jimmy and sook: a weekend getaway

did you know that a male blue crab is called a "jimmy" and a mature female crab who has mated is called a "sook"? you learn these things when you live close to the east coast {and when you go into a t-shirt shop and strike up a conversation with a shop keeper}. 

bay bridge

enjoying an open house for a place we'll never buy

those cute regatta sailors wore matching rugby shirts. our boys are so going to sailing camp next year!

our little car rode a ferry

closer to our price range

who knew?

ahh. 

sunset. bay. Mister. perfect.

the Mister and i made it to 17 years. to celebrate we got out of town for the weekend to a little place by the bay. o, dear me i adore being near the water. and i adore the Mister who keeps me laughing and fighting and dreaming. and what i am dreaming of now is a little place by the water. hmmm...

what'da ya say, honey. should we go for 17 more?

xo,

gf

a Box

it was presumptuous and a bit over the top, but like all good southern girls, i registered for silver when i became engaged. let me explain. on the evening we announced our engagement, my Mister's father held a celebratory dinner. it was christmas eve-eve. the best china, crystal and of course silver were put out for our enjoyment. all of the place settings from the red goblets that we toasted our champagne to the monogram silver forks were courtesy of a woman who i never met, never knew. rosemond claire, my mother-in-law.

my Mister lost his mother when he was 3. and here on that sweet evening in december it was as if she had set the table for our party because she had picked out all of the pieces that adorned the dining room table. i noticed the silver. a pattern i had long enjoyed and dreamed about. a french name. repousse. and that evening i decided to register for the same silver pattern in hopes that maybe someday the pattern his mother had collected many years prior would finds its way into our home.

almost 17 years later it did. after a death. after hiring a lawyer {step mothers don't always act like mothers}. my darling sisters-in-law knew how i pined for that sweet sterling pattern and were happy for me to get it once the dust had settled. and so the other night as i unpacked the silver to add to my own i was reminded of why i fell in love with my darling Mister. 

for valentine's day circa 1994, he found in an antique shop a wooden box all tattered and dirty. he carefully and secretly refinished this otherwise overlooked treasure. he fashioned the lining with a carefully chosen cloth specially designed for keeping silver from tarnishing. and in epic-Mister fashion he secretly asked my sweet friend alice to teach him how to sew. in the same tarnish cloth he had lined my wooden box, he meticiously sewed pockets for each piece of silver he hoped to collect with me.

12 pockets were sewed for forks, for knives, spoons and each were carefully finished with fray check to keep from splintering off with wear. he even sewed larger pockets for serving pieces. and in his ever darling manner, he chose a red ribbon to adorn the chocolate brown cloth. just for looks. if ever i doubt this man's love for me, all i must do is look at this box. his own idea. his time. all for me and my silly silver. 

happy 17th, sweetie. remember that hot day in august when we agreed to have one another's back through thick and thin? we were way, way young and naive. but i am still glad we did it. and here's to our box full of silver that will never tarnish. 

xo,
your gf

sniffing glue and paper cuts

so there i was walking the aisles with my son helping him do what i love most, pick out office school supplies. he let me make exactly zero decisions. he chose the color of folders and what kind of box to get for his notecards. i suggested he color coordinate his folders to his notebooks which he allowed, but agreed in a way that made it sound like it was HIS idea {he does that a lot}. when the lady rang up the total i explained,  "and this is for just one of my children-and we homeschool." she could care less as she sold me a coupon for $10 that gave me 15% off. i spent 10 dollars to save $12. hmmm. sometimes i wish i knew  how to add.

i must have been a little delirious from sniffing the cute little bottles of elmer's or maybe it was the impulse purchase of those tiny lined notecards or that new paper smell because as we drove home i asked dreamily, "jack, aren't you so glad i am your mom?" um. i guess. "don't you just lie in bed at night with your eyes shut tight, giggling to yourself,'i have the best mom ever.'?" um. no. "well, do you ever fist pump the sky as you shout, 'my mom rocks!'?" never. "have you ever danced a little jig slash shook your heiny as you gleefully sing, 'my mom is wonderful'?" i don't dance, and mom i think the car in front of us thinks you are motioning to them so will you please stop?

