Be Careful What You Wish For

Last Thursday night I was hoping for a snow day on Friday. A day off so I could work on my curriculum project for my class, finish it on Friday and have Sunday off to do something fun.

Well, I got a day off, alright, and then days and days without power to boot. Instead of snow we got ice. Lots of it. Every outdoor surface covered. It was beautiful. Just beautiful and dazzling. And awful.

We got our power back today, just about a week after we lost it. My brother brought a generator down on Saturday, so we could plug in the heater and a lamp, but in between was lots of running around, eating out, trying to get the generator started on the coldest day, filling water bottles so we could flush the toilet, and so on. Thank heavens for our close friends down the hill who were going through the same thing. We were in contact all the time, looking out for each other and finding strength in our common plight!

We are so thankful for our electricity today, for all the small things, like turning on a light switch, flushing the toilet and washing our hands under running water. It was a good experience in many ways, but tough too.

So be careful what you wish for! You might get more than you ever thought possible.

One of My Favorite Sites

I love to sew. My mother taught my when I was about 8 or 10, and I've been sewing ever since. It is one of the most valuable things she has taught me (and she's taught me a lot!).

My favorite sewing site is Sense and Sensibility, which is a pattern company. Jennie Chancey, the owner, sells historically inspired (and accurate) patterns for several different eras. I've used several of her patterns. The Regency dress, of course, is the one I've used the most, but I've also made items from her Edwardian apron, the Romantic era pattern, and the Regency Spencer. I love her directions - they make it seem like Jennie is right there, looking over your shoulder, and anticipating your questions before you ask them. Her patterns are the ones that Simplicity produced for their Regency patterns, too!

Now she's got a new deal - e-patterns! For a small fee, you can download some of her patterns and print out the pieces yourself! How cool is that?! Now you don't have to pay for shipping, and you don't have to wait for the pattern to come in the mail. Here's the link to her site and the e-patterns: http://www.sensibility.com/pattern/main/?page_id=50

I have recommended her Regency gown pattern many times to people who wanted to have dresses of that style, and now I think it is great that there is such an easy way to have her patterns in hand very quickly. It was funny a year or so ago to go see a local stage production of Pride and Prejudice and notice very quickly that the women were all wearing dresses made from Jennie's patterns!

One of the other great things about Jennie's site is that she has a fabulous forum. I check out the discussion boards almost every day, and have 'met' many nice women there. They are sew helpful with any sewing questions, whether they are historical in nature as well, and they are so very knowledgeable! It is like The Republic of Pemberley in that there are no arguments, no flaming, and it's all child friendly. In fact, there are some young women on that website that are more capable seamstresses than I'll ever be!

Go check it out! :-)

Veterans' Day

Thank you, to all of you who have served our country and helped protect our freedom. I appreciate you more than I can say.

Ever have those times when you have lots of things you want and need to get done but can't seem to summon the energy or the motivation to actually DO them? That's my problem today. I had a nice lie in this morning (I didn't really sleep that late, but I did stay in bed quite late), and I should have felt quite rested and ready for the day. But, nah. Why not hang around online for awhile? Why not catch up on all the blogs I read? Why not fool around on Facebook for a bit? That's been my day so far. Then, if I don't get much done today, I'll probably beat myself up about it tonight when I'm getting clothes ready for the rest of the week and making sure things are ready to go for the morning.

It's been nice having a long weekend, and the parent teacher conferences went well yesterday (both kids are doing well in school), and the bookfair is all set up and so forth. But I'm still struggling to get more of a routine established. I thought I was doing well to get some laundry done last night, but then DH told me this morning that the drier isn't working. I shall have to call a friend to see if I can throw a load of wet laundry into her dryer today....

OK, I'm really going to go to something now. Yep, I'm going. No, seriously, I am.

In a minute.

One of these days

One of these days I'm going to figure out how to post pictures on here, and then I'm going to bore you to death with projects I've done and so forth. I think I could probably do it without too much trouble. I have, after all, posted pictures on websites. I've even posted pictures on my own long-un-updated website.

