Antiques Road Show

The Antiques Roadshow was in town this past weekend, and we got to go! I am a shameless groupie and we watch it regularly. Since Chris is usually invited to these things as press, we were given press passes and able to enjoy the status... escorted to the front of the lines..yada yada yada. We were introduced to any of the appraisers we wanted to meet. I even got to meet Leigh Keno, one of the famous twins from the show. Leslie was there too, but was about to go on camera or I would have met both. I was tempted to stand around for hours and wait, but that would have been a bit too obvious. They are so dreamy.....sounds like I’m a shameless groupie of the Keno Twins, doesn’t it? Hmmmm.



Chris blogged a little more about the whole experience here. He had a little adventure of his own with his Supergirl #1 comic book.

We are both still a little giddy.

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

Relax and enjoy yourself.

Sleepy Doglet

When I woke up this morning this is what I found next to me.



I must have been too noisy getting ready, because when I came back to check on her I found this.




Such a poor mistreated little dog.

April Update....Settled In

Have gotten several emails from April as she gets settled in. It sounds like she is beginning to find her comfort zone and I'm glad. Mom's tend to worry, worry, worry. She has played/sang at a coffee shop a couple of times and sounds like that is going very well. And the children...sounds like every time she turns around there are beautiful children full of love. If you know April, you know she has a heart for children. In those moments, she's on her own personal cloud of heaven. I am grateful that we are able to email so often. I've been able to share what's going on around here, right here from the back porch..our favorite place to talk. What a blessing.

April, you are just covered up with prayers. I am grateful to have you in my life. Be safe beautiful child.

So Mavis and I are lounging in the backyard enjoying the evening, and I'm thinking...she's so dang cute. I have to share. So I jump up and run in for the camera so you can share the puppy love. I'm saying things like "somebody get me a spoon, I have to eat her up" and "who said you could be so cute?" in that really annoying voice people use with their children and pets. I'm sure the neighbors just love it.




I really should be giving her a haircut and bath this evening, but I think instead we will go to the dog park so she can flirt with Oreo the long hair Chihuahua.

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

Hope is the most precious treasure to a person.

use #497 for a cork

Tonight I get home from work and the husband is getting his hands dirty working on the sprinkler system. I have Sushi and a bottle of wine. I'm really looking forward to some downtime with him, and he has a broken sprinkler part in his hand chanting "must go to Home Depot" as a man will do. The lawn really did need to be watered, but I didn't want him to go. Super quick I shuffle through the Rolodex in my head of all the clutter we have in the house. Piles and stacks that have caused me fits and shame and countless other feelings. I can't seem to get rid of it. Probably because I'm so stinkin fond of so much of it. Surely I have something that'll save us a trip to Home Depot tonight. It hits me, wine bottle cork! We needed to cap the sprinkler head, and I have LOTS of those. A use for my clutter! Validation!




It worked too, like a charm. There was so much charm that as soon as we watered it promptly began to rain. Not a little rain, but big, windy, loud lightning and thunder rain. My favorite kind. It's been raining for over an hour, still pouring and booming out there. Now I want to dig through the bowl of corks and remember the stories that go with them all. 'Cause you know there's a story for each one.

We had a good night. I'm glad I have clutter - today anyway. Today I will embrace the clutter and just appreciate who I am.

Getting Old

It's official, I'm getting too old to go out on a Tuesday night for a rock concert (or any other concert that wails on wonderfully until midnight).

However, if Boston comes to town again on a Tuesday I'm sure I will go. They rocked tonight. Kudos to Michael Sweet on his bang up performance filling the gap since the loss of Brad Delp.

April Update...Guitar

Heard from April today that the guitar was found and delivered in mint condish. I knew it would be. Who's your Daddy April?

Thanks to those of you who prayed for the guitar to arrive safely.

This consumer report just in...

We bought one of those yellow light bulbs today for the back porch. You know the kind that bugs aren't supposed to see or want to come around? Well, somebody didn't get the word out to the June Bugs. They seem impervious to the yellow light bulb.

On the bright side, it reminds me of summer visits to grandma's house.

A room fit for a Princess

Recently I had to travel for business to some rural areas in Kansas. I decided to stay each night in Garden City, and drive from there to the places I had to visit during the day. I get tired of staying in the average small town motels, so I have started looking for Bed and Breakfast Inns wherever I go. Most of the time it works out to be even more economical than budget motels to do this, so it also helps keep my travel budget in check.

I found one of my most favorite Bed and Breakfast Inns ever in Garden City. It's called Sunnyland (they've kept the original name), and has a great life story. It's even listed on the historical register. After studying all the room choices on the website, I picked the room on the top floor. This meant hauling all my stuff by myself up 3 flights of stairs. I decided it would be worth it, and here's why. I got to sleep in the turret room like a princess! I watched the sun set through antique glass window panes, read by candle light, and took long soaks in the jetted tub. I hated to leave the room to go out for dinner, even when I was really hungry.







