What Happens at Calumet, Stays at Calumet

I'm am way behind in posting here. It's been such a busy time, but all is well, just very hectic with lots of church work and the renovation of DD's room into our new home office. More in another post about that.

Last weekend, ten days ago now, 21 ladies from our church went up to church camp, Calumet, for our annual Mom's Weekend. It's an amazing, renewing, spiritual, relaxing weekend away, where we are pampered, encouraged, and nutured, with no responsibilities other than to enjoy ourselves. We have a wonderful Bible study on Saturday morning, and then spend the afternoon doing whatever we want, and they give us lots of options to choose from: massages, manicures, walks in the woods, trying the ropes course, making pine cones wreathes, or just being on your own to share fellowship with the other ladies or read or nap, whatever makes your heart feel light. Here we are with a few of our favorite Calumet people: Tom and Betsy Smith over on the right who are former members of our church, now retired, and living at Calumet as the Host and Hostess for retreat weekend, and Edna (standing in the middle in the white shirt), who was our musical retreat specialist. She is about to embark on a mission trip to Brazil where she will live in an orphanage for a month, teaching music to the little unwanted of that country. She told us some very sad stories of their lives there. We are sending her off with "a little something" from all of us so she can purchase supplies for her little students when she gets there. Edna is just so much fun and makes our musical time really great.

In the photo, you can see me, over on the left, holding my Calumet mug. I seem to live with my cup of tea all weekend. The Calumet mugs are very special:



Around the bottom of the mug, it says: Remember the Seventh Commandment. Now, lest you remember them in order off the top of your head from Sunday School class, the seventh commandment is "Thou Shalt Not Steal". But, they sell the mugs in the camp store, so that's why I have one which sees frequent use in my kitchen. It gives me great comfort to sip my tea from my Calumet mug, remembering all the fun times, on this annual weekend away, on our summer camping vacation in the family campground, and of all the years our children spent time at "overnight" camp there. Calumet is one of our favorite places, and also one of our favorite charities. We love to open Calumet to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

I have such great memories of our weekend away. Reconnecting with friends, bonding with new friends, and of course nourishing my close friendships as well (you can see Andrea and Judy, of my previous big socks post, also in the photo). We share a lot, laugh, cry, hug, tell ghost stories, giggle in the dark in our bunk beds, and support each other. Confidence and trust are a given. But, we always remember, "What Happens at Calumet, Stays at Calumet".

New Beginnings!!!

Hubby and I have been home from our fabulous vacation for three weeks now. You can read about our adventures on my travel blog here. We came home to all the things we'd left behind that needed some immediate attention: Darling Daughter and her new Hubby moved into their new home while we were gone, without any help from us! But as soon as we returned, we were pressed into service to help them do the things they needed some expert help with. We're experts because we've been home-owners for a long time and that counts for a lot! The day after our return, we drove up to their new home about 45 minutes away so Hubby could help install garage door openers and I could help DD buy and plant some shrubs, perennials, and mums to give the garden that fall color.




Since then, we've been back to their house so Hubby could help install plywood in the attic for storage and now that there is floor in the attic, we have more plans to help run cables and wire for TV and Internet through the attic to the other bedrooms upstairs. It's fun to watch them make this house their own and establish themselves as a family. They've painted rooms, grown a new lawn from seed, done some landscaping, hung towel rods, installed shelves, had their driveway paved, and started decorating. When we visit, it feels so comfortable and like they belong there. This is the beginning of their new life together.



We've also come back to our fall activities being in full swing. Unfortunately some things at church have become messy and time-consuming and I've been drawn into a nasty situation that I had no idea was going on. It has drained a lot of my energy and enthusiasm for all the church work I do. I find it sad that politics happen, even at church, and I am amazed the people have agendas and use manipulation, even at church. You'd think we'd be safe from that here. I'm ready to pull back, leave my committee work and just sing and ring for a while. I have much praying and decernment to do over the next several months. This may be the beginning of a new path for me at church, so I'm trying not to see this as an entirely negative time.

But, there is also some wonderful news which I've been keeping quiet to let our oldest son and our daughter-in-law share before I get too carried away. We are going to be grandparents!!! We are so excited and so happy for them and this will be the beginning of a brand new life for all of us! The new little twig on our family tree won't arrive until next May and it's going to be hard to wait that long. For now I have a sweet little ultrasound photo showing baby looking more like a swan than anything else, but he/she is already loved and eagerly awaited!!

