Dam! And a Round Belly...

St. Patty's Day for us began with Bear wanting to go for a drive and explore a new place called Prettyboy Resevoir near Baltimore. We took back roads and wandered thru some of our favorite little towns. It was a gorgeous day for it.

(all of the following pictures are curtesy of the Bear. He played photographer for the day)

This was our first view after parking the car and walking up.

Looking down over the edge! Weeeee!

View from the other side. Nice perspective!

Okay, I took this one. Say cheese!

And here I am at 27 weeks. 3 more months till we get to finally meet Button!

I remembered to wear green ;)

It was such a lovely day and I was feeling so good we decided to walk all the way down the stairs to get a better view. So glad we did. The roar of the water and the moisture in the air reminded us of our visit to a waterfall in the mountains of Nevada. Such good times.

The force of the water is amazing. I wish I could have this sound in my bedroom to sleep by at night.

And here we are back where we started. See those stairs to the left of my hand? Yeah, we walked all the way down them and back up again! So proud of my 6month pregnant self! Go me!

What a wonderful day this was. Perfect spring weather and enough smiles to go around for everyone. We knew we needed to take advantage since soon it won't be so easy to just get in the car and go do something like this.

Home Tour, Part 1...

I mentioned previously that I would explain my recent retreat from public life, well this is why. We've moved! Yep, that's right. After nearly 5 years in our cave like apartment in Alexandria Va, we've moved back to our old haunt of Frederick Maryland. It almost feels like moving home. We've rented a new Townhouse in a nice subdivision and we are slowly settling in and loving every minute of it.

We have the end unit! Yep that means only one neighbor. So far our neighboring house is empty and we are LOVING that.

After living in a very dark, small, depressive, mostly underground cave-like apartment with a rowdy 5yr old that stomped and ran around over our heads CONSTANTLY, this is Utopia!

Come on in won't you?

When you come in the front door you have a choice, up or down.

Let's start with down and work our way up. That seems logical.

When you step down this is what you will see...

Brian's office, Bathroom and living room.

Brian's office is the first door to the left. He's in man cave Heaven. He has a door he can shut and not have to hear my music.

The next door is Brian's bathroom. His office has a connecting door.

Then you walk into our living room. The utility closet and my laundry closet are to the right.

Doesn't our TV look so small now?

An evening light picture to show my lighted garland and gas fireplace.

Stepping through the sliding doors you are out on my patio overlooking the yard.

This picture looks a little weird because I stitched 2 images together. Beanie loves running around in her fenced yard. She is in pup heaven.

Next up, Level Two, studio, kitchen and deck!

So check back in a bit and see what's doin on the next level.

Home Tour, Part 2...

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our tour. In this episode we will explore the upper levels.

This time we will take the stairs up.

The view from the top of the stairs. I've started to decorate for the Holidays! Yay!!!

Welcome to my studio/office. I still need to organize, shelve books, get an office desk etc. but that will take some time. Please excuse our mess, pardon our dust, we are under construction. ;)

I have room to sit and read, to do the daily work to keep our company running as well as dance! Yep, that's what the Bear says, Shall we dance?

The tree is waiting for decorations. Where the tree is right now will be my painting area. Plenty of light for many paintings to come!

I even have room for sewing once the holidays are over. I've never had so much room to create! Look out 2011 cause here I come!!

Need to use the Loo? Well you go right on ahead cause we have 4!

From my studio you head right on into the kitchen.

Plenty of room to sit, chat and cook up a storm! I am LOVING this kitchen.

The first place where we've ever had room for a dining table. It's a dream to be able to cook and serve a meal and sit down to eat it at a table like adults and not in front of the television on a TV tray. How grown up is that?

The stairs lead up to the 3rd floor, 3 bedrooms and 2 more Loo's.

From the kitchen you can saunter out to the deck. We may not have any deck furniture yet but we sure do have a view.

We are having so much fun watching the wildlife. So far we have seen, 2 blue Herons, a heard of deer, 3 different Hawks, MANY geese, a groudhog or for you Ohioans a whistle pig. I get up each morning, usually before sunrise, get my coffee and stare out over the wetlands and watch nature wake up. This is what I've been waiting for since living in Nevada.

Next up, a quick peak upstairs and Christmas!

Home Tour, Part 3...

Up to the 3rd and final floor. Thankfully these stairs are carpeted!

