Still Hanging Out Upstairs

Blanket Collection
Chilhuly Garden and Glass

I'm still hanging out here upstairs in the house. The kitchen remodel is plugging along. Plodding forward a full two months after I thought I would be moving our furniture back in (I know........). I am now more realistically referring to this project as the 'downstairs remodel' due to some flooring and millwork that were included. 

Right up front I should tell you that I am so very happy with the couple of guys measuring, sawing, hammering and finishing away down there. I can't say enough about their honesty, work ethic, communication, attention to detail and excellent craftsmanship. But certain things appear to be beyond the control of those spending their days here....and well, during the past week this has become more than obvious: Door/window millwork lumber was returned for the second time because the entire order arrived wrong yet again. The fire door to the garage was for some reason drilled for a different deadbolt than the one that was brought directly to the door store when the order was placed.....just so that type of thing would NOT happen.  Hardware was back ordered. Certain phone calls weren't returned promptly. In the on going saga of our front door lock (you didn't know there was one did you?) we were locked out of our house Friday evening.

And my dog died. I had a week last week....

Normally this might call for diving into a pan of warm homemade brownies while snuggled under my favorite blanket in front of the television, a cold glass of milk at the ready. Since most of my baking equipment is still packed away in the garage......I turned to the next best comfort food: Pasta. 

I began thinking about the way my mom loves macaroni best (and often mentions it!)...... warmed together with canned chopped tomatoes and their juice...... and started out to buy the ingredients for this simple dish. Somehow, my recent passion for kale got in the way......and then my craving for Beecher's Cheese. A can of  cannellini beans made their way into my cart, and well.....this is what I came up with. It was honestly so good, simple and comforting that I made it twice.

~~~~~

Tomat0, Kale and Cheese Pasta

2 14.5 oz cans of chopped tomatoes with their juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 lb kale, washed, de-stemmed, de-ribbed, rolled up and cut into ribbons
2 tsp dried basil (although I think fresh would have been wonderful)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
3/4 lb of conchiglia pasta (kind of a cross between a fat macaroni and a shell     
  shape....other similar shapes will do!)
1 can cannellini beans (Italian white beans), rinsed and drained
2 or more cups shredded Beecher's cheese

Place tomatoes and their juice, along with the minced garlic, chopped kale, basil oregano, salt and pepper into a large sauté pan or saucepan. Simmer 5-10 minutes until the kale has softened to your liking. Then add the beans.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta to just al dente. Save out a couple cups of the cooking water, then drain the rest from the pasta. Gently toss pasta thoroughly with the tomato/kale/bean mixture in its pan. Add about a cup of the shredded cheese and gently fold until the cheese melts into the hot tomato mixture, there is kale sticking to the sides of the pasta and some of the white beans are lodged into the ends. If you feel the need (and depending on the consistency of sauce you enjoy with your pasta), add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to the pan. Correct the salt and pepper seasonings.

Sprinkle the remaining cup or more of cheese on top and dig in while it's warm.

Makes 4-6 generous servings.

**Marc thought another can of beans would have been nice, but I thought it turned out perfect this way. Your decision!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Warmly, Margaret

~~~~~

PS. Have you  noticed that I haven't necessarily been sticking to a regular day for my posts. The first year it was EVERY Tuesday and Friday without fail. Then as life changed, I changed......to every Wednesday. Which sort of shifted toward Thursday. Which then became the occasional skipped week of posting. 

One thing I know about this process is that both writing and photography are important to me. So important that if I'm rushed or hurried or simply uninspired and don't feel I can put something 'out there' that I'm happy with, that I'd rather put it off until I can. It's such a great discipline to post once a week with regularity, but on the off chance that I don't show up, please do continue to check back in. Or join me through Blogger. Or sign up to receive an email with each new post. And by all means...please feel free to leave comments. I LOVE hearing from you!

A Work In Progress

 I came across this quote earlier in the week:


"If you figured it all out today, what would be the point of tomorrow? Enjoy the process of being a work in progress."


Those words aptly apply to what I've been up to this week......and it's helped to remind  myself quite a few times to "enjoy the process". I've recently switched from a PC to a Mac, and have needed to learn to become comfortable with the updated versions of both Photoshop and Lightroom as well.  One thing that really helped is the website Lynda.com  which is loaded with software training tutorials. Needless to say I've spent quite a bit of time parked in front of the computer, stopping and starting the video lessons in order to take notes. 


