Jack Frost Nipping

Yesterday when I woke up to take the dogs out just after the sun came up I was greeted by a canvas of white.  It wasn't snow of course, but it was a very heavy frost that blanketed everything in it's path.

It was quite lovely really, and got me in the mood to start thinking about the holidays.  And speaking of holidays, am I the only one who was completely caught off guard by the fact that a week from today is Thanksgiving?!

My sister and I take turns hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas each year and this year she has decided to take Thanksgiving again, even though technically it's my year to host it.  You won't hear me complaining one bit about having it at her house.  We all bring stuff, but the fact that it's at her house and I don't have to run around like a crazy woman making sure every nook and cranny is clean is a very welcome relief.

I spoke to her on the phone a few days ago and we were running over the menu and discussing who would be bringing what, when I said, "oh I'll just call you next week and we can chat about it."  She seemed a little quiet when I said that, and when I hung up the phone Mr. Tide promptly informed me that "next week" was Thanksgiving!  Oops!!!  I really had in my head that it was the following week.

I guess it just goes to show that when you are wrapped up in other things you can completely lose all sense of time...and clearly I did.  I'm back on track now, and I will have the corn pudding, candied sweet potatoes, and desserts all ready when the time comes...I hope!

A few more days of Jack Frost nipping at my nose, toes, and anything else he can freeze should get me straight and remind me that November is halfway done and Christmas is just around the corner.

Thanks for your sweet comments on my last post, and I hope if you are celebrating Thanksgiving next week that you are much more organized than I am! :)

If I Needed You

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments and support from my last post.  Some of you have emailed to ask if the split was with my art partner Mary Beth, and thankfully we are just fine.  The issue was with my business partner who I've been working with for many months now to create an online gallery to sell our artwork.

It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but I've been blessed with a wonderful opportunity which I will share with you soon, and that opportunity means I need a website in place by the end of this month.  The website with the other person has been dragging on for months now, and so last Wednesday I phoned to ask the status and drive home the urgency of completing the site.  Instead I found out what I had suspected all along, that the website was not going to happen.

What that means is that I will now be challenged with creating a website of my own in just a few short weeks, something I've never done before.  I have to say that although the immediate future will be stressful, I've already nearly completed the website in the span of about 4 days and sleepless nights, and I'm feeling strangely optimistic and excited about everything that has transpired!  The e-commerce hosting site has been hugely supportive and I can't thank my husband enough for watching youtube tutorial videos to help me while I created a logo and all of the graphics to fill the site.

There is lots more tweaking to be done, thumbnails to be uploaded, and pricing structure to be determined, but I'm moving forward and I actually believe that things will work out for the best in the long run.

Once again, when I needed you all to hold my hand and tell me everything would be ok, there you were.  And as always my family has lifted me up and made me believe that I can do anything.  For these blessings I will be forever grateful

If you have read my blog for any amount of time then you likely know that I feel deeply connected to family and friends who are no longer with me.  I often feel their presence and see signs they send me letting me know that they are ok and that I will be too in times of trouble.  

The day after I had the phone conversation that rocked my little world last week, I was all alone and sitting at my desk trying to wrap my head around how this would all shake out.  I'm normally pretty good in the midst of a crisis, but even I was having trouble with the notion of all that lay ahead of me, and self doubt started rearing its ugly head.  And then I heard it, just as clear as day and as if she were standing right beside me.  It was my mother's voice, a voice I haven't heard for over 8 years since she passed away.  She said "you can do this!"  And it was at that very moment that I knew she was right, I could do this...and more importantly I would do this!

I guess sometimes we just need to hear that from our mom, that unconditional love and support that can come from a mother who believes in you, whether she is here in the flesh or walking beside you in spirit.  

I heard a tiny bit of the song below yesterday in the movie The Stepmom, and I thought it summed it up in a way I will never be able to.  And for all of those who are struggling tonight, wondering if you can make it, pick up the pieces, and face what lies ahead, no matter the challenge, I hope you hear a voice that will bring you comfort.

I Heart You

I hope someone you love, be it person or pet, gives you a big 'ole smooch today...and if they can talk I hope that they tell you how much they love you!!!

