Hi Wanda, welcome back. Please stay around and tell us about your life since you left. You don't know me, I was a lurker way back then, but I remember you very well.

I love seeing old friends! :)

----OH, WANDA!!!!

I been wonderin' where you wandered, Wanda!
(Good one, huh?!)

Almost every single day when I'm feeding many cats and my sweet Rottweiler---- plus meds to some every single day------AND medical care to some each day, I think of YOU----you----YOU!!!!
You are a saint in my book and I've missed your lively voice so much!

Folks; if you've never met Wanda in person, trust me, she is as beautiful as she sounds----and her eyes sparkle with enthusiasm, no matter what the subject! (Right, Jan?!!!)

Catch everyone up, please!
KJ

Nice to see you back. Stay for a while and catch up.

Hi Wanda wondered where you went. Welcome back

Hi Wanda, nice to see you again here at the GP. Stay a while.

I remember you, welcome back!

Great to hear from you. Please keep posting.

Thanks to all of you for such a wonderful welcome.

Awwww, KJ, you're such a sweetheart. I've thought of you so many times and wondered about your animals. Still remember the little kitty you brought to WV.

My journey definitely took a fork in the road I never saw coming. Divorced after 38 years of marriage.

My son, Christian, and I had a very difficult three years; but, God is good and kept us safe.

I recently purchased an unfinished home in Gulfport and I'm in the processing of finishing it in the hopes of it becoming a B&B/event center. We are literally living in a construction zone. lol In the meantime, I'm having a wonderful time.

Again, thanks for the wonderful welcome. Sure is glad to see so many familiar faces.

Wanda, I know it must've been VERY hard for you on many levels, after the divorce----but not for a minute would I ever think that you wouldn't come out on top---and SMILING!
That's YOU!

I hope Christain is learning life can be OK and he doesn't have to be afraid or angry and he knows he's so LOVED---all the time----night and day! I've thought about him so many times----AND the little turtle with the misshapened shell!!! I've been haunted by her---I hope she's OK!

The little kitten I brought to WV is a little hellion now!
She rules the roost and wants me to wash her face every night with my fingertips moistened in water----and so I do.
(Just as I did when she was a sick TEENY-TINY baby girl..)

That was a really fun get-together, in spite of having to drive that bloomin' PU home with the alternater going on the blink----made it, though! (Thank You, Lord!)

Gosh----I'm just so glad you've emerged again!
Please write whenever you can---please!
KJ

Welcome back, Wanda! Gosh, is it coincidence, or has someone made an effort to bring back into the fold all of us Partiers from a decade or more ago?

Wanda, welcome back! I was a lurker for many years, but remember always reading your posts. Sounds as if life threw you a curve ball, but you came up swinging and probably hit it out of the ball park!! :>)

GG, great to see you back at Flamingo Park.
Love your new house, Reminds me of Tara.
Tell me this. Which floor will you store your shoes on?
Folks this woman LOVES shoes!!!!!!!!!

I still think about the farmhouse we all rented in
WV. Fun times for sure. I still have my King Reunion
shirt y'all had made for me. What a hoot!!

It was a difficult journey at times; but, I kept getting the message 'the best is yet to come'....

I could not have imaged in my wildest dreams what was to come.
An amazingly kind, patient, loving man was placed in our lives. I thank God daily for him. I'm laying in bed now as I hear him sanding sheetrock outside my room. ; )

We have so many common interests...it's still hard for me to grasp how much we're alike.

We looked and looked for a home to buy...nothing interested us except this one...we kept telling ourselves and each other we had lost our minds for even considering it. We both even dreamed about it. Well, we now have a project for the rest of our lives.

P.S. Jan, my sweet Flamingo sister, we're going to have to build a wing for my shoes. ;)

As I stated earlier, the house was unfinished on the inside. I'll post a couple pics of before and after of the one room we've finished.

Before...

After...

Wow!!! What an amazing job. I would have taken one look and ran. Great house, how could somebody let it go to the state of the room you posted? Is that really a widow's walk on top?

Anneliese, lol...we tried to run...this home just kept calling us.

Yes, that is a widow's walk. We go up there a lot of afternoons to watch the sunset.

The man that built the home did it as an expression of love for his wife. He was a local contractor. He worked on it for several years...to the point they were able to live in it as he worked. The wife passed over about 8 years ago, after 52 years of marriage. Broken-hearted, he put his hammer down and never picked it back up. He lived another four years. The home had been empty since then. The family told us they had offers on the home but were looking for the right people to love the home as their parents did. . We hit it off immediately. As it was over our budget, they worked with us. They even left all the unused building materials. We are wanting to make it a B&B / event center and share it with others.

I'm happy for you -- what a fantastic project your new home is!

I would be most happy to be your first customer. Can I bring my boat?

lol dorph. You sure can. We have a small pond we plan on enlarging this fall/winter.

WOW, that is a beautiful house! I love the finishing you did.

Lisa

Wanda, what a beautiful home! You're doing a fantastic job of making it look like a movie set--but better! That room is gorgeous; would it be called a "parlor"? Thanks for letting us share its beauty.

Thank y'all very much. Yes, that is the parlor. That's not the way we plan on decorating it, I just felt I needed one room presentable. We want to furnish/decorate as close to Victorian era as we can staying within our budget...which is another challenge.

I have the impression that the enjoyment of doing the house overrides the occasional headaches and the expenses of doing so, it is a wonderful undertaking

This looks like an interesting project. Where is Gulfport? What state? How do I look it up on the maps?

Gulfport is in MS...right on the coast.

Every time I see your new house I feel absolute JOY for you and Christain. What a blessing James has been for both of you.

Now about the added wing for the shoes.
Have you dropped James a hint yet?

jan, are you kidding?! I would like James to stick around a little longer....but, I think he's suspicious.

Hey hey, whaddya say! Good to see you fellow redhead. Love your abode and hope Michael gets to come see you and James, and the shoes. Give Christian a big howdy hello too. Was just wondering how he's faring these days.

They say one's home is a reflection of themselves and yours is as beautiful as you.

I've missed you, Wanda (along with many others!) and I'm smiling ear to ear after reading this...happiness is definitely contagious!

Maryanne

Well, shine my shoes. Another MIA? Fantastic to see you too Maryanne!

Hello Maryanne!!! I've wondered how you were doing!

Lisa

Maryanne!!!! Hey, gal. So good to see you here. I've thought of you and missed you so much.

I was telling someone a few days ago about your bottle of "Hugs Be Gone." lol

Wow, what a beautiful home.