Road Trip

Taking a short road trip to welcome in the New Year. And I suspect 2009 might be something stunning.

Be safe!

How Do You Say Thank You….

To someone awesome?

Briefly, I had a meltdown on Christmas evening, thanks to the past coming back to haunt me. (Lovely timing, right?) And M…well, he was amazing. Patient and understanding and not all too freaked out (or at least if he was he covered it well).

So this is a thank for the understanding and tolerance and calmness.

I am grateful far more than words can ever begin to express.

(As for the photo – we are considering kayaks. Well, maybe more than considering, more like “in the market for” kayaks. And yes, I know these aren’t kayaks, but they are boats and the colors are beautiful!)

Sometimes It's the Little Things

Commitment. I told my sisters a couple of months back that I hated that word. And I do, because it scares me so much. I feel as if I’ve tried the word on, turned around a couple of times to look in the mirror, and it just doesn’t fit. It’s like it scrunches at the waist or the sleeves are too short or the hem is uneven. Something about that word just makes me uncomfortable.

So I went to thesaurus.com to see if I could find a word similar to commitment (defined as “assurance; obligation”) but that might fit me better. Among the choices:

Engagement (heavens – that is worse that commitment!)

Guarantee (good if you want to return something)

Must (that one makes the stubborn me want to argue that no, really I must not)

Duty (another one worse than commitment)

Promise. This is defined as “one’s word that something will be done.”

Now that is something I believe I can try to live up to. It's a much softer word than commitment, must prettier, and the meaning does fit better.

The beautiful part is, I explained this to M last night and he was in agreement.

Random Sunday

Last night my clothes dryer ran for two hours. This fact dawned on me about an hour into the session, but then I got distracted and forgot for another hour. When I went to check on it, the clothes were dry, but not warmed. Sigh…I dreamed last night of having to purchase a new dryer.

But this morning I went to check on it and realized that it had been moved last night and that it was partially unplugged! I plugged it in, turned it on and heat!

Guess I won’t be needing clothes pins any time all too soon. At least I hope not since it is chilly these days.

Yesterday K and I put up the tree. When we went in I saw one for $45. Too much, said I. We saw several that were less, but of course, the beauty we bought was more. As we put the lights on last night I was reminded that this one little piece of Christmas – a simple tree – is what it takes to get me more and more in the mood for the holiday.

The critter battle may be winding down. M came over last night and put a board in the air gap where it appears they were getting in. And this morning I heard something running ON my roof, not in my walls. Fingers crossed and say a prayer, the doggone things may be outside instead of in for the rest of the winter. (Though I think Jake will be a bit sad. It seems he has taken to listening outside the bathroom door every morning for the rustle of critter feet.)

And finally, last night M and I went to dinner for his birthday. As always, a very pleasant evening. Well, with one minor spot (and trust me, when I say minor I mean minor). I had warned him, several times, that I’m pretty uncoordinated. If he wasn’t convinced before last night, he should be convinced now. We played foosball. Ok, I attempted to play and he is quite good. I’m not sure how much I tried his patience, but let’s just say I’m sure it was a challenge for him. Though when I think about it I think it was actually pretty funny. (And I did find out he’s been playing for 10 years and this was maybe the third time in my life that I’ve played. Maybe I get some slack for that?)

Holiday Hustle and Bustle

This week has been a bit busy, to say the least. I am a slug – have not been able to get in a run all week (pretty soon I’ll be a heavy-weight slug if I don’t get back to the pavement!). Christmas shopping is almost completed, but there is no tree up, though I did manage to find the girls’ Christmas stockings before St. Nick’s day and both girls’ were rewarded nicely by St. Nick for being so cool for an entire year.

Perhaps a tree this weekend, if time allows. Maybe some other house decorations. Oh, perhaps a poinsettia (though I really don’t have a place to set one). Maybe some presents will get wrapped. And maybe I will purchase the last of the gifts. Christmas cards are doubtful this year, to say the least, unless I send them after Christmas.

The nice part is – I am completely calm about all of this! If something doesn’t get done, Christmas will still be fine. I will be able to spend time with my kids, my new guy and his kids, friends at a holiday gathering or two. Gosh, how things have changed.

Oh, and there is still one challenge…Santa always brings me a present (he has for years). And this year I can’t quite figure out what to ask him for. Hmmm…..

My how things change

My dad was, as I said in a previous post, the most amazing man to grace the planet.

