Sway

I’m a tree hugger. I even have a favorite tree that I amorously stare at when we’re at our local park. To me they are majestic wise old beings, living long before and after us. Reminding us to be rooted and sway with the breeze….

So it was much to my surprise when I hastily decided the fate of our 100ft old pine tree in our front yard. The strong wind storm yesterday made this tree rock from top to bottom, making the ground wave with it. Something I have never witnessed before. This caused a very uncomfortable panic for me and even unease from the unshakeable Daddy. We decided that the tree is going to me taken down for the safety of our home. Not to mention the power company wouldn’t like the possible damage it could have to the power lines.

Sorry tree. You’ve probably been here since the house was built and you’re still a beautifully green being. You have been through a thousand storms and still stand with pride. But last night showed how much we love this house, with almost a paternal need to protect it. Perhaps its time to go old friend….

Much like the day, we found ourselves also swaying; this time to new foods and ideas. Back in the apartment day, our dinners and food choices reflected where we lived. We weren’t fancy nor tried to be. Usually sticking to simple and easy, for whatever fit in our tiny fridge. Occasionally dining on steak and sushi as a treat to ourselves for making it this far. Now, as this home has opened our views, it opened our pallet. We got giddy over breads to try with drippings. To try new cheeses, fresh new veggies and putting together true thought-out meals. I must admit I am not one with the stove but I am open to swaying my thoughts with it...

“Where desire doth bear the sway - the heart must rule, the head obey” ~Francis Davidson

Echo

I’m an apple that didn’t fall far from the tree. So when I find myself going “balls to the wall” on a passion, I can almost see my dad in my reflection. Everything he does he does 102%. I have found in my current years that I share that same fire. My fire is rather scattered though. Like all 20-somethings, I’m still grasping straws on finding who I am in this world. But once I find something, I throw my heart, sweat and tears into it.

This blog is one of those things….

I am not a gifted writer. My stories weave no exciting tales or humorous antidotes. There are days where I feel defeated as if I’m dropping a rose petal into the Grand Canyon hoping to hear an echo. But I find myself still sitting here, warm laptop on my lap and my fingers clicking away. Inspired by others and motivated by the thought that maybe just one person will hear me. Not that I’m looking for fame or like 1000 readers (that’s just too much pressure). Just like all humans I want to be just heard and accepted. So i keep typing...

Well, enough about myself….

I have been getting tons of requests to see the house pictures from those who are unable to take a live tour. We’ll your in luck! I’ll be throwing together all the pictures so far on the Dupontonia facebook page today.  

(Didn't like it yet?? Well get to it silly!!  Dupontonia Facebook Page )

Since the contractors are finally done making a mess of the place I’ll be spending a majority of the day finally doing a deep cleaning. So look out for the most recent “Now” pictures tonight as well!

I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.
~Richard Wright

Sunshine

Oh sunshine, how I have fallen in love  with thee. You slip yourself from behind our curtains, calling to us to rise and greet you early. Old apartment dwelling me would have cringed, cursed and miserably threw myself into the day’s routine. How dare I be up at THIS time! I would refuse productivity till noon.

But not home dweller me!

I sprung up, opened the curtains and took a moment to look out across the city. Birds chirping and flew past in the pale blue skies. I anticipate the sun to warms the air just enough to open all the windows. There’s just something about this place that makes mornings worth every minute. I sit personally amazed that I was washed and dressed before 10:30am and even threw in a load of laundry.
We welcomed the delivery of our counter-tops, which look just as amazing as I hoped. Tomorrow will be another early day as the contractors will be putting there tools to work in the final touches of our kitchen. Old me would have cursed the thought of them interrupting my spoiled sleep. The now me welcomes them with open arms. I only hope I can keep Averi out of their way.

