Photos of Sandy

Hi Readers!

a crew i worked with doing ripouts and demo on homes

I’m back in Western New York now.  And while I have so many stories to tell about what I’ve seen and experienced down state in the hardhit areas of Hurricane-Superstorm Sandy – I’m also super busy with work and real life.   I know I’ll carve out some time to publish some well-worded stories about my time there.  And I’d also love to report on the everyday heroics I witnessed, the amazing people I met, and I want to express to others around the nation and world just how serious the situation is there.

It’s BAD.

So much work is yet to be done.  So much help is still greatly needed.

taking a quick break one day in staten island

 

push it real good – going uphill with a cart full of supplies to be delivered to homes

 

I’m going to run for now.  But should you be interested in checking out my photos from Staten Island and Long Beach, I’ll post the links to the public albums.

Staten Island Facebook Album

Long Beach Facebook Album

Thanks for reading – and please keep the folks of NY and NJ in your hearts and prayers.  They need all the love and assistance we can muster.

XOXO, HHR

Sandy Relief: So You Wanna Help? Here’s How NOW…

Hi Everyone!

me, all strapped up to do work!

I’ve been here all week working and helping and it’s been a lot of things: crazy, intense, and amazing to see the strength and resilience of those who have been hit the hardest.  I don’t have time for a full-fledged update right now, but I wanted to make sure to get the word out about a few things.

Check out this post I published on Snoo.ws to read about what I’ve been doing. (I work for ICUC, and Snoo.ws is ICUC’s blog – it’s part of my job!).  Also, look for me on social media (www.facebook.com/rose.m.duggan and @RadRoseDuggan) to see pics!

If you want to help now, the needs have shifted from what originally was asked for.  Canned foods and clothing have rolled into NY and NJ in surplus amounts.  So hang on to your winter coat, there are other ways to help.

typical scene on staten island in hardhit areas

NEEDS:

People still do NOT have power.  Their needs are: generators, gas, extension cords, batteries of ALL sizes, flashlights, candles, lighters, head lamps.  Portable stoves or ways to cook without power is rad as well.  And can openers!  Cans everywhere and yet… no way to open them without making a mess.

Homes that have been flooded MUST be gutted, stripped and re-built.  Any TOOLS are needed, work gloves – I cannot stress enough the importance of work gloves and dust masks / respirators.  Shovels of all kinds, axes, sledge hammers, crowbars, the suits you can wear over your clothes to protect your skin from insulation fibers – WORK GLOVES, DUST MASKS.

The air is full of debris and dust from all the demo – it’s crazy.

Clean up: In homes where the storm surged flooded the entire basement and first floor, there is this black mucky mud everywhere you can see.  BLEACH is a needed item.  BLEACH, please send BLEACH!!!  There is also a profound need for cleaners of all kinds, rubber gloves, mops, brooms, scrub brushes, sponges, rags, towels, paper towels or shop towels. Buckets, mops, mops, mops. and BLEACH!

Moving stuff around: If it has wheels, it can be used.  Bags, backpacks, luggage – anything that people without access to cars and gas can use to get around and get supplies around. Wagons and wheelbarrows, bikes, etc. have become necessary entities.

SENDING MONEY:

Of course groups like The Red Cross and other big names have been helping.

If you’re looking for smaller, more direct organizations to get involved with, I would suggest looking for grass roots agents.  The people-driven, community based groups are having a profound impact.  Local restaurants have been donating food and coffee – you could call a locally owned coffee shop in a hardhit area and offer to sponsor coffee for a day to relief workers.

My favorites are:

192 Ebbitts Street, Staten Island NY.  You could send Home Depot, Walmart, K-mart, or Visa/Mastercard gift cards to this address, with “care of Gina” or “care of Frank” on the envelope, and people who can help will be able to get in touch.  Another great contact point for grassroots work is a man named Mike “Loco” Hoffman – find him on Fb or on Twitter @TheMikeLoco.

The Unitarian Church of Staten Island: 312 Fillmore Street  New York, NY 10301; (718) 447-2204 has also been amazing.  Check them out on Fb: https://www.facebook.com/uucsi?fref=ts

Occupy Sandy has been an incredible force in organizing people and dispatching volunteers to where it’s most needed.