Jake, my 80 lb. four-legged male, is, as I’ve written, the best male I’ve ever lived with.

And now everything is slowly but surely changing.

If you were to wake up
And I were beside you
Would you gently smile dear
And whisper my name
And would you remember
The way that I held you
And would you want me
To hold you again

The words are from Lyle Lovett. The rest of the song isn't as positive, but gosh, this first set of lyrics sums things up pretty nicely.

2/22/1918 – 12/2/2003

Five years ago today my dad passed away. He was, in my eyes, the most amazing man to ever grace the planet. Smart, funny, kind, generous, devoted, and so very much more.

There are too many memories to even begin to list here, but among the things I miss the most:

• Calling him weekly just to check in and see how he was doing.
• Checking in regularly during the NCAA basketball tournament. I know today it’s referred to as “March Madness,” but when I started to watch it with him when I was in high school, it was merely the NCAA tourney.
• Playing cribbage. Gosh, I almost never beat him. Even at the end, when he was very sick and I had to peg for him, he still won!
• His laughing at silly comedy segments that he watched with my two girls. Victor Borge and Johnny Carson come to mind immediately.
• Sharing his love of Robert Ludlum novels. I actually read The Bourne Identity when I was in junior high.
• His complete distress when I lost the one baby. It happened not that many years after my mom died and he was so sad and so lost and didn’t quite know what to do. It was just incredibly sweet.

And so, for my dad, I choose these words from W.H. Auden:

…He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest…

My Guy

I have been busy and remiss about posting any updates. Kids, new guy (I guess I can officially say “boyfriend” though at my age that feels a bit silly), work, holidays. Busy with good stuff!

We (my guy and I) have managed to spend a reasonable amount of time together. To the point where we have stopped counting dates or days or any of those things, which actually feels kind of good and natural. Among the things we’ve done:

-Toured Hermann, MO
-Strolled along the riverfront in St. Charles, MO
-Tasted wine
-Tasted beer
-Taken a run
-Attended a wedding
-Seen the latest Bond movie
-Shared meals with his boys
-Had dinner with my gal

And gosh – we have plenty more on our list of things!

Slowing Down

I am a slug. My running, this week, has been little, at best.

But you know what? For this one week that is fine and totally worth it because I am, if a slug, a very very happy one!

Slowly But Surely

This was part of the summer exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It also replicates the past couple of nights. Needless to say, the single gal is smiling.

I have decided to be a wise woman and go forward one day at a time. As Patty Griffin says in one of her songs:

I'm not looking for the rest of your life;
I just want another chance to live.

That pretty much sums it up. For the moment anyway.

Sleepless...

You would think I would be able to sleep. Sleep with a big smile on my face, but alas, it’s not to be.

Insomnia is ruling.

Two to three hours of wakefulness a night is wearing away at me. I bought a hand cream that is supposed to help, which is totally silly, but it has lavender and the container calls it “sleep.”

Maybe if I were to visit a beach….

Amended

Date 3 – Scheduled; a glass of wine and a movie. Most likely at my cottage.

NEW! Date 4.5 - Work event. Oh my! (And the numbering was his suggestion, not mine.)

Small Steps

The single girl is scaring herself.

Date 1 – Symphony, pizza, wine. Very fun. Minor freak out after; full recovery the following day.

Date 2 – A four-hour dinner that included two beers (total) and one quesadilla (shared). Pretty much smiled the entire day after.

Date 3 – Scheduled; a glass of wine and a movie. Slight freak out when there was the prospect of him coming to my little cottage, but that plan has since been updated.

Date 4 – Scheduled; a stroll through a small winery town.

Date 5 – Scheduled; a hike in Southern Illinois.

And yes, the single girl is a bit speechless. Happily speechless.

Monster Mash

Last night I went to the St. Louis Symphony, again, for a special Halloween performance. It was very good and very fun. The conductor was a British man who completely played into the fact that it was Halloween.

Best of all, at least to me, was that they ended the performance with Monster Mash, which had me laughing hysterically. It was awesome (though I don’t think my companion was quite as amused, but nonetheless enjoyed it).

H is home for the weekend and I cooked like mad this morning. I had two chicken spedini recipes, one from a restaurant and one from a friend, and went with the restaurant recipe since it was a bit more traditional – rolled and skewered instead of chunks of meat. We’ll see. I have them made but have not yet started to cook.

