Here is the e-mail with the pictures!
A side note on the day is that Monday evening, Phil, who is
the iron skillet cleaner and ‘seasoner’, forgot that he was drying the skillet
on the stove; right up until he realized that the house was filling up with
smoke. You should have seen the smoke billow out the patio door. Let’s just say my skillet is well seasoned.
Now don’t resent me
because this is out of my control. The remainder of the week was sunny to partially
cloudy and swung between upper 40’s to lower 60’s. Karen, it is truly amazing
what some vitamin D rich sunshine does for psoriasis. I only have a couple of
very small patches but they have been persistent this dark, dreary, bitterly
cold winter. A couple of days of sunshine and my little patches are almost
invisible. John 8:12 tells us that Jesus is the Light of the world and John
4:14 says those who drink of his water will have their thirst quenched. I am
pretty sure that in the middle of February The Light’s well is filled with
vitamin D rich sunshine that quenches my skin’s thirst. The winter weather is
closing back in but I cannot find words rich enough to express my gratitude for
this brief taste of spring. Here is a look into the unseasonably delightful weather.
Here I begin my enticement to have my siblings come visit
me. Andy, I realize this won’t be near as enticing for you but I include you
because you are always welcome. I am blessed to be employed in a career that I
love as well as one that gives me the benefit of having limited company come
with me to work. My setting is fluid and flexible. On the first day of fine
weather, Tuesday, my youngest companion (S) and I engaged in about a 2.5 hour walk about the
Chevy Chase area of Lexington. Originally developed in the 1920s and 30s, today
Chevy Chase is a thriving example of early 20th century urban or inner
suburban, mixed use neighborhood noted for its convenient location, pedestrian
friendly tree-lined streets, excellent residential architecture, parks,
shopping and schools. Maribeth, it was in one of the shops I stopped in
that I found the walking stick. This
particular day was a sunny, blue sky, 40 degree breath of fresh air. S
and I saw multiple eateries, shops and beautiful architecture. I am sure I
appreciated the scenery more than my companion but she is such a social little
one that many people were greeted with her ‘hi’ and left behind wit h her sweet
‘bye’. I hope you enjoy the pictures and are truly enticed to come visit me.
For planning purpose, because I am hopeful, for now I have Friday’s off so if
you come on for Friday and stay through Monday we will have both time together
as well as the opportunity to enjoy my young companions and their neighborhood.
So here are some pictures of our walk about.
I may still go back and purchase this walking stick for use
on future walk-abouts.
The neighborhoods have these delightful triangular
intersections and one has been turned into a small personal park with equipment
and statues.
Some of the architecture of the area:
S and I took a morning walk to the closest park where
she let me clearly know that she loves to swing and be helped up the slide. The
playground was wet and muddy so she couldn’t get down so we headed back to her
house and hung out on the front porch swing for a bit.
S has been showing an increasing enjoyment of the
micro-Montessori space I have created for her. It is so fun watching her gain
independence and self-assurance
During the afternoon, after C was home from
pre-school, we went for a walk complete with 1 pink/white radio flyer tricycle.
It became quickly obvious that C has not spent much time on her
tricycle but she was determined to ‘ride’ further than was wise and I let her. The
following pictures document the trip back to the house when she encountered the
consequences of choosing not to turn back when I suggested we turn back.
1: I am too tired; 2: I am just going
to pull it (ouch! It hits my ankles)
3: C, it really will work better if you ride it.
4: I will sit on my tricycle but only to walk it home!
Another fun note for my day was finding out that Jacob
completed an 8+ mile run in 1.5 hours!
Awhile back there was a particular house on the market that caught my attention not too far away from my employer’s house. Now realize I was just window shopping. The house is larger than the too big one I already have plus there is no way we can afford a house in the Chevy Chase neighborhood. None-the-less the house intrigued me so I looked it up on line.
If you want a peek at a $569,000 house checks out http://www.bgsir.com/eng/sales/detail/407-l-1345-t5eycm/301-colony-blvd-lexington-ky-40502
.
As has become my habit I
spent the evening visiting with the my previous Nanny family and my sweet E. After spending the day
with the girls playing at the park, going for a walk and then shooting balloons
in the front yard I spent my early evening puddle jumping with E and playing
in his backyard.
Are any of you wishing you had my job yet? Remember, I still
have to change used diapers every day and wipe both bottoms and snotty noses
most days.
On Friday I hosted lunch at my house with Nicole, her two
younger boys plus Stephanie, our friend from The Nile, and her little one,
Michelle. We enjoyed a meal of fresh pasta salad, biscuits
and strawberries. Stephanie brought me homemade berry jam and tomato jelly (a
new, very yummy taste sensation). We had a pleasant visit. Nicole and the boys
remained at the house until almost dinner time. The two younger boys played so
nicely together that at one point we had to check to see what they were doing.
This lasted until Luke really needed to take a nap.
Saturday found Phil and I heading out with just Dylan to celebrate his 7th birthday. We went to his choice for lunch, Chick-fil-a, and then to Kid’s Place which is a big indoor climbing structure. We had a blast! He was more light hearted and like a healthy 7 year old than we usually get to see him. He really thrives with this type of one on one interaction.
Phil and I wound up our evening with one of the outcomes of my efforts to eat a more nutritious but satisfying diet. I am not able to tolerate the statins that help reduce cholesterol levels; they simply make me hurt. So, an increase of whole foods that support lower cholesterol, decrease in the ones that inhibit and more exercise are going to have to do some good. This night we had my first ever attempt at salmon steaks, with a maple syrup glaze. They were wonderful, along with the spring mix salad, asparagus, pine nut couscous, grapes and glasses of late harvest Riesling.
And that brings me to today. We spent the morning at and were home for the rest of the day. We went for a short walk (that winter wind has returned) then talked about what to tackle next weekend from long list of home projects (talking is most of what we do about this long list) and then settled in to watch an interesting movie (Matt Damon in The Adjustment Bureau) while enjoying a beautiful fire. One sour note for the day is that as I left for church I saw that my front bumper is damaged. Phil and I have no idea what happened or when. However, as you can see, the damage is significant enough that we should know if it happened while we were driving. The puzzling part is that it is so low on the bumper that it doesn’t really seem like something that happened while it was parked somewhere.
Tonight I head to bead recognizing
that 26 years ago I thought my fist child would never exit my womb only to hold
her in my arms the next day.
Much love to all of you.
Becky
