Shirley's Obituary

I know I wrote about Shirley's passing, but I wanted to share her obituary today as well. 

Shirley Styles Phillips

Shirley Styles Phillips, 75, of 389 Orchard Road, Bakersville, North Carolina passed away October 23, 2011 at home after a long illness.  She was a native of Yancey County and the daughter of the late Theodore and Zona Harris Styles.  She was preceded in death by a son, Robert Scott Phillips.

Survivors include her husband Bobby E. Phillips of the home, and her beloved daughter Janet Kenniasty of Columbia, Maryland as well as three sisters, Teddie Styles Hall of Statesville, North Carolina, Erma Styles of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Doris Styles Laughrun of Midlothian, Virginia.

She was valedictorian of her Burnsville High School class, a graduate of Mars Hill College, Meredith College and received a graduate degree from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida.  She spent 21 years as a teacher in the post secondary schools of Osceola County, Florida.

She and her husband, Bobby, were married in Burnsville June 9, 1956.

She enjoyed active membership in First Baptist Church of Spruce Pine, the Blue Ridge Red Hats, the Mitchell County Extension Homemakers, and the Mayland Writers Club.  She loved painting, writing short stories, and singing.

To remember Shirley, a gift to Hospice Of Mitchell County in Spruce Pine is suggested.

A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church of Spruce Pine, North Carolina on Saturday, November 5 at 2 pm.  Following the service, the family will receive friends in the fellowship hall until 4:30 pm.

Henline-Hughes Funeral Home of Bakersville is assisting the family with arrangements.

The Loss of a Great Writer/Person

I received an email today letting me know that a member of my writers' group had passed away last night. I was stunned beyond words.

Shirley Phillips had been battling cancer for some time, but every time I saw her, she seemed to be doing so well. She was always smiling, never down. A few months ago she had sent an email letting me know she wouldn't be at the meetings due to health problems. I let her know I was here if she needed me, and asked if all was OK, but she never answered that question. She was like that, at least with me. Private. Not really going on about her health or illness.

When I think of Shirley, I don't immediately think of the cancer she fought. I think of the stories she brought to our group meetings; stories taken from events in her life that never failed to make us laugh. I also think of her artwork, which she exhibited at a local gallery alongside her husband's woodworking pieces. And maybe that's what she wanted people to remember most. Not the cancer, but how she touched our lives with her writing and her art.

I don't know which she liked to do the most, painting or writing. I do know that I always wished I had her dual talent and her seeming perpetual happiness and joy in life. I also know that I am a better person for having known her, and one of my biggest sorrows is that our newest members did not get to meet her or hear her work.

I think I have copies of some of her stories filed away. I am going to look for them and introduce our new members to Shirley at our next meeting. They should get a chance to meet her.

Shirley was 75, and taken away much too soon.

More 365 Project Pictures

Still keeping my camera with me every day as part of the 365 Project; a picture a day to illustrate a year of my life. I take many more than one a day, and have gotten so many pictures that I really like. I've shared some here before, and here are some more. 

Mountain Thoughts

So, here it is, autumn in the mountains. Love this time of year. The leaves are changing fast, turning those wonderful hues of gold and yellow and orange that make these mountains even more beautiful. Soon the trees will be bare and we will make way for mountain tops covered in the whiteness of frost, ice, and snow. I love it all. Have never gotten tired of living here, and don't think I ever will.

When the hubs and I moved up here in 1993 (arriving on Halloween no less), we only knew one family in town. We came here with a few possessions packed into our car, no jobs, no credit, and no real idea of what we were doing. All we knew was we were coming to the mountains. That was enough.

Now, 18 years later, we have never regretted that decision. Yeah, it's been a tough 18 years. We've been through surprise layoffs, family deaths, illnesses (still dealing with one of those), and more financial worries than I care to mention. But, here we are. Still living in the mountains, still enjoying the beauty of the land around us.

And now we know a few more people, some friends we've known almost from day one. I'm not used to that. I moved around a lot as a kid; over 30 times by the time I graduated high school. I didn't keep friends for long. This is the longest I've ever stay in one place. The longest I've ever been in one house (moved in to our home in 1996). And from the first day, I've felt at home here. Something I never felt anywhere when I was a kid. These mountains are my home, the home I've looked for all my life.

And the best part of all is I get to share this feeling, this home, with my very best friend. Even when times are tough, we've still been able to lean on each other, talk to each other, laugh together. My love for him has never faltered, just grown over time. And I know he feels the same way. I have never in my life completely trusted anyone (not even family) until I met my husband. I trust him fully and completely. We tell each other everything; our dreams, our worries, our past secrets we'd never shared with another living soul.

Living in these mountains with my husband by my side, I have finally come home.

Paying Tribute

I have decided that the best way to pay tribute today, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, is to go about my usual business. Yes, I will remember those lost, but living our lives is the best way, in my opinion, to mark this date. Those who took so many lives that day did so with the intent of bringing us down, of taking away our sense of security, of disrupting our normal lives. What better way to keep that from happening than to move on from that point, enjoying each and every day since, giving to our fellow man and just plain LIVING?

We will never forget, and hopefully what happened showed all of us how quickly this life can be taken away. Hopefully we learned to hold each day precious and to let those around us know how much we really care about them.

Oh the Sweetness of Corn

Oh the sweetness of raw corn-on-the-cob. I used to love it boiled to death, or even nuked in the microwave, then covered with butter, a bit o' salt. Then one day, I took a bite of fresh corn, just shucked and not cooked. I was hooked. Good sweet corn does not need to be destroyed with excessive heat. It does not need to be slathered in butter or sprinkled with salt. It just needs to be eaten in its natural oh-so-sweet state.

