I Give Thee Thanks

My Handsome Prince and another year of clean scans

Cute Puppies

Walks in the woods, on the beach, and in the neighborhood

Evidence of mixed families

Precious baby girls

Dogfish Head and being a local

Fun

And games

A clean slate and the ability to make decisions

For Inspiration in unexptected places

Smiling, serving, selfless soldiers

For unexpected delights

A cup o' joe

Puppy love

My incredible, inspiring, growing daughters

Friends, new and old

A community of people

Gracious family hosts and guests

The bond of Sisters

The worry of Mothers

The experiences of music

And for much more, I give Thee Thanks.

Every Girl Needs Her Mommy Sometimes

We talked on the way to the Doctor's office.  We talked in the waiting room.  We talked in the examining room, over a hot lunch, waiting for a prescription, getting blood work done and all the way back to her apartment.  We spoke of room mate drama, past and present, of protests, of holiday plans, of classes, of day to day minutiae.  We were still talking as I made the long trek back home and she was in her apartment.  I complained about the traffic.  She said "Thanks for coming to take care of me Mommy.  I am sorry you are stuck in traffic."  I responded, "I had a nice afternoon Emma Girl, I am sorry you are sick."  And then she cried, I suspect it was with relief that she could relinquish the responsibility of making decisions for a brief period of time and to be in the hands of her Mommy for just a bit.

Glimpse

Last night I caught a glimpse of my future.  My Handsome Prince and I in our separate favorite seating in the living room, watching a movie as my cell phone constantly went off with text messages from our daughters.  Me, knitting, him on the computer looking for a car, pursuing our separate hobbies together in our home, void of the physical presence of our daughters, yet always on our minds.

Quality vs Quantity

There is something truly to be said about quality time versus quantity time.  My sister loaded up four year old 'bino, the two dogs, met my Father somewhere along the beltway and drove the 3 hours to meet me.  We opted to meet at Cape Henlopen State Park, a favorite, and now only 30 minutes away for me.  This way the dogs could run and 'bino could play in the sand.  And that is what we did.

The Campground was quiet and empty.  Li'l Sis and I both remarked that we wished we were camping.

We went to the "doom" where Sambino jumped

and jumped and got sand in his pockets

No time together is complete without a self portrait

We went to Herring Point aka The Dog Beach

It was windy

We climbed rocks

The dogs posed

I climbed and posed

Quality Mother Daughter Time

My Dad - this one speaks for itself

And then we went into town

Where a stop at the toy store is a must for children and adults alike

And then it was time to go, time for them to go home, time for Audrey to go to school, time to get back to our regular lives.

The Storm

The rain and wind started Thursday.  I called Mom advising her to check the weather and road conditions before she started across the bridge.  She arrived late afternoon Thursday, flustered.  It was a bad drive.  Because I had barely left the house all day, I sent Audrey to school that evening and regretted it immediately after she left.  So much so that My Handsome Prince and I went to pick her up after class and drive her car home for her.  While we were gone, the volunteer fire alarm went off so of course Mom could not rest until all were safe at home.  By Friday, the rain had subsided and we ventured into Rehoboth to pick up the necessities, sock yarn, growlers of Dogfish Head beer, and the makings of molasses cookies.   I was advised not to try to get into work in Bethany as Rt 1 was closed from Rehoboth to Bethany and Rt. 26 had a lot of standing water. We had a lovely visit, knitting, baking, shopping, watching movies, web surfing, laughing, talking.  On Saturday, we ventured into town, this is what we encountered:

one entrance closed - Pennsylvania Avenue remained closed on until Sunday and even then....

submerged wooden walkway

floaters from the post office

These are just a few images from the Conference Center.  After checking the chapel and Campbell Hall, we ventured to the beach. 

Beach devestation

We thought we were prepared for the water with our cute boots from a well known store but little did we know that they were not water tight.  Audrey actually poured water out of her boot.   As Li'l Sis says, cute is overrated.

Morning Walk

Walk time

Abondonded in pursuit of something better?

Artsy fartsy shoppy shop gathering place location?

