2 be Bliss, as I dance along the road to Nirvana...

There is always more to every story... I was astonished and awed to find that the Bowser family is connected to a larger and (likely) largely-unknown important piece of African-American history in the Outer Banks. One of the articles I came across in my research is titled, "The Freedmen of Roanoke Island: The Other Lost Colony". Saying, "Wow" doesn't accurately express my astonishment and gratitude at finding this new information about my people's journey from slavery to today. Here is a link to the article:  The Freedmen of Roanoke Island: The Other Lost Colony .

I talked with my dad about an hour ago. It was a short conversation, maybe 15 minutes. He was in good spirits. But as the conversation wound down, he mentioned his health issues and told me not to be upset if I get a call that he's not doing well. He also said he wants to be cremated, no funeral, no memorial service. I guess he's tired. I would be too, in his situation. We'll be taking another road trip soon. Prayers, positive thoughts, and positive energy are welcome. Thank you in advance. Amen.

A few more vacation photos: Baby Bliss walking the path of the first four flights at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC. Beach bunny. (Moi, traveler extraordinaire.)

It's been a great week and I'm thankful. Baby Bliss and I enjoyed a few days of family frolic in the Outer Banks (a.k.a. OBX). It was a fun vacation as well as an educational one. In addition to eating, shopping, and sunning, we spent time at the Wright Brothers National Memorial where we walked hundreds of steps while learning more about the Wright brothers, many other aviators from around the world, as well as many aviation firsts in both our atmosphere and in space. We also detoured at the Roanoke Island rest stop (the first stop in OBX but our last stop before leaving the area) where we viewed a very small cemetery for the Bowsers, a prominent African-American family from the area. In all my years of study (both forced and independent) I've never heard of anyone from the Bowser family. Their story sounds interesting and I plan to research them this week. Baby Bliss and I agreed that we liked OBX but missed the good eats in the Carolina Beach area...

March 31 will mark my fourth year of life without Mr. Bliss. Although we meet often in my dreams, I will always miss him in waking life. His beautiful smile, his willingness to help, the way he always encouraged me to try whatever half-baked notion I brought to him as a "what if", his zest for life... He is missed by many, not just Baby Bliss and I or his family. He touched a great number of lives. Hundreds. Possibly thousands. Maybe more. He was one of the few people I've met in life who seemed to truly embrace his professed belief in Christ's teachings. Not in a stern Bible-thumping way but in the way he welcomed everyone with love. He didn't care about a person's skin color, what kind of car someone drove, a person's religion, sexual preference, favorite food, shoe size... Mr. Bliss was open to possibility, if not for himself then for everyone else. It's part of why we got along as well as we did. Mr. Bliss loved holidays and the ...

For those who celebrate, Hosanna! I hope your Palm Sunday was one of revelation. I was thankful to have awakened itch-free Sunday morning. The story: A short while after I got home from our glorious Sista Circle celebration, my face began to feel itchy. I looked in the mirror and yep, just what I thought: hives.  If you've never had hives (known to medical professionals as "urticaria", pronounced ur-tih-CARE-ee-uh), thank God and pray that you never will. I've danced with them a number of times over the past 20 years. The first time was after a cousin's baby shower.  I was home playing solitaire on my desktop. My thighs began itching badly. I thought I'd scraped them under my desk one too many times, scooting back and forth in my chair. When I checked, there were no scratches, only skin covered in raised welts. I was horrified and didn't know what to do. It must have been traumatic because I can't recall ...

Happy Saturday everyone! It's overcast here, windy, a bit chilly. In the past few weeks we've had an abundance of sunshine and warm temps and I know they'll return soon so I'm not complaining. I've already been out gallivanting and although the weather does require warm outerwear of some sort there's no need to drag the mink out of storage again. However, when I hit the streets later, it's likely I'll be wearing pants, a rarity for me. If I didn't have a previous engagement, I would be staying in tonight. But one of the sista-friends in our circle is hosting a themed event at her home this evening. She's from that town in Louisiana known for partying and jazz funerals. Surely this evening's festivities will be worth me braving March winds for one night. The party starts in a few hours so y'all know what that means. Time for me to get ready to get ready. More later...

The Mojita is gone. Imbibed. Did it's job. I'll have another one day. Funny that we saw it on the shelf in Target last night. Funnier that it cost a whole dollar more at Target. I think Target price-matches but the store near me is closer. *** It's almost time for a beach run for we two Bliss. Sadly, Baby Bliss and I didn't have a vacation together last year. I went home twice -- once for a class reunion and once to visit a friend. Baby Bliss barely left the county. True, she's an adult now and can run off with her friends at any given moment. Often she does. But she's a teenager, as are her friends. In the interest of caution, Baby Bliss isn't interested in taking extended trips without real adults. I believe she gets that cautious streak from me and I'm glad she has it. Hopefully it will help keep her out of trouble as she journeys through life. Soon she and I will be strolling the shores of our beach of choice. If we like th...

In today's news, I'm trying Something New. Baby Bliss is totally besotted with drinking kombucha as often as possible. One word: yuck. Two words: It stinks. The bouquet is my biggest issue. In cat-like fashion, if something smells off, I won't eat or drink it. Surely there are millions of people in the world who share this inclination as well. Yesterday when we made our water-refill/what's-for-dinner/and-some-of-that-too run at our local healthy foods market, Baby Bliss spotted her favorite brand of kombucha. Of course she did. We have to pass it on the way to the refill machine. She immediately informed me that she needed a bottle. Because it settles her stomach, which always needs settling. (So says she...) As I had already spent $4.00 of my hard-earned money on something I'd bought her earlier, I wasn't inclined to add another $4.00 to the tally. After she wore me down with her five-minute filibuster (yes, I know I'm using the word o...