Perhaps I'm just too lazy.

Or just too tired.

But one of these days I'm going to do it.

Moose Alley

Little Bug and I saw a moose last night!

We were on the way to Girl Scouts and were running a bit behind, but boy am I glad we were! We wouldn't have seen it otherwise. It was just starting to go into the woods on the left side of the road we were turning onto, and then it turned around and when back across the road and into the woods on the right side of the road. Very cool.

This is the first time I've seen a moose in the wild. I've seen one at the Maine Wild Animal Park, but not like this!

I feel like a real New Hampshire-ite now! lol!

Hum Drum

I don't know how I thought I'd be able to keep up with a blog!!! Or than I had anything too exciting to even say! :-) But here I am, and I am going to make an effort to keep up with it a bit better. I am hoping that things here at home will start falling into a routine now.

The weather has really been great, and the leaves have been gorgeous this year! I'm going to North Conway on Friday, but I think most of the foliage will be gone by then. It's been pretty here, though.

Now that most of the leaves are gone, it's easier to see where the tornado in July left its mark. Suddenly you can see sky where there wasn't any before. Sad. I just yesterday noticed a tree in back of the house that is broken off at the top. It has been dead since we bought the house, but the leaves of the trees in front of it hid the fact that the top had been knocked off in the tornado.

I guess I had better go get my work done for my class tomorrow night! I'll be glad when it is over, truthfully....

Another Monday

I think I need to find a way to get us all to bed a little bit earlier at night. My little Bug woke me up at 3 am this morning because she couldn't get back to sleep, and then after I rubbed her back for a few minutes and went back to bed, I couldn't get back to sleep! Getting up this morning sure was tough, and that messes up the whole morning routine.

Little Bug's teacher is having a baby, and I have started a little blanket for her and the baby, but today we got a little invite to the school shower for her. It's Wednesday! Somehow I don't think the blanket will be done by then! LOL. So I shall have to think of something else to do. Maybe not go and send it later? Go with a small gift and send the blanket on later? Hmm.

I am still fighting with the constant fatigue. I hope it will get easier. I am still struggling with the meal planning thing, too (meaning I haven't done much of it! lol).

Does anyone else wonder what this whole bailout stuff will really mean for America? I hate to be pessimistic, but it sure doesn't look very good for the future of the economy.

Just my wanderings.....

Wool Festival

On Saturday we went to the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH for their Wool Festival.  It was great!!  The Little Guy was a bit bored, and the hubby wasn't super thrilled, but he did enjoy it.

I love it.  I was in Fiber Heaven.  So much yarn!  So many spinning wheels!  So many fiber producing animals!  It was great.  So many things to do with the fiber afterward!  Spinning, weaving, rug hooking, rug braiding, felting, card weaving, inkle weaving.  I would have bought more yarn if I had had time.

We did look through some of the buildings, too, but some you had to be on the tour for, and we weren't there at the right time.

I used to think I had no interest at all in spinning, but now I'm thinking I might want to try.......

My New Life

It's a whole new world, that is for sure.

I haven't worked full time in nine years, so getting used to a whole new routine, working all day, and still taking care of the house and family when I get home is a whole new ball game for me.  I am struggling and persevering, but it is hard.

I am so tired.  But I hate to go to bed at night in some ways, because the only time I have to really breathe and relax all day is that little window of time between when the kids go to be and when I have to go to bed.  It drives me nuts when they don't go right to sleep and come out to the living room to ask us questions, and so forth.  I just want to savor that little bit of time!  In the morning, I'd love to have a quiet breakfast with no distractions, but most days my Little Guy is up and at 'em before I even get out of the bathroom after I shower!  

Things are compounded by the graduate class I am taking.  It is  good, and it is only one day a week, but I need to be better about getting my reading done before class, etc.  I'm sure it will be a good class and I'll get a lot out of it, but in many ways I wish I wasn't taking it.

