9-19-18
.relapse. I thought I was feeling better….But.
The skies are gorgeous. And my favorite tree is glorious.
9-18-18
After several nights of having a really fast heart rate, I am tired. I am thinking that I am probably having runs of PAT, which I had when I was pregnant with my son. In my case, at least, it was caused by a weak mitral valve… .so I am thinking that is what is going on now… coupled of course, by some weird stomach flu. That said… I felt things “turn for the better” overall last evening, so today I am taking it easy.
Today my son is getting out of the hospital, and I am concerned for him… as he has no place to go, no job, no phone, no car, etc. But I have to trust that he will be alright, and work on what he wants to do with his life. I am so proud of him for being the wonderful person he is.
We are getting my mom’s house ready to sell. There are just a few things that need taken care of… and I hope to get them done this week. Jim continues to love his new job…. and the daughter loves her work. She too, has been having health issues…. and like me, is doing her best to get her health back on track. And then there is ZeeZe, who has learned to go outside (off leash) and stay in the yard! He is so smart, and so wonderful.
The work on our house is almost completed .. .ie: outside painting, fixing of the stairs, and such. I still need to ready all the garden beds for winter, take care of the compost bins, etc. But we are getting there. I am very grateful to a local guy who is taking care of our brush pile for us.
And of course, I continue to be full-time caregiver for my mom; while trying to find time for my own art business. In short, things have been in great chaos. But it’s all good. And for today… in spite of all that needs to be done… I am concentrating on finishing a book that is due at our local library, and getting some much needed rest. See you all tomorrow.
9-17-18
Still recovering, and sleeping a lot… which I assume is what I need.
So for today, I will share some photos that I took this weekend.
9-16-18
This year we decided to let our gardens go fallow… and have been amazed at what has decided to grow. In the spring we had tons of wild lettuce, purslane and watercress…. along with chives and mint and lemon balm. In the summer, we had an explosion of calendula, bee balm, and yarrow. Now… we have goldenrod, wild rose hips, asters, and bottle gentian. In the (fallow) veggie garden, we’ve been surprised with a few cherry tomatoes… and even some squash blossoms. One of the biggest/ tallest plants that have come up… is a sturdy looking “weed” called Purple stemmed Beggartick. (I had to look it up). I still am in the process of seeing if it has any medicinal properties… but it’s been quite interesting to see what nature has supplied for us.
9-15-18
These past few days, I’ve had way too much happening… and somehow, I got sick. That said… I am just so very grateful. Grateful for the fantastic group of guys who have been painting on/ fixing up our house. Grateful for the gentleman who answered my ad and has been removing the mountain of yard waste from our yard. Grateful to my hubby and daughter who have been taking care of me (and my mom)…. for my son who is doing better….. for my pup who has stayed by my side... It’s just been amazing.
As a bonus…. I was able to walk briefly with the pup around the yard today. And even though we had left our gardens to go fallow this year…. we have an incredible bounty of herbs and wild edibles that have cropped up. We even have some cherry tomatoes that suddenly appeared… from who knows where… photos to come.
9-14-18
9-13-18
in the early morning mist……….
9-12-18
As you know, we are having some much needed work done on the house.
We hired local contractors, who have power-washed the outside. Then they patched and scraped, and painted the first coat. White in the peaks, and a cool grey/green on the bottom. The cinder block wall has been re-enforced, and will be painted a battleship grey. The steps will be fixed, and will be painted that same grey, along with the deck. There was a random metal pole in the yard, that has been removed. There is a new vintage style screen door now on the front of the house. Once things are done, I hope to paint the front door a bright and cheerful color, and work on the plants/ yard.
So. How did I get the inspiration for the color? I love old books and maps, and had a beat-up antique atlas album that I had found at a yard sale. Going through the legend, I discovered that I really liked the colors they used for the key to one map, dated 1880. The red-orange on the map was the same as the brick on our house… so I went with one of the darker shades of green/blue/ grey for the main part of the house, and a crisp antique white for the top and the trim.
9-11-18
today the painting of the house continues…. and I am hoping to get some much needed sleep.
9-10-18
…it’s been an insane, chaotic several days.
My respite, has come from sneaking down to the studio to play with beads…
9-7-18
Today I am really trying to concentrate on the positive.
I am positive that it (usually) looks worse before it looks better ( in regards to the house)...
Many thanks to Steve Sevinsky Home Improvements for the work on our house, and to ACE Harware for the fantastic old style screen door and light.
I am positive that #theUniverse is watching over my son... whom I love dearly. He has been missing for 48hours *with one brief episode* where I knew where he was. I love him so.
9-6-18
Today we are getting some much needed work done on the house... which is problematic both for a somewhat overly nervous ZeeZe, and my more than confused mom.... but such is life. We also are very worried about our son.... It's very hard to be so far away from loved ones, and not knowing how they are.
9-5-18
Today has been difficult... but then there was this:
9-4-18
9-3-18
for the weekend
9-1-18
8-31-18
8-30-18
...part of our little garden
(click on the photos to see the slideshow)
