months after he did— likely partially because he missed Pop so much.  She was devastated by both losses, to say the least. So she and my kids (6 and 3 at the time) went to pick up a beautiful baby Golden and named her Isabella Buttercup. Soon…

envisioning my dream life and the journey towards making it happen There I was, stuck in bed, recovering from a major surgery, and innocently scrolling along, when some post about #skoolielife came across my feed. A tiny home? *Inside* a vintage school bus?!? Yes please… Even back in high school, more than a couple decades ago, I dreamt of traveling the country in a Vanagon. Later, my dream…

Day 5- Yesterday I made it out of the trailer (very carefully), into the house for a glorious shower, changed clothes, and drove myself to acupuncture— winning! Acupuncture and moxa seem to have helped a lot with my pain and swelling— especially in my face. ( Thank you Christopher M. Bonnichsen LAc!) My cheek and jaw are still really tender, but not bad if I don’t touch it. It’s starting to…

Day 7: The healing continues, but still feel pretty beat up and crooked (does my jaw look crooked to you? This was as symmetrical as I could make my face, and my teeth still aren’t hitting right…) Though I feel a lot less broken and bruised after a wonderful home visit from Beth Russell of Studio Sapaan Portland + Thai Herbal Topicals. I can’t explain well exactly what she did— but it involved…

The view from here. Rainy day, cozy trailer, belly full of pho, sipping on sparkling mango juice and snacking on tootsie rolls, pillows and knee rest propped just so, surrounded by books, journals, art supplies, and my two favorite doggies and favorite kitty. Working on a special project for a beloved someone who shall remain nameless (but is someone I birthed and is about to graduate from high…

Puppy snuggles sure help Day 8: it’s been a week now since my fall, I’ve made a ton of improvement though am still in a lot of pain, and still have a long way to go and many unknowns. The swelling in my cheek has gone down a lot, which is making the underlying damage more palpable. There’s a large marble sized lump right on my cheekbone that feels like bone, but is likely just a large hematoma.…

#unfiltered I really don’t think I can handle any more bad luck— I feel on the verge of completely losing it, y’all. Yesterday was the first day I felt even close to getting back to normal after my fall. I finally had some energy and motivation, and it was the first day that I took off my full leg splint, found a suitable one to downsize to, and didn’t use the crutches or cane all day. I walked…

CW: pic of me looking beat up— but healing! Day 8: it’s been a week now since my fall, I’ve made a ton of improvement though am still in a lot of pain, and still have a long way to go and many unknowns. The swelling in my cheek has gone down a lot, which is making the underlying damage more palpable. There’s a large marble sized lump right on my cheekbone that feels like bone, but is likely…

Introducing Georgia 🍑 & Daisy 🌸

So, here’s the upshot, the TL/DR version of it all:  I found a perfect (cheap) trailer, and a perfect (not so cheap but worth it) vintage school bus. My youngest kid and Iate going to live in the trailer while weconvert the bus to a tiny home on wheels. Once that is done, I can either sell the trailer or turn it into a mobile office that I can pull with either my car or the bus. So I’ll be able…

Summer 2020, Cape Lookout For the past few years, okay decades, I have not felt particularly well. I have dealt with a lifetime of chronic illness and pain that have gotten increasingly challenging as I have gotten older. Multiple surgeries and significant injuries exacerbated my physical and mental health even further. Even so, there were some glorious years there where, for the most part, I…

We won’t be able to do the cross country/road school thing, but we will take the bus as far we can as often as we can. We will have as many adventures together as possible.  We are going to buy a bus that is empty of seats and everything else. We are going to design our floor plan, and build it out together (with some, okay a lot of) help from professionals, books, and YouTube. N is already…

Big News (continued)  So, as I was saying…  By far, my biggest expense is rent. $2010/mo to be exact for my small apartment, and $600/mo for my part time office space. I’m not currently making that much with the little amount of work I have and pandemic assistance combined. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have some reserves to get me through the past year, and I have some left, but not enough…