Fog, continued

The fog in my brain has not lifted (not sure if that is good or bad, but I'll take it for what it is), but the fog returned my sea to me last Friday...see the new header photo.
We have been having dramatic weather here and the skies have been very interesting. There's been little sun, lots of snow showers and rain, accompanied by heavy winds. The northeast wind is howling out there now and a combination of snow and sleet is falling.

It was a good weekend to get a lot done. LM and I cooked a lovely turkey dinner on Saturday and made soup, in between continuing the big dig at his house. I confess to getting very overwhelmed by the new boxes of treasures he unearthed from his closet this week and planted in the living room blocking the fireplace. He has a priceless collection of first edition books on angling. Many are signed by the authors to LM, and are accompanied by letters from the authors, as well. The artwork in most is exquisite. We spent a lot of time looking them over and he re-lived the story of how he acquired each one. LM's love of these beautiful books and their art is touching and so interesting. BUT... Those few books are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, as he has many, many boxes elsewhere, as previously mentioned. It is daunting to think about what we will do with all of them. They are catalogued but need to be preserved or sold. He is not ready to part with many of them yet. I find myself fighting the impulse to get really upset about the magnitude of the task ahead, knowing he can procrastinate. Time after time I bit my tongue, and reminded myself that it is HIS life collection, not mine, and that not everyone handles things the way I do. I pared my life down years ago, and stopped holding on to "stuff".....well, there may be some of my lustreware collection left, LOL.
Anyway, he promises that he will sort and remove the boxes from the living room by next week. He reads me well.
Ms G has been thoroughly enjoying having all the new boxes to explore (many have tape on them, YUM), and there are old photos to be perused, too. Another of her passions is licking unattended photos!! She definitely has some very peculiar behaviors. She supervised all our work, and we found her sitting amidst everything at every chance. Funny little critter.

I busied myself today by cleaning and photographing the collection of beautiful antique jugs and crocks which were part of Bob's estate. We will be having them evaluated soon. Here are a few:Wonder of this was from Smith Kline drug company??

That was a major job, as they were really grimey. At the same time, I CAREFULLY washed and photographed a collection of beautiful old hurricane lanterns, and they are now all lined up on a dining room sideboard.
Late this afternoon, we just sat, relaxed and watched a funny movie we both remembered well from the early '80's...."Blame it on Rio." Michael Caine is such a fun and talented actor.

Now I am home, it is back to a busy week ahead and tomorrow is my sweet Samantha's 3rd birthday! I have several plans with friends this week, and then Saturday will be a party for Samantha, complete with a Barbie cake!! Can't wait.
Happy March to everyone....the countdown to Spring is on.

Fog

I went to see my sea this morning and it was gone, whisked away in the night and covered up in a shroud of fog. In fact, about the only thing visible right now is the white line on the road to guide my way. Nonetheless, I could hear my sea and feel the spray - my tonic to start the day.
Being in the fog is synonymous with the past year for me. Losing Dad still has a hold on my spirit, and as we come toward the one year mark, I find that the fog over me is providing me a nice place of comfort and reverie. It is OK!
This day started at 5 am. I love the early morning and always get so much done. I am so grateful today for the fact that in 2 minutes, I can be at my wonderful locally-owned Village Market, choosing from a beautiful array of fresh vegetables and fruits among other things, and be back home and have it put away within 20 minutes, and then go to work within 5 minutes. What a gift!
Last night I made a wonderful vegetable beef soup which LM and I will enjoy tomorrow evening as we re-unite for the weekend. BLISS. LM's love envelops me just like the fog.

A Cat's Work is Never Done!

Work is never done around here.....LM is keeping me so busy as he is cleaning out years and years of stored paperwork, memorabilia, and fishing artifacts. All this activity requires me to be the supervisor, inspect every piece of paper, box, bag and plastic container. I am so exhausted, but there is no time to rest. If I don't watch him, LM will keep things he doesn't need, and he may try to procrastinate. A good cat's work is never done!! I did not want you to think I have forgotten all my readers, though.

Here, I am watching intently as LM heads to the kitchen to get some coffee...he finds any excuse to stop the project and needs to be stared down into submission......works every time, by the way!