New beginnings are such a joy!!!

Forestry 101

Last weekend, while Hubby and I were doing yard work, I noticed that we had a dead tree hanging precariously over the path through the woods to our neighbors' house. On further inspection, we realized that it was being eaten up by big ants and the tree would surely meet its downfall soon. Not wanting it to fall on someone on the path, I thought we should take it down ourselves. Hubby explained that his chain saw blade was very dull and would need to be sent out for sharpening first. Being the helpful wife I am, I made sure on Monday that I got the blade to the hardware store to be sharpened. Wouldn't want a dull blade to stand in the way of our forestry project, now, would we? I think Hubby was secretly hoping that the blade wouldn't be back in time to do this little project before we leave on vacation at the end of this week. But the store called yesterday....the blade was ready! Weeee, I exclaimed....sigh, groaned Hubby. We sounded a bit like the hippos, George and Martha (do you remember those stories?).

Today we went out to fell the tree. Our neighbors on the other end of the path came down to help and while the two ladies watched, the men with the chainsaw wielded their power. Once the dead tree was taken down, it was amazing at how many other dead trees I could see. We could take those out too, couldn't we? And what about the sick wild cherry that's dropping nasty staining berries all over the driveway? That could go too. Well, that was the last suggestion. That tree was BIG, but Hubby did agree to cut off the big limb hanging over the driveway. While cutting it up into manageable pieces, the chain saw got stuck in the tree and just hung there by it's blade. Hubby wasn't happy. He had to get out a hand-held saw to cut his chainsaw out of the cherry tree! This is when he pronounced this as Forestry 201....the project that turned into a lot more work and aggravation than he ever dreamed possible. Oh, and did I mention that all these trees are growing amongst the poison ivy? Hubby is now in the shower scrubbing every square inch of himself in hopes of not spending our vacation itching and scratching. Now that will make another interesting post! Stay tuned.....

1000 Places to See Before We Die

Have you seen the book, "1000 Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz? It is a compilation of amazing places to visit which the author believes you should see before you make that final journey at the end of life. Hubby and I checked two more places off the list yesterday. First, we journeyed out to Lenox, Massachusetts to visit Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It's a little mystifying why we had never gone before, but we decided to finally remedy that. We started out bright and early for the two and a half hour drive and arrived in time for the open rehearsal of "La Damnation de Faust" by Hector Berlioz.

Maestro James Levine conducted the Tanglewood Orchestra, the soloists, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in a working rehearsal of the piece which was wonderful to watch. The day was cool and breezy in the 60's, not a typical August day at all but we were surrounded by many elderly patrons who were dressed in their winter clothes, hats, scarfs, and bundled in blankets. There was a high cane to patron ratio. It made us wonder what would become of Tanglewood in 20 years when these patrons are long gone. Will younger people discover the joy of Tanglewood and the beauty of the setting and the music? But, I digress. Maestro Levine did a wonderful job rehearsing his performers, often going over bits of the piece again and again, looking for just the right sound. "The Damnation of Faust" is Goethe's story of Faust's love for Marguerite, for whom he makes a pact with the devil. Marguerite has been condemned to death for poisoning her mother with a sleeping potion and Faust offers himself as a servant to the devil in exchange for her freedom. Faust goes to Hell while Marguerite goes to heaven. It was a very moving story in music. We are fortunate to know one of the tenors in the chorus. He sings in our church choir with us and have talked to him often of his love of Tanglewood. It was wonderful to see him perform and experience this masterwork. During the break in the rehearsal, we moved from under the shed to the lawn where we dined on a wonderful picnic lunch, shared a bottle of wine, and enjoyed the rest of the rehearsal in the warmth of the noon-time sun. It was so tranquil.

After our lunch, we set out for the Hancock Shaker Village about a half hour away from Tanglewood. Set in the Berkshire mountains, it is an idyllic place, full of history of this now almost defunct sect of people. The Shakers began in Manchester, England and came to America in 1774. They were hard workers who believed in embracing technology, but who believed in the importance of celibacy, communal life, and the confession of sin. To perpetuate their religious sect they adopted children from outside the group and gathered converts to their new Christian movement. They made important contributions to art, craftsmanship and architecture, including this unusual round stone barn. Below is the dormitory where the Brethren and Sisters lived, in the same building, but totally separate. They did however have equal responsibilities for the working of the village and no one was allowed to do any one job for too long a time. Everyone rotated through the different chores in the village. Although at their height, there were nineteen major Shaker communities in the United States, today, the only Shakers left live in a settlement in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.