Wishing you a wonderful week ahead......


Warmly, Margaret 

Treats

I went to a dinner the other night and found that little ribbon wrapped boxes were nestled right above each place setting. I could only assume they were chocolates and because I'm such a fan, was kind of excited to think it looked like the perfect amount to enjoy, one at a time, during the next few days. I was tempted to take a look, intending to save them all for later....... and then noticed a sticker keeping the box closed:

FOR PLANTING NOT FOR SNACKING!

Turns out this was a box of four 'Garden Bon Bons': Beautifully crafted clumps of seeds, organic compost and clay presented as truffles.....each one shaped and dusted with natural pesticides such as coffee, pepper and cinnamon. An enclosed card said that when they are placed on top of soil and watered, each one will sprout Italian Large Leaf Basil, Chives, Italian Parsley or Winter Thyme. Tomorrow they'll go into a couple of pots on a sunny part of our patio.

What a genius idea......So creative and unexpected! I really didn't need the chocolates.....but I'm sure glad I brought my glasses that night, which prevented me from popping one of those delectable looking balls of seed, compost and clay right into my mouth!

Wishing you a wonderfully warm and sunny week,

Margaret

PS: The Rocky Mountain School of Photography appreciated my last few blog posts and created a link to them from their own blog, Paper Airplanes. So thankful for the kind words about me, too!  You can take a look at it here. 

Happy Easter / Happy Spring

Well, the flu....or what I'm assuming was the flu......grabbed hold here and the stubborn virus, it just didn't want to let go. My best intentions to do anything at all were sidelined and my favorite couch blanket and new mattress were appreciated more than ever. Marc spent two days home sick from work which is almost unheard of.

As luck would have it, we had Easter dinner on Palm Sunday. It just worked out that way being the one day we had someone home. And that someone made sure I knew that although he felt a little bad about leaving before the holiday itself, that he would indeed appreciate the full holiday meal before he left.

Thank goodness I mustered up the energy to make the above cinnamon rolls Easter morning. I pretty much can't imagine a holiday without them......so even though our meal that evening was from the take-out barbecue place.....I kept at least an ounce of tradition intact! In my rush to enjoy one warm from the oven I forgot to take a picture after they had been turned out of the pan and onto a foil lined baking sheet, pecan halves clinging to the caramel syrup they were baked in. The rolls that, to me, make holidays...... holidays. 

I'm now on the mend and looking forward to spending some time out of doors soon.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Warmly, Margaret

Sick Day

So many pictures I had hoped to take during this week before Easter! Recently I've noticed curved lanes lined with white fences and cherry trees blooming pink. Yellow and white daffodils nodding their heads. Blue hyacinth growing next to a bulb whose flowers are shaped like little white stars.

Unfortunately, a virus has taken hold in our house and I have moved only from the couch to my bed to the couch again during the past twenty-four hours. Extra blankets, chicken soup, tissues and Advil sit nearby.  As does the current book I'm reading (The Big Year) in which I haven't turned a new page.

The best I can do today is to link to a couple of favorite posts from about this time last year: Unfinished and Unpredictable. I hope you enjoy re-reading them.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Warmly, Margaret

A Small Change

**A small change will be put into place concerning This Friendly Village. From now on I will post regularly only on Wednesdays. Doing so will give me the flexibility to choose how many, which ones, or whether I decide to post on other days as well. So please....continue to check in. If you want to be sure to catch all posts, you can sign up to "Follow By Email" at the top of the right hand margin.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Warmly, Margaret

The Sweet Spot

Was it this (blasted) office project that has got me to thinking more about what my future plans will or should entail? I've been avoiding cleaning out and organizing it for a few years now, and then all of a sudden it was THE day to begin. I knew the task would be long and challenging. I knew that in facing all of that 'stuff' I would be called upon to make decisions. What stays? What goes? What holds value? What is no longer useful?

I've gotten rid of old files and created new ones. I have shredded reams of bank statements, insurance forms, receipts and records. Tossed out user manuals, out dated Christmas card lists and blurred photos. The recycling bin (which is the size of an enormous garbage can) is mostly full this week because of my efforts.

