A lesson on clouds

I've been thinking up and writing this post in my head for the past few days, and I'm warning you, I'm not entirely sure how it's going to turn out. It's one of those times that I am struggling to put the thoughts in my brain into coherent words that will stream from my fingers to my keyboard.I've tried to sit and write it out a few times, and it just did not work. Now, of course, when I have a million other things I should be doing, NOW is time that I feel as if I just might be able to do it as I sit here in my strangely quiet house wrapped in a quilt because it's freezing.

Late Monday night, we had some really wicked storms. The kind of storms that make you wonder if you will be heading to the basement. The kind of storms that makes the tv weathermen stay at the station all night reporting on the weather. The kind of weather that I hate because it scares the crap out of me.

Early the next morning, as I was filling my coffee cup for the 2nd or 3rd time, I glanced out my kitchen window and saw this:





I have a perfect view of the sunrise from my kitchen window, and I love that. I make a point nearly every day of watching the sun rise and paint the sky all shades of pink and orange and purple. Every once in a while, I take my coffee out to the deck and just sit and watch for a few minutes. Sometimes, I snap some pictures. A few years ago, I stumbled upon the website of a professional photographer who took a picture of the sunrise every day for a year and posted them. I thought that was such a cool idea. I don't do that, though.

What I found interesting about this sunrise on this particular day was not even about the sun. In fact, I couldn't even see the sun as it was hidden behind the clouds. My photo doesn't really do it justice and convey all I saw when I watched that morning-after-the-storm sky transform from night into day. I will try to explain what I saw. I'd tell you to close your eyes and envision this, but then you wouldn't be able to read.

First, take a look at this picture:



I don't know if you can tell from that photo, but the sky was a strange mixture of dark, ominous storm clouds, those flat grayish clouds that I don't remember what they are called...oh, yeah, stratus clouds...fluffy white clouds, and clear blue sky. Cumulus, stratus, cumulonimbus...whatever...the sky was really amazing. I'm sure my junior high science teacher would be so proud that I remember the names, even if I don't remember what each one actually looks like.

I SWEAR, I am getting to the point!

Back to the amazing sky. As I looked at that sky, with the dark, almost black clouds, then the layer of less scary looking gray clouds superimposed over the white fluffy clouds and the beautiful cornflower blueness of the sky behind all these clouds, I thought about life. I thought about how even when things are at their darkest and scariest, there is something beautiful and amazing hidden behind the darkness. Sometimes, whatever is beautiful and amazing is too well-hidden, for sure. But it's there.

In those 15 or so minutes that I watched and periodically photographed the stormy/recovering-from-stormy sky that morning,I thought of so many times in my own life when I thought that the darkness would never go away...the times where I have felt like a dark cloud was following me around, hovering over me like that dirt cloud that followed Pigpen every where he went.Yet in every single one of those instances, eventually, the amazing beauty did reveal itself. I thought of those times as layers of clouds...in the beginning days when something bad happened and how everything seemed so hopeless and downright scary that it was impossible to imagine that anything would be good and right again...then comes the time when the darkness begins to lift somewhat, and while it's still a bit gray and gloomy, just like those stratus clouds, it is easier to see the hope for the future...and finally, the fluffy cotton candy clouds floating in the blue sky is the "gift" that comes after the storm.

Wow, that all sounds pretty corny, but that's the best way I can describe it.

I'm not going to write about all of those times in my life that flashed through my mind that morning because it would be a lonnnnnnnnnggggggg post that no one would really want to read, and it's long enough already. I will however write of two of my current life circumstances that watching that sky kind of put in perspective for me.

Back at the end of July, on the day that Tony called to tell me he was losing his job, I truly thought I would not make it through another day. We were still struggling to recover from his 7 months of unemployment in 2009, and I can't even describe how I felt when I recieved that phone call. My friend who listened to me cry on the phone 5 seconds after I hung from talking to Tony that day could probably give you a better idea of my frame of mind than I can because honestly, it's all a blur at this point. I will say that I didn't just feel like a dark, violent cloud was hanging over me, I felt surrounded and smothered and suffocated by it. No one could have convinced me in that moment that there was anything good or even okay beyond that cloud.

