Porch Ambiance
We have our first ever totally screened -in porch.
It 's on the side of the house, so we also have the element of privacy ,which is a definite plus.
Over the years we've lived with townhouse balconies, front open areas with a hanging porch swing, 2nd story wooden porches with railings ,a high rise balcony, a back porch next to an in ground pool that mostly held plants and an unused table set (the air just didn't smell fresh enough to sit around in and really the pool/spa was the main attraction ), but never what we have now.
We are working on having it make a statement.
Relaxation,comfort and ready for entertaining new found friends .
Currently it houses some of our extra stuff from the move (2 dog crates and gates) , boxed garden supplies , mostly empty moving boxes with asst. paper getting ready to be recycled next week.
Once the boxes are picked up ,the extra stuff re-situated , then we will have a primo spot facing the woods .
My three tiered mosaic plant shelf will finally have a home ,colorful recycled porch rug, lounge chairs w/ tables,artist's easel, a clothes drying rack plus a few scattered plants and wind chimes.
We plan on spending as much time as possible out there as soon as the weather warms up a tad more regularly.
Right now it is just missing a couple more hound dogs draped around the corners , and abandoned vehicles to remind us of our time in West Virginia...
Splat
Snow's nearly gone....but now it's all about the mud puddles !
I guess my next purchase will be rubbers as they say in the UK ! 
Or Wellies ...rain boots ...to you colonials !
Spring is here , I fear
St Paddy's Day White Out
Thank goodness we have a service for all this.We only had to do a throughway for pup and a back door !
Oi, howz about Spring makin it's way back here ?!
Marzo Italo Nibbles
Gentile Signora April J,
Buona lettura.
Alta Vista Babelfish Italian to English Translator :
Gals About Town
Springing into the near 50's ( we're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave), made us want to go to nearby Northampton .
They call it NoHo for short !
There are some great stores and sights to be had , despite the huge side piles of dirty snow and scattered mud puddles .
We gladly took it all in as a lovely break from our regular routine .
I'm Not Really Grieving So Much Anymore
I'm just totally lost more than anything else .
Where is my place in this post personal apocalyptic world ?
I think this is my mid-life crisis.
This cold ,icy weather and lack of light is definitely affecting me as well.
I feel like I am in hibernation.
Now I don't have to endure my mother's foul and bleak moods , my parent's constant negativity and that 's a good thing , but also --who the heck am I and where am I going?
I better find out quick before they call my number and I'm outta here...
Another Time , Another Place ,Another Me
Was it really just last year that we were going through yet another mild Gulf Coast winter?
My daughter and I's regular early evening walks captured in snaps I took now sit in my computer files documenting those moments .
I look at them ever so often and remember this time of year fondly ,as it was the calm before the rising heat and humidity that was usually just weeks away.
The thought of hurricane season in the months ahead also crept into our minds on those sunset strolls as we had just experienced fleeing from Rita 4 months earlier.
Often we'd complain about our lives with my parents , and how tired we were of specifically my mother's domineering personality , rages and unhappiness which chewed on our everyday lives something fierce.
The thought of leaving hadn't quite entered anyone's mind yet at that point.
Finding ways to live under those conditions ate a lot of our energy , often we felt like caged animals being prodded with sticks .
There were actually some peaceful moments , but those were few and far between . Usually occurring when she was off taking care of her house and business in Germany for a month at a time .
We went to live with them right after my husband was killed , although they helped to a certain degree ( mostly my father ) , and my mother was genuinely saddened by what happened to him. She continually expressed anger at the new familial situation especially over the last two years .
They always told me they'd be there if I ever needed them , and I took them up on it.
I think my father truly meant it but my mother, who must always have her way , realized the loss of power and just freaked out . Compromise is a word concept rarely used or practiced in her vocabulary.
When we were in pain and grieving ,she lashed out , and it still was about Her.
My daughter 's guff level was reached in May of 2006.
In the end ,my mother's narcicissim prompted us to get out and start our own adventures in the frozen tundra of New England.
Getting out was another headache that I detailed here from August to October last year .
The rest is history.
