Joy, Love, and Peace at Christmas.
Catskill vacation – a short one, but very nice
Hubby and I drove to Woodstock, NY and spent four days being “tourists” in an area that we are actually quite familiar with.
We took a scenic train ride and hubby spotted a bald eagle that I was able to get a photo of:
did some shopping, did lots of eating, did lots of relaxing, and today, walked across the Hudson River on the brand new Hudson River Walkway at Poughkeepsie.
All-in-all it was a great long weekend/mini-vacation and some much desperately needed relaxation. Even with the home phone forwarded to my Blackberry it was very quiet and the world left us alone for a few days. What a gift!
All Hands on Deck
Well, we finally had weather appropriate for working on our deck sealing project. We needed two days in a row without rain and with good drying conditions followed by at least a third day to work on the deck and then 12 hours following that work day for the deck sealant to dry appropriately. With this goofy spring and summer weather here in Connecticut, four days in a row of dry weather were a rarity – as in not seen until this last week. So, the deck was washed, the drying occurred and all hands were present to brush on the sealant, then later mop off the excess. Hubby is shown here working his way to the far edge of the deck — on the last four boards. Everything to the left and right of him is finished, if not all wiped down. Then, he went back onto the deck with old t-shirts tied to his shoes and wiped off the excess.
Arms, wrists, knees, you name it — were all sore on both of us today. What were we thinking when we rebuilt the deck and made it BIGGER? Certainly not this task.
Furniture is back, umbrella is up, and we’re planning on dinner there tonight.
It’s a frog’s life
You always hear that about dogs but, in our yard, I think maybe it’s a frog’s life. There are three out on the rocks enjoying this beautiful day here in Connecticut.
I wonder if they have any worries? Where is my next bug coming from? Not around here — the pond draws bugs like crazy. They have all become so tame that perhaps they should worry about the stupid humans stepping on them as we walk around the pond with cameras in our hands.
I’m thinking today that I might like to be a frog with a few fewer worries. Sister # 2 was taken by ambulance to the hospital last night — she’s having what they think are TIAs (mini-strokes). Sister # 1 rode with her and I can tell by her voice over the phone that she is just sick with worry. I am mentally making a packing list and hubby is checking the cost of last-minute flights in preparation for my going back out to the Midwest. In the mean time, I’m starting on some things I wasn’t going to do right away with the thought in mind that they also couldn’t wait until I got back here again if I do leave. I’ve been back a week and two days, though parts of my mind and heart have not left there yet. When will this little family get a break? Just when I thought things were maybe settling into our “new normal”.
Home sweet home
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home — — —
Back at the end of April, I set an arbitrary deadline to be home for Memorial Day weekend, and I made it.
I said good-bye to Des Moines, Iowa, but just for a short time — — —
Sunday, the first day I was here, was not great weather wise, but neither hubby nor I cared. We spent the day relaxing, watching the rain, and went out for dinner at Southwest Cafe, one of our favorite hangouts. I also picked some wildflowers from my garden — — —
And on Memorial Day, hubby and I went to the parade here in Ridgefield. Lots of armed service veterans at the front of the parade followed by the town firetrucks. Some wisdom from the back of the truck — — —
Lots of flags too — waving everywhere — every parade unit — half the people on the street — almost all of the kids — — —
And, the last thing packed into my bag before I left was a crocheted gift from my sister’s friend — some kitchen towel wisdom — and probably the only reason that I have been able to hold it together the past 9 1/2 weeks — faith.
“All things are possible for those who believe”. Without the faith and prayers of my hubby, friends, church friends, and the church prayer team, I don’t know how I would have come through the last few weeks. And the prayers continue . . . . . . .
Happy Easter!
We were up before 6 am to get dressed and ready for the handbell rehearsal at 7 am. The music we played was beautiful and everyone played well, including all the last-minute substitutes that we had due to various emergencies amongst handbell choir members. The service even ended early enough for us to pack away our bells and hurry off to the 9 am church service at our church. The music there was beautiful too, the sermon was wonderfully inspiring, and the sun shining in the big windows on our pew, while quite warm, was wonderfully comforting at the same time.
The sweet potatoes are in the oven and it is time for the ham to join them as hubby and I will be eating our Easter dinner in a bit.
Happy Easter!
Yikes!
Oh, the “joys” of being an outdoors person in Connecticut. When hubby got up yesterday morning, he found four (yes 4) deer ticks on his legs. All had been there a while as he noticed them due to the red itchy spots. If the biting ticks had not been surrounded by areas of red-inflamed skin they would not have been visible — they are so tiny. People often use the size like a poppy seed analogy but, I tell you, these are way smaller than any poppy seeds I have ever seen. Hard to believe that they were a live insect, let alone big enough to carry a disease like Lyme. So, the watch continues for reactions to the bites that will send hubby to the doctor for antibiotics.
Lime season, er…… Lyme season
So — it’s finally summertime in Connecticut. I bought fresh limes at the grocery store so hubby could make us some of his excellent margaritas. Well, he hasn’t had a chance to take us into lime season yet but, as of Monday, we are officially in Lyme season. Hubby has had Lyme disease (illness carried by deer tics and transferred with their bite) twice since we moved to Connecticut 8 years ago and now he has found a deer tic embedded in the fold of skin next to his pinkie finger. So, we are on the watch for the telltale red ring-shaped rash and other symptoms. Supposedly they appear in about 2 weeks. “Why might he have found a deer tic on his body?”, you ask. For the answer to that see my post from June 23 titled “Gardening challenge # 1”.
So — it’s finally summer here in Connecticut with all the good, and bad, things it brings.