YUM!!!

Seussical

Headed to the Parkway Playhouse with my friends Judith and Chrissy tonight to see Seussical. Can't wait. Our friend Stephanie is in it as well as our friend Suzan's daughter, Myra. Love all the Playhouse actors. This will be my second musical this year, fourth overall performance, and they impress every time. I'm really enjoying this theatre thing. It's a great way to get your mind off the day-to-day stuff that can often bring you down. And you sure can't beat spending time with friends.

Next up in August is Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood.

Notes From The Confusion

What do you tell someone when they ask how you are during a long illness that many people don't believe in in the first place? What do you tell someone when they ask how someone you love who is in that situation is doing? How do you explain something that has no exact known cause and no known cure? Something that causes a myriad of symptoms including depression and lots of pain.

My husband has had several health issues for the past two years. He had his gall bladder out in 2009 and was also diagnosed with hemochromatosis of the liver at that time. (Basically, he has too much iron in his blood.) Then depression hit along with muscle and joint pain over his entire body. A diagnosis of fibromyalgia soon followed. Here we are, two years plus in, and still no end in sight. He regularly sees his GP plus three specialists, with a fourth one soon starting. (I'm making him an appointment with a pain clinic.) He is also starting a second round of physical therapy that we are having to fight tooth and nail to get done, even though he did so much better during the first round.

Don't get me wrong, some things are better. The liver issue has really improved. For three months, he had to have a pint of blood taken every week. Now he's down to every three months. That might even get better, but ever three months is a major improvement.

And the stomach issues he had before and after he had the gall bladder removed have greatly improved. He can pretty much eat what he wants, although I do try to not give him many iron-rich foods for obvious reasons. Most days he even has a decent appetite, although he still has days when he doesn't want to eat anything at all.

The pain is the worst part. He hurts all over most of the time. Trips to the doctor's office two miles away are torturous, and don't get me started on the ones to doctors in Linville or Asheville (23 miles and 52 miles away). He feels every little bump in the road, and those of you who live up here know how these roads are.

Of course there are also medications. Many medications. All you can do is treat the symptoms and each doctor works with their specialty, and they all have their list of meds they start with and work through. So many pills.

Fibromyalgia is a real disorder which causes pain, fatigue, sleeplessness, concentration problems.....etc. The biggest problem is that some people, and even some doctors, don't believe it's real. I wish those people could be in my husband's shoes for just one day. I wish they could feel the way he feels for even one hour. They would change their minds very fast.

A Cheesy Deal

Hello cheese fans. And when I say "cheese fans," I mean those who like/love cheese of all kinds, not those who love cheesy jokes and such. (You know who you are.)

I love cheese. It's one of my favorite food groups, right up there with bacon and chocolate. Any time I make a trip to my local Ingles grocery store, I check out their little gourmet cheese section looking for markdowns. Why markdowns? Have you ever looked at the regular prices of that stuff? Then you shouldn't have to ask.

A few weeks ago, I came across a small block of cheese marked down to .99. It was going out of date the next day, which is of course why it was marked down. How drastic was the markdown? Well, this little block of cheese normally costs $14.99lb. Yep, you read that right. $14.99 for a pound of cheese. Don't know who actually pays that much, but it sure ain't me.   :)

Anyhoo, the cheese I got to try that day was from a German company called Kaseberg, and the cheese is Butterkase. Buttery cheese? Well heck, I knew it had to be good. And for just under a dollar, what have I got to lose?

What indeed? OMG, I was in heaven. This cheese is so creamy and oh-so-freaking-good. And of course, I knew it would be a long time before I could ever get it again. Every trip to Ingles took me over to the gourmet cheese to see if maybe, just maybe, they had more marked down. But alas, it was not to be. Not for weeks and weeks.

Then, there it was. The beautiful image of an orange "Special Today" sticker on several packages of the wonderful cheesy goodness. I immediately rushed over and picked them up, only to find that the "Special" was a markdown to $7.99. There were several days before the sell-by date, and I guess they were trying to get them out of there as fast as they could. But still, $7.99?!?! Not this cheese eater. So I put the packages down, noting the sell-by dated listed. I had a plan.

The day before the sell-by date, I made a trip to Ingles. There were two "Special Today" packages left. Just two. And they were still marked $7.99. I grabbed my booty and approached a deli worker. I explained the situation. The cheeses were going out of date the next day and would not be able to be sold. I had bought some for .99 before and wondered if they might mark these down as well. He took the packages, thought for a moment and proceeded to affix a sticker for .99. I thanked the polite young man profusely and left the store that day a happy camper.

For $1.98 I got two packages of a wonderfully delicious cheese that would normally cost a bit over $11 a piece. Now that is what I call a cheesy great deal. (I did also check the other packages and the next date is mid-August. I will be watching.)

Independence Day

So, today we celebrate our Independence Day. There will be food, fun and fireworks...if your town hasn't had them already the way many have, including mine. That is one of my little frustrations. We should celebrate the holiday ON THE HOLIDAY. But, that's just my opinion, and we know all about opinions, don't we.

Nothing really special going on at the Bell house today. Just another day, although I am going to bake some of my super famous Chocolate Mint Chip cookies and maybe some brownies. Yes, I am baking in the middle of July. Can't help it. I like to bake. And as for it being too hot, well, that's what air conditioners are for.

I would like for everyone to remember something today. We are a great country that has made some mistakes. But in the end, we are all in this together. Our opinions may differ, but that shouldn't matter. Healthy debate is good, compromise is a necessity and name-calling is just plain stupid. Stop it.

Have a great holiday, y'all.