Friday, October 31, 2014

In Control

I'm not a quitter. Never have been. Never will be.  
BUT, sometimes I find it helpful to allow myself the luxury of entertaining the idea of quitting. 

So today I'm pondering what it would be like to move in yet another new direction and man oh man, is it ever liberating. It highlights the undeniable fact that we're in control of things and not owned the drama outside of us. There, I said it out loud. 
Sure feels good. Glad to be back to living life on my terms.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Refuge

It's been weeks, scratch that...months since K started telecommuting and working from home. So on days when he's absolutely got to be in the office and I'm also leaving for the day to be at FOUND I'm suddenly struck by how peaceful our life has become now that we don't do this driving-to-work thing every morning. 
The rot on our poor house is repaired and the workmen will finish installing the last of the clapboards this morning. I'll be glad to say goodbye to the construction noise and that 80's dance party/sing-a-long sound track that goes with it. They guys have been great but I'm ready to have my quiet refuge of a house back. 


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Daddy's Girl


It's my dad's birthday and if he were alive today he be turning 89. A year ago I honored his memory by giving official notice of my retirement on this day. It was his sage advice some thirty years ago that made early retirement a reality for me.

Yesterday, I signed the papers to roll over my entire life's savings into an IRA. GULP. 

It felt like a big old grown up thing to do, which is odd considering at at 57 years of age, I'm well, you know, pretty much grown up by now. But when it comes to dealing with money and finances, I'm still the same kid who shuts down at the mere hint of anything that even remotely smells like math. I've dealt with money by pouring as much of it into savings, staying out of debt and trying not to live above my means. 

Simple, clean, tidy. Guess I learned that from my dad too.  

Proud to be a daddy's girl after all these years.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

True Colors

The fall has been beautiful,
luxuriously long,
and colorful.
I've been experiencing a little writer's block lately. Lots of ideas, but no words. Lots of bottled up thoughts but no way to express them. Thank heavens for Fall. The color speaks for itself.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Great idea!

It's Sunday, funday, excavate the house day!
 Wait, whose idea was this anyway???

Friday, October 24, 2014

Craftastic

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
And just in time. Christmas Eve is two months from today.
 How'd that happen?

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Twice Baked

Dark, dreary, windy and cold. And it's been this way since Sunday. When the going gets tough, this gal heads straight into the kitchen to whip up some good old fashioned comfort food. 

Wait. We don't eat pasta anymore. No potatoes either. Rice? Nope. It sucks, I'll be the first to admit it, but discovering the joy of cauliflower and decking it out like it was your favorite starch does the trick every time. 

Deb's Twice Baked Mashed Cauliflower
One big head of cauliflower
Cream (as in heavy cream)
Butter (as in the real deal, please don't use that horrid fake margarine crap)
Bacon (as in organic if possible and from the Piggery if you live around here. It is the BEST bacon you've ever eaten in your entire life. Would I lie to you?)
Grated Pepper Jack, sharp cheddar and provolone cheese (and a lot of it - at least a cup)
Five or six green onions chopped fine 

Ok, this dish is not lo-cal, so just get over that right now. Most importantly it is low-carb and that's what matters the most.

Preheat the oven to 350, grease a baking dish and get going!
  • Boil the cauliflower florets 'in a big pot of salted water til tender.
  • Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry it up. Try not to eat it all as it's cooking.
    • Do not throw the fat away. Well, if you must okay, but try to at least save a little bit for later. 
  • Drain the cauliflower. Scoop into a food processor in small batches. A little cauliflower, a little cream, a knob of butter. Whiz away!
  • Dump it into a big bowl and add in the bacon, cheese and green onions, along with with lots and lot of freshly ground black pepper. This is comfort food after all. Give the chipotle powder bottle a few good shakes and if you're feeling adventuresome, shake some smoked paprika right on in there too. Stir 'til combined and bake about 40 minutes. 
 
I double dare you not to sit down and eat it straight out of the pan while it's hot. Good luck with that. I would post a photo of it here in all its glory, but we've already dived into it...

Post-FLEA

 
It's Post-FLEA week here and all's well. 

We're a little tired, a little sore and a lot happy about how the day went inside and out. 

The rain held off, the wind blew and it was way too cold to spend the day outside, but what the hell - everyone and their dog and their cousin's dog came out for the last FLEA of the season! 

Goodbye 4 am wakeup call.

Goodbye u-Haul.

Goodbye pop-up canopy. 

See you in May. 



Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Signs

These photos are from only five or six days ago.
 The leaves are almost gone now. 
The woods are filled with the sounds of wild turkeys. Today we spotted a dozen or more hawks floating on the thermals. The chipmunks and squirrels are busier than ever and Pippa's coat is as thick as we've ever seen it. 
Winter is on the way. We all feel it today.
 It's transition time. Fasten your seat belt.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Magical Thinking

Today is prep day for the final FOUND FLEA of the season which takes place on Sunday. I'm a little short on patience and a lot short on sleep, but I am filled with hope that everything will magically sell, the sun will come out and the temperature will reach 50 degrees.
Cue anxiety dreams!

This morning I dreamed that someone broke into FOUND and instead of stealing stuff, they called me to complain about the stupid alarm beeping.