Yet there was. Tony's self esteem was literally just about gone at that point. He was in a state of mind I have never seen him in through all the many ups and downs we have dealt with over the past almost 25 years since we were married. I was really worried about him. But, in the past 3 months, he has received so many job offers...not all of them anything he would really want, but it has been a tremendous "boost" to him. He went from telling me he wanted to drive his car off a bridge into the Missouri River to feeling almost cocky...that he can do anything, that he is a valuable person with a lot to offer. Do I wish he/we wouldn't have had to go through what we did? YES! I do. But, he now has a job that he truly loves, they seem to love him, and he is doing well.

There is one more thing I'm going to write about, and then I have to stop. I have a long to do list for the day/weekend:

*Cross country meet (that I need to leave for in an hour)
*a million loads of laundry
*packing for my trip to DC
*grocery shopping
*clothes shopping with my daughter who hates to shop yet needs dress clothes for the cross country banquet
*And finally, the other daughter who informed me yesterday that we need to have a "baking weekend"

I digress...
The previous two weeks, I have had a difficult time at work with one of my co workers. This person has always gotten "under my skin," but I have gotten better at dealing with her. However, lately, she has moved to the very tippy top rung of my patience ladder. So far to the top that I wanted to push her off. (did I just say that?) Last week, I was so down on myself and the job I do because of her. Unfortunately, I tend to take it way to much to heart when people are not nice to me. And unfortunately, rather than looking at is their problem, I tend to take it on as my problem and doubt myself and beat myself up over it.

So last weekend, late one night, I sat down to write out all of my frustrations with her and the situation hoping it would make me feel better to get the thoughts out of my head, and a funny thing happened that has never happened before. I started out writing about the things she had said/done that pissed me off, and that led into how much of my heart and soul I have poured into my job lately, and how I had been feeling so good about what I have been doing, and how my boss and I had several conversations about this very thing while we were on our trip together a few weeks ago...and finally, how I felt like the situation with this difficult person had kind of "deflated" me.

And then, it hit me. Not only was I giving myself pats on the back, which I never ever EVER do, but I thought WHY do I continue to give this one person so much power over me and how I feel about myself and the job that I do? And that was truly an eye-opening thought for me.

I went to work this week with a completely different attitude. A knowing that I DO do a good job, that what she thinks really doesn't matter. That moment of "Hey, quit letting one person make you feel bad about yourself" was a blue sky behind the clouds moment for me. I am actually thankful for the turmoil and drama this person caused for me, because for the first time in a very long time, I feel good about what I do and who I am. This time last week, I really wanted more than anything to be able to quit my job. I job that I really do love and am passionate about. All because of one person. How lame is that???

I'm going to leave with one last photo...to remind you (and me!) that behind even the darkest, scariest clouds, the blue sky is waiting patiently to reveal itself. And NOW, I really MUST stop writing or I will miss my kids last cross country meet. And there will be no blue sky behind THAT black cloud!

Martha, Martha, Martha...

No, I'm not pretending to be Jan Brady with a lisp.

I had the afternoon off, and I spent it channeling my inner Martha Stewart. Well sort of.

I am finishing up Rachel's Halloween costume. She is going to a Halloween dance after school tomorrow, and of course wants to wear her costume to school. See if you can figure out what I've been doing. I'll send a Halloween surprise to anyone who guesses correctly!








Okay, so I can't totally pretend that I'm Martha because she would be using a way cuter paint brush than mine. It's the only one I could find in my house today. I'm also pretty sure that the kitchen surrounding her projects would be way less messier than mine, too. Or if it is messy, her cleaning lady would be cleaning it up. My kitchen is a mess, I have no cleaning lady (well, I do, but her name is Rose), and I'm not going to show you pictures of my messy kitchen.