And I have finally dug into The Sweet Spot: That tender place I had been unwilling to touch for years that held homework projects, awards, schedules, team rosters, cards and small bits of paper written or drawn upon by three pair of young hands. Now that I've spent time with it, I know with crystal clarity why I rushed by so quickly, eyes averted, each day. It was something I didn't want to deal with and so pretended it wasn't even there. In the meantime it had grown like a mis-managed rhododendron; thick leaves and sturdy branches strewn about on top of one another representing years that have passed and boys that have grown.  A marriage matured, family threads interwoven and unique memories. Roots that run healthy and deep.

I didn't want to revisit that pile for what I did not want to see: Time.

In turning over what had settled comfortably into that spot, I've come across grade school collages, college essays, poems, drawings, sports programs, acknowledgments, certificates, newspaper articles and notes. One of my favorites was a piece of paper with tape stuck to it shouting "MOM CAN WE GO TO THE LIBRARY TODAY?" scrawled in a nine-year-old hand. There were comments on a first grade report card (one of which was 'quite a talker') that accurately describe a certain son as the adult he is today. A collection of photos show another, book in hand, in a rocking chair, in a beach chair, by the fire, by a pool, at home, on vacation......you name it. Photos of him, of course, are still likely to be snapped with the book he is currently reading found somewhere within the frame. There is a photo of an exhausted three year old, sitting up to the dinner table, head fallen back, mouth open, eyes closed......asleep in front of a plate of lasagna and garlic bread. The same kid who, this many years later, would still never desert a good plate of food.

And so it goes. The Sweet Spot has not disappeared but has been sifted through, divided up and saved. Its unruliness neatly portioned off for each son, waiting for the right occasion to be passed on.

It's time for a change. Time to take stock. Time to wrap up a couple of projects and stamp them FINISHED. Time to ramp up and plan to put a couple of new ideas in motion. In other words, in my world, its time to shake things up a bit. Cleaning out the office.....revisiting those years that hung out in the pile in the corner reminded me of this......and I think that's a good thing every so often. 

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Margaret 

Year One

I'm kind of big on anniversaries, those reoccurring dates that serve as both reminder and motivator.  I take advantage of the framework they create to make plans, resolutions and decisions. Use them as markers to look back at where I've been and see what direction I'm headed. When certain numbers show up on the calendar, I'm tempted to take a deep breath and turn in a circle with eyes wide open in order to view with greater clarity where I stand at that very moment. I want to pause and figure out how it is that I ended up on this exact piece of ground.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my first post on this blog.  I'd been considering beginning one for quite a few months before that. By the time I punched Publish Post for the first time, I had already spent time outlining and figuring out my font, format and header. I had thought a lot about why I wanted to do it. Why it would be good for me. What I wanted it to focus on and be about. What I wanted to focus on and be about. 

In the very beginning I was nervous. None of my family, friends or acquaintances had blogs at that point......that I knew of anyway.  And of course, I wanted to let them know what I was up to, because......well......I wanted at least a few readers, followers and viewers. I wanted at least a little bit of feedback. Even though I'm comfortable with being an independent thinker, feedback really does help. There is always risk in putting oneself out there and I knew I ran the risk of making a fool of myself to varying degrees. Realizing that those I know and care about might not 'get' or understand whatever it was I planned to 'put out there' made me queasy, and for a few days pages I had already written stayed safely put, safely private, locked inside my computer. In the end, I followed my heart, my passion and my gut, and pushed that darn button.

I have to say now......a year out......that publishing This Friendly Village has been a great discipline. I have learned a lot. I've become quicker with the decision making, the thought process, the pictures and the posting.  I think I've become a better writer and photographer.  I have become more brave. 

The transition from one stage of my life (parenting) to another (an empty nest) was made easier when I gave myself permission to share. By committing to photographing, documenting and posting while exploring a few things I'm passionate about, I've been able to define what more I might do with my time......now that there is more time. To see, as I chose topics and subjects, what rose to the top. Should I have been doing this all along the way during the past 24 years? Maybe. I am definitely aware of how much I would have loved it if certain aspects of the Internet had been around when our boys were much younger. (Not to date myself...but I didn't discover blogs until a couple years ago.)

I've spent some time wondering if I have used my time in this space in the way I hoped I would. Did I find new things out about myself? Confirm what I have already known? Have I discovered new interests and met new people? Learned more about my relationship with my camera, keyboard and computer? With those I know and love? There have been a few dead ends for sure, but overall, the answer is 'yes'. And now that I've completed my first year, I'm looking  forward to the next.......few. It's made a difference in my life. I hope that in some small way it has made a difference in yours too, for we are all in whatever it is we're in.....together.

