Sparkly Birthday Wishes

LM's birthday has dawned and it is the most sparkly and glorious winter day;  befitting of the man who makes my heart sparkle and brim with love every time I hear his voice.
Happy birthday, Darling. We will celebrate later today, and of course you know, every day is a celebration loving you.

Trusting that Ms G let you sleep in a bit this morning, but I must say that you missed some perfect winter beauty at 5 am.  The snow was lightly falling, and I drove on the sleepy streets to my house, having been wakened at 4 am by my doggie charges, and thought, how wonderful that they made it possible for me not to miss all the beauty of this special day.

Dinner is simmering and now it is time for some baking.

Later, love........

Crowboat

 Photo taken at one of my favorite lunch spots near my office. There seem to always be crows, and I love to think they are following me, there for my enjoyment, and to distract me back to nature.

Good Morning from the deep freeze! I do love the extremes of the seasons, and the way life draws in around us in the cold.
This week I am house sitting for my boss, and an amazing thing has happened. My TV at home has chosen to no longer function, AND the TV at my boss's house is so complicated that I cannot figure out how to use it. I also do not have internet access there.....mmmmm, I had to pick up a book. Just imagine!  Last night I read 90 pages while sitting in complete silence, and slept the most peaceful sleep I've known in many years.  Alas, here I am this morning, readying for work, and back to technology - minus TV - at my house, and shortly the office will jar me from this peaceful place.  I am going to stay TV free all this week. Coupled with the Tibetan meditation/chanting class this evening, I'm hoping for a few more of those wonderfully blissful sleeps. 

Truly believing that life gives you what you need when you need it, icluding non-functioning TV's, I wish you the same peace.

PS. I am reading "Charlotte's Story,"a fascinating narrative about a young couple's experiences living for two years on a remote key off the coast of FL in the mid-1930's. 

PPS.  Our situation with Kristi and her mother's health remains about the same (Ellen remains in the nursing home and we are working with hospice).  LM and I did have the opportunity for a "date"....4 hours alone, last Sunday.  He is so busy with everything entailed with the situation, and amidst that, he is overseeing some major renovations at Kristi's house, and trying to work some days here and there.  An entirely new kitchen is in place, wallpaper has been stripped off, new paint on walls and ceilings is applied, and this weekend we hope to begin clearing out a lot of unusable items from the basement. LM's son, John and his stepfather, Frank are doing the work and a very fine job, at that.  John's brawn is most welcome.  We are not sure what will happen. Kristi is longing to move back to the only home she has ever known but we will need to have a foster care person in place as she cannot live alone.  It is all a very large work in progress.  My job is to remain calm, offer support without criticism, and accept life for what it is these days. Not always easy!!

Knitting

Happy Friday. Surprisingly, this first full week after all the short holiday weeks has been great. Actually, nice to be back in a regular routine again.  There is quilting back in full swing and this week I managed to accomplish a thorough re-organization of my fabric and yarn stash.  Actually, the yarn is about gone...maybe 4-5 odd skeins remain.  Above is a scarf I made for LM's daughter, Meaghan, for Christmas.Never did get it posted with the holiday pictures.  It is so soft, very long, and took forever on very small needles.  She is off to Wisconsin for a wedding this weekend and I am sure it will keep her very warm.

Even though, we are continuing the vigil for Kristi's mother, dealing with a massive outbreak of flu (Kristi being the only one among us to fall so far, although my office is full of it), and being pulled in many different directions with end of life issues, as well as our regular days, we are fine and happy.  Staying centered and calm is of utmost importance. LM really has the brunt of it all, and my  main job is to keep from interfering too much, and just offering love and support where I can. This weekend we will have a little dinner and a visit from LM's sister.  Amidst that, I will be dog sitting and doing the cooking.

Walking each day goes a long way to feed my soul, and keep my energy level where needed.

Last night, LM entertained me with a blow by blow description, via cell phone, of Ms G trying to catch some sort of bug that was flying around their house.  We all had tremendous fun for about 1/2 hour as the saga unfolded.  Alas, the bug eluded the dreaded gray paw/jaws, and Ms G was back to watching Nature on PBS. Seems she has taken to watching a lot of TV lately.  Bet she misses her mother's frequent visits, but she is there offering comfort and laughs to Kristi, and that is a most needed commodity right now.  There is a pillow I always sat on when at LM's, and he placed it so that Ms G can sit on that to watch TV.  Sweet man, and it is well-used.  Someday soon, I will be there again. I don't say this at all unhappily.  We are fine and know it is what it needs to be right now, as we help Kristi go through the loss of her mother.

Have a wonderful weekend, and love to all.

Walk Along with me at Hardings Beach

First view at the beach after leaving the car

 Looking toward the Old Stage Harbor Lighthouse - Someday I will walk that far

Looking back toward the parking lot.  Those beautiful black clouds were heading toward the beach but I set out anyway.

The winter beach is so pristine and I am always happy when my footprints are the first of the day.  This particular day it was about 12 degrees so it is no wonder there were no other walkers.

I watched this hydrangea blossom bob along on the waves at the edge, then it was finally laid gently on the sand. It must have been in the water for sometime as it water for sometime as it was attached to some sea growth.  Truly amazing to me

Beautiful colors of the sea. If only you could hear the sound.

Sea designs

Looking to my left over the dune, I could see those black clouds moving ever closer.