And of course, FDNY and NYPD have been helping around the clock.  This Fb group, FDNY Incidents, has been helping people meet needs as well: https://www.facebook.com/FdnyIncidents?fref=ts

And finally… THE HOLIDAYS

I’ll be working on a grassroots project we’ve dubbed “Sandy Claus” working to bring Christmas, Hanukkah  and the holidays to kids/families who’ve been affected by Sandy.  We’ll be working out ways to connect donors to those who could use some cheer.  Stand by in the next week or so for info on that idea to develop!  I will let everyone know.

 

…

 

THANK YOU so much to all who’ve shown support, interest, love… all your kind thoughts, prayers, donations and LOVE have gone so far down here.

I’ll check back in soon with more pics and with stories I’ve been hearing all week. 

yikes.. this too, is sadly a typical scene you can come across.

the muddy, mucky, streets are full of debris, trash, filth, and more…

me, all strapped up to do work!

basement stairs in the home of my new friend kim – it was totally full of flood water and muck, the destruction is astounding. and it’s like this for so many people.

the warehouse, again

typical scene on staten island in hardhit areas

bringing supplies home to home, helping people who are working so hard to save what they can, gut and rebuild what they can’t

me, at the new york container terminal warehouse – it’s a huge space, full of donated items. the problem is getting the stuff out to the people.

Sandy Relief: How I’m helping, what you can do, lists, info, + more.

It’s been a busy weekend of emails, calls, and pulling things together.  My little mission to help out Sandy Survivors is actually coming together.  I’m pretty impressed with myself, not gonna lie.  I think that after living in Florida for two and a half decades, dealing with hurricanes is just in my blood, it’s a normal part of life to me.  And well, if you don’t know by now that I tend to be the take-action-do-gooder type, well then you hardly know me at all.

Generous hearts make the world go ’round.  And coming into contact with truly generous people who are so excited and happy to give is a truly humbling experience.

i’m so grateful to anyone and everyone who’s pitching in to help.

When I started the tiny idea to see what I could do to help the Sandy Relief efforts, I had no idea what to expect.  The call for supplies, donations, and any kind of help went out all over the Interwebs.  I’ve posted on Craig’s List Buffalo, reddit, Facebook, all kinds of organization’s Fb pages, Twitter, and more.  And well it hasn’t been a downpour of support, there’s been more than a trickle and it’s really exciting.

i stand by my cheesy lil’ logo!

A few people have chipped in some financial support, I have a pal for the car ride down who will be staying in the NYC-area long term to do clean up work wherever she’s needed, and I have a couple helpful people found out about my plans online and have been putting together donations that we can bring with us.

TWO AMAZING STORES have generously donated items to the effort as well:

Smith’s True Valu in Irving, NY and the Sears Hometown Store here in Fredonia (just down the street from where I live) have been super awesome.  Once we get this whole thing underway, we’ll give them official shout outs and post photos of the items they provided.  We’re hoping in the next day or so to find some more stores will to donate supplies, or at least cut us a break on the cost of items.

NEEDS LIST:

thanks to mj for the link to this awesome list!

The clean up efforts are paramount right now, and thus some things in huge demand are:

• dust masks
• gloves – rubber, work, leather, all kinds
• mops, mops, mops
• paper towels, regular towels, shop towels
• tools of any kind, the smaller and more mobile – the better (and remember, power in nonexistent or limited), crowbars, screwdrivers, hammers
• work boots in all sizes
• contractor-style garbage bags
• tarps, plastic sheeting
• duct tape, rope, zip ties
• garbage bags
• gas cans
• food, formula, water, snacks, OTC meds
• winter clothing, blankets, bedding
• and finally – stuff for kids to occupy the boredom and help life their spirits: toys, games, etc.

If you have any desire to get these items to me, I’m more than happy to take them to NYC for you.  There are plenty of grassroots efforts of people who I personally know can use and need these items right away – with zero overhead going to “operating costs,”  just straight from the shelves of stores into the hands of those who need them.  If you trust me, paypal some cash money my way: happyhippierose@gmail.com is my paypal handle!

If you’d like to send your own care packs, there are several places that you can ship stuff to:

Warehouse donated as in-take center

New York Container Terminal
Attn: Sandy Relief Warehouse
300 Western Avenue
Staten Island, NY  10303

or

Staten Island Recreational Association
599 Fr. Capodanno Blvd.
Staten Island, NY 10305
Attn: Megan Delmar

….

she seemed so nice at first, but woah did she turn out to be a super bitch!

