I Can Quit Anytime, Honest

Geoff, won't you please make your move and finish crushing me in Lexulous?

Love,

Natalie

P.S.
Please feed Lady Betty Orpington

P.P.S.
Does the neighbor still have the free rabbit hutch on their curb? I keep thinking of it.

P.P.P.S.
No one's emailed me in the last thirty minutes. Do you think there is a disturbance in the force something in my teeth something wrong with the Internet?!

P.P.P.P.S.
Call Grandma. She is 87 years old today!

Happy Birthday Grandma! See you soon!

Taking A Spin

It's easy enough to take a spin or twirl around if you are four years old, especially if you have a swirly skirt.


If the spin is a little road trip, a spontaneous visit northward, then a bit of planning is required.
Visit el banco... get those ducks in a row.
Disclutter the car. Disclutter is a real word. It means to make an unsightly thing pretty again.
Call ahead and see if anyone wants to see a bunch of people out for a spontaneous spin.
Leave a big bowl of cat chow.
Pat Joe.
Let Betty out for a quick roll in the dust.
Showers! Really must not forget.
Pack a snack.


What am I forgetting?
I'll bring my camera.
Maybe some swimsuits.
Call Anne and assure her that I can get the key any time Sunday.


That's all in preparation.
Hopefully along the way we will remember to stop and smell the posies.

Akamai

I told my mom... "I am not going to chronicle every detail of the escrow." Specifically I was thinking of the hard days when obstacles appear and doubts surface. I shared with her my resolve to keep the saga in check, so that I would not be weaving a litany of frustrations and fears. Some days it's easier than others...

Have you ever been through an escrow (settlement?) It's an emotional, lengthy and perilous journey through the lands of Negotiate-Well, Checkthefacts, Signhereherehereandhere, and it helps to keep a level head, to stick to the budget and follow your map. Somedays we feel like squealing gleefully and some days we just hold our breath. I know the process well enough to not lose hope over every red flag or detour. I know the process well enough to realize that we cannot always get where we want. And I think we are akamai enough to walk away. I want the bad and the ugly of this journey to be sights along the way... not the baggage I carry with me.

Akamai keeps coming to me as I remind myself to remain calm, as I draw on faith and patience. Akamai is my husband. He is so very smart and careful, and while being prudent and thorough can be grueling and even disappointing, I would not want to travel any other way. Yes, we have emotions and we can be daring too, but this section of the journey calls for pure logic and wisdom.

Aloha au ia oe Pilipo.

A Very Good Summer Day

The Marvelous Birthday Boy

HaPpY BiRThdaY MaX!


This child is a joy. And today he is eleven years old, so we are going out in the world to drum up a bit of fun. He was planning a movie-at-home party, but he's put a hold on those plans... Instead of having three friends over for ice cream and hot dogs, buttery popcorn, to watch "Road to Morocco," he insists he can wait until we are in the new house! He's taking a huge leap of faith and willing (eager even) to delay his celebration more than a month, so he can enjoy a party in our own place.

(It was not my idea. I did not hint or suggest. It never occurred to me. But I gotta admit it's something of a relief. Domestically we are in that awkward stage where we are almost certain we are on the brink of a life altering move, but we are holding back on a full scale commitment... our brains are scattered and the rest of nervous systems are equally overloaded. It's just a phase.)

He loves Ramen noodles and even numbers. He loves LEGO and frogs and reading. He loves his brothers and his sister. He calculated the exchange rates for my Euros to dollars, and he always knew which stop we needed to get off for the Metro. He respectfully endures my humor and silliness and he's learned how to get pretty silly himself. He is dutiful, organized, mindful, brave and polite. I admire his resilience and his strength in perseverance, his patience and his kind tenderness. He gives sincere, full hugs that fill me with deep gratitude and determination.


Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Catalunya. 8 de julio 2009.
I feel profound joy.

8:16 AM
Update: Poor Max! He's sick. What a bummer. I'm on hold for the pediatrician. Max crawled back to bed.

Another Big Reveal

About yesterday... thank you. I don't share these things because they are the thoughts and emotions that rule my days or because I want a 24 hour pity party. It's just the stuff that happens and it tries to get me down and then I usually find something about the stuff to laugh about and then I think: "I can't be the only woman who's made a bad dress or felt utter dread about moving day," so I spell it all out and try to get a handle on it. And the best part is that your thoughts and ideas are awesome and funny and true and kind and insightful and I feel much better about the good, the bad and the ugly.

So, what would Heidi do? I think she would march me up and down a mountainside! And maybe packing, moving, unpacking, repairing, painting, cleaning and running around town is like marching up and down a mountainside! There'll be no time or strength left for whining!

We found "Anonymous!" An amazing quilter in Michigan 'fessed up about knowing "Indiana Jones" so well that she can identify the female leads from the films. Chickenblog is going to send her some green to play with in the Amazon, so she can enjoy a little spending adventure. Congratulations and thank you for playing Liz!

Ready for another big reveal? So, I showed you the towel racks, and Jennifer noted the absence of shag carpeting... I ask ya, could it get any better?!


I am faint.
A drawer inside a drawer!
It's the love child of Technology and Design.
I refuse to imagine it in 3 months when I am trying to clean blackberry jam and granola out of the crevices.
It will always be this lovely and good and pure.

The countertop. Yes, it's granite. Yes, it is good too. Actually it's hard to not get granite in So Cal... something about a HGTV-Martha Stewart-Pottery Barn Ordinance decreeing that all California homes must have either granite countertops and/or designer paint themes. California is very special.


To junk or not to junk? Geoff believes in the junk drawer. In the kitchen. It must be declared, and it must be dedicated to an undetermined assortment of things and stuff and those things must be either extremely necessary or absolutely useless. I shouldn't protest. In fact, I do not protest any more. I know it is inevitable that a drawer in the kitchen will succumb and be rendered junkful. How else to explain what is happening in this drawer? No one even lives in this house and yet the evidence proves it... junk happens.