Warmly, Margaret

Prepared

I am a day late in posting.  For as disciplined as I've tried to be it happened anyway as life took over in a variety of ways and trumped my own personal goal to post each Tuesday and Friday.

Knowing that the week before Thanksgiving is BUSY, I had plans to get things mostly put together for this post by Thursday. It didn't happen. On Friday morning I got out of bed extra early in order to give myself a couple of extra hours in the day. Nope. This was in itself a learning opportunity......just like the rest of this blog has been.

I have to chuckle at what I seem to have forgotten so quickly about having three boys....now men....at home. Things that don't apply when it's just Marc and I. Like trips to Costco to replenish what I know the five of us will easily go through in a week. (Could it be that we have been going out to eat just a bit too often...or that what I've been cooking up for two has been......lacking?) That's how I spent the better part of Wednesday and most of Thursday of this week: Filling my cart with what I knew we were out of,  what we would soon run out of, things we would go through quickly and food for our Thanksgiving meal. And then there were the new pillows we've needed for awhile. And sheets and a mattress pad to replace the ones that Patrick took with him when he moved. 

For as much time as it took to consider and choose and decide what would make the cut and end up in my cart,  even more was spent loading it into and out of my car and finding or creating space for it in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry. I had forgotten how the Costco run can turn into the one chore I do all day. And when I haven't been in awhile and all five of us will be in the house together.... all day for two days.

Currently, there is one tired body sleeping in a freshly made bed in a recently cleaned room upstairs. I'm expecting another on on Monday and one more, Wednesday. I think (but am not 100% certain) that I'm finished with Costco until then. But in the meantime, I forsee  quite a bit of chopping and mixing in my recently stocked kitchen. Stirring a pot on top of the stove. Something baking in the oven or tossed in a salad bowl. Last night it was steaming bowls of Cincinnati Chili with all of the toppings and an Apple Cake. This morning I'm thinking homemade waffles, bacon and orange juice. These are the things I miss and now look forward to. Watching those boys eat. Knowing they are sleeping in a clean and comfortable room.

Wishing you a very happy week ahead with much to be thankful for. I am thankful that you read and check in, and for your friendship. Be back Tuesday!

Warmly,

Margaret

A New Place To Visit

I started this blog for a number of reasons, an important one being that I planned to use it as a way to explore my recently emptied nest. To figure out how, after years of very purposefully raising three children, I would reposition myself. To find what life had waiting and where it would lead. To invite anyone who was interested to come along, because traveling with good company is always better.

When my youngest left for college a year ago, I faced into a new era that seemed to have many more hours in a day.  Although I wasn't exactly sure what to do with them, I had some ideas, got brave, took some chances. 

Still......as it happened, as each boy took the next step toward becoming an independent and self-sufficient adult, it came as somewhat of a surprise. A little bit of a shock because the years did seem to fly by so fast. Each time I watch them leave it is with a combination of love, pride and hope for their future. There is also tinge of loss on my part. I know I'm not unique. I will miss them. Every parent must feel this way.

This week one of our sons accepted his first post-college job. Next Tuesday he will move to a city in the Midwest and then live, at least for awhile, far away from where he grew up. So different from the past few years of college, when he lived four and a half hours away and in the same university town that I did for a few years. When I could count on him coming home for long weekends or summer and holiday breaks.

After so many years, it is simply habit to imagine the daily lives and routines of all of my boys; what they might be doing, thinking, feeling. What they pass in the daily to and fro. The view outside their window. It's a bit disorienting, then, to enter this phase that I'm not so familiar with. It is exciting......normal......the natural next step......necessary......OK......but for me, disorienting.

Although I will miss having him close and having our visits predictable, this is and should be, only about him. He is looking forward and that alone makes me feel very happy. And I am looking forward, too.

And...... we will have a new place to visit.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,
Margaret

Proud, Happy

At this moment I am a weepy-proud mess. A big sap, tearing up and not getting anything at all accomplished. I am proud and happy. I just think some days are like this.

Change and moving on has been the subject of many conversations this week. The content of a lot of reading. Parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends that I know, they're all watching the yearly tide of young people moving away from them. It's on to the first day of preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, high school or college. The current flows toward new friends, new experiences, new jobs, new ideas, new challenges. Whether in baby steps or giant steps, they walk, run, ride, drive, fly and dream their way toward what their future holds. And hopefully the rest of us will remember just how important this process is. How important it is to be there for them......not to choose the dream, but to support it.

