Summer Colors

and another one's gone and another one's gone

I've hugged many a tree in my day, a 200 year old mammoth at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Banyans in India, ancient redwoods in Northern California and old oaks near the river.  Some trees just have to be hugged for their beauty and longevity and the images conjured of all that they have witnessed.

When I see an old diseased fellow with the impending doom sign tacked to it or when someone is casually remarking about taking down a tree in their yard, my heart sinks.  Trees scream you know.

So, when I stepped into my backyard a few days ago to find the lovely, young pecan in my neighbors yard gone and the son with chainsaw in hand taking down a beautiful pine (that finally got large enough to obscure the view of their house) I was aghast!  WHY! 

Apparently they were getting too big.  What?  I love my neighbor but Hatchet Hand likes her plants to be hacked and shaped and short and yielding to her authority. 

I am going to have to build a privacy screen covered in vines.  I don't want to look at the side of her house.  I want to see nature and continue to delude myself into thinking that we don't live in a neighborhood but out in the country.  What I really want is to have those trees back.

These Are The Good Old Days

This last week and a half hasn't at all gone as planned.  But, does anything in my life, really?  It is good that I am not one of those that needs to follow a strict course of action because if I was I'd be tearing my hair out. It's just best to go with the flow.

Last weekends plan was to really get hoppin' on the bathroom remodel and go out to dinner for our 5 year anniversary.  The other flow, Aunt Flo, came for her unfortunate monthly visit leaving me feeling like crap and unable to be of any use or assistance. 

The Honey found what we had feared, a lot of water damage and the need to replace and reinforce a lot of support beams.  I layed around making myself useless while he sang out of key to his i-pod between cussing and cursing the maker of this house, Adolph.

Then, Tuesday through Thursday, I got a lovely stomach bug.  Woke up Friday with a painful eye stye which continues to get larger.  While trimming the monster bay hedge, carefully balanced on the top step of a 10 foot ladder, I got bit by a spider.  Whether psychosomatic or real I began to feel nauseated and dizzy and couldn't help fearing that with my recent luck I'd end up in the emergency room with a brown recluses' poison quickly destroying my cells.  After a long nightmare filled nap I found myself still alive and ready to tackle that dang hedge!

I keep thinking about the aesthetics of the remodel while the reality is that we aren't even close to installing the tub or the tile.  The vanity hasn't yet been made, nor has the concrete counter.  The door has to be moved to accommodate the larger tub and will be replaced with one we bought years ago.  The electrical must be replaced...and who knows what other craziness we will encounter!
Someday we will look back on these days with fondness and forget how cold the outdoor shower was!

Raindrops in June

What started as mild sprinkles turned into a full-fledged storm with dramatic thunder, leaving today feeling refreshed and cleansed.  As a 12 year old, I spent the summer with my great aunt and uncle in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Every afternoon, at about 2 or 3pm the sky would fill with enormous, dark-bottomed clouds that would let loose their load for a half an hour or so.  Afterwards, the smell of ozone and the saturated colors would wake up my senses and the world it's self would feel more alive.

Bathroom Remodel Update

Progress is finally being made, I just hope that it won't be yet another month and a half until the next phase!  The ugly yellow (once white) with gold sparklies shower wall covering is gone, as is the weird closet.  We bought tile for the shower yesterday, the tub gets moved out today. Our temporary shower is cute but I am not looking forward to my first cold shower in it this morning!

A Strange Video & Song That Is Stuck In My Head!

One!

Today is The Summer Solstice and the one year anniversary of my blog.  I remember quite well that first post, I was a bit scared.  I didn't tell any one I was "doing it" for a long while.  I had something of an imposter complex going on.  With all of the real blogs out there, who was I trying to fool?  Would any one want to read what I had to say?  There were many times when I felt alone out there in the blogosphere, but thankfully words of encouragement came my way from friends and a fellow blogger.  Yep, talking about you Reuben! Thanks so much!

This year has found me more comfortable with where I am (loss of career, what now?).  I feel more hope and less inner struggle and fear for the future.  I am riding a wave now, going with the flow and somewhere I will touch land and find where I need to be. 

I am making more art, making new friends, making my little world more beautiful and making do with "less". Thank you for joining me on the journey!