A Great Day

There was nothing unusual or special about today; yet, it has been a wonderful day. The weather is absolutely gorgeous. After an early morning meeting at an alternative high school, we went to plan our yoga classes at the beach. Not the beautiful ocean beach, but a nice beach on the bay that is only about 10 minutes away. The sun, the water and the sounds of the beach were wonderful. It was the perfect temperature for me today...probably in the low 70's with bright blue sky and a gentle breeze. I even put my feet in the water.....it was refreshingly chilly. How lucky I am to have a day with work and play in a wonderful balance.

There is no excuse~

I know that there is no excuse for not getting to this blog. I realize that I have not added one little word since August....and that feels just wrong. So what has been happening?? When I look at the big bits of time, I would say "Not much"....but each day there seems to be so much to do. Tutoring students, getting the dog bite prevention program finished, transitioning to the fall in yoga and in my closets, and advocating for those wonderful kids who show up in my life needing someone to be their voice has really kept me moving these past few months. I also have been healing, or trying to recoup from the knee surgery in June. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield or George Burns when I say...my knee is great, its the rest of my body that is falling apart. Maybe getting to a place of realization that my knees are not going to be pain-free has been more difficult to accept than I want to admit. Knowing that I need to consider how my knees feel in doing certain things does get me pissy somedays. A low beach chair will never be as enjoyable as they used to be....what a bad attitude to have. I need to change that and that is why I am doing some overtime with a physical therapist.

A question I need to ask myself is "what am I doing for me.....to get out of myself, get creative, explore....for me? So much lately has been what I need to do to get ready for tomorrow. I guess I need to get time in that is playful...just for me!

So now, its off to a great yoga class....just for me!

Nothing says summer like a Del's lemonade! If you are visiting Rhode Island, one of the seven wonders of this state is Del's lemonade. When you have spent a day at the beach and you can feel your skin sizzling as you start the drive home, a Del's Lemonade is just what you need. This lemonade is truly different than any other frozen lemonade you may have tried......its sweeter and more lemony. I can bet that you will find a piece of lemon in your drink as you finish.

My oldest godchild, Brooke, absolutely is the best Del's lemonade fan I know. She moved to Kentucky when she was in third grade (much to my broken heart) and whenever she returns to RI, Del's is the first thing on her list of places to go. Her last visit was for her Meme's funeral. We had a short time to grab lunch and then get to the family calling hours. I was so glad that the Del's just happened to be opened on our way. As she stood in line waiting for her Del's, I did not see a beautiful grown women with two young children back in Kentucky, I saw my Brooke, with a long braid down her back and a golden tan, waiting for her summer treat. It just makes me wonder: where did the time go?

Just What I Need

It's snowing and raining.....just another dreary winter day in New England. My thoughts turn to what I need....

I need a day at the beach with warm sun, a gentle breeze, a comfy sand chair and a great book...ahhh.

I need a great book....just finished The Pillars of The Earth and now I look forward to another great story.

I need time in my kitchen. Well, I did just get that...I made a great Vegetable Tortellini Soup with Garlic and Cheesy breadsticks.

I need to connect with the positive people in my life...they are such a wonderful gift.

I need to look for the joy in today....and find it!

D Day

Today is the day.....we are going to get our taxes done this evening. This means all those hours of work in getting the numbers in the correct column that I needed to do all year long will be done today. What am I doing? Well, basically, anything that will put off digging into the numbers! I know I need to just get myself to the table, sprawl out all the papers and dig in. Once I start, I know it won't be as bad as all the energy I have spend thinking about it. For days, I have been thinking and thinking of getting this stuff together and just pooping out when it came down to actually getting pencil to paper. Well, now, the clock is ticking and I am still waiting!!! My inner teacher is saying, "Snap out of it."

Isn't it great how every other job in the house seems to be more important than starting on the taxes? Yesterday, I switched all my spices into three wonderful lazy susan spice containers and I had my friends over for dinner. Doing all that I didn't have time for taxes and then later, I couldn't mess up the dining room table. After dinner, I was just too tired to start on them because I truly am a morning person.

For today, I promise not to answer the door or the phone until the job is finished. I know that the one phone call or visitor will pull me out of my focus and now this is serious business. In eight short hours, I will be handing over these numbers to a very competent tax person and that will feel priceless!

So much has happened

Yes, it has been too long, I know. Getting to make myself call up the page and put some words into sentences was just one more thing that I allowed to slip away.

The photoa above give you some idea of what has been going on for the past few months that took up my time. We demoed (a new verb I tend to overuse) the kitchen and found two gifted contractors to do the magic of creating our new space. The totally finished kitchen photos are still stuck in the digital camera but I will get them out soon and show the details.

Looking at the pictures has been an eye opener.....realizing the chaos we were living in physically and mentally just makes my head ache. I heard the horror stories of doing a kitchen remodel and I definitely did not look forward to that part. I found while we were going through it, I just dealt with each piece and although I didn't like the confusion, dust and work, it didn't seem as awful as the pictures look now. It is an interesting process....... doing a remodel. I definitely lack the skill, patience and stamina to make a habit of jobs like this one. I really am enjoying the finished part of this job. Now we are working at getting everything to work as it is supposed to.....our washing machine has decided it doesn't like the rinse cycle or letting cold water pass through or dispensing fabric softener or bleach. I am getting to know our repair man so well now since he has been here three times in two weeks. All in all, I consider myself so lucky to have this wonderful kitchen and all the good feelings the comfort of that room can bring!

The Writing Life

The writing life...doesn't it sound so romantic! Maybe not to everyone..I am thinking of my old students who moaned and groaned and fell on the floor when asked to write.
I have joined the Nanowrimo this year (www.nanowrimo.org ) and so far I am on target. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. This breaks down to 1667 words at day. It definitely is going to be an interesting ride, just seeing if I can make it through 50000 words. My writing tends to be concise.....so thinking of a word count can make me crazy. My Master's thesis was only 41 pages....I said what I needed to say and that was it. I am having fun with this project and when I figure out how to do links on this blog, I 'll add them here.
On the home front, the kitchen remodel is up and running. I signed the contract with the "kitchen guy". I guess I should call him the kitchen and bathroom guy because both rooms are getting done. Yesterday, I got a call from the cabinet company to set up an approximate delivery date. Now it is real. My dining room has no furniture and part of the kitchen is in there....and has been in there for a couple of weeks....but the cabinet call made it real to me. Crazy..huh?