Things will get better, and I will figure out how to juggle things eventually, but at least I like my job so far.  The people I work with are great, and it makes me so grateful to know that my children go to this school and are able to have this education.

Freedom!!

I am officially done. Done-dee done done done. My classes are done, my final paper is done, and now I can relax. For a week and a half. Then I start my new job. Oy!! I am so relieved to have those classes done, and will NEVER take two summer courses at the same time again.

Just to keep us on our toes, we had someone want to see the house right after my daughter's birthday party when we were heading to Maine for the weekend. So we just packed, got the house picked up as best we could and left. The person who looked at the house the next morning wasn't too interested, I guess, so that was ok with us. We planned on meeting with the realtor tomorrow to take the house off the market officially (at least until next spring).

So the realtor called today to say that someone wants to see it, a motivated buyer, and he is a cash buyer. Like I said, it is keeping us on our toes! So we'll see what happens there. Probably not anything. DH has a friend who has had a condo on the market for over a year and has had more than one "cash buyer" come look at it. So who knows what will happen. I'm not going to stress about it. Seriously, I'm not. Really.

Bliss

A comfortable chair to lounge in, a book or magazine in hand, a lovely breeze to keep the sun from getting too hot, the lake stretching out in front of you, a loon to watch float through the cove, the children playing contentedly in the water nearby, a snack to munch on, a drink to quench thirst, and blessed peace. That is bliss. I had it, for three wonderful days.

What a gift my parents and grandparents gave to us when they bought the camp together. I have spent many happy hours there at 'camp'. It's not a cottage, it's a camp. It is rustic. It is less complicated, it is restful. The biggest dilema is what to eat next, for we always seem to be hungry. It is amazing how you can spend a whole day doing nearly nothing and still sleep like the proverbial rock.

We may not have traveled around the world as kids, we may not have had a lot of family vacations to other states, neither of which I'm particularly sorry about, but we had camp, we are the richer for it. Now it is a joy to me to see my children love it too, to be asking what day we are leaving to go to camp, how long it will be before we get there, to hear them talk about the first thing they will do when we arrive. Those are the joys that fill a heart, and I will try to treasure them.

Joys of Summer

They are haying the fields around our house, my favorite two to three times a year. I just love the smell, love to see the once-tall grass short and new and green, love that connection to the farming community here. This family leases the fields from the owners (who built a huge expensive house way out on a 92 acre piece of land) and hay the fields to feed their dairy cows. My favorite part is when they bale it - there is something about the way the bailer whips that topsy-turvy hay into a lovely rectangular bail! To go with the sound of the tractor in the field is the sound of my dear husband mowing our lawn.

Today is the perfect summer day for me weather wise. In the 80s, no humidity to speak of, a beautiful breeze, partly cloudy. Perfect.

Two days ago on my way home from school (how strange it feels to talk about being in school again!) I stopped at one of those small local grocery stores. I was buying only one small item, but then suddenly the clerk was handing me a huge bouquet of gorgeous roses!! They were free, a bit on the 'past it' side for them to be selling, so they were giving several bouquets away to customers. The ones I was given were the most beautiful color of them all. When we got married, my mother-in-law wore a corsage from sterling silver roses, and these roses remind me so much of them. They aren't pink, they aren't purple, they aren't really quite mauve. The are lovely, though, and I will enjoy them as long as they last. What an unexpected treat!

This week has been exhausting. We got home from my parents' camp late Sunday night. Monday I started class, then we went to the baseball game with DH's whole family (which was loads of fun). Tuesday I had to get up quite early to be in Manchester by 8 for my next class. And so it continued, with me reading as much as I can and typing up drafts of papers last night while eating my dinner after class, and so on. I am glad I do not have class on Fridays, and I am so grateful to have a husband as wonderful as J, who is so supportive and takes care of so many things while I am out during the day. Little Bug is thrilled that I am home in the evenings, as I was gone so much during the class I took in the spring, either at class or at work.

