Anne & Nate

Along with some friends, I took Friday off of work and we all headed up to Baltimore for a fun-filled weekend. We ate good food, drank, went to a concert, shopped, played in a pool, drank some more and spent more time playing in the pool. We treated each other to dinner, and made each other breakfast. We laughed a lot and also talked about uncertainties we have about our future. It was a wonderful weekend that left me wanting a little more time with my friends.

Sadly, it was the last full weekend we will have before our friends Anne & Nate (aka Nanne) move away. Lately they have become a very important part of my life. In the past I have struggled with recognizing the characteristics of people around me that are positively impacting me. But, with Anne & Nate it is impossible for me not to see their influence on me. Genuine and secure in who they are, I long for more time with them. More time to create memories with them, and to selfishly see how the friendship I have with them will fashion me into a better person/friend.

We have one more week with them before they leave Richmond. One more week to create some more memories. One more week to submerge myself in a friendship that I can never imagine not having.

Tags: Friends

I love my potluck family

For several months we have been hosting a weekly potluck dinner on Thursdays. Each week we pick a theme and friends come over to sometimes cook, and then devour food and drink. We share recipes with each other, introduce each other to new foods and friends, we drink, we laugh, we share life’s struggles and we eat a lot of dessert. As a group we’ve celebrated a lot of birthdays, marriages, job changes, and many other happy life moments together. In less than a year our potluck dinners have formed a family.

Last night our potluck family showed their extreme kindness and generosity by giving us a composter! I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to get a composter! For months we’ve been saving up stinky food scraps in a tupperware container and then transferring them to a trash can outside. I don’t know how they did it. For weeks they have secretly been planning this, pooling their money and waiting for it to be shipped. I’m not surprised that they would do something like this because they are some of the kindest people I have ever met. What started out as a weekly dinner has grown into something much more - we are a family.

UPDATE:

I have a few minutes to share with you some details about the amazing NatureMill Automatic Indoor Composter we received. Let me use some pictures to describe it.

This is what it looks like, note the cute tray that it dumps the miracle dirt into:

This amazing composter can create fresh fertilizer in 2 weeks :

This is what it can look like in a cabinet, but we don’t have white cabinets and our kitchen will never be this clean.

And, this is what my garden will look like after the composter creates the most amazing dirt known to man, and a cute little gardening lady:

Tags: Life

Meet Lucy

One of the cutest, and sweetest couples I know had their first child yesterday. I got to meet Lucy tonight. She slept most of the time I held her, but woke up just in time for a few family pictures.

As you can tell from the picture, Momma Jan is doing great. I don’t understand how Jan looks so “fresh” after having a baby.

Tags: Life

Landon’s First T-ball Game

A few weeks ago I went to Narrows to watch history in the making….Landon started playing sports. Here are a couple shots from his first t-ball game.

Of course his sisters were there to support him….and look stylish.

Tags: Family

14 months

I can’t believe it’s been 14 months since I’ve seen him or heard his voice. Even harder to believe is that I still have years left without him.

Tags: Insanity

Hidden quote

Today I pulled out an old journal that I’ve only halfway filled. After spending some time adding a new memory to the pages, I flipped through the older entries and briefly relived excitement and worries of the past. Amidst the random entries and writing exercises I found a quote scribbled on a page all by itself and I wanted to share it with you.

“Our real journey in life is interior, it is a matter of growth, deepening, and an even greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts.”

This wisdom comes from The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton. These words seem to fit perfectly with the small sense of peace that I have this weekend.

Tags: From another

Not the same

It seems that each season of depression and loneliness changes me a little more and takes me a little further from the person I use to be. This last bout of sadness zapped my motivation and inspiration. Its scary to see myself lose interest in the things that I usually can’t get enough of, and the relationships that normally make my life worth living. But, right now it feels like some of that is turning around. I’m looking forward to a weekend of pool lounging, reading Sylvia Plath, writing and some of those other things that usually make me feel a bit more secure, a bit more grounded….a bit more like myself.

Tags: Life

Poetry Lovers?

I’m wondering how many poetry fans are out there. Especially, how many of you would be interested in a Wine & Poetry Night? Are we comfortable enough with each other to read our favorite poems with each other…..or, if not, are we comfortable enough to get together and drink all the wine necessary for us to share our favorite poems with each other? I’d like to think this could be an experience that leaves us inspired and refreshed….not weirded out. What do you think?

Tags: Friends, Reading, Writing

Goals for this week

1.  Do morning pages each day.

2.  Drink 100 oz. of water each day.

3.  Walk/Bike for 30 minutes each day.

4.  Water my newly improved garden every day.

Tags: Gardening, Healthy Living, Life, Townie21, Writing