And I hope you tell someone you love them back!!!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone, and to all of my special sweethearts, you know who you are and I love you all bunches!!!

Photographs and Memories

(Daguerreotype of my Great Grandmother taken by my Great Grandfather)

I hope that each of you goes out this weekend...

to create a few photographs and memories of your own, so that some day, someone will treasure the things you capture through your lens!

Happy Weekend Everyone, I'm off to take a few pictures.

The Little Things

Today was a holiday here in the US, so that meant that Mr. Tide was able to just hang out with me all day.

I love days when he has off from work and we can snuggle in bed a little longer, and get caught up on each other's hopes and dreams.

As much as I love hunting for the perfect piece of furniture, or trying to become a better photographer, it's the little things that truly make my world a beautiful place.

Give me my family, and maybe some hand and body cream in a beautiful box, and I'm one very happy woman!

By the way, I've heard from a number of you that you've had trouble leaving comments on my blog.  It appears that Internet Explorer and Blogger aren't playing nicely together.  So if you have Google Chrome or Firefox you can comment, otherwise it appears that you will have to wait for Internet Explorer and Blogger to kiss and make up...I hope that happens sooner rather than later!

Me, Dave, and Old Man Winter

Old Man Winter decided to make an appearance today.  He didn't come in quietly, or even gradually, but instead he flung the door wide open and ushered in an icy cold wind that could knock you off your feet.


Now I know it's January, and I get that the weather shouldn't be balmy, but I've managed to live in a bit of denial since October because we've had such unseasonably warm weather these past few months.  As our cold loving daughter lamented the lack of a chill in the air, I was dancing a jig at the fact that it was in the 60s over the holidays.

If you've been hanging out here for any length of time, then you are well aware that I'm a warm weather sort of person.  I love everything hot, well except maybe soup, but other than that I love warm weather sports, t-shirts, flip flops, the beach, and anything even remotely tropical.

Even as a kid, my mother would get frustrated on snow days when, after spending some time bundling me all up to go brave the cold, I would promptly return 20 minutes later in search of a cup of cocoa and a few marshmallows.  I think I only went outside so that I could get that cup of steaming hot chocolate.  You know, it doesn't seem right to drink it just for the sake of drinking it, you have to be freezing cold so that it can bring some sense of feeling back into your hands when you hug that warm mug.

There are only two wintertime activities that I actually enjoy, one is ice skating, and the other is sledding.  But since we rarely get enough snow to sled, and it hasn't been cold enough for the ponds or creeks to freeze solidly enough to skate on in years here, well then I kind of quietly pass the time until those first buds warm my heart and remind me that winter is done.

I'm not a grump during winter, and I do enjoy seeing the swans return to our creek each winter, but I mostly enjoy this season from the comforts of a well heated environment.  So Old Man Winter, if you are so inclined, why not give yourself a little rest this year and move on down the road.  In case you needed some sort of permission, I'm giving it to you right here and now, to let spring come a wee bit early this year.

And to those of you who love winter, I get it, I don't begrudge you this season.  Nope, I say enjoy every blustery day and sub zero temp you can find.  But just as you hate high heat and humidity, I don't take a cotton to your beloved cold and grey skies, so let's just agree to disagree, shall we?  :-)

When I think of grey days (yes I prefer the "e" spelling of grey), I think of this particular song.  And on a completely different topic, I promised Lili that I would one day tell my Dave story, so here goes.

I am a big Dave Matthews fan, not like a crazy stalker kind of person, but I love his music.  It makes me want to dance, sing, and it just makes me smile.  Mr. Tide on the other hand, not so much.  As a sax and trumpet player himself, he can tolerate the bits where Dave's band gets down with their horn section, but other than that, let's just say that I listen to Dave mostly in the car when I'm driving alone.

About 10 or 11 years ago, Dave was going to be in our neck of the woods, or at least within 2 1/2 hours, so Mr. Tide surprised me with tickets.  I was thrilled, I had always wanted to see Dave in concert, so this was way cool for me.

On the day of the concert we took the kids over to my parent's house to spend the day and have a sleepover, and we jumped in our almost brand spankin new Jetta, opened the sunroof, and headed on our way.  What should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive ended up being more like a 4 1/2 hour drive, and to this day we aren't sure if there was an accident or what, but it was a LONG drive.

