Pure Joy

I think this is one of those moments when a picture speaks a thousand words. So, all I need to say here is Edy's (Low Fat no less) ...if you love dreamsicles then you will love this. I NEVER thought I would like any ice cream without chocolate in it, on it, rippled through or chunked in. But this, is a bowl full of delight. By the way it makes a great dinner, so it probably would work for breakfast also!

Weekend Project

This was my weekend project...one I have wanted to do since I moved into this house a yea and a half ago. The problem was there was no power in the back yard and i just didn't like the idea of running extension cords under the deck. So a few days ago L put in an outdoor outlet and somehow made there it live with power...now I can plug in mt lights on my umbrella and I finally got to set up my fountain. My Mom gave me this fountain as a house warming present for the first house I ever bought. It got married with me and

traveled to a new house and got divorced with me and traveled to this house. I love the sound of the trickle of water. It is relaxing and the birds love to drink out of it.

Below is a close up, so you can see that he isn't peeing, but holding a fish by the tail...the fish spits the water out. His leg is cracked and I am afraid he won't hold together much longer. But I love having it in my new garden and in whatever condition, he will always be a part of my home...wherever that may be.

Joy of Patience

Patience......I don't have any! Years ago my Mom gave me a start of her plant that she calls Walking iris. It is supposed to like wet feet and bright light. Somehow, despite this, hers thrives in pots in a window rather than outside by a boggy area. That's my Mom's green thumb prevailing! She has always shared starters of her plants with me and my sister over the years. We always "wrote off" her starters because they were always tiny little sprigs of a plant, which sometimes take years to reach a decent size. For someone who loves gardening as much as I do, I am short on patience. I am the type who wants a full mature garden instantly..the day I plant it. I look out everyday to see if the little plants that came out of a one inch cube are now lush and overgrown. I buy the biggest plants I can afford rather then wait a few extra weeks..they always seem the same size if you just save your money and wait patiently for a few more weeks. But the most rewarding of the two is the one you wait for. The one that takes forever to have its first bloom. I have had this small pot of her Walking Iris since I got my divorce and moved into my own home. This is its first bloom. It is a tiny bloom, but magnificent in detail. And there are two more buds, patiently waiting to make an appearance. Patience.

Easter Joy

Sitting out on my deck Easter morning we observed the following progression of pictures. First , he did a fly by of the house, then hopped closer, then was brave enough to look in the door, and finally he entered and made a quick check of the perks of being a homeowner.

And in the end......he got the girl!!

Weekend Joy; A New power Tool

Well, it is really a replacement...my power sander exploded last fall while sanding a butcher block island. It was actually more of a meltdown. So L and I went to Home Depot for spring project supplies; i.e light fixtures for the deck, and a new screen door. He bought me a new sander (which we needed for the door project) that is a few notches better then the one I used to use. The screen door project is one I have been wanting to do for the last year. I love screen doors and porches. Unfortunately I don't have a porch on my little house; my deck is the closest thing I have and I can't do anything about that. But a screen door, well it doesn't really fit the house, but I really wanted one anyway. My bedroom has a door that opens out onto the back deck so it was a perfect place. I love the sound a screen door makes when it slaps shut. There is just something nostalgic about the sound of the spring as it opens followed by the slap of wood when it shuts. Hopefully the weather well allow a few weeks of cool nights before the wicked summer heat starts. With a ceiling fan and screen door, at least I will take a bite out of the air conditioning bill.

Early Morning Joy

Yesterday I bought a new palm at Lowes. They had them on sale for $9.99 and I have an empty corner in my living room that needs a tenant. This morning when I woke up and came in the room, the sun was shining through the door on the palm making the most beautiful patterns. Each frond is a work of art, each different, yet each staying true to form to what nature intended it. After 15 minutes the show was over....the light had crept on across the floor and once again the palm was a palm. Art in a pot.