I read all of the Anne of Green Gables books growing up. Actually my grandmother read them to me the first time around. Since then I've read them all again several times over. Anne Shirley was one of my heroes, and had such an imagination. I'm sure that I was born with the gift of imagination, and my affection for pretend. But I'll bet spending so much time reading about Anne's imagination has helped to cultivate my own. The whole time I stayed at Sunnyland, I couldn't help but think that Anne would have loved the turret room. I could close my eyes and imagine that she was coming to visit for tea a little later in the parlour. I love to spend time in places that lend themselves to my imagination so easily.

The only thing that could have made my stay there better? Sharing it with my husband. Oh well, I'll just have to add this to my long list of places labeled "when I come back I will...".

If you ever find yourself in Garden City, Kansas, I highly reccomend a stay at Sunnyland.

I shall call them my secret pink glasses.

It's late, Friday night. I should be tired but I'm not. Just me and the tree frogs in the backyard. It rained today so it's a nice clean air kind of night.

I went to the eye Dr. today to learn that I have joined the ranks of bi-focal wearing folks. I quickly comforted myself with the purchase of these new Kate Spade frames. I call them the "secret pink" glasses.



They are Tortoiseshell with pink pearl on the inside. I've always wanted pink glasses...this is a nice compromise. Why compromise? 'Nother post all together.

The Doglet

I have been chastised this morning by the little dog to whom I am mother. She looked at me with this look that said "you spend a lot of time with that laptop in your hands and I don't think you have said too much about me yet". She's right, please forgive me. Allow me to properly introduce the one we fondly refer to as "Poopy Doo", "The Doglet", and officially Mavis Pearl.


She is a 15 month old Yorkshire Terrier weighing in at a whopping 4 1/2 pounds. She has been a fresh challenge and source of joy that I was really in need of.

At the moment, the two of us are enjoying a little quiet time on the back porch with the birds, and my must have coffee and granola. It's early, and I'm not much of an early morning person, but this is nice. I think I'll make an effort to do this more often. It's good for both of us. A good thing happening in my back yard.

April Update...Arrival

I got an email from April today. It was a surprise since we weren't sure that she'd have Internet access much. She has arrived at her first destination in Asia after 4 flights and 25 hours of flying. Her guitar was lost in transit, which is a major stinker. I have faith that it will be delivered safely though. She always has just what she needs, right when she needs it.

April, I am praying for you (and your guitar too). Sending love to you across the seas.

Sanctuary

Coffee, back porch, rain and thunder. Happy me. Gonna be late for work.

My B(est) F(riend) F(orever)

My BFF is coming! She will be here soon and I can hardly wait!! She needs me and God knows I need her. The thing is, she married an Air Force man and never lives anywhere remotely close to here. She has really appreciated the experience of living around the world, and I admit I am a tiny bit envious sometimes. First it was Germany, then Guam, and most recently Alaska. The new orders are for Turkey, and they will be coming here on the way. I have been fortunate enough to visit them in Germany, and Chris and I visited last year in Alaska. I would love to see them in Turkey, but I'm not optimistic that we'll be able to make that trip. This visit may have to last us a while.

Chris and I are God Parents to their kids. They are family to us. I am really looking forward to the precious days we will spend together. Even now, I am fighting the lump in my throat that comes when I think about the goodbye that always comes too soon.

So, get here fast Pamela. We have a whole lotta nothin to do together, and never enough time to do it in.

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

Big journeys begin with a single step.

(I know that's 2 cookies today, but I am HUNGRY!)

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

The problems of today will soon be buried by the sands of time.

Guilty as charged.

I was reprimanded silently by someone I care about last night. We were talking about how much time I've put into reading blogs, my Twitter, reading Twitter, my new blog.....just the look on her face said it all. There is that saying "everything in moderation". I need to keep that near the front of my mind and not so far in the dusty back. Then I found this cartoon by Patrick Chappatte titled "IT'S A GOOGLE WORLD" on Caglepost.com:



I do say that quite often, "just Google it". And I do Google, all the time. I just need to remember that all of the answers can't be found there.

I love to read books, I love my family, I love solitude, and I am challenging myself to keep things balanced.

Fortune Cookies

I love to eat Fortune Cookies. I keep a stash of them from various places in my office. Ever so often I will get a "fortune" that is a keeper. Not sure why they call them Fortune Cookies since most of them enclose just bits of wisdom. Anyway, I will be posting my favorites here under the label "Read on a Fortune Cookie". Mostly because they are bits that I want to remember, and I'm trying to reduce the clutter just a teensy tinsy bit.