We pulled in to the parking lot of the venue, which was a big open air concert place and we sat there for about 45 minutes waiting until the gates opened.  As we sat there I noticed something, everyone around us was far from like us.  They were all young 20 somethings, most likely college students, and many of them had been partying for a few hours by this point.  On the other end of the spectrum were a handful of older folks, as in much older, who clearly had lost their way when the Grateful Dead quit touring, and I guess Dave was a good substitute....I can see that.  But the former Dead followers were about .00005% of the general concert populace by all of my calculations.

The gates finally opened, and we wandered up to the entrance, and the  closer I got the more I thought that one of two things was about to happen.  I was either going to have the concert experience of my dreams, or I was going to be vomited on by a very drunk 20 something...odds were heavily favoring the latter since it was open seating in a field.

I looked at Mr. Tide and said, "would you mind if we just sold the tickets and headed home?"  Now bear in mind, that this wonderful husband of mine, who just drove over 4 hours to a concert you couldn't have gotten him to go to but for love or money, in this case love, looked at me like I had lost my mind.

As with any sold out concert, and Dave sells out months in advance, there were numerous folks standing at the entrance, hands held high with the number of tickets they so desperately needed.  We approached a young couple and asked if they wanted to buy ours.  They told us how they had seen Dave the night before in Pennsylvania and how they were so "stoked" to hopefully see him again that night.  I explained that although I loved Dave, I felt a wee bit old and out of place, which was followed by a lot of things like, "nah man, you're not old, you should go in man, he is so awesome in concert...like seriously!"  

Their words of reassurance only cemented the conclusion I had already come to on my own.  When we explained that we just wanted what we had paid for the tickets, they almost jumped up and down and asked if we were sure.  I explained that with two children at home I wasn't really game to use our one phone call to let our family know that we were now in a Virginia jail for scalping tickets.  They gave us cash for the tickets, and gleefully ran into the venue.  Had I been 20 years younger I could have been them!

So back in the car we went, taking a different way home, where we dined at Mikey D's and had ice cream at one of our favorite places in Virginia.  Driving down those back roads, with the sunroof open, and Dave blaring on the car stereo seemed almost better than being with him live.  So maybe Dave and winter aren't that dissimilar for me, I enjoy them from the comfort of my own home.

I have told Mr. Tide, that if Dave ever comes to a much smaller, more civilized venue, appropriate for old folks like me, that I would love to go.  So what do you think the chances of that ever happening really are?!  The odds, I'm betting slim to none. ;-)

Looking Ahead

Just like that the holidays are behind us.  In the blink of an eye the day, the weeks and months leading up to it, the whole year really is almost gone, never to be retrieved again except through our memories.

Crumbs and dirty dishes are all that's left to represent the time and fun we spent with friends and family.  And for me, this year will be a happy memory, a year filled with highs and lows, but thankfully mostly highs.  Even Christmas, which included our daughter throwing her back out and being bedridden for the most part, will still bring a smile to my face when I think back on it.

To hear my children laughing and chatting while she laid in bed and her brother hung out with her warms my heart and makes me long for those holidays when I knew she wouldn't be leaving to go back home to her own place.

Some years are more memorable than others, and I have to say that 2011 was one of the more memorable ones.  It included selling my parent's house, the home I grew up in, the place where my dreams were first formed.  Just before we went to settlement last week, after months of waiting, I wandered from room to room and said goodbye.  Tears fell, as I remembered the joy and happiness I had found there, and the dreams I had dared to dream in each and every one of those rooms.  But tears gave way to relief and the knowledge that instead of empty rooms, those rooms would once again be filled with laughter and hopefully be the place where someone else could learn to dream big.

It was also a year when friends were challenged by illness and accidents.  One where they found a strength I can only imagine, and one where they are winning their individual battles.  For that I am grateful, humbled, and mostly just in awe.

It was a year when I got to visit Europe again, and was reminded why I love it so much.  The people, the cities, the architecture, and of course the food.  And being there made me formulate new dreams that include getting back there and not waiting so long between visits.