Mmmm, huevos con chorizo

Waiting for the light to change

Making friends

Love this

And this

Home, where the leaves are just changing color and falling

A Beautiful Day in November

We went to the beach today, just for a bit.  What a luxury to go to the beach for just a bit.  I think I'll go back tomorrow.

A Sense of Accomplishment

My house is empty, with the exception of a donut we left in the microwave and my season at the Conference Center is officially over.  And that's all I have to say about that.

Moving Moments

We arrived last night to our house on Deep Run.  I brought my laptop and my knitting with the intent of watching a movie and knitting.  The house was COLD.  It looked cold, empty, void of anything personal and the heat was not on.  I was grouchy as my sun room was finally finished, after I moved out.  Why do we wait until someone else is going to take ownership to finish things?  So we went to bed, sleeping on opposite ends of the L shaped sofa, the only piece of furniture left, talking.  Sort of like when we moved in to this house, moving everything we owned into the basement, all 4 of us sharing the king size mattress that was crammed in between our belongings,  for weeks as we gutted the main floor.  I have no real feeling of sadness or remorse about this place on Deep Run as it is not my house anymore.  It bears none of my marks, except for the pins I found in the carpet in the basement.  The house in Dagsboro is home now, with the clumps of dog fur on the hard wood floors, the potpourri scent of Santa Maria Novella in the living room, the basket of knitting by the chair, the dog leashes in the bowl by the front door, the sound of the tv coming from Audrey's room, the glow of the computer set up off our bedroom, the many visits from family and friends.  These are just a few of the things that are making our new house our home.

WANTED

New BFF - Please be advised this is a position being created not a replacement position. 
Location: the closer, the better, within a few miles is ideal especially for impromptu cups of coffee, project sharing or the inevitable borrowing of a cup of sugar or an egg, but even a distance of 20 miles is acceptable.
Qualifications:  Must be creative and practice either knitting, rug hooking, sewing, quilting, embroidery, photography or fitness.  Of course, being proficient in other art/craft forms is a bonus.  As a counter balance, it would be good for applicant to like gardening, home decorating, and cooking or baking. Applicant should have a good sense of humor as laughter will be a large part of the job, along with a few tears, so sensitivity is also a necessary quality.  Strength, to rein me in when I tackle to much and patience when I go on a tirade of a subject that I am passionate about are important qualities.  Applicant should be resistant to obnoxious behavior and a loud voice.  Roadtrips are an occasional job requirement, usually to some sort of shop, bar, restaurant, or concert.   Music, books, beer and coffee.  Need I say more?  Most of all, applicant should have an open mind and open heart and have the ability to open mine too, patience to develop this position for it may take a while to determine the parameters and a friendly smile. 

Mug Club

Proud, card carrying members of the Dogfish Head Mug Club, oh yeah.

This Is The Day

To Do

General straightening

A load of laundry

Attend a meeting of the local knitting guild (my first, alone, in a new place)

Hook some women up with wireless
Patch my jeans - eventually  I want them to look like this
Stop eating cake

Make My Day
An excited wave from a recently met neighbor
Walking the dogs
My youngest, thinking/talking about her college decisions which are a bit unconventional, imagine that, awesome

Coffee with cream served in this

Being so absorbed in a telephone conversation with my sister that I pull over and am lost and late to knitting guild meeting, so, so worth it
A friendly, creative, open, inspiring knitting group

A walk on the beach, standing at the waters edge, and being the only one as far as the eye can see

Not So Hot
Dogs in the garbage
Leaving lovely pitcher of cream on counter all day
No success in the stop eating cake department

What I did Today

The coreopsis and mum are my doing, along with the various chickens.  I live in chicken country so have decided my front garden bed will have many hens, chicks, roosters.  The samll clay hen on the right actually has hen and chicks planted inside it.

