Reblogged from Margaret and Helen:

HELEN: Margaret, do you remember how angry we were the day we finally realized that women’s legs are not harder to shave than men’s faces, but rather razors made for women can’t hold a candle to those made for men? And the women’s razors are more expensive to boot. I’d like to meet the asshats at Gillette and give them a piece of my mind. Did they really think we wouldn’t mind just because they made the razors pink? And speaking of pink, this whole mess with Komen should be a wake-up call to …

Margaret and Helen have it all figured out…

There’s something about these mornings… everything still.  I love this time.

I have always been a person who likes my quiet alone time.  No input, no talking, no one around.  When I lived alone I could spend entire weekends just staying in my apartment, hibernating, reading, watching TV, surfing the net.  I never felt alone or sad that I was.  I enjoyed it.  I had a busy life so getting those weekends to myself once in a while was a lovely thing.  Living in my head and my heart.  Regenerating my soul.

I still love time to myself.  I don’t get whole weekends anymore, and you won’t hear me complaining about it as the trade off now is spectacular, but I still like my time.  Luckily for me my honey gets it.  She doesn’t get offended when I say I need some down time.  When I say I need to have stillness… quiet.  Like now…

We had such a great two days over at the kid’s house.  A really lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Pierogi making and toy building and a walk and elf set up on Christmas Eve.  Such a nice day.  Karen makes a mean pierogi… or several of them.  So good.  A new Christmas Eve tradition is born.  From now on every Christmas Eve we will be clamoring for pierogi.  Yum.  After a walk, and food, and after the young gent went to bed we all went into elf mode.  Building toys and setting out his wagon and enormous zebra, later named Zeus.  The kids put together his easel.  All while Christmas music played.

Christmas day Karen and I opened our gifts to each other, and the gifts from Mom for the pups (they loved them… or, more accurately, Weston took to both of them and Riley hasn’t seen much of either since… LOL) while enjoying a quick cup of coffee.  We had to get it all done and then get dressed and head over to the kid’s house so we’d be there before the little guy was up and able to look at the tree.  We didn’t make it before he was up, but he hadn’t looked at the tree yet.  When that little man wakes up he thinks of only one thing… food.  He loves him some oatmeal and applesauce!

So he looked at the tree and the gifts and was overwhelmed.  In a good way.  We all opened, he opened some of his, and we enjoyed some cinnamon rolls. Then Martin made us lunch (pizza) using his new bread maker.  He makes some mean pizza dough and we made some yummy pizzas.  Then a walk (the young man rode in his new wagon part of the way and pushed it part of the way and cared less about it part of the way).  The walk was followed by more present opening for him, he got an unusually high number of presents… go figure.  It was fun.

After a full day Sebastian had a little dinner, played a little more, and then went up for his bath and bed.  Meanwhile the turkey was cooked (it had been started earlier in the day) and Karen and I set about getting the rest of the stuff ready.  The kids came back down and the table was set, the food laid out, the wine uncorked, and there we were… turkey dinner for the four of us with most of the trimmings.  A quiet really nice dinner.  We followed that up with a rousing game of Mad Gab, a game we’d gotten for them for Christmas.  It was totally fun.  At one point Mary and I were laughing so hard we were crying.  Good fun!

It was a beautiful Christmas this year.  Relaxed, fun, totally great.  As Mary said… it’s why we all moved to the same place.  So we could enjoy stuff like this while still getting to sleep in our own beds at night.  The best of both worlds.

The result… New glasses for both of us, cleaner teeth, and poked and prodded all around.

Now.. 2012… LOL

Thanksgiving. A holiday that, though initially maybe not traditionally about this, has become mostly about people eating, watching football, and most importantly pausing to give thanks to anything, everything, and everyone that people might pause to give thanks to. It’s a holiday about family and friends. A holiday about the people in our lives. Breaking bread (and don’t we all wish we could break it with Stan M? LOL An inside joke… and I digress), telling tales, laughing, loving, crying, and getting really full.