On to the next topic...

There is a blog that I read called Enjoying the Simple Things. I love it. The writer of the blog takes really amazing pictures of just every day stuff. I don't even remember how I came across it, but I found it back in the winter when she had a baby with Down's Syndrome. It's one of the few blogs that I check regularly. Anyhoo...the other day,she posted about a contest Dove was holding for women to write a letter to their 13 year old self. That post of hers inspired me, and one evening, I sat down and wrote a letter to MY 13 year old self. It was so strange thinking back on things that were oh so very important to me back in 1976. (Yikes, did I just say I was 13 in 1976???) It was fun and strange and sad all at the same time. Amazingly enough, I didn't have much trouble conjuring up an image of myself at 13. I didn't have much trouble remembering the things I liked and disliked, the things I worried about...I even remembered some of the clothes I wore. Yet I can't remember when I walk upstairs why I went up there.

So I wrote this crazy letter to myself, and laughed and cried while I was writing it.

Then, yesterday...I can't believe what happened yesterday.

I don't know about you, but my mail usually sucks and is not all that exciting. Most of it goes in the trash the minute I walk in the door with it, and the rest is bills. Which I would like to throw in the trash the minute I walk in the door. Yesterday, though, as I was flipping through the mail on my way into the house, I noticed there was an envelope from my cousin Nancy. Nancy is my mom's age, she lives in STL, but I rarely see her anymore. We used to get together for lunch a couple of times a year, but I haven't seen her in probably 8 years. We exchange Christmas cards, and that's about it. Oh, and we are Facebook friends, but I don't think she ever posts on FB.

I admit, I was pretty excited when I saw the envelope from her. Every once in a while, she sends me a card with just the sweetest note inside. I have had a challenging couple of weeks for lots of reasons, and I was thinking that one of her notes would just cheer me right up. I started opening it before I even walked in my front door.

And I was rather surprised by what I discovered. It wasn't a card. It was 3 pictures wrapped up in a white piece of paper, with a short note scrawled on it that said she was cleaning some things, found these pictures and thought I would like them. And that I was so adorable with my skinny legs when I was a kid. Two of the pictures were of my grandmother with some of her 10 kids, probably taken sometime in the 50's, and the third picture was of me, my mom, my brothers, my sister, my cousin and my great grandmother. It was dated August 1974 on the back...I was 11. And wow, what a blast from the past to get in the mail. Especially when just a few days ago, I had been thinking of myself at around that age.

I'm going to be brave and share the photo. I don't know how to use my scanner, so I took a picture of it. LOL




In case you're wondering, I'm the scrawny one on the far right.

I need to stop writing now...but before I do, I want to say that this post only happened because of my friend who wrote to me last night and said simply: "I'm waiting!" I told her at the beginning of this blog project of mine to nag me if I went too long and didn't write. (And she has followed through with that beautifully!) Last night, I came here and wrote, HATED what I wrote, and early this morning, I deleted it. And then she wrote to me AGAIN asking where my post was, and said that surely I had something good to write about. I thank her for that because I was in Negative Nellie mode, when I really shouldn't have been. I told her I would try again, and so I did.

If you care, watch for pictures of Rachel's costume in a day or so. I'm kind of sad as she is my only kid who wants to dress up for Halloween anymore. Well, the only kid who wants to dress up in something that isn't bloody and gross anyway.

My shortest ever blog post

About the only good thing I can say about today (other than my usual bad-day mantra: "Thank God Tony has a job!") is that I bought myself some flowers. I stopped at the grocery store, saw these flowers and had to have them because they were so fallish. And they were cheap, too!


Obviously, flower arranging is not a talent I possess, so it's a good thing the flowers are so pretty.

That is all, folks.

