sam

Sam & cool kids Simon & Sophie

Two weeks ago, after more than 3 years of tweeting together, Sam and I finally met. Sam wrote about it so well on her blog, but I wanted to note it here too, as it was and will be, I'm sure, the highlight of my year.

Almost from the time Sam and I started exchanging tweets, we joked about being able to teleport into each other's homes for a cup of coffee and conversation. She came across as a warm, likable person, someone who was easy to talk to and fun to be with. More than that, she had that indefinable quality of a likeminded soul, a true friend.

It turns out that she was everything I imagined: effusive, funny, sweet, intelligent. We talked as long-lost friends right away, which felt completely natural, even as I was amazed by it. It was like we had skipped all the preliminaries of getting acquainted, going straight to the easy comfort of hanging out and cooking and laughing together; but in fact, we'd had years of conversation, brief and extended, reading each other's blogs and chatting in groups. We already knew each other.

There are all kinds of friendships: childhood pals, classmates, neighbors, fellow expats/new moms/homeschoolers. With luck, a few of them stick and become part of your lifetime community. I'm glad to now have Sam and Chris as part of mine.

twitter & irl friends Brian, Robyn, Jen, Chris, Sam, me, Lisa (photo by DH)

summer project #2: rubber duckie decoy

Fast and simple, my favorite type of project:

Many years ago, a tiny S spied this duck decoy in the back corner of a junk shop and fell in love with it. My dad, doting grandpa, duck lover and insane collector that he was, happily paid $3 to indulge his grandchild and clutter up our house. It soon found its way to our little backyard pond, where it has been floating these past 10+ years.

No beauty when we got it, it was after a decade of weathering in dire need of a makeover. I had yellow spray paint, some white out and a Sharpie; for the investment of a small bottle of orange acrylic, Mr. Faded Decoy Duck became Mr. Shiny Rubber Duckie. And of course he wouldn't be complete without Ernie along for the ride.

summer project #1: morning coffee patio

It's been a few years since I've been able to really work hard outside. Clearing out Dad's home, shoulder issues and pneumonia have occupied recent summers. This year the combination of improved health, free time, a freecycle pickup of some old chimney brick and this Sunset project, inspired me to paint our old café set, recover the cushions, and make a shady setting for morning coffee.

Do you have any summer projects in the works? I'd love to hear about them.