putting on a happy face

Okay, enough of the whining about all the stuff that is going on. Yes, it's real, and yes, it will pass. Time to pass it with a smile! (or at least try to, starting today)...

For one thing, when you get a package like this delivered how could I NOT smile! What a treat!!! (and thank you, dear friend).

Back to the mountain today to empty the two storage units of what is left there, then on to the cabin to try to clear out what is there. Too much loose stuff, I'm afraid, but it's not easy to pack scrapping supplies unless you're heading to a crop! LOL. Heck, even then it's hard to know what to take, so I guess by nature a scrapper's life is complicated.

Tonight we're attending a benefit for Child Abuse Prevention with some friends in Nashville. Should be a nice way to shift gears after a day of schlepping! Ah, to be back in the land of the living... now there's something to smile about.

it's true, I'm infatuated!

While down at the cabin today to try to pack up and load some of my remaining belongings I popped next door to see my wee girl, Carmella. As has become her habit, when I went into the pen she came right over to me. I had brought the camera with me, expecting to see another litter of newly arrived goats, but Mama Marigold has yet to deliver! Never mind, I had time with my little one, and that was wonderful. Here she is, still wee enough to hold easily, and she's content in my arms. It's going to be hard not to be there to watch her grow, which she is doing quickly!

I told Ken that I didn't look very glamorous in this picture, and he looked at me with a serious expression and said, "Anne, you had your picture taken with a goat."

desperately seeking normal

For the last month+, since departing for Florida and then returning to the house-closing, the move, and the wedding, it has been a nonstop pace. The daily routines that anchor me were effectively yanked away to accommodate more pressing concerns, and so I have been out of touch with my friends and the small things that bring me solace. I am feeling the pain of that! I want desperately to return to a day that begins with coffee and the Early Birds, and allows for chunks of time, even small ones, to work on the NYT crossword puzzle or play Spider Solitaire. I want to chat with the Crew, read blogs and write to people I know and love. I want my life back.

I know that it will come, but the absence of the simple things that ground me is apparent to me, and I am feeling cranky! Time for my own nurture has been so elusive that I have not even opened the last TWO issues of Rubber Stamper magazine that have arrived, or Simple Scrapbooking, OR Paper Crafts. I am forgetful. Sunday I left my purse at the church, and yesterday I left the house for the day without benefit of makeup or having finished with my hair. I forgot to mail the thank you cards I had written. I forgot to send two critical emails in a timely manner. Saturday night I proclaimed that I needed some time for solitude. A nap the next day was as far as I got.

The end is almost in sight. We still have to retrieve remaining belongings from two storage units and the cabin down on the mountain. I have to think about packing for the cruise. I have to assemble class supplies (a stapler?) to take with me. I need to think about pictures and papers that I might want to have with me for a crop. I have to think about what goodies the store might have that I might want to buy, and pre-order those. Saturday. Maybe Saturday I will be able to carve out an hour to think about what lies ahead and try to prepare for it.

Lest this post appear to be nothing more than a whine-fest, I at least have the sense to be grateful that I am in a lovely new home, with a wonderful new husband, and that people I love and who love me took the time from their own busy lives to be here with us. It's spring, and even though it has been cold, it is lovely. Walking Juliet several times a day (we don't yet have the fence installed for the dogs) has been a vehicle of reward. We have received unexpeted gifts in multiple guises, and are blessed by the love they reflect. We had friends over for dinner last night and it was a delightful evening, and I don't begrudge that time at all. I'm just missing a part of me.

Oh well. Such is life. On balance, it's good. Better than good. In fact, it's really quite great.

To Life. L'Chaim.

wedding report!

Although it's only three days later, Friday seems like a long time ago now! We had such a lovely time with our family and friends who came to share the occasion with us. Everyone was here by the appointed hour, and we gathered in front of the fire place with Justice Birch. Our friend Jayne, through whom we met, read a lesson from Colossians, and his honor did all the legal stuff. At the question "who gives this woman...," which I didn't anticipate, I turned to the assembled group and suggested that perhaps they all did! I got a little choked up reciting my vows, which I hadn't expected, but hey, I can be a very emotional girl, LOL! Then when it came time to kiss the bride, Justice Birch said to Ken, "you may now salute the bride," which I thought was just the right instruction for a retired military man! I made sure that I got the salute, LOL.