And to complete my social week, tonight the three of us are going to listen to a small band at a local bar/restaurant.

Please note that in the course of one week this means: symphony, happy hour, symphony, band. That’s pretty good for a single gal!

Pictures At An Exhibition

On Sunday I heard the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra perform Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, which is called his greatest solo piano composition. I heard, however, the Ravel arrangment for orchestra.

Words cannot even begin to describe the performance. Magnificent. Powerful. Dainty. Loud. Awesome. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Passionate.
I was simply blown away. This is one of my favorite compositions and to hear it performed where the conductor clearly pulls so much from the orchestra.

Absolutely stunning. I’m still smiling. And still thanking my pal Dave for inviting me along.

Oh, and as a mention of Dave he suggested the pre-session lecture, which I tend to roll my eyes at and then always end up learning a thing or two. So in this one I learned that Mussorgsky did not shy from complicated tempos and that, as a rather large man, the opening walk on the promenade movement represents how he would actually feel were he the one walking and looking at the pictures.

Seriously - how cool is that?

On a separate topic – my house reeks of mothballs. I realized I had the entire stupid box in my basement, in a plastic bag, but the smell was leeching out. I must have the worst smelling trash in town for tomorrow’s pickup…mothballs and dog dirt. Not bad for a couple of chicks, as they say.

Must Love Dogs

If you have seen the movie Must Love Dogs then you will understand why friends and family compare me to it. I must admit, today at the grocery store, as I bought one fish filet and one lone Roma tomato, I could not disagree with the comparison. My stubborn unwillingness to post an online singles ad carries on the theme. And oh yes, there is the love of dogs. (Though I must admit, as much as I love my Jake I’m not sure how fond I am of others’ dogs; ironically enough, by the way, Jake is also the name of the main male character in Must Love Dogs.)

So on top of yet another evening alone, snuggled up with a book and a single person’s dinner, my house smells like “old people,” as K said when she came home and was welcomed with the nice, fresh scent of….moth balls. Reviews are mixed on the success of them in defeating critters, but I needed to try something new so and this is it.

This morning I managed to slug out a three-mile run during which my right, front calf cramped up. Knock wood I almost never cramp up so this definitely caught me off guard and made me question the sanity of a half-marathon. There is still plenty of time to commit.

Gosh, I hate that word. Commit.

The Critter Saga Continues

This guy was in my driveway after work today.

I’m still shaking my head.

Wanting vs Needing

I’m doing a small test. For two weeks I am trying, diligently, to spend money on what I need instead of what I want, and what I am finding is that, gosh, there are a lot of “wants” in my life. Coffee out (when I have everything I need to make a very good cup at home), food out (when my kitchen is well stocked), makeup and creams (when I really have plenty at the moment), running pants (though I have a couple of perfectly good pairs), a new book, a bag of chocolate, flannel sheets, and etc.\. The list goes on and on and on ad nauseum.

Thinking thinking thinking…is there really anything I “need” at the moment or is it mostly things I “want?” At least as far as the material life goes. And you?

Speechless? Nah, Just Quiet

This weekend I am apparently speechless.

The critters remain and my determination to get them is, I’m afraid, a bit down. They are wearing me out, though I refuse to be beaten. Maybe my will to win will go up this week.

I did get in a nice run on Saturday, almost five miles. But it’s still not enough, and as I write this on Sunday afternoon I’ve had a glass of sangria so am certain I’m not heading out today for either a run or a routine at the gym.

Jake had a great day yesterday – he got to go to the dog park. He loved it! There were several relatives there (black labs, no Great Danes) and a new friend in the form of a black pug who was tremendously friendly. One hour of play and he was a worn out boy.

K is glad that I am, once again, eating meat on occasion. She has requested asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. The recipe:

1 T olive oil
16 asparagus spears
4 oz prosciutto (4 to 6 slices, cut into 16 strips)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with the 1 T of olive oil.

Wrap one strip of prosciutto around each asparagus spear, starting at the bottom and spiraling to the top.

Bake for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove pan, turn asparagus, return to oven and bake another 4 to 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender and prosciutto is crisp.

This has been added to my Thanksgiving menu!

Note the Lack of a Social Life

My day started with a 4 mile run, followed by a couple hours of gardening, followed by an hour of shopping. Next up are two batches of banana bread to get rid of the nasty spotted brown bananas sitting on my counter, and then K and I will have homemade mac-n-cheese for dinner.