This year was also a year when my family stood behind me and gave me the courage to try new things, step outside of my box, and start on a new journey of exploration.  They did this all while making me proud every single day by living their own dreams, while still supporting mine.

I don't have a handbook for what 2012 will be, what it will have in store for me or for the ones I love, but I do have a clear vision of what I hope it will be.  I hope that I will slow down more, enjoy more, listen to that little voice more, and do the things that make me happy while making others happy too.

I took the photo above last October.  It is of the river just across the street from me, and was taken with my long lens.  When you look closely you can see the houses on the other side of the river, which is 5 miles wide at this particular point.  Some people will only see the dark foreground, while others will focus on the water, but the lucky ones will see the tiny houses nestled on the distant shore.

Be one of the lucky ones in 2012, look beyond your own shore to the one you can barely make out in the distance.  This year, use your own long lens and dare to look ahead and picture where you want to be and what you hope to accomplish.  Remind yourself each day of how important you are, even if you are the only one who knows it, and create your vision instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you!

Do you have a dream for 2012...I'm all ears!

Give a Little Bit

Do you ever have days where you think, wow that was an amazing day?  They are the kind of days that cancel out 3 or 4 bad days because they are just that good.  Yesterday I had one of those days.

I was supposed to be cleaning, getting ready for company,but instead I visited with a friend who had moved into her new house.  Her name is Anna, and besides being super smart, supportive, and beautiful, she also lives in the most amazing house.

We have been trying to hook up since the summer when they first moved in, and it took until now for me to get over there and see it.  I came away from our visit thinking...I should tear my house down and start over, that's how truly gorgeous her new home is.  But even better than the house was the time we spent chatting, going for a walk, and just getting caught up.  Anna is a giver, she is someone who listens to what you have to say, gives wonderful advice, and shares with you what's going on in her own life.  We talked about dreams we have for 2012 and how we plan to make them all come true.

I'm lucky to have wonderful women in my life.  Strong, smart, and beautiful women, both inside and out, who I get to call my friends, and for that I will be forever thankful.

While I was visiting with Anna I mentioned that I was having trouble deciding if I should keep my dining room furniture or not.  It belonged to my grandparents, though it's not super old, it's Duncan Phyfe and so not my style anymore.  I explained that I had found the perfect china cabinet, that I really wanted to make a change, but that I felt horribly guilty about letting it go.

Anna said that maybe I should sell the furniture and do something good with some of the money, something that would honor my grandparent's memory and still allow me to get my new cabinet.  When I got home yesterday afternoon after having lunch with my son (another procrastination technique to avoid cleaning), there was a lovely email from Anna telling me to sell the furniture and she sent me a link.

The link, which I've posted at the bottom of this post, is about how people have been going to K'mart and paying off people's layaway accounts except for a few pennies.  They leave a few cents on the account so that K'mart's system doesn't close it out completely.  Then the people are notified that their accounts have been paid off, many of whom thought they wouldn't be able to get those items since they were delinquent on their accounts.

Mr. Tide and I watched the video together, getting teary eyed at the plight of some of these people and feeling sad at the thought of these people working so hard to provide a little bit of joy for their children or grandchildren but just not having enough to make it all work.

We always donate at the holidays, and all year long, but we really hadn't done as much this year as we wanted to.  So we hopped in the car, drove to K'mart and stood in line for almost an hour.  We were waiting for everyone to clear out.  When we first got to the store there were  plenty of people in line, some making payments, others paying off their accounts, but you have to be careful.  You never know if someone will see your giving as generous, or if it will hurt their pride that someone is trying to do a good deed, so we waited and then approached the cashier after everyone had left. 

We explained why we were there and told her that we wanted to pay off someone's delinquent account.  That we hoped she could look up an account where there were toys for a young child, someone who still believed in Santa.  She immediately smiled and said, "oh you guys are some of those people, I wondered why you were just waiting here for so long without coming to the register."   The girl working the register took her time, amazing really since we saw first hand how busy they had been all day.  She went through the list of delinquent accounts until she found one with toys, Dora the Explorer, etc. and said, this one looks like it's for someone with small kids.