Before the service I was trying on my ring to make sure it would go on easily, and had a lot of trouble with it. I chose to use my great-great grandmother's wedding ring (she was married in 1860!) for my wedding band, and though I have worn it for years on my right hand, this was a different finger. We spent some time working with lotion, then finally filled a bowl with cold water for me to soak my hand in! I had another ring (my grandmother's) that was ready to serve as a substitute if needed, but fortunately by the time we got to that part of the service the ring fit on just fine. When it came Ken's turn HIS ring wouldn't go on! Being the spontaneous wit that I am, I piped up, "want some lotion?" He refused. He did eventually get the ring on, so all is well!

I'm including a link for pictures that I posted on another site (easier than loading them here), http://groups.msn.com/CabanaClub/3dogmomsbragbook.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=805, so feel free to have a look! Not sure how many there are, but just hit "next" at the top until you get to the end.

Time for another cup of coffee and to get the dogs out. Catch ya later!

a sneak peek

I don't have much time this morning, but I thought I'd post at least one picture from our wedding! I don't think the action requires any explanation, LOL. It was a wonderful evening, and it was such a joy to share it with those who came. Mom and Kathy worked hard to make sure all the details were covered, and Junior was a big help to Ken preparing our reception meal. I'm off this morning for round two of the bishop election, and maybe tonight I'll have some time to get dsl set up so that I can upload pictures easily. Until then, enjoy this tidbit, and thank you, everyone, for all your good wishes. It means a lot!

prelude to a wedding!

Look what arrived this afternoon! This lovely arrangement was sent by my beloved Cabana Crew, and its timing was especially poignant since they were gathered at the message board for a farewell to the MB as we knew and loved it, and I wasn't able to be there. Thank you, dear friends! It looks like we're in pretty good shape for things tomorrow, and I'll try to post some news then when I have a chance to get to the computer. xoxo!!

we're in!

We’re hardly what you would call settled, but we are finally in the new house! We still have a lot of things to collect from the mountain—some pieces from the climate-controlled storage unit, the regular storage unit, and the cabin, but we have most of the basics (and then some) here. Yippee!! We will be back down to the mountain today to pick up another load of stuff, and then leave the rest for next week. Time to take a break from all this schlepping and enjoy our new home!

For loading yesterday we had the help of my seminarian and another student, who were absolute lifesavers, and a friend of Junior’s who came up from Chattanooga for a few hours. We had hoped to have the help of another friend as well, but he wasn’t able to make it, and the end we were left to our own devices to unload once we got to Lebanon (that had not been the plan!). That was a daunting prospect! It had poured rain all morning, and the blessing in that disguise is that one of our new neighbors, who was supposed to be at spring football training, got rained out and stopped by the house to offer to give us a hand unloading. We had unloaded all of two things from the truck when he showed up, so needless to say we were absolutely delighted to see him! Another friend came by an hour later, and then Debi (of house-warming basket-fame) came when she got off from work and helped us finish up.

We went to return the truck and then met Debi, her beau, and her daughter for pizza, then they all came back to the house to help get stuff shifted up into the attic crawl-space. Afterward we played with furniture arrangements in the living room (much as we love it, there are challenges with the space) and finally settled on something we can live with, thanks to Sammy, Debi’s daughter and problem-solving genius. After they left I reflected on how wonderful it is to be in a community with friends with whom you can go grab a pizza, who will help with the heavy lifting (literally), and then be part of solving furniture problems!