The gardening included watering my seeded lawn as well as the new sod. And for the first time today I actually mowed the new sod. Wow – it looks just terrific. I am so glad I went ahead and got this taken care of and very glad I listened to my friend who suggested going with sod so that it’s all finished up nicely and in one fell swoop.

I also planted a bunch of Asian lilies, one of my favorite flowers. It looks like I may have over-bought when I bought 150 mixed bulbs. I have maybe 50 more to plant and am not quite sure where to put them. Typical. My eyes are bigger than my stomach…or than the size of my flower gardens. This will be next weekend’s project.

Finally, I moved my woodpile. The garden crew had moved it right next to the house, which was fine as a temporary stopping point. However, when the critter guy was here yesterday (placing six bait boxes for the mice around the perimeter of my house) he suggested it be moved – it’s a friendly home to too many things (not just critters, but of course termites as well).

Jake, by the way, has been my shadow today. What a guy.

Here Mousey Mousey....

Things are not good in my critter battle. As in, at the moment I’m not winning. But, as the girls say, I have a plan.

There is a gardening sotre in my town called OK Hatchery. I stopped in after work last night and stocked up on bait and traps. The bait I put around the outside of my house. That was easy. The traps were another story.

Me to the guy at OK Hatchery: “I have a mouse.”

The guy: “And you want this mouse?”

Me: “No. I want to get rid of it.”

The guy: “You never have one mouse. Follow me. You can use glue trays or traps, but really traps are best.” This was not what I wanted to hear. Me set a mousetrap? What if it flipped and caught me and I was home alone and it bled and I couldn’t get it off and I screamed and Jake freaked out. And how would I dispose of it once the mouse was on it?

Me: “Can you show me how to set it?” This was a moment of insanity. To give him credit he did a great job of patiently showing me how to set the trap and not pinch my fingers. After he demo'd how to set it, during which time I pummeled him with questions, he sprung the trap and handed it to me to practice. Success! I had it! I was a natural! Then he had me put it down so that I understood how delicate the trap mechanism is. Success again.

Me: “I’ll take three packages (six traps). What else do you have?”

The guy: “Bait. We have this bait. It works on mice, squirrels, and chipmunks.” Holy cow – did he just say chipmunks?

Me: “Perfect. I’ll take that as well.”

Loaded up I came home and basically booby-trapped my house. Bait and traps loaded with peanut butter. I set all six in my basement, carefully placed where Jake cannot get to them. And now the waiting game begins.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In October, I must admit, I LOVE pink. Most of the time I'm not a huge fan, but it's different this month. The local grocery store has pink plastic bags, and this year they are selling the pink reusable bags. At Target there are pink kitchen utensils and small appliances and a pink hair dryer.

Breast cancer awareness is near and dear to the girls and I and wow - am I ever proud of both of them.

H’s volleyball team is sponsoring “Dig for the Cause,” a promotion in conjunction with the Breast Cancer Foundation. You can pledge an amount per dig picked up by her team or you can make a flat donation at the door before they play.

K is, once again, designing and ordering t-shirts printed for her team. She plans to do some additional fund-raising through this effort and even throughout the school year.

On top of that, my friend Kim is doing a 3-day breast cancer walk. She’ll walk 60 miles over the course of these days – how impressive is that! You can use the above link to donate to her fund raising effort if you are so inclined. She will do this walk in October 2009.

Breast cancer and breast cancer scares have touched our lives. A sister, a friend, a friend’s mother, and undoubtedly others we don’t know of. I think it's awesome that, for one month, there is endless attention paid to this disease. (And wow - I do like my new pink post titles!)

Critter Patrol

The critters remain. I'm not even sure if the critter guy has been here this week. I just want them gone. Tomorrow I get to call and tell them to come back and check the traps, maybe reset them.

$300 t0 $700 per pound and they are still here.

13.1

More and more, I’m considering doing my second half-marathon. I’m not quite certain what is holding me back from committing (except my ongoing commitment issue). I’ve done one before so know I have the discipline to train. I even enjoyed the first one. I went into it with only two goals and both were met: 1) finish and 2) run the entire thing. A surprise outcome was that I ran a respectable 2:03 when I was anticipating a 2:10 at best.

What I’m thinking of is the Go! St. Louis Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Marathon Relay, which is held every April in my beautiful burg. In 2007, I was part of a marathon relay team and did enjoy the race and day.