She gave us the balance, and we paid all but 47 cents so that the account would stay active.  We then asked if they would call the family to let them know that they could pick up their items and she assured us she would.  She said she knew they would be thrilled, that the man on that account had been in the store that day and he wasn't sure he could pay it off by the 20th but he would try his best.

We don't know the people whose account we paid for, and they will never know us.  But they will know that someone reached out a helping hand, maybe when they needed it the most, and hopefully if they are ever in a position they will do the same for someone else.  That's the beauty of giving, it makes everyone feel better.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/anonymous-donors-pay-off-kmart-222535611.html

Vintage Christmas Memories

Each year...

When I rummage through my Christmas tubs...

And come across the things that have been in my family for as long as I can remember...

And some things that I've picked up along the way, that were in someone else's family...

Things that someone else didn't want to remember, or forgot about years ago...

I think of those who are no longer with me during the holidays...

And for a moment I am sad...

But then I remember, especially as I hold an ornament from my childhood in my hand, that those we love are always with us, celebrating right alongside us.  So even though we aren't together in the physical sense, we are forever connected, and for me, that's what makes Christmastime so special.

Merry Christmas to all the family and friends who are no longer here on earth with me, but are always by my side and forever in my heart!

A Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving

If you are easily offended, a pastry chef, or anyone who has a picture perfect Thanksgiving each year with people beautifully groomed sitting around the table passing non stop compliments to one another...well then you might need to turn away now!

Since my mother passed away over 7 years ago, Thanksgiving has lost a bit of its polish.  My mother, who was the consummate entertainer, pulled off spectacular holiday dinners without even batting an eye or breaking a sweat.  It was not uncommon for us to have 25+ people each Thanksgiving sitting around tables adorned with Waterford crystal, Wedgwood china, and lavish floral arrangements.


 

While both of my parents were still living, I also hosted a few Thanksgiving and Easter dinners at my house and I adhered to the strict silver, crystal, china rules I had known growing up.  My children were beautifully attired for these events and I even managed to look pretty good myself when it was all said and done and the guests arrived.

But after my mother passed away some of the formality and Martha Stewart type attention to detail fell by the wayside.  Carefully basted turkeys gave way to deep fried, a la my brother, and green bean casserole dared to make an appearance alongside the traditional corn pudding...my mother would be aghast at this!  We do still set a beautiful table, this year it will be at my sister M's house, and we do still behave with dignity (well most of the time anyway), but china and crystal have given way to fall colored pottery and lovely green glass goblets.

Thanksgiving has now become a holiday of culinary experimentation mixed among time tested family recipes, something we never would have done when my mom was alive.  No sir, Thanksgiving was a time when you could recite the menu in your sleep, when you could look forward to those tried and true recipes our ancestors had been consuming for centuries...it was, for lack of a better word, a traditional feast.

 
And not only was it traditional, but it was also quite proper.  Emily Post would have seemed like a bit of a slouch at our house growing up.  My mother was born and bred a Virginian after all, while dear Ms. Post was from Baltimore...egads, a northerner!

This year, my mother is maybe a little miffed, but more likely smiling down on me as I decided to attempt two rather non traditional desserts for Thanksgiving...French Macarons and Pavlova.  The messy images of my kitchen (and yes that #*$% backsplash is still not finished, please Santa, all I want for Christmas is a tile setter who won't freak out when I show him/her my tiles!), are evidence of my crazed baking spree.

I broke all of the rules, making meringue on a rainy day, and making macaron on a rainy day...but hey, I never was very good at following the rules.  I figure that no self respecting French baker is waiting around for the perfect sunny day to make a macaron.  Heck, I've taken tea at Laduree in Paris on a day when it literally rained, sleeted, snowed, and the sun shone...all in a matter of about 3 hours, and they were serving fresh made macarons, so the rule must be meant to be broken right?!

I'm also not a stickler for perfection, so mine don't look perfect, but they sure do taste pretty close to perfection.  What's not to love about that crunchy yet soft cookie filled with dark chocolate ganache...yum!

I thought I would share with you a few conversations my daughter and I have had over the past few days.  I think they pretty much exemplify how far from grace, or at least the graces my mother instilled in us, we have fallen!