Well, back to the grind, and back on the road! Time for a last cup of coffee and then on with the day. Hope it’s a good one for y’all!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

A quick note as I head off to bed after a long and exhausting day, this one due to mental fatigue. My diocese tried to elect a bishop today, and failed to do so. I'm too tired at the moment to unpack the experience, and tomorrow will be another long day, with church in the morning, shifting boxes around at the new house to make way for furniture and the rest of our stuff being moved on Monday, and the return to the cabin to pack as much as possible in anticipation of Monday. It won't all get done, and that's okay. Any progress gets us closer to being moved in, and there is still time in the week that follows to retrieve what remains and get the cabin cleaned up. It's been a long ten days since this process began, and we are quite ready for it to come to a close. I'll post more when I can. Sweet dreams, in the meantime!

another day, another car load

The end is almost in sight with this move. I'm continuing to pack up the loft, and concentrating this morning on the contents of my desk before I load up the car with whatever I can grab, and get on the road to the new house. I'll be staying overnight there tonight and Saturday night, since tomorrow I have to be in Nashville, and the next day in Madison for church. No sense driving 100 miles when I can drive 25! Yesterday finished painting the walls in my office and finishing up the guest room re-do. Still have to do trim, which is first on my list today. After that, some unpacking and organizing is in order! Two days ago my friend Debi stopped by and brought us this "welcome" basket, pictured here. She did this for me six years ago when I first moved to Lebanon, and she was so sweet to think to do it again! It's inspired by a scene from "It's a Wonderful Life," and includes bread, cheese, wine, grapes and salt. For good measure she included a bread board and two wine glasses! What a sweetie. Okay, back to work for me!

progress and goats

Another day, another stage of the move! We now have furniture in the bedroom and the bed is made! We ordered new bedding for this new start, and the comforter arrived a few days ago, so it is on the bed. I am so happy with it. Will get a picture to post once the curtains have arrived and they are installed Ken spent the night there last night. Poor thing, all this activity is wearing him out. He's been having trouble sleeping, too, so I hope a night in his comfy bed will have done the trick and gotten him some rest. (Gotten him? Surely that grammar isn’t right…)

Finished most of the repainting in the guest room yesterday, and it looks great. Just need to touch up a few areas along the baseboard and that room will be ready to rock. Got some packing done yesterday before I headed up, which was a good thing. Will try to get some more done this morning before leaving. Today’s task is to paint my office/studio!

I was able to get some pictures of the goats yesterday before I left. They are just so cute I can’t stand it. Carmella was a dear, came right over to me when I went into the pen and sat on the bale of hay. There are trunks of downed trees in their pen area, and they love to climb up on those and practice balancing. I’m gonna miss them!

Time to rally for today’s activity. See ya!

keeping on, keeping on

I'm off to a slow start today. My cold and cough from several weeks ago has made a return visit, and it's getting in my way! I feel a bit better this morning than I did last night, but these moving days are long, and we aren't on track with the schedule we had hoped to be on at this point. Oh well! In the end, it will all get done and we will get moved, but in the meantime, it's a bit stressful!

Ken continues to work on the shed: the pictures show the progress. I’m managing the interior effort: the bedrooms are finally all primed, the master bedroom is painted (except for trim), and although the guest room has been painted, it needs a second coat. I also got the rug in the MBR shampooed so it is now ready for furniture! We’ve moved up the dining table and the lower part of the china cupboard, and miscellaneous other things as we grab whatever box is nearest the door to move it closer to its final destination.

This morning I will continue packing at the cabin while Ken takes a load from the storage room up to the new house. The disadvantage to this plan is that by the time I get to the house there isn’t a lot of time to get much done there. Today I will tackle the MBR trim and then finish the guest room. If time allows, I’ll get started in the third room, which will be my transitional office/studio until we’ve been able to build a new one.

Goat update! They are just the most adorable little critters, and at a mere six days old were jumping around, testing out their little legs. Wish I could stream video for you, because they are too, too cute! I have settled on the name “Carmella” for my little runt. She is predominantly the color of caramel, and it seems to suit her. The last two times I have been there to visit the wee ones, she has come right over to me, so we definitely have a bond!

Time to get packing!

in the throes of moving!

Well, moving madness has begun! We got full possession of the house late on Saturday, a day earlier than we thought, which was great. The shed is underway, and weather permitting, will have its roof and doors put on today. Then we'll paint the floor and tomorrow will start transferring garden and camping gear there, along with assorted other things. Yesterday I got started on the painting, and am hoping to finish that up today. We have been lucky so far that the storms predicted over the last several days haven't delivered their punch, but we still need for the rain to hold off during these days of loading and unloading (which is basically every day! LOL). I left the camera at the new house last night, so can't post any pics from what we've done so far, but will try to remember to bring it home tonight. We'll get phone service turned on tomorrow, and DSL should be operating there by Thursday, but not sure when we will actually transfer ourselves there! I only know that Friday I need to spend the night at the new house so that I can get to Nashville easily on Saturday, when we hold our election for our new bishop. Off to the shower and on with the day. Hope it's a good one for y'all! (This is a "before" pic!)

baby goats!