I signed up for the 2008 half, but didn’t train enough during the cold winter months to run it, which I ended up regretting. This year, with a gym membership, the cold weather should not limit my training as much– I can simply run inside, once I learn to discipline myself to run on the treadmill.

This time there will be a third goal: finish in under 2 hours.

Maybe it’s time to put my commitment issue aside for a time, sign up, and start the training program.

A Day At Home

For the past four or five weeks I have been busy every single Saturday with one of the girls and volleyball. Great sport, yes, but gosh it is hard to get things done around the house in one day. It all feels very piecemeal. I did get to spend a few minutes in the yard today....

When I was a kid the town in which I grew up in Iowa had more than its fair share of black walnut trees. My friends and I would take a brown paper grocery bag and pick them up and bring them home to our respective mom (not that our mom ever asked us to do this, we simply took it upon ourselves, thinking, I guess, that our mom would like them or appreciate them). These little green monsters turned our hands black as we touched one then another then another.

Two years ago I moved into my house and realized my first fall I was blessed with two sweet gum ball trees. (More on that in a future post.) I also had a couple of dead or dying trees. An arborist friend was good enough to stop by and confirm that yes, they should be removed. He also pointed out a black walnut. I had no idea! That first year I didn’t really have many walnuts land in my yard. The second year I was so overwhelmed with sweet gum balls that I barely noticed a walnut. And of course, the dog run was in so most walnuts landed there or in the flower bed. Out of sight. Out of mind.

Not so this year. I have walnuts. I picked up round one today and they weighted down my lawn back pretty nicely. With walnuts dropping that lets me know that soon sweet gums will be dropping as well. Oh joy!

I’m also on to critters of a different sort and am trying to take care of these myself. Mice! In my basement. Will it never end? I set two mouse traps. A friend, a year ago, recommended those self-enclosed traps. I had never used them so set them and of course, after they were all set realized I had forgotten the bait. I added bait, but then thought that maybe that wouldn’t work – adding it after the fact. So off I went to the hardware store this morning and purchased these two beauties. They are loaded with bait (i.e., peanut butter) and ready to do their job. The package said you can release the live mice, but somehow I think I’ll be more likely to throw the entire setup away!

My other hardware adventure is Great Stuff. I’m attempting to fill the gaps where the chipmunks are splashing leaves into my basement so I can at least, I hope, ensure that they don’t make their way inside.

Last on my list is making pound cake, from scratch. Kind of having a craving and K definitely is. Plus she may go see H this weekend and if that is the case, she can deliver a sweet treat….provided we don’t eat two loaves!

Clean!

I splurged. Now I feel guilty, but only slightly.

I hired a cleaning service. They came today and the result is just awesome.

Wow!

Zing!

Sparkle!

I love it. Things I never get to – and undoubtedly would never get to – are spotless. Last night I was thinking about the things I had to do this weekend and dredged up cleaning then remembered that I didn’t have to clean. I can actually do some gardening, reading, and writing without having to think about dusting and floors and bathrooms and bleach and scrubbers and etc.

Last night, as a total surprise, H called. She was 10 minutes away! Seems her team spent a night in St. Louis before heading to Kentucky. So K and I piled into the car and went to say hello to her. We chatted for about an hour, which is nowhere near long enough, but still it was a treat. Gosh I miss her.

The final tidbit is that I am, once again, considering a half-marathon.

Price Per Pound

$300 later I am rid of three chipmunks. K thinks we still have at least one more. Jake is moping as if he’s lost all his friends.

I was curious as to the price per pound of getting rid of these chipmunks.

I found a Web site called Got Critters? They had a nice rundown of many different types of chipmunks and while I didn’t read each one in detail I did notice some of the weights. It appears that the lowest weight is 1 ounce and the highest is 5 ounces (and if there is something larger or smaller, I apologize – I read the information quickly).

So at 1 ounce it would take 16 chipmunks to make a pound. With the cost of trap setup and removal that would be $711 per pound.

At 5 ounces it would take 3.2 chipmunks to make a pound. Again, figuring in cost of trap setup and removal that would be $343 per pound.

My initial thought is that I am absolutely nuts for paying this kind of money to get rid of these critters. Or desperate. And I realize it is more desperate. I want them gone, but I don't want to "see" them leave.

It's The Little Things....

I had a stressful day. Work, family, yada yada yada....

