I guess I should clarify....

I'm not using the melted paint from the previous post for anything....I was taking paint off a nightstand...am hoping the wood underneath is good enough to stain...

Atticus was helping me sand yesterday...mostly he just laid around in the sawdust....

Few people have the imagination for reality. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A nutshell

Last week in a nutshell:  BUSY

Work in a nutshell: STRESSFUL

Life in a nutshell:  WONDERFUL!

My garage project.
Wood stripper + paint = this.  MMMM...melted paint....

Peace begins with a smile. ~ Mother Teresa

A second start

My work gave away the hundreds of flowers at Tonys memorial.  I happened to be there at the right time.

 

This is the other thing I did yesterday.

It was nice to look at the local news sites this morning and not know a single person mentioned. 

Today, the last day of my weekend (which has gone by entirely too fast), I plan to do positive things: plant some starter seeds (I'm determined to grow all sorts of squash), buy some paint stripper (finally - a garage project!), cook some food, and overall, just celebrate life.

Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. ~ Grandma Moses

Saying goodbye is always the hardest part

One of the most emotionally and physically draining weeks of my life.

The scene

The procession

I am so proud of her.

My boys.

As long as I can I will look at this world for both of us.  As long as I can I will laugh with the birds, I will sing with the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us.  ~ Sascha

Six

“You will see so many bad things in your career and you have to keep your emotions in check on a daily basis to keep doing your job. If you let it overwhelm you it will destroy you,” he said. “But once every six months one story...should get to you. You should take it home with you. It should make you cry. Feeling that means you are still human and the job hasn’t destroyed you. When you stop feeling that, stop doing what you are doing and find another job because you are in danger of losing your humanity.”
~ Travis Mayfield

Grief

Grief is a funny thing.  We all handle it differently.

Sometimes you think you can shove it aside.  But its always there, lurking under the surface of everything...making your stomach heavy and your heart slow...

And then it starts to leak out.  In tears.  In anger.  In voiced memories... 

You cannot run from grief.  You may be able to hide it from others.  But you cannot hide from yourself the fact that you are hurting.

It helps to have a family who is hurting too.  A community who is standing behind you.  Friends who are there when you need them. 

But grief is still grief...weighing you down.  Always there reminding you that life will truly never be quite the same as it used to be. 

(And then sometimes it becomes compounded by even more grief.  Yes, I knew him too).

Sorrow you can hold, however desolating, if nobody speaks to you. If they speak, you break down.
~ Bede Jarrett

Reflecting in the dark

2:30 am phone calls are never good.

While we are mourning the loss of our friend, others are rejoicing to meet him behind the veil.
 ~ John Taylor