Yesterday a friend's facebook status mentioned that her oldest was moving to a different city in a different state to begin a new job. College and graduate school are finished and her child is taking the logical, and in this economy, sought after next step for any graduate. In somewhere around 140 characters she expressed the weight and multitude of her conflicting emotions: love, pride, happiness, sadness, confidence, trust and surely, relief.

So all of this......this is what turned me into that weepy-proud mess I just mentioned. My kids have dreams. And as much as I would love to just make them all work out......it's neither my job nor my place. But standing behind them in support as they take the necessary steps......that is.

I guess I've become very aware of all the work they've done so far. They've plodded along and it's led them places, some of which I can attach names to and some that only they know. I am just so very proud.

And you know what else? Becoming aware of what they have done/are doing/will do has encouraged me to take renewed notice of my own dreams and where I'm going. I've plodded along and have taken necessary steps as well, both baby and giant ones. And they've led me to some places I can attach names to and to some that only something larger than myself knows for sure. I am just so very happy.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Margaret

**Peter is in London for the next month with the very talented musician David Boone as he works to produce his next album. I hope you'll click on this link to find out more about this songwriter/musician and what's happening in London!

***Ahhhh......I couldn't help coming back to add this link I just came across. It's about Finding Time.....bits and chunks of it that you can use to make some of your dreams, thoughts and passions a reality. It's also by Anne Lamott...one of my very favorite writers. Love her real, always tell it like it is style.

One Week.....

Hey Friends,

Guess what I haven't done yet on this blog. Taken a week off!  So......that's what I'll be doing, with not much new for today (Friday) or next Tuesday. I'll be back the following Friday, August 25th. Everyone deserves a little time off, eh?

In the mean time, I invite you to introduce yourself either by leaving a comment or sending an email to thisfriendlyvillage@gmail.com  After nearly 8 months, you know quite a few things about me and I'd like to know a little something about you, too. So far I've made it a point to share snippets of what I think is important, some of what I value, so let me know: What is important to you? What kinds of things do you value? I'd also love a couple of good book suggestions as fall is rolling into view and reading on the couch by a fire sounds kind of good for some reason!

Feel free to let me know what you'd like to hear more about (or less about!) or if there are any particular posts or photographs that have made a difference. If you haven't read them all, I would just love it if you did!

I'll pass along a link to my August 18th contribution on the website www.makeitmissoula.com. In it I share ten things I love about that city and talk a bit about each. Since there is so much I enjoy when we're there, I hesitated calling it my top ten....Let's just say it's a list of some of my current favorites, with more to come!

Here is the link: http://www.makeitmissoula.com/2011/08/my-top-10-things-about-missoula/

Cheers! And have a great week. I plan to......

XO, Margaret

Markers

Within the past couple of years I've been a part of an 85th and a 90th birthday party and have attended celebrations honoring a few other ages as well. I've been to both high school and college graduations. Planned gatherings celebrating our children and attended ones that celebrated their friends. Been a part of events centered around family, good friendships, a Football Championship, the birth of a baby.

Sometimes I've been a part of the planning and sometimes lucky enough to simply show up. I've put cards in the mail, wrapped gifts, made food, set tables, arranged flowers and cleaned up. Bought new clothes, found accessories and fixed my hair. Charged my camera battery and checked for space on the memory card. I've met new friends and reminisced with old. Realized how past events helped my current life to fall into place. I've stayed up too late. Fallen into bed. Put my feet up. Been too excitied to sleep.

In my last post I shared a picture of a sign that has  an arrow pointing to the 'M' trail, a short trail we like to hike. It is steep and has several sharp turns. How easy or difficult it is depends solely on the shape I'm in and my attitude at the moment. The view from the top is beautiful and changes with the seasons, so climbing that hill is always worth the time. I love the sign at the bottom and am almost always moved to take a picture of it. It reminds this 'M' to pay attention......to life, to relationships, to putting time in, to what might be around the corner. There have been many signs I've paid attention to and some I haven't. Sometimes I've asked for a sign, sometimes they've been right in front of me and sometimes, in retrospect, I've understood that one had been there all along. I've had a few 'aha' moments along the way.

