Dedicated to Susan

My name is Mark and I was together with Susan for over 11 years.  In March of 2017 she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  The doctors refused to offer treatment.  Susan had been using natural treatments before the diagnosis.  She continued doing this, but it was already too late.  Together we decided to use hospice, and for 3 intense months I took care of Susan.  During this time we talked about many things.  She showed me what she had written over the years.  There were journals, seed saving tips, home inspection lists, a list of house projects, poems, blog entries, and a wish list for me to fulfill when the time came for her to die.    

As of this writing in October 2017 it has been a little over 2 months since Susan’s death.  Susan used paper and pen to write everything, so I literally typed every word into the word processing program on my computer.  I consider this to be a mission, because I believe as strongly as she did that our society needs more than ever to read her message.  You may call it “A labor of love.”

As I walk through the house, everywhere I see reminders of Susan, her simple but elegant clothing, her simply ingenious inventions.  Curtains, boxes for my stuff, end table doilies, seat covers, window shades, all made by Susan.  There are many dollar store items that were repurposed into something that filled a different niche.  These are creations of Susan’s mind and a few cheap or free materials.  She was a master at finding joy in little things.   I had never seen her struggle to make any of these things.  The posts on this blog came from her life experiences in the Pennsylvania Dutch community.  Once again I’m happy to share these ideas with you, to invite you into Susan’s world.