Me!

Me!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

On a migraine day























The rotation of the Earth,
proved on my living room hearth -
that spot of sun that moves from east to west
on days of work and days of rest.
Perpetual motion played out in my home
while through the black of space we roam.
Not on paths of undetermined end,
although we cannot see 'round the bend,
but on a road that's smooth and true,
led by a God who always follows through.
He touched this Earth and caused it to begin
its revolution and its spin,
knowing each of us would travel on its surface
living, trying to know our purpose.
Perpetual motion? Yes.
But in God we find perpetual rest.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Vemont pics are up!

Finally, I put some pictures of our Vermont trip. I won't write anything for a few days, I don't think. I put up several posts, so scroll down this page to see them all. 

Vermont was, indeed, as picturesque as people say. The leaves got prettier each day, the old farms and stone fences were indeed worth seeing, it was all very calming and beautiful. I'll spare you my many words, though, and just give you the pictures. Quick synopsis of 
what we did: rode bikes, ate, hiked, relaxed in the yard, ate again, fed the cows, picked apples, ate (getting the picture?), read, had a snack, then napped! It was lovely!!  

Enjoy these pictures. Boston will be up in a few days. 

Oh, here's one more of my honey and his dad as we ride bikes. :-0 Isn't he cute? (The younger guy on the right, that is...)

A farm market




Shearer Hill Farm

Bill and Pati were fantastic hosts. If you're ever on your way to southern Vermont, their B&B was a great, relaxing, beautiful place to stay. Give them a call!


Here's the "sugar shack" of this real working farm, where they grow many of their own fruits and vegetables, and make their own maple syrup. Delicious!




I guess these buckets tell a small part of the story of how much work harvesting maple sap, then making it into syrup is.




Old stone fences - so evocative of Robert Frost and the life he wrote about.

A lake we found while wandering






Here comes fall








































































The road less travelled





Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Shiny floor

Yeah! I found my living room yesterday! I can see the floor - it is even swept. The couch is clean enough to sit on. The trash is emptied. The books are picked up. OK, so I still need to vacuum the rugs and dust, but there it is - a room clean enough to relax in. That makes me happy. Oh, and I did almost all the laundry...and even put it away. ;-)

It has been a good 1 1/2 days working in my house. I can see progress, can see keeping it this way for a good long while. Somehow trips out of town derail me from keeping my house clean. Not sure why that is, and haven't ever sat down to figure it out. 

My big goal for this fall? Get the house clean, keep it clean, then start going through all those boxes sitting in the basement. I had a good talk with a friend today who gave me some good ideas and wonderful encouragement. Thanks, Julie!

It feels so good to make progress on a project, to see tasks completed and be able to cross them off the running list I keep. Ethan's hat is finished, Zachary's is almost done, I have a sweater sitting to finish, but that's a good thing. And what a perfect time to finish some things, and start others. Fall and winter will be the perfect season to go through those boxes with the cool temperatures outside, the warmth inside, the golden sunshine that my house collects like a box of treasures. Tea, bagel in the morning, hit the chores, get going on those boxes, and by the afternoon, I will have accomplished enough to sit, knit and enjoy a favorite episode of M*A*S*H or something like that. 

Life is good, ain't it? 

For my friends who are struggling with stuff, I'm praying for you...that you can experience some peace and lovely quiet, too. May my peace be contagious and cross the miles to your hearts.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Crazy...

...that's what last week was! I took care of Zachary for 2 days, helped my sister with 2, and then Friday was spent with some wonderful lady friends. ;-) A good week, but totally exhausting. I'm processing the whole baby/no baby thing, and that's good. Meanwhile, my house seemed to explode even though I was hardly here (because I was hardly here?). 

What does this week hold? Very little...except catching-up on my house. That means laundry, dishes, sweeping, dusting, etc. I'll get a lot done, and hopefully some praying while I do it. I want to spend more time on my relationship with my God! He sustains me and loves me; I want to seek him out.

I know, still no pictures of Boston...maybe later this week! Back to my full laundry baskets for now.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Whoa!

How fast does time pass? I mean to tell you, it seems like I've been home just a few days, but tonight it will have been a week. I still haven't unpacked. I have called a lot of my friends and even seen some of them. I also made it to the grocery store. I keep saying I'll download my pictures, and maybe I'll get that today.