The noon sun calls to me, “Come Lisa. Come outside and play.” And that I did. This time I had the key to the garage and rescued some gardening tools. Averi enjoyed once again her mud making and bubble blowing. I dug up what I thought was random weeds, only to find out I had vegetables! What I believe are called “wild onions” are spewing themselves literally all over my little garden. I filled a bucket full of these apparently editable guys. Although I will admit they are a pain in the arse to even have. I also found that I have/had carrots or what look like carrots growing as well. Google has yet to answer my curiosity on them though

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So as the sun glowed, I de-weeded until my hands and knees couldn’t take it. Averi did about everything a little girl can do outside; including riding her bike, running up and down the sidewalk, collecting “flowers”, rock hunting, just to name a few. In dire need of a dirt break, we set off on a Dupontonian walking adventure. We strolled down the sidewalks hand in hand, listening to dogs barking from what seemed to be every house. But it was nice to be able to go down sidewalks and not be afraid. A block down and we aimed our sights on Aunt Theresa’s house, which is literally only a block down from us. Simba, her orange cat, was sunbathing on the back porch upon our arrival. Averi rang the doorbell and we could feel the excitement of the surprise visit. Aunt Theresa is my true gardening buddy (and fellow cat lover) so we almost immediately chatted about gardening and plans for the yards. Averi hunted down the cats, sadly neither wanted to be bothered too much. I’m sure in a few more visits they will be more accepting to us. A sweet small visit and we were on our way back to home. A little of a rougher walk since its uphill then (our butts felt it!). With the sun setting and the wind picking up we decided to bid the outside a farewell for the evening. I put away our things and we retired ourselves into the living room.

Now the days has ended. Child asleep, exhausted from all the fresh air. My muscles ache, hands are rough with dirt that seems to be etched into my skin and a nice farmer’s tan/burn on my forearms. All of this merely a battle wound I proudly accept.

Sunshine never felt so good.

Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. ~Walt Whitman

Mother

I always get a little more excited when Wednesdays roll around. It’s the day Averi and I get to go hang out with the coolest women I know, my mom (aka grandma). From the moment we pull in you could hear the barks and excitement from both Ruby and Chloe; our favorite furry loves. A welcome truly fit for queens!  Its not long before coats are off and Averi is off running with Ruby as me and my mother do something we do best, talk. About everything and anything that comes to mind. I don’t honestly think there is a quiet moment when we’re together and it’s a wonderful thing.

Today we adventured to our favorite place to wander on a gloomy day, The Christmas Tree Store. It’s like a refined dollar store, full of trinkets and things you normally wouldn’t buy but when you see its only like $1.99…well its hard to resist! They quiet literally have everything and are always adding more.

So we go up and down every isle like old women, touching and looking. Averi always finds things she insists on needing. I can’t blame her since I never leave that place empty handed either. We once again spent a good hour there, leaving with the usual cart full of random items.

I’m amazed on how fast the day always passes with this wonder women I call mom. But it always feels like leaving a best friend when its time to go. We missed out hanging with grandpa, as he was away doing work-related business that evening. But the great thing about that is there is always next week. Where there is plenty of furry love to go around and the chatter never stops.....

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” ~ Washington Irving

Clouds

 We were spoiled from the day before, so when we awoke to a rainy day it seems to set a gloomy undertone for the day. Perfect for sleeping longer and taking it slow. I reminded myself that this weather shows signs that spring is truly here. I’m sure my newly soiled plants and their worm companions were enjoying the moist day. At least it wasn’t snow!

As you can now tell, Comcast came bright an early to bring us back into the “cyber world”. I spent 6 days without that connection and to be honest, I didn’t miss it. I probably would be fine without it but you HAVE to be connected. No one communicates otherwise so you are left feeling rather alone without it. The dependency is almost sickening. It sucks you in, before you know it your in its literal web. And I naturally fell right back in…

Another cloud swept over when we got a phone call that our counter tops are not coming as planned. Now we must wait until Thursday. Disappointment and aggravation truly was felt by us all. Washing dishes in bathroom has become the norm for now, something I’m sure everyone has done at one point in home ownership.

The day fast forwards to Averi’s ballet class, where the clouds seemed to follow. The class has grown from the “Fabulous 6” to the chaotic 12. At first none of us original moms thought much of it. The new little girls were perhaps having there 1^st day jitters and overly excited for the new experience. We joked on how we’ll see who returns next week, as many have come and gone previously. A Survivor version of ballet class! Sadly, everyone returned and the air loomed once again of stress and chaos. 