Comfort and Joy

No, I haven't been so out of touch with reality lately that I have skipped right over Halloween and Thanksgiving and gone straight to Christmas. Those are my words of the week. Comfort as in comfort food and comfortable clothes and making my house comfortable...and joy as in...well, just JOY.

Worries are there, stress is there, turmoil is there, but I am trying my hardest to not think of that evil trio of words and focus on my family and myself, both that have been greatly neglected lately.

First, the comfort CLOTHES...

I've barely gotten out of my pajamas. I even went to work on Monday in my pjs. Yeah, you read that right. Me, who used to not even go to the grocery store without makeup on went to work in my pajama pants. Well, technically, they aren't pajama pants because I didn't buy them in the pajama department. Really, they are "yoga pants." I don't do yoga, although I would like to...I just like the comfy pants...they are boring gray knit, certainly nothing cute, but I sleep in them, and I wore them to work. No one was going to be there except me...I was bone weary tired after a long work weekend, and decided the hell with it, I was wearing them. Yesterday, I didn't get out of my pajamas (real pajamas this time...navy and green and white plaid flannel pants) and I even wore them to school to pick up Rachel. I've sunk to a new low, I know. Don't tell anyone and ruin my image!

Now, for the comfort FOOD...

I've been cooking and baking all kinds of fallish stuff while I am not depressed because it's cold and gross.I don't think it's any big secret that I hate winter... Hate it with a fiery passion.
I hate snow.
I hate cold.
I hate ice.
I hate gray skies.
I hate my dead brown lawn.
I hate that I can't sit out on my porch and read in my rocking chair early in the morning and late at night.
I hate winter coats.
And I really hate boots. I hate boots so much I don't even own any. Every year, I tell myself I am going to buy boots because there are times I really need them, but I don't because I think they are ugly and uncomfortable. I hear Ugg boots are comfortable, but just looking at them makes me think UGH.

I really really REALLY wish that I could be like a bear and go curl up in some warm, snuggly, cozy place with my belly full the day after Christmas and wake up to sunshine, flowers and the budding trees of April. And the skinnier body that I would have after not eating for 4 months.

I hate winter.

My favorite season is summer, but a close second is fall. Most everyone I know who lives here dreams of fall during the steamy St. Louis summers. Fall is the one time of year where it is still warm (sometimes, it is still hot even), yet the skies are a clear blue without the grayish haze of humidity that hangs over the sky throughout June, July, August and September. After May or June, October is my second most favorite month of the year because it is usually the only month I don't turn on the air conditioner or the furnace. In October, I open the windows and enjoy cool breezes blowing through my house. Even if it is chilly, I dress warm and breathe them in. I don't have to water the grass. I can go out on the porch in the morning in flannel pants, sweatshirts and slippers. I can put on make up in the morning and know that it's not going to be melting off my face by noon.

I love fall. Maybe if I lived in a house with huge trees surrounding it with piles of leaves that needed to be raked I would hate it, but my trees are puny enough that the kids enjoy raking.

This week, I have done everything I can to enjoy the lovely fall we are having. It's no secret that the past few weeks, heck months, of my life have been stressful and busy. My family has suffered and eaten like crap. Well, the kids don't think that chicken nuggets and tater tots and Kraft mac and cheese and Little Cesaers pizza is crap, but I do. I'm pretty sure Tony does too, although he has wisely kept whatever thoughts he may be having on the subject of dinner to himself. Sooo...I have in the past few days:

*Made a yummy pot of chili and a pot of chicken and dumplings


*Baked cheddar beer bread

*Baked an apple/pear pie (AND made the crust from scratch!)


Is there anything better than your daughter running up to you, throwing her arms around your neck and yelling into your ear, "You are the best mommy ever, Mother!" when she comes home and smells pie in the oven? I think there is not. Especially when you've been feeling like a horrible mother who has barely seen her kids in weeks. I realized on Sunday afternoon when I was buying apples that I hadn't even walked into a grocery store in almost 2 weeks...Tony has been doing the grocery shopping and cooking, so you can imagine what my children have been eating...and why Lauren was so excited for a pie.

