Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Mood Lighting!
Just as we were leaving to walk the dogs, I noticed how nice the place looked with all the overhead lights off and the little lamps on around the house.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Halloween at our place
Kate came home for the weekend. She and her friend Katrina dressed up as Little Bo Peep and her sheep. (Although my little niece told her she was Big Bo Peep because she was so big!) My nieces came over before going to a haunted house and trick-or-treating. It was a perfect photo opportunity! Jade was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Cassidy was a lovely ladybug!
Monday, October 19, 2009
West Virginia
Darryl and I went down to West Virginia for Columbus Day weekend. We went to look around and fell in love with the area...we're going back in April to buy land!!! Can you believe it?! We won't be moving down anytime soon. Our hope is to eventually move there...perhaps retire there. But we'll at least have a vacation spot for now...perhaps put a yurt on it to stay in when on vacation...and then live in it while building our home eventually. Anyway, here are some of the photos we took while we were there...I'm sure you'll see why we feel the need to get a piece of property!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Home Sick and Good News!
Strange title for a blog post, I know. But after I started writing about being sick, I remembered I hadn't blogged about the good news...so here is a smörgåsbord of information:
I went home at lunch time yesterday and didn't go back. I've got the nasty head-moving-toward-chest cold that seems to be going around. I don't feel so bad that I can't do anything, but once I get moving around, I start coughing. And it sounds like a bad cough, which makes adults at work wonder why I'm still at work, infecting them. They've got a point. So I took today off, too.
This is actually a good thing for Devon, who was approved by the BOE to substitute in the school district last week. So he covered for me yesterday afternoon and is there now in my place. The kids LOVE him! He loves doing it. Perhaps he'll end up going back to school, for education?! Dare I dream?!
Here's the good news...it starts out sounding bad, so stick with me. There is a recent high school graduate from the school Darryl works for. She was diagnosed with a very rare throat cancer in June. Her specialists are in the Buffalo area and travel and medical expenses have been tough for her family. The tiny school (less than 400 students, kindergarten through 12th grade) decided to help raise money for Annabelle. Fifteen people who work at the school volunteered to shave their heads, if they could get $1,000 in donations. The local fire department said they'd host a pig roast BBQ and Chinese auction to help raise funds. Sunday was the day of the benefit. The 15 people lined up, to have their heads shaved and the superintendent stood up and said he'd add $10, per head ($20 for the 2 women's heads) if they used a straight-edge razor on their heads, after the electric razor, without an nicks. (The superintendent shaves his head and warned everyone how tricky it is to do when you first start out.)
Well, after the initial fifteen, a young boy stood up and said, "I'll get my head shaved if we can raise $200 right now!" Then, one by one, the kids started getting up and challenging the crowd. Over 40 people ended up getting their heads shaved and the paper reported that they raised nearly $10,000 for Annabelle and her family!!!! This is one of the poorest counties in all of New York State! A very tiny community. But they dug deep and really helped this family.
And...at her last appointment, Annabelle was told the tumor was shrinking!!! The treatments are working!
So, even though I'm feeling under the weather, and my housework is slipping because of it, even though I stayed up late coughing and feel the need to nap at 9:15 AM, I'm filled with such a good feeling about people in general. I love a good news story and wish we'd report more on them! They're out there! We need to concentrate more on the positive that's going on around the world!
Here are some photos from Sunday:
Yup...Darryl was one of the original fifteen...I'm sure that didn't surprise you, if you've followed this blog at all. He's so generous!
You can see his scar here...he was injured at work, back in the early 90's, when he was cleaning under a machine and the machine operator didn't see him and turned on the machine. When I cut his hair, I have to leave it a bit longer in that area, to help hide the scar. No hiding it now!
This wasn't everyone...some were still waiting to get their heads shaved and some had left already. Annabelle is the tiny one, with the radiant smile, in the middle!
Darryl with Annabelle. I wish I'd taken more photos of the two of them together...I took just the one and the sunlight behind his head makes it look like his head is funny-shaped. I didn't want to bother her for another photo. So we only have this one of him, looking kind like a pin-head! (Heh! Heh! Heh!)