As many of you know, Duggs (my husband) grew up on Long Island.  His family and friends have been seriously impacted by this storm.  My brother-in-law, and mother-in-law are both still displaced, and unable to return home,  In fact, since we have so many loved ones from Long Beach it’s crazy to try and name everyone and explain the carious states of disarray their lives are in right now.   If you’d like to give money to the Long Beach recovery effort –  here’s a great group:

City of Long Beach Relief
One West Chester Street
Long Beach, NY 11561

…

There are TONS of groups using Facebook and Social Media to get the word out.  Some great resources to learn more are:

• Occupy Sandy NY
• Occupy Sandy NJ
• NYC Service
• Team Rubicon: Iraq and Afghan vets who now volunteer for disaster recovery
• Cancel the NYC Marathon – started out as a live petition and has turned into a great source of info
• American Red Cross
• Hurricane Sandy Relief 

So. Whatever you end up doing – be it making a huge donation to the Red Cross or just sending well-wishes and prayers to those affected, every contribution is wonderful and they all work together and come together to help put things all back together.  Major disasters like this are so terrible, so many lives are just ripped apart, and millions of people are experiencing high levels of stress, sadness, anger, devastation, and more.

Yet… time and time again we see in the darkest of days the most startling displays of true beauty.  Strangers coming together to help each other out, true generosity and kindness, we see helping hands and warm hugs given out freely.   There’s no time machine or magic eraser that can un-do the tragedy… sadly, what’s done is done.  But when given the option of HOW to react, seeing everyday people pick the good, noble, wonderful choice – is an amazing thing to bear witness to.

For everyone who is suffering: you have my warmest thoughts and prayers, as well as my sincere encouragement.

For everyone who is helping:  you have my gratitude and thanks, you are awesome and inspiring.

For everyone who doesn’t know what to do: listen to your heart and you can’t go wrong.

…

Thanks for reading, y’all!  The donations, support, and well wishes my little caravan have been given are truly inspiring.  And my only hope is that we do some good and help out as many people as we possibly can.  Want to help?  Paypal me some moolah, and I promise it will go to great use:  happyhippierose@gmail.com 

XOXO, HHR

Buffalo’s Stampede of Love: Sandy Relief Effort (Yeah, I’m starting a relief project)

Hurricane Sandy sucks, downstate is a mess, and many of us with hearts and consciences want to do our part to help.  So rather than twiddling my thumbs and hoping someone else takes care of it, I’m stepping up.

Sandy, you tramp! You messed up so much stuff.

I’m starting a relief drive for people affected by Hurricane Sandy in NYC and Long Island.

The project is tentatively called, “Stampede of Love.”  Because it’s coming from Buffalo.  Get it?  I’m so witty.

Facade collapse on a building in Alphabet City – what a nightmare.

This ain’t a 501c3 and I’m not creating an official organization.  If you trust me at my word, and I hope you will, let’s do this and help out some folks who really really need it.   Money, nonperishable food, WINTER CLOTHES, and any and all transportable household items are welcome.  I’m willing to physically collect items people are interested in donating, I’m also willing to be the hub for fiscal donations and see to it that 100% of monies collected go to this effort.  The ONLY thing (other than handing it directly over to a reputable shelter and/or organization down state) that I’d use money collected on is potentially a U-haul or trailer should we get that much stuff donated.  I’m assuming and hoping what we gather will fit in a large SUV, which I plan to rent out-of-pocket as part of this effort.

Today is Wednesday… ideally, I’d love to get to NYC this weekend.  I don’t think that’s quite possible though, and so I’m aiming for a trip in about ten days time, the second weekend in November.   If anyone is interested in helping with that aspect of this whole project, please let me know.

Massive storm surge is the culprit for tons of damage.

Can you even imagine? Such devastation.

I’m interested in collecting goods at my home, or we can meet up in the Walmart parking lot in Fredonia.  I’ll be in North Buffalo for a good while on Saturday.  And well, otherwise, just hit me up and we’ll figure something out.  My email is happyhippierose@gmail.com and I look forward to hearing from you.

Here’s a copy of the post that just went live on Craig’s List:

Hi CL Buffalo,

My name is Rose. I live in Fredonia / Sheridan now, but I grew up in Florida. If there’s one thing I know – it’s how terrible hurricanes are, and how LONG and intense the clean-up and get-your-life back process is. NO ONE CAN DO IT ALONE. My husband and I have lots of family and friends who’ve been affected by Hurricane Sandy down state, in NJ, Rhode Island and elsewhere. We think as fellow New Yorkers, we should and could help out those in the NYC/Long Island area. Thousands of people are homeless and living in shelters, everything they own = destroyed.

