Blooms

Happy first day of spring...

90 Years Ago

This was another productive day. One of the things I accomplished was spending a few hours in Target scanning old family photos that I collected at my mom's house over Christmas.

In the process, I learned that 90 years ago this month, my great grandparents married.

Happy 90th Wedding Anniversary, Donald and Zella.

To Do List

It was a very soggy spring day here in Western Washington. It rained for most of the day, and it's forecast to continue for the next several days. With temperatures warming, you can just about watch our yard green and our plants bloom. But, who has time for that when there is a lengthy to do list?

First, George hung a new light-blocking shade in our bedroom. We're hopeful that these will give us better sleep with long days approaching...or at least let George sleep past 5am this summer.

Then, we finally ordered a photo to hang in our master bathroom. Three years ago, we remodeled it and quickly learned that it is a bit dark. In order to brighten the room, we decided we would hang a cheerful photo with bright blues. After carefully studying our photos from the Maldives and New Zealand, we have decided to have this beauty printed in 16x20 (inches) to hang above the toilet. Let's hope it accomplishes its intended purpose.

Next, the craftroom needed some serious attention. Since about September, I've just been dumping things onto my table without putting things away or accomplishing any projects. In the course of finding my table again, I put tickets, brochures, and momentos from our various trips into separate folders for later review or scrapbooking; finally wrapped the Christmas gifts for some friends; designated the various stacks of fabric for particular projects; and generally got the room back into a condition that will make me want to create.

While working in the craftroom, I noticed that my wedding dress was still hanging in the closet. So, after confirming that my mom is still willing to whip up a quilt or wallhanging with the fabric, I set about deconstructing my dress. I cut out all the inner crinoline- and tulle-type stuff. I rolled up the remaining piece of fabric to send to my mom. I then cut out one row of tulle, which I will save for a tutu for our unconceived child or godchild.

Because I'd already sorted the fabric, I went ahead and made some of the pillows I planned. I know George is going to be thrilled about more pillows to move from the bed each night. And, while I was in sewing mode, I took care of some mending...a skirt, George's jeans, and the lining of my handbag.

Finally, I filled my business card holders with my new business cards.

Although there are still many items on my list, it's a bit lighter after this very productive day.

Nervous

I'm exhausted. I spent most of my day preparing for court, meeting with clients to prepare them for court, attending court, and debriefing with clients after court. The exhaustion is what follows hours of being hyped up on adrenaline. Before the adrenaline, mixed in among the hours and days of preparation and obsession, there is nervousness. It seemed appropriate that this story aired on NPR on my drive to work this morning. In it, Chris Rock says,

"Stand-up still makes me nervous, and the play makes me nervous," he says. "The nicest compliment I ever got was from Conan O'Brien; I did the show and it went well, and he said, 'You know what I like about you? You're still smart enough to be scared.' He said a lot of guys come — big-name comics — and they're overly confident, and they bomb. He said, 'I've got to dig them out of the hole they put themselves in.' " Rock's philosophy: "Anything you can suck at should make you nervous. One should always be cognizant of how bad it could go."

Thankfully, I didn't suck today, but it's good to remember that being nervous is normal and actually helpful.

And, for the record, I'm actually growing quite fond of going to court. So much for all those times I said that I would be quite happy to never see the inside of a courtroom.

Wishful Thinking

Plan A for today was to go snowboarding. Plan B was to go to work. Instead, I ended up with plan C: a lazy start to the day, a trip to Target and the garden store, and an afternoon in the garden.

I've decided that I'm ready for spring. We probably still have some more frost before spring really arrives, but I'm hopeful. I tried my hand at putting together some planters and otherwise planting some spring flowers around the house. Hopefully everything will survive whatever cold weather remains and our house will look a little brighter in the mean time. I can't wait to see the tulips bloom!

New Zealand Recap

We've been back from New Zealand for over a month, and I still haven't said much (ok, anything) about the trip. Part of the reason is pragmatic: I've been incredibly busy and mentally occupied with work, leaving little time or energy for reflecting on the trip. The other part of my procrastination comes from my respect for those dealing with the crisis in Christchurch; it just didn't seem right to talk about a wonderful holiday in New Zealand while so many are suffering. Alas, I have finally gotten past it all, and I'm about to tell you more than you care to know about our trip.

We had a great time in New Zealand. What's not to love about leaving winter and landing in summer, surrounded by friends and family with the best food and coffee on the planet and one wine country after another? Yeah, that's why it was really hard to come home at the end of our two weeks.

We spent a few days with George's mum and brother in and around Wanganui. I ate the best eggs benedict of my life. Who knew that egg yokes are bright yellow/orange?! We also got to visit Nana (George's 91 year old grandmother), shop at the Icebreaker outlet, and take in Mounts Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe with Pat and Heath.

From there, we flew to Auckland and spent a few days staying with our friends, Pierre, Anna, and young Alex. Alex is fearless and deliberate and a lot of fun. He is the kind of kid who can watch a video of himself crashing his bike over and over and laugh so hard that his whole little body shakes every time. We had several impressive meals with Pierre and Anna and Pierre's and Anna's parents. Although it seems to always rain when I'm in Auckland, it's always a wonderful and memorable time.

While in town, we celebrated the wedding of George's cousin, Emily, and her love, David. You may remember that they visited us in Seattle in August. It was really nice to catch up with family at the wedding and then a few days after the wedding when I met some more of George's cousins. I must say, I'm proud to call George's family mine.

From Auckland, we flew to Wellington and went straight to Greytown to stay with George's dad and stepmum in their new bach. While there, we took a long drive with a spectacular coastal view where we could see the South Island while standing on the rocky coast of the North Island. At the end of it, we did a bit of wine tasting in Martinborough wine country. Ah, paradise.

Once we got back to Wellington, we left the following morning for the South Island. We caught the ferry across the Cook Strait with our friends, Tim and Kirsten, who graciously acted as guides and chauffeurs for a few days along the northern part of the South Island, where we tasted wine in beautiful Marlborough, watched the sun set in Nelson, kayaked in Abel Tasman National Park, and enjoyed a glorious sunny afternoon on an empty beach. Oh, I could have stayed on that beach forever...or at least for a few days. The sand flies that feasted on me on the river bank...I could have done without those.

Back in Wellington, we had a very memorable (and long awaited) dinner at Logan Brown; did a bit of shopping for gifts; caught up with Peter (and met Jamie) and Chris and May (and met a dim sum-loving baby Catherine); and left the country on a perfectly windy Wellington day after spending the morning along Oriental Parade.

Ahh, it was hard to leave indeed.