I took this as we drove home. All evening, as he'd walk around a corner, I'd get startled, not recognizing him. And waking up in the middle of the night to find a bald man in bed with me...what a surprise!
I don't think he'll be keeping his new look. But I'm so proud of him for sporting it! Imagine what it must be like to walk through the halls of the school, where over 10% of the people there have shaved heads now! A real show of solidarity for Annabelle!
I went home at lunch time yesterday and didn't go back. I've got the nasty head-moving-toward-chest cold that seems to be going around. I don't feel so bad that I can't do anything, but once I get moving around, I start coughing. And it sounds like a bad cough, which makes adults at work wonder why I'm still at work, infecting them. They've got a point. So I took today off, too.
This is actually a good thing for Devon, who was approved by the BOE to substitute in the school district last week. So he covered for me yesterday afternoon and is there now in my place. The kids LOVE him! He loves doing it. Perhaps he'll end up going back to school, for education?! Dare I dream?!
Here's the good news...it starts out sounding bad, so stick with me. There is a recent high school graduate from the school Darryl works for. She was diagnosed with a very rare throat cancer in June. Her specialists are in the Buffalo area and travel and medical expenses have been tough for her family. The tiny school (less than 400 students, kindergarten through 12th grade) decided to help raise money for Annabelle. Fifteen people who work at the school volunteered to shave their heads, if they could get $1,000 in donations. The local fire department said they'd host a pig roast BBQ and Chinese auction to help raise funds. Sunday was the day of the benefit. The 15 people lined up, to have their heads shaved and the superintendent stood up and said he'd add $10, per head ($20 for the 2 women's heads) if they used a straight-edge razor on their heads, after the electric razor, without an nicks. (The superintendent shaves his head and warned everyone how tricky it is to do when you first start out.)
Well, after the initial fifteen, a young boy stood up and said, "I'll get my head shaved if we can raise $200 right now!" Then, one by one, the kids started getting up and challenging the crowd. Over 40 people ended up getting their heads shaved and the paper reported that they raised nearly $10,000 for Annabelle and her family!!!! This is one of the poorest counties in all of New York State! A very tiny community. But they dug deep and really helped this family.
And...at her last appointment, Annabelle was told the tumor was shrinking!!! The treatments are working!
So, even though I'm feeling under the weather, and my housework is slipping because of it, even though I stayed up late coughing and feel the need to nap at 9:15 AM, I'm filled with such a good feeling about people in general. I love a good news story and wish we'd report more on them! They're out there! We need to concentrate more on the positive that's going on around the world!
Here are some photos from Sunday:
Yup...Darryl was one of the original fifteen...I'm sure that didn't surprise you, if you've followed this blog at all. He's so generous!
You can see his scar here...he was injured at work, back in the early 90's, when he was cleaning under a machine and the machine operator didn't see him and turned on the machine. When I cut his hair, I have to leave it a bit longer in that area, to help hide the scar. No hiding it now!
This wasn't everyone...some were still waiting to get their heads shaved and some had left already. Annabelle is the tiny one, with the radiant smile, in the middle!
Darryl with Annabelle. I wish I'd taken more photos of the two of them together...I took just the one and the sunlight behind his head makes it look like his head is funny-shaped. I didn't want to bother her for another photo. So we only have this one of him, looking kind like a pin-head! (Heh! Heh! Heh!)
I took this as we drove home. All evening, as he'd walk around a corner, I'd get startled, not recognizing him. And waking up in the middle of the night to find a bald man in bed with me...what a surprise!
I don't think he'll be keeping his new look. But I'm so proud of him for sporting it! Imagine what it must be like to walk through the halls of the school, where over 10% of the people there have shaved heads now! A real show of solidarity for Annabelle!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Busy weekend before surgery...
