NEWS FLASH: Diva Struggles to be PRIMITIVE!

Wow, what an adventure this week has been already. The plan was to travel to a family cabin on the lake in Northwest Arkansas for some highly primitive solitude and nature to help me finish writing the book. I spent the first night in civilization with my parents in Fayetteville(my beautiful hometown)--visiting the farmers market, enjoying a trip to my favorite store, Ozark Natural Foods Coop, and just enjoying my visit. I even slept in their guest room on beautiful and quite luxurious brown zebra striped egyptian cotton sheets, while snuggled up with my lavendar pillow-ahhhh, so divalicious! Sunday evening we drove to the cabin- my parents insisted that I keep one of the cars here--just in case( I relented) I was so excited to see the cabin again as I have not been here since our New Years Eve get away. Ya know....there are ALOT more creepy crawlies in the woods when the weather is above freezing,and it appears that the rodents have been vacationing in the bottom drawers of all the cabinets during the off season, ewwwww! So, with a little cleaning, sweeping and several lit candles and essential oils- I had it all nice and "Diva-like". Monday morning was so beautiful with the sun coming up over the lake, coffee on the deck and a walk down to the dock and out into the woods where I was able to meet up with a herd of deer eating berries---I had to google their odd reaction/behavior of the stomping and snorting at me to find out that they apparently were mad at my disruption! I saw a sweet little chipmunk, beautiful woodpeckers, turtles and gazed at all the lush flora/fauna of this mountainous region that I remember as a young girl. Once back at the cabin- I sat on the deck with ALL of my books/research and began to write. I wrote for several hours only taking breaks to walk around and find sunny spots between the trees. I was having a very productive and euphoric time with the ability to focus and be grounded in nature- I was feeling so creative and connected to the true Primitive Diva persona......(Insert Screeching tires sound)!


Somewhere around noon- My husband called me with the news.....his father had been in a serious accident at their farm in Beaumont. He had been transported to the hospital and all he knew was neck/spinal injury and partial paralysis. So, I went into somewhat of a holding pattern feeling so incredibly helpless and selfish for not being there. There was a scramble of events to coordinate and he left town with the kids waiting for my dearest friend to arrive to be with them. Within the next few hours-- lots of phone calls,updates and pacing, it was determined that I should stay in place until we knew more. He had been working with an Auger and it had come in contact with his clothing and after viewing the pictures----he has one heck of an ANGEL looking over him! His spinal cord was twisted 90 degrees and C6 was dislocated and C7 was broken (front and back). Obviously, I could not possibly write anymore on Monday...I just paced up and down the stairs to the lake- I would sit at the top for a bit and then sit at the bottom for a bit....very frustrating afternoon! I am not really sure of how the events unfolded through the evening....I made dinner, had a glass of wine, walked through the woods and disturbed the deer again- they were even more irritated- since I stopped to pick a few of their berries. I came in to shower and found 2 ticks on my back,who were just STARTING to dine (this diva does NOT like ticks!)

Good morning Tuesday.....! After tossing and turning and not sleeping well, I woke up late (7:30ish) called my hubby to get updates and graciously hear another voice other than my own and the snorting deer. I talked with him while I heated water in the glass container of my french press for my morning cup of Sumatran. I may have...(correction: I did) heat it too long- as I pressed the plunger down, I had to put some weight and strength into it. Note to self: pay attention and be careful when handling boiling liquids and glass! The bottom of the glass carafe blew out and scalding coffee hit my entire abdominal area and upper legs. I threw the phone into the puddle of coffee on the floor (yep, still works) screamed CRAP-threw off my pants and shirt as I ran around searching for something to cold to stop the burning....gallon jug of water in fridge to the rescue!(Go ahead, laugh---I am still giggling at how it must have looked) It took me about an hour to clean up the mess and get the swelling/pain under control and get a cup of coffee made in the VERY dusty, bug infested coffee maker at the cabin, YUCK! So, I got dressed in something that would be loose and not touch my skin and went for a run. I desperately needed to refocus my day and attitude to get some writing done. Got to the top of the dirt rode and went left up the road for a run- it was peaceful UNTIL, a van drove slowly past me and turned around....what were they looking for up there-?(Having watched too many horror flicks, news stories or SVU type shows in my younger days-my imagination went off) ADRENAL glands now firing cortisol high,I made a phone call to my husband as I sprinted (Fight/Flight) back down the hill almost falling a few times and into the tall grass (hello again, ticks!)BTW~ Mr.MovNat LaCorre-how do YOU avoid ticks? Finally heart pounding and back at the cabin- I locked all the doors and windows but still had that uneasy feeling. My husband reassured me during another 30 minutes on the phone and off to my shower I went. In the shower, I found another tick on my leg. Thats it, I am done....with holistic pest control! Where is the DEET? I look back at my google searches on my phone from the past 24 hours...1) Why do deer snort? 2)spinal/cervical injuries 3) how to treat second degree burns from boiling liquids 4)Lyme Disease and Ticks....WOW, what a day.

A gentle rain moved in during the afternoon, I made some Yerba Mate and I TRIED desperately to write....my mind kept going off track to my father in law, my husband, my kids and the mysterious van, and odd noises in the woods. Seclusion is highly over rated, ya'll! Finally by dinner time, I needed a change of scenery-feeling so happy that my parents had left the car, I drove into town to get some items from the small grocery store and just have some human interaction. I grabbed a basket and strolled through the little store grabbing dark chocolate (that cures everything, right)The highest strength DEET spray that I could find(I hate DEET but I hate Lyme disease more!)Strawberries and some Chobani Greek Yogurt. The only potential for converstaions were the two young grinning "Bubbas" who seemd to be tripping over themselves to elbow each other and follow me through the store, OR the checkout clerk. I chose her and she chose to argue with me about the cost of my yogurt---she exclaimed in her best hillbilly drawl (yes, I had it once too!)"Mam' that can't be almost $8...?" she price checked it and sure enough it was correct. She offered to go grab me some Yoplait that was on sale for $1.98...I politely declined with no further explanation. She did not seem ready for my Nutrition 101 Class just yet. Once, I was back into the woods and at the cabin again....I just never got comfortable. I was really feeling alone and a strong sense of danger (womans intuition?) So, I passed the time until dark, when I started lock down like fort knox....I had the doors all blocked and booby trapped with bar stools, glasses and brooms in the sliding doors, ALL the lights on. I slept with the car keys, my phone, laptop and the 4ft iron fireplace poker next to me. That was a very restorative sleep, NOT! So, here I am deliriously tired, tick bitten, burned and jumping every time I hear something crackle in the woods outside. I am going to take a shower, try to write and try to RELAX and embrace the beauty of nature again. In the meantime....my father in law goes into the first of several surgeries this morning.....fervent prayers for the surgeons hands. Prayers for my husband as he drives back and forth from Houston to Beaumont everyday. And prayers for me to embrace the peaceful nature of my surroundings and not the many things/people/critters that go bump (or screech) in the night! I gave myself permission to NOT finish the book here and pack to leave and stay with my parents until my hubby and kids can join me this weekend---its ALL good. I guess I am more DIVA than PRIMITIVE afterall!

During the writing of this BLOG, I have removed a tick from my underarm and a spot very near an unmentionable area....Hubby told me that I am a "Tick Magnet" ~(grin)