Marc and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this fall with the trip of a lifetime.  We're making plans to attended an anniversary dinner for good friends next month. Last weekend we went to a wedding reception for a couple who obviously and unabashedly showed their love for one another. This week I'm starting a sweater for a new baby.

I love these markers; what they signify and what they celebrate. I feel strongly about honoring both the people and events that shape our lives. They help me remember to pay attention to where I've been and the choices I've made. To recognize the important people folding in and out of my life. They are fun and perspective and reality and sweetness. They recognize hard work. They wrap me in warm appreciation and knowledge. They nudge me toward an intentional future.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend with something to celebrate.

Warmly,
Margaret

On Writing....On Blogging

I decided to begin a blog for a few different reasons but mainly to use as vehicle during a time of transition. I wanted to find out what would surface and figure out which way to go. I hoped it would teach me important things about myself, my changing role, goals and priorities. At the same time I devoted more hours putting pen to paper and writing. It all fits together.

This is what I've found so far:

** I enjoy the process of recording the day to day twice a week on this blog and the direct interaction that comes with it. It is casual and spontaneous and has a different feel than writing an essay or short story.

**I enjoy finding photographs to accompany each post. Whether they fit the topic directly or rather obliquely....they make sense to me.

**Hardly anyone puts pen to paper anymore....more like fingers to keys to LCD screen. However it happens, collections of words still appear. Marc gave me a red Moleskin notebook a couple months ago so I would have a place to jot down thoughts and ideas. And I do......so there is my pen to paper. 

** Outside of this blog, personal essays and short pieces of fiction are where I've landed for awhile.  I like the challenge of saying something within the confines of an assigned word count. The way it makes me distill a piece to the bones; a contrast to how wordy I am in live conversation.

 **I'm pretty sure I could tell the most embarrassing tales about my boys here on this space and would never hear back about it. So very tempting........but of course I won't. 

**Some days I don't have a clue what I'm going to say. The steam of a shower, a long walk or baking usually helps. I'm without an oven at the moment. It's been tough without cookies.

**Spending time doing something I truly enjoy has been a great way to move through life's changes. They're inevitable, right?

Hope there is something you enjoy spending time doing as well!

XO
Margaret

Computer Issues...

Oh....I'm bummed. My computer is in the shop. The dreaded 'blue screen' showed up a couple of times Friday morning which made me very nervous. I've never been sure exactly what this means and so took it right in. It appears that the hard drive is failing. I wish I understood more about the workings of this tool......but impatient me, all I really want is to have it back in front of me on my desk/table each morning as I drink coffee, watch the sun come up and think about the coming day. I have my routine: blue mug, on-line newspapers, a couple photography websites, facebook. It's how I wake up and organize. I've become used to the way it prompts me to decide to write a few things or to work on pictures......or add to the list of things I want to write about or take pictures of. Over the last couple of months it's when and where I work on blog posts.

I'm hoping to get my computer back today with a larger, faster hard drive and am so looking forward to checking out some photos I took over the weekend.  AND......I'm finally feeling organized enough to begin going through ones from the Europe trip we took last fall. That trip was such a big deal to me. It was a couple of weeks that opened up our world and celebrated the collection of experiences Marc and I have had together. It was a cornerstone and a turning point. A time to reconnect, look forward and think about what it means to have just the two of us at home now. We returned at the end of September and dove right into a few visits with the boys which were followed quickly by the holidays. I'm pretty sure I took hundreds of pics so wanted our lives to settle down a bit and to learn a few more things about organizing, saving and backing up before spending time on them. I also wanted to allow time for the experiences of that trip to sink in. I've decided not to follow the photo processing chronologically but instead to approach it day by day depending on what I happen to be excited about. I'm pretty sure it will begin with Venice which is such a colorful and unique city. I hope I can do it justice!

By the way......thanks for taking a look at my blog. It's something I've thought about doing for a long time and really appreciate the kind words and helpful comments you've left after posts, via email or in person. I'm still in the early stages of working out kinks and solidifying exactly what it means to have a blog, but am enjoying the process and the journey and the way it makes me accountable. I've learned a lot so far.

If you're interested, I received an email from Mamalode magazine telling me that a short piece I wrote (It Takes Time) will be published in their upcoming issue. It should be out in print in about a week, but you can also read it online by clicking on the magazine tab on their website (http://www.mamalode.com/). 

So......hoping to get my computer back this afternoon and will post again with pics on Friday. Here's wishing you a great week.

Warmly, Margaret