Freak of Nature

A derecho...that's what they call it.  A fast-moving, ass-kicking hurricane-like storm, that basically comes up--out of nowhere and covers a LOT of square mileage--FAST, leaving destruction--aka: downed trees and downed power lines, in its wake. They say they happen once every four years.  We had a date with one a couple nights ago...

Friday night about 10pm, Greg had just finished an episode of Breaking Bad (which I do not like!).  He was online checking the interwebs and I was in the living room.  Greg happened to check Washington Post's site and then came into the living room and told me to put on The Weather Channel.  There, we see, moving fast and furiously--FROM CHICAGO,  this massive storm system coming right for us.  

Basically we had 30 minutes to prepare ourselves for this huge lighting and thunder storm with 60 mph winds.  Power outages were imminent.  We rushed around getting battery operated lanterns, flashlights and our crank powered radio out of the basement.  We unplugged all the computers and electronics and then we braced ourselves.  And sure enough, 30 minutes later-on the DOT, the rain started. The lighting started...the thunder started.  And then the winds really kicked in.  The lights went off and then came back on.  We stood on the porch and marveled at what was going on around us.  The lights went off again and stayed off...There we were, in the middle of this whirlwind, totally stunned and surprise and not really knowing what to expect, but hoping for the best...

The storm lasted around us for a good hour; then moved on and was gone.  There was minor debris/small branches down on our street.  We wouldn't notice the much larger tree branch that had come down on our neighbor's car until the morning.  As far as we could tell, we came thru unscathed.

That was until Saturday morning. 

A record breaking heat wave was forecasted for a second day in a row on Saturday.  Temperatures were expected to be 102...which it seemed to be already at 8:30am.  And almost immediately, it was being reported that power outages could take up to A WEEK to repair.  We, with two little kids and two big dogs, didn't really want to stick around to see if they would be right.

Plus, everything was closed: the pool at the Y, the grocery stores, the gas stations.  The traffic lights were out, making driving not fun.  Not to mention water use was restricted because the storm had  knocked out electricity to the local water purification plant and we were told to ration water.  Not to mention a very sad farewell I said to everything in our fridge and freezer...

Very lucky for us, we were able to hightail it back to the beach house that Greg's parents own...and were able to pass the weekend in relative comfort...with access to the beach, the pool and air conditioning...so, so fortunate and we were incredible thankful to have someplace cool to go.

No creative post today...just a crazy story about a freak of nature...a Derecho!  Who knew?!!
Hope its a very long time before we encounter one again!


Check out this Washington Post photo gallery to see what this storm really did to our area.

Today and My Daughter

How do you even attempt to explain what happened 10 years ago to kids who were born after it all even happened...how do you explain the hatred that flew those planes into places they were never meant to go to a six year old...

Do you even try to tell her at all? 

Maybe you wouldn't or you shouldn't but she already kinda knows about it somehow and you think because she does seem pretty smart that maybe you shouldn't try to hide the day or the meaning from her. She asks you all sorts of questions and she wants to know more... You really want your family to observe the moments of silence...and so you tell her...a little bit about what happened that day.

You tell her in a much more toned down way about what actually happened; but you do tell her about the planes, the crashes, the towers and that people died that day: many, many people died.  You tell her about the brave, brave men and women who responded that day--the firemen and the police officers, who risked their lives to save others...the heros; everyones' heros.  You tell her about the dogs who helped sniff people out of the wreckage and helped find loved ones...you tell her about the brave passengers who banded together and took a plane down into a field outside Shanksville, PA instead of letting it do even more harm...You tell her that even though there are people who do bad things in the world...there are so many more people that do good...

You tell her about her family that loves her: her parents, brother, grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles...her friends and neighbors...you tell her about all the good people of the world, doing good work: about the doctors that heal us, the teachers that help us learn and the people that help grow our food.  You tell her about all the good people in the world that help take care of animals, of plants and of the earth.  You tell her that she too, will grow up to be a good person...that she, in her life, will contribute to the health and peace of the planet--that the world will be a better place because she is here...

And as you wipe away the tears from her face, as well as your own--you wonder if this was all too much...maybe it was and maybe she is too young...But she looks to you and she says that she will be a force of good in the world and she will help right the wrongs and then she puts her little hand in yours and you squeeze it so hard--you can't help yourself...she squeezes back...you whisper to her that you love her, so very much, and she falls asleep in your arms...and for a moment...

the day is ok 

and you have hope that the world will be a better place for her.

My friend

Before the earthquake on Tuesday, my work colleagues and I were all gathered together...an announcement needed to be made...please, lets all gather together--its important...They were the worse kind of words because we knew it was the worse kind of news. Unexpected, to say the least, because we thought he might have had a few months more or a few weeks, at least...not only...merely...a few days.  

When we got word that the cancer was back on Friday, after a cautiously optimistic cancer-free summer of radiation and chemo therapy...no one knew what to say.  We were stunned...

I sent an email:

"We all miss you and love you so much...what can I do to help you and your family?"

His response: let's see, not over yet...

That reply came last Friday evening; by Tuesday morning he was gone.

