H is for Home

This is the home where my mother has lived 

the last 45+ years of her life.

And this is my home where my mother lives now with me...

It was a hard decision having her come stay with us,

but after she had fallen 3 times in 2 weeks we knew it was time.

She fought us.

She didn't want to lose her independence.

She didn't know what was going to happen to her mail,

her bills, who was going to take care of....?

I had decorated her room previously with all her favorite colors.

Since she's moved in, she's changed the curtains,

the linens, we've hung her favorite painting which

she brought from her old house, and we've added

small details to her room to make it her own.

Now she loves to sit in her chair and watch the

daily ins and outs of the chickens and geese.

She marvels at the new goslings, and tells me the latest in 

which rooster is fighting which other rooster for which hens.

She's made it her home...

For how long, we're still not sure,

but she still here.

November Notes, Day 16

Funny the things you find when you unpack.

I've had some boxes which had been packed when I

left Buffalo five years ago that I am finally unpacking.

(It's because I finally have my craft room built in my new house.)

And, I had some boxes which were packed even before then.

In some of them, I am finding stamps...

books of stamps...

sheets of stamps...

stamps I bought for the wedding invitations in 2008

stamps I bought for Christmas cards in 2012

stamps, stamps, stamps

Guess I'm going to need to write more snail mail...

November Notes, Day 15

"Fabric Fanatic"

Spent most of the day today working on organizing my new craft room.  Today I focused on fabric. I've started dabbling in quilt making, and I want to design purses (I love totes) and stuffed bears.  So, I've bought a lot of fabric over the last several years, and finally have a place to store it instead of plastic containers.  Since my bestie is in town, she helped get things organized.  First, we had to do a little shopping...

Then we needed to add a little organization.

Then we started to go through boxes and bags of fabric..

This is only a small part of all the fabric I still have.

There are several UFO's (unfinished objects) in the top small bins,

several small quarter panels assorted by color/theme in the medium bins,

and bear, purse and large quilt fabrics in the largest bins.

Now to get my sewing machine set back up again...

November Notes, Day 14

"Racing for Home"

This stained glass window now sits at the top of the stairs

leading to our master bedroom.

It was the icing on the cake

topping two stressful weeks trying to get

things done before our annual Fall party.

I sail, and my husband hang glides

so we're both represented here.

I love how the clear glass picks up the color

of the landing really enhancing the sunset feel.

I'll be sitting and staring at this for many days to come...

November Notes, Day 12

It's been a long five months, including several times when I almost divorced my husband due to a choice of lighting....

but we've gone from this...

To this...

And from this...

To this....

We took this...

Created this...

And now this is one view of our

master bedroom

There are still a few more things to finish, 

(like the stairs on this window seat)

but we are so close to being completely done...

and, I'm still married

despite some lighting choices...

November Notes, Day 1

It's been a while since I have written. (Has it really been since July!?!?)  Given that it's National Blog Posting Month, at least the traditional month of November, I thought I would start blogging again.  I don't have a planned theme this time, just thought I would write about whatever was topmost in my head that day.

Today I thought I would start by writing a little bit about myself for those that don't know me, haven't follow me in the past, or who might have forgotten since they joined me for the last blogging event... I forget sometimes a little myself these days:

I work as an Emergency physician in both rural Northern California and metropolitan Sacramento.  I like working as an ED doc on the front lines of medicine.  I hate to admit that sometimes someone's worse day is my best day, because, let's be honest, we train for emergencies.  That's what keeps our juices flowing, and some days it's the only thing that keeps us going back for more... that hope that something "exciting" will come in.

Work allows me to pursue my other interests, like travel... and cycling... and painting... and quilting... and filling my home with setting hens and squirrels... 

We bought a house up in Northern California in 2011, and for the last 4 years we've been slowly remodeling it.  Let's just say our "five year plan" is now our "ten year plan" but it's been a lot of fun, and I've learned a lot about construction and can confidently talk about such things as "header beams" and "rough openings" and "3-0/5-0 windows."

Anyway, I plan to write about random things,  and I hope you'll come along for the ride... it should be interesting.

Birthday Shuffle Year V - Day One - Home

Four years ago, I was a month away from finally realizing one of the dreams 

I had been working toward for many years... my own house.  

I started the "myPod Shuffle" then to count down the days until we would be able to move in.

I've done it every year since as a means of keeping up my blog,

and also to remember the path that brought me here

through the music on my iPod.

We had actually bought the house in April, but we gave the prior owners a few months to be able to transition to their new house.