We’re going to start with sending money, but the need for household items and clothing is incredible. It’s chilly out, y’all, and some people have lost every scrap of winter clothing they owned. I am interested in driving down with some donated items. Maybe not this weekend, but in about ten days? People will still need things then, that’s for sure. If there was anyone else in the area of WNY interested in volunteering to drive the stuff down (instead of me and my hubs going) – I’d be MORE THAN WILLING to help you organize the clothing and donation drive, as well as donate gas money.

I have no desire in creating an official organization – this is all honor system, y’all. 100% of anything I get will go downstate to those in need. I’m working with some orgs in NYC to find out the areas of greatest need. WNY is full of huge hearts and generous people. Let’s do the right thing and help where we can. Wanna know more about who I am? Check out http://www.happyhippierose.com – it’s my personal blog. You’ll see I’m just a silly, albeit very honest and nice person, and I just want to help. We have a lot of family on Long Island and in the city, and it’s just been awful seeing the devastation.

If you want to donate clothing, household goods, food, whatever, contact me: happy hippie rose (AT) g mail (dot) com – and we can go over drop offs and pick ups. I’m in Chautauqua County now, yes – but have plans to be in North Buffalo Saturday during the day. We can make other arrangements as need be.

ANY AND ALL MONETARY DONATIONS MADE TO < happyhippierose @ gmail .com > via paypal will go to shelters and/or the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy help efforts. Again, honor system here. If you don’t trust me, don’t give. If you want to help, this is a quick and easy way.

Once the ball gets rolling I will update more with specifics. I’ll also use my blog to coordinate things. THANK YOU ALL – have a safe and Happy Halloween, All Saints Day, and God Bless.

-Rose Duggan

I really just want to do the best I can to help.  This storm was awful and came at such a terrible time of year – less than two months ’till Christmas / Hanukkah, and worse than that: it’s COLD out up here.  People need protective clothing and their homes.

Any and all support is welcome, even if it’s just wishing me luck.

Thanks for reading!  XOXO, HHR

New York-ified

I think I’ve successfully New York-ified my blog.

The “about me” section is updated, and I’ve added some new pics to the header rotation, as well as to the sidebars (when you view from the home page; if you’re at the URL for a specific post, you won’t see the sidebar action).

I feel pretty good about things!  I’ll always reflect some Hawaii on my blog – how can I not? Hawaii is amazing.  But now my little corner of the Internet also represents the state and place we currently call home: Western New York!

Not sure if I’ll keep this “theme” forever, but I do still like it.  I’m all about keeping my blog nice and easy to read, clean and simple – all that.

So at least I’m up to date now – whew! At least one thing checked off my to-do list for today.

As always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr

Life in Fredonia, all the Fancy Photos!

Whew… it’s been a busy time here at HHR, with all my photo posts from our trip, updates, catch ups, and everything.  Hope you can stomach one more photo binge.  Can you?

Here are all the rest of our initial Fredonia pics, from our first few days and weekend here!  Just like the other posts of the fancy pics (all the photos from Long Island and then all the photos from Pottersville), I’m just going to throw all the photos in here as a blob, and anyone who wants to can go through them.

As for getting settled in and how we’re doing, I touched on all that earlier this week in our post about finally being here in Fredonia.

happy mother’s day!

a.m. = doesn’t like his photo taken, but i have to. it was impossible to include him in the family calendars i made for last xmas because he never lets anyone take his photo!

awww yeah

ham, mac’n’cheese, hard rolls… pretty good day for me!

buffet

my great uncle gifted me a photo of the very first rose, the first rose in our family to live in america – who my late gma rose and i are both named for.

my love

duggs, meeting my great uncle john for the very first time

hi uncle john!

the views around here

on the way to aunt patty’s

nick, in the back of his very own truck. how does that happen?

yup. that chicken has chiavetta’s on it!!

my plate: grilled chicken, baked beans, grilled veggies, and sweet potato fries. ahhhhh-mazing

yummy awesome veggie skewers

duggs made dinner, we grilled out

i posted this collage over the weekend

jj duggan, a very happy doggie

hi!

more bball pics, instagram style

i love climbing trees too, must be a family thing

austin claims that he now has two dogs!

