Last spring, I started a new part time job, working as the admin assistant in a local real estate firm. I took a deep breath, put on my big girl pants and figured I was just going to juggle it into everything else I had going on, thinking that once I got through the end of May, I’d have more breathing room. Well, May became July. And then July became November and I began to realize I needed to make some permanent cuts to my activities, because at the rate I was going, that breathing room in November was going to get pushed back to who knows when – probably some February snowstorm that shut everything down for a few days. One should not have to have fantasies about winter snowstorms in order find breathing room and so I realized, I needed to make some changes. Continue reading
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So much for that plan.
This past Saturday started out without much of a plan besides the current house reorganization Pat and I have been working on. I slept gloriously, deliciously late (9 am!) and by the time I got up, got caffeinated and motivated, the morning was definitely slipping by. I thought twice about heading to the market that morning – Pat’s gone for the week, Edie’s still at camp, so it’s just me, which means I will only need a handful of tomatoes to eat in tomato sandwiches all week (and I just so happen to have them!). I did have a hankering for some corn though, so I got myself dressed and headed down to the city market. Continue reading
Rivertime.
It didn’t feel like I took 500 photos this past weekend, but when I got home and uploaded them from my camera, I discovered I had indeed taken very close to 500 photos. They can pretty much be broken down by subject to…. Continue reading
A spare hanky.
Five Photos, Five Stories, #4
A minivan slowed down as I rounded the corner to our front gate. A window opened and a little girl was waving something at me.
“It’s from Venable” her mother said from the driver’s seat, as I realized who and what it was. A spare vintage handkerchief I whipped out of my purse and handed to the mom friend next to me during our children’s fourth grade ‘moving up’ ceremony as we collectively became a bit misty eyed over our children’s departure from the sweet elementary school they had attended for the previous five years. A school they had left 3 years ago now – how had it been that long? It didn’t seem like that long ago they were in kindergarten, telling us how they thought we should befriend each other because it seemed to them we’d get along. They were right of course, and we’ve been friends ever since.
A voice from the back seat inquired when our next sewing night was – which reminded us it had been way, way too long since we got together to knit which really was just an excuse to drink wine. We used to have a regular night, but then trying to keep up with kids and husbands and jobs and life made it harder to pull off and it sort of fell by the wayside, although thanks in part to those former kindergartners turned eighth graders(!), we still manage to keep tabs on each other, if not occasionally run into each other. So we set a date and for the first time in a week, I felt okay about the fact that I had failed to line up summer activities for my child, because this particular mom friend hadn’t either and frankly, she was looking forward to the open slated-ness of the season, which I kind of admit, so am I. I realize this is probably what our kids saw that made them realize we should be friends and why they remind us to hang out.
And while this is not at all why I happen to carry spare hankies – always vintage ones of course – it is awfully nice to know that these sort of quirks of mine are readily accepted, just like I completely understood it took a little while to come back to me. Sometimes life gets in the way, but like raising kids, sometimes these things are just moments in time.
A blooming success!
My dream garden is part cottage, part little -old-lady with lots of roses, peonies and lilacs. Unfortunately, our yard, which has enough space to plant loads of these items, is far too shady to actually be hospitable to them. This doesn’t stop me from trying to grow those things though, in our limited full sun spots. Continue reading
Garlicky this.
You’d think that by late April there would be fresh, local produce readily available, but the truth is, it’s still sort of slim pickings around here. Sure, asparagus was spotted at the farmer’s market last weekend, but it went fast (I missed it, but Serg at Crazy Farm said he’d hold me a few pounds this week). There are baby greens, but not every farmer’s booth has them right now. So food wise, we’re sort of in between seasons and to be honest, I’m slightly culinaryily (probably not a word, but I don’t care) uninspired right now. This has been leading me to dig a little deeper into my cookbook collection, looking for new recipes to inspire me with what I have on hand, which is pretty much what I’ve had on hand for months now. Continue reading
Blooming this week: April 16
Buddha and tulips
Brian’s tulip
First bloom
We are at the point in spring where the landscape one sees at dawn is different than the one sees at nightfall. Case in point – last Saturday afternoon, Pat & I plopped down in the front yard waiting for Edie to get ready for her soccer game. We noticed the tulips had sent up buds and wondered when they might open. After soccer, we plopped down in the exact same spot and noticed the tulips had opened up. Just like that, while we weren’t looking that afternoon. Continue reading
Spring Break, Part II: Confederate Memorial Chapel
Immediately upon our exit of the Van Gogh, Manet , Matisse Exhibit at VMFA, the fire alarm went off and the entire museum was evacuated. While standing outside in the sculpture garden waiting to get back into the museum on the chilly damp of the early April day, we noticed a sweet, little old chapel on the far end of the grounds. Upon closer inspection, we discovered this chapel was part of the old Confederate Soldier’s Home. Because the next part of our spring break road trip involved Civil War history, I thought this would be a fantastic segway between legs on our journey.
Routine.
I have absolutely nothing interesting to blog about today. It has been a rather routine week – not only our second one in a row, but our second ‘routine’ week since some time in January, which is surprisingly refreshing. There’s been no snow, no dinners of note, no one has been sick, everything that was scheduled has happened when it was supposed to with the exception of Edie’s soccer game last Saturday which was called on account of rain. It was supposed to be the first game of the season, so not having it didn’t throw us out of a routine as much as it just put off starting our spring Saturday routine.
Still Crunchy.
I stumbled upon the most wonderful little discovery the other day. Well, I thought it was wonderful, but I’m not sure anyone else would be as easily impressed. Continue reading
Chicken Wire & Paper Flowers 