wembleyheads

is so much fun! :) 3 months ago

❧ delicious campsite sweet-potato-breakfast-scramble
❧ hiking around Meridian SP
❧ an awesome side trip to Dinosaur Valley SP!
❧ fresh air and blue skies
❧ cute square in downtown Glen Rose
❧ margaritas… heehee
❧ beautifully clear night sky, bursting with stars 3 months ago

It was a cold weekend for our first camping trip to Meridian SP. The temps were perfect for day hiking, but chilly nights in the mid 30’s bring out the side of us that doesn’t really bother with camp cooking… hooray local Mexican restaurant and margaritas! :D

Meridian is a very small park. There are only ~30 campsites. With the cold temps, we were the only tent campers. It was SOOOOO amazingly peaceful! There ARE perks to freezing my patootie at night!

The trails were nice, especially Shinnery Ridge trail. It is a forest of cedar trees with a far-away magical feel. We saw lovely cedar waxwings, ruby-crowned kinglets, cardinals, lots of robins, black vultures, and a hermit thrush.

I really appreciate that Meridian’s lake is small and no-wake. Things feel more peaceful and natural to me without speedboat and jet-ski noise. The fishermen paddled about or fished from the shore with their pups. I would definitely go back to this park. :) 3 months ago

❧ excellent, healthy breakfast
❧ finished work, supervisor let me leave early :)
❧ headed out for camping weekend! hill country drive
❧ picked up camp groceries but went out for dinner…. :)
❧ clear, beautiful, starry night
❧ my awesome sister and her awesome husband

I am so grateful for my wonderful family, kind roommate, loving partner, and snuggly kitty… surrounded by these blessings daily!! 3 months ago

❧ said (the nicer part) of what needed to be said
❧ the penultimate homegrown persimmon
❧ another hot bath; I just relish them on cold days
❧ received two beautiful origami cranes from Avittorio!!!! Thank you!
❧ my sweet, patient partner, who spent a long time with me to shut off my busy, worrying mind 4 months ago

❧ adaptability
❧ my laid-back supervisor
❧ added lavender oil to my hot bath, so nice
❧ had a good friend over for dinner and girl time :)
❧ a chat on the phone with my fella
❧ warm bed with kitty snuggles 4 months ago

❧ nice oatmeal breakfast with roommate
❧ 28th Kiva loan
❧ lovely, wholesome lunch with my fella
❧ serenaded by a Carolina Wren in the blustery weather
❧ a kidney bean curry recipe came out tasty
❧ invited roommate and my fella for dinner
❧ excellent communication
❧ fell asleep peacefully 4 months ago

I don’t sit outside in the car after I get home. :) I am actually happy to be there now! We share meals, and have nice conversations. She is super thoughtful. Very lucky this time around!

HOORAY for great roommates!!! I’m glad you found a great one too! 4 months ago

❧ having a nice roommate
❧ fresh groceries :)
❧ hot , quiet, Epsom salt bath at the end of a cold day
❧ kitty snuggles :) 4 months ago

is a good and necessary thing :)

I am sure you have done at least 248 things, just some of it’s been happening offline :) 4 months ago

I typed a note to hang at my desk. Then whenever I needed a break from my writing, I’d look up at the note and try to memorize a few. One note for north/south streets, one note for east/west streets. It helped!

It is so cool to have all the numbers memorized! After that, memorize where the train stops ar located! Chicago is such a well-numbered grid; once you have the streets and train stops memorized, you could be dropped anywhere in the city and easily find your way back home! :)))

I was making cotton candy puffs!

_{Well… if you like cotton candy with sawdust sprinkles :D}4 months ago

I’m glad you enjoyed the pics! The sky was even more beautiful, but not with camera or phone could I get anywhere near the stunning molten-metal look of the clouds. And that kitty is always too sweet and snuggly to refuse :)

Have a great day! :) 4 months ago

So happy for you both, Matt! 4 months ago

❧ didn’t finish, but left the laundry room functional
❧ new tile, looked great! next time, grout…
❧ deliciously ripe homegrown persimmons
❧ a beautiful sunset hug
❧ a safe drive home
❧ kitty snuggles 4 months ago

sound amazing! Way to go! 4 months ago

not posting a picture of your open wound! :P

In un friendly soccer, open wounds sound very appropriate. Excellent work. Next time try to get them onto your opponent instead :D

Also, best wishes for paper #3 and your research grant! 4 months ago

We took a three-day weekend to Huntsville SP in November, but with Thanksgiving and losing Dad thereafter, I haven’t had the time or inclination to post about it. I think my photos are somewhere, but at least there is a little collage from my phone to share :)

Huntsville is a park of tall piney-mixed woods and a nice lake. There are many miles of hiking trails. We got in a good 9 mile hike one day, and some shorter hikes on other days. The people were friendly, and a man at the next campsite taught me a few more campfire-building tips, which made my fires even more awesome :) So good, in fact, that we grilled veggie kebabs one night!