Getting Around

As part of trying to meet residents of the Eastern Shore, I have found numerous guilds in the area.  There are several quilt guilds, a rug hooking guild, an embroidery guild, and a few knitting groups.  When I put all of them in my calendar I look like quite the social butterfly.  Needless to say, some of them will fall by the wayside.  Today was the monthly meeting of the Ocean Waves Quilt Guild which meets in Lewes (that's Loo-is, and yes it is) DE.  I love, love, love Lewes.  Today's speakers were three African American women whose presentation was on the legend of the Underground Railroad.  One would tell the story, one would sing old spirituals, and one would hold a quilt up as the storyteller spoke of it's significance in the journey to freedom.  It was a most lovely presentation based on historical facts, folklore and the individual need for personal freedom that is a universal need not based on any race, creed or religion.  Later in the day, I walked to the local quilt shop to buy a spool of basic off white quilting thread to finish an old project.  The owner said "thanks, bye Dana".  I think I'm starting to get around.

NaBloPoMo

What better way to get re-acquainted with my blog than to join NaBloPoMo or National Blog Posting Month?  I'm tired, can't find my quilting thread, don't want to go out to the car to get my knitting, my glasses or my book.  There is nothing on tv and I don't think we have any movies.  How lame is that?

Why Dread?

This is me these days.  I decided in June of 2008 to bite the bullet and do something that scared me, that fascinated me, that made me think differently.  It is not something I ever regret.  I do not know how long I will keep them.  I do not know what I will do when/if I cut them.  I just don't know.  What I do know is that I have completely stepped outside the box in terms of my appearance.  I no longer fuss with my hair, dislike the way something is going with my hair, or am overly concerned with my hair, obviously.  It has freed me. Incredibly.  I have subjected myself to judgement in the hopes that I will become less judgemental.  As crazy as this sounds, but if I can do this to my appearance, what other things can I accomplish?  What other things that scare me, that are outside my comfort zone, that are a bit daring can I do? They inspire confidence.  The amount of patience to get even this far is an art itself.  In a world of instant gratification, this is an ongoing project that I am not sure will ever be finished.  So I have learned to develop patience.  There is so much more to dreading my hair than a hairstyle.  In fact, it is the anti-hairstyle. But yet, it is not about not caring.  Clear as mud, right? Yet it makes sense to me.   And as the process continues, so does my reason to have them.  I have been surprised by the response.  Some people don't say anything, that is fine.  They are the ones who are polite, don't understand, and don't want to hurt my feelings.  Some are curious such as the older women in their 70's at church one time who wanted to touch them.  There was the old man at the auto store who looked at me, broke into a huge grin, laughed and said "I like your hair".  Several african american women ask me why I did it.  I didn't realize how much I would be remembered.  It never occured to me and so it is an added bonus.  But, I have never, yet received a negative comment.  They are me.  They fit. It feels right, at least now and when it doesn't, well, that is when they come off.  And so that is why I did it, do it, and continue the journey.

Pardon My Dust

Trying on a new look.

Let Your Mind Slide

Bonerama at my favorite brewery/pub/restaurant

with my favorite concert goers, minus one

We literally dodged trombone slides, no lie. It was awesome.

It was everything I had hoped for and more. Beer, benevolence and Bonerama.

The Gathering Place

I dream of a gathering place, a place where the neighborhood comes to get their daily dose of whatever it is they need. Audrey and I have been discussing it lately. I think it stems from my days as a kid in Oak Park, IL. This was a lovely place to meet for breakfast while I was in Baltimore for 24 hours and I am not kidding you the best coffee ever.

Shhhhh

I have actually been crafting lately. My season at work has slowed to the point where I am only working weekends. During the week, I am pretty much off, making my own schedule so have been knitting, sewing, needle felting, and planning, planning, planning. The problem is my faithful readers are the recipients of these items and I can't show them here. Dang! I want to show off my productivity.

Denial

I am in denial. As soon as my busy season ended, I thought I would get a couple weeks on the beach, some time by the pool, a little kayaking. Nope, fall came and looks as if it is going to stay. I love fall but I was holding out for one more heat wave. The pool is still open but it never gets warm enough to get in. I am still holding out for about a week, then I will give in. The evidence is too strong. I have fall desires, too, like stitching thisI have just started the doodling on the paper. I think I will free hand most of it.

And this was my kitchen yesterday! I made soup! In the crock pot! And sewed!Even the dogs have settled in. Is there any hope of a small, teeny, tiny, heat wave so I can go lay out on the beach?