*Baked chocolate chip cookies

*Bought two sugar pumpkins and a butternut squash


*Made pumpkin scones (and sat out on the porch with a friend eating them!)

*Decorated my house for fall




*Got out my fall cookbooks--and Rachel and I found a couple of treats she wants to make to give to her friends


*Made a huge Ziploc bag full of my kids (and my!) favorite fall snack...candy corn mixed with dry roasted peanuts


I have worked so many hours lately that I had to take two days off this week, and while I have gotten my house back in order, done laundry, and lots of cooking, I've also spent lots of time in pjs (already covered THAT!), relaxing, and knitting. Tony makes fun of me and calls me a little old lady, but I love to knit. I tell him that a few balls of yarn now and then are cheaper than therapy...and that he better watch what he says to me while I have 2 pointy metal objects in my hands. Anyway, remember when I wrote a month or more ago about the yarn I bought? Well, I finally got around to making a couple of dishcloths


I've also been working on this fun twisty scarf that might actually make me look forward to winter so I can wear it. Nah...not really, but it is a fun scarf.


I've already gone on and on way too much, I know. But today, my "Message from God" on Facebook said this:

On this day, God wants you to know that life is not meant to be a speedway. Slow down and savor the gifts that God has already showered you with.

How fitting since that is exactly what I've been trying to do lately...slow down and appreciate all the good things that surround me. My life is so very far from perfect, but I can honestly say that right now, I do believe that things are just as they should be...that I am just where I am supposed to be. If I had been given a choice and asked if I wanted the past almost two years of my life to be what they have been, would I have chosen that? NO! But, at the same time, I know that I have so much to be thankful for, and I am chosing to focus on those things as much as I can.

Challenging times are going to come whether I want them to or not, just as winter is going to come no matter how much I wish it wouldn't when I am in the throes of celebrating fall. I can't do anything about it. All I can do is try not to worry about what will come in the future, and try to not let my worries of the future affect what I enjoy now. All I can do is soak in, revel in, what is good and right right now. And knit a scarf to prepare for winter!

For now, I am finding joy in just being in my clean (well, semi sorta clean) house with the smells of fall wafting through the open windows...and I have one more picture to share, a really silly one. Sillier than the rest.


These white curtains blowing in the breeze always make me smile and make cleaning the bathroom a bit more pleasant.

Back into the frying pan...

Or in other words, back to reality! And sometimes, reality bites, ya know?

I stepped off the plane last night with a long-lost spring in my step and feeling rejuvenated. (Love that word!) I did work while I was gone, and I was tired, but at the same time, I spent lots of time reading, writing and just thinking, and my time away was truly good for my soul, corny as that may sound, and I honestly felt as if I was in another world. A much quieter, calmer world. This time a week ago, I was "unplugged"...No cell. No internet. No television. No worries. No stress. For the first time in too long.

Today...well, like I said, back into the frying pan. Several times today, I found myself longing for the serenity and peace I was feeling a week ago. How quickly those good feelings fade when faced with too many phone calls to return, too many emails to answer, and problems greeting me at the door. It's never a good thing when your boss says to you, 3 minutes after you walk in after a week off, "Ummmm, we have a little problem you need to figure out" and that "little" problem turns out to be that some people I sent an invitation to for an event that is next Sunday have called while I was gone thinking it's THIS Sunday, and that is a HUGE problem, not a "little" one at all. Yeah, that's a run on sentence. Hopefully my English major friend isn't reading this. (If you are, sorry, forgive me please). Fortunately, it was a mixup; I hadn't put the wrong date on the invitation. Whew. Dodged that bullet, too bad there were others patiently waiting their turn to be dodged.

