a cup full to overflowing

I have been remiss in my duties here.... this blog I have kept steadily for so many years now. Mowing the lawn, gardening, unpacking my art and my art collection and placing things where they will go has taken time, but it is joyful time.... something you may not quite understand if you have lived in a house for many years. I am doing so many things for the first time in my own home. I am so happy.

Friday an arborist came out from the county and agreed that two trees need to be removed asap from the county right of way right behind our backyard fence...... that was good news and will make our house safer in storms. What a nice man he was.

Saturday we drove to Delaware for the day, and in the past I would look at all the houses on the way to our remote beaches and think about living in them and what that might be like. I had a short list of three or four favorite houses and would always look to see what was happening at each homestead when we drove by. On this trip I focused more on their plantings and trees and made a mental list of things we should plant. Nelle, I found a beautiful bleeding heart bush.... and we also bought a weeping peach tree for the back yard. I like our house so much better than those houses I always admired.

There is a hardware store in Milton, Delaware that is fifty years old... and driving by I saw a big yellow metal garden wagon with mesh sides and big tires that I immediately lusted after. We turned the car around and drove back to park and walk inside the store. We were delighted to find an old-fashioned hardware store with seeds in jars so that you could pour out the exact amount you needed, and row after row of home and garden essentials. This was the sort of hardware store that I grew up seeing..... the kind that sells chicks in the Spring. I asked if I could return the wagon if it wouldn't fit in my car... and the man got a measuring tape and walked out with me, assuring me they could fit that wagon in any car. We measured and he called another young man over, and in minutes they had that wagon in my car.... before I ever flashed a credit card. I went back in to pay and told them we would be back next time we came through, and I made a mental note to take the camera when we visit again.

While at the beach I immediately found a large driftwood board that I last saw there in January. I had so wanted to take it home in January, but it was too heavy to carry. I had come prepared with an ikea bag just in case we saw it again, and Virginia and I set it aside to pick up on our way back to the car. Virginia had a tremendous sea glass hunting day and scored several pieces of deep blue glass and a gorgeous purple piece... along with lots of other colors. The wind and water were wonderful and after so many weeks of hard work this day felt like playing hookie. At the end of our day we trundled the piece of lumber into the ikea bag and each carried a handle on the long walk back to the car.... things always just easier together... with our breath and the wind in our ears.

Back at home the driftwood is now out in the garden, with the three ceramic heads that used to sit outside my studio resting on top. They look great here! Yesterday morning our doorbell rang and the little girl from next door brought us piping hot popusas and salsa that her grandmother made for us..... YUM!

And that is a snippet of the days from our new life here in the burbs..... and life is good.