i do crack myself up even if my son finds me annoying. after he unloaded the 40 pound box of paper {did i mention the discount?!} along with the folders, crate, boxes of notecards and other cool organizational materials such as the box of 100 file folders that are 100% recycled {but 100% not necessary}, i ecstatically watched as the boy began to label all of his stuff with labels that i supplied from my overflowing closet of office supplies{is this how mothers feel when they take their daughters to shop for diamonds because if so i have been missing out!!!} 

the front

the back

he then spent exactly 30 minutes designing his Latin notebook fonts for both front and back {honey, he IS YOUR SON AFTER ALL!!!} i tried to find a way to bust out the family embosser, but he refused. well, just as well. there's always the next one.

here's to an academically challenging, organizationally sound and hysterically fun{ny} school year. we might just decide that boarding school in pennsylvania is a great option for 9th grade after all. 

kisses,

gf

he came. he saw. he left-exhausted.

this i can promise you. if you ever come visit us here at the cottage on the hill, your time will be well spent {code for we will run you ragged}. just ask GP {short for grandpapa}. 

he arrived on friday evening to this:

kipling is the cutest welcoming committee

the next day, he "worked" at the farmer's market.

he worked so hard that we gave him the afternoon "off" to go fishing.

what a guy! after an afternoon siesta, a lovely dinner with live music {from an elvis impersonator of all people} and some shut eye, it was sunday. time for church and then over to baltimore for a tour of Ft. McHenry, one of my favorite places.

we toured the place under the blazing sun. a hot day that only a spiked lemonade, some cold beer and  a few sierra mists could tame, so we stopped for drinks along the harbor and drove home for crab cakes {a must!}

before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye to GP {code for GP getting the heck out of dodge}.

so you see, a trip to the wild- ass-monkey house is full of all kinds of excitement. and there are no breaks for the elderly. wink-wink. 

{no vist is complete without a sit-for-a-photo-in-the-swing}

we loved our visit, GP. come back soon. there is so much we didn't get to do.

xo,

gf

the future's so bright

here's hoping your weekend is bright and beautiful! we have big plans, huge. farmer's market with a guest appearance from the one and only grandpapa!!! can hardly wait. see you on the flip side.

xo,

gf

now we are six

he's 6. my baby is six. i have enjoyed his babyhood longer than any of my other boys because he is our last. as long as i can possibly manage, i will hold him{against my chiropractor's strict advice}.

the other day while we were singing in church, he was in my arms, and it came to me. i am wringing this boy dry of all his babyhood. i am squeezing him tight and inhaling all of his sweetness for as long as i possibly can. i savor him in a way i didn't with the others. i didn't have the luxury like i do with him. 

when the others were little, there were even littler ones who needed me more. with him, he's the last one i can hold in my arms so for as long as i can possibly manage, i will.

xo,
gf

good bye, five!

if it weren't for this man, i wouldn't be here

 my father's birthday is today! i think of my dad like a simpler version of andrew carnegie. he was raised with nothing, including bootstraps up which to pull himself. as a boy, he recalls a hole in the floor of a room he shared with his siblings. a hole that welcomed a mouse. a mouse that frightened him greatly. he vowed to change his family tree. and he did. 


today he is a self made, self taught success. he quite literally built his life with his own two hands {as well as all of the homes we ever lived in}. 


even though he never went to college and didn't even finish high school, he passionately took a leap of faith. as a young father, he started a business as a subcontractor in the field of construction. there is a scene in a movie i recently watched where a man was trying to climb out of a pit. he was wearing a rope around his waist in case he fell. it wasn't until he removed the rope that he was able to escape the pit. why? because the fear of falling is what motivated him to leap-strong. i thought of my dad and his leap. 

over the years my father dabbled in flooring, but it's drywall and sheet rock that built the company that still thrives today, after 40 something years. if you live in nashville you have seen his work. it stands on the nashville horizon. it is affectionately referred to as "the batman building". his fingerprints are seen at vanderbilt hospital as well as the university and the nissan plant to name a few. i am incredibly proud!

his namesake

today i honor my father. a man to whom i owe my life! from him i inherited my love of the outdoors, my impatience, my ability to see the potential in a piece of junk, my love for good food and good beer {though i would add my taste in beer far surpasses his} and my insatiable love for any and all bodies of water be it ocean, river or creek. we're both pretty cute too-wink, wink.


happiest of birthday, daddy. we can't wait to see you in 2 days. 
xo,
gf