it is all a phase

...that's what I tried to remind myself of when the kids were little and in a particularly difficult period...this too shall pass. Sometimes it doesn't pass but progresses, or transitions, or...hmm, I guess I will ponder these concepts some more this weekend.

In any case, we have entered the fall season in our yard. I was quite excited to see items such as 'boot topper' and thick socks and shawls in the store this morning. What is a boot topper you may ask, well, I have been wondering about the functionality of such an item myself, and would likely never purchase it (also because it looks easy to knit up a pair real quick), nevertheless, it was exciting to spot things like that.

The weather today is absolutely gorgeous, and my love and I went for a walk in a nature preserve before hitting the grocery store for the necessary stuff. And then we sat outside, drinking coffee and just relaxing. Wow.  I mean, I haven't really gotten the hang of this full-time working mom thing yet, and so I do feel somewhat guilty if I just sit and relax with the house in the state it is in, and yet, how can I pass up this gorgeousness?

Of course, we had to attempt to tune out the chain saws and lawn mowers - it sure sounded like the neighbors had decided to take turns, one would cease, another would start up. That goes with the luxury of living in a wooded area with large lawns to boot.

My lovely Mila posing, well, okay, I had to be quick, she really does not sit still for very long.

Tomorrow we are going zip lining, I mentioned that already I know. This activity was not exactly on my bucket list... The best thing about it is that we are going with the five of us, as a family. And maybe there are some fall colors to enjoy in the process as well.

the long and short of it

Long day, short night- I'm sure most of you recognize that from your own lives. Every one of those long days has many moments to enjoy, some long, some short...

For instance...the moment when Lucy decides to cuddle on my lap. Or when Mila comes in all talkative and her hyper self then plops down on the kitchen floor. Homer purring next to me when I fall asleep.

Getting the paper in the dark and on a good day breathe the cool air looking up at the stars. Coffee. Driving into the city in the morning, being able to see the dawn of the day and sometimes as extra treat a beautiful sunrise.

Gustav Klimt

At work today, it was the moment I ran into a former patient's mother who immediately led me to her baby to show of how well the little one was doing and thanked me as if I personally had saved the little one's life.

art in Rome, on the hill

When my love picks me up from work, the ride home- talking about our days and 'stuff'. Tonight it was the color of the sky when I finally left the parking lot. When my girls both join us for dinner.

This coming weekend I hope to add 'when we went zip-lining' to my favorite moments...we'll see (uh, yes I am a little skeptical and a lot scared).  For now, I am happy that I made a dent in the laundry mountain and that I am starting my short night soon!

the joys of weekend

Friday  felt like a day during which I had time to get my bearings and get something accomplished, I even  chatted with colleagues  at work. Perhaps that was why I felt a bit more relaxed this weekend- so relaxed that I finally took the time to clean the refrigerator!

Like my mom always says, you should be able to really tell the difference between before and after- that's what I was going for...

And the cool windy weather (my favorite kind of weather) inspired a walkabout in the yard.

After a day of household/yard chores and grocery shopping, my love and I found ourselves home alone for dinner - so I cooked us something child-unfriendly : winemakers mushroom soup and warm goat cheese salad with crusty bread (from My French Kitchen and The French Market, both by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde).

bread as always from No need to kneed by Suzanne Dunaway

Our newly cleaned chimney did very well with the fire, and the whole autumn equinox made me start a new knitting project.

Socks, two at a time, toe-up. This time I might even do the required math to make the socks fit me (the last pair turned out a bit large).

This morning we walked around an art fair, which was nice, however I have high hopes that our girls will gift us with more of their work to hang/display, so we did not support any of the artists monetarily.

Time to get creative with the lemons (Perfect lemon torte? Lemon pound cake? Lemon-chocolate truffles?) and the iron (yeah, hemming the new pants and then just ironing).

weeds

Autumn / fall...whatever you would like to call it (or in Dutch herfst / German Herbst)...I like it, no matter the name. The cooler nights, the windows open, the promise of cozy fires and warming stews ahead...

The special fall foliage that grows on the side of the road...some of which we have in our yard, some, like corn flowers, we unfortunately don't. Weeds, you may say.

