hump day nuggets :: reflection

hump day nuggets :: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week

This past Sunday marked the anniversary of 9/11.  I woke up and tried to tune into NPR on my kitchen clock radio.  I couldn't get a signal, so I decided to make coffee and take some time to reflect on the last decade before our day got underway.

I thought about where I was 10 years ago on this fateful day and how 9/11 changed my path in life.  I was just three weeks away from getting married to the man I love and he was in North Carolina on business.  He called me and told me to turn on the t.v. and then time stopped for what seemed like an eternity.  After that call, I waited four long days until he could fly home and was never so glad to see someone, as I was to see him.

We got married as planned and honeymooned along the California coast.  We talked about our lives and where we wanted to be in 10 years and how unsatisfied we were in our current careers.  We ended up cutting our honeymoon short, driving up to Bodega Bay and making  an offer on a business that we had been looking into buying.  We went straight home and put our house up for sale, sold most of our worldly possessions and made a B-line for the small town that would be our future home.  All of this done in three month's time.

The events of 9/11 changed our trajectory and put us on a new path, a better path.  We made very conscious decisions about what we wanted out of life and then figured our how to turn those ideas into a reality.  We have never looked back with regret.  We are now part of a small town and know our neighbors.  We are an integral part of our communities and proudly serve in what little ways we can to help make it a better place.  We get to raise our son in an environment that is idyllic in every sense of the word.  We couldn't imagine our lives any other way now and feel humbled and grateful to be in this place.

nuggets.

We're getting into the almost-autumn groove around here and I'm slowly settling into the September rhythm.  I've been cooking.  A lot.  I almost forgot how good cooking makes me feel.  It grounds me.  I feel so satisfied making something from scratch.  The research and prep-work bolster my enthusiasm and push me towards the kitchen.  Feeding my family and sitting around the table together is nirvana.  I've been making batches of caramel sauce topped with Parisian fleur de sel and Molly's perfect meatballs, soups and batches of applesauce, roasted the best chicken-a-la-Alice Waters and even attempted blackberry-apple fruit leather as a treat for Grady's lunches (big hit with the under 10 set).  I've been nesting for sure.

:: Our little house was built in 1952 and every time I pull out of the drive and see this view, I fall in love with it a little more.  It's funky and almost 60 years old, but I absolutely dig it.  This September marks our fifth year of living here and calling it home.

:: We spent a grey, warm & insulated afternoon on Doran Beach for a birthday party this past Sunday.  Shoes were abandoned, rocks were gathered and chucked into the ocean, dog tracks were followed and sea kelp given the once over to see if it could be turned into a horn (long story...).

:: The requisite rock-jumping ensued and I thought G was about to take flight.  If you look closely, his green carabiner necklace just about smacked him in the face.  Oh, the high price of style.

:: I'm harvesting as much as I can from our garden and fruit trees.  The artichokes are just ornamental this year due to the lack of, um, watering they received.  Oops.

:: Our first full outdoor soccer season has started and boy do I love this sport!  Oh, wait, it's not about me?  Well, the team is a little rag-tag at practice, but once it's game time they bust it out and work so well together.  G has mastered which end is which and thinks the name of his team is ultra cool - The Dark Tornadoes.

:: See the broken window above?  Some unknown bird flew into it and left bloody claw prints all over the chicken coop.  It totally freaked out my flock, along with me and the boy.

See the guilty chicken looking at the camera on the right?  That's Spike (the former wannabe rooster and leader of the pack) and she decided to get all turbo and jump into my face when I opened the  henhouse door Sunday morning.  IN MY FACE, PEOPLE!  With all the force she could muster up, she slammed right into the bridge of my nose and flew the coop, as they say.  I'm not going to tell you all the nice words that spewed out of my mouth, but I will tell you this:  I'm just about done with these crazy birds.

:: Let's change the subject and talk about flowers.  My zinnias are growing like mad over at my office garden plot and have reached about 4' high.  And while I'm proud I grew them from seed - they are taking over and my tomato plants aren't getting any of that late summer sunshine that they so desperately need.  I'm about to pull them out of the ground and try to will my green tomatoes to ripen.  Note to self:  next year, zinnias get their own bed.

:: Grady has moved to the lower bunk and his boxer dog pictures have travelled with him, of course.  He misses Molly so much and I think it's sweet that he goes to bed every night with her image right next to him.

:: We tried to capture the harvest moon and did a very fuzzy job of it.  I think I need zoom lens.

:: Grady has been working in earnest on his upcoming art show.  He drew for almost seven hours straight on Saturday and he logged in over 16 hours over the Labor Day weekend.  This boy is on a drawing binge!  His first solo art show will be Friday, November 11, 2011 from 4 - 6 pm at the Valley Ford Hotel.  Consider yourself invited.

:: Our house looks like it is glowing.  A lot of life is being lived inside those walls and it feels so good to be home.

Happy hump day, friends.