My neighbors have several goats, one of whom gave birth to SIX babies Monday night (a typical pregnancy yields one or two)! Two of them didn't survive, and of the remaining four one needs some special attention, but the wee girls are doing well. They are too cute! Here are some pics of them at three days old. The darker brown one is the runt, and I've been given permission to name her since she felt so at home in my arms when I held her (isn't that too sweet?)
The other picture is of the three males that live in a separate pen, right behind my cabin. Didn't they pose nicely? And don't you love their expressions? There's an overturned boat in their yard onto which they love to leap and play "king of the mountain." The fact that they stood still long enough for me to photograph them is a minor miracle! (PS--please forgive the funky layout of this post--blogger makes it very difficult to manipulate the placement of photos.)

finally, my "news release"

Well, it's taken me forever to post this news, and the few hardy souls who visit here pretty much know it by now anyway, but it's finally time to announce that Ken and I are getting married! An update to that news, which was delayed a bit to some central people in our lives because of other factors, is that we have set the dates. Yes, you read that right, dates! We are going to be married in a simple civil ceremony in our new house on March 24, with a wedding celebration to be held November 11 when our family and friends are able to join us for that event at Christ Church Cathedral, in Nashville. Mark your calendar!

Knowing that this day would get here eventually, a while ago I procured the above bumper sticker, which Junior put on my car for me when he was here a couple of weeks ago. That really makes it official!

Stay tuned for further updates!

more pics!

I finally loaded pictures from the CD Jules did for me, so I can now share some more pictures from our week in paradise. I am so happy with some of these, they captured some wonderful moments!
That's the gang after dinner Saturday night, a fine-feathered friend on the beach, and Kath and Janet "modeling" shirts for our upcoming cruise.

road trip photo gallery, part 1

Just call us the fun-time (when it's not sunshine) girls! That's me, Kip, Kath, Janet and Jules. In other pics: Kip and Woody share smiles, as do Jules and Gene (aka 'e'). These were all taken Saturday night at, and after, dinner in St. Petersburg.

road report from home!

We’re home from our trip, and though it’s always good to be home, and I am grateful to be back in the land of dsl, it was sooooooooooo hard to leave behind the delights of paradise. We couldn’t have asked for a better time, and what a joy it was to share those days with such wonderful friends. Kath Kip, Janet, Jules and ‘e,’ we miss you!

It was disappointing to me not to be able to share our exploits with you after the initial post, but I had mega troubles trying to upload pictures, and even publishing text was a trial. Unfortunately my photo-card reader has bitten the dust, and although Jules very kindly loaded my pictures to her computer and burned a CD for me, I haven’t yet had a chance to load those pictures into my own computer. So, with this initial “post road trip” report I will be sharing “old” pictures from last weekend. I will probably do that in stages, because there are some wonderful pics to share. The ones I’m posting here include Ken and me at dinner on Saturday, the Cabana Crew at the Heidi Swapp workshop, and a view of St. Pete from the restaurant roof where we ate Saturday night.

A quick recap of our week with Jules and ‘e:’ Sanibel and Captiva, with a pause for sun and relaxation at the beach before heading to Key Lime Bistro for lunch. Great weather, great company, wonderful food… shopping with Jules (without the guys, who fended for themselves quite admirably in our absence!), with some great finds for the upcoming cruise… delightful repasts prepared by Gene (the aforementioned ‘e’)… a tour through the Koreshan Settlement (a repeat for me, and certainly for Jules, who bikes there, but a first for Ken)… more shopping… coffee in the hot tub… sitting in at the stamp store for the weekly demo (and serious damage on the business credit card—creations are forthcoming!)… more good food… lots of conversation and the pure joy of being with companionable friends.

