Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thankful

What a difference a year makes. This time last year I was looking retirement square in the face and scared to death. Today it's a reality.

I am so grateful for the many people who made it possible. Most importantly my dad who encouraged me to save and my sweet husband who continues to toil away endlessly at the bit mines. I can't wait 'til it's his turn. 

It's been an amazing year. Our health is good. The girls are happy and our families near and far are well. I'm living in my dreams. Working from home, one business up and running, the other just beginning to take off. 

I've learned to acknowledge and embrace my inner entrepeneur, to believe in my good business sense and trust my instincts. I started saying WHEN instead of IF. 

Grateful? You bet. I feel like I've won the lottery. Happy Thanksgiving. Today and every day.


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

White

Thanksgiving snow. 

 It is a day for napping.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Fancy Feast

Apple Cider Caramels, Pumpkin Spice Bars and Cranberry Sauce.
Oh, and lots of snuggling. Lots and lots.

Monday, November 24, 2014

This is the Day

This is the day.
The day to unpack the car full of galvanized gold, rinse it clean and store it for summer. The day to finally excavate the last of the inventory from the house and stow it away. Today is day to shop for Thanksgiving and start baking. It's the day to get the guest room ready, unearth the linen napkins and start ironing. Today's the day to find the extra leaves to the dining table, to stack more wood on the hearth and the day to move extra chairs into the family room.
 
This is the day.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Pile Up

It's Friday and man has it been a week for the record books! Just west of us by only a couple hours, our friends in Buffalo are digging out from underneath an epic storm that dumped as much as 84 inches of snow. I cannot begin to imagine what's that like.

 Here on the home front it's been frigid with very little snow, but cozy as can be. Plans for the weekend include auction tonight, auction tomorrow and possibly auction on Sunday. Yeah, I know, this plan begs one all important question. Where the heck are we gonna put all this stuff we're buying? I haven't a clue really, but I'm banking on stuff selling fast enough so it doesn't pile up high and deep like good old Buffalo, NY snow...

I love winter and especially the early days of winter. Yeah, I know I'll be singing a different tune come March, but for now it's time to hunker down, get to work and get cozy. Time to fill the cast iron pot with stew and cook it all day in the oven. Time to make the Thanksgiving menu. Time to take stock, be grateful and appreciate all we have.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Ready

Oh, be still my heart. We're looking square in the face at TWO days in a row with no scheduled appointments AND just in time for the first winter storm of the season!

Wood's all stacked and ready nearby, pork roast is in the crock pot and James is curled up on my lap. I've got a date with a stack of books and magazines that have been patiently waiting for me for months now. I am so ready for this.
 
Such simple joy.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Enough Already

This morning the unmanned rocket ship Rosetta landed on a comet orbiting the sun. Its surface is reportedly all craggy, full of cliffs and not exactly what you'd call landing-friendly. I'd like to sit in awe of this event for a moment. Whoa. 

 My own victories are nothing in comparison to landing on a speeding comet, but I have managed to make changes in the last couple of years that have resulted in a deeper, more sustained sense of peace and happiness. Quitting a job I hated, cutting out sugar all together and turning off the cable are a few of things that made a difference.

So why do I find myself in the thick of a miserable patch right now? It's easy to chalk it up to hormones but I know that's not it.

It's time to quit complaining. 
I don't deal with stress by shopping or binge drinking. Instead I go on a complaint bender, and lately it's gotten the better of me. Venting only feels good for a minute or two. I think it's time to decide it's just not worth it anymore. 

It's time to stop waiting for something to happen.
I'll be the first to admit that I have a tendency to make my own happiness contingent on some big life altering event  - when I've lost the weight, when we've built the barn, when K retires. Enough already.

It's time to quit giving in to negative thoughts,  jumping to conclusions and being a victim.
Oy veh. This is a biggy. I'll need more than luck to deal with this. Mindfulness practice is about the only thing that makes a dent in this toxic cycle.

It's time to get over caring what other folks think. I mean come on already...
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~ Dr. Seuss

 

It Doesn't Matter

Bad news is: 
You cannot make people like, love, understand, validate, accept or be nice to you. 
You can't control them either. 
Good news is: 
It doesn't matter.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Please PIck Me

I'm thinking about teams, teamwork and partnerships today and I'm reaching back to those dreaded days in gym class where we'd pick folks for teams. The desperate hope that I wouldn't be the last one chosen is still pretty vivid. What were those teachers thinking...


Sadly those same dynamics seem to play out in Adultland more than I like to admit. So this morning I'm taking the advice of Seth Godin and I'm allowing myself the ultimate privilege of picking myself for my very own team. Whoa, what a concept. So obvious and so true.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Middle Ground

Show up. Pay attention. Don't be attached to the outcome. 
Focus on the process rather than the goal.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

WTF

It'll be all right. The four most important words a spouse can whisper in your hear, save for I love you. 
Today, on the day after the midterm elections, I'm doing my best to believe he's right.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Reprieve

Screeeeeeech! Slam on the brakes, crank up the turn signal. 
I'm making a u-turn in terms of today's to-do list. 
 Who knew it would be warm enough to paint on election day!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Open Door Policy

After ten years of living in our sweet little farmhouse, we finally discovered the perfect use for our living room. 

In all the years we've lived here the living room has been nothing more than a glorified hallway to the upstairs. 

Our house is a hybrid - 1865 in the front, 1970s in the back. When they added on two stories to the back of the house, they enlarged the kitchen and added a family room. Upstairs the two back bedrooms got full height ceilings and a second bathroom was put in. 


It's a roomy place but nowhere in the house can you take in the staggeringly beautiful view across the lake valley, EXCEPT if you're standing in the dining room or the living room. 
So, we moved our online business downstairs - packing table, photography set-up, inventory shelves. We know it seems an odd move and most of our friends think we're crazy. But I know but once curtains go up on the French doors and it's all hidden from the "public" part of the house, it'll be perfect. 

We've spent weeks trying to figure out how to make it work. It's called for major purging and a whole lot of schlepping, but miraculously it all fits now and the light there is glorious. I couldn't have a more perfect work space and I couldn't be happier.
Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. 
John Barrymore

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Fall Back

We're off to auction with a full belly and an extra hour sleep under our belts. 
On-site season is almost over, still we're considering hauling our chairs out to an old homestead to sit under a leaky old tent in search of treasure. Wish us luck. Here at our house setting the clocks back an hour is accompanied not only by checking the smoke detectors, but also by a grand search for hats, gloves and long underwear.

Happy November!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

R.R.R.

It's Saturday. Here we go again. Time to excavate the house.
Recycle, reduce, remove
We ARE going to get the cars in the garage this year!