Yesterday while working in the shop, I had to tell one of the dealer workers at FOUND to stop whistling or I would have to kill him. He looked at me like I'd lost it. I guess I had for a minute there.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Trick or Treat

A line of heavy storms has moved into our little slice of heaven today and will likely take the leaves with it...or most of them. 
It is a day for indoor work. 
Trick or Treat.  
This is a tricky transition. I'm anxious and restless. Itchy to get it over with perhaps. 
Trick or Treat. 
The colors have been amazing this year, but it's time for winter to move on in. It means we're that much closer to spring.
 Trick or Treat. Either way, it appears winter is gaining on us.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tipping Point

Have you reached the tipping point when it comes to clutter? 
I just did. 

After taking a nasty fall amidst the piles of furniture, tools, recycle bins, and other accumulating detritus, I finally said enough is enough and sent K down to the curb with trash tags and a pile. Trash pick up is this morning. Good riddance I say!

Clutter is debilitating. It makes me crazy, anxious and almost unable to work. How many hours have been spent moving, shuffling and organizing the piles? I don't think I want to know. So starting now, I've enlisted the help of a dear friend who also wishes to banish the clutter. We have agreed to purge something every day and be accountable to one another. Anyone else want to join the fun?

Monday, October 13, 2014

Come In

Our little orange boys are growing so fast we can barely keep up with them. 

They keep us constantly entertained and amused, and bring so much love and sweetness to our household.  

It is chipmunk season out on our patio and James and Jesse are ready for them. Fortunately, for the chipmunks, these are indoor boys. 

On what may be one of the last good days for painting, I am sanding, gluing, waxing and yes, painting. Time to relish these last autumn days while it is warm enough to work outside. 

The leaves are at peak now and that means with with the next storm they'll likely fall. Time for soup. Time to air out the wool blankets and find the flannel sheets.
 Time to think about coming inside.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Cozy. October. Home.

Some days it feels like all we do is move stuff from one room to the other, from the car to the garage, the garage to the storage unit and then back home again. Oh, how I long for the day when our barn is built. Schlepping R US. 

In the meantime, I think we've finally completed the final purge of the downstairs office so it can soon become home for my new photo station. I'm looking forward to having everything in one place and all organized and labeled. I am a true Virgo after all...

There is no turning back for Autumn anymore. The temps are struggling to get up into the fifties and the leaves are reaching peak color. Our daily hawk visits will soon end as they slowly wend their way to warmer digs for the winter. I'll miss them. 

Today we took in a lovely barn sale, pushed shopping carts through Big Lots and Lowes and are now settled in for the night. Steaks on the grill, apples, cheddar and nuts for dessert. We are living large! 
Cozy. October. Home.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Pro-Choice

Happiness.
It's a choice.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Enough is Enough

When is enough, enough? How do you do your job well and get it done in less time? Are these two things mutually exclusive? These were questions I had when I was firmly ensconced in the Ivory Tower and questions which remain now that I'm living the dream of working for myself.

When is enough, enough? This was the topic of two separate conversations I had with two different friends yesterday. Both women, both single, both trying to do it all and still preserve sanity and good health by the end of the day. None of us has the solution, but one of us is on to something. 

All three of us are "doers". When we something that needs doing, we do it. Who cares if it's "not our job" or whether there's actually time for it or if it's even on the grand to-do list for the day. All three of us finish our days with numerous tasks, projects and jobs left undone and yet only one of us is beginning to figure it out. I wish it were me.

Her answer? Choosing effectiveness over efficiency. Tah-dah! Crate of light bulbs going off over my head. I get it. I really do.
Now, can this high mileage human unravel her old way of doing things and learn a new trick or two?

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Say When

Let's start the day by banishing the whole notion of "if".
 Here's one thing I know. When you're not looking, IF erodes around the edges of hopes and dreams, and makes big old fat cracks for self-doubt and cynicsm to move right on in.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no room for the if of it all when it comes to hopes and dreams. Happiness is a choice and so is confidence. So today I'm declaring that IF has left the building. Hopes and dreams? You can flow right on in. I'm ready for you.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Plan B

It's a plan B kind of day...

A little extra sleep? Sure I should be grateful for that I guess, but it's mucked up any plans to get from here to there in time to be somewhere else and then head on over to this other place in time for ...  you get the idea.

Our kittens are now firmly in their teenage months. They're able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, have no fear of the stove or the drier, and will do almost anything to get a taste of the big girl's food. 

Jesse has found a friend in Lillie,
and Pippa seems to think we returned the boys to the SPCA when they're sequestered upstairs in their room. 
She falls for it every time. Her hope and dreams dashed daily.


James fetches better than any cat we've ever had, jumping into my chair with a toy in his mouth and letting it drop into my lap. I love watching him play with Peter's favorite toys.


So on this Plan B kind of day I'm going to try to make the best of it. Going to try to roll with it and not get stressed. Going to try and get something other than what I had planned, done...or not. I think I'll try a more kitten-like approach to things today. 

It seems to work for them.





Sunday, October 5, 2014

Something New

Treasures secured, unloaded, cleaned and tagged. Ironstone, metal, wood, glass, stoneware. 
My favorite find of the day, a beautiful cut glass square cake plate. Very petite and so pretty. Also a tin wall pocket crafted by local tinker, John Forshee who died in 1974. There is a lovely little video about him produced by Jack Ofield on folkstreams.net. I love learning something new every day.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

On the Hunt

What do you do on a cold, rainy autumn day? Keep those jammies on, curl up with a book, make some soup, cue up a movie?
Not me. No. I'm headed to a good old fashioned country auction, onsite at the family homestead. Hoping for treasures. Bundled up and ready to go. Grateful my long suffering K agreed to mind the shop today.

Thursday, October 2, 2014