When I got home I checked my e-mail and had this from my friend, Kim. It helped to put everything in perspective:

"So, I went to the XXXX office today to apply for a new card. Got to talking with the woman helping me and her sister just turned 40. She told me about all the great gifts she got! I told her all my birthday gifts went to a charity – and then explained about the 3 day walk.

She gave me $20!!!!

Can you believe that!?

Just a really nice gesture. I was in shock. But in a good way.

Really really nice."

How can you not smile at that?

St. Michael's Day Dash Part 2

This may be one of the most moving photos from the race. On the other side of the bucket were large emblems with the badge numbers of the officers who were killed in February.

Anything else I say is inadequate.

St. Michael's Day Dash

This morning I ran the St. Michael's Day Dash, which was 5K through the community in which I live. At the downtown starting area, the pre-race memorial included a Police Honor Guard and a Pipes and Drum bagpipe band. A fire truck was on hand and had lifted a large US flag with the badge numbers of the two police officers who were killed in the February shooting.

Even though I was registered I almost backed out. I really don't enjoy racing, though I do like the race atmosphere. I just put too much pressure on myself to finish well. However, I did decide to go and am thankful for having done so. If nothing else it was a reminder that this "race" was really not a "race" at all but rather a way for our community to continue to offer thanks to the five people who were killed in February for all they did for us.

In my race packet was this note:

St. Michael, the Arachangel - Feast Day - September 29....St. Michael is the patron of police officers.

"Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

Yes, I Really Can Do Things

My weekend includes a 5K. I had sworn off such things, but then this came up. It's called the St. Michael's Day Dash and will be held in my own downtown. In February we had one of the most awful events that could happen in a small town at our city hall and the proceeds from this race will benefit Backstoppers and the victims of the tragedy. Even if I weren't a runner I would support this effort.

Now on to lighter subjects....

For several years I was told, with a good amount of frequency, about the things I couldn't do. Now I'm learning about the things I can do.

Over the summer, I had an interior dog fence taken out of my backyard. All the fencing and posts were nicely lined up so all I had to do was get them to the curb and then call someone to take them away. Getting the fencing to the curb was no problem. The posts were something else (concrete-encased beasts that they were). I saw a neighbor kid outside, a former h.s. football player, and hired him to move the posts from the backyard to the front. I left, came home, and voila - the posts were on my curb!

That night, at roughly 8:30, I posted a picture on craigslist with an ad that the scrap metal was free to whomever would pick it up, but they had to take everything. By 9 I had three or four e-mails; by 9:15 I was on my driveway talking with two guys with a pickup truck who were taking away the metal. I asked them, "You are taking the posts as well, right?"

"Well, we weren't going to, no."

"The ad said you take everything and I don't have a way to get rid of them."

Long sigh. "OK. We'll take them." I stood on my driveway and watched as they took everything. Forty-five minutes is my craigslist record! I was very proud.

But after all was said and done, the yard looked like this. A previous owner had put in the dog run with rock and landscape carpet and now it looked awful.

I got a couple of bids to get it all replaced - rock and carpet gone, dirt and sod laid down. I hemmed and hawed (decision making is not a strong suit and I hate parting with my money), and finally hired a company to clean things up. These photos show the progress.

I LOVE my new yard! I splurged and went with sod instead of seed since I knew Jake-the-wonder-dog would wreak havoc with seed and since a friend had assured me she had done seed and wished she'd done sod just to have it all finished. It's so awesome! Nights on the patio will be better than ever!

And finally, a couple of weeks ago I found that I had "critters" in my house. Yuck. So I called the critter patrol (which is not a cheap adventure) and they set traps this week. Success! I won't go into detail or share the photo, but let's just say at least one critter is gone. (Trust me, I was going to let them be then I started to worry about chewed wires, fires, etc. And they were driving Jake nuts and he, in turn, was driving me nuts.)

Last but not least, meet Jake!

First Attempt

Happily Single is my attempt to help all believe that yes, there is life after divorce and yes, you can do it on your own and yes indeed, happily single is a good life choice. There may be tough days or fragile days or lonely days, but those days come whether you are single or not. For me - for now - happily single works quite well thank you.

I doubt I will post often and I'm certain I won't have much to say that will make people stand up and say, "Wow, she's a wise woman." But that's ok. I want this to be an attempt to share with family and friends that I'm doing well on my own.

And I'm happy about it!