I am adjusting to life as a student, and I think I will enjoy both classes, though one more than the other. It is wonderful to put my mind to work in such a big way again, and to be stretching those muscles that have been dormant so long!

Who thought this was a good idea?!

So I work at the mall part time at a women's clothing store. Directly across the corridor from the store I work at is one of those vitamin/supplement type stores. Outside the door of that store there is a scale. Yes, a scale, a large scale.

A scale that talks.

Yep, it talks. It can sense when someone walks by and it says, "Have you checked your weight today?"

Needless to say, it is quite annoying after a long shift to continually hear that phrase over and over. Granted, it is a nice voice, human sounding and so forth, but still. What does amuse me is the comments I hear from people walking by it. I haven't heard anything too rude, but there are many that say, "No, and I'm not going to!"

So who thought this scale was a good idea? Asking passersby if they have checked their weight? And who thought that people would actually WANT to weigh themselves in the middle of a mall, of all places?!! Personally, I'd be afraid that the talking scale would announce my weight out loud to the whole mall, wouldn't you?

I really want to know the whole thought process behind this scale. What was the meeting like where they pitched this idea? What were they thinking when they agreed to put something like this into production? I mean, there had to have been more than one person thinking this was a good plan! I'm wondering what went through their heads when they were all nodding in agreement.

By the way, have you checked your weight today? Nevermind - I don't want to know.

Tooting my own horn

I've been working on my resume and writing up cover letters and generally getting paperwork together to apply for jobs in school districts. It is amazing what they require just to apply: three letters of recommendation, a copy of your college transcripts, your certification (or in my case a letter of eligibility for certification), plus filling out their applications, which usually means a rehash of your resume. I suppose it helps them winnow out those who aren't qualified at all, but it is a bit of a pain for me. I will have to go to Manchester to get copies of my transcripts from Saint Anselm College (which is also an expense, as I have to pay for those).

I've discovered that while I am good at writing many other things, writing about myself in terms of my accomplishments and so forth is not my strong suite. For one of the jobs for which I applied, DH wrote the cover letter for me. It turned out very well. It was truthful and honest, but phrased much better than I could have written myself. Plus it helped that he could see the cover letter from the point of view of an educator. I'll be glad when all these applications are done and sent in. It is the part of getting a job that I dislike the most. While I get nervous for interviews, I am comfortable once I am there and feel confident in how I present myself. But writing it all down? That's a whole other story.

DH will be done with school on Friday and then our real summer will begin. We'll have a week or so to enjoy all together before I start my classes. It has been strange to say that I'm starting graduate school, but also a little exciting. I've been feeling a little lazy lately, reading a lot for pleasure, but when I think about it, it makes sense. Once the classes start, I'll be doing so much other reading and writing that I won't have time for the pleasure stuff. So I'll enjoy the free time now while I can.

I have some crocheting I want to get done, as well. Months ago, I bought a large skein of yarn on clearance at Joann's. It had a pattern on the label for a shawl knit with just the one skein. I thought it would be perfect as an item for the silent auction at the Pemberley AGM. Well, I started it the other day, and I couldn't knit with that yarn to save my life (well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration....:-)). I ripped it all out and tried about three times, then I ripped it out and started a crochet pattern of my own making with it. I did that about three times as well. Now I finally have a design of sorts that I like, and I'm sticking with it. The problem is that I don't know if I'll have enough yarn to finish it as large as I'd like (or even large enough to be a real shawl!). We shall see. I'll just keep going on and it and see what happens. I did look on ebay to see if there was any yarn like it, but they only have it in other colors. We shall have to wait and see!

I am determined today to actually do something productive. I'm not sure the one load of laundry I've put into the washer counts, so I shall have to go fold some other laundry and pick up a bit......then I'll crochet. Or read. :-)

Not quite Summer Rain

It was a lovely day for most of the day, then it started pouring about an hour or so ago. It slowed down, but now it's raining hard again. At the same time, I can see the sun shining on the driveway, so it's one of those crazy rains. It won't last long.