We had a lovely day, experiencing two new destinations in one day, and checking off two more places to see before we die. I think I shall have to make a working list from the suggestions in Ms. Schultz's book and actually mark each off as we see them. How many places have you seen? I plan to count ours up and I'll let you know!

August Joys

I have the bad habit of thinking of August as the end of summer, the end of carefree living, and just the precursor to the the craziness of September activities. I fear getting back into the routine of weekday evenings full of meetings, no more leisurely dinners on the deck watching the birds and sipping wine, and cooler shorter days replacing the long warm summer nights. This year I've decided to look for the positives of August, to find the things that bring me joy in this month, rather than dread the end of summer. These are a few of my favorite August things:

I love fresh tomatoes grown on my own plants, this year in a big container on the deck. They are a little worse for the wear after our vacation but they are still producing their wonderful red delights. With slices of mozzarella cheese, some fresh basil, and a little balsamic dressing, they are a true joy of August. I do believe I could live on this salad for a long time!

I also love the flowers that bloom in my garden this month. While so many of my perennials have come and gone, my black-eyed susans and my hydrangeas are blooming happily in the hot sun, eager to rise above the other plants that need a good cutting back already. They make me happy with their gorgeous colors and long-lasting blooms. Every morning I stand at my kitchen window and drink in their beauty.

So here's to August, no longer just the end of summer, but the beginning of many special things that bring me joy.

My New Cell Phone

I got a new cell phone today...a Motorola KRZR. My old one was giving me problems....it kept shutting itself off unexpectedly, even in the middle of a call. So, with our trip to Europe pending, I decided to upgrade my phone. The deals were great because my service contract was up and "The New AT&T" wanted to keep me as a customer. But the story started two days ago when I ordered a phone on-line through their website. Yesterday I got an email saying it was out-of-stock and back-ordered. Now why was I allowed to order it if it was out-of-stock?? I called Customer Care, only to be on the phone for over an hour with three different customer care representatives, none of whom could tell me when I would get my phone. With our trip looming, I needed to do something quicker than that. So finally, finally, the last rep agreed to cancel my order and reset my service contract date back to 2004 and then I could order another phone. BUT, that all wouldn't be in effect until at least 48 hours away, and then I'd have to wait till sometime next week for the phone to be mailed to me. "How can a get a phone sooner than a week from now?", I asked. I was told I could go to the AT&T store and a manager there would be able to give me the Internet price (a dramatic savings over store prices). So, after one failed trip to the store yesterday (no manager on duty to do the over-ride!), I finally got my phone today. It's lovely...it matches my eyes...hahaha...and it has fun capabilities. Thankfully, my youngest son is coming home for a visit next week and he's my expert on all things media. I want him to put our family photo on this phone to have as my wallpaper (just like my old phone), and he'll put song clips on it that will ring when family members call me. How would I know it was him calling me if my phone didn't sing, "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables??? Oh, and my new phone has a camera too. I never thought I'd needed one before, but it might come in handy occasionally. Seems like you can't get a cell phone without one now. So, I'm excited to have updated technology and blue is such a nice color!

The Attack of the (cicada) Killing Bees!

Our little neighborhood has been besieged by enormous giant wasps known as Cicada Killing Wasps. We have never seen them before and since we don't have a big cicada population, we're quite mystified as to why they have taken up residence here. They are the largest wasp in North America, measuring 1 1/2 inches long. This photo doesn't do their size any justice! They burrow into the ground, leaving big mounds of dirt in their wake, where the female lays 16 eggs. Then she goes off in hunt of food for her offspring. She kills cicadas, or other large insects, with her sting and then drags the dead bug back to the hole where it becomes food for her larvae. Oh, ICK!!



They began in the front lawn of one of our neighbors and have now spread to the grassy area on our island in the middle of our circular cul-de-sac. They are multiplying rapidly. Every day there are more mounds of dirt to be counted where they've formed their little tunnel. You can see it at the top of this photo....it's the dark circle at the top of the sand pile. What started as one nest a week ago has now grown to 40 nests! Who knew these creatures would be so prolific?

