1. I think I long for morning thunderstorms.
2. I think I want new dining room chairs.
3. I think I'm really enjoying el cheapo. I think I'm really glad I got it.
4. I think I should get two packs of tomatoes at the Farmer's Market because I always eat the first pack straight out of the carton within a day.
5. I think I've started thinking about fall.
We made our second loaf of bread with the bread machine yesterday. It's SO good.
And look at the sweet loaf it makes. I was reading this article about grilled cheese sandwiches with grape jelly because it totally vindicated everything Dad's been saying for years about the value of grape jelly added to anything. In the comments, someone suggested using mayonnaise instead of butter for a grilled cheese. Mayonnaise instead of butter. On the outside. For the grilling. I knew you'd love that. Might have to try it today.
love you,
me
I had my first migraine when I was fourteen. I have such odd recollections of that experience. I was at school, a freshman in high school. I would not consider my high school warm or nurturing. Oddly enough, the gym was where you could find some of the warmest people in that place. It was true for me that day at least.
The sun was bright. The room was bright. The wall was cold when I leaned against it. It was a measure of how awful I felt when I let our P.E. teacher (a wonderful, warm woman who died of cancer within a couple of years of my knowing her) drive me home. It was only five or six blocks, and I don't like asking for help. She always called me Julie after that, and I never had the heart (or confidence) to correct her. I still have trouble with that.
Since that day 26 years ago, I've had headaches. Not always migraines, but headaches. There have been periods of my life that have been rather blissfully pain free. And there have been periods that have not. These things come in cycles, I suppose.
This summer it feels as if I've had a headache or a migraine every day.
Every.
Day.
Everyday.
Not blissfully pain free.
It's been a migraine summer. I'm tired of it. What can I say? My family is tired of it too. Who can blame them? On our drive back from New York, I had one of the worst migraines I've had in years. Trapped in the car, all I could do was rest my head on Callum's blanket and blast the a.c. vents on my body full force. Poor Neel spent the drive dealing with weather and hoping to come across an Urgent Care or ER somewhere along the way. I was hoping we would too. Note to self: the Eastern Shore of VA is NOT the place to look for a ER in the dark. During a storm. Not so much.
I have medication that I take when I'm having a headache, and it mostly works. I've been on a medication that works pretty darn well at preventing them. I'm not currently taking it because I don't love the side effects. Wondering though, if it might be time to reconsider.
Maybe.
1. Woodpile, 2. Garden Gate, 3. Cocktail
I printed the champagne bottles, but didn't love it on paper, so out that went as a possibility. The show is on Thursday, so we'll see what happens. I'm not expecting much, but I'd love to raise a little money for the Art Center.
1. I think I like this season's Project Runway better than this season's Top Chef.
2. I think I liked New York City quite a lot.
3. I think I'm not glamorous enough to live there though.
4. I think the thought of Friday the 13th doesn't bother me much.
5. I think the dog days of summer are dragging me down.
1. Cocktail, 2. Candle, 3. Celebration, 4. Garden Gate
Okay, so here's another batch. I'm leaning toward the woodpile from yesterday too. And maybe this gate. Again, feel free to weigh in. I'll let you know what I decide on Monday. This week has gone by so fast! I can't believe there are only two more until school starts.
So I thought I'd post some of the photos I'm considering for the clothesline art show. These first are nature based, and tomorrow maybe, I'll look at some still lifes.
Woodpile
Hydrangea, Part 1
Hydrangea, Part 2
Spring, Part 1
Spring, Part 2
So, any thoughts? They'll be 8X10, and sold individually, but I'm thinking in sets for some reason. Back later with more, but I need to decide by the end of the week!
Oh dear, so much editing to do. And so many stories to tell. I don't even know where to begin. And my photography teacher has asked for donations for photos to a clothesline art show to raise money for our local contemporary art center, and I'm feeling like none of my stuff is good enough to even consider printing. Sigh. I may throw a couple possibilities up here in the next day or so and see what you think.
Well, we've made it home safely from our week in New York City. It was a wonderful trip that both exhilarated and exhausted. Man, it challenged my photography skills too, that's for sure. I'm not sure I managed to rise to the challenge, but I'll spend some time editing the 900 or so pictures I took in the next day or so.
After an arduous trip home, we got in late Friday night. On Saturday we reunited with our neighbors for some music up at the university. Summer Saturday night, back with our peeps. Welcome home.
1. I think this is the worst thunderstorm, with the most flooding, that we've ever seen.
2. I think I like ketchup less now than I did as a kid.
3. I think I'm getting excited.
4. I think I need a project.
5. I think this is wonderful. Or dangerous...
Holy funnel clouds, Batman! My own little corner of Virginia got hammered last night. Tornadoes and flooding, you name it. Quite exciting, actually.
I'm hanging up the "gone fishin'" sign on the Blue Rain Room over the next few days. Give me a week and I'll be back (or before, if I can manage it, but no promises), maybe with some changes in tow, maybe not.
I've been craving fried clams.
We went to our local seafood joint ("The Local's Locale") for them when Alfie was here, but that wasn't quite enough for me (or Callum), so last night we went back. I love this place. Plastic tables, a deck with misters along the creek and "Lay Down Sally" playing in the bar.
Last time we didn't get onion rings, so this time we did. They were good.
It was all-you-can-eat crab leg Wednesday, which is what Neel ordered and grudgingly shared.
Of course, Callum and I got the clams. They were even better than last time. So, craving satisfied? Maybe...
