Painting Staff and Updates

Happy Friday!!

Thought you all might like to have a little update on my retirement/moving status.  I am at the end of the first week of my last 6 weeks of work!  For a few years I thought I would be in a huge panic about leaving this beloved job, but I only feel myself straining at the reins to be free and on to creating an entirely new life.  There is nostalgia about all the wonderful years in the design/build field, and how it sparked my creativity and self-worth, and those memories will sustain me as I go forward, confident that whatever comes next will be wonderful and just as enriching.
Excitement is building and also the pace. My current house feels so hollow and is filled with echoes. Nice echoes....the nest of safety it gave Ms G and me when I needed it so badly in 2004, the family dinners, and best of all when it welcomed LM.

This weekend is our huge yard sale and we couldn't be happier with the weather forecast. So lovely.

Jason and Alison had to hire a painter to get my new bedroom ready!! He is quite efficient and I believe he has already finished the work. I will see it tonight. He's a pretty cute helper, too, and my new bedroom will feel even more welcoming, knowing it was made so beautiful by my darling, Teddy.

Teddy will be my new  neighbor across the hall, and I am sure we are going to have a lot of fun and get into mischief together!

Love and peace to all!

Adventures on the Lupine Way

Two days ago, LM suggested I accompany him on a trip to Maine!  No urging was necessary, as Maine is one of my favorite places and a chance to enjoy its late Spring beauty was not to be missed. Our mission was to drive a very large truck to a small town a ways north of Augusta, AND to bring a 2014 neon green Mustang convertible back to Cape Cod. The trip up was beautiful as the Maine turnpike was lit up on both sides with masses of wild flowers. Most spectacular were the deep blue, pink and white lupines and the wild daisies amidst the buttercups and tiny wild iris. We didn't even mind several slow downs as it gave us more time to admire all the beauty.

 Green, green, green and buttercups

 A very large moose and a family of bears at a rest stop.

 This same scene was everywhere....

We finally arrived in Oakland, and made the switch to our ride home....I had not been in a convertible in many, many years and the feeling of the wind in my hair was so wonderful. We both felt like teenagers and with 50's music filling the air, we were back on the lupine highways to bring the mustang to its new owner in Chatham, but not before we stopped for seafood and some lobster stew.

Wind on my hair...

 The one who made it all possible and such fun, too!

Home......goodnight sweet chariot!

All Better

Good news here - whatever hit me last week was completely gone in 4 days and I seem to have more energy than I've had in months.

Tomorrow, son, Jason, and LM's son, John, will arrive with a big truck and take away a goodly portion of my possessions, some marked for a yard sale, some for storage, and the rest for my new rooms at Jason's house. I will live with the bare necessities until I move in August. We had a rush on to get things moved as Jason is beginning a new job on July 1 and will have very little time.

Made a big move yesterday and scheduled an appointment with the surgeon to begin the process of knee replacement. People assure me it is easier than when I had my right knee replaced 8 years ago. I'm believing them, in an effort to gather the courage to travel the road toward full mobility again.

These days are filled with excitement at the possibilities ahead - I can choose to do whatever I like with my life, explore all sorts of new avenues, and the feeling of freedom is so exhilarating.  All the fear I'd lived with about retiring, moving, etc, is gone. I admit, there will be some tears in the change,  and I choose to think they will be tears of happiness!  I've a slight suspicion that LM is a bit apprehensive about this change in my life. He came to help me move several things this afternoon and I saw his face fall when he looked at all my possessions packed up and labeled awaiting the truck, and commented on how my place had changed. Really we will just be 12 miles further away from each other and the weekends will still be ours.

My 99 year old grandfather's last words to me were, "don't fight life, dear," and I am realizing just how much energy I've expended doing just that. Now is a time that I am embracing the changes and life!

Love to all.......

The Winds are Feeling Summery

 Summer has been creeping toward us slowly and so many of our recent days have been pretty chilly, but when Kristi visited us for Meaghan's wedding there had to be mini-golf!  It was really fun that we could get her together with Jason, Alison, Teddy and Samantha - too bad Sara had to work. Everyone seemed to have a great time and it was a really sunny afternoon. Kristi is thriving in her new home and we were so happy to see her looking so well and she really had a fun time being part of Meaghan's wedding.

I'm on my 4th day out of work with some sort of strange virus, and await a call from my doctor to see what blood work reveals. My system seems so vulnerable after the lengthy winter illness, that I cannot seem to get to a place of strength, no matter what I do. This will not get me down, and I am continuing to work daily on my moving project.  It is feeling right, and each weekend we move a few more things to my son's house. This week Jason is having solar panels put on the entire roof of the house. So proud that he has gone forward with this project.

Summer Wind, sung by Frank Sinatra, is LM's favorite song so I am dedicating this little post to him as he has just been my angel with all this sickness....waiting at doctor's offices, the hospital, wherever, and he never complains. If it is possible he is there.  I have major plans to rehab this hulk I am living in, and make it stronger and more independent, very soon!  My retirement and my new home will afford me that luxury, and I'll be doing it all in the beautiful summer wind along my beloved Cape Cod Canal - which by the way, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year with major events held throughout the area in July. We were by there last Sunday and already the area is filled with the scent of wild roses........wish I could bring you all along.
Love to you all!

Moving!

It seems I cannot stay away from sharing this time of passage in my life.

For 10 years I have lived and worked in my little town, yet I never truly felt like my place was "home" but rather, a place to sleep and be protected. STRANGE feeling of unbelonging, even though I was living in a place I'd loved so much all through the years, and, at times, felt incredulous to be living surrounded by such amazing beauty.  In other places I've lived through the years, I felt settled and had a haven-like feeling in my surroundings. Here, where I settled after leaving a near-lethal relationship, just felt like a fortress. So when the plans to retire and move back to the area where I lived for so many years began, I didn't think I would feel anything more than relief and excitement about the reality of moving. Me thinks my heart is much more vested in home and work than I ever thought possible. Friends at work are making comments each day about "things will never be the same when you leave," etc. 

Last night, Jason and a friend came with a big truck and moved a lot of my things. He cleaned out my basement storage area so I wouldn't have to deal with the stairs again, and even moved a few precious things that will be stored in case I choose to move to my own place at some point after my recovery.  As the truck drove away, I looked on with such gratitude for my wonderful son, then I felt like I was physically drained to the point of collapse, so sat with a cold drink and put my feet up. Shortly I was back up to work on a few more pre-move projects - almost like I couldn't stop. Arriving at a wall again, I tried to sleep, to no avail. This morning, I feel so drained and tired that I am barely "here" at work.

The excitement and positive attitude about my major life change seem muted today, and I am telling myself it is a purely physical response to being exhausted.  One step in front of the other....tonight I will be organizing my knitting and beading supplies, paring them down, and arranging them for easy access in my new home.  I've already done the same with my quilting fabric and supplies.

So this is the latest in my journey through change....a lot of emotions, a strong reminder of my health limitations, and the revelation that I may be a bit more sentimental about the leaving than I thought. Lots to mull over.

Sending you all love and sunshine this morning.