Pleased & don't want to forget it
Now that Rocketboy has been in school for a second week, I'm starting to get a rhythm, or maybe not so much a rhythm but the early inklings that there might be a rhythm emerging from this chaos in the near future.
Some accomplishments / things that make me happy
1) We're eating at home a LOT more than we ever did in NYC and now that I have time to cook I'm thrilled to test out more recipes that involve produce that is available this time of year. Luckily for me, I love root vegetables in all their forms. Doubly lucky, there's a greenhouse in town that specializes in hydroponically grown greens.
2) I'm still a lousy housekeeper, and now that I have some more available time to manage the mundane housekeeping chores, I am NOT spending my time extra sweeping and straightening. I could spend all my time that way, but I choose not to. Instead I'm spending some intense one-on-one time with Buttercup, I'm starting to formulate a plan for the garden, and I'm beginning to lay groundwork to start my own design firm again.
3) I'm studying again. See how I mentioned planning for my garden. Our house has a quarter acre of rather varied property: some deep shade, some bright sun, some slope, some flat, all of it will be renovated by yours truly. It isn't too daunting, considering that I have been a professional garden designer since 1999. But here's the problem: I haven't done any significant gardening in years. Between grad school, working at a Landscape Architecture firm, having a baby, homeschooling Rocketboy, and living in NYC I've barely gotten my hands dirty for the last few years. I feel like I've forgotten so much. So I picked up my favorite gardening books, plus a few new ones, and have been reading like crazy. It's all coming back and it's mostly stuff I already know, but I'm glad I'm doing it. It feels REALLY GOOD to read for the purpose of acquiring knowledge that I know I'll be applying.
4) We drove up to Syracuse a couple of weeks ago to get to the Apple Store and to visit some friends. We drove past a giant, empty parking lot wasteland covered in snow, and there it was, a perfect teardrop shaped snow drift among all the flatness. I was thrilled! A few years ago I designed a theoretical landscape for just such a location that would take advantage of snowfalls and prevailing winds to create an interesting winter display - basically a field covered with teardrop shaped snowdrifts, created by exactingly designed screens of willow, to catch the light just so. Back then I spent hours calculating wind patterns and snow drifts to make sure the design I chose would work. I was so gratified to see, years later, that perfect teardrop specimen with a long bluish lavender shadow.
5) Winter is good. Even with all this snow, I'm thoroughly enjoying it up here. I'd much prefer to get my cardio workout by shoveling snow than any other way. I just have to remember to go outside more. It's so cozy in this house, it's often hard to leave.
That's it for now. The babe is asleep and I am going to try to get Rocketboy to pick out some garden seeds with me and maybe even have him design the children's garden with me.
Some accomplishments / things that make me happy
1) We're eating at home a LOT more than we ever did in NYC and now that I have time to cook I'm thrilled to test out more recipes that involve produce that is available this time of year. Luckily for me, I love root vegetables in all their forms. Doubly lucky, there's a greenhouse in town that specializes in hydroponically grown greens.
2) I'm still a lousy housekeeper, and now that I have some more available time to manage the mundane housekeeping chores, I am NOT spending my time extra sweeping and straightening. I could spend all my time that way, but I choose not to. Instead I'm spending some intense one-on-one time with Buttercup, I'm starting to formulate a plan for the garden, and I'm beginning to lay groundwork to start my own design firm again.
3) I'm studying again. See how I mentioned planning for my garden. Our house has a quarter acre of rather varied property: some deep shade, some bright sun, some slope, some flat, all of it will be renovated by yours truly. It isn't too daunting, considering that I have been a professional garden designer since 1999. But here's the problem: I haven't done any significant gardening in years. Between grad school, working at a Landscape Architecture firm, having a baby, homeschooling Rocketboy, and living in NYC I've barely gotten my hands dirty for the last few years. I feel like I've forgotten so much. So I picked up my favorite gardening books, plus a few new ones, and have been reading like crazy. It's all coming back and it's mostly stuff I already know, but I'm glad I'm doing it. It feels REALLY GOOD to read for the purpose of acquiring knowledge that I know I'll be applying.
4) We drove up to Syracuse a couple of weeks ago to get to the Apple Store and to visit some friends. We drove past a giant, empty parking lot wasteland covered in snow, and there it was, a perfect teardrop shaped snow drift among all the flatness. I was thrilled! A few years ago I designed a theoretical landscape for just such a location that would take advantage of snowfalls and prevailing winds to create an interesting winter display - basically a field covered with teardrop shaped snowdrifts, created by exactingly designed screens of willow, to catch the light just so. Back then I spent hours calculating wind patterns and snow drifts to make sure the design I chose would work. I was so gratified to see, years later, that perfect teardrop specimen with a long bluish lavender shadow.
5) Winter is good. Even with all this snow, I'm thoroughly enjoying it up here. I'd much prefer to get my cardio workout by shoveling snow than any other way. I just have to remember to go outside more. It's so cozy in this house, it's often hard to leave.
That's it for now. The babe is asleep and I am going to try to get Rocketboy to pick out some garden seeds with me and maybe even have him design the children's garden with me.