LaWathas Glass

Late August, 2009

The first signs of Fall are already appearing here on White Mud Lake (70 miles north of Spokane, WA). The shrubs are turning red, some of the leaves have a hint of color beginning to show. The nights are getting cooler- we already hit 39 degrees one morning last week. Before you know it the leaves will all turn color and fall to the ground- only to be buried in snow in December.

Where has the Summer gone? We’ve spent our Summer getting ready to sell the house, then when it sold in 5 days, we’ve spent the rest of the Summer in “hurry up and wait” mode, waiting for escrow to close. Our buyer has had one problem with banks after another (gotta love when the government shuts down a bank just a few days shy of closing!) First it was supposed to close July 30. Then September 7. Then August 15. Back to September 7. The latest update from the realtor is “It should be able to close next Friday”. That would be September 4. I’ll be happy if it closes on the 7th.

We’ve decided to postpone our plans to move to VA/WV. We’re still going to move there eventually, just not quite yet. We’ll make a little interim move to Liberty Lake, WA- which is just about 5 miles from my Mom’s house in Post Falls, ID. We may stay there another year or 2 or 3…. or we may decide to head East next Spring. We’ll see how we feel about it when the snow thaws.

In the meantime, I’m hoping for Summer to linger a little longer…

The pond - Now

When we first bought our home 4 years ago, there was a carved wooden sign stretched out between the driveway and the lake, that read “Lakeside Paradise”.  I loved the sign and made sure it conveyed with the property but Bill thought the sign was a bit corny and he took it down as soon as we moved in.

This place really is paradise this time of year, no doubt about it. The flowers are all in bloom, the birds are nesting in the birdhouses around the property, the deer feed along the fenceline, wanting to come sample the lilies and stonecrop but not daring while the dogs are out. The grass is green, the rainbird sprinkler tick-tick-tick-ticking to keep it that way. The pond is beautiful and it’s the most calming thing to just take a walk around it or have a seat next to it and watch the fish swimming around, and listen to the water cascading down the little waterfall. I could sit out there for hours at a time- if it weren’t for the pesky mosquitoes. ; ) But really, it is a lakeside paradise.  I’m going to miss it, at least the Summer version of it.

I don’t know where we’re going to end up- somewhere in VA or WV I’m pretty sure… but wherever we end up, guess who’s hoping to build another pond- another little bit of paradise?

Here’s what the pond looked like 4 years ago-

Before...

Ladybug – cropped

Originally uploaded by lawatha

Oh my gosh- where did June go? Here it is the 26th already and 4th of July will be here before you know it. No, say it aint so! I’m not ready for this month to end yet. I’m still working on my “Pay it forward” gifts… I’m working on packing up the house and getting ready to move, I’m trying to enjoy the last few weeks that we’ll be here at the lake house (escrow is set to close July 30 barring any unforeseen circumstances). There’s so much to do and so little time, and what little time there is, is flying by.

Must get done what needs to be done, and then slowwwww down and enjoy this beautiful Summer- the last Summer on the lake for us.

Reflection

Originally uploaded by lawatha

Small little gazing ball in the flowerbed in our front yard- reflecting the world around me.

It’s a beautiful day here on White Mud Lake- not a cloud in sight and 79 degrees. Perfectly wonderful weather! I guess that sort of helps to make up for the miserably long and cold Winter we had.

Well, that didn’t take long!  10 days from when we put up the for sale sign until we have a deal… the 5 acres in Blanchard is sold! (Actually, he contacted us within 30 minutes of posting the for sale sign up and said “let’s see if we can’t work something out” so I guess it really sold in 30 minutes, but it took another 10 days to agree on a price after some offers and counter-offers.)  Wow… I find that amazing in this economy.  Strange enough, our home in Post Falls sold in 5 days 4 years ago.  This parcel sold in 10 days.  Are we on a roll?  Does that mean we’ll sell our lake house in 15 days when we put it on the market next month?  I certainly hope so- that would be exciting!  I seriously doubt it will, but hey… you never know… all it takes is 1 person to fall in love with it and make an offer we can’t resist.

In the meantime, goodbye to Blanchard- our dream will now become someone else’s…

Here’s a shot Kevin (the soon to be new owner) took of our parcel from his ultralight aircraft… very cool!

Sold...

We’ve finally done it- we’ve taken the plunge and put up the for sale signs on our 5 acres in Blanchard, Idaho.  Yes, our minds are made up.  It’s time to let this dream become somebody else’s dream.  If anybody out there is looking for a beautiful piece of property with gorgeous views of Mt. Spokane and only 45 minutes to Coeur d’Alene, ID or 1 hr to Spokane, Wa- and only 15 minutes to Newport, WA, here it is. A little piece of paradise.  Live in the country yet be only a short drive to all the amenities of city life.  If you’re interested in buying a piece of the North Idaho lifestyle- leave a comment or drop me a line for more information.

Spring is definitely in full swing.  The days are warm, the nights are still cool (31 last night). It’s time to spend more time in the flowerbeds and less time online. That’s the theory, anyway… and easy to do on a beautiful day like today. I went out and took some pictures this morning, and then spend most of the day (so far) pulling weeds and putting down fresh bark. The flowerbeds are coming back to life- new flowers opening up everyday. I know I say this every season… but Spring really reallys my favorite season!

Originally uploaded by *M-C1*

I just love sending my glass-work to Mari-Claire. She takes amazing self-portraits, and has a way of making my pendants look their best. Somehow they just don’t look the same when I take their pictures, sitting flat on a piece of colored paper. Besides all that, she’s just one of the sweetest, funnest, artistic people I know.

If you’d like to stop by and see some of her fun & funky artwork, please go to beeczarcardsandgifts.etsy.com.

I took this shot while on a tall sailing ship sunset cruise in Key West, FL May 2008.

I was reading through Wendy Hearn: Metalwork, Fusing, Lampwork Beads blog, and she was participating in this idea.  It’s sort of like the One world One heart giveaway that I participated in earlier this year.  It sounds like fun, and I couldn’t resist, so I’m now participating as well.

Here’s the nitty gritty.

Creative people are adventurous!  So, if you’re creative and would like to participate, please send me a comment and the first five people will receive something (handmade by me!) from me in the mail.  In return, all you have to do is “pay it forward”- please see the rules, restrictions and limitations below.

Here are the rules, and happy posting!

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. But I hope you will. This will be something made from the heart.

2. What I create will be just for you with love and good wishes. It will be made of actual materials, not of cyberspace.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be!

5. In return, all you need to do is cut and paste this text on your Blog (from “Creative People are…” and create five things for the first 5 people to respond to your post.
6. Send your mailing address after I contact you.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if you do not post on your own blog to pay this forward. Would love it if you could join in!!!

To help me in choosing what to make and send you, I will be reading through your blog to get an idea of your likes and dislikes so that I hope you get something that you will love!

So what are you waiting for?  Get that comment in before someone beats you to it!  It’s not everyday you get a free handmade gift in the mail. : )

I love, love, love how this version of “Stand By Me” was put together.  It includes musicians from around the world, and I could listen to it all day.  Unfortunately I’m not tech savvy enough to figure out how to embed the video here, so I’ll just post the link.

Check it out if you would- see if it isn’t the most beautiful version of that song you’ve ever heard.  Click here to watch the video: Playing for Change – \”Stand By Me\”

You can even purchase cd's, t-shirts, etc... at http://www.playingforchange.com if you'd like.