Ah, Weekends

Friday and Saturday were, in a word, BLUSTERY!
Stormy, gray and very windy.
Leaves are falling and swirling about
and we are enjoying the show up here in New England!

I got to puppy-sit this weekend.

So I had to get the big girl camera out on Sunday

and get a few fall shots of this guy.

This one's my favorite!

We lit our FIRST official FIRE since moving to the new place!

Fireplace was on that "must have" list when we were looking for a house....

Sitting in front of the roaring fire

and enjoying the Pats game with my daughter and son-in-law,

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning who got

EVERYTHING

she asked for!!

Joining Tamar

Good. Random. Fun. {Weeks 18 & 19}

The past two weeks have been full.

FULL of GOOD!

The New England weather has gone from frosty to rainy.

It's been a bit dreary, but extremely conducive to finishing up all the unpacking.

Cause that's an inside job.

And, drum roll please....it is finished!

For me, the 'bestest' of all the GOOD is that friends have journeyed north.

They have come.

Come to scrap. And to chat.

I'm elated.

And so very grateful to them and for this delicious new space we get to share!

Some came bearing gifts...

Gifts are always GOOD!

Especially when the giver knows exactly what you'd love

and delights me with our first bird feeder!

In the RANDOM department,

the road in front of our house was paved last week.

Signs went up days after we moved in,

and we feared the worst...

a long, drawn out street repair that drags on through the summer.

Bun no!

In less than two weeks the project was completed

and we now have a brand new road in front of our brand new house!

I'll bore you with a few more ball park pics.

Because going to a ball game is SO. MUCH. FUN!

Especially when the weather is perfect.

And they win.

AND you are being treated to the cushiest box seats

{suite and food included}

in all of the park!

The view of the field was outstanding and

the company was great.

Our son was able to join us for the game

and serenaded me during the traditional singing of  "Sweet Caroline."

It's a Boston thing.

The whole ball park ~ we all sing this silly song together before the bottom of the 8th.

It's a Boston thing.

To top it all off,

Mother's Day was wonderful.

We had our first family celebration in the new abode.

One daughter, one son-in-law, one pup, one son...

a chat with a grandma and an uncle...

and, as always, LOTS of laughter!

Joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Follow the Sun

"But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."

The Beatles

In case you were wondering how we're feeling about all the windows

and ALL THE FANTASTIC LIGHT we have

in this new house...

we love it.

And so does a certain puppy.

He basically spent the weekend following the sun from hot spot to hot spot.

Happiness is, after all, a warm puppy.

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Good. Random. Fun. {Week 15}

We are settling in.

I can't find the words to tell you how good it feels!

I settle by doing things like hanging a pretty wreath.

My husband settles in by caulking the tub and shower.

Mars.

Venus.

It's pretty humerous to watch us prioritize what needs to get done next!!

I have a flowering tree!

"Mars" washed allllll the windows this weekend.

And I, "Venus" took plenty of random pics through those windows of my flowering tree.

We had the grandpuppy for the weekend, which was loads of fun!

He didn't get out much,

but enjoyed all the sunshine in the main room and laid around quite patiently

while we got lots more done in the new abode!

Joining Tamar for some

Good. Random. Fun.

Good. Random. Fun. {week 14}

For any of my friends who follow me on instagram

{@scrapbookmom17}

you know this has been a crazy week!

We. Have. Moved.

It's real.

It's official!!

On Wednesday, the night before we signed all the mortgage papers,

I went to "my" pond with my big girl camera for a wander.

To breathe...and to see the mama swan on her nest.

A beautiful, peaceful sight.

Papa swan was swimming nearby ~ he never strays to far from the nest.

The golden light added magic to the scene!

I stayed at the water's edge until the setting sun painted the sky...just for me.

I lingered with my favorite, arched branches...
the leaves were just beginning to sprout and I drank in the simple silhouette.
Just the moments of peace and quiet I needed before the craziness of the next days began!
This was good. Very, very good.

Over the next three days we signed papers, got keys and moved countless carloads of little stuff to our new digs.
And then came Sunday.
Our "rent-the-big-truck" day.
We woke up in our new home to a snow covered back yard.
Thanks, spring, for the random weather!
Snow. Winds. Extremely chilly temps.
Oh well, you can plan and plan...then you just have to roll with it!

So, what's a little snow?

We're New Englanders, after all.

HOWEVER,

when you arrive at the U-Haul facility to pick up your truck

AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ONE for you,

you start to loose your marbles!!!

Thanks, U-Haul, for the random delay.

Alas.

