Something: April 2021

I have a sense of euphoria the last couple of days and I am trying to identity where this wonderful sensation is coming from. I attribute most of it to the delicious sunny days we have had all week, starting with birds singing at 5:30a, glorious sun rising, very warm moments on the back deck, the kids running in and out of of the backyard without dragging a load of mud with them ... this also goes for the dogs.

It is hard to explain how wonderful it is NOT having a lake as a backyard 9 months of the year to those who don't experience constant rain. But the sun shining is really something I appreciate more and more. We are expected to have rain return late next week, so I am going to enjoy every second of sun while it is here.

The other possibility: We are deep cleaning and everyone is pitching in. I finally de-dusted the family room where David and I literally live 24-7, working, television, playing with kids. The carpet was so dirty/hairy/dusty and every time I picked up all the toys to vacuum, I would turn around to another roomful of Barbies and babies, their clothing, the toy car seats, the Barbie clothes/closets all over the floor. After awhile, I think I gave up and left the vacuum sitting in the middle of the room as a reminder. SO I have one more surface to completely dust, a few more windows to polish and I think I can call it a "clean" room, for now.

Also, Mason has headed back to school for a couple of days a week, making us all very happy. When Mason is happy and satisfied, need I say, the rest of us are much calmer. I know parents understand this ... the pandemic lock-up HAS NOT been easy on kids! She also had a SLEEPOVER the other night and returned home with huge smiles and a new attitude. Check box, getting back to normal (sort of).

David, Bri and I are fully vaccinated and feeling very grateful for that. Matt needs to sign up next. I have decided to travel (cough, cough, I swore I would not get on an airplane for at least a year after pandemic but ...) to Arizona to see my sister and Mom's best friend, Ruth. We are all spending almost a week together so Susan and Ruth can meet, get to know each other. A little scared, MUCHO excited.

Another explanation for new found elation: It has almost been a year since I was let go from my dream job ... after months and months applying for jobs with nary an acknowledgement of receipt of said resume ... I have given up and taken David's encouragement of doing "my own" thing. I haven't done ONE thing creative since last June. Have not even had a desire to create anything, not an idea, not an inspiration is floating around in my psyche. I am thinking now, this was a cleansing time from being constantly creative for more than 30 years. I am having a little emotional push to do something, painting, assemblage?, art with Mason (I have an entire Pinterest board ideas for us). There is hope that my creative side has not abandoned me forever.

With a house full of people, 3 dogs, 2 cats and NOW a fast-growing monster Mastiff, Murphy, I have to report, it feels like we have come out of the other side without killing each other. No major battles, no bloody incidents, no police called ... we really LOVE each other. A remarkable accomplishment. And I feel very grateful that we have all been here to survive together. I hope it is something to be remembered when David and I are gone. ("remember when" kind of moments for Mason, Bri and Matt). We have had some sweet moments, good laughs, a couple of crying meltdowns.

Other grateful bits: our family room has also been transformed into a working office for David and me. David moved his computer and purchased a beautiful new work table. He also purchased me a new, beautiful, walnut table AND new, fancy Mac. We will soon be installing a new floor in the family room to replace the horrible carpet destroyed by years of mud, dirt, dogs (fill in the blank), chocolate milk, juice, red wine spills, you name it, it lives in this carpet.

Bri recently gifted me my very own IPad Pro with Apple pencil. A very, expensive love gift, much appreciated. So far, Mason enjoys it VERY MUCH. ;) Bri and Matt's jobs are going very well, both happy and moving up. They are saving money for their potential own home some day. Noah is talking in complete sentences that most of us can not understand. It feels like she learns about 10 new words a day. She and Mason play hide-n-seek and it is hysterical to watch Noah cover herself with pillows thinking she is completely invisible. Now we have TWO constant talkers in the house from the minute they wake up until they say goodnight.

30 years of living in this house, I finally had the original roof replaced last week AND had an additional solar tube added to our very dark hallway. I can now see some of the art in the hallway and how dusty it really is. David, Matt, Bri and I are reimagining the back deck which is now falling completely apart. The rebuild will likely be a family affair.

And the final plus, plus, FLOWERS are back in the house!

The Shell Grotto was discovered by chance in 1835, the subterranean Shell Grotto’s curving chalk walls are studded with 4.6 million shells. They create a magical mosaic of strange patterns and symbols. Was this a place of worship, a setting for secret meetings or an extravagant folly? We don’t know who built this amazing place, or why, but since the first paying customers descended the chalk stairway in 1838, debate has raged about the Grotto’s origins.

Tess Morley shell creations are stunning. To tell you the truth, I am not sure how I feel about taking all of those shells from nature for us to make mirror surrounds and furniture. But you can't help admire the complexity of the designs. Also her Instagram.

Cilwendeg Shell House Hermitage is a most remarkable ornamental grotto, and a rare survival in West Wales. It was built in the late 1820s by Morgan Jones the Younger, who inherited the Cilwendeg estate upon the death of his uncle and created the Shell House in his uncle’s honour. This extraordinary woodland retreat was conceived in the picturesque taste of the era, and in addition to serving as a grateful tribute to the elder Jones, it was used by his family as a cool amusement in the summer months and a contemplative reading room in the depths of the winter.