The other night I bought tickets to see two of my favorite musical talents in concert. The show is in mid-summer. Baby Bliss said she'll go with me. I am so excited! Life is good. Amen.

I hung out with my grandma, two aunties, and a cousin for a few hours yesterday before I headed home from the birthday party. My grandma has quite the sense of humor. Right on the edge of, "Grandma! I can't believe you said that!" She had us all cracking up. I returned the favor by showing her funny animal photos from the internet. Being there, enjoying a good time with my family, I was reminded of how much I had loved spending weekends, summers, and school holidays at grandma's house for so many years of my childhood. Even though we don't always agree on things these days, I love grandma for all she's done to help me, for everything she's taught me. Laughing with grandma and my aunts was a great ending to a great day. As I headed home, I found myself thinking, "If only she could be like that all time..." *sigh* Knowing grandma, she was probably thinking the same thing about me while I was walking out her door.

Happy Saturday y'all! What do you have planned? It's another busy day ahead for me. Earlier this week, Baby Bliss began purging the treasure trove that is her closet. The yield: two giant bags of trash; one decrepit papasan-style chair (trashed); one giant, filthy, fabric suitcase (trashed); one laundry basket full of "I can sell these online"; another laundry basket full of "mommy wants this stuff"; a tall fabric laundry hamper and a small suitcase full of "going to Goodwill"; one child-sized sleeping bag and a Trader Joe's paper sack full of goodies that will go to grandma. The best part: Baby Bliss found a card hand-written to her by Mr. Bliss in 2004 as well as a small locket containing a photo of Mr. Bliss and one of his sisters. She almost cried. For the past several days, we've been carefully sorting trash from re-useable and cleaning items that are to be given away. Today I am responsible for parceling out what's ...

Although I was just plum worn out earlier, I wasn't able to fall into a deep restful sleep like I wanted. My pillows were uncooperative, my daughter was busy turning lights on and off as she bustled around, and my mind wouldn't slow down. I drifted off several times only to awaken with every odd sound. At some point I managed to stay asleep. Lots of dreams in about 2.5 hours of snoozing but I can't remember a single one. I do recall the presence of the Scorpio. (My Friday afternoon lunch date.) When I awoke again, it was after 10:30. I got up and somehow lost an hour because when I looked at my phone again, it was after 11:30 p.m. Strange. So, more details about Friday's date:  - Parking near the venue was awful. I drove around for a few minutes before I found a good space. - I arrived before he did, and only a few minutes late. (Thank you overly full parking lot.) - He was shorter than I expected. Not a big deal. - He was casually dressed: jeans, ...

Fun date. Scorpio men... Yum! More detail shall be given at some later date. Maybe tomorrow. I can't say for sure because I'm too tired. I'm a night owl by nature but lately I've been taking it to the extreme. Buona notte a tutti.

TGIF y'all! Another day, another first date... Lunch at 12:30, at a nearby hoity-toity venue. Well alright Mr. Moneybags! I like money as well as the next girl. It affords one a life of leisure and I d o like to relax as often as possible. However I was raised in a frugal household and with few exceptions, that's how I live. I'm all for a man showing a lady a good time by digging deeply into his wallet. But if we're gonna get to date number two, there had better be some darned good conversation and substance to go with that bankroll. I'm just putting that out there, you know, for the Universe to hear and respond. Keeping all that in mind, I'm running up on my call time folks. It's 10 minutes to 11 a.m. If I'm not in and out of the shower by 11, I'll be holding up the show. This man has to pick up his offspring by 2:30. And we know how long my first dates can run. Miss Queen of First Dates is signing off.

Last night I had another "first date". It was interesting. Unusual. Different from any date I've ever been on. The activity, one which helped me explore and push past boundaries, was one I had agreed to. I thought I knew what the result(s) would be. For the most part I was correct. I was a bit apprehensive, afraid too. But I didn't let those emotions stop me and I'm glad I pressed on. The result was beautiful in a way I can't describe. I learned new things about myself. It was unexpectedly one of the most pleasurable dates I've ever had. Magic is real y'all. But only for those who believe...

Note: this post was written the morning of Sunday, March 6. In a frenzied rush so I wouldn't be late for my date, I forgot to hit the "publish" button until I returned home from said date, in the wee hours of Monday morning. Mea culpa. *** The weekend has been very very good to me. Fun so far. I actually had two "first dates". Both in their early 50s. Opposites in some ways... One tall; one short(er). One opened the car door for me; one did not. One African-American; one Caucasian. One a northern transplant; the other raised in the south. Both guys asked to see me again today. My Friday afternoon date invited me out and said "maybe" we would get something to eat. My Saturday evening date requested the pleasure of my company for an early Sunday evening dinner. One guess as to who shall be allowed to bask in my dazzling aura today.* Ahhhhh, the life of an unattached woman...  It's not without its bonuses and I absolute...

There must be something stirring in the heavens and it's not Mercury going retrograde because I checked. Whatever it is, it's dragging a few of my "exes" along with it. I'm not sure if I should be laughing or running. In this instance, it was this one:  Fun Young Guy . And this one:  A guy who got no individual mention (although our second -- and last -- date got him some serious side-eye) . It's probably best to laugh as I run  sprint the hell outta dodge. Fun Young Guy called me last night from a number I didn't recognize (therefore not yet on my "block" list), a dirty trick I have no patience for. Obviously he really wanted to talk to me or hear my voice. Or maybe he just wanted to know if I was still breathing. (Because he's been calling me periodically for a year with no response.) But that's his issue. The last few times we saw each other, he really got under my skin. Yes, I know there's all sorts of fodder fo...