The female will sting, but the males, who appear quite aggressive guarding the nest, do not sting. None of us really want to test this theory out, so tomorrow an exterminator is coming to get rid of them. They are beneficial insects for the most part, because they kill other insects, but with children and adults sharing this space, we can no longer just watch. Updates to follow!

A New Home

Our DD and HOHO will soon be moving into their brand new home. They are having a house built for them and enjoying the excitement of watching their home become a reality. As a young couple, they are very fortunate to be starting their married life this way.


Hubby and I visited their under-construction home this week. DD was concerned about not having the proper cables for Internet in the room that will be the upstairs home office, but her Dad assured her that he would help them run the wires after they move in. To make that future job easier, he wanted to mark the rafters in the attic where he would need to run these cables. With nothing to stand on, he offered to give DD "ten fingers" so she could mark the rafters with a pencil for him. Here is their resulting collaboration. DD is learning that home improvement projects start early and that Mom will be there with a camera ready to record the occasion!

Hubby and I are thrilled for them and can't wait to see them tucked away in their little house. The neighborhood is wonderful, their house is an Energy Star home so it will be very efficient, and best of all, it will be new with very little to go wrong in the first five years. But there will be decorating and landscaping to do. I'm already planning which perennials I will divide and take to her next spring, Hubby is telling her she will need to plant a few trees, and DD is wondering what colors she will paint the rooms. All this, and they don't own a ladder, a shovel, or a lawnmower yet! It's going to be fun to watch them become homeowners!

Home from Camp

Hubby and I are home from a week of camping at the family campground at church camp. We spent a wonderful week in New Hampshire with a lot of other families from our church who enjoy this same week away. The weather was great, we slept more, ate a lot more, read, relaxed, sat on the beach, swam, talked and talked, and made s'mores over the fire. I love that we spend this week with our friends who, like us, enjoy a week away amidst the pines, chipmunks, and red squirrels. This year, more than ever before, we had to safeguard all our food and equipment from these little creatures, or "mini-bears" as Hubby calls them. They were very agressive....one red squirrel even climbed up on my chair while I enjoyed a few cashews with my glass of wine. Eeeek!!!

Here is a photo of our campsite while we were in the process of taking everything down for the trip home. I had totally forgotten to take any pictures this year, so this one just captures our screenroom and "big blue tarp" just before they came down. Darling Daughter is sitting on one of the chairs. Yes, the newlyweds are home from their honeymoon and joined us at camp for the weekend. When I asked DD if this is the way she wanted to end her honeymoon, camping with Mom and Dad, she said, "Of course, otherwise I won't get a chance to come to camp this year!". That is how much she loves it there. We really enjoyed having them with us and they were the center of attention with all our friends. So nice!

Since we got home I've been doing laundry and cleaning all our equipment. The one problem with camping is that everything, including us, comes home dirty. It's such a big job, but certainly worth it. We're back on the normal eating plan now...no more roving cocktail hours with friends, or s'mores, or doughboys, or eating big dinners at the conference center. Ah, camping is a once a year tradition that is absolutely one of my favorite things to do.

A Beautiful Wedding!

Our Darling Daughter was married last Saturday in a beautiful ceremony marking the beginning of her life with the man she loves with all her heart. They were so happy, so in love, and so thrilled to be surrounded by all the friends and family who love them so much. We are thrilled that we have another son to add to our family. He is funny, kind, and so very patient. We could not have asked for a more wonderful man for her to love.

The wedding day was perfect. The weather was so nice, there was only one minor disaster when the zipper on one of the bridesmaids dresses broke, and the reception was the best party Hubby and I have ever thrown! I was blessed to have my dearest friends enjoy our celebration with us. My very special, longest friend, Mrs. Goodneedle and I spent such lovely time together both at the reception and the next day. She gave me some wise words: I would feel a let-down after the wedding was all over. She was right, as always, but there is also a bit of relief that all our work and effort made for such a joyous day. Tomorrow Hubby and I are off for a week at family church camp. Just what we need to relax and renew.