Onkruid, in Dutch, literally translated non-herb. Beautiful, aren't they?

Thus I enjoy my morning commute, which is slow enough that I can enjoy the roadside foliage at my leisure. Thus I enjoy our yard, which is getting ready for the autumnal equinox.

All part of the 'path of seven joys' that I once read about in a book and that one should daily walk- if you try, it is not that hard to find moments of joy.  In the daily rush and craziness  I just have to remind myself sometimes.

home is the huntress

Last winter, our sweet little cranky old lady cat Ginny was not her active self anymore, and she was rescued from the brink by our awesome vet  with some kind of magic steroid shot. I had spend many days tending to her while she lay listless in her basket and refused most of my food and drink offerings.

But then she perked up, and only two weeks ago my love and I took her for her yearly physical and we were all sort of congratulating each other on how well she was doing, how she looked great and had maintained her (low) weight by me feeding her treats whenever she wanted them. She spend most of her nights cuddling with E, instead of hunting like she used to, and she still came for 'petting time' and loved to settle on laps.

All of a sudden, two days ago, she did not do so well anymore. She refused her treats. She didn't go for her morning walk. When E came home yesterday, she took Ginny for an emergency visit to our vet, who was overbooked as it was, but still tended to her and did the best she could to give us one more night with our Ginny. There was no more magic to be done, the vet suspected renal failure. She has been with us for 9 years. We got her as a stray when she was living in people's garages in my friend M's neighborhood. We don't know how old she was, but we decided that she was 14,5 just like her frenemy Tribble, who she now is buried next to- in a hand made wooden box, under the trees.

She loved to gallop the length of the house. She howled at the moon. She brought us many many presents. She loved attention, but not other cats. She loved to roll around and relax on the slate steps of the garden path. And we love her.

what's left

Sunday night, and my view through the screen door shows the tree silhouettes with gently fluttering leaves against the darkening sky. The remains of the day and weekend- also, trying to gather enough energy for the evening's work. Occasionally we hear an acorn crashing onto the deck.  Lucy has joined us inside for the moment, enjoying one of her favorite 'blankets'.

No, not this one, this is my lazy knitting that she was exploring the other night. She managed to leave everything intact, much unlike the state of my old attic room.

the demolition team behind my mom's home, picture by my mom

my brother and little L cleaning up, picture by my mom

Sigh- this is one of those things- hard to not be closer so I would be able to help out with my mom's moving and then moving back. Hard to not be closer to see little L and little B grow up. Always torn between two continents. My cousin who lives in the DR commented on my last post that even if we (my love and I) would move to Europe, family (and some friends) would remain in the US. I guess I have hopes that we showed T, V, and E enough of the old countries that they may return there some day too.

balcony in Rome, picture by me

the taller windows on the ocher building are from 'our' apartment- the walkers are T and V, the restaurant (Antica Taverna) where we ate our first night in Rome  

Or perhaps not. Who knows what we will tumble into, what path we may travel. I am eager to find out, but first, I have to iron some work clothes for the upcoming week. Work is a journey in itself these days. Have a good week y'all!

to dream, perchance to ... move ?

Although I may be just a tad young to already know this, I can say with 99% certainty that one thing I am not wanting to do is retire in Florida. This morning my love and I walked to a moving sale in our neighborhood (not that we need more stuff). The sellers were happy to talk about their move down south. Another neighbor we met explained that they were going to move as well, but to a place with lower humidity- my wish exactly!  And for myself I'd like to add mountains, evergreen forests, rocky hiking paths, all of this preferably close to the ocean.

My mom is going to have to to move twice, because my childhood home is going to be renovated by the housing agency. The picture shows my little brother (ahem) in the middle, with two friends who were very nice to agree to help tear my old attic bedroom down...since my dad build it himself, it had to go. I am having a hard time describing my emotions about that...I loved that cozy room.

See that window behind my little brother? That is the one he climbed out of and waved from when he was three years old, giving my mom and me our first grey hairs. We were in the yard below, hanging laundry.

this is the window, although years ago it had bars and a side-opening 

My little brother is going to move too, to a bigger house with a large space in the back for little L to run around and enjoy.