The first one is regarding her picking up a few things from Whole Foods for us on her way home.


HER:  So, Whole Foods has effectively become a war zone. They now have three people directing traffic instead of one.

If there's something that needs to come from there that is for Thanksgiving dinner itself, I'd be happy to risk life and limb. Otherwise, all WF orders will have to be postponed for a weekend in Dec. (there will be a brief period of peace between this week and Christmas). All my shopping in the meantime will be done at the Safeway, which, honestly, isn't much better.

However, if there is something that must arrive by Thanksgiving, please send the list NLT Tuesday evening. I plan to go early morning Wednesday (my work at home day) before the unwashed (actually, let's be real - the Hyper Washed, Yuppie, Pearl Bedecked) masses arrive.

ME:   Your life is safe with us, we don't need anything!  If you need reinforcements, don't be afraid to call some in! ;-)

(moments later)  Ooh, I lied.  I need some organic fruit.  You can just get me a large, or maybe 2 large containers of mixed organic fruit already cut up.  Like one with kiwi, strawberries.  Just no melon.

I'm making pavlova so that Court *(my niece who is gluten free)* can have it too.  And I will probably make a flourless chocolate cake too.

What veggies would you like?  And I will pick up your crab cake *(for my pescatarian daughter)* on Wednesday. 

Thanks!  Love you!

Her:   Mooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Ok fine. I'll grab those. Do you want my flourless chocolate cake recipe? The only thing you'd probably need to buy is Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

I'm good with whatever on veggies. I'm not a huge fan of the corn with marshmallow (weird) but I'll eat the other corn. We made carrot fries recently which were delicious - I'll have to give you the recipe. 

Thanks for getting the crab cake! Love you, too.

I then had to explain that it is her aunt's sweet potato recipe that calls for marshmallows...not the corn pudding recipe!  So glad we paid for her to go to the "really" smart college! ;-)

But the fun didn't end there, while on gchat last night she and I were swapping dessert making war stories that went a little something like this!

While I was lamenting the fact that I had to make a redneck pastry bag from a freezer bag with a hole cut in one corner to pipe my macarons, she sent me a photo of her flourless chocolate cake which had apparently stuck to the pan.  She described it as looking a lot like tectonic plates.  After receiving the cell phone image, and knowing how brutal my family can be...we are talking memories like elephants and decades long ribbing, I replied with the following!

 

Me:   Umm, that would be a 8.0 on the richter scale!  Are you sure you want to endure the years long grief you will get lol?!

Her:  Ugh! I don't have time/resources to make another! What if I just bring it home and Court can eat some at our house? Squishy *(my kids call Mr. Tide Squishy...long story)* and the rest of us can eat the rest.

 Me:  LOL, no worries!  You could always turn it into a gluten free trifle!  Aunt Shelley was going to make one, but she may not have already made it, or you can just say the *&(( with it and bring it as is.  Tell everyone you were attacked by "occupy" Whole Foods and they messed up your cake!

Her:   They're *(meaning my family)* going to give me supreme *%@#. whatever, I'll figure it out. Maybe I can pretend it turned over in the car?

Me:   Yes, and then the ninjas came!  Just go arm wrestle someone in Whole Foods for the last gluten free dessert that is still standing! ;-)

Her:   Bloody hell, I'll just go get more ingredients and make another.

And there you have it, the perfect Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving experience!  At least my macarons and pavlova turned out fine...way better than the year I forgot and left the marshmallow topped sweet potatoes under the broiler too long and they caught on fire!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

There's No Place Like Home

Sorry about my wonky watermark, and apparently Photoshop wasn't interested in watermarking the other two images...maybe it's smarter than I am and realized that I hadn't downsized it properly! ;-)

Today, as I snapped these pictures of the bluebirds in my backyard who were busy trying to make a place to call home for the winter in our bluebird box, I couldn't help but think of what this day really means to me.

I've mentioned before that politics are not something I very often discuss, because I feel we all have biases, personal reasons, and ideology that shapes what we think about various things from religion to politics.  So like the old saying goes, I think it's best to steer clear of those discussions unless you are with close and very open minded friends, but certainly not in a public forum, unless you don't mind the mud slinging that ensues.