crazy dogs, the side of the house is now a dog run

i just love the scenery. it’s refreshing to be somewhere with such a different look

pretty leaves

smooches for me.

aww rocky! nick and austin’s pooch, a happy (crazy) puppy boy

barefoot? bad idea duggs!

who do you think won?

hoops, austin vs. duggs

nicky, working on the weekend – time to mow the lawn and wack the weeds

happy doggie, gets to run and play!

pooch is in heaven.

i love the colors here on a sunny day

duggs at the wheel our first day in town, checking it all out and seeing what’s nearby

instagram style view of the backyard, and nick’s “path to nowhere”

grapes!

the house from the front

nicky’s spacious backyard

So things should be getting back to “normal” around here … if my blog even has a normal! It’s been fun including everyone on the trip, and I know that people have been so curious to see what our surroundings are like, to see the big difference it is to go from Hawaii to Western New York.  So it’s been fun.

But hopefully life will take on a more routine feeling and I’ll get back in the swing of things, around the house, with work, and here too!  I’m hoping that my energy levels keep soaring and before you know it I’ll be posting about running again, and who knows what!

I’m just so very glad to be where I am.  I’m feeling better in so many ways, and just being on the first page of a fresh chapter is so nice.  I’m so blessed to be with my Duggs, surrounded and supported my some amazing family and friends, and to have a whole new section of our story to set out on.  No matter how routinized daily life becomes, that aspect of where we’re at – that newness and that exciting looking-over-the-edge feeling won’t wear off for a while I don’t think, at least I hope it won’t!

Anyways.  For now, I’m quite happy to be posting from Fredonia.  And I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along with us on the trip!

As always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr

Running Into Tragedy

(Warning: sad content about a fatal motor vehicle accident).

Yesterday afternoon I went for a run.  Well, more accurately, it was a jog and walk mix up, doing three minute intervals of each.  Considering how sick I’ve been over the last few months and how little exercise I’ve gotten in (I haven’t gone on a run in way too long), I’m really rather proud of myself!

red faced and sweaty close up. yikes!

happy pooch on a run

It was a sun-filled, warm afternoon.  I wanted to get an idea of where I have to run around here, what the scenery and paths are like, sideswalks vs. grass, quiet roads vs. busy streets and so on.  I used my RunKeeper app to notice the mileage and keep track of landmarks – I now have a great idea of whereabouts my half-mile and mile marks are, etc.

these will be tall vineyards one day

on south roberts road, a little ways down from our house

The pooch was happy to stretch his legs.  The worst part about me being sick and not going for runs is that the pooch doesn’t get to go jog either.  Now, he’s had a lot of chance to play lately.  At the hotel in Hawaii there was a doggie park for him, all during our trip he got to hang out with other pooches and play, and without fenced-in yards – to go potty he was taken on walks.  So it’s not like he’s all cooped up… but the pooch LOVES going for runs with me.  He was so excited he pulled on the leash the entire time, to the point that it was straining and annoying.

exploring doggie

my jayjers

a little farm access road i found to jog down and get away from traffic

While I was out I had the music pumping, I took some fun snapshots with my iPhone camera.  I was really stoked for myself, exercising again, getting some sun, checking out my new home, etc.

a fun place to run, so green and open

I was on my way back to the house, jogging my last “run” interval when I looked further down the road and I saw a ton of dirt and dust clouding up into the air.  Traffic started backing up and I could see cars swerving and zig-zagging.  Something was wrong, and I could just tell.  It seemed like an accident.  So I took off in a sprint and tore down the road.

I am so out of shape, and I’m sore today already… but when I can tell something serious has happened, that lifeguard in me just responds and I sprinted the whole way there.  I got to scene and started yelling, “I’m an RN, is anyone hurt?”

I could see one conversion van, blue with handicap decals and a wheelchair ramp, just smashed to pieces and sticking out into the road at a weird, dangerous angle.  I saw a semi truck in the opposite lane pulled over, and who appeared to be the driver, trying to direct traffic.

a photo of the accident from observer today (link below)

From what I initially gathered, one man was dead and the other was fine – no one else claimed to have been involved and no one else said they were hurt.  The deceased was pinned underneath the rear axle of the blue van, and the scene was just horrendous.

Some volunteer firefighters on the scene started calling up more guys.  They said they would need a lot of help, and I asked if I should run home to get Duggs (“my husband’s a Marine – do you need him?” – “oh yeah, go get him now!”).

