This 4th of July weekend was an especially reflective weekend for me. As it is, it is one of my favorite holidays because it means so much to me that we are a free country. Watching the fireworks and seeing our flag always makes me so thankful to be where we are and for the sacrifices of many. It is also a subject of kidding between Paul and I because he likes to say that I feel I have an advantage over him as I am from the country that is proud to have kicked his country out!
This weekend I thought about many additional things that I'm thankful for, including my new job that I just started last week. I am one of the lucky few who finished a job on Friday and got to start my new job on the following Monday. With so many looking for jobs right now, it made me feel so thankful and also so sad. Saying that, the last few weeks were very stressful as we finished the house repairs, I was wrapping up my work at one company and the next week starting the stress of a new office culture that is drastically different from where I came from. I happened to run into one couple last week in my neighborhood as I was on a walk crying to vent some stress. They asked if I was doing good, and I was honest, saying I'm a bit stressed with my new job. The neighbor said, in a kind way, "you are lucky to have found one." I felt immediately ashamed, for I had forgotten that John had lost his job 6 months ago and has had no luck. How could I forget?
My weeken also involved having some good quality conversations with Paul and some time enjoying being at home together. He did the American thing for 4th of July and had a good 'ol BBQ for us.
And I honored his country tradition (in apology for kicking his country out) and made tea and scones for breakfast.
We planted our newly arrived California Coast Redwood "Big Red III." If you recall, Big Red I died on transit to NC and Big Red II died last fall in the early frost and freezing temps we had.
At the same time, we ordered a Dawn Redwood, my favorite conifer in the world. I was stopped in my tracks when I saw one for the first time in all its splendor at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens. Actually Dawn Redwoods, once thought to be extinct, have a very intersting history. They are such an old species, perhaps the oldest living conifer, that this species is actually in the fossil record. A small grove was discovered to be still in existence in China in the early 1900s I believe, and it has since been in cultivation. Don't quote me on this, though. They are unique to the conifer family because they are deciduous rather than evergreen, losing their "leaves" in the winter, and growing in new spring-green colored leaves in the spring.
We also finally Scotch Guarded the couches. We've had them for a year, but found that even a drop of water stains this fabric, so we have hardly sat on 'em, waiting for the opportune time to protect the fabric. It's a bear to get these out the door so I wore my respirator and did it inside.
We also finally buckled down and picked a fabric for the bedroom drapes. We had fabric picked out for about a year, but waited so long it's being discontinued and the price has soared up. So we picked a different one that we both liked (amazing) and bought it there and then (4th of July sale).
We planted our newly arrived California Coast Redwood "Big Red III." If you recall, Big Red I died on transit to NC and Big Red II died last fall in the early frost and freezing temps we had.At the same time, we ordered a Dawn Redwood, my favorite conifer in the world. I was stopped in my tracks when I saw one for the first time in all its splendor at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens. Actually Dawn Redwoods, once thought to be extinct, have a very intersting history. They are such an old species, perhaps the oldest living conifer, that this species is actually in the fossil record. A small grove was discovered to be still in existence in China in the early 1900s I believe, and it has since been in cultivation. Don't quote me on this, though. They are unique to the conifer family because they are deciduous rather than evergreen, losing their "leaves" in the winter, and growing in new spring-green colored leaves in the spring. We also finally Scotch Guarded the couches. We've had them for a year, but found that even a drop of water stains this fabric, so we have hardly sat on 'em, waiting for the opportune time to protect the fabric. It's a bear to get these out the door so I wore my respirator and did it inside. We also finally buckled down and picked a fabric for the bedroom drapes. We had fabric picked out for about a year, but waited so long it's being discontinued and the price has soared up. So we picked a different one that we both liked (amazing) and bought it there and then (4th of July sale).We had to put our heads together to see how we could get the 4 panels cut out of fabric and get the design to match up on all 4 panels. We got the last of the fabric on the bolt and weren't sure if it was going to be enough, so the store let us buy it with the allowance for us to bring it back (uncut) if we found we didn't have enough once we measured it out. In the end we had 4" left over! See top fabric, to the right of the blue tape.
2 comments:
I love it that you made scones on 4th of July! Have you tried to make clotted cream or lemon curd? That is next on my list (when I live in a house with a kitchen!).
I never tried to make clotted cream or lemon curd but I do like them both very much! How is your new place?
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