Our house in July 2011

The house was built in 1980 and had not been worked on since.

We came up with the "5 year plan" and started to work

on making the house our own...

Over the last 4 years, dramatic changes have been happening 

on both the outside and inside of the home.

Here are the ways in which the outside changed...

This is how our home looks now...

There are still a few more changes that need to be made;

windows, deck, landscaping, etc... 

but I'm feeling proud and blessed to be able to call this place

my home...

I hope you'll join me over the next month as I celebrate another birthday month,

relive my memories through the music on my iPod,

and maybe I'll share a little more of the home and life 

I've built in this little corner of Northern California.

Day 21 - What's Next?

I loved the TV show "The West Wing" for many reasons.

Today, one of them is for the line I posted:

"What's next?"

You see, I'm a person with a short attention span.

I need a little chaos in my life to function properly.

Some of my best studying in medical school

was in the ER.

I don't need white noise; 

I need heavy metal blasting, in your face, 

the walls are falling down around you noise.

And, I feel completely calm in the middle of it.

Going along with this, my DH comments that

I'm not myself unless I have the TV on,

with the computer on my lap, referencing my iPad

and occasionally glancing or texting on my phone,

all at the same time.

Which is probably why I have so many arts and crafts supplies

that I am planning an entire room dedicated to them.

Beading supplies will sit next to

quilting fabric which will be bordered by

scrap book papers and cutouts which will share shelf space with

paints and pencils and books about drawing alongside

sheet music and photography supplies and yarn and

and and...

I'm always looking for the "what's next...?"

and generally have several projects going on at the same time.

Now, for the first time in a while,

I actually have some free time to think about it...

What to do, what to do..?

Day 16 - Natural Foods

We're blessed to be able to live in a natural setting...

Twenty acres of lush ferns and pine trees...

And one of the first things we discovered were some edible mushrooms.

Chanterelles can be found along our upper ridgeline.

These beauties can be eaten after cooking in 

wine or butter which they absorb and which

enhances their flavor.

This year at our annual Wine and Mushroom Party,

I learned we also have bolete mushrooms...

I thought they just looked like big alien 

pancakes.

But supposedly they are also very tasty and prized,

and my guests had a great time finding both

chanterelles and boletes.

Not as many as in years past because of the lack of rain,

but at least more than the one or two that were found last year.

Next year I hope it will be an even better hunt...!

If you do go out hunting on your own,

make sure someone is checking what you pick, because

there are some look-alikes that will get you sick...

or worse...

Stay safe, my friends...!

Day 13 - A Little Dab Will Do Ya....

I've always hated this wallpaper

Watch it slowly disappear...

Voila!  Gone...!

It only took three years...

And the bathroom... gone is the obnoxious wallpaper trim...

Now a pretty peach look...

Don't even get me started on the chandelier in the mother-in-law....

sweet...!!

#123 - The First Day

It's that time of year again...!

NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth...!

I've done it every year for the last several years.

Really want to get to the point where I can do the NaNoWriMo,

where you write a novel over the next month,

but I still can't get my timing right... 

sigh, maybe next year...

Regardless, thanks for visiting my little spot

of the interweb and reading my daily musing.

Since, this is the time of year I get a lot of new readers,

I thought I would tell you a little about myself and my

little world.

To start, I'm a doctor.

An Emergency Medicine doctor.

That means that I work in the Emergency Department

of several hospitals in both Northern California where I live

and in Sacramento where I have been traveling to for the last year.

I live in a small country town where cows just might

outnumber people, and where it's usually rainy,

except for this year, where we had an unusually mild winter and long summer.

We bought our house about three years ago,

and have been doing A LOT of work on it to make it a home.

But we do enjoy the views.

And the dogs, Dixie (red) and Dillon (blue) do enjoy

having many acres to run around on

and a river and beach close by to run on as well.

Plus they have their own blog which you can read here:

Livin' La Vida Dog

Some of my friends say they travel more than anyone they know...

cause they do...

cause we do...

Like our 3,000 mile National Park tour

from this summer...

Work hard, and play hard...

and, although I might sometimes be a little 

irreverent, you have to remember

that

I see a lot of people on the worst day of their life

and try my hardest to not let it be the last day of their life.

I hope you'll enjoy this month-long journey...

and, I'll try to keep the stories interesting...

Thank you and cheers...!!

Happy New Year!!

It's been quite the year with lots of changes to the house

both inside and out...

but mostly out...

More changes to come over the next year...

I hope you and your family

have a most Blessed and Wonderful 

New Year!!