So I sprinted home as fast as I could, got Duggs and we hurried back to the accident.  It all happened a country block away from Nick’s house (where we live now) and we could see the whole thing from the end of our driveway.  By the time we got back there so many professionals were on the scene and taking care of everything, they didn’t need us at all and we were told we could go home.

we were really close to the wreck

standing in the driveway, looking toward the accident scene

Now.  I did take some photos with my phone.  I was worried that people were going to try and move the car or move the man, so since I was the first one on the scene with a camera – I just started taking some photos in case things weren’t left as is (I was just trying to do anything I could to help).  No.  I will not post those photos or share them.  I’m going to delete them actually, the officer directing the scene already told me he didn’t need them (it turns out they didn’t end up moving the vehicles or the man).

I went back home and I just felt so weird.  I was so sad for the man who died and for his family.  I know accidents happen all the time, people die everyday – but it’s sad when you deal with it firsthand, so up close.  And I was all mixed up.  I had been so happy, so excited to be out on a run – and now patting myself on the back felt weird.  It felt disrespectful or inappropriate.

But life has to go on, right?

I didn’t know the man who was killed yesterday.  I’m not suffering or grieving his loss.  But I know that many are, and that’s what makes me sad.  After we got back to the house I went out back to the vineyards and jogged, walked, prayed, and just cooled down.  I aksed God to bless the man who lost his life, to comfort his family, loved ones, the other driver and everyone involved.  Other than praying, I wasn’t really sure what to do.

happy pooch, running and playing

love the views of grape country

off leash running in back of the house, sprinting up and down the grassy access road between vineyards

Today in the news I saw the story about the accident.

Turns out the man who died was a very well-known and respected former public official: John Dillenburg.

john dillenburg, rest in peace – this is a photo of him they posted on the daily observer, from 1999

He’s been serving in government since the 70s, he was in the national guard and he went to State Ranger school out here.  His whole life he’s given back to his community and the people around him.  His wife of 45 years survives him, along with his daughter and grand-daughter.

Forty-five years of marriage.  Wow.

My heart breaks for his wife, and now I ask God to bring her comfort and peace.  I just can’t imagine what she’s going through.  I wish there would have been something we could have done, some way we could have helped or saved him.  But that’s not how this played out.  The only respite is that he didn’t suffer, it all must have happened so quickly.

Here’s the link to the news story, you can read all about his service and the work he did in this part of the country.

While I am happy to have gone on a run and to have worked out, I’m just left in an interesting state of mind.  I’ll take this experience as a call to appreciate life, to recognize how fragile we are, how fleeting and delicate life can be.  Each day is a gift, and every day we encounter so many blessings.

I’m in awe of God’s beautiful creation – coming from amazing Hawaii to wester New York, which although different in scenery, is another gorgeous, green, natural place.  I love living here so far, and I’m so grateful for my life.  I’m so grateful that I felt well enough to go running yesterday, that my husband and loved ones were alive and well at the end of the day.

Even on our worst days, there is so much gratitude to fill our hearts to overflowing.  Ever since having cancer, I try to approach and value every day as so special.  But it’s easy to get caught up, it’s easy to get into a routine and come to know distraction.

smiling, again – there’s lots to smile about and even more to be so grateful for.

So while yesterday is a tragedy and it’s sad, and the whole thing horrifies me and hurts my heart, at least I can try and take away some lessons.  A wake up call, a reminder, a poignant and painful lesson about just how precious every moment is.

I know I hugged Duggs much tighter than usual last night.  And I hope everyone who’s blessed enough to have your loved ones alive and well will do the same.  Be glad for all that you do have.

As always, thanks for reading my blog. 

 

Fancy Photos From the Road: Camp Curtis

More photos, I know! I’ve finally uploaded the nice pics from our good camera onto the computer and put together some posts from our trip around New York last week.

I already wrote about the lovely time we had visiting my sister and her boyfriend Jared in Pottersville, NY at their rustic and luxurious lake house on Valentine Pond, Camp Curtis (check out that post, here!)… but I owe y’all the rest of the photos from that leg of the trip.

And since my sister had so much fun messing with the camera, we took a TON of pics while we were there.  With so many animals, such pretty scenery and so much going on, how could you not just snap away all day?

