I am lucky

I am lucky. Adversity is a funny thing. It can make or break you and when others experience it it I find my self counting my blessings. Yesterday a tornado wiped out homes and a favorite local apple orchard's buildings and many trees other than the fruit trees. The news focused on the Hall's tremendous loss when their buildings were destroyed. The Hall's were interviewed, noted everyone had survived and vowed to rebuild and noted that they hope/believe people would continue their tradition of visiting the orchard in the fall even though it may not be as quaint or picturesque. But what impressed me the most was that the Hall's felt and stated that media attention and public support should go to neighbors whose property was flattened noting that they still have their trees.

I have always loved the cider and donuts from Edward's Apple Orchard but I am savoring it a little more tonight even though they have been closed for the season since late November. I drove home along the tornado's route tonight. The destruction was incredible. Trees, houses, stuff all looking like it was put through a shredder and or bombed.

Amelia says she enjoys tornado warnings because it means her mother will cuddle with her in the basement. She lamented the loss of Edward' solely because she loves the donuts.

My problems seem small today, but like Amelia I hope the doughnuts are back this fall.

2008 Arrives before I am Done

Time flies by and so much is unsaid and undone. We have essentially gutted the basement and had the recreation room and bathroom rebuilt. Claire and I painted the floors in all but the furnace room and I sealed the walls in what we now call the pantry. Today between the two family Christmas parties we cleaned out the last of the furnace room junk. Now we need to paint the walls and floors in there and then my daughter and I can set up the 4*8 train table that she is eager to get to work on. At least that is envisioned as an ongoing project.

Amelia is eager to build things and use her inate creativity to make it uniquely ours. One of the little joys in my life is her Saturday morning request to go down and see if the train store is open. She gathers favorite animals puts on an outfit that she deems to be a train outfit and tops it off with a pink train hat.

I also need to get everything put away so that my workshop can be established. Claire is getting me a table saw so we shall have to get to work on the armoires that I was working on in my mother's basement before I met Claire eight years ago. And so a New Year begins.
So much more to say but it is almost 11PM and i have to work tomorro.