But as I watched these sweet creatures making their nest, I couldn't help but think that no matter where you live, who you vote for, or what you believe, we all want a place that we can call home.  And as I thought that, my mind wandered and began to think about all of the men and women who throughout history have sacrificed, some during wartime, others not, for something they believed in.  Something that often took them, or continues to take them so far from the places they call home.

Today I will honor those people by wearing a red poppy and hoping that for those who lost their lives so far from home, or for those who are now so far from home, that they will take some comfort in knowing that at least for today, they will be remembered.  Happy Veterans Day!

Too Much Fun

What is it about going away for a weekend or a week...or more, that makes everything seem more fun, no matter where you are?!  Coming back home is always nice, but after spending almost 5 hours on the phone yesterday trying to get the financing on my parent's house straightened out so that the contract doesn't run out yet again, well, it just isn't fun!

My recommendation to anyone out there who is listening...NEVER, sell your house to purchasers who will be using state financing, at least not in the state of Maryland!  For 5 1/2 months, we have waited to go to settlement, and in another few days our contract will once again expire, and frankly we are done!  The worst part of it all is that now 4 wheelchair bound women will be without a permanent place to live, thanks to our ever so efficient state employees.  But with broken promise after broken promise from the state, we as a family can't afford to keep waiting and not have our house on the market!

Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest!  Now on to the fun stuff, our recent trip to Indiana.  Mr. Tide spent most of his formative years growing up in a suburb of Indianapolis, so it's the place he calls home.  His brother and his family, along with his parents still live there, as well as his closest friends.

It had been awhile since we had been out that way, so we decided to head out for a whirlwind trip to see family and to help celebrate the 50th birthday of one of his dearest friends.  We landed late in the  afternoon on Saturday, made a quick stop at his folk's house in Zionsville, and then headed out to the party, which was just a small gathering of the birthday boy's family and another friend from high school, and his wife and son.

When you marry, you gain a whole new set of friends through your spouse, and luckily for me, Mr. Tide has very good taste in friends!  And those friends in turn have had very good taste in wives, so I never turn down an opportunity to visit with any of them.  Each time we visit we normally get to see a few of his friends, but we never seem to be able to see everyone, which is always a little sad.  But hey, that just means we need to go out there more often, right?!

On Sunday, my brother and sister in law, along with one of our nieces joined us for brunch at his parent's house, which was great.  We don't see them nearly enough, and it is always fun catching up on how their lives are going.  Then on Sunday, we treated my in laws to dinner at a local restaurant not far from where they live called The Loft.

Before we headed out to Indy, I had gone online to check to see if there were any organic restaurants, and low and behold The Loft came up right near where we would be staying, so I booked a dinner reservation right then and there.  The restaurant is part of an organic dairy called Traders Point Creamery, and it is housed in the upper level of a cool barn...hence the name "the loft."  To say our food was yummy would not do it justice...not even close!  We started the meal with a cheese plate, and I have to say that both the various cheeses and the chicken casserole I had for my entree turned out to be some of the best food I've eaten outside of France!  Next time we'll be sure to save room for some of their organic ice cream!  So if you live near The Loft, I highly recommend it!  Yes, it's a little pricey, but for me, it was worth every penny! 

On Monday, I took my poor in laws on a bit of a wild goose chase looking for a good pair of walking shoes.  I had done some reading online and had found some recommendations for shoes that seemed to suit my needs, and since we live in the boondocks, being near a major city meant I could visit a few shoe stores to find what I was looking for.

After a few misses, one store was closed the day before, and when we did get there it was not what we were expecting and only sold inserts, we decided to just browse around the area and pop into a few little shops...always my favorite thing to do!

I don't know if it's because I grew up in a rural area, so no malls...even now our closest decent mall is almost 2 hours away...but I just love small privately owned stores!  Oliver's Twist is one of those cute little shops that I would frequent if I lived closer.  Just look at their window with all of the vintage typewriters!  As a writer and now a photographer, I am instantly drawn to vintage cameras and typewriters, so I knew that I had to pop in for a closer look.

I was a bad blogger and didn't bring my camera when we went shopping, thank goodness for cell phones!