Out of the 6 who have joined, only 1 has really seemed to fit the group. Of course, she’s been there before and has the disposition of very calm and precise (ok, a little bit of a show off and we’ve already dubbed her the “teachers pet”).  The rest, well, aren’t fitting at all. One especially, who has turned the class into a circus.. She plays absolutely no attention and spends a high percentage of the time getting yelled at and running off. Even at one point making Miss J, who is very unshakeable, annoyed causing her to pause the class to find the little wild child's mother. I’ve watched the little girl with her parents after class and it seems to be the norm for them. They have no control at all. Her parents haven't caught on that maybe it’s not the thing for her. I secretly hope she does not return. The other 3 are a slightly lesser “hyper” version of the wild child and might shape up over time. It’s hard to tell. 

Then there is “Justice”…..

Averi does not like her one bit, and anyone that knows Averi knows she loves EVERYONE. This girl has actually made Averi mad enough to push and yell this time around. Poor Averi spent a good percentage of the class trying to ward her off as this girl did everything she could to annoy and distract her. Perhaps it’s a conflict of personalities since Justice is very much like Averi but times 10 on the “spunk”.

So class was rather painful to watch. Miss J looked like she needed a good beer and hug after it was all said and done. We OG mothers agreed that perhaps she has taken on more then what is good. Thankfully Miss J has noticed this and I can’t wait to see what she is planning to do to help elevate the chaos.  I personally hope the “Fabulous 6….er 7” go back to the way it was. They are a tight knit well behaved (most of the time) group and we want to keep it that way for a long time to come. Yes, we’ve become rather clique-ish but what sport doesn’t have one?

Just when I thought the cloud would follow us home, I was surprised when it didn’t. I started up some of my house work, with RuPaul’s drag race playing in the background (GO RAJA!). I gave my washer and new dryer a whirl; falling in love with the wonderful smells that came from them. It was nice to have dry clothes in a 1hr vs. very little dry in 48hrs of my drying racks. They smelt heavenly and no wrinkles! I feel like a queen now.

Night time fell fast and easy. Averi went to bed; Daddy & I took to our computers clicking away. I caught up on my favorite blogs, finding a new awesome one along the way. Before long, our eye fell heavy so we crawled into bed earlier then usual. With the soothing sounds of the rain tapping the windows lulling us to sleep, we dream and hope tomorrow that the clouds drift away.

“A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed...It feels an impulsion...this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.”~Richard Bach

Metamorphosis

Dust is finally settling on our new humble abode. Four long days of packing and unpacking, we are now adjusting to the new life as a home dweller. Boxes still sit in our kitchen as they await counter tops and the final touches to the cabinets. But in all honesty, even with not everything in its place, the air is so much better here. As if a dark cloud was lifted. People now come to visit as we are finally proud to be where we are; taking every compliment with a settling reassurance.

Now bring on the changes….

Averi’s 1^st night in her new room & bed went smoother then anyone ever imagined. The tub had its 1^st christening and worked quiet well given its different size. In hopes to elevate any nervousness, I made sure Averi picked out every thing, from pillows to pajamas. Book time changed drastically too. From rocking on the rocker (as we’ve done since birth) to me crawling into her bed and snuggling as I read. A new tradition I could certainly get use to.

Reminiscent of when she was a little baby in a big crib, she was now a little girl in her twin bed. But she slept as if it were nothing new. It was a sigh of relief felt by all.

Morning brought on a whole new light. Daddy’s first day back to work brought about a refinement of the usual morning quiet routine. It seemed as if it worked since neither Averi nor I were disturbed. Averi woke up a few hours later to her usual time, slightly disoriented but very happy none the less. I, who usually never enjoy the morning wake ups, greeted the day with quiet literally a leap and a dash of excitement for the day. We opened the windows, made our beds and popped right back to our usual morning. Well, not totally usual, since we are without tv and internet. So we took our milk, cereal and coffee to the sunroom. Sitting in our chairs, we watched birds come and go. People walking their dogs. A grandma with her 2 grandsons. The only sounds were the happy birds and the occasional bang in the distance of the new buildings up the hill. A whole other world far away from the ghetto nonsense we were so use to.

