Chasing Grace

Thank You

Dec 5th, 2008 by lisa

I want to thank all of you who have been reading my blog. You’re awesome and I love you guys.

I will no longer be keeping a personal blog anymore. Circumstances have changed to the point where I do not feel comfortable sharing my personal life with the world.

I’ll continue to make updates about my life, as well as share musings, photos and interesting links on Facebook. If you are family or a friend, please add me as a friend on Facebook if you would like to see my ramblings and photos. If you don’t have a Facebook account, consider getting one. It’s easy to use, and a nice way to keep in touch with people without having your content shared with strangers. You can also follow me on Twitter, if you’re into the whole brevity thing.

It’s been fun, and I had a great time doing this.

Best wishes to you all.

~Lisa

Update – May 11 2010: Privacy on Facebook? Meh. Not so much. I’m still using it, but if you go to sign up, be very aware that your information is not nearly as private as it used to be. I’m also still using Twitter regularly and so is Siofra. See you there!

Made Me Smile Today

Nov 19th, 2008 by lisa

We Went

Nov 11th, 2008 by lisa

Driving. On Sunday.

Since we moved to Concord, we have not taken time to explore the area much. In a bold move to remedy that, we got in the car and drove north.

We ended up in Tilton. There’s an ‘outlet mall’ that didn’t interest me in the slightest, but there was a huge J. Jill Distribution Center that did. But that will have to wait for another visit, ’cause we were tired and needed to get back home.

The drive was lovely. We stopped in at the Tilt’n Diner for a very decent lunch, and then hopped on the highway for a quick return trip home. Just in time to watch the end of the Patriot’s game.

While I remembered to bring the camera, we didn’t get a single solitary photo of anything. I was too tired (okay, too lazy) to take any pictures. But it was a lovely ride, and we saw a lot of cool stuff. I guess you’ll just have to take my word on that.

LOL Cats Art Show

Oct 30th, 2008 by lisa

A Little Bit of Happy on a Gloomy Day

Oct 29th, 2008 by lisa

Rest in Peace

Oct 27th, 2008 by lisa

I didn’t hate my father. But we were not close. In fact we hadn’t spoken in years. Today I heard that he passed away. My niece called to tell me the news. He died yesterday in the hospital after a long bout with various illnesses.

To his credit he did try to be a good father to me when I was little. I think it’s important to reflect on the first five years of my life, when my dad was making an effort. The trips to Disneyland, the camping trips in Yosemite, and showing me the constellations in the night sky. He was a musician and I remember him teaching me to listen closely to music so I could pick out each instrument and what it was playing. He even showed me algebra when I was quite small. Of course, I had no idea what it was about, but I loved watching him make the symbols and write out the formulas on paper. I’d ask him to do more, even though I didn’t understand any of it.

He played trumpet in jazz bands and orchestras. He was an an engineer and worked on the development of the Saturn rockets that powered the Apollo missions. He served in the Marines, and played in the Marine Corps band.

At the end of his life, he was apparently being a pain in the ass to everybody. But that’s how he was for most of the time I remember him, aside from those first four or five years of my life. Whatever demons were driving him.. whatever hateful feelings he may have had toward himself… he is at peace now. And I will only remember the good things about him.

Rest in peace, Dad.

What Sunday Morning Looks Like

Oct 26th, 2008 by lisa

We were supposed to get up and do laundry this morning, but nobody really felt like getting out of bed. The light was so nice coming in the bedroom window, and we were all so relaxed. It had rained all night, and the sound of the wind blowing the drops against the window made everything so cozy as I drifted off to sleep. I guess the feeling just stayed with me and I woke up with a serious case of cozies this morning.

So the laundry is going to wait until tomorrow morning. I had one pair of clean socks left in the drawer, so I survived.

We Did Bake Cookies

Oct 25th, 2008 by lisa

And there was much rejoicing!

It was fun. I did the measuring and assembling. Paul did the mixing, and then I did the baking.

Afterward we ate cookies and watched Run, Fatboy, Run. This starred, and was co-written by, Simon Pegg (of Shaun of the Dead). It was not only hilarious, but also a very good story. It was a lot of fun to watch and had a happy ending. What more can you ask for when you are eating chocolate chip cookies?

What Do I Want?

Oct 24th, 2008 by lisa

Seriously, what do I want today? What do I want from the weekend?

I think I want more sunny blue skies, just the way they are right now. I would also like some flowers, and some chocolate cookies. Maybe a nice bottle of wine and some fancy cheese and crackers. I want some happy music and some spicy, vanilla scented candles.

Or maybe I want a new dress. Or maybe a nice outfit… yes! I want to go shopping. I want shoes and a jacket and cute skirt. I want to go dancing. I want to go to Boston.

But what I’ll probably have is just as good as all that. Time spent with Paul and Siofra, watching movies and maybe having beer and nachos. Maybe I’ll bake cookies. We can take naps and read and go for walks (weather permitting).

Either way is fine. Either way is going to make me happy. And isn’t that really all anybody wants?

Comfort and Other Ideas

Oct 22nd, 2008 by lisa

I cannot watch someone preparing a meal without wanting to do some cooking myself. This morning I saw someone cooking dinner for his family on television, and by this afternoon I was making potato soup.

I seem to be making that a lot lately. Honestly, I have a few more recipes I want to try, but haven’t yet. It’s mostly soups and stews, but it’s cold enough outside lately that these are most appealing to my senses. One of the difficulties in remembering to try these is that I have my recipes sorta scattered all over the place. In notebooks, stuck in other books, on the computer and on random bits of paper scattered around the house. I really need to get them all together and get organized. Maybe I need to make my own cookbook. That would be a fun project. I might even be able to visit the scrapbook department at Micheal’s and get some ideas for making it extra cute. Because, of course, everything in my life needs to be extra cute. I mean, I married Paul didn’t I?

I had to walk to the market today to buy a couple of things. I left the house in a jacket and scarf and thought I was prepared. I discovered I could have used a hat and gloves as well. I’m not quite ready for this flavor of cold yet. It seems to have come on so quickly this year. Maybe it’s because we’ve moved farther north… maybe because we are closer to the mountains now, and the cold air is sliding down the slopes and collecting here by the Merrimack. I dunno. All I know is that it’s suddenly very cold and windy outside.

So I’ve warmed up with some potato soup, and I’m now pondering making cookbooks and something sparkly in my ‘studio’ (read: card table in the office upstairs). And peanut butter cups. Not making them, eating them. I think I have a couple left in my stash in the kitchen…