Transforming my life during the pandemic, I made bold decisions that paved the way for my dream life! I took early retirement from corporate work, relocated to North Carolina, and purchased my grandparents’ land. These challenging choices brought immense joy!

Volunteering at the local botanical garden ignited my gardening passion, leading me to become a Master Gardener Volunteer. After navigating pandemic-related delays, thankful to have built an awesome team of family and community, this year we proudly built out Ida Community Garden. It displays a lovely entrance way, and a row of white crape Myrtle trees. We have a garden house with a bathroom and sitting area, lush gardens with multiple sitting areas, a thriving food forest, and we recently joined the Little Free Library network and are creating a literary garden area.

This labor of love project has filled my heart with joy! We are excited for our upcoming Christmas with family, friends, and our community. Our community garden is such a place to learn and to connect with nature.