Here are Hubby and our DD dancing their father/daughter dance to "Isn't She Lovely". This song was popular when she was born 25 years ago and we used to sing it to her when she was just a newborn. It was so fitting that they danced to it now. Probably better than all those Sousa marches he used to hum as he carried her around, hoping she'd stop her crying and drift off to sleep. Many of those marches really did work.

Here is our DD the day after the wedding, in her lovely "day after" dress, feeling exhausted from such a busy time in her life. I couldn't resist but to snap this photo. It reminded me of times long ago when she would cuddle up on the sofa and drift off, comfortable and happy. Now she and Husband of Her Own (HOHO) are off in Hawaii, enjoying the tropical breezes, relaxing, and savoring their time as they celebrate the beginning of their life together. We wish them joy, love that knows no bounds, and many, many years of happiness!

Middle of the Night Musings......

I'm awake again in the middle of the night. Once I wake up, there's no going back to sleep. Wedding details are consuming my mind and it just starts to race the moment I stir. Everything is going well, so why can't I sleep? At least it makes for some uninterupted quiet time. (Thinking positively!).

More about the wedding preparations: In May, the bridesmaids hosted a shower for my Darling Daughter. My Dear Daughter-in-law, the Matron of Honor, lives in North Carolina, so far away, and she asked me if they could hold the shower in my home. And so began a wonderful event, where my family room was transformed into a lovely shower space. There was quite a look on Hubby's face when I told him we wanted to empty all the furniture out of that room and replace it with 9 small tables and 36 chairs...."No way that will all fit in there!", he said. Ah, he of little faith! After putting all the furniture in the garage, he and my DD's soon-to-be HOHO washed down all the rented tables and chairs and as they were brought into the room, we place pretty pink tablecloths on the tables, set places with pink silverware and sweet favors of little tins of flower seeds, and placed a pretty pink plant in the center. One might guess that the wedding color is pink, but no, it's not...the bridesmaids will be wearing ice blue dresses. The room did look quite lovely after its transformation!

Family and friends were treated to a wonderful luncheon and an afternoon of laughter and celebration. My daughter received many lovely gifts and her day was spent surrounded by the women most important in her life. Young ones, just starting to find themselves in the world, and we older ones, who are enjoying seeing a new bride begin her married life. So much to look forward to, so many dreams to share, and just beginning to know the joy of sharing her life with a partner she loves with all her heart. Here she is, at the end of the day, wearing a "veil" handcrafted by her bridesmaids, and holding her ribbon bouquet which she will carry down the aisle at the ceremony rehearsal just two days from now.

I'm trying to savor every moment of this week, even these sleepy ones in the middle of the night. I am truly blessed with a wonderful Hubby, the best children, great family, and some of the dearest friends in the world. In the quiet of the dawn, this is so evident to me. In the craziness of the daytime, with all the things that need to be done, I have to work a little harder to keep that in the fore-front but isn't it absolutely what life is all about? We love and are loved and that's what makes our life so meaningful. I wish my DD a life full of love! And as Mrs. Goodneedle would say, "Life is Good"!!

"84 Bottles of Wine on the Wall....."

I haven't written in this blog in so long. Life has been a non-stop merry-go-round of late and I just haven't had the time to sit and post creatively. But here I am in the middle of the night, unable to sleep because of so many things on my mind. Posting in my blog is something I can do in the wee hours of the morning, when I'm unable to make a lot of noise, make phone calls, or even sleep! You see, my darling daughter is getting married this weekend, and I've been consumed with wedding details and trying to make this the best party our family has ever seen.

That old song, "100 Bottle of Beer on the Wall..." has run through my head lately. Our version revolves around wine, and the 84 bottles that have resided on my dining room table for the last two weeks. This is how the story goes: when my daughter and her soon-t0-be Hubby of her Own had just started dating, it was quickly Christmas. Unsure what to get for this new lady, he bought her a bottle of wine, placed it in a lovely wooden wine box, and enclosed an invitation to a Wine Dinner at the Nashoba Valley Winery. It's a lovely little winery, making mostly fruit wines, and having a wonderful little restaurant. They had a marvelous time on that date, and have since gone back for special occasions. The last time they went, they strolled in the orchards first, and this is where Hubby of her Own proposed to my Darling Daughter. They had a romantic dinner there afterward, celebrating their betrothal.

