What month is it again?

So, I woke up this morning and had an odd feeling... I wasn't sure if it was almost May, or if it was the beginning of March. All of this snow junk has got to stop. It's time for sunshine, flowers and unfortunately bugs... I want warm weather, a nice tan and to spend lots and lots of time outside.

It's hard to believe that this week is already halfway over. I am definitely not complaining, though my weekends are going to be lonely-ish from now on since Cyle will be working. That being said, I think this Saturday I am headed to Colby-Sawyer College with my friend Theresa to see my friend Carly and enjoy a Chocolate Festival. Sounds like a good time to me!

Back to school.....

Well, unfortunately my vacation is over. It was a beautiful week, bookended by things that were not so lovely. A funeral on one end and a moose vs. car encounter on the other. Everything in between was pretty darn good though. I have to say.

I was given the beautiful weather I wished for, and I got to spend lots of time out and about doing what I love. I rode, I hiked, I walked my dogs, I helped get the garden started. Soon, we'll have little green shoots poking up, seeking the sunshine, and soon after that, we'll be able to reap the bounty. I can't wait. Fresh veggies from the garden are the best!

Another positive thing is that I got a call back from Starbucks today... they want to interview me and potentially hire me. I'd be down with that. Coffee making, money making and hopefully some serious coffee drinking as well. Sounds like a plan to me.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Too much.

Sometimes it seems like the world just dishes out too much. That's when someone inevitable brings up the good old saying, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," and though I find it irritating as all get out, I have to agree with it. Even now, when I'm feeling like all of the things piling up are sucking the strength and life right out of me, I know that when I get through it, I will be stronger for it.

It relates to the same sort of principle as one of my all-time favorite quotations: "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain." My grandmother looked at this quote tattooed on my arm the other day and vehemently disagreed. I can't say I blame her. When you are right in the midst of the sorrow, it's hard to think about the time that will come after. Though the death of someone we love stays with us, and we always have a hollow spot where that sadness lives, it leaves us with that much more room to be full of happiness.

I guess this means I'm thinking along a more positive line today. Good thing.

Creative Juices

Springtime has everyone's creative juices flowing. Mine are flowing sort of on the slow side at the moment though it's getting to be the time when flowers are blooming for me to photograph, but Cyle's have been hopping. This is the trellis that he created for my mom on Saturday.

He walked around in the woods cutting down saplings and wove them all together and buried them in the ground so my mom has something to plant her sweet peas and morning glories around. It is gorgeous.

After he finished that project, he put together a wind chime to hang on it from cans out of the recycling bin. This is the wind chime that my grandfather would have loved.

My contribution to the artistic stylings at the moment is this:

Not only did I photograph this forsythia, I spent about an hour a couple of weeks ago pruning the ever loving snot out of it so that it would bloom well this year. In the past it has gotten a little confused and bloomed in the Fall... definitely the wrong time of year. The Spring pruning definitely paid off though... it's completely covered with flowers and like my mom said yesterday, it's like we have our own sun in the front yard.

My first obituary...

There are many things in this world that irritate me, and one of them is poorly written obituaries in newspapers. No one seems to pay attention or edit them or make sure that they make sense at all. Therefore, I decided this morning that I would be involved in the writing of my grandfather's obituary. It's my first. I hope I don't write lots of them as time goes by. It's definitely not the kind of writing I like to do, but at least I know it won't suck:

James T. Elliott, 77, of Tamworth, NH, died peacefully at his home on April 7, 2010, surrounded by his family. Calling hours will be held at Lord’s Funeral Home, 50 Moultonville Road in Center Ossipee NH 03814 on Friday, April 16^th from 6-8 pm. The service will be held Saturday, April 17^th at 1:00 pm at the South Tamworth Methodist Church on Route 25 in South Tamworth, NH 03883.

Jimmie was born May 25, 1932, to Albert and Gertrude (Berry) Elliott. He graduated from Kennett High School in 1950 and went on to serve in the United States Air Force from 1950-1954 during the Korean Conflict.

