Happy New Year!

After about 6 months of catching my breath and making some big adjustments to a new life, this blog will resume on January 1.  See you then!

7/10/12 The New Normal

7/10/12     The New Normal

As I write this, at 7:45 in the evening, we are experiencing another summer rain storm.  After the derecho I am a little worried about storms, but am being assured that this one is normal, seasonal weather.  Now, normal seasonal July weather in my mind is hotter than the blazes and dry as straw, but this normal is new.  This normal is hotter than the blazes, sticky as melted popsicles, and raining rivers.  Our house is quite close to Sligo Creek so we are at the low end of the run-off.  I’m looking out of the window watching streams of water flow down the street and toward the creek.  At a window on the other side of the house I can see channels of water flowing under the fence, past the deck,  breaking leaf-levees, re-channeling, and doing all the cool things I used to as a kid with a hose and a sand box.  In California we would call this a major winter storm (precipitation wise, not temperature wise!).  Here it’s just something that happens in the early evening.

Our power returned 5 days after the big storm.  We learned from the Washington Post and the local NPR station that our power company, Pepco, is consistently rated at or near the bottom of utility companies nation wide, and that we can expect power outages to be a not-unexpected part of what we prepare for (I never thought I’d sing the praises of PG&E but I may have to!).  We moved back into the house, restocked the ‘frig, and continue to settle in.  

On Saturday Dwight and Aric tackled some home improvement projects and Em, Asaka and I hit the road to do a little antiquing in Virginia.  Friends, I have to say that the drive that day was amazing.  I had seen photographs of the rolling hills of Virginia, but being there is something else – another part of the new normal!  In California, our hay fields are cut, and then turn golden while the baled hay dries in them.  In Virginia, the hay fields are cut and stay green while the rolled hay turns golden in them.  We drove for miles through countryside broken only by barns and horse fences, passing a side road now and then that wound inward beyond what we could see.  It’s easy to understand why natives would have an abiding love for this land.

We found a couple of bedside tables for Em and Aric, an old wooden medicine cabinet for me to hang in our bedroom, and a red bucket for Asaka, who was his usual good-natured self through all of the “no-touch” shopping.  

On our way back we stopped for gas and saw something so crazy I know that I could never make it up.  Look closely at this photo – the truck is covered with Astroturf.  Emily’s response?  “Welcome to the South, Mom.”  Indeed.

7/3/12 The First Week in the Land of Mary, Part 4

7/3/12  The First Week in the Land of Mary, Part 4:  Queen of Heaven

Tuesday, July 3

 Before we left Fresno, while we were packing all of those boxes, we packed a box we called our “Arrival Survival” kit.  This was stuff we thought we wouldn’t need during the cross country drive, but would want soon after we arrived.  On the top of the box I had placed my beloved icon of Mary, knowing I would want her comfort.

What I also discovered was that she was there to share my joy.

It’s been a bit of a rough beginning, but blessings are everywhere:

·         Good health care when I needed it

·         Ice when we had to have it

·         Neighbors who were willing to help

·         No damage to our home in the storm

·         Friends who welcome us to a cool home in the heat and power outage

·         Welcome news of a baby girl on the way

·         Giggles and playtime with the adorable Asaka

·         A cat who is proving, once again, to be remarkably adaptable

·         A husband who is a partner through it all

Life is good, and the Queen of Heaven is watching over these new residents in Mary Land.