The shop is located in Carmel, Indiana...which my daughter and I jokingly refer to as Caramel, don't ask me why!  And it is run by a mother daughter duo who just happened to both be working the day I stopped by.

The shop is mostly stationary, and boy oh boy did they have some beautiful stationary, cards, and invitations, there are even some letterpress items made by the owner in her basement!  She makes letterpress cards in her basement, runs a shop, and has a tiny baby...how do these young women do it all?!  Oh yeah, her mom helps her...yay mom! :-)

They also carry a few gift items like candles, baby clothing, partyware, and even books.  I snagged the Lollia bath salts on sale, and I can't wait to take a nice long soak.  I deserve one really after my day yesterday!

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you will know that I am a bit of a stationary hound.  I just love a beautiful card with a handwritten note in it, there is something so basic yet so personal about them.  So of course I picked up a pack of assorted cards while I was there.  There were so many to choose from it was hard picking one!  I'm telling you, Mr. Tide, and our bank account, are both really happy we don't live any closer than we do, because I can see my stationary addiction becoming a problem if we did live nearby!

Though I have to admit that I'm not the best person for sending out Christmas cards, I might just have to find a reason to add some people to my list this year since I picked up these beauties!  

Maybe all of the chaos in my life this past year (not all bad but still chaotic), has brought me to a place where I crave simplicity, and these cards had me at hello.  But once again, I truly had a tough time deciding.  There was one set of cards with the most beautiful drawing of a sleigh on it, and they had trimmed out the sleigh with something that looked like shimmering snow...but it wasn't glitter, those were gorgeous!  But I was a good girl and only bought enough to send to a few family and friends.

If you live in the Indy metro area and you need some gorgeous stationary, invitations, or more...stop by Oliver's Twist and tell them Kat from Low Tide High Style said hi!  Or you can always visit them online to purchase something by clicking HERE!  And no, I'm not a paid spokes"model" for them...though they did beg me to be one...I jest, I jest!  They were super sweet though and I hope they continue to do well, because I love these little stores and support them whenever I can!

So that was our trip in a nutshell, it was too short, we flew home early on Tuesday morning but it was wonderful none the less.  I have to give a warm thank you to my in laws, pictured above with Mr. Tide and his brother, for going WAY out of their way to buy me everything organic to help with my adrenal issues, to my brother in law and his family for spending time with us, and to our dear friends G & C for hosting such a great dinner, and to M & B for staying up until 2:30 am with me yacking their ears off...it was too much fun!

And to Jen of The Cottage Nest, another Indy girl and blogger crafty girl extraordinaire, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet while I was in your "hood," but next time, I promise!  So get that house all spruced up and ready, I'll be there with my camera in hand when we next head off to Indiana!

P.S.  For those of you with Whole Foods in your neck of the woods, you can purchase your own Traders Point Creamery yogurt...it's yummy and that glass bottle is too cool!

From This...

Tomorrow, Saturday, will be my daughter's 24th birthday.  When I look at the photo above and see that curly haired, blue eyed, sweetheart, it's hard for me to believe that she is now all grown up, living on her own, and has become someone that we never could have imagined, because she's so much more than we ever could have hoped for!  

Sometime, when we weren't looking, she transformed from this...

To this...a young woman who knows who she is, but continues to evolve and embrace all her God given talents.  I would list them all, but that would make for a very long post!  So I will simply say Happy Birthday Angelfish!  We love you more than words can say, and we continue to marvel at the wonderful person you have become! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

***I was asked to re-instate the comments feature on my blog, but please know that for now I won't be able to reply unless you ask a specific question.  I know that sounds ungrateful, because I do love reading every one of them, but right now it's what I need to do, and I thank you for your understanding!"

Girl Talk

I finished up a story today, signed sealed and delivered as the saying goes, so now it's time for a little "me" time!

Tomorrow I will be heading off to spend a few days with my daughter Angelfish.  We will be taking in a KD Lang concert tomorrow night and then spending some time together, just us girls!  It will be like when she was little and we used to hang out together all day everyday...I can't wait!

*the pictures above were both processed using one of Kim Klassen's free new textures from her canvas collection*