Bringing Back Sligo

I am sorry. I have been a terrible blogger (bloggess?). Months have passed since my last entry and so much has happened during that time but none of it so interesting or exciting I felt it necessary to share. Actually, that isn’t fair. A LOT has happened and I am realizing if you are a follower of my blog that doesn’t necessarily mean you are a follower of my Facebook or Instagram accounts. I’ll do a little catching up.

In the fall we “foster failed” a puppy we named “Lulu.” She was the last of her litter and the Squishy Face Crew desperately needed her to be in a foster home. I went and picked her up and within 24 hours I had fallen in love. She had the prettiest face and ears that are indescribable. My girls quickly fell in love with her too as she was very generous with her kisses and her butt wiggled uncontrollably when she saw them. It took a few days of working on Marcus to agree to keeping her and I swear I saw the look of defeat in his eyes the second he realized he had lost the battle. In his defense she can still be a little wary around him. I don’t know what her life was like for those first 4 months before we got her but she’s uncomfortable around new people and especially men.

On February 1st, the same day as our one year anniversary for living at Sligo, we lost my step-mom to cancer. The pain of losing her is still raw and hard to talk about. She was the one of the nicest, most caring, most special person in a lot of people’s lives. Honestly, I’m going to have to leave it at that…

Perhaps this is a good time to segue into the “ghosts” of Sligo. It took a few months but I will say both my girls and I have seen shadows. Both of my girls have experienced thinking the cat has walked into their respective rooms only to look and she’s not there. I have seen many shadows, one being a full-bodied person, but always out of the corner of my eye. The most interesting experience I have had included the dog, Lulu. I was calling her to go outside and as I did so, I saw a shadow. At that exact same time, Lulu came trotting in from the other direction and turned and looked directly at the same spot I had seen the shadow. For me, that solidified it. Marcus does not endorse any of this paragraph.

At the end of March I celebrated my *closes eyes and sighs dramatically* 40th birthday. Marcus surprised me with a gathering of near and dear friends I hadn’t seen in over a year. While Covid was constantly at the back of my mind I also could have cared less. Keeping-up virtually is just not the same as being with your friends, face-to-face. The joking and singing (oh, there was singing) and reminiscing, and catching up was all very needed.

Also, on my 40th birthday I became an AWARD WINNING BLOGGER as I received the E. Boyd Graves Preservation Award of Excellence from the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. Now, I have tried not to let this go to my head but…I think I am what is called an “Influencer” now? It definitely means I charge a fee for showing-up places and I expect endorsement deals to come through any day now. In all actuality what I think it means is I have come full-circle with this blog. When I started writing Bringing Back Sligo it was for a few reasons: 1. I have been told, on occasion, that my friends and family like my writing. 2. I enjoy writing about Marcus’s shenanigans and the restoration of Sligo was one of the biggest shenanigan he has every pulled. 3. After doing just a little research and discovering this house had a name and had a history I was compelled to learn even more and write about it.

Writing this blog has brought me some of the greatest joy. I have made connections with people whom I never would have met. They check-up on us and the house from time to time and it really makes me so happy. I love that over the past few years the discoveries I have made about the house have been just as interesting to you as it has been to me. With that said, it has become clear to me over the months as my writing has decreased that the blog for Bringing Back Sligo has come to a natural stopping point. I plan to continue updating the Facebook and Instagram accounts for a little bit longer but even those will have to end sooner rather than later. What I do not plan on doing is stopping my writing and I hope you will continue to follow me because we have the ultimate adventure planned and I would love it if you came along.