I think I’m still full from the meal we had on Thanksgiving over at the kid’s place. It was a lovely day. Spending time playing with the little man, helping to make what turned out to be a fantastic meal (my help consisted of making the green bean casserole… just empty cans into dish, but hey… I helped… and it was damn good baby!), hanging out with my honey, Mary, Martin, the little dude, and also Raya, Alex, and Tavish. We ate, chatted, played with the two little lads, and then after those lads went to bed we played games, drank tea, laughed. I will not reveal anything about things discussed during those games other than to use a couple of tell-tale phrases… Pam and skid marks. All other secrets are better left hidden. To be sure, it was a grand good day.

What I want to say here I think is that Thanksgiving should be a state of mind, not a one day a year kind of deal. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying do away with the turkey, fixin’s, football, game playing, and all of that. Let’s keep the day and on that day doubly send out those vibes of many thanks. I guess what I’m saying is we should strive to be thankful every day. All days. Always. It’s tough when the day is dark and dreary and work is a pain and people in one way or another are suffering. But it’s a great thing to still, in the face of all of that, pause during the day and say to yourself, if you don’t say it aloud, I’m thankful for… I’m grateful for… I’m happy I have this person or that thing or that dog or cat in my life…

So today I decided I’m going to say it out loud…

I am so grateful, thankful, lucky, fill in any other and all other words to express gratitude, thanks, and praise all rolled into one, for my honey. I will cry writing this, but I am in awe of your presence in my life. I say this over and over… but I have no idea what I did to have this happen. Whatever it was, thank you, thank you, thank you. You are light, laughter, air, grace, beauty, imagination, wonder, art, and all my wishes fulfilled. It’s been over eight and a half years and I love you more with each passing minute. I can’t believe it’s possible to love someone this much and tomorrow it will be more, but that’s what happens… every day. You get me. And I’m not easy. But, you get me. You understand me I think better than I do. Know where I’m at before I know I’m there. You are joy walking, my little sage in disguise. You bring light with you everywhere, and I am so blessed that your light gets to shine on me every day. I love you my love… more than this much.

I’m blessed also to have the best Mom ever. I don’t know what to say about her other than to say she is also grace walking. My Mom has been through some stuff, and I’ve seen her handle it all with so much class and grace. Maybe not always with a smile, but nearly always. People tell me I have a great smile, and I always say I got it from my Mom. It’s true. To say you’re my friend as well… bonus. It’s not everyone who can say they just like hanging out with their Mom. I can. I do. I love you so very much and every day I know how lucky I am to have you in my life. To have had you in my life through everything. We are separated this year. Me moving away to another state. We’ve never been this far apart and even though we are both dealing with it pretty well I think I miss you. I miss you but also know you’re right here with me. As I am right there with you. It’s that kind of bond. The kind big love makes.

Kev… You are my champion, my defender, my buddy, my partner in crime, my big little brother. To say we are peas in a pod is putting it mildly. We have seen a lot you and I. Been through a lot and always been there for each other. Always. Sometimes when life hasn’t been as kind as it could be to us we were all we had. Or at least it seemed that way. Kev and I against the world. I love that big lug of a guy. Fort building, mini bike riding, pool playing, adventure making, fighting each other and defending each other against others. I am grateful for you. For your friendship, your noble ideals, your loyalty, your laugh, your grin, and the best hugs given by any human on the planet. You are an amazing man. And thank goodness, you are my brother.

Mary… I never had my own children, I didn’t want any actually, until I met your Mom and by then it was, we felt, a little late in life for us. But lucky me, I didn’t just get a life with your Mom, I got a life with you. And you, my step-daughter, are amazing. I have never said these things to you, but I am so very happy and lucky to have you in my life. I am so very proud of you. Funny, fun, so very smart, silly, clear minded, stubborn, tough, with high expectations and a loyalty stronger than steel, you are fantastic. I am also so very grateful for the little man, our Sebastian. And you, Mary, are a fantastic Mom. I watch you with him and think to myself… wow, she’s doing this or that just right. Teaching him to swim, teaching him to be in the world, teaching him to grow up and be an amazing man. You are a great Mom Mary. And I am grateful every day that I get to be around you, be around your son, be in your life. Thank you for letting me be a part of things, for not just being my partner’s daughter, but mine as well. Thank you… and I love you very much.