It has made me thing about all the people along the rivers in Iowa, etc where they have had so much rain and flooding. We were there ourselves just over a year ago, and the memories are strong. DH and I were lucky to have only the water in the basement, no matter how we really felt about it (and let's face it, 6 inches of water in the finished basement is a major pain and a trial, but nothing compared to losing a house or a family member, as others in New England did).

Ha! Now it has slowed down again! I'm sure lawns and plants will love it, as long as it has a chance to soak in. Places north of us got hail today, so I'm glad we haven't gotten that.

We are still living in House Limbo. There was a chance someone wanted to see the house today, but it came to nothing. I'm on the downward stroke of the roller coaster ride of having a house for sale, thinking that it will all come to nothing. Part of me is relieved, not having to pack, and being able to stay in this town. I have such mixed feelings about the town. But the other part of me is disappointed. DH will still have his long drive, it makes my job search more confusing, and I've done so much already to get prepared to move. I really felt like that was the way God wanted us to go, but perhaps I was all wrong. I wish I knew what He had planned for us.

Another Monday

I'm not good at titles, so it's just another Monday.

What a crazy but good weekend. Friday I met my parents with the kids, and they took them home with them overnight. Jonathan and I had a quiet evening at home alone, which was nice. And boy was the house dark that night without any nightlights!

Saturday we had a yard sale, but didn't sell too much. What didn't sell we left out for free, and most of it was gone by the time we got home later, which was great. The weather was beautiful, really summery. We ran a couple of errands in preparation for Sunday (more on that later) and then met friends of ours in Wells, Maine. We went out to a late lunch and took a walk on the beach, which was lovely. I love the ocean. Not enough to want to live there, but I do love it. If I had to choose between living on a lake or living on the ocean, I would choose living on a lake, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the ocean. Standing on a beach always makes me so away of how small we really are. Standing on the beach in San Francisco last July really made me feel that way, I think because you really can't see anything at all out beyond the ocean. Here in New England you can often see other parts of the shore or islands, etc. But still, it is all so vast and amazing. It puts everything in perspective.

We met my parents in Wells and took our children back. My little Bug whined all the way home, so we could tell they were both exhausted. My parents tuckered them out, and I'm sure my parents were pooped, too! But they told us that both kids had been very well behaved, which always makes us feel good.

We were so relieved when we got home that so much of what we left for free was gone! There were a couple of toys that we wanted to get rid of without the children knowing, but we knew that if they were there by the side of the road, little Bug would wonder why they were there. She may be almost 9, but she has a hard time letting things go, even the scooter she's had since she was a year old! But luckily anything of that ilk that might have been cause for lamenting was gone.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for our little Bud. He was excited about it, but I think his sister was even more so. The kids wanted an under water kind of theme, so I strung streamers across the ceiling in the kitchen to make it look like water (I think I might have stolen that idea from Danielle, but I'm not sure), and the kids painted boats and sand dollars. I think they all had a good time, and they were all very well behaved. But boy was I glad when it was over! I was so tired!

Now we have just two more weeks of school. (DH has three) I both look forward to the kids being done and dread it. Come July I will be taking two graduate courses, so I'm debating about whether or not to keep working right through the summer or not. Each class is four hours long, so it will be tiring, even when you don't consider the reading and writing that will go along with it.

I just found out over the weekend (thanks to DH's research) that Library Media Specialist is now on the critical shortage list, so I have contacted the state Department of Education in hopes that they will give me a new letter of eligibility so I can apply for library jobs. Perhaps things will all work out just the way I want! We shall see.

We are still waiting for some action on our house.....

Six years that flew by.

Well, my little boy is six years old today. I will say, like many other parents and grandparents out there, Where did the time go?! Little Bud is actually not all that happy today. He's not thrilled with school (or so he says), so he keeps complaining about having to go today. Of course he's fine once we get in the car and are on the way there. I'm sure he'll enjoy the cookies he is bringing to share with his friends, too!