But, frankly, I have bigger fish to fry.

My sister and her husband (not the ones in Jordan) are about to have their second baby. They will be going to Denver tomorrow morning, so I'll be taking care of my nephew Zachary for two days. I'm excited about this time with him, but a little nervous too. I must confess that, even though I LOVE spending time with this little guy, being alone with him often brings on the tears. Being alone with him feels too close to what I want - a child of my own! Although I can say with full confidence, and honestly believe, that God is in charge of my life, the timing of events, etc., I still mourn not having a kid. Maybe someday this will work out...

Meanwhile, I've recruited friends to come be with me - just to hang out, play, etc. Tim will come over some, too, and that will be lots of fun.

So, just be patient. I'll get some pics of Vermont and Boston, but not until after I spend my couple of days with little Zachary. (Little? He ways almost 30 lbs.!)

Oh, by the way - I have a name now. He calls me "Nini." I just about die each time I hear it!!! Could I love him more? I certainly doubt it. I think the appropriate phrase is, "apple of my eye!"

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Home!

tired
had lots of fun
need to unpack
have about 10 friends to call
fridge is empty
laundry needs to be done
bed still isn't made
pictures to be printed
glad to be home
kitties are even gladder we're home :-)
pics will be up soon
goodnight

Sunday, October 5, 2008

On my way out

Well, our vacation to Vermont has finally arrived. We leave tomorrow early morning. I sure hope this week can be restful for me, and especially for Tim who is totally worn out. I'm looking forward to long walks in the leaves with my hubby, quiet afternoons reading outside, evenings playing games, and seeing Boston for the first time. Of course, the autumn display of leaves in Vermont is supposed to be amazing, so you all know I'll love that! I'll try to restrain myself and not load too many pictures when I get home. :-)

I've been having a lot of bad dreams lately, so I hope this can be a week of blank sleep, long sleep, and really rejuvenating time. I'm desirous of lots of quite - which I might have to accomplish by getting out of the B&B and going on walks, etc. I'll just capture my own time as I can. So quiet, time outside, walks, reading, beautiful leaves. Couldn't ask for a better vacation, really. Better go pack...

Friday, October 3, 2008

Morning

I had a terrible dream last night. I was back working at the library, and was visiting retirement homes doing PR. I saw Tim's grandfather there - as if I'd forgotten that he was till alive. A terrible feeling, but a wonderful reunion. Can't really explain how awful that felt, but it sure did. I've awakened feeling down, a little shaken. 

I greatly dislike it when I have dreams that are hard to leave behind, that follow me through my morning. At least this one wasn't about my mom - those are the worst. I'll try to just get busy early and get on with my day. AJ has been gone for 13 years this December, so I don't need to worry about finding him somewhere unexpected! We still miss him; I still miss my mom. All those feelings are real. What to do with them today? I'll put them in my pocket and try to scatter them as I walk along the day's path. 

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Wardrobe

I really have very little going on. I have no deep thoughts rumbling around in my head. (Ok, that's not true, but I'm not ready to share them just yet....) I'm just going about my days, getting ready for a trip to Vermont to see the leaves, figuring out how to spend my fall. I did do one exciting thing today - I went shopping. :-) I actually greatly dislike shopping for clothes. You see, I am a little chubby and there just isn't that much out there for us bigger girls that is cute, stylish, actually fits, that I can afford. My clothing budget isn't very big, so I have to choose wisely. 

I did get a few things today, and those basics I bought have inspired me to minimized my wardrobe. Even though I don't have lots to spend on clothes, I have lots of clothes!! I keep them too long  - even after they don't fit, they have a stain, or a snag here and there. Perhaps when I get back from my trip I will take a morning or two and try on all those clothes. I'll keep just the ones I really like, the ones that make up outfits (as opposed to the items that go with nothing in the closet!), the items that make me really happy. I'd rather have a few things I love than this closet full of clothes that frustrates me! I'm not quite ready for "What Not to Wear" to come by, but I think I can take their ideas and make them work for me. 

Yahoo, I'll give it a go! That's my exciting news for this week. :-)