Legacy

Lisa's 2015 cake

This week was mostly about moving out of a home with a lot of memories. And, rightly, it was about recognizing the legacy left to us by loved ones. So on Wednesday, Feb. 4, we celebrated Lisa Ragsdale's birthday, as we do each year, with a cake. I know, it's rather crudely decorated, but I didn't have my decorating supplies. This was a "salad dressing" cake which Brent tells me Lisa also had made.

It was only Brent and Jeremy (and, of course, me) who celebrated with some words about what we give thanks for. We smiled and enjoyed the time together considering this woman and her life. There is a lot to say "thank you" to Lisa for - not the least being the 3 wonderful young men Brent and I call ours.

Vivian's cupcakes

Saturday we took a few moments out of our moving day to recognize Vivian Ragsdale's birthday. This "celebration" was very different. As in previous years, I purchased a variety of fancy cupcakes to recognize the day. But we did not say words because, well, there still are none. And, yet, I feel it is good to give this little girl and her memory a day. She is terribly missed by all those who were fortunate to know her.

The Ragsdale sign

We ended our week by placing the Ragsdale marker near the end of the driveway at the farm. Brent and I have dreamed and planned the placing of this sign for, literally, years. It was given to Brent and Lisa by Lisa's parents. Brent, Jeremy and I feel lucky to have it at the farm and lucky to have Rex and Margaret in our lives. Their support is invaluable.

There is also a lot of work happening and some wonderful people who are finding time to help. My parents, Mary and Pete, are a couple of hard-working people. Packing is just no fun at all. The last two weekends they have been packing right along with us. We couldn't get this done without them. (Thanks again Mom and Pete!)

We are thankful for all we are given. In our own ways this week we found time to recognize the wonderful people who are still living with us - even (and especially) those whose time is done. Their legacy is all around us here - at Happy Apple's Farm.

Thankful in 2014

This year there are so many things to be thankful for that finding the "important" ones to fit into a blog post would diminish them all. So I will only take this space to discuss those in the last 2 weeks.

Brent (probably my all-time favorite person to be thankful for) has finished all of the interior plumbing (which is probably the necessity I am most thankful for). Most significantly, he completed the plumbing in the kitchen. The kitchen even has a dishwasher - just need to move one of our refrigerators in and we're set. Of course, this time of year outside is, pretty much, all the refrigerator we need.

Our kitchen sink!

Our brand new dishwasher.

I'm glad Brent could figure out this plumbing.
The black valve allows us to divert the water for irrigation use in the summer.

Those diverter valves are placed only on the kitchen sink and the master bath sinks and shower. As our summers here get pretty dry, having these valves will allow me to use this "grey" water to develop some gardens with edibles and natives that require more moisture around the east and west sides of the house.

I am also thankful for our boys. Every parent dreams of seeing their children become contributors - and when they give back to you, well, that's really special.

Blaine installing our new locks.

Logan and Jeremy painting the last bedroom.

You can see from these photos that everyone (even Skylr who isn't in the photos) has been helping.

Since Rick (our builder) is about done with the final fixes to the trim, he has also installed our front door. Previously, we only had the final sidelight installed since the "real" door is full glass and might have been broken by the construction.

Our front door. We even have a door mat :-)

Brent and I spent so many days dreaming of the view from that door - and now it's a reality. And, yes, it brings to mind how fortunate I am to experience dreams come true. And this is just one of many.

And how can I end my Thanksgiving post without acknowledging these guys? They are so obviously thankful everyday for their feed. Of course, I pretend like it's me that they are so happy to see - so I get daily gratitude and alpaca smiles.

Mr. T eating his feed. He eats with his mouth open; they all do :-)

Okay, so these are a few events from our recent weeks that I thought to record with visuals. There are so many more and I could go on and on.

In short, life is good - amazing, in fact - and I am sincerely thankful.