Martin… No greater son-in-law could a mother in law have. You are a gentleman… and gentle man. I love how you treat Mary. How you make a home with her. How you are as a father. I love watching you with Sebastian, talking to him, playing with him. I love how you take care of your family. All that, and you make me think and laugh. You are easy to be around. Easy to be with. And that, my son-in-law is a gift. As you are a gift to me.

And what would this blog post be without a mention of our pups… Weston and Riley. Every day I get joy from them. Exasperating, sometimes annoying, loud, hyper, needy… but always loving. Always loyal. Always affectionate. Always there with a snuggle. Funny little creatures that have totally stolen our hearts. We adore them. Are in love with our dogs. I sometimes say it’s a sad state of affairs, loving dogs this much. But it isn’t. It’s a glad, happy, wonderful, grateful state of affairs. Unconditional mutual admiration and adoration.

I can’t go on to list everyone I should… to say thank you to everyone I love. If I did this blog would be much longer than anyone would probably want to read, or have the attention span for. I will just say this… to my family and friends, old and new, I am blessed. I have the gold standard of people in my life. Each one of you brings something to my life that is cherished, noticed, and appreciated by me. I couldn’t be luckier to know and call you friends and family. I don’t say it enough, maybe don’t even talk to some of you enough, but I think of you often. I can’t begin to express how deep my appreciation and love go. It’s deep. It’s endless. My life is a beautiful tapestry of people, woven together by thread upon thread of shared life experiences and stories. I love you guys. I’m so very lucky to have you. And I hope with all that I am that I’ve been and continue to be as good a friend, sister, daughter, niece, aunt, grand-daughter, cousin, sister-in-law, and all around person as you all have been to me. I’m lucky. Lucky. Lucky. So fortunate. And so very thankful for each and every one of you.

And there it is… my none Thanksgiving Day thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has come, but not gone.

After I saw Alfie I brought him in, of course, and propped him up on the kitchen counter to dry.  It’s his normal drying spot.  Seems to work.  Weston will miss him until Alfie re-joins the fold, but it has to be done.

And speaking of Weston missing him… this is interesting.  Weston has never really taken any particular interest in any one toy.  He loves chasing and catching the ball the most and will occasionally carry around the Mailman or the Hedgehog.  Both of which have stayed in tact, a sure sign he likes them as he hasn’t chewed the stuffing out of them.  But that’s about it… he will carry one around for awhile and then put it down, forgotten for quite a long time until the next time he picks one up and carries it around.  Alfie is different.  We picked up Alfie, and his co-hort Squiggy, when we stopped at Praireland Feeds (where we buy the pup’s food) on my birthday weekend as we headed out of town.  I noticed this little bin of stuffed things and thought the pups needed a little treat for the trip so I picked up a red and green one.  The naming of them happened after we got home from the weekend.  Weston took a particular liking to red, later named Alfie.  He started carrying him around everywhere.  He brought him to bed with him, something he’s never done with anything other than a bully stick before (which we don’t let him have in bed by the way), carried him outside when he went out to do his business, brought him downstairs to the media room when we went down to watch TV at night, and had him with him when he took his naps.  He has never done this and it’s kind of cute.  He and Alfie have become fast fast friends.  Squiggy gets a tad bit of attention, but he’s usually a meager substitute for Alfie when Alfie is out of commission, like he is today.

Weston will be happy when Alfie dries off and is dropped back on the floor.  I’m sure he and his little buddy will be stuck like glue again, until the next time he’s left outside and gets showered on.

Meet Alfie…

Uh, the picture quality isn’t the best… I was doing this on the fly and not really paying attention.  My honey will hate that the bed isn’t fully made in the bedroom photos and that there are blankets thrown about down in the media room as well as in the living room, but hey… this is how we live most of the time.