Back to work...I sit right in the middle and watch for every opportunity to jump into the mix.
On top of all this work, Mum brought in a box with a new food processor and that had so much nice crinkly wrap on it so Friday and half the day Saturday, I had to chew on that and drag it around. WHEW! I was so relieved when they left for awhile to deliver a car to Worcester.
Sunday morning it was time to get back to the project. It took me ages to get them out of bed by 6 am so the project could begin again!! It is going to be a long haul.....at least 65 (no exaggeration) boxes remain to be sorted through!

Oh, oh, looks like he is trying to escape again! Gotta go!

One Milestone Year

Bob died one year ago yesterday. It seems but a moment ago, and it is ironic that this week also holds several other "anniversaries." It is two years since LM's cardiac arrest and resulting surgery, and three years since his former partner died of breast cancer. I suppose, in years, to come, these dates will pass with no mention, but right now, after the year we have had, they seem very recent. My dear LM, though, merely commented that he wanted the passing of these dates NOT to be unhappy, just reverent, and that we celebrate what we have today. Always, the voice of clear and loving reason, this man.

Cold continues here but we have a lovely bright sunny morning, as I set out to work. From the synchronicity department is a little story from my work week. For over a year I have been more and more unhappy with my desk chair at work. I never said anything about it, but each day, it was becoming more and more of a comfort issue. Still, I was grinning and bearing it. On Monday one of the wheels broke off! Yesterday a beautiful new chair was delivered to my desk!! Oh, happy day. What a difference. Little miracles!

Valentine's Day (yes, yes, I know it is a "Hallmark" holdiday, but I can't help it) weekend is here, and we have several fun things planned to celebrate. First, tomorrow, we are finally going to meet the daughters of LM's friend, Freddie. Re-uniting with their father after 50+ years has been very emotional and Freddie's curmudgeon-like demeanor is presenting some problems as the "girls" try to help him. He is 93 and quite infirm, happy to have the girls in his life, but reluctant to accept their help. Also, his deep grief over losing his 50 year partner, Joan, consumes him. Prior to this we have only spoken on the phone with them, so it will be nice to meet and perhaps make a plan to urge Freddie to allow their suggestions.

Wishing everyone a love-filled weekend!

Winter Peace

When winter days consist of my regular workdays, visits with LM & Ms G, and seeing grandchildren, it just feels like perfect peace to me. Life is just very quiet and beautiful right now. It is still unsettling at times when I realize that I have no "must do's" yanking on my spirit. Any busyness which occurs is the result of things I really want to do.

When LM had his recent health scare (turned out to be a tendon flare-up which gave heart attack-like symptoms), he received this bountiful fruit basket from our dear friend, Nan. Not sure she knows just how much of a hit the basket was, most especially for Ms G. it had ribbons and lots of crinkly plastic, and the fruit was secured inside by TAPE. It gave her hours of fun, and we LOVED the perfect fresh fruit, most certain to increase the function of our immune systems. Thank you, Nan! We love you and miss you.

I've been trying to visit baby Teddy and parents every other week and have really been enjoying my time there. He is getting so big, really trying to talk, and amazingly, he is understanding so much these days.


Cruising around the kitchen as his Mom is preparing dinner!This pizza pan is one of his all-time favorites.
Alison cleverly cleaned out this drawer which used to hold cooking utensils, and now stores all sorts of baby-safe items which Teddy loves to root out and run away with.
Aha! He's got the potato masher!

Getting sleepy....
Meanwhile, we are slowly moving forward on plans to gut out and re-do the bathroom at LM's house, and have been streamlining his technology. Last weekend we installed wireless and set up the new TV to run the computer screen/movies, etc.

We're looking forward to Valentine's Day this weekend - I planned a celebration for Saturday and he is planning the day on Sunday! Fun.

In other grandchildren news....grandson, Jared and his girlfriend, Jessica, have a new wildly cute kitten named Leia. Pictures forthcoming soon. Kittens are so hard to photograph as they are rarely still.
Granddaughter, Samantha, is finally recovered from a flu-type illness, and I am looking forward to seeing her very soon. She will be turning 3 on March 1, and is certainly challenging her Mom with sleeping issues!! Her beautiful face and lively personality, though, keep her a shining star.

In other news, Trish is back to normal and feeling quite well. They leave on Saturday for a week of skiing out west.
We are bracing for a big snowstorm tomorrow. Sort of looking forward to it after feeling jilted by last week's storm which blanketed the mid-Atlantic.