Facing your fears

Tomorrow I embark on a trip to see my lovely children. Problem is, I have to get on a plane to get there. I haven't flown for over 20 years.Things have changed in the flying world. I used to be able to get to the airport 20 minutes before takeoff. Now it's an hour and a half to two hours.

I used to be able to take my own drinks or lotions. Now all that has to be left at home or in the cargo hold.

I used to not worry about hijackers, terrorists and the like. Now I am as worried about them as the marshal on board with the gun.

When I started having children the realization hit me that I could die and leave them alone and unmothered. For that reason I just couldn't bring myself to get on a plane. Plus the fact that flying all of us would take our life's savings. So I got by on my own wheels.

The last driving trip to Utah was long. I was feeling my age as my back, legs and torso cramped up from sitting for hours. I struggled to stay awake across the plains of Nebraska and Wyoming. For the first time in years the thought occurred to me that I would rather fly than drive. It was a breakthrough.

I also decided that it was more important for me to see my children's major life events than let my fear prevent me from making the trip.

It is hard for me. Scary. But. . . I have a pocket of Xanax and faith that my time here is not yet over. See you in the wild blue yonder!

Ems B Day

It is hard for me to believe that this cute little baby

Has grown up to be this lovely girl

We had a birthday party for her last week with 13 of her favorite people. Number one on the list:
Turns out one of Em's friends wrote a mystery dinner and wanted everyone to dress up. Everyone came decked out.
We started by making pizzas and reading our identities out loud

There was cake . . .And presents . . .

Happy Birthday, Ems!
Thanks for being around for the last 17 years. We love you!

Music starts early

The next big project

Okay, okay, I know you are all just dying to know what I have done to my house this time!! Right??? Yes???

You see, I have this bad habit of doing major things to my house when my husband is away. When he comes home he isn't sure if he is in the right house. That's what I did when I painted the living room last time.I like this paint job. I really do. I didn't intend for the base color to be purple (it was supposed to be pewter). I used a feather duster in two different colors and the effect was pretty cool--people thought it was wallpaper.
But, well . . . I get bored after awhile. It's like the 7 year itch. I have to change my surroundings. So when I painted the kitchen, well, it just didn't go with my living room.

This time I didn't wait for DH to leave. I started by recovering the lovely sofa he made for me--using some of the same fabrics from the kitchen project. I just love the striped fabric. (Those are Austin's legos under the bench--for the siblings of my piano students--not for me, LOL!)
I picked the tan color from the stripes and put a light tan on the top wall, and a darker on the bottom. Then I added the chair rail. And let me tell you, it is not easy putting up a 12 foot chair rail by yourself! (it looks a little crooked in this picture, but it really isn't, really!!)
I like the way it looks with dad's painting. It's not hung yet, but the colors look nice together.

Changing seasons

Just a few months ago, our snow was deep and heavy, and . . . lovely. It was white and crisp and clean.Now it looks like this:

And this:

Yuck!
The lovely boy scout snow caves, which they worked hours on, have degenerated to this:

There is a nice little skylight and a new back door in this cave.

But perhaps the saddest thing of all to see is what lies under the snow.

My lawn, once green and beautifully lush, is now a soggy muck of mud and grass.

Every year I wonder if the grass will once again grow back. And it always does. But during the months of March and April, it looks pretty hopeless.

Watching winter turn back into spring is a hard process here. The land has to work hard to reclaim itself, and it knows that it really has a relatively short time to do it. The sun is weak, but it is out longer now. You can see the plants and the people gradually warm up to it and soak it in. We are all slowly coming back to life.

Ta Da!

Well. . . the closet redo is finally finished! Yahoo!! Are you ready to see it??? Here is it step, by step.

First, the red paint job. Have to have red. Just have to. Did you know that red is a power color? I feel powerful in my red kitchen.
First the cabinet on the left. (Ain't it beautiful?)
Now the middle one . . . (did you notice the flowers? Miz Belle got some for her performance)
Now the right
The display cabinet goes up . . (I just love you, you big ol' ex-Amish cabinet guy! There is a story behind the ex-Amish part. I'll save it for another blog)
Teamwork gets it done faster (I'm all for teamwork! Uh, oops, sorry about the slight exposure part)
And now the finale, TA DA!
It matches my cabinets perfectly. I LOVE IT!! I'm happy.

Now, let's see. What shall I do next in my house. . . . ? Stayed tuned!

Asian Bound!

Well, I think many of you know about Adam. He is going to . . .
Specifically the Taipei Taiwan Mission. Cool, huh? Our Hammer menfolk seem to be destined for the Asian countries. DH in Japan, Aust in Korean and now Adam in Taiwan.

Here are some interesting photos. It seems like a very sophisticated city.

Good transportation:
There is even a temple!
Here is a downtown shot. It reminds me of Times Square, Asian style:
I talked to someone last night who has visited there. He said there are 14 million people and 10 million rickshaws. I think they have upgraded to motor cars:
Adam reports June 25th. We are excited!