Take the stairs up and this is what you'll see.

There's a small linen closet there to the left, followed by a small bedroom on the left. Straight ahead is the guest bedroom that is already set up and the 3rd bathroom, well, that's obvious I would think.

A better view of the fabulous quilt made for the Bear years ago. Isn't it gorgeous?

Turn right and through the French Doors is our master bedroom. Way more room than should be given to one bedroom.

To the left would be a HUGE walk in closet and to the right is the Bear's big closet. And ya, those are French Doors into my bathroom.

Separate his and her sinks to the left, a soaking tub over looking the wetlands and a shower stall and thrown to the right. Room for days really. I've actually haven't used this tub yet but when I do, you won't hear about it ;)

Lots of you have been asking about my X-mas tree. Well here he is. And yes it's a he.

We had gone out with the intention to get a fake tree but ended up coming home with a real Frazier Fir. He's so naturally gorgeous I almost hate to put lights and ornaments on him.

All lit up! LED's and what few ornaments we have will have to do. We are used to a much smaller tree. I love his natural shape and character. He's actually inspired this year's X-mas Card.

Silent Night

I love my fresh garland wrapped in lights. I've never had a banister to decorate before.

Yes Kim, I still have this and I LOVE it!

Merry X-mas everyone and I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into our new home. We miss everyone of you and wish you a very Merry X-mas.

Oh Wonder Book and Video, How I Missed You...

Years ago when The Bear and I lived in Frederick MD, one of my favorite places to go was Wonder Book and Video. I would go there, get lost in the stacks of book, smell the aroma of second hand volumes, then make my way to the video side and rent a movie to bring home. In those days it was usually a Season of the Sopranos since we didn't have HBO then. Oh Tony, how I miss your nose whistle! Good times, good times. Any ways, I digress. A couple months ago The Bear and I went to visit our dear friend Leah who lives in Frederick and I couldn't resist dragging every one along into the store. Can you belive that Leah practically lives around the corner and has never been inside? It's almost criminal. I wandered around the Art/Photography section among others while The Bear and Leah found themselves enjoying the Engineering/Math section. You just never know what you are going to find in here. It's always a treasure hunt.

What used book store wouldn't be complete without a Stephen King section? Erynne, this pic is for you. Anything you want me to pick up next time I'm there?

I found this stack next to the check out. It made my day. I mean seriously, what could be funnier. Scientology for UNDER $1. Guess it wasn't the smash hit it was hoped to be.

If you aren't lucky enough to live close to a Wonder Book no worries cause you can always get your fix online! Yeppers, take a gander and see what you can find! Wonder Book and Video.

Moleskine Trip Day3...

Sunday was our day for exploring the town of Kensington where there are over 80 antique shops all in within strolling distance of each other. We were very excited to see what treasures we'd uncover. We arrived at 11am only to discover that NONE of the shops opened till Noon. Well we are a group that is not deterred in the least by a little thing like an hour wait. That just means more time to sit, grab an iced tea, contemplate, sketch, take photos and plan our attack on the as yet unsuspecting shops!

Time enough to notice nice patterns in the shadows.

Think this group would have gotten their fill of books the day before at The Book Thing? Oh, think again my dear readers, think again!

How cute are some of these shops? Just adorable I tell you. Good enough to sit for a moment and sketch.

I fell head over heals in love with these tiles. If only I had an actual house instead of an apartment where I could display some of these next to my house number on the wrap around porch of my oh so cute little home. Can you tell I'm sooo ready for house hunting?

After an afternoon of treasure hunting I drove the group to Silver Spring where our company's office is located and showed them around a bit. Apparently the town was preparing for some kind of summer concert. They closed the street, a stage was being put up and there was just a general feeling of celebrating the end of summer. Children playing in the water, people laughing and having a wonderful time.

Sadly the next morning the Moleskiners had to pack up and head back home to Ohio. I couldn't resist snapping this shot of Barb as she photographed her coffee at Le Madelaine. Look familiar to anyone? I seem to be collecting photos like this as well!

I had a wonderfully fabulous time with these wonderful people despite throwing my back out during their visit. I wasn't going to let a little thing like stabbing back pain ruin a great creative trip like this one!

Thank you Moleskiners for coming all this way to hang with me. I really needed this visit. You guys are one in a million.