Fast forward a year, to when they thought that the favors for their wedding guests should be a bottle of this Nashoba Wine. How fitting, they thought, to share with their guests something from a place so meaningful to them. The wine would be purchased in different types, so that when a place card was attached to each bottle, the guest would know which table he/she are sitting at. Perhaps at the Plum table, or the Baldwin table, or maybe the Maiden's Blush table. This however was a sizable project....

First we had to assign all of our guests to a table, then figure out who many bottles of wine were needed at that table. Each couple would receive a bottle, but we also had to give a bottle to each person coming as a single. Once we knew how many bottles of each kind of wine we needed, I called the winery to place the order (luckily with a 15% discount for such a large order!). Darling Daughter and I went to the winery and picked up the wine the next week.



Next, placecard tags had to be made for each bottle. Darling Daughter has a passion for lovely fonts, so the printing had to be just right. After hours at the computer, each guest's name and wine type were lovingly printed on their placecard. Each bottle was then put into a cellophane bag, tied with a light blue ribbon, and the tag attached. Here are DD and HOHO admiring the product of all our hard efforts, heads tilted to the side to read the placecards attached to the bottles. We laughed thinking about all the guests having to cock their heads to read their names!










Finally, each bottle had to be put into alphabetical order by the guest's name, and put into boxes for the trip to the reception venue. Today the wine will make its trip to the reception site where it will be placed on their big table, ready for our guests to receive.

This is just a snippet of life for me in the last two months. There have been shopping trips, bridal showers, phone calls, appointments, research, strategy planning sessions, and countless hours spent with my DD in preparation for this week. All of it has been fun, exciting, and filled with love. The love DD and HOHO have for each other, and the love we feel for them both.

Now the sun is coming up and another busy day begins. One day closer to seeing my daughter married. More to follow.....

Caution: Road Construction!

Things are busy and noisy here today because our new driveway is being put down. When we moved into this house exactly twenty years ago, our younger son was only 15 months old. Since the house was built new then and the work crews still had things to finish, like landscaping and the driveway, he would toddle from window to window watching the big trucks and the workmen. At each window he would exclaim, "A-zi-zi-zah!!", his word for any truck or piece of machinery. He was always so excited to watch and it kept him busy for long periods of time. This morning I keep looking out and thinking, "A-zi-zi-zah!!". My little boy would have loved this! How does life pass so quickly?

Memories of Home

Two posts from me in one day...making up for lost time! Mrs. Goodneedle asked what speaks "home" to us. These Hümmel figures that belonged to my mother do that for me. My mother had this pair, Brother and Sister, for as long as I can remember. As a child, I thought of them as Hansel and Gretel, about to enter the forest with a basket of breadcrumbs. I wanted to take them down from the high shelf where they stood, and make them walk along, ready to meet the wicked witch at the enchanted cottage. Now they stand in my china cupboard, always reminding me of my mother and the innocence of childhood.

Good Hikes, Good Friends, Good Times!

Last weekend we went on our annual get-away weekend with a group of great friends. We all go to church together, and between us, five play in the bell choir, three serve on the Worship & Music Committee, two serve on the IT committee, four sing in choir, two sing in the early morning choir, six golf, two are woodworkers, three play guitar, and the list could go on and on. What makes us all one is that we are friends and all really good people trying to do good in the world. These people are one of my life's greatest blessings.

On Saturday we set out in the murky dampness of a rainy weekend to climb Mt. Willard, elev. 2806. We found the trail snow-covered which increased the challenge but made for more exercise and funny moments.





We crossed a little river without anyone falling in....a miracle in my opinion!



At the top, the view was breath-taking. We looked over Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, seeing the road and railway tracks way below. The cloud ceiling was just a little above our heads and we really felt such awe being in such a beautiful place. Here are Hubby and I perched on a rock high above the notch.


The rest of our weekend was spent sharing time with each other, with our spouses, and eating and sleeping more than we ever do at home. Here we are back at the inn after our hike, a bunch of friends enjoying our time together and away from all the stresses and pressures of everyday life.

