Erika Smith's Blog (9)

My favorite time of year is here. Autumn is so beautiful, with the trees changing to various shades of yellow, orange, and red. Autumn also holds my favorite holiday... Halloween. I will share with you the festivities I find to occupy my time as they pop up. 14 Days Before Halloween: I took a vacation day from work to attend a Paranormal Conference in Allegan. The speakers were interesting and informative. The 1st speaker was Rev. Kass Hilliard. I learned a new cleansing technique from her pre… Continue

If it is true that when you die your life flashes past, I want to stop at this fantastic vacation I had with 3 of my sons and relive it over in my mind as long as possible! As our children grow up, it gets harder and harder to be able to spend any length of time with them because they are so busy with their adult lives. But for 5 days I got to spend time with Levi, Jonus, and Ivan (my sons). It was great. No husbands, wives, or fathers to contend with... just us like it used to be when they wer… Continue

My ex-husband had a stroke 2 days ago. I took my youngest son to the hospital to see him. He is at the hospital I was born at. The hospital has had so many additions that it looks like a modern airport when you walk in. The hospital sits about 1 block over from the home I spent my 1st 12 years at. It was strange to see that the house I lived at is gone and in its place is a medical center. The backyard that was my playground is now a parking lot! How things change! We drove by the site that was… Continue

It is the time of year to reflect on the things we would like to improve in our lives. We are more likely to suceed if we make our resolutions known, therefore... the reason I'm doing this! What I would like to change the most is my smoking! I have already cut back to 1 to 3 cigarettes a day, but quiting is a bit harder. I come home exhausted and frustrated from my job and the first thing I do is have a cigarette. I'm going to quit cold turkey starting today because I know it will be better for… Continue

I learned early that I should listen to the advice of my Mother. When I was 5, I knew of a hillside in the woods behind our home where the beautiful white violets with blue centers grew! I knew she liked them very much and wanted to go pick some for her. After asking her if I could go out there, and having been given a negative answer, I waited until she went back into the house to journey out there to get them for her. I just wanted to surprise her. While I was picking a handful of them for he… Continue

Yesterday was an interesting day! Al and I went out to grab a late night snack last night, and at the gas station next to the restaurant was a Sheriff's cruiser. Al had to go to the gas station to buy more smokes and he found out that the young lady that was in there at that moment (talking to the Deputy) had just gotten her purse snatched. There were 2 young men and 2 young women in a car at the gas station that were driving by in their car when one of the females grabbed the purse as the victi… Continue

The used motorhome we bought was going on it's maiden voyage with us to the Upper Peninsula! It housed my husband (Al), my oldest son (Levi), my youngest son (Ivan), and myself. In the feline category, it housed my Snow Bengal kitten [Asian Leopard Hybrid (Samahra)], my Pixie-Bob [Bobcat hybrid (Pixie)], and Al's Savannah kitten [African Serval hybrid (Jilly)]. Our trip there was delayed by 1day because we had a storm rip through the area the night before and caught a tension wire close to wher… Continue

Imagine for one minute that you are a pet cat that is loved very much and kept in a home where you are well fed and comfortable. When the conflict began in Lebanon, citizens and foreigners were helped to evacuate by us, Canadian, and British. Protocols insisted that companion animals could not be taken in the evacuation… therefore, hundreds were released into the streets or confined in buildings. Suddenly, they were without the people they loved and had to face starvation… and dodge mortars and… Continue

During the coldest part of Winter, I could hear a cat meowing under our home. I would talk to him, he would meow back. I couldn't get my husband to crawl underneath to get him because of all the snow and ice and the cold. He assured me the cat would be fine because of the heating ducts under there. I was worried about him and started putting food underneath for him. In the Spring, I woke up because of running across the roof above my bedroom. In my mind unclear in the first moments of being awa… Continue