Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.


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Riley's mailbox search

A long time ago, way back in August, while Reilly went for a walk around his neighborhood  he  noticed the fancy mailboxes there.  He and his Mom suggested we all look around and see what kind of pretty or interesting or unique mailboxes we just might have near us.

Well, lots of time has passed, but I’ve been keeping this challenge in the back of my mind.  Mostly around here we have pretty simple mailboxes out on posts by the side of the road, nothing fancy, nothing pretty, nothing remotely interesting.  Or so I thought.

Today while driving to see if I could find a competitive photo for Scott’s photo challenge  I decided to keep my eyes open for mailboxes too.  Look what I found!

Down one of the dirt roads that I used to run is this mailbox, advertising the kind of person that lives there.  I think this person just might be pretty handy to know.

And on another road I drive everyday is someone longing to be near the sea.

Most of our mailboxes are just, well, regular mailboxes.  Though lined up like this I think they look pretty interesting.

But my favorite is this one, made out of patio pavers with a top that lights up at night.   It’s something they built this summer and I’ve been admiring it for weeks.

I’m pretty happy with the mailboxes I found in a single morning.   And even though there are some fun mailboxes out there, I think I’ll keep our simple brown one.  It works just fine.

Katie’s waiting for some mail.

 


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Frost warning

Summer seems to have ended abruptly though I hope we’ll still get that Indian Summer we so enjoy here.

This week the evening news warned of a frost ‘in the outlying areas” and we’re certainly outlying, so I went out to the garden and cut a few of the dahlia’s to take to my aunt.

And because I couldn’t bear the thought of all the beautiful flowers brown with frost so soon.

We didn’t get the frost, but I’m still glad I brought some of the blooms inside.

They’re so beautiful.

 

 

 

PS:  Scott has another photographic assignment due 9/28.  The challenge is to photograph something competitive.  I’ll be thinking about this one.  You can too!  There’s still lots of time!


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Fall begins the music

A sure sign that we have moved beyond summer has nothing to do with leaves changing, or cooler evenings or even threats of frost.  The most emphatic sign for me is when the community band starts rehearsing again.

This week I went to my first rehearsal.  I haven’t played all summer.   That’s a bad thing.  I could use the excuse that I had my instrument in the shop getting a tune up.  And I did.  But I didn’t take it in until sometime in late July.  So I have no excuse for not playing in June and July.

Tuesday night as we ran through what seemed like endless sheets of music I knew I was out of shape.  I was hot and tired and more than that was often dizzy from blowing inefficiently into the mouthpiece of my instrument.  Not a good combination.  I won’t even comment on the missed accidentals, fingering mistakes, the times I was lost.  The multitude of times I looked up at the clock, hoping for an end to my misery.

The good news is that I was not alone in that misery.  The bad news is that I was not alone.  We sounded pretty terrible.  But we have a few weeks before the Halloween concert, and my stand-mate and I have made a pact to practice at least four times this week.

Wait.  It’s already Thursday night and I haven’t practiced.  How many nights are there between now and Tuesday?  I need to stay focused and make sure I get that practice in.

Because I don’t want to spend another Tuesday night sweating and trying not to fall over.  No one else wants that either.


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Michigan Renaissance Festival plus a Katie-girl

Sunday Katie and I got word that a friend of ours was playing her fiddle at the Michigan Renaissance Festival which coincidentally is right up the road from our house.  And since we weren’t doing anything in particular we decided to head on over there and see what was happening.

It was just Katie and I and a few thousand of our closest friends.

Many of which were dressed in some pretty strange attire.

There was lots of music,

…and puppet and magic acts.

People watching was the name of the game.

You never knew what you’d see next.

Katie got admired by sheltie lovers and children.  She mostly let everyone pet her.  Often I’d see a longing in a pair of eyes and smile encouragement.  Katie seemed to know when someone really needed a Sheltie fix.

She was interested in everything.   The weirder the better.

Mostly though she had her nose to the ground, looking for scraps of the turkey legs they sold, or potato chips, hamburgers and such.  She was quite annoyed when I’d drag her away from the best stuff.

She didn’t much like the kids rides, too much noise, too much movement.

And she wasn’t too interested in meeting other dogs, though on our way out she did meet a friendly basset hound.

It was a long way back to the car and when we finally got there she was glad to rest a bit before our short drive home.  Is that our car Mom?  Finally?

Tonight she’s dreaming of turkey legs, men in tights and women with pushup bras.  I swear.

Katie says: “When I said I needed an adventure I sort of thought we’d just go to the park Mom, not some weird place with noise and strange people and crazy smells…but I’m a brave girl and handled it all!  Didn’t I!”

Yes baby girl, you did.


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Happy birthday brother!

Today is one of my brothers’ birthday.  Ten years ago his birthday was overshadowed by tragic events.  Though he lives in a southern state, he was in NYC on that day for a meeting.  Surreal.

Today, amid all the remembrances of a terrible day I want to make sure he knows I’m thinking of a pretty cool day – the day he joined the family!

So Happy Birthday Brother!  It was so good to spend last weekend with you and everyone.  Wish we could spend today together too!

Love,

Big Sis.


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Kind of at loose ends

I have nothing to talk about.  I’m at loose ends.  I’m doing laundry, cooking for the week, vacuuming.  Nothing you’d want to read about.  Husband is off working on his brother’s garage, so I have the house to myself.  Perhaps I will go sit on the deck and hope the carpet cleans itself.

Katie is voting for an adventure, but unless she learns how to make beds or dust she’s not going to earn one.  We’ll see.  I remember what that used to mean when my Mom said it to me.

 

We’ll see.


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Family weekend

A spur of the moment decision found me flying south for the weekend.  South to where my family is.  South to where the lonely little house on the lake waited.  It was anxious to be filled again with the sound of laughter and talk, the lights glowing again late into the night, smells of dinner and especially dessert filling the air.  The little house on the lake where memories of yesterday mingle with today’s events.  South.

It was a short visit but long enough to connect again with family and friends.

To get a little swimming and skiing in between the raindrops.

A little hiking up the mountain.

And lots of good eating.

Sweet weekend.  Short weekend.

Missing the little house, friends and family already.