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Bex Hall > Miscellany

Miscellany

Gratitude, grief, and getting through

November 15, 2022

After many months, there’s some daylight

Sunset on the day Mom passed away, July 20, 2022

To everyone who reached out after my mom had her stroke in June, I am forever grateful. When I showed each card or gift to her, she perked up and seemed to enjoy each one. I believe it made a difference in her days when she was conscious. Every kindness certainly made a difference to mine.

She passed in Hospice Care the morning of July 20th with family by her side. I’ve been untethered and rough around the edges, or I would have posted sooner.

Goodbye Mom, July 20, 2022

The night of the 20th, I sat on my front porch and watched the sunset over the river. The colorful solar lights in our yard powered on in the darkness. Mom had gifted them to me earlier this year and when I installed them, I texted her photos. We spoke on the phone and she particularly liked the green (one of her favorite colors) spotlight. It was a nice memory.

The light on the tree.

Hours later, I went to bed but couldn’t find sleep. I wandered back outside and stared at the maple tree bathed in the green glow and thought about how much Mom loved color and lights. Right in that moment, the light blinked out. I glanced around the yard. All the others were still on.

Was it a message from Mom? After a person passes away, do they get opportunities to communicate just one more time?

I don’t know about that, but I know, for whatever reason, the light went dark; the timing was perfect. It felt like a hug.

There have been other little instances that felt like gifts. When we left the church after the service on July 29th, there was a torrential downpour which stayed with us until we arrived at the Coal River. The rain stopped the second we opened our car doors and stayed away until the minute we left.

During the drive, my daughter’s phone lost service and when it returned, there was a new voice mail. It was from my mom singing happy birthday to my daughter. From June 11th. The voice mail had hung in cyberspace for nearly seven weeks, unheard. As we stood together, arms around one another, we listened to Mom sing as we scattered her ashes in the river and said goodbye.

Saying goodbye to Mom, The Rock at Coal River, St. Albans, WV

There have been other moments, ones I’m sure have rational explanations, but seeing “signs” has helped ease my pain, whether they’re real or imagined.

Friends and family have provided the tangible balm; A meal made and delivered. The blanket, wreaths, flowers, and cards. The place to stay near the hospital. The random phone calls and prayers and texts and messages online. They all peppered the lonely stretches of grief and uncertainty and made them more bearable.

How is it possible to ever fully say thank you to everyone?

Yellowstone photo by Bex Hall


What I have not been doing the past four months:

Editing my manuscript. Painting. Writing. Reading. Blogging. Caring about much of anything.

The only thing I *have* done with any consistency is visit estate sales every week. It’s something I’ve enjoyed for years and it’s an easy diversion. Things others keep and the stories they tell about the person and their life have always fascinated me. What they loved, what they feared, what they desired.

A friend of mine also lost her mother earlier this summer and has been cleaning out her house. She has taken the overflow of unwanted antiques and vintage goods and set-up a vendor booth at a local antique mall and recommended the project to me.

This is the first time in months I’ve felt any kind of spark. I think it’s what I need. An activity that lights me up. For now.

This is my winter project, and what I’ll be writing about over the next few months. I’ll share the journey with anyone who’s interested in tagging along.

Until next time, hug the ones you love. With eternal gratitude, Bex xoxo

Filed Under: Miscellany

Tired of the cat messing with your puzzle? And do you like to color?

January 13, 2022

Try this idea.

Table cover, a puzzle, and Sharpies.

The past few puzzles I’ve worked have gone unfinished because my cat carries off pieces I’m unable to find.

I looked at enclosed puzzle boards, some with drawers, but none looked big enough. Most say they’ll accommodate 1500 pieces, but they’re all smaller than my 48” round table, and I know for a fact, my table is barely large enough to hold 750.

A fitted elastic table cover came to mind and I found this clear polyvinyl one with printed flowers, perfect for coloring with Sharpies. Or for doodling. 

A dual purpose solution my cat hates but I love. Win-win.

Looking for the edge pieces.
Protect your puzzle with a table cover.

Filed Under: Miscellany Tagged With: creative life, puzzles

Black walnut harvest is fun adventure

October 19, 2021

Ellie gathering walnuts.

Part of our property has an abundance of black walnut trees and my husband suggested we check if anyone in our area buys the nuts.

Turns out a company called Hammons has a buying station nearby. I called and they pay $18 for 100 pounds. I envisioned how this would be a great teachable exercise for Ellie, who’s almost-eight. She would learn the value of being paid for work, about saving money, and basic math. It would be fun for the family.

My husband, Charlie, in response to my vision, says, “I just want to walk through here without turning my ankle.” 

It’s okay to have different dreams.

So, to get an idea of the project, I grabbed a 2-gallon bucket and timed myself as I filled it. Five minutes. I weighed it on the bathroom scale. Ten pounds. So ten buckets = 100 pounds in less than an hour – easy.

Even the dogs helped.

Then Charlie mentions they might weigh them AFTER they’re hulled. This is something I hadn’t considered. 

I called and confirmed it was true. I did some research and learned it takes 220 pounds of walnuts in their hulls to get 100 pounds in the shell. It was going to be more work.

And it was. Four of us spent a few hours gathering nuts in buckets and bags. Our backs became weary and even though we wore gloves, our fingers became stained black from the overripe walnuts. 

Black walnut stain.

We filled the back of the car with the fruits of our labor and headed to the farm store. The hulling machine chugged to life, and we dumped bagfuls of walnuts into its bin. A conveyor carried them up and into a covered area which separated the nut from its hull. It conveyed the remnants in the opposite direction and dumped into a wagon, and the hulled nuts deposited into a mesh bag on the other side.

At the hulling machine.
Ellie and Sarah dumping walnuts

The final weight was 75 pounds. $13.50. Divided by four. $3.38 per person. 

Which was exactly how much Ellie needed to buy a tiny pumpkin and some cat treats from the farm store.

We didn’t have conversations about savings, nor did we have lessons in math. We had little money to show for our efforts. But what we had, though, was time spent together. And that was priceless.

See a short video below.

Filed Under: Creative Education, Miscellany Tagged With: nature

Nature folklore and weather predictions

August 24, 2021

Old wive’s tales have some elements of truth

This past Saturday (21st), I heard the first cicadas in our area. I’ve marked the calendar for October 2nd, six weeks from then, to see if their prediction of a first frost is true.

And today I heard for every foggy morning in August, it will snow that many days this winter. Since I’ve been keeping track with the nature journal and phenology wheel, I’ll check on this next Spring.

Mushrooms

Small things to look forward to. 😊

What natural folklore have you seen come true in your area? Send me an email and let me know.

Foggy morning with Sissy

Filed Under: Miscellany Tagged With: nature journal, phenology wheel

It’s a Swig Life™ for me

August 9, 2021

It’s a Swig Life for me

It may be Monday but I still have the Sunday-morning-coffee-by-the-campfire-on-the-river state of mind.

My mom gifted me this Swig mug and I love how it kept the temp hot until the last, well, swig. 😆

The company, founded by Tracee Mathes (@mzswig on Instagram) in 2017, offers premium drinkware with women in mind. It’s a Swig Life™ for me.

Filed Under: Miscellany Tagged With: mug shots

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About Bex

 

Bex Hall

Her writing has appeared in various online and print publications, most recently in Kerning, a literary magazine, and in the Stories of Hope Collection in Transplant Living. Her artwork has appeared and sold through the Grayson Gallery. She blogs here about creative life and creates in Studio BE overlooking the Ohio River. Her work in progress is a memoir about the secret life of objects.

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