Just before lunch, I closed my office door and stared at this picture on my computer screen for a few minutes:




That is York Beach in southern Maine. I've written before how much I love the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Well, I think I love this beach just as much. It's completely different than the calm, white-sanded beaches of Florida that gently lap at the shoreline, but I love it's rugged beauty anyway. This afternoon, I envisioned myself sitting on a boulder, reading, listening to the waves crashing on the rocks, watching the sunlight sparkle and dance on the surface of the water...and then, I was ready to open my door and face the rest of the day. My boss buying us all lunch from St. Louis Bread Company helped, too.

My friend I visited in Maine showed me a beautiful picture she has as the background on her computer and told me it is her "take-me-away" picture. I think the picture of York Beach above will be mine. Any time I am feeling stressed and/or overwhelmed, I will gaze upon it and remember going there with a dear friend, close my eyes, and imagine myself there again. I have a feeling I will be doing that a lot in the coming weeks!

With this post today, I am going to start doing something new. I have written before about how I have been keeping a gratitude journal, where I write things each day that I am grateful for. I would like to start listing and/or writing about them here, too. Not every day, but every day that I write. So here goes!

I am grateful that my house was cleaner (much cleaner!) when I arrived home late last night that it was when I left last Sunday. It's not perfect, but it is good enough.

The thing I am most grateful for today is my sweet daughters who completely cleaned my van while I was gone. I hadn't given it a good cleaning in way too long, I won't even say how long, and it is immaculately spotless right now. Inside and out. I'll hire them out if the price is right! I could use some extra money right now...

Planes, Busses and Automobiles...oh my!

Greetings again from the northeast. This time, I am writing from Maine.

Sunny, beautiful Maine. I really do love it here. I could probably live here if not for the fact that I hate winter and snow.

I have a few more pictures to share, because when I arrive back home, I'll probably be so busy catching up, that I won't have time for a while.

First, a couple of pictures from the house Cathi and I stayed at in MA...this was our view from the kitchen window. Unfortunately, I don't have the best camera, so the pictures aren't very good. (that field off to the left is where I saw the deer the day we arrived). It had been raining Thursday morning, and I just happened to look out the window while I was waiting for my bagel to toast...the sun was peeking through the clouds and streaming through the yellow-leafed trees. It was so beautiful that I ran outside with my camera, in my bare feet, to try to get some photos before the sun went away. And it was COLD. The grass was wet. And my feet were bare. My pictures don't do the scene justice, but here they are:






That afternoon, I left the town of Northampton, MA, and I hopped on a bus. 4 1/2 hours and 3 busses later, I ended up in Concord, NH to meet my friend who lives in Maine. THAT is an experience I won't soon forget. Travelling by bus is not quite as convenient as travelling by plane, but I made it here safe and sound. I quickly learned why most everyone getting on the bus with me had only a back pack and another carry on bag. Everytime you change busses, you have to get your suitcase from underneath the bus and carry it to the next bus. So that meant I had to get and drag my 50 pound suitcase 3 times.

My friend and her family are at a family birthday party and it is just me and the dog hanging out, so I decided I would bore to tears anyone who is reading this with a number by number account of my last week:

5 1/2 hours on 2 planes
14 plus hours in various cars
4 1/2 hours on 3 busses
2 hours waiting in airports
45 minutes waiting in seedy bus stations

In the past week, I have also been in 7 states. 7!! Not counting the states I flew over.

Missouri, Minnesota, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

I have been in 15 towns. 15!! Not counting the cities I have driven through either by bus or car.

St. Louis; Minneapolis; Hartford, CT; Rutland, VT; Proctorsville, VT; Northampton, MA; Florence, MA; Easthampton, MA; Springfield, MA; Worcester, MA; Concord, NH; Berwick, ME; Kennebunk, ME; Portsmouth, NH; and Rye, NH.

Whew.