He was a brilliant editor, sharp wit and towering intellect, amazing way with words--a lovely, wonderful man.  Devoted husband and dad to 15-year old twins, he was my go-to-guy for all my gardening and tomato questions.  We just clicked and connected from the very start and I adored him.   We just sat around talking about what we had for dinner or what we were going to have for dinner.  He actually encouraged me when I told him I wanted to make home-made wine...But wait: you don't understand: he is the ONLY person who ever actually encouraged me to make home-made wine...how could I NOT love this man??

But more than anything, George was my friend.

I always thought the world was a better place because he was in it...and it was.

 And I know, with absolute fact, that the world is better off because he was here.  I never had his family over for dinner; we didn't hang out after work but he truly had an impact on me and I will miss him...way more than I thought possible...

The photo was taken right before taking off at the Albuquerque International Airport....I just thought somehow it fit.

GREG MADE! New Front Porch!!

We live in an old farmhouse that was built around 1918.  It is a wonderful old house and we love it, but when we bought it a little more than a year ago, we said the first thing we were going to do in terms of home improvement was to tear down the terrible, horrible, weird, oddly built enclosed front porch.  This was priority number one for me.  According to our neighbors across the street...the enclosed front porch had been there as long as they had been there--and that is 47 years.  (They moved into the neighborhood in 1964.)  So, the added on porch was built before that...we figure sometime in the 50s....this is what it looked like a mere 3 days ago....

Inside: The front door is painted oddly, but the side and top window treatments are actually quite lovely but you would never know it as it was...

Looking the other way...basically this enclosed space acted a garage for previous owners of the house...Personally I can think of nothing worse than be welcomed into a home by all your unsightly junk...not my idea of homey.   And we are trying to figure out why this structure was even built on in the first place...Eventhough whoever built it, did do a solid job, it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter...not exactly the place you want to hang out...

So, it started coming down!

My husband Greg had slowly started to dismantle it over the last several months...first taking out the paneling, then the insulation...the electrical, the ceiling beadwood paneling.  Everytime he took layers away he would be covered by decades of dust, soot, old wood rot.  As the layers started coming away, it was like looking back into time.  The old wood beams and insulation had logos of American companies from long ago...

Everything was stamped MADE IN THE USA.

kind of made me a little sad...

But, ANYWAY! I digress...so the new beams were ordered and delivered, Greg lined up help with our wonderful friend Josh and the big day arrived...

The windows came out.

Magda and Luca looked on with wonder...

The walls came out and the support 2 x 4s went in.

The beams were fitted.  And our dream of having a lovely front porch was getting closer every minute!!

After two solid days, a minor injury to the face and a chipped bone in his thumb (don't ask) Greg once again proved that he is a master mind and a master builder.  I am so proud of him--he spent A LOT of time thinking about this project and every moment paid off...

The ceiling, the railing, the fans/light, stairs, painting still need to happen (Also, the porch swing and the rockers, too) but its a HUGE VAST IMPROVEMENT and I am so happy.  Now I love the outside of my house as much as I love the inside...Thanks Greg--I love you!!!

herbs from my garden

The garden is looking pretty good!!

Especially the herbs...

Would like to spend a moment in tribute to herbs...

I love them.

All of them....

There isn't one I don't like...

I particularly like them, cut fresh and chopped fined--sprinkled on slices of goat cheese with a little olive oil, grated lemon peel, and hot pepper flakes...spread on sliced baguette.  

ahh....summer!!

Enjoy the weekend.

Random: More Tins

The whole tin planter thing got me thinking and I remembered these cute chinese tea tins I have had for, ahem, 12 years now...I bought them in Chinatown, NYC when I lived in Brooklyn and have been hauling them around ever since...but I love them and I thought in the spirit of all things tin, it would be fun to do a photo shoot with them, so here a few shots from the shoot...

ART SHOW!

You may know I have a 6 year old daughter who, currently, is coming to the end of her year in kindergarten.  She attends a public elementary school (K-5th grade) and there was much excitement, among her and her friends, about the upcoming ART SHOW at school...I don't think my husband and I gave it too much thought.  Its just been so drummed in me (over the last how many years?) that the arts were slowly being thrown out the window...she has art once a week for an hour--it wasn't that we had low expectations...I don't think we had any expectations at all--we hadn't seen much of her work up until this point, so it was more like we just had no idea what to expect...

I rushed home from work, inhaled dinner--forced Luca to eat his dinner...we piled in the car, raced to school...walked in the door and proceeded to be TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY by what we saw...just amazing, amazing work.  Impressive and complex--not your standard arts & crafts fare--no way!

These were some challenging concepts.

The art work was all well-executed, thoughtful and intelligent.  Just really damn good.  Super huge thanks to Ms. Leighton, the super star art teacher--she is really gifted at what she does.  

Wonderful and total score for the public schools!! : )

Here are some highlights.

Detail from self-portraits by the KINDERGARTEN class

That BOLD THREE means the third graders did it...THIRD GRADERS!!!

FIRST GRADERS!!

Looking at the main front entrance of the school.

FIRST GRADERS

KINDERGARTEN!!

1st GRADERS!!!

SECOND GRADERS!!

4th Graders!!

Fourth Graders

3rd graders...I just love these so much...

3rd Graders

5th Graders

5th Graders

Second graders!! I could not even do this NOW!!!

FIRST GRADERS!!

Look one way and you see one scene; look the other way and see something totally different.

Love the gold pasta frames...genius!