In spite of these glitches,

a truck was found, the sky cleared and our move was completed.

Whew!

Either our old house is really small, or the truck was really big...crazy, right!?!

Thanks to one husband, one son, one son-in-law, three young friends, one boss
and my darling daughter, we got all the stuff from one place to the next!
Thanks one and all.
{also, few things look more random that lots of furniture trying to find a new place to call home!}

Through it all,

the most fun I had was standing on the 2nd floor deck directing traffic.

As everything came off the truck,

my job was to tell people where to take it.

So. Fun.

And this guy.
We had our little mascot with us all day.
May I just say,
he makes every party just a little more fun!!

Here's to a great week everyone!!




Joining Tamar for
The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Good Random Fun {Weeks 11 & 12}

Here's a quick glimpse of the non-packing related things that have been going on in my neck of the woods.

I am no longer leaving work in the dark.

This is good. Very, very good!

I held my last scrapbooking workshop at my old house.

So. Many. Emotions.

I texted my daughter and told her I felt like I was in a Series Ending episode,

and that the lights were going to go off just as I set my keys on the counter.

In her wisdom she encouraged me with the words:

Not Series Ending....Season Ending.

Right she is!

I'm embracing the endings,

and the new beginnings!

This, too, is good.

Spring is such a great time to move because that sense of new beginnings is all around us!

Speaking of spring...
This week begins with a random, mid-march snow storm!
Just in time to confuse the buds and blooms!

One of the most fun bits about sorting and packing is all the random treasures I discover.
This week I found a report my husband wrote copyrighted in 1974
and one of my daughters favorite reads from her childhood days in France.

It's also nice to note that amidst all the stress and work of moving,
we are surrounded by good friends who've drug us out of the house and insisted we have some fun!

And yesterday my sweet Max
{aka best grandpuppy ever}
came over to see me.
Because I needed one last cuddle with him in this house.
And he {apparently} needed one last look at all the goings on outside grandma's house.


We're getting there folks.
I'm about 80% packed with 10 days left before we sign.
Keep sending all your prayers, good thoughts and positive vibes out into the universe for us!
If you follow me on instagram
{@scrapbookmom17}
you'll know the moment we've got those keys in our hands!!



Joining Tamar for
Good Random Fun
and
Judith for
Mosaic Monday

{Good Random Fun} Week 3

The Good

This Saturday, the Scrapbooking company I rep ~ Creative Memories ~ held their first Virtual Crop.

Since it was a football watching day,

I signed in right at 10, and cropped all day!

My goal for the day was to go through some boxes of scraps.

{remember that lean & mean moving goal I have!?!}

I use my scraps to create Page Completion Kits ~

pre-made borders, title elements, journaling boxes and photo mattes that coordinate

so that some lucky scrapbooker can easily finish an album page or two!

I love the challenge of using 'leftovers'

and I especially love seeing these kits come to life when a friend adds their photos

and uses them to tell her story!

The Random

 Finally.

A pretty snowfall!!

The Fun

Someone's got her 'grand-puppy' here for the week!

Let the warm puppy cuddles commence!

Joining Tamar and Judith

The Peace of Wild Things

A good friend from days gone by

sent me a poem via FB messenger this morning.

You know,

there's nothing random about kindness ~

about thoughtfulness

or compassion.

I believe that when we give these pieces of ourselves ~

when we pour out our lives in the

consideration and care of those around us

{or those an ocean away!}

it matters.

It chips away at the darkness that can, at times,

seem to have a bolder, louder voice.

But no understanding gesture,

no matter how 'small,'

is ever without influence.

A moment can change,

some one's countenance can change,

a day - even a life - can change...

 ....or a friend can find the words to express what a fun afternoon walk

with a puppy really meant to her.

{Thanks Gillian}

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

and I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Joining Tamar for
The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Things are looking up....

A weekend of couch cuddles with a cute puppy is good for what ails ya.

Cause that's about all I did for two days.

Cuddle and curl up.

And I am feeling a bit better!

I might have strained myself just a bit cheering for the Pats....

but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Looking through some of my photos this weekend,

I found this treasure.

I love when the sunlight catches a random stem or branch...

a little natural gem that might have gone unnoticed without that stream of light!

This morning,

here in Boston,

it really FEELS like fall!

So, pardon the obsession with trees that will fill up the blog over next few weeks.

I'm about to have way too much fun chasing all the fall colors!!

Welcome Monday.

Here's to a week where I'm able to actually do something

other than the bare minimum it takes to get from one day to the next.

Let's go!

Joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.