So with the lack of television and internet to hold us inside like zombies, I quickly took a bath (something I never really do, but can see enjoying) and we met the warm air with haste. I pulled out the slide as Averi found the “perfect” spot. The warm weather was much unexpected, especially when I found myself sweating just being out there. Luckily a breeze from storms coming cooled us most of the time. But boy did it feel good to be sans coat and in sandals. I aimlessly walked around our huge yard, not sure of what in the heck to do. Averi went off immediately to go “rock hunting, trying to unearth the biggest rocks she can find. I was sad to find out I was without a key to the garage so I had no much wanted yard supplies to work with. So with broom in hand I swept the sidewalk, picking up debris as I went along. The yard is filled with randomness and left over debris from the torn down sheds. It drives me crazy but I hope as summer comes and goes I will have a yard that fits with everyone else’s (not to mention a garden that out rivals another’s). 

Unsatisfied and still not wanting to spend a single moment inside, I took to the roses bushes, er sticks that are at the head before my garden. With only a broom and my 2 hands, I swept and weeded about half of the length. Averi loved helping me with “worm duty”, picking up the worms and placing them in safer “nicer” spots. I learned as I went what was a flower and what was a nasty weed. Unearthing soon to be blooming bushes and little herbs (although I have no clue on what they really are yet). I then took some of the bricks we have piled for whatever usage we can think of, and placed them as a nice divider in my now semi tidy garden area. I spread some nice “bag soil” over the freshly growing plants and called my garden time done. Gloomy rain clouds kept rearing there ugly heads awaiting the right moment to bring us inside. Luckily we got some bubble popping in just before the drops began to fall. So we gathered our things and headed inside, taking rest in the sunroom. The breeze smelled so sweet with rain and a hint of spring. I didn’t dare close a single window for this intoxicating scent (well except for the ones that we’re getting rain inside).

Averi went off in her own little way as usual, making dogs and bears have worldly adventures. I took on a few boxes in the kitchen in hopes to completely clear it for the construction workers. Found myself delayed by making a “castle” out of 2 boxes for Averi to decorate (Duck tape works wonders!). Before long Daddy arrived home with new groceries and swiftly dinner was prepared and served. Our 1^st sit down dinner in the kitchen! Averi was for once excited about bedtime, getting to pick out her things and our new book snuggling.

So as she soundly slept, Daddy and I went out onto the porch with our chairs and just sat. Staring at the lights. Listening to the sounds. Just randomly chit chatting about whatever in the warm darkness. An early day awaits us, but its all for wonderful things. Internet, not that I miss it, and the final touches done by the contractors.

And with this, I bid you farewell for today.

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

~ King Whitney Jr

Potty Humor

"Why did the mustard poop chicken cross the road???"

TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE!!!! 

~insert loud exaggerated Averi laughter.~

Oh, how adding the word "poop" to everything makes a 3 1/2yr old's comedic world somehow anew. I remember reading about this "potty humor" once in a blog by a pre-school teacher. In hopes to get giggles from the fellow classmates, the little stars would add words like "poop" and "fart" for guaranteed spice. I must say even i have chuckled at her creativity with this. Sure, some adults might cringe in public and elders shake their head, but as far as I see it at least its not an expletive. Things could be a lot worse.

Speaking of poop....

 A horrible cold bug has swept the family twice over, making sure no person has been left behind. What started with Uncle & Grandpa has swiftly hit the little immune system of Averi. We've been battling it for 4 days now, eventually giving it to Daddy. I can honestly say even my super-mom immune system is taking a beating as i type. Nothing says family like sharing a cold bug!

So with this, there is not to much to report. Days have flown past with ice pops, cartoons and tissues. The house keeps moving steadily along, coming closer and closer to finally being moving day. All is calm and oddly quiet...for now.

I reckon being ill as one of the great pleasures of life, provided one is not too ill and is not obliged to work till one is better.  ~Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh, 1903