The nights were chilly and the days balmy and blue-sky-gorgeous. It was great camping weather. There were even a few fall colors in the trees. It was a very peaceful, beautiful place. I liked this park a lot and would be delighted to go back. 4 months ago

❧ removed all the old paneling from the wall and replaced insulation
❧ thankfully, was given grace about my terrible power drill abilities!
❧ learned how to cut, measure, and hang up drywall with my sister
❧ watched her do an awesome job learning to use a wet tile saw!
❧ even though I’ve been vegetarian for 12+ years, the steaks for my hard-working meat eaters were apparently cooked to perfection! Go, “Chef Wembley!” :)
❧ made outstanding black beans and cornbread for us vegetarians :)
❧ released Special Kitty back to her outdoor habitat

It was a good day of hard work with family. No complaints. 4 months ago

Their behavior sounds very confusing. It doesn’t sound like you invited this betrayal, to me, but it is so difficult not to take such things personally. I hope you are somehow able to take riding lessons without extra drama. 4 months ago

One day I googled “cute bird” image, and found this pretty painting of a Golden-Cheeked Warbler, which is an endangered species that nests only in the Hill Country of Texas. I’m glad you enjoy it! 4 months ago

unfriendly soccer?! Maybe playing friendly soccer now is part of why people brighten up to see you ;)

_heehee4 months ago

Not just coupons, but time with your daughter! That is so wonderful :) 4 months ago

❧ found a useful pile of materials Dad had hidden under a tarp
❧ it was cool to have Special Kitty in the house for the day!
❧ got the window closed in and wall frames put up inside
❧ made delicious stews (one veggie, one beefy) for everyone
❧ working alongside my partner and family
❧ having a wonderful, supportive shoulder to cry on 4 months ago

❧ hilarity during a nice family lunch
❧ nice lawyer who told funny jokes
❧ fiercely chiseled old linoleum out of laundry room, on my own!
❧ successfully got Special Kitty spayed, without incident :)
❧ nice fella who carried sheets of plywood for me
❧ getting to work on a big project with my fella and family 4 months ago

Of course we were hoping to get farther, but you never know what’s behind a wall until you open it up! Always a surprise here or there that takes extra time. Another full weekend of work ought to get it done. Perhaps we can get to it in February.

I would love if he was keeping an eye on us. We did “stumble on” a bunch of material we didn’t know was there, and I burst into tears. He always took care of matters. I do hope he’s beaming with pride. Mom is already so pleased with our progress compared to how it’s been the past two years.

Thank you for your encouragement :) 4 months ago

_{pictured above: BEFORE (a panoramic shot of three walls)}

Two years ago, Dad started building a bathroom inside the laundry room. His ultimate plan was to make their downstairs bathroom handicap-accessible, as he anticipated one or both of them to be in wheelchairs at some point. Mom has been unable to climb the steps to the upstairs for several years.

He didn’t get very far. He bought a lot of materials, and poured a raised slab, but Mom went into the hospital for a few months, and everything was derailed. After she was rehabilitated, he had a hip surgery, and needed the other hip done soon.

I offered several times to help him, but he always had some other thing for us to work on. Now that we have begun, I can see why he might have wanted more than my help. I wish I could have organized the effort that we put in this past weekend, when he could have appreciated the outcome.

We spent from Thursday to Sunday demolishing the old, trying to level concrete floors, taking out a window, putting a wall in its place, putting siding on the new wall, putting up studs inside, beginning drywall, installing plumbing, setting the shower, beginning the electrical, buying the toilet and fixtures, laying tile, sawing off the door so it would still swing over the taller tile…. :)

I learned a lot. Not just about how to measure and cut drywall, or what OSB is, or how to break my boyfriend’s expensive new drill (oops)... but about my abilities, and my family, and our relationships. It was good to work together. We all have different styles, but we managed. There were no big fights, no one yelling when I broke things (which was nothing short of a miracle). We have a long way to go, but progress is obvious.

I am so grateful for my boyfriend and brother-in-law’s skills, and for them teaching me and my sister so we could participate. 4 months ago

looks like an awesome year for you! Way to go! :) 4 months ago

❧ lunch with my dear fella
❧ having a great roommate to chat with
❧ keeping calm as needed
❧ being able to drive home with my sister 4 months ago