Among the shopping finds were towels for our soon-to-be new guest bathroom. Thanks to Jules, who showed me her choice for HER new bathroom, I quickly complimented her taste by buying the SAME towels. (Jules, I found companion solids with Ralph Lauren towels at Westpoint Stevens!)

Well, enough for now. I’ll try to catch up with you some more Sunday afternoon. I’m preaching Sunday morning outside Nashville so it will be later in the day before I have a chance to get to the computer.

Ciao!

road report: part I

It’s day four of our road trip, and what a wonderful time we are having! Friday we arrived in St. Petersburg, FL in time to join Kip, Woody, Kath and Bob for dinner. We had a great evening together, and continued the fun and conversation far past my bedtime!

Saturday morning Kip picked up Kath and me and we headed to Ruban Rouge, a scrapping store where scrapping product diva Heidi Swapp was leading a workshop that featured some of her new products. We rendezvoused there with Jules, Janet and Teri. Heidi’s trademark color is pink, so we all decked ourselves suitably (which seemed to please her), and after arriving at the store settled into the back row where we could cause as little distraction as possible to others when we got carried away amongst ourselves. It was a good class, and what a fabulous store! I exercised great restraint and bought only a handful of things, along with—brace yourselves—only one sheet of paper! From there we went to lunch at a great place in Dunedin, where we enjoyed more laughs, a funky waiter, and very good food. We returned to our respective hostels late in the afternoon with some breathing room before gathering at Kip’s for a little winethirty celebration, then swung by a local hotel to fetch Janet’s husband, Bob, before all going to dinner. We enjoyed more good food at a Spanish/Cuban restaurant out at the end of the St. Petersburg Pier. Though too dark to enjoy much of a view, it was still a treat to be out by the water, and to walk out on the fifth floor deck afterward and enjoy the view of the city (there's a photo for next time--blogger and dial-up aren't good friends and I'm having trouble loading this last picture). Best of all, however, was the company, and it was a wonderful celebration of friendship.

I’ll save further reporting for the next blog entry so that I can spread out the inclusion of pictures. Next stop, Ft. Myers, our visit with Jules and Gene, and more food!

watch this space!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just headed south for some R&R! Hard to find time at the computer in these circumstances and to post pics of our adventures, but I WILL try to do that tonight. For my handful of regular visitors, I thought I would at least let you know that something will be in this space soon! Miss having the chance to be in touch. More later!

phasing into transition

I am very excited to be moving, and soon. When I think about having adequate space, a real kitchen, a yard with grass (instead of dirt), and a chance to garden again, my heart simply leaps with joy. And yet, when I look out the windows of the cabin where I live now, watch the chickens scratching through the leaves for bugs and such, listen to the hooves of the goats as they land on the overturned metal hull of the boat that serves as their “pinnacle,” and revel in the brilliance of the night sky out here away from city lights, I feel a certain sadness. This is certainly not the best place for me to live, but aspects of this life have also fed my soul.

Is it possible to have it all? To have spaciousness and also a neighborhood? To enjoy the solitude of living in the woods and still have access to a decent grocery store? There probably is (I think of Danville, VT, where Gail lives, though she also knows about the paucity of shopping!). Maybe it’s just been a case of bad timing for me, in this place. I love my immediate neighbors, who also wear hats as landlords, and my doctor. It’s a treat to get fresh eggs, fresh tomatoes, and other spoils from their garden. It was a stitch to learn how to milk a goat, and to share laughs over the antics of our animals, as well as our various human shenanigans and exploits. It’s been fun to watch Maggie grow toward adulthood while still running barefoot through the yard, and to bring Elizabeth dirt from assorted destinations on our travels (yes, dirt—she collects dirt).

All the same, it is time to move on. I will treasure these memories, these friendships, the knowledge that I can milk a goat and feel safe out here in the remote, dark woods. They have satisfied a part of my soul that I didn’t know had a longing, and perhaps they will shape the journey I take further on down the road. It is the nature of change for the experience to be bittersweet.

I will savor these last days, and when it comes time to take my leave it will be with gratitude for the opportunity to lay my head in this place, to watch the leaves fall and listen to the early morning call of the roosters, to have a place to call home and feel that is has been just that.

I’m a lucky girl.