Other walkers

More lovely deposits by the sea

Nature's artwork

Inspiration.  Yes, those black clouds did send some sleet down on my return walk  but I loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

Embracing Winter

As the 2012 Winter solstice occurred, a peace cloaked my soul and the most amazing things have been happening. Instead of the usual dread of the darker days, they have become a time of beautiful intraspection, energy and making the most of each second of light. Each day at lunch, I have re-discovered walking on the beach - not just driving my car to the beach to read - I am bundling up and walking toward the light, into the wind.  The last few years I have walked less and less, as my right knee has become more and more unstable. Because I feared falling on the street, I just stopped exercising outside except for very short jaunts in my immediate neighborhood.  Suddenly, it came to me that i could walk the beach and if I fell, I would not be hurt, and i could also kneel on my bad knees to get up if necessary.  WOW,  it feels so good.  Even on an 8 degree day last week, I was out there.  Within a few days, I could feel my strength increase...how quickly it disappears when the body does not move enough.  Focused meditational breathing during these walks, keeps the cold at bay and the time flies. The sound of the water lapping at the shore is balm, and on some days, my footprints were the only ones on the sand....well, there were some very interesting animal tracks, and beautiful shells along the wrack line.  The walk I am doing leads to a point with a lovely old lighthouse at the end, and someday I will get that far. For now, 20-30 minutes at lunch is enough.  I plan to take my camera along for pictures one day, although, I hate to do anything at all that distracts from breathing in the healing properties of nature. Soon enough, the daylight fades well before my workday, yet I love the night as it comes on and brings me rest and peace.

LM and I are now back to weekends apart while Kristi is at his house again. Her mother clings to life and they are consumed with activities around her passage. I am using this time to get some necessary errands done and to enjoy cooking some new recipes and sending them over some healthy meals.  It
is OK!!!

Biopsy results on Jason have come back negative.  There remain a lot of questions.  We plan to address those this week. Why is a large tumor on his thyroid not being removed?  The doctor was not forthcoming with much information so Jason will pursue the answers.  Thank you, dear readers, for all the concern and prayers.

Love to all.

Christmas Day with LM's Family

For the first time in many years, LM had all his children and their significant others together under his roof. It was a VERY lighthearted, fun, and delicious Christmas Day.

Chief table inspector doing her job before the guests arrived.
When prompted that she might just be somewhere forbidden, she turned her head to try the invisible act.

 Fruit bread similar to one my mother always made at Christmas. So yummy.

A blurry shot of our christmas tree and the quilt I gave LM for Christmmas

Christmas tree fruit and cheese plate. Wonderful grapes.

Before the guests arrived Ms G playing Princess and the Pea on a pile of blankets.  Kristi's quilt on the bottom.

LM was thrilled with two new Kliban Kat tee's from Ms G.  This one he will wear proudly when he cooks dinner for 100 at the Cape Cod Salties.

The fly fishing cat, complete with waders to cover the tail.  The detail is so funny.

Back of the shirt showing the line caught by the cat on the front.

This Christmas was extra special as we were also celebrating Meaghan's engagement to her beau, John.  They make a great couple, and John staged a total surprise proposal amidst some beautiful christmas lights, and presented Meg with a lovely ring.

John and Vanessa!  John has been free for quite awhile now and he and Vanessa are thriving.  We were so happy to have them with us.
John gave his Dad a very special gift of an antique cribbage board.  I loved watching John's excitement as he waited for his Dad to open the gift.  They have spent many, many hours playing cribbage so this gift was very special

John and Kristi helping Dad assemble his new birdbath....the raccoons broke the last one.

We shared a delicious dinner and laughed hard and often.....perfect.  The chief table inspector stayed under the bed during the entire visit but John did go in and lay on the floor and pat her for a while.  They were good friends when John was living with his Dad before.  The second the door closed on the company, Ms G emerged and did a thorough sniff of every inch touched by the "alien invaders".....she's a funny critter.

I love the family that LM and I share.....we are very blessed.

Ms G Welcomes 2013 and Other Furry Fun

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!  We started off the year with more snow and cold than we had all of last year. So pretty, but Ms G is cold!

 

As soon as I got out of bed yesterday morning we caught our dear girl sneaking under the covers to nestle right in to the spot I vacated.  On her way to her cave.

 

Oh, yes, we finally covered her up and when we returned 8 hours later, she was still there. Our day took us off-Cape to pay a visit to my brother, Sam and wife, Trish and to see their new baby kitties, Vin and Eddie (story behind the names - my parents' favorite restaurant was always Vin and Eddie's in Abington, MA).  these two are a dynamic duo and seem to move in tandem, and are often seen looking like a pair of prairie dogs.  They are Manx (tail-less) although one has a tiny stub.

Naptime!

Not sure which one had a very long nap in Sam's lap while we visited. 

 This picture was taken of Trish last Saturday when we visited People for Cats in Falmouth.  She adopted this adorable female kitten for a friend.

Guess you could say our New Year's Day was full of furry fun.  LM and I truly enjoyed a very relaxing time together.  We will treasure that time, as we enter another limbo phase in our lives.  Kristi returned to his house today and will be there for awhile now. Her mother is still alive, but barely, and we are just offering as much support as we can.

It felt really good to return to work today and back to normal routine. It's really cold here but today at lunch I walked in the Village and then went to a nearby beach and walked along the waterline, watching the ice wash in with each wave.  The wind was biting but I felt so alive and happy being out in nature.  Love to feel the cold wind hit my face, and deep breaths seem to fill my soul with energy.

Love to all......