Full-speed ahead! It's been one whole year since we first broke ground on our Coastal Farmhouse. It's very gratifying to look back through the pictures and see how much we have accomplished. Building on undeveloped agricultural land has had it's own set of challenges, and building at the coast layers on even more roadblocks, but we have persevered and are almost able to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Paul and I try to get over to the build site a couple of times a week to meet with our contractor and to admire the progress. Sometimes these trips are disappointing because not much has changed (visibly) or not much seems to be happening. This week, however, we arrived to find a flurry of activity and so much to see! There were painters, finish carpenters and roofers, the septic tanks were being delivered and the trenches were being dug for the utilities along the road... it was wonderful, organized chaos! The cherry-picker carefully lifte...
Back to School... It's that time of year again, when backpacks, lunch boxes and school supplies replace the patio furniture and pool toys at Target. With school-aged kids back in class, the days quickly return to a familiar routine... homework, after-school practices, and regular bedtimes. But for those of us with college-aged "kids," it's the end of an era and the beginning of a new and unfamiliar "normal." We've packed up boxes and loaded up cars and U-hauls, only to return home to empty nests. Sure, there's less laundry and grocery shopping - the package of Oreos doesn't disappear overnight - the house stays clean, and we can go back to watching whatever we want on TV. But as I wander through the tidy rooms, I am met with a quietness that makes me long for those messy, noisy days of summer and childhood. My "kids" (now 19 and almost 22) are back at college and sharing an apartment halfway between both of their campuses, so I...