Aglow

I love that eerie glow after an evening storm.  First, it is a bright yellow green and then the whole sky turns orange-ish and with it, everything else it touches, then finally, right before giving up to the darkness, it fades into pink.  As the song says, I love a rainy night.  I don't need the glowing aftermath to love it, but that glow has the tendency to draw me outside, standing in the yard~ bare feet soaked, head raised heavenward, turning round and round at the beauty of the sky.

This ever-changing, revolving world is so glorious.  Every day there is something new to take my breath away.

I have lots of things to tell you- lots of 'Hopestead Happenings' that I am eager to share here.

One big one: the GRANARY is completely done!  I finished the upstairs over the weekend and I'm so excited to show you some pictures.  Spoiler:  You can TOTALLY see floor! (I'll do that this week.  Promise.)

Another big one: Matt is working on a project that has been on my "Oh, I wish I had one.  Matt will you make one for me, please?!?" list for a few years.  I won't tell you what it is just yet but here is a little teaser:







 I can tell you... so far, it has exceeded my wildest expectations.  I'm thrilled beyond words!

Okay- maybe that isn't a lot after all~maybe it is only two things... but it seems like a lot since they are biggish things that have been on my mind for a very long time.

Because I am incapable of focusing on more than one large task at a time, the days I spent working in the upper floor of the Granary allowed just enough distraction for the entire house to become entirely trashed. (I say that a lot- don't I?  Well, either my house gets trashed easily or I have a low tolerance for stuff out of place... probably both.)  And I was too busy to even care.  We moved some furniture and bins out to the Granary to hopefully unclutter my life (since this winter I felt so cluttered and claustrophobic of STUFF upstairs) and so there is furniture out of whack and things that need to be put right again.  Plus, boxes of sentimental stuff that I found in the Granary strewn throughout the living room and the evidence of  four childrens' imaginations left unchecked for several days... it's gonna be a big job.

Two days of rain, today and tomorrow, is just the impetus I need to get this house in ship-shape again.  The living room was finished this morning- mopped, furniture-polished, swept... the whole she-bang.  I needed one spot to feel right- and, just in case any random visitors popped by...the living room seemed the place to start.  This afternoon... the office.  I'm particularly excited about the office because it is much emptier now and, once done, will be...downright spacious.

At least, that is the hope.

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

~ G.K.Chesterton