In 1958, he became owner/operator of Elliott Brothers Garage, until retiring in 1990. He volunteered for the fire department, Tamworth Finance Committee, and was a member of the Men’s Bowling League. He enjoyed gardening, his grandchildren, watching wildlife in his yard, sitting by the woodstove, his Kubota tractor, cutting his own firewood, NASCAR, the Red Sox, and he had an incredible knack for finding four leaf clovers. He was a unique individual full of ingenious ideas and an incredible love for his family.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dorothy, daughters: Melinda and her husband Peter Heimlich, Melanie and her husband Mark Streeter, Marcia Jayne and her husband Joe Hudak, grandchildren: Casey, Julie, Amanda, Abbey, Dan, Virginia and Josh, and his sister Eleanor Lyman, along with several nieces, nephews and cousins. Jimmie was preceded by his parents, brother Roger and grandson Fred.

Donations can be made in his memory to: The Laura Foundation for Autism & Epilepsy, 1251 Eaton Road, Madison NH 03849, the Make A Wish Foundation of NH, 814 Elm Street, Suite 300, Manchester NH 03101 in memory of his grandson Fred Nathaniel Hatch or The Community School, 1164 Bunker Hill Road, South Tamworth NH 03883. Lord’s Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Happy Bunny Day

It's 10:32 a.m.

Barn? Done.
Waffles? Made... and eaten.
Shower? Taken.
Laundry? In process.
Kale salad? On the docket.

Once again last night... the third Saturday in a row, we had an amazing date night with Jess and Al. Some of Al's ridiculous home cooking, with enough garlic to even satisfy my desires and show Cyle that vegan cooking can be extremely tasty.

Not only was the dinner amazing, the dessert was out of this world. I might even go so far as saying that Al created the perfect cookie. Chocolate, peanut butter, peanuts, chocolate bits... I'm not seeing how that could get much better in any way, and Cyle can't seem to stop eating them either. He has said repeatedly that they're like crack. We were lucky enough to get a to-go plate of them and we've been sucking them down non-stop (that's what she said).

We saw Clash of the Titans. It was decent. It made me want a pegasus worse than I did before. There was some good fighting and the visual stuff was cool, but there wasn't a lot of story to it. I wish that the gods had been more involved and more interesting. Instead it was a whole bunch of Perseus killing stuff... which is fine, but really... what happened to a good storyline?

This spending Saturday evenings together is really rocking my socks off. Hanging out with three of my absolute favorite people in the entire world all at the same time? Hell yes. Thank you all for being the best ones ever.

Now, we're off to the Southern half of the state to have some celebration time and enjoy the sunshine. Hopefully you will too!

It's all Circular

"I cannot control the truth of death, whatever my desperation. I can only make certain that those moments of my life I have remaining are as rich as they can be." - R.A. Salvatore (from The Halfling's Gem)

Funny is not the right word, but it's funny sometimes how things coincide. The weather is changing from dreary and dark to sunny and warm, while simultaneously, the life of someone very dear to me is taking the opposite course. Granted, it's not a sudden thing, but the process has certainly sped up over the course of these last days.

One of the books I read with my students at school, Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, talks a lot about the circle of life and how as some things bloom, others are fading. Depending on your state of mind, that idea can seem hokey, or it can ring very true. For me at this moment in time, I am hearing the bell.

Though I have dealt with plenty of death and destruction in my life, I have never been through the death of an immediate family member. I know that it is for the best and that when he is free from his broken body, he will be happy again, but that still doesn't erase my attachment to his earthly form. The day is fast approaching that I will have to tackle that thought and I am not looking forward to it.

My grandfather has been a huge part of my life, always. I remember spending days at his garage when I was small. The smell of gasoline and oil to this day bring me back. He took me for rides in his dump truck, or on the back of his motorcycle (just in the driveway of course!). He brought me Necco wafers, or Wintergreen Canada mints (known in our family as pink pills for pale people). Whenever I spent the night at my grandparents house, he would make me toast for breakfast with butter, peanut butter and cinnamon-sugar. My grandfather has meant the world to me, to the point that I named one of my horses after him. When I bred my mare for my Senior Project in high school, it was pre-determined that it would be called JT no matter what. JT for James Theodore. Sometime soon, there will be only one JT involved in my earthly existence. Now I just need to get ready for the reality to hit.