Last night I worked until 3am designing the new products, quite the contrast from college and post-college times. In my (much) younger days, I used to work all day at office jobs I didn't like all that much then dress up nice and go out dancing at my favorite nightclub/restaurant with my friends then have midnight breakfast at International House of Pancakes until 3am. Those days are longggg gone by now, replaced with drawing and working on my websites. That's just fine with me, a gentler lifestyle is better, with no makeup on, my hair up, in a t-shirt and shorts, on my bed working on the laptop. Dressing up is fun, but not necessary here in the country. And one other thing, I can still listen to the music we used to go dancing to on the "oldies" stations on the radio, while working on the computer. It's all good.
Just talked to mom and dad, who are enjoying this beautiful day working on their projects, too. Mom is on their large, wraparound porch working on her scrapbooking while dad is inside reading books. She has the little feral kittens near her, playing with one another. Dad has his buddy cat, Moxie by his side..his little protector (one of them, Felix and Cinnamon both like to "guard" dad, too). Their gardens are growing like crazy, with butterflies on the butterfly bushes, pink Japanese Anemone flowers in bloom. They are happy and all is well. I'm so glad they have this quieter life after all those years of hard, long hours at their jobs in the city. Moving out the country for all of us has been such a stress relief. Mom was a Montessori teacher (40+ years at the same job!), and dad was an architect with big, fancy Cleveland firms. They've earned the right to kick back and enjoy life to the fullest, they more than deserve it! We all delight in watching Amish buggies go by our houses, being out in Nature, going to restaurants with patios and seeing birds at our birdfeeders. The emphasis out here is on a peaceful life with family, not the frenzied "Keeping up with the Joneses" lifestyle that suburban life seemed to promote. I never felt the need to keep up with anyone. Who cares. There's no competition. I save my competitiveness for my work.
My front (temporary) tooth broke off on Friday. Not an attractive look for me, yikes, but I don't need to be anywhere so instead of needing to stick a bag over my head to go out in public (kidding!) I'm just staying in and avoiding people until my dentist's appointment. It's amazing what a difference one tooth can make in our appearances. I look like a Jack O'Lantern, lol. Answering the door like this on Halloween would scare the Hell out of any poor, unsuspecting child. ;)
Today I harvested a huge handful of blueberries off of one of my blueberry bushes! Time to make blueberry cobbler. Mom is now interested in getting blueberry bushes..it's contageous, hehe. She's seen how prolific my bushes have been and has now caught "blueberry fever". There's nothing better than pesticide-free, home-grown fruit and vegetables. My pepper plants (Serrano, Jalapeno, Bell and Bolivian Mini) are doing fine, too. The Bolivian peppers are similar to the peppers I used to harvest off of a bush in my backyard in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (they grow wild down there). One tiny little pepper would flavor an entire dish! My West-Indian (Guyanese) ex-boyfriend used to bring me peppers like these whenever he'd go home to visit his family in his country. Tiny peppers are my favorite, so versatile and you can freeze them. The kind in Mexico that grew wild were Tabasco, and if I can find plants here, I will buy them next year (too late for this season by now). They don't winter over since they are native to Mexico, but I'd pot them and bring them inside for the winter. The bush I used to pick from was big (nearly four feet tall and three feet wide), and loaded with peppers. My Bolivian peppers are two feet so far, and I will bring them in when it gets cold.
Well, it's back to my marathon now. Things to design, coffee to drink. Gearing up for the upcoming Christmas season. It's not work, it's my passion.