It is no secret that I have been wanting to move for years.We almost moved at least twice, but obviously didn't yet. And every now and then things happen and I start dreaming again, perchance to move to....Europe? Closer to family? Family is one reason, and frankly, the healthcare system in the US is another. (yes and I do work in a hospital).

R's family

my family...even the youngest one was there, but not born yet

But on a day like today, I enjoy where we are- this house, that still feels to me like a beloved old comfortable corduroy jacket, the wooded lot with the sounds of crickets and tree frogs and the breeze through the kitchen window when I mix up the pizza dough. Seeing Lucy and Mila chase each other and squirrels.

Fresh pictures from the yard this morning...it is weekend so I finally got a chance to walkabout!

birthday girl

Some day this week (we think) it is one year ago that our little Lucy was born somewhere on a porch. At first she was adopted by a family with another cat and several doting younger kids, however the resident cat was not charmed to meet her acquaintance. That is when we were asked to give her a home.

When I say asked, I mean that my teens were waging a relentless campaign to convince my love and me that she belonged with us. Once I laid my eyes on her there was no way back, and my love warned me that we would not, under any circumstances, let her go.

I spend many hours playing with her or just sitting with a sleeping kitten on my lap. I had the time then, freshly graduated and  unemployed for a long while.

Dinner tonight was fresh pasta (such luxury!) bought at the store of course. So much better than the dried stuff, and cheaper than " flying to Rome on a moment's notice."

Palastine hill- one of my favorites in Rome

While enjoying the delicious ravioli, I let my mind wander, not back to the hospital (this took some effort) but to my vacation memories. Of my plans to cut some fabric after dinner came nothing, due to the birthday girl being a tad playful still and attacking anything that moved. So instead of sharing a quilt in progress, I will share some pictures, most likely taken by V or R.

Trevi fountain at night, it is spectacular

street view, Rome 2011

water

Most of the time, I start typing a blog entry with some vague idea of what I would like to share, and then end up with a completely different piece. The same will go for this one today I'm sure. Over the weekend I was pondering water, which is one of my favorite things.(We are experiencing quite a bit of water falling from the sky due to hurricane Isaac). A long time ago, I was asked what my favorite form of water was. I answered 'the ocean'.

Certainly, it is not rain, although a nice rainy day can be cozy if you can stay in, and after the drought this summer rain is more than welcome.(But it can also cause floods). I do love the ocean, and during family vacations we are usually drawn to it. My favorite coast is the pacific, both for the ocean and the shore.

Personally I am not such a fan of swimming pools but my niece little L feels strongly that these are the best places to interact with water (yes, sorry, couldn't resist sneaking a picture or two of her in here, this is in 2011 in the Netherlands).

insisting on the highest slide possible , E and little L

I adore snow, could watch it for hours, walk in it for hours (shoveling it is another matter). We haven't seen enough of it since moving to our current home.

The kind of water I enjoy most and most often however is drinking water!

T operating a public drinking water fountain in Rome, Italy, 2011

S.P.Q.R means for the senate and the people of Rome. Picture and translation by my love.

long

This picture of Mila about sums it up. It was a long week and my head feels kind of like ...cobwebby...stuffed with stories and experiences that I should somehow get rid of to enjoy the three day weekend.

There is plenty to enjoy- even if we are not doing anything exciting-sounding. Last night my love and I watched a movie. That was nice, because we both spend most of our evenings working lately.

Today is the day that V's bf K is being moved into his dorm in the big city, by a delegation of V, E, and J, featuring also the van that moved T several weeks ago. For this joyous and sad occasion, E made us all crepes with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream early this morning!

With ample time to enjoy my morning coffee, the fog in my head started clearing up already. Above is a picture I took at Niagara falls.

I got to do some lazy knitting (while watching the daily show and the colbert report) and even sat down at the sewing table to cut some fabric for the quilt. Tonight we are double-dating with T and his gf L because they could not join us for dinner last week. If this keeps up I will be as mellow as can be by Monday!