Today I Found Joy at My own Front Dooor

There are many things wrong with my house. It needs a lot of updating, it had a totally bare landscape when I moved in, it sits underwater after the least amount rain ...all things which eventually I can improve; at least with a little luck and a lot of money and elbow grease! But each morning, all it takes is a glance at my front door and I remember the things I loved about the house when I bought it. Mostly, that its all mine...and mine to make into whatever I want. A home, a retreat, a studio, a workshop, some days its a refuge, some days its a cave, most days its my hidden garden . But this front door is the door to all these havens...it faces the east and every morning reflects the rising sun off its bevels like a hundred prisms. You can't see them in the photo, but the reds and blues make dancing fairies all over the room as the sun makes its ascent. My house is my home and my joy.

Todays Joy: $5.99 Tulips from the Grocery Store

I think I have posted most the topics I can post off my list "100 Things I Love About Larry". There are actually 102 at the moment and it will probably continue to grow and I still have a few more things I want to say about Larry. But many of the topics are just too personal to post for the public to read. Some just too directly relate to his life and I don't want to cross the line of cyber-privacy (although I doubt there is one). The purpose of my writing about him in the first place was a self assigned lesson. Certainly not an original idea in blog-space, it was a transition for me between getting a divorce and merging back into the real world. In a bitter time of accusations and claiming ownership of stuff and bickering phone calls; the best therapy for me was simple joy. For some reason I was not able to find it in myself. I am a mother, a sister, a daughter, I have held the same job for many years , I am independent, I am a decent artist.....I am all these things but I still needed someone else to validate me. Larry made it easy for me. He just mirrors me....he makes me see my self for who I am. I love him. I have loved writing about him and each post helps me see what brings me joy in life. And I hope I am not through writing about Larry, not yet anyway yet. I hope there is more time with him. But, I think I need to develop the joys that I find in myself. I need to be able to pull a joy out on my own; when Larry isn't here to show it to me. I think I might have other things to write about. And I want to paint more and maybe share that here. So to the half dozen or so readers out there, if they are still lhere...a little change in format is coming up!

42. That he is so honest

He does tell his truths, no matter how painful they may be. He will not lie to me in order to make me perceive things different then they really are. Which is, eventually, a good thing. I say eventually... right now things could seem better. Life is hard, and our history makes it harder. There is a reason for everything; if we just ever figure out what that is.
And....... well that's all I have to say about this.

41. When he walks in the door from work

Larry doesn't live with me unfortunately; our lives and families dictate that we live some miles apart. He does, however, work daily in my town, so we see each other as often as possible. When I got divorced, I declared that was my last marriage. I decided I could have love and sex without being married. I could have companionship and a partner without being married. I could have someone to go out with and someone to be my best friend without being married. I could have someone to share the world and ups and downs of life with, without being married. I forgot one thing. I forgot about that moment when he comes "home" from work.... that moment when the key hits the lock. (well for us its knock on the door, but still). That moment when you first meet eyes after a day of other distractions and issues. That moment when all seems right with the world. The moment when he comes home.

40. That he fixed my lawn mower

Last year, my Mom gave me her lawn mower. It was almost new, top of the line and pricey as mowers go. She is 83, can run circles around me and loves to work in her yard. But,we decided she was too old to handle a mower, and hired her a lawn guy. So I inherited the mower for my newly acquired little house following my divorce. The mower was as advanced as a car; only problem was I couldn't start it. My ex worked on it a few times and got it so we could run it a little. Enough to get through last summer...part of it anyway.Since then it has sat in my garage, mocking me every time I walked by, laughing that it didn't have to actually do any work.
Every so often, I would give the starter a yank, but...it wasn't having any of that. It became one of those things that really annoyed me. I needed it and wanted it to start when I needed it! But I also have a battle of the budget going on, so I never seem to have the extra money to take it in to get it looked at. Well this weekend we had beautiful spring weather. I worked on my garden wall ivy which is pictured below. I needed to mow some early weeds that were cropping up. Larry tried one more attempt to get it to run! Lots of paper towels later and the smell of gasoline in the air and the sound of a starting lawn mower was as the happiest sound I have heard in awhile! Finally, finally I have my mower and it makes me so happy...I saved some money and I

















have it when I need it ! I looked forward to that trip to the mower shop about like I look forward to a trip to the car mechanic. Step through the door and hear the cha-ching of the cash register; extra charge for being female and knowing nothing about motors! Some jobs are just jobs for men... and motors are one of them !
Now I almost look forward to spring yard work. As soon as my college son gets home for the summer, he has an almost new working lawn mower!!!