I haven't spent a lot of time in all of those cities. Today, with my friend's husband's car, and her daughter's GPS, I planned on driving to Portsmouth, NH, walking around the town, maybe having some ice cream...yeah. You know what they say about the best laid plans...I made it there just fine, but could NOT find a place to park. My wimpiness kicked in, and I was afraid if I got too far off the beaten path, I would forget where I parked. So after driving around for a LONG time, I gave up and decided to head back to Maine. I did however manage to stop and take these pictures of Portsmouth Harbor. Wow, it was so pretty. Again, my crappy camera doesn't do it justice.






So, I came back to my friend's house, and you'll not believe what I am doing now. Napping? Watching tv? Eating? Knitting?

No. No. No. And no.

I am baking! Be still my heart...she has been hoarding sugar pumpkins, just waiting for me to get here, I am sure. No, not really, but when she told me that the pumpkins decorating her family room are sugar pumpkins, I knew I would have to bake. So that is what I am doing. I guess it's a sickness...I can't stop baking, even when I'm not at home.

Stay tuned for the rest of my "adventures."

Greetings from the Northeast!

My last few days have been a fabulous mixture of whirlwind craziness and relaxing quietness. I keep thinking this trip is just what I have needed.

There were times over the past week that I was so stressed and stretched with all I have had to do, wondering if this trip would really actually happen...right up until the moment I arrived at the airport, very nearly missing my flight and making a mad run through the airport Sunday morning. But now that I am here, it was all worth it.

Vermont (that is a picture of the mountains in Rutland, VT above) was absolutely beautiful and quaint. Maybe a little too quaint I was thinking on my first morning there after realizing I had no cell phone service, and best of all, no hot water in the inn we were staying in. Here's a picture of the lovely in in Proctorsville, VT that didn't seem so lovely or quaint when I was walking down the street in my pjs at 6 am in 40 degree temps to take a shower at our hostesses house:




It was dark the first time we arrived at the inn, but from the front porch, we could hear the sound of running water. The next morning, we discovered this right across the street:



The picture I took of the inn above was actually taken from the bridge over that little river, that's how close it was.

While we were in VT, our hostess took us to the Vermont Angel of Hope. I love visiting the Angels when I am in other places that have them. Well, this is only the 3rd one of seen, counting ours, but I enjoyed it anyway.



Cathi and I in front of the Angel:





That's all the pictures for now. The only thing I am disappointed in from my days in VT is that we didn't see a moose. When we drove into VT and stopped at the visitor center, we were told it is moose season, and I was so hoping to see one.

I am writing this from Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, MA. Hopefully, when my boss is finished with her workshop this afternoon, we will have some time to go exploring. I hear there's a really amazing yarn shop here that I hope to check out, too.

While we are staying in Northampton, we have been given use of a beautiful home out in the country. Yesterday afternoon, just after we arrived, I looked out in the field about 100 yards away, and there were 2 whitetail deer watching me. Unfortunately, my camera was in the house.

So while this week so far has been spent running and driving from one place to the next, it's been wonderfully relaxing as well.

*I haven't watched tv since Saturday.
*I rarely have cell phone service.
*I rarely have wirless internet access. (This in fact is only the third time since I left)
*We drank homemade strawberry rhubarb wine courtesy of our VT hostesses husband who makes homemade wine as a hobby. When he asked Cathi and I if we wanted some homemade wine, we didn't hesitate to say "Of course!" When he said it was strawberry rhubarb, I nearly changed my mind. I love strawberry rhubarb bread/pie/crisp, but strawberry rhubarb wine? Sounded gross. Give me chardonnay or reisling. I didn't want to hurt his feelings after I'd already said I wanted to try his homemade wine, so I took a glass, and it was surprisingly good. He also sent me on my way with 2 jars of homemade zucchini relish, that HE canned. What a man!
*We ate lunch yesterday at a restaurant called Babba Jabba in the VT ski town of Ludlow at the base of Okemo Mountain. I love eating in local places when I am away from home.

Sooo, to wind this down, I'm having a great time. I was a teensie bit worried about spending so much time alone with my boss, but it's been really wonderful. It's going to be difficult to head back to real life next week.