Update to date night.

The perfect date night was followed by the husband waking me with a breakfast tray this morning. Yes ladies, he cooks too! It's gonna be a great day!

Date Night

Date night tonight, the thing I look forward to all week. Although it started out like a Chinese fire drill (the movie I really wanted changed yesterday for just a start), it ended up a perfect night. As I post as we sit on the back porch with a crazy midnight mocking bird. Perfect end to a perfect evening.

We had dinner at my very favorite restaurant - outdoors on the town square. Light bulbs on strings, plates and silverware clinking. It's all about ambiance for me. Just the right bit of wine, food, and conversation with the regulars. Then a silly comedy that still gave me what I was needing. I needed to laugh.

I love my life. I love my husband. A good evening that is ending in my back yard. Just right.

Reboot

The day after a migraine is always such an extraordinary day. It’s like all neurons are firing just right. I feel great, I’m on time, and accomplish lots.

I do things I wouldn’t normally do. For instance, this morning I left my husband a humorous voicemail rap-style. I have performance anxiety issues, this was really a stretch for me. I walked the dog at 6am (before my second cup of coffee), I did the dishes before leaving for work, and have been chipper with everyone so far today. There was no morning fog to fumble through.

It’s too bad it takes a migraine to reboot my brain like that.

Odd time for a good memory.

The extraordinary amount of neck pain I am experiencing today has brought back memories of my equestrian days. Its strange how sometimes unpleasant experiences can bring back pleasant memories. The link is that I took a nasty fall with my horse and hit my head and neck on the pavement. My neck and head have never been the same since. But that's not what I’m remembering today.

His name was Chaco, and he was a bay Paso Fino with a white star and one white sock. He was handsome, and I believe, loved me unconditionally. He was probably the best friend I had in High School. We understood each other, Chaco and me. When my truck would turn the corner down the dirt road he would run the fence to greet me. I spent afternoons grooming and riding him.

We’d spend hours together preparing for horse shows. There were a few of those, but most of the time we just had fun together. There was nothing I loved more on a summer afternoon than to go out for a long ride. I miss those days.

I grew up and went off to college. I came home one weekend and Chaco had gone to live somewhere else. Can’t blame my parents for selling him, but I was heartbroken. I knew it wasn’t fair to Chaco or them that I wasn’t there to take care of him anymore. I hope that he was happy wherever he ended up.

Is that what's happening here?

It dawned on me tonight that I have entered a new season this last few weeks. And I must say...I'm liking it. I am a very social person by nature. I married a man that has not one social bone in his body. Had I not "stalked" him, we would never have met and married. Needless to say we don't get out with other people much. Or rather, not until recently.

Enter the dog park. A new dog park has opened in our neighborhood within the last month. It is pretty with shade trees and big rocks, and a special side just for small dogs. Being the the responsible dog owner that I am, I took Mavis to check it out. Guess what? There were PEOPLE at the dog park too! While the dogs play the people visit. Mavis really hasn't made friends (she takes after her dad), but I now belong to the dog park mom's club. I've already made friends with 2 people I wouldn't mind having coffee with outside the dog park. This is something I'd been missing and didn't even realize it.

Not only have I been mixing it up at he dog park, I have finally taken my sister-in-law's advice to blog. More recently she invited me to Twitter. Here as well I am finding that I am feeling right at home. I don't know what took me so long.

The lesson here? Take care of you, and you will be better equipped to take care of the rest. These things are "taking care of me". (Can you hear my therapist talking here? I can, and she is a very wise woman)

I just love the light-bulb-aha moments.

Good things happen in my backyard.

Really good things happen in my back yard. I knew it would be that way the first time I stepped out into it. This back yard is what sold me on the house. It's big Cypress and Pine trees and wonderful slope. My husband was sold on the wood floors. But I must have trees, and this backyard has TREES.

Over the years, in my backyard, we have had light hearted and funny conversations with each other, and life changing talks with the kids. We’ve shared good times with friends, and made memories with family.

Romantic evenings with my husband are a little more romantic when shared on the patio in my backyard. Saturday morning coffee tastes better when I drink it there too. And I must brag a little, the best steak I’ve ever had, my husband cooked for me in my backyard.

It was in my backyard that I spent some of the best last hours with my beloved Beaux Kitty. We strolled in the sun, and sat in the rain. It was his backyard too.

Birds! There are birds in my backyard. Carolina Wrens, Cardinals, Chickadees, Dark Eyed Juncos, Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, Mocking Birds, Robins, Humming Birds, and more that don’t come to mind just now. At the moment the Wrens are not five feet away keeping quite busy. I love my backyard for this.

My backyard is sanctuary to me. Good things happen in my backyard.