The Plane Stayed Up By Itself

Even though I had let them choose their own socks since babyhood, I was only beginning to learn to trust their adult judgment.. . . I had a sensation very much like the moment in an airplane when you realize that even if you stop holding the plane up by gripping the arms of your seat until your knuckles show white, the plane will stay up by itself. . .

                   ~ Anonymous Parent of Adult Children

Vance and I have spent the past week in Rome.  

My son, Adam, has been studying there this semester.

We brought him to JFK on Valentines Day.

He's been on his own since that day.

On his own in a country very different from our own.

On his own is a city of over 3 million people.

On his own.  Trying to survive the best he can.

We knew it hasn't been easy for Adam.

We were anxious to see him - to make sure he is ok,

to get a glimpse of this life he has made for himself,

and hopefully ease his burdens a little for a short time.

The road to adulthood is different for everyone.

I firmly believe it's impossible to become an adult

                    without hardship.

Hardship has many faces.

Frustration.

Loneliness.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Separation.

I also believe that you cannot reach adulthood 

                   without accomplishment

and pride in overcoming hardship.

Over the past few month, we've witnessed Adam

travel his road to adulthood.  And we are so proud!

It was a special week for us as parents:

spending this time with Adam,

relying on him to help us,

feeling his love for us on an adult level.

Yet hopefully, at the same time, 

taking some of the burdens of adulthood

off his shoulders for a little while.

Being with my parents, even later in life,

always made me feel safe. 

One day,  Adam came back to our hotel room and

fell asleep on the bed. 

Maybe I was imagining it, but I couldn't help but
think he was feeling safe too.
 

And as I sat in the chair and watched him napping,

I couldn't help but see 

my little boy 

again.

Master Bath Renovation

Our master bath renovation is just about complete, and we are extremely happy with our new space! Built in the the 1980's, the master bath was very outdated and cluttered.  There was an old fiberglass shower stall with glass doors on a metal track.  A formica cabinet with a wall mirror and strip lights on the top.  Tile floor with dirty grout.  I had no desire to even clean it anymore!

We now have a 48" floating vanity made by Nutmeg Stairs and Cabinets.  The vanity top is quartz with an undermount sink by Ronbow.

I chose simple chrome drawer pulls on the cabinet.  The middle drawer is home to the garbage can so I don't have  to have one cluttering the floor.  There is an electrical outlet inside one of the drawers so we can keep the hair dryer plugged in, use it, and put it away.

And a Grohe faucet with soap dispenser.  The tile on the wall behind the sink is from Porcelanosa.

The medicine cabinet (Century) over the sink is 6 inches deep providing more storage room.

 There is a mirror on the inside of the medicine cabinet door, which also opens to almost 180 degrees.

 There is a double outlet inside the medicine cabinet so we can keep our electric toothbrushes charging out of sight! And the mirror has a heater so it will not fog up during those long, hot showers.

I love my make-up mirror with 5x magnification on one side.

Another BEFORE picture:

 We had a towel bar on the wall - the towels were never hanging straight, which bothered me!

The heater extended behind the toilet, which collected all kinds of dust and made it hard to clean.

There was a window shade over the window that collected hair spray and dust.

We have removed the heater from behind the toilet so we could have a beautiful skirted Toto one-piece toilet.

Instead of a towel bar, we now use two modern towel hooks (much neater and easier).
Spare towels are stored above the toilet on a modern train rack from Restoration Hardware.
The window no longer has a shade - nobody can see inside anyways! The white window trim was removed and the window was encased in tile instead.

BEFORE: The area behind the door housed a corner hamper for dirty clothes.  We could never open the door all the way because of the cramped space and the hamper wasn't big enough  - it was always overflowing onto the floor.

Now, there is no more hamper.  Just a stainless steel door in the wall.

On the other side of the wall is a closet with two large laundry bins!  (My idea!)

BEFORE: Molded fiberglass shower stall with sliding glass doors.

After removing the fiberglass enclosure, we were able to make the shower larger because there was empty space on one side of the enclosure.  We replaced it with a tiled shower with a white Synmar base.  There will be a frameless glass door in the opening - we are waiting for it to be made.

The tile is Shine Dark from Porcelanosa.  It is a mixture of browns and greys.

There is an accent strip of greys, whites and browns to break up the large tiles.

The accent tile is repeated in the cutout where the soap and shampoo are stored. (The tile looks more brown in this picture, but it is really mainly grey)

Part of the shower is behind a partial wall for privacy.  The water control was moved from under the shower head to the side wall so we don't have to get wet when we reach in to turn on the shower.  There are also two hooks on the side wall for washcloths.

A small piece of granite was installed in the corner so there is something to put my foot on when shaving my legs!

The floor tile is a matte gray - very plain so as not to take away from the beauty of the wall tile.
The white baseboard trim was replaced by a tile trim.

Instead of a cloth bath mat, I chose a mat made of wood (teak or bamboo) which stays on the floor all the time - no bath mat to hang to dry.

I am sooo happy with my new bathroom.  John Shea of JD Shea Home Improvements did all of the work, including the fantastic tile work.  The electrical was done by Tim Sawtelle of Constant  Power.
The bathroom sinks, medicine cabinets, toilets, faucets, and tub were purchased at Modern Plumbing in Newington.


The main bath is completed with the installation of the glass shower enclosure from CT Bath and Shower in West Hartford.

The Last Laugh is on Me!

There's never a dull moment around this house!

It was a beautiful day today, so when I let the dogs outside I left the door to the screened-in porch open to get some fresh air.  Then I went about my work and forgot it was open.

I came downstairs a few hours later to this...

She was waiting proudly for me to see her latest catch!
I wasn't quite sure if it was alive or dead, so I put my shoes on.

 Maddie wasn't sure either.

It wasn't moving, so I moved in a little closer to inspect it, ready to make a fast get-away if necessary!

I saw blood on the floor (there must have been a fight!) and also in the scales of the snake.
Its eyes were open - do snakes close their eyes when they die?

I got the kitchen tongs out to nudge it and grab it if it was alive.

It just flopped.

 So I got brave and took some really close pictures with my macro lens.
The scales look really cool!

Then I flipped him over and checked out his belly.

I was amazed at how shiny it was!

I also saw a few puncture wounds at various points along its belly.

I felt like I was doing an autopsy!

When I saw the blood around his mouth, I felt a little bad for him!
I decided he was dead.

I used the tongs to pick him up and put him in a ziploc bag.
I didn't throw it away yet because I had to show Vance - he LOVES reptiles.

When Annie got home, I showed her the bag.  I noticed there was some black slimy stuff in the bag in addition to the snake.  I wondered if snakes poop when they die!

An hour later, Vance got home. 

I went to get the bag and noticed the snake was in a different formation - all coiled up.

Interesting.

I picked up the bag and the snake stuck its tongue out at me!
OMG!
Vance laughed at my reaction and I cringed thinking back to how close I was to this creature - my face only inches away taking those close-up pictures!

He told me that snakes play dead when they are being attacked.
He took the bag outside and let the snake go in the woods.
He said it slithered away like nothing ever happened to it!

So the last laugh is on me!

 (For those of you interested in photography, this photo (creepy though it may be) is a great example of a shallow depth of field.  Notice there is only a thin band of the photo that is actually in focus (where the eyes are).  The rest of the photo is blurred.)

My Expressive Daughter - Again

I told you a few posts ago that my secret goal at track meets
 this year is to capture Annie's facial expressions. 

Here are a few from the last meet!

And the winning expression of the day...

In case you're wondering, Annie really does participate in the track meet -

when she's not talking!