Beautiful Tree Herder

We have been listening to The Lord of the Rings on CDs in the car since we went to North Carolina. The entire three books runs for 52 hours so we're still not through. But the words and movies dance in my head whatever I see. From the tree roots at the side of my driveway in the last post to this ENT at the DeCordova Sculpture Museum we visited early this week.

It is actually called VineVenus, but to me she is a beautiful tree herder.

Morning Walk

I did get out for that hill walk this morning. At 6:30 AM this is the view down the driveway toward the cow fields where the fog was aglow with the sun's early rays. The driveway reminds me of old roads we drove on in England that had been worn down by 1000 years of cart and foot traffic.
Under that tree just to the right of the drive, hobbits could hide from a black rider. The roots stick out just like in that scene from The Fellowship of the Ring.


Along the side of the cow field, Queen Anne's Lace is abundant. I'll get a picture of the cows when they come a bit closer. They were far away this morning, but Renee claims their moos woke her up yesterday.

It's easy to pick a colorful flower arrangement in the yard these days.

The "New Normal" Begins

Terrific day. I finished going through the last of the boxes in the main part of the house. Now there's just the stuff in the basement and garage that was in our ample closet space in the old house. It will have to be weeded down and organized. But the actual house is really getting into shape.

We also got mail today for the first time in about a month: some checks from insurance rebates on the old house, catalogs and local ads, and 3 New Yorker magazines. I'm going to start catching up as soon as I finish this post. As Doug said we're getting back to the "New Normal."

Tonight we hung the portrait of me and my sister when we were little in the library room. It looks so beautiful with the dark wood and brass of the cabinets, day bed and club chairs. I'll put up pictures soon, but it's hard to get the whole feel of the room in a photo. Very cozy and personal.

For the past two evenings we've been taking walks around the neighborhood after dinner. Tonight we watched the cows in the nearby pasture and saw 2 turkeys as we walked up a huge hill. It looks like a good place for me to get into shape. I'm going to try to get out and walk up it a couple times tomorrow morning.

Back from the Beach

We're back from Hatteras, NC. Again it was so great to spend time for the second year with these generous, kind friends. There were 21 people in a 7 bedroom house. Lots of cooking and sharing meals; watching children in the pool and on the beach; kite flying, boogie boarding, and sand castle building. Nights catching crabs, roasting marshmallows, and one rainy night watching lightening crackle across the whole horizon.

This year's house: Beach Babies

Favorite activities at the beach:

* long walks at the edge of the waves searching for cool shells or sea glass


* finding the perfect spot in the water where the waves gently lift and cool you, but don't send white water over your head


*finally getting to carve the stack of sand you've worked so hard to build


* being on the beach at night with ghost crabs and glow sticks