Yesterday I met up with the 10 people who helped me build this labyrinth at the 4C Camp in Delhi. We prepared it for winter and cleaned out the herb garden and planted a bunch of creeping thyme in it, to grown until the spring, when we plant it in the walking path of the labyrinth...photos to follow up in the spring!
Today I spent the day at Buddhist Hermitage. Didn't take many photos, but here are a few.
I'm having some minor surgical procedures on Tuesday...a tad anxious...mostly to just get it over with. I feel very confident all will be well and this will take care of my medical concerns. It's been postponed once already...I'm looking forward to having it behind me!
So anyway...just sitting here, exhausted from my busy weekend, thinking about the week ahead.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Last day of Summer Vacation...
Today is Labor Day...all the kids go back to school tomorrow. As do I, although we did have to go in to work two days last week, so tomorrow will be my first day with students.
I'm sitting here, feet up, sipping delicious iced coffee with soy milk, listening to Amy Winehouse, reflecting on the summer and my last day of vacation. It's 2:30 PM and I've already accomplished mowing the yards, weeding *MOST* of the gardens, carefully digging up and transplanting a huge sage bed, rearranging the fireplace mantel, doing some laundry and soon, finishing a blog entry! Not bad!
I set some pretty ambitious goals for this summer, since I wasn't working (for a paycheck, anyway). I got a lot done, but I didn't get as much as I had wanted done. That's not unusual. I tend to over plan, underestimate time/energy/money when making out my lists and then fall short and feel disappointed. Although I did exactly that this summer, I don't feel disappointed. I did get a lot done. And if I remember that I was out of commission for nearly three weeks because I put my back out, I have to admit that I did a pretty darn good job this summer!
Here are just some end of summer photos from the last couple of days...hope you enjoy them! Happy New School Year!
I made several mini rock cairns around the flower beds.
This is my fall banner. Darryl was kind enough to climb out the window first thing this morning and take the summer one down and put this one out.
I have two of these...one with white daisies that I use during spring and summer and this one that I use for the fall...since we get so much snow, I don't use it during the winter months.
I continued my rock borders around my flower gardens with rocks from my grandparents' farm
Daisy is sure she's little, like the cats! Every time I see her on that narrow ledge my heart skips a beat!
I thought this fuchsia was dying, so I hung it out back, where it took off and started flowering again! That was a nice surprise!
My flower boxes were looking kind of sad so I spent $5 on mums and added a little punch of yellow to the boxes...I'm hoping they fill in a bit, to offer up some fall color before the hard frost kills everything. Any ideas what I can put in the boxes for the fall/winter?
I got this sweet clock at a yard sale for $1! Isn't it adorable? I think it will go in our bedroom, once we repaint in there, as it's similar to the table lamps I got on clearance for our room.
Aren't these chairs fabulous?! $20 for the pair! The seats are worn, but I got some striped cushions that fit pretty well and they cover the seats (until I can afford to get them reupholstered). They are so sturdy and very comfortable, too!
$0.50 for the candle holders! I had some spray paint (eggplant is the color), so I changed them from a light blue to this lovely dark color. The candles were given to me.
So those are my photos from the last couple of days.
Although I really loved taking the whole summer off (something I've never done), I do like the regular routine of working. Going to bed at the same time, getting up at the same time. My sleep patterns this summer got seriously messed up!
I didn't meet all my summer goals, but I did a very good job, all things considered. The only thing I didn't get done that I really, really wanted to was repainting our bedroom.
Now to set some realistic fall goals...before Thanksgiving break: 1) repainting our bedroom, of course, 2) clean/organize the basement and garage, 3)build a cold frame with the windows I got, and 4) start/finish the shelf project I have in mind for the large windows that are now leaning against the side of the house
I think they are realistic goals, as the last 2 could be done in one day. Okay...they're in writing and soon to be published...'spose that will help me succeed or set me up for failure?! Time will tell!
I'm sitting here, feet up, sipping delicious iced coffee with soy milk, listening to Amy Winehouse, reflecting on the summer and my last day of vacation. It's 2:30 PM and I've already accomplished mowing the yards, weeding *MOST* of the gardens, carefully digging up and transplanting a huge sage bed, rearranging the fireplace mantel, doing some laundry and soon, finishing a blog entry! Not bad!
