Winter moods

Hello! to all my snowed in friends! I hope you are staying warm and healthy. The foot of snow that beautifully landed on Long Island, actually lived up to the media Hype! I put up a big pot of soup and watched the flakes swirling around. I photographed some pretty moments. I felt gratitude for my warm and cozy home.

I figure with all this quarantining and a blast of super cold air, I would need a big project to propel me through the long, freezing February days. Honestly, and for the 100th time, I am ONCE again, errrrr.. DE cluttering all my stuff. None of it ever appears as “junk” to me! I think I secretly hoard things that spark sentimental vibes (not necessarily JOY! OK, so thank you Marie Kondo!) As many of you know, we tend to hold onto objects and “things” when a person dies. It’s a part of them and hard to part with. Over the last decade, I have parted with some things of my parents. I took on a huge project last March. I took months and months sorting through the family pictures. Bins and bins of photos, memories, our entire childhood. I just focused on organizing five bins for each sibling. Then I organized all my own photos and made albums and scrapbooks. I decorated my scrapbooks sorta like Martha would. My dream trips and all the memories that were made, labeled and all gussied up. Then I thought… who will want to schlep these around for the next 100 years? I still completed it. It was important to me. I sat alone and stared at 1000 photos of my son. We didn’t have cell phones when he was born. It was camcorders and cameras. He, my Michael, was a bright, happy, delicious child. His energy and enthusiasm, his love for life, his SMILE…it all jumped into my heart. He was the first grandchild in a large family. A prince for sure! He was a BIG deal. Adored by everyone. God, I miss him so, so much. Be grateful today for what you have and hold. I am grateful that love remains….even after they are gone from here.

My next project is super exciting. I am decorating and making a new nursery for my Granddaughter to be! My baby is having a baby! My beautiful daughter, who resides in Spain is having a baby girl. We are all over the moon and anxious at the same time. Spain, yep, Europe! All I know is, I have to get there by May! I have stayed positive and determined. We have been separated over a year. They frequently came home for long visits. UGH… Homesick is a real thing now. So, I allow myself to have a good pandemic cry every now and then. I highly recommend you let those emotions surface. It’s real, isolation and anti socialization effects all of us. Also, this “pandemic”, is nothing anyone EVER could have predicted. I also stand strong in remembering the most important part. This Pandemic will NOT last forever. With that being said, I need to acknowledge and send love, condolence and compassion for anyone that has lost their loved one due to COVID 19. As of late, 422,000 Americans have died due to COVID 19. I am so very sorry for your loss. I send you love and healing light as you mourn your loved one. Our world has changed, this is a fact. The vaccine will be helpful for so many essential/front line workers. Thank you for ALL you do, everyday for US. We have not forgotten YOU. I hope that by this summer we see the light and businesses and musicians can perform again and stay afloat. I pray we see a decline over time. Allow yourself to do your part. A little something. If everyone shows kindness and compassion, imagine how healing that can be!

Now, onto the nursery. I dream about it everyday. I love design and decor. I love transforming a room and repurposing items. I was feeling brave and decided to freshen up some plain old furniture pieces. I watched a ton of YouTube videos and decided to give it a shot. I am so glad I did! The painting process was much easier than I expected. A couple of coats later and it transformed into a beautiful piece! Easy peasy. I am totally enjoying myself. A new baby! What could be more exciting? She is already loved and I can’t wait to meet her.

Find the miracles in your world today. Even the tiniest ones matter. Take good care and stay safe.

Love & Peace

~leelee