set it free

let it go,

release it,

trust what you don't need, can be let  go

and 

trust what you need, will come to you.

Yesterday, I let go. 

I took a huge leap and made a change. 

I will share more soon.

In the mean time, thank you.

THANK YOU
all for your 

love, 

encouragement 

and support in this 

amazing, 

crazy, 

beautiful thing called 

LIFE.

seasonal

My in-laws are stealthy dropping off bags and bags of apples at our door.

 

At least one zucchini has gone unseen in the garden, and is almost larger than my baby girl when it is found.

 

I need a sweatshirt for a good part of the morning. 

I do love this time of year, like a lot.
Even the name of this blog comes from a poem about it.
(Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. Albert Camus).

And you, how are you settling into the new season?

I am ready

it's bare feet and sweat shirt weather. 

green grass and golden leaves.

hot coffee with honey and milk in the morning and ice water in the afternoon.

October, I think I am ready for you.

Symbolic

From this to this.

Two weeks ago the little nest, that has been sitting empty outside our bedroom window for months now, became occupied. The silly morning doves were making all sorts of noise early in the summer sun and I could see the shadow of their heads bobbing up and down and around as they coo-ed and cawed at each other.
Probably arguing on just how to place the furniture in their newly found home.

We too have been on a hunt for a new space.
We have been living with my in-laws since December, a place that I am thankful for.
It was a soft place to land after having to (short)sell our house and move our dreams into storage. But this living situation was only temporary.
And I know it is time for us to wiggle and settle into a different place.

We thought for a few weeks that we would try to buy a house again with my mom's help. We looked and we looked, we even had an offer approved by the seller and another one we were bantering back and forth with about price.
It could have happened, it could have.
In the mean time we were also tossing around the idea of renting a house. Checking out a few dumps made our hearts sink so we kept scouring Craig's list late at night.
Then finally we found a place that seemed like a good fit. 

But the Universe likes to test you, ya know? Keep things interesting and give you choices.
One of the houses we were looking at came back into view and was an option again. It didn't seem like it was going to work out the first time and so we let it rest, but it popped back into the mix and we had a huge choice to make.
Do we go with buying or do we hold off and rent?
We could save a bit more money to do things again on our own. Renting would allow us to feel a bit more free should opportunities pop up in an unexpected place.
We (Andy, my mom and I) sat on my mom's back porch sipped a beer and talked it out.
A decision was made.
The choice seemed to happen suddenly, but I think we all sort of knew where the choice was going.
I felt a huge relief.
The weight of the decision I was aware of, it had been there for weeks, but I had become used to it all. When it was lifted, the freedom was tangible. 

I am so glad we looked at so many options, we communicated and talked and talked some more. I am happy to say that we all feel good about the choice that was made. I think we have a better idea of what we want in the end and how we want to go about making it all happen. That feels amazing.
We signed a year lease yesterday afternoon in the windy-wind of South Reno.
Get the boxes ready, we're moving!

From this to this.

short and a bit of purple

I love having a dash of funky color in my hair. purple. my fave.

It was time, I held my breathe as she put the rubber bands in and then snipped 8 inches of the back. I am still a little amazed that my hair was actually that long.

I am kicking myself for not going into the bathroom to do a pre-cut shot. What the heck was I thinking? Oh well.

I love how it turned out. Sassy and fresh. Still getting used to it all not being there and Fifi is totally tripped out because my pony tail was what she held onto as she fell asleep at night.  

(a busy-busy) Thanksgiving Weekend...

Making a mess while making a chocolate stout cake, a pretty mess.

O had loved watching the trains from Nana and Grandpa's living room window. I am glad my mom prompted me to grab the camera.

 

The kids helped Jojo make an icebox cake. I think there was more taste testing than actual helping.

Grandpa Buffalo and Nana Val! Thanks for having us you two. It was a fantastic Tur-ham-lamb day.

I think Fifi ate her weight, hence the 'push back' .

On Friday we got down to business with the big move.

I fueled our morning by getting coffee and doughnuts.

We farmed the kids and the heavy lifting began. We filled box after box and hoisted the couches, the fridge and a few other big items onto the trailer. There were several moments when I thought I should be documenting the move, but we were just too busy.

Around 4 we stopped our work to help celebrate two very special little boys.

Happy Birthday F and L!

Saturday was a repeat of Friday and by the end of the day we found ourselves falling wearily into our bed, but in a under a different roof.



I am searching and learning the light in this new space, it's an interesting thing to notice.



Sunday was move box filling and then setting up and settling in to our new place. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have family holding us up right now.
Again, so much  to be thankful for, so much.

306:365, between seasons...

We are between seasons, both figuratively and literally.
It's a strange place to be. There are so many variables and decisions to make.
I cross my fingers (toes and eyes) and keep faith in our choices.

I remind myself that we are making the best ones we can with the information we have at the moment,
change is the only constant.