I set some pretty ambitious goals for this summer, since I wasn't working (for a paycheck, anyway). I got a lot done, but I didn't get as much as I had wanted done. That's not unusual. I tend to over plan, underestimate time/energy/money when making out my lists and then fall short and feel disappointed. Although I did exactly that this summer, I don't feel disappointed. I did get a lot done. And if I remember that I was out of commission for nearly three weeks because I put my back out, I have to admit that I did a pretty darn good job this summer!
Here are just some end of summer photos from the last couple of days...hope you enjoy them! Happy New School Year!
I made several mini rock cairns around the flower beds.
This is my fall banner. Darryl was kind enough to climb out the window first thing this morning and take the summer one down and put this one out.
I have two of these...one with white daisies that I use during spring and summer and this one that I use for the fall...since we get so much snow, I don't use it during the winter months.
I continued my rock borders around my flower gardens with rocks from my grandparents' farm
Daisy is sure she's little, like the cats! Every time I see her on that narrow ledge my heart skips a beat!
I thought this fuchsia was dying, so I hung it out back, where it took off and started flowering again! That was a nice surprise!
My flower boxes were looking kind of sad so I spent $5 on mums and added a little punch of yellow to the boxes...I'm hoping they fill in a bit, to offer up some fall color before the hard frost kills everything. Any ideas what I can put in the boxes for the fall/winter?
I got this sweet clock at a yard sale for $1! Isn't it adorable? I think it will go in our bedroom, once we repaint in there, as it's similar to the table lamps I got on clearance for our room.
Aren't these chairs fabulous?! $20 for the pair! The seats are worn, but I got some striped cushions that fit pretty well and they cover the seats (until I can afford to get them reupholstered). They are so sturdy and very comfortable, too!
$0.50 for the candle holders! I had some spray paint (eggplant is the color), so I changed them from a light blue to this lovely dark color. The candles were given to me.
So those are my photos from the last couple of days.
Although I really loved taking the whole summer off (something I've never done), I do like the regular routine of working. Going to bed at the same time, getting up at the same time. My sleep patterns this summer got seriously messed up!
I didn't meet all my summer goals, but I did a very good job, all things considered. The only thing I didn't get done that I really, really wanted to was repainting our bedroom.
Now to set some realistic fall goals...before Thanksgiving break: 1) repainting our bedroom, of course, 2) clean/organize the basement and garage, 3)build a cold frame with the windows I got, and 4) start/finish the shelf project I have in mind for the large windows that are now leaning against the side of the house
I think they are realistic goals, as the last 2 could be done in one day. Okay...they're in writing and soon to be published...'spose that will help me succeed or set me up for failure?! Time will tell!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Wha a difference two hours makes!
Last night we took Kate to New Paltz. I really thought it wouldn't bother me since she's lived on campus at the local college for three semesters. But that local college is like a mile away from home. She worked at the after school program I work at. She would come home for dinner about three times a week. We'd do breakfast most weekend mornings.
I did okay actually saying goodbye to her. But driving home, seeing how long it took to get back home, made me realize just how far away she is now. No more spontaneous dinners after work. No more movie rentals with just the two of us. At least not for a while.
I know she'll be fine. I know she'll make friends. I know she'll do well in her new school. It's not her I'm worried about. It's all me! I'm the one who's having a hard time.
Anyway, I was looking through photos of Kate...so I've uploaded some...in no particular order. Enjoy!
I did okay actually saying goodbye to her. But driving home, seeing how long it took to get back home, made me realize just how far away she is now. No more spontaneous dinners after work. No more movie rentals with just the two of us. At least not for a while.
I know she'll be fine. I know she'll make friends. I know she'll do well in her new school. It's not her I'm worried about. It's all me! I'm the one who's having a hard time.
Anyway, I was looking through photos of Kate...so I've uploaded some...in no particular order. Enjoy!
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