We had dinner on Sunday with friends who moved away a few years ago. Our families have been hanging out since our kids started school together six years ago. It was so nice to be together again (minus one...we'll have to rectify that soon, won't we Suze?). Nice and easy.
There was so much catching up to do. We sat at the dinner table and talked for hours. It's hard to find words for an evening like this. We told story after story. Some from our time together and others from way back..."Mommy, tell about the time you were stung by the jellyfish." Callum would say, "I seem to be full of stories tonight!" And then his eyes would light up and he'd say, "Ah! Another one!" Evenings like that are so wonderful when they're shared.
My mom and I talked on the phone the next night about how important stories are. She was talking about this blog and what a lot of you have said about it. The stories are what makes our life's events feel real. We live it once, and then we retell and retell, somehow cementing the reality of an experience. I think that's why I write this blog. It's not for profit or even posterity...I always say it's a gift to my family. Taking our stories, telling them and making them real.
Since redoing our family room, we needed something on the wall above the computer. I thought about blowing up one of my photos, but couldn't quite find the look I was looking for in this spot. I wanted a pop of color, something funky and original.
Enter etsy. Such fun to go browsing. I could do it (and almost do!) every day.
I found this vinyl wall letter at Circleline Studio, and it feels like the perfect choice for this spot. The walls are more blue than the gray that appears in this photo, and the tangerine of the "K" is a perfect pop of contrast. It took a lot for me not to put vinyl decals on every wall.
Okay people, I'm kicking up some dust around here. I have spent countless hours doing research, looking at other blogs and web hosting sites and reading online tutorials. Countless hours, I tell you. Countless. I haven't figured it all out, but I have figured some things out. Here's what I know.
1. I feel loyal to Typepad, and I don't necessarily want to leave them (although I have trouble understanding why they didn't add their own company name to spell check. Surely they know how to do that.).
2. I like the idea of moving away from a blog-only format to more of a web site.
3. The symbolism of titles means perhaps more to me than it should, but I wonder if I haven't outgrown the Blue Rain Room. Not the room itself, more the moniker.
4. It feels weird to say that.
5. My creative life is shifting to photography (for fun) and writing (for fun and a little profit), and I'd like something that represents that shift.
6. Perhaps a new title to represent that shift is necessary too.
7. I'm interested in some photo projects, and I'd like to highlight them separate from the blog.
8. I'm really interested in some sort of online portfolio that I don't have to spend a lot of money on.
9. I love my blog about my life and my family, and I don't want to give it up.
So there you are. The blog isn't going anywhere, but it may become part of something rather than the whole thing. A domain name may be registered, and things may look different. I'm slowly figuring it out. This process reminds me somewhat of the process we went through to work on our kitchen. Hours and hours on ebay looking for just the right faucet or range hood. That's how this is. I'm not sure of exactly what I want, but I'll know it when I see it.
1. I think Tanqueray #10 is my favorite gin.
2. I think I never thought I'd have a favorite gin.
3. I think I'm almost desperate for an all-day rain.
4. I think I'm quite liking golf.
5. I think I miss mountains.
Callum's best friends are two brothers who live on our street. One is just his age and will be in his grade next year at the new school, and the other is two years older. Somehow, they manage to make this friendship, with varied ages, work splendidly. It has been a summer of three. Callum over there playing Wii or World Cup Soccer outside, or them here, playing Wii and FIFA World Cup for Wii inside. Callum's days are organized around these two. How soon he can get over there once he's up in the morning. How soon he can get back to them if we go out. They've been here all day, playing Callum's new World Cup soccer game. I've been cleaning out the Blue Rain Room, and I can hear their shouts and laughter all the way upstairs. When one of them scores they take a lap around the new circuit of the house that our remodeled pantry has created, big boy footsteps thudding. Callum made sandwiches for lunch for everyone, and I happily cleaned up the detritus when they bolted back outside.
Of course as I typed this, they got in their first "fight" of the summer. Some boys storming off and one boy in tears. Callum would handle this better if he had a brother, I think. Would better understand that arguments are part of friendships. They took a little breather, and it typical boy fashion, they were soon back in front of the Wii as if it never happened.
It's bittersweet for me, of course. Watching this boy who used to need only us be shaped by deepening friendships. Especially bitter when he's hurting. But it's mostly sweet as I see him rush out the door to be with his friends, as anxious to be together as if he hadn't played soccer with them until after dark the night before.
We had a celebratory dinner while Alfie was here. Face it, we always have a celebratory dinner, but this time there was actually a birthday to acknowledge.
This restaurant with its faded charm, seems to me to be quintessentially Old South.
Gin and tonics of course.
Fried shrimp with a special sauce. So delicious that people order for an appetizer AND dinner.
And this guy joined us just in time for dessert.
1. I think I'm feeling a bit cut adrift.
2. I think I like blackberries more than raspberries.
3. I know I have the best neighbors.
4. I think I'm craving fried clams.
5. I think summer is moving too quickly.
The gate to Tyler's and Catherine's backyard has been open over the past few days.
It's like an invitation to step inside.
The sound of burbling water, just on the other side of the fence, is further invitation. Tyler's worked hard back here, and we all enjoy it. Outdoor get-togethers wind up in this yard because it's the perfect spot for kids and adults alike.
When I look at our yard, I feel inspired, but like we have a long way to go. I think that was just the effect Tyler was looking for! Good thing he says, "the gate's always open."