This morning he helped me make his birthday cake. I'll frost and decorate it while he is at school. We are going to have Jack's pizza for dinner, his favorite, and he's going to have his own order of mozzarella sticks (which will probably be the only thing he eats, but what the heck, it's his birthday!). We're planning a little party for him for next weekend. I feel badly; the poor boy gets a little left out in the party planning department. Somehow, having the birthday celebration at my MIL's over Memorial Day means that I sometimes forget to really do up something good for the Boy for his actual birthday, hence the lateness of actually planning the party for next weekend.

It's hard to believe that six years ago right now I was at the hospital, with just me and the labor nurse, wondering if my parents were going to get to the hospital in time for them to take Little Bug so my hubby could be with me for the birth. Luckily, they were; the nurse saw them out the window hurrying across the hospital parking lot, and soon after that my sweetie was with me to see his son born. I remember the nurse telling me that I was doing do well I should have eight babies! Ha! No way! No more back labor for me, thank you very much! But I adore the two beautiful children we have, and am constantly amazed that they were once so small. In some ways it seems like yesterday, and in some ways it feels like it was a lifetime ago. And it was - their lifetimes!

The last six years have flown by, and now my little Bud is a big boy, and a sweetheart. Now I need to go hustle him off to school! Happy Birthday, little man. I love you.

Monday, no, I mean, Tuesday

Those Monday holidays always mess me up.

What a crazy Memorial Day it was! First, we all thought the parade was at 1pm. So did the newspaper. We got there just at one and found out that it was actually at 2pm. So most of us waited around for an hour while a few went back to my mother-in-law's and got some snacks and drinks and a blanket. Then one of my BILs went back to the house to start the grill. We wondered what was wrong when we saw him walking back to us - turns out there was no propane left in the tank, but he didn't have keys to his car to go buy some so he walked all the way back to the parade to get them from his wife.

So the parade was great, but when we got back we didn't really smell the grill going - it was going, but veerrryyy slowly. Finally it just died all together. So my SILs and my MIL were inside trying to cook food in the oven and toaster oven. Because my MIL stores stuff in the oven, we thought we had taken everything out, but all of a sudden there was a loud pop, and glass was all over the steak in the oven!!! There had been a glass casserole cover stuck to the top heating element and it shattered, and all the steak had to be thrown away.

That gets all cleaned up, and then my two SILs and I are in the kitchen and suddenly the chicken falls off the counter, spilling marinade all over Sarah's leg and foot and new flip flops. The three of us just burst out laughing - I mean, what else could you do?! The day had just been so crazy, that one more thing just made it all hilarious. I tried to keep my MIL out of the kitchen while Jen cleaned the floor and Sarah when to wash off her leg. It was too funny.

We had to rush through our triple birthday celebration (my DH, my son and my niece) so that Jen could head off to work, but everything else worked out ok. It just seemed like a bit of a let down not being able to sit around and chat like we usually do on Memorial Day.

The parade was good, though. There was a man standing across the road from us who was all dressed us, shirt and tie with a v-neck sweater over it. He had a military hat on, and every time an American flag went by he stood at attention and saluted it. I wanted to cry. And all the veterans in the parade saluted him, too. That was amazing and beautiful. What else can you do but clap louder when they pass by to try to show your appreciation, and say a prayer for those who didn't come home?

Busy work.

Did you know that the person who wrote the song 'Que Sera Sera' made up the language? No, it's not French, and it's not Spanish. He just made it up because it sounded good! I thought that was pretty amusing.

I was cranky last week, after cleaning my house for no good reason and all that. I wasn't really looking forward to going to work on Friday night and over the weekend (I usually have one weekend off and one weekend on), but I think it was good for me. It sort of puts me outside myself and gets me thinking of other things than whatever is going on at home. We are lucky to have such great customers at the store.

As much as part of me does not want to go back to work full-time in the fall, I think it will be good for me in many ways. I can feel that inner fight with the depression, and working even part time helps that. I think being away from home during the day will help a great deal. There will be some major adjustments, obviously, but I will give myself time.