So here’s a whole mess of photos from the few days we were there.  Thanks for looking!

i liked hearing them work out songs together, so cool

these two lovebirds playing together, so rad

oh jayjers

hard at work

surprise! there’s a stewart under there!

i love to listen to my hubs play, he’s so talented

pretty view!

josie

typical

one of my usual faces

on account of his arthritis, i made him a nice soft bed he could get in and out of easily. aww, puppy.

puppy fell asleep on the hard floor downstairs, and i couldn’t leave the ole guy down there all alone and cold

i was making a bed for puppy

zoey

jamming out

pooch buns!! how cute is this?

love this man with all my heart

we’re always cutting a rug

anna and puppy

stewart!

me and my pooch

anna bella

anna and duggs

jared, the musician

And as always (and I really do mean this), thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr

Fancy Photos From the Road – Long Island, NY

As promised, here are some of the “good” photos I took while we were on Long Island last week visting Duggs’ side of the family and a lot of our friends there.  In my earlier post, I used the snap shots from my iPhone (which aren’t so shabby), but now here are some better pics that we took with our real camera.

And even though we have a fair amount of pics, I wish I had taken more!  I always do.  It seems so annoying at the time to have out the camera and to nag everyone to pose and take pics.  But then after the fact, when you have nice photos, you’re always so glad you did it.  So my new thing is not being afraid to be the annoying one – because the benefit in the end is so worth it.

Okay.  Enough rambling, here’s from the wonderful time we had on Long Island with family, friends, loved ones near and dear:

Like I said, I wish I’d taken more photos.  These hardly paint the picture of the time we had there – no image can really encapsulate how nice it is to see family when it’s been so long since you were all last together.  But some are better than none, so I appreciate y’all checkin’ out the ones we did manage to take.

And next time someone’s pestering you to smile, think of the big picture – maybe the person with the camera writes a blog and they’re trying to fully illustrate a week-long road trip with oodles of pics.  Maybe!

As always, thanks for reading! xoxo, hhr

Happy Mom’s Day, Catching Up, and Other Bloggy Stuffs

I know most of my posts have been about our big move.  It’s been pretty consuming.  Don’t think the ole wheels upstairs aren’t turning though!

After staying in so many different households over the past couple weeks, I’m excited to work on some posts about my happy hippie ways that have saved us money and helped to run our home in an eco-friendly way.  I’ve been passing on my tips to our gracious hosts along the way, and it made me think that I should do a post with a bunch of my household tips and tricks!  So that’s on my mind.   Of course I want to show off all the photos from the trip (from the nice camera, I haven’t posted any of those yet) and I want to show off Fredonia and what we’ve been up to here.

Oh, and the climate change has inspired me to keep track of my outfits.  Hehe… it’s not the same style that I could get away with in Hawaii.  So it’s been fun dressing in layers and changing my daily garb.  So there’s that too!

in pottersville on a dreary day- i’m wearing jeans, boots, and long sleeves. i can’t remember the last time i had all this on at the same time. it’s fun!

In good time, once I have more magical interwebs power I will post lots of fun and exciting happy hippie idears and posts (I know I always say that, but really I’ve been on the ball the past several days – Idk if it’s getting away from the moldy house or just moving in general, but man has my energy and motivation been coming back to me.  I’ve been incredible industrious since we’ve arrived in Fredonia – it’s outstanding!).

For now though, it’s great just to say hi!  I hope everyone is doing well.

To all the mothers out there, I hope y’all had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!! We spent the afternoon at my Aunt Patty’s house and had a lovely family dinner.  It was great.  I hope all the mommies out there spent time with your loved ones and were able to feel the love and appreciation that so many have for you!

aunt patty and nick, yesterday at dinner celebrating mother’s day and us being up here finally!

…I have to admit, it’s a holiday that’s a bit bittersweet for me… I can’t wait to be a mom someday and get to enjoy the celebration in a different way.  It’s certainly a day that made me wistful.

But I know things all happen for a reason, and that God’s got us covered.  So when the time is right, I know our family will grow.  And until then, I’m all about make the best of the millions of blessings we sure do have!  There’s a lot of exploring to do in our new home, so much to see and do, so many new places to check out.

Even though Mother’s Day made me a teensy bit sad, it’s a very exciting and happy time for us.  And sharing in that positive energy is so fun for me.  So keep your fingers crossed that we’re able to get some decent high speed and then I’ll be back up and running in full effect!

As always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, hhr