On His Way
This child, well… isn’t a child anymore. He’s on his way to college in the fall. We’re so proud of him.
Don’t Eat the Snow
Taking a late night walk and eating snow in 2007
I’m sitting in the pink room, on break from work… trying to summon up the energy to go downstairs to make a cup of tea. But I’m watching CNN’s coverage of Nemo; it just makes me want to curl up with a warm blanket in front of a cozy fire. Maybe coax someone else into making tea. It looks COLD out there. And crazy blizzard white already. Brrr…
I hope if you’re in the path of this storm, you are safe and surrounded by loved ones. I’m holding good, warm thoughts for you. Praying your power will stay on and that you have a someone to bring you tea. Stay safe and warm and INSIDE friends. And, um, maybe don’t eat the snow.
Entwined
We’ve learned to share a bathroom. . . and product.
Did you have a lovely Thanksgiving? Ours seems to be in full swing still. I should be painting upstairs, but instead this afternoon finds my family curled up in front of a fire watching an old Miss Marple episode. It seems like the right choice considering our weather took the arrival of “Black Friday” literally and it’s DARK outside. All raining, wet, storming, but thankfully, not that much wind.
We shared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with our very generous neighbors and friends. We’ve become this little family on the hill during the holidays– as all of us have people far flung and traveling from the Coast this time of year is tricky business. It’s such a great gathering of people. And while Geo is the only “child”, he’s so close to adulthood that he’s treated as such. Everyone wants to know his next plan in school and how he’s doing. Lots of hugs and concern for his loss (and thank you all for your prayers. He took the news poorly, got very ill for several days.) and his favorite drinks. He feels like he belongs, and that’s really what Thanksgiving is about. I hope your gathering of friends and family was truly blessed this Thanksgiving!
Observing
Sanity in a cup . . .
That sigh. . . that’s what relief sounds like. A big exhale: Glad that’s over.
Now if I could just quit my job.
It’s crazy tunes here. Busy. Detest that word. I go to bed each night thinking: tomorrow I’ll get something done. And I do. For work. But this house is bringing me down.
Halloween was lovely. Geo had friends over after his youth group event. The child actually called me in advance to let me know we had unexpected guests. To reward this ridiculously mature behavior, IZ and I blitz decorated for Halloween and Geo came home to a party ready space. Complete with homemade pizzas and Italian Sodas. Sometimes we rock the parenthood thing.
Of course, the decorations were still up this afternoon. But we finally got a sun break and I made the kid go take everything down. Good thing too, our neighbors commented that we were “already decorated for Christmas.” What? You didn’t know? Spiderwebs and ghosts are the new trend in Christmas decorations.
I should probably stop putting up posts of beverages. But you’ll notice: no candy in this one.
I hope y’all are doing well. I’d love to hear from you. As you can tell, this is what passes for a post these days. But really after all the words of this past election, do you really mind that I cut it short?
Breathe out people. It’s over.
Now, back to work.
Changing of the Guard
Changing of the Guard. . .
This has become my little sanity ritual. Stopping by the neighborhood dahlia stand and buying a bunch of flowers each week. It’s hard to buy just one bunch, they’re all so pretty. But $4 of dahlias goes a long way.
To say it’s been nutty here is an understatement. Along with the new job, I’ve taken on some ministerial tasks with the kids in my church. Fun work. Exhausting work. It doesn’t leave much time to focus on Mireio or the house. So, once a week, I stop to buy dahlias and deep clean our house. I dream of getting things painted. . . but for the moment, it’s just a dream.
The new butcher block is starting to age nicely… Now if I could just learn to take photographs in my kitchen.
I’ve not given up on Mireio, however. Just today I ordered new fabric for fall pillows, in a color palette that reminds me a bit of all these pretty flowers. Lots pretty coming your way. In time. It was unrealistic to think that I’d be able to juggle it all immediately. But I can see a pattern emerging and I am hopeful I’ll find studio time starting in September.
It’s not the August I imagined, but it’s the one I have. And it’s amazing what a difference a $4 bunch of dahlias can make.