Our yard is fantastic.  Pretty big.  We like it.  Our garage, which I didn’t shoot at all, is about a car and a half.  Plenty of room for the car and for tools, storage, and such.  I’ll shoot that next time I make some rounds.  I also didn’t shoot the side yard, street side, that’s beautiful.  Oh well… looks like I left a few things out.  Next time…

Martin called our style bohemian.  We like it.  He’s right.  We don’t like any particular style.  We like what we like and buy what we like and somehow it all fits together.

When and as things get painted and wallpaper gets removed I will take more photos.  You know, when the house is completely done.  I’ll try to make those more house beautiful.  For now… this is it… our place in Illinois.

Off we went in search of a corn broom and low and behold… we found one.  A lovely one.  A very nice one.  A red and green one.  It’s cool.  We love it.  But that wasn’t all…

We wanted to check out the hippie memorial as well, but because of the festival there was a band playing near the memorial preventing us from getting close enough to take photos.  Bummer.  We will have to go back.  So instead of the hippie memorial we went to plan B… we decided to go check out a place we’d seen that sells adirondack chairs in different colors.  Very cool chairs.  We want to get some, especially since we found out they are made of composite.  Really great.

After the chairs, or really on the way to the chairs, we  noticed that there were a lot of Amish around.  Karen’s phrase of the day was… wow, it’s really Amishy around here.  We laughed so hard after she said that.  Arcola is in Illinois Amish country.  It was Sunday and after church.  We decided we needed a photo of the Amish.  Karen tried a few times and missed.  She’s a great photographer, but she needs time.  She’s not a snap on the fly kind of girl, so it was a struggle.  We laughed and laughed because she kept sticking the camera out the window and either not taking it in time or getting the wheel only or not taking it at all because we’d passed them.  We laughed so hard we cried.  We wondered aloud if the Amish might be offended by our attempts at photographing them.  Here we were, a blue Volvo speeding by with a camera sticking out the window.  We figured they probably were used to it and besides which, they make a lot of their money from the tourist trade in one way or another.  I hope they weren’t offended.

Finally our attempts were successful.  Or successful enough.  We got some shots.  Gotta love perseverance and a point and shoot Canon SD750.

After hunting the Amish, which sounds much worse writing it like that than is meant, we took some backroads part of the way home.  Driving out in the middle of corn fields in Illinois is sort of an isolating feeling.  Made more so by the fact that more than half the time you get no cell reception what so ever.  Here’s hoping to never get stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  We’d have to walk to a farm and ask to use the phone, like in the olden days when there were no cell phones.  It’s rural… and literally in the middle of nowhere.  But, it’s beautiful.  Really.  Quite stunning in places.

On another note, since this is my blog and I can change paddles in the middle of the stream, or whatever that saying is…  we got our new living room furniture today.  Yippee!  I’ve included a photo just because.  We still have to hang the rest of our art and such and do some painting, but it’s looking like home.  It’s nice…

We are adjusting to life in Illinois.  The weather has turned nice.  Cooler… much much less humidity, and cool nights!   We are loving it.  It’s been in the mid to upper 70′s during the day, and in the upper 40′s to lower 50′s at night.  We are actually wearing sweatshirts (with our shorts and flip flops of course… and my honey’s boot… so fashionable) once in awhile now.  I actually had a blanket on my lap last night as we sat down in our media room watching the first NFL game of the season.  My honey scored a load of points on her men in the game… her fantasy football year is off to a great start!

Now… we are going to take the pups and walk downtown to the Common Ground Food Co-op.  Time to get some organics, some deodorant, and maybe a snack for the walk back.  We have to wear sweatshirts… and, it may just rain on us.  We are not complaining!

Seven states, 2300 miles, three nights in hotels with four adults and two dogs, road food, great conversation, some beautiful scenery, more gas money into a big ol’ truck and a car than two girls ever want to pay for again, and no real issues… it was a tiring, but good trip east.