One Year Later

One year ago today I decided to join the great blogosphere in the sky. I can hardly believe it's only been a year. Writing and posting photos about our daily adventures is so much a part of my energy and creative expression I feel like I've been doing it for years. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I'd love to hear from you every now and again. Don't be shy now - make my day!An awful lot of exciting stuff took place over the year. Last March Ken was unemployed and holding down the home front while I toiled in the academic salt mines up at the college. As a result of his layoff we decided to start selling antiques in a brick and mortar venue and this is where we met our wonderful FOUND partners. This time last year we were meeting discreetly to find a space for our shop and hoping against hope that our ideas would come to fruition and that the shop would be successful. We renovated and opened on a shoestring budget and had a simple business plan: If we build it, they will come. FOUND has exceeded our every expectation.

There were losses this year too. One year ago our sweet Franklin kitty was still healthy and sweet, and venturing out for his daily constitutionals near the kitchen door. We happily planned our lives around his every-other-day pills. We lost him in May and miss him still.

Last March I was able to play the viola. I hope that by this time next year I can say I'm back at it again.

Spring was in the air March 17, 2010. The sun was shining and it seemed certain the new season was here for good. As is often the case in March, we were covered in heavy, wet snow within the week. Upper 50's and sunshine are forecast for today and there are big patches of soggy green grass where the snow has melted away.
The daffodils have poked their little noses out of the ground, and the hydrangea buds are starting to swell.

The chipmunks are awake after a long winter nap,and the geese are starting to head back north.

The sun is out well past 6pm now.
We are incredibly blessed in our lives and not a
single day passes where this fact goes unnoticed.

My goals for the coming year
(thank you William Henry Channing):
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common -- this is my symphony.