Month: May 2016

My New Writing Shed

My husband turned an old, smelly, rat-infested shed into a beautiful writing space for me! We’re still working on the exterior, but I was able to move in last weekend.

IMG_0721Here’s the outside. Still need to finish siding, finish the door,  and paint the whole thing.

IMG_0724IMG_0723This is the little patio area that Mike and the kids spruced up for me for Mother’s Day. So cute!

IMG_0727The interior is only 7′ x 8′, but we were able to pack a lot in.

IMG_0725IMG_0726My pink Keurig! It’s been in my closet for almost a year (got it last summer for my birthday).

I’m in heaven! Thank you, Michael!

I’m a Lucky Mama

Happy Mother’s Day!

I have been blessed with an amazing mother. She is the most generous, loving, hard-working person I know, and I strive to emulate her every day.

I woke up this morning to the sound of a broom brushing the concrete outside the window. I laid in bed listening to five busy beavers cleaning, planting things, and arranging items, and I felt giddy: this is the only day of the year I really give myself permission to just be. I don’t throw a load of laundry in the washer. I don’t make myself a cup of coffee. I don’t make the bed (okay, confession: I don’t always make the bed anyway).

When I heard the activity winding down, I got up. Loudly. Creaked the bed, flushed the toilet, and my wonderful family responded. When I opened the bedroom door, there was a steaming cup of coffee waiting for me, and there were four homemade cards, and there were five smiling faces, pouncing on me to give me hugs and kisses.

They led me to my newly finished writing shed. My husband finished the interior last weekend, but the outside still needs siding and paint, and the little patio off the front was littered with tools and the detritus of construction. But now?

They finished the patio for me.

I have a beautiful purple-glass Moroccan lantern hanging from the eaves. I have flowers planted along the wall. I have two new teal Adirondack chairs. I have a Chinese dragon garden statue by the front door (hello, Mushu!). And I have a tin-roof bird feeder and a glass hummingbird feeder hanging from the pear tree.

All I can say is, WOW. It is my perfect space, created for me by my perfect family.

We spent the day playing game after game: Betrayal at House on the Hill, Seven Wonders, Forbidden Island, Pyramatrix, Codenames, and Catch Phrase. We had lunch at Red O in Fashion Island. We just enjoyed one another.

Thank you, Michael, for such a special day. Thank you Hannah and Jackson and Tyler and Alex and Jon. You gave me wonderful memories.

To the People of San Francisco: You’re Wonderful!

As you know, we had a not-so-great time in San Francisco recently. Our car window was smashed, and my purse was stolen. Luckily, I didn’t have anything important in the purse – I’d taken out my license and credit cards and cash – but I did have our medical cards, my AAA card, and about $300 in gift cards in there. Boo.

BUT…

I got a call from San Francisco today. Someone found my purse, wrote a note (“Found this in the street. Hope you are all right!”), then used an old address they found in the purse to try to send it to me. The post office declared that forwarding had ended to that address, and the purse ended up in the lobby of a random building. A second kind stranger took the time to track me down! He googled my name, found my biz Square Gorilla Press, and got my phone number from there. He’s sending it to me tomorrow.

I asked him for his name and address so I could send him a thank you. He would only tell me his name, Tyler.

Thank you, Tyler from San Francisco! And thank you first stranger! Your kindness made me cry. Even if the city has gone to hell, the people there are amazing. This restores my faith in humanity.