making lemonade

The March noreaster rain storms left our basement flooded - twice, but not devastatingly so. Friends kicked into high gear & came to our rescue, since my husband hurt his shoulder in a fall early that Sunday morning and was in a sling when the water arrived. A larger wet vac & more man-power did wonders for my overwhelmed mind & body. Thank you is not enough to say to Cayce, Ankle Barry & Jackie. They're the best. And a shout out to ibuprofen & a heating pad too, for their supporting role. The second time was easier, and thanks to Brian for his muscle help.

The universe forced a basement clean-out on me, essentially. Everything else stopped, it had to be done. I found a few things that were forgotten about, and tossed some things (ok, lots) that were no longer wanted. The usual, I guess. Among the bits & pieces were three birds that my grandfather had carved. He was an artist & woodworker all his life, and in his 70s & 80s added wood carver and sculptor to his list. The birds are incomplete, but bodies pretty much shaped. I received them with some carving tools & books when he passed nearly 13 years ago. I've started to do some finishing work on them, and will display them in our home where they belong. It may take a bit, but it's a project I can happily pick up with small bits of time.

The other, larger project from this began with an old dresser from my husband's childhood. A dresser that's been in one basement or another for many years will finally be useful. It's not precious or particularly well made, that's why it's been left in the basement. It had a partial start years ago, but soon will be two different very useful pieces. It's taking more time and planning for this project, and lately other things have been more front-burner, but I'm very much looking forward to the results. I'm sure I'll have to do it more than once.

These are all truly old beginnings, as is the more organized, open & easier to work in shop space that the flood helped to create. The flood left us lemons, or as my friend Kim would say crayons, and I made my lemonade recipe. Funny how that happens. More to come on these...

fun in the (mostly cloudy, chilly) sun

It's the coldest weather the gulf coast of Florida has had in 20 years. Couldn't very well miss that, could we? For two weeks. It was still fun, and the upside is that when we piled in the car (yes, we drove) it was 18 degrees at home. The drive went really well, about 90% of it. The boys did great, they are such good travelers - it wasn't them. We happened to leave the day after the epic snow storm that walloped the mid-Atlantic coast, delayed because we would have driven through the thick of it, in areas ill-equipped to process said snow. Thinking the next day would be fine, they'd surely be all plowed by then, we set off. Yeah.

Lucky I was behind the wheel (I am the more patient one). Understanding that this was alot of snow for an area that doesn't see much, still, it was unbelievable how utterly awful it was in DC. I would not have believed how bad it was if I didn't experience it myself. The 4 lane roads were unplowed in the center 2 lanes. ????!! The 'cleared' lanes were inches deep of slosh & ice ruts that constantly changed your tire path. And the locals - by their license plates - who aren't accustomed to these conditions, drove like it was bare pavement. The most interesting part was a dead standstill on 95 because 4 plows ahead were stopped blocking all lanes, drivers walking around outside apparently on a break or something. I just bailed then & had Garmin find me a new way. So, what should have been 30 minutes on the beltway around the DC area became 3 hours of stress. 

We still arrived in one piece, none the worse. The weather was less than sparkly, but it was no frozen north. We were outside a large chunk of each day, visiting various parks, taking lots of long walks, and even a couple beach days, although a bit bundled up. Nothing beats the powdered sugar of Siesta Key Beach. Spending time with lots of family members we hardly get to see, a birthday party, visiting beach towns, art fairs, a farmer's market, a flea market, lunches & dinners out along with great dinners cooked in; those things were more memorable than the weather. The boys loved it all, as did we. It tides us over until we reach spring.

Thank you Auntie Lisa & Cousin Jordan for putting us up (and up with us, too), and to Grandma Audrey & Joe for your hospitality, as well. Looking forward to next year!

it's a new dawn, it's a new day...

After having a sick household for the middle half of December, and then scrambling to finish preparations for Christmas, this in between week has been welcome respite. We had a very lovely time with friends and family, and the boys were spoiled by everyone. The best part of it all for them was seeing and playing with their cousins, Aunts & Ankles, and friends. They jumped up and down with excitement for each gathering. Thank you all!

2009 wasn't so hot in many ways, but we are all well and happily watching our little boys grow. We're better off in some some ways than this day last year, and not so much in others. We said goodbye to our beautiful, sweet, greyhound Joey. We said hello to some new friends, and many new experiences with a pair of 2 year olds. This space came alive. I am grateful, and only want to make it better going forward. No wasting time with what didn't get finished, or what the clock left behind - I'm moving on.

I thank each and every one of you who came to visit, I hope you enjoyed your stay. Lots of ideas on tap, so much new to lay out this year - so stay tuned!

photo courtesy banyantreebiketours.com