I made a totally futile trip down to Manchester yesterday. I was hoping to pick up my letter of reimbursement for the courses I'm going to take in July so that I could go register for them, but when I got down there, no one was in the Education department. By the time I checked my email at home later, I reread the email from the Ed department grad assistant and realized it said that reimbursement letters could be picked up after May 22nd. Duh. I could have saved myself some time and gas! Still, I at least know the lay of the land for courses down there. UNH Manchester is in a couple different buildings, and it was good to see it all when I had a bit of time to work it all out and figure out where I was going, etc.

I am eager to get my grade for the class I took this semester.

Finally Friday

Ever get in the middle of a big project and wonder if it's all worth it? We cleaned the house and the yard, decluttered and so on, for a realtor's open house yesterday. Then no one turned up. Very dispiriting. So of course I wondered if it was all worth it. Was trying to sell the house an exercise in futility? Or did we just need to be more patient?

I admit that yesterday afternoon I was feeling rather down, wondering if all my hard work has been for nothing. Should I even bother trying to pack up anything else? Was I going to have to move everything back inside? Should we just be happy with what we have and not try to move? I think DH felt the same way.

But after thinking about it for awhile, I do think that we are doing the right thing. I worry about the timing - will we be able to move before school starts? Will I have trouble finding a job that will be near to wherever we end up living? Will the house we really like be sold before we even have a chance to bid on it? But basically I do feel like we are called to something else. I will miss this small town. I love being known by name when I go to the post office, for instance. But I really think DH needs to be closer to his job. His commute wears him down. And jobs for me teaching ESL will certainly be more available a little farther south.

We shall see. I say that a lot, because I have to remind myself to wait patiently. Letting go and letting God has always been the thing I struggle with most. I remember in college one of the monks telling me, "Worry is never part of God's plan," but I feel like it is bred into me somehow. Danielle keeps singing "Que sera sera" and then I immediately join in. It does help.

So the long and short is that we shall wait, see what happens, and try not to make ourselves crazy with the 'what ifs' in the meantime!

Overwhelmed on Wednesday

We have our house on the market right now, and our realtor is having a realtors' open house tomorrow. I'm stressing a bit about what needs to be done before then. But, of course, that means I'm on the computer, avoiding that which is overwhelming me.

Doing some clearing out on Saturday we realized how much junk...I mean, stuff, we really have. It's hard to get rid of it sometimes. When it is all around you every day, it just becomes part of the furniture, so to speak. You become so used to looking at it, that you just don't see it anymore. It's amazing how much junk we've been living with for years. Now we need to find a way to get rid of it. Some of it I'd like to just put on the side of the road with a Free sign on it, but I wasn't sure that would look too cool with a bunch of stuff next to the for sale sign. But maybe that's a good way to do it. I don't really want to store a bunch of stuff to wait for a time to have a yard sale. Once I get going with decluttering, though, I can't stop!

It is sort of like painting or using a glue gun. Once I get started, I start looking for things to paint or glue! What's next? Need anything glued? Want me to paint that for you? I was painting a door and some trim today and had to stop to go pick up the kids at school, and it was probably better that way!

Tulips on Tuesday

Is there a secret to growing tulips? I haven't had much luck with them. A couple of years ago I bought some angelique tulips bulbs from the preschool fundraiser, and the next spring they came up and were just gorgeous. Since then, however, they have come up, had leaves etc, but haven't actually bloomed. My girlfriend Danielle planted the same ones, but hers come up every spring and look lovely!

I planted some other tulips at some point, I think, because I do have one tulip blooming right now, but it's red. Very odd. I wonder if there is some secret to it all that I don't know about.

A Monday in May

So I have started a blog. Not that anyone should care much what I have to say, but I've been thinking about it for quite awhile. We shall see how it all works out. I do try to take one day at a time, so postings will depend on what is going on and what I feel like I can actually share with world without seeming like too much of a navel-gazer.....