New Bathrooms

As an update to my bathroom renovations post, I thought I would share the before and after photos of our labors. Thankfully, all bathrooms were operational on the day our children arrived home. Poor Hubby worked all day at the office, only to come home each evening to hours of bathroom work. Both sink drains leaked (for two different reasons), one countertop had to be modified to fit the vanity, and that wall prep was just a killer. But it's done and I'm happy, and isn't that what it's all about?! My only "to d0" item is to find a new mirror for the red bathroom. The one that came with the vanity is too dark and too small. Hubby hung it high enough so he could see his face in the mirror, but it looks wrong. I'll find another one, maybe in a silver finish, that's a bit larger. I wish I could post side-by-side photos, but alas, that's beyond my area of expertise (without Hubby's direction), so I will post them one after the other. First, the upstairs main bathroom:




And this is the dramatic downstairs half bath. There's a funny glare on the wall from the reflection of light off the mirror but nothing to be done about that on this bright sunny morning. I wish I had taken a photo before we ripped out the old vanity and toilet but needless to say, the change is quite something!





We will renovate our master bathroom in the fall, after our daughter's wedding and our vacation are over. Then I suppose I will have to start thinking about new projects for Dear Hubby....wouldn't want him to sit around getting used to relaxing! Ha!

The masons should be finishing up our new walkways today so I will post those before and after photos later on this week. Our new driveway will be done sometime in May. My next door neighbor asked me last week if we were planning to put our house up for sale. She thought we were doing all this renovation to get the house in order to put on the market. I suppose in a way we are, but we're going to enjoy all the updating for a few years. Once Hubby retires, maybe 5 or 10 years from now, we may think about finding a new home to grow old in, a home on one level but with space enough to attract the children home. Perhaps that home will be "someplace else" but we'll wait to see where the children settle because that will affect where we spend our golden years. Meanwhile, we're still enjoying our "youth"!!

Then and Now

Spurred on by Mrs. Goodneedle's post about her high school prom, I thought I would also reflect on that time of my life. I was lucky enough to go to two proms, once in my junior year and again in my senior year. My first prom was also one of my first dates with Hubby, who ended up being a keeper, just like Mr. Goodneedle. There are two memories of that prom: first, my mother made my dress and I just loved it. Second, Dear Hubby failed his driving test on the afternoon of the prom, so we had to make a mad scramble to find someone willing to double-date with us. Otherwise, oh dear, Hubby's mother would have to drive us! How embarrassing that would have been since she was our high school librarian! Here is how we looked on that day in May 1970.


Here we are at my second prom. Hubby did finally have a driver's license and he was also a college man by then. He was still just as skinny, not having gained the infamous "freshman 15" that year. His hair was longer as were his sideburns. My mother made this dress for me also, but this one left me with a complex. My mother thought the lace down the front along the "princess seams" was very slimming. Did I need slimming? Since that day, I've always thought so. I'd also had my hair done that day for the first time in my life. Ah, milestones. This is the same prom Mr. and Mrs. Goodneedle attended and I believe the theme was "Traces of Love". For the four of us, it turned out to be more than traces, more like a lifetime of love.

But we've come a long way and, I dare say, improved quite a bit over the years. Here we are at our son's wedding in May 2005. Hubby's hair is no longer strawberry blond and he is not the skinny guy I once knew, having found the "freshman 15" plus a few more over the years. I still worry about being slimmer, but I have the confidence and wisdom of age now. We have come so far since being 16 and 17 and I wouldn't trade our life together for anything.

The Power of the Weather

This morning I posted about our Nor'easter storm. Well, it's still raining on and off and the winds are blowing, although not quite as hard as this morning. But the weather has taken its toll a little too close to home. Here are some photos of a house in our little neighborhood after the large pine tree that fell on it was removed. It's hard to see the the damage through the tree, now lying in the road after the crane brought it down, but in the second picture you can just see the damage behind the tree worker. The third photo is blurry, but shows the depth of the slice made by the tree.




This tree stood here for longer than the house has stood. It survived Hurricane Bob back in the 1990's. It has provided shade and a place for birds to sing. But today, its roots couldn't hold tight to the rain-saturated soil. This is the house where all my children took their piano lessons and where we have always felt safe. Today, the weather changed that. I'm grateful that no one was injured and that the damage isn't more severe, but this is too close to home. This house is so much like mine, that window below the damage is their master bathroom window too, just like in our house. How frightening to not feel safe in your own home. But our neighborhood is a happy and caring one and our neighbors will be held in the embrace of us all. A little storm can't surpass the power of love and friendship.