An Update & Our Upcoming Trip to Charleston & Savannah

Hello dear friends,

As you may have noticed, post-wedding I took the rest of the summer off from blogging!  I am happy to report my indolence has been without equal.  

I have missed you.  But not enough to raise my head from the pillow to say hello.

I was truly exhausted after the wedding.  It took me a while to stop looking at wedding magazines and Pinterest boards, to be honest.  But once I gave up that, I felt completely spent.  I almost felt like I'd borne some sort of wedding baby and then given it up for adoption.  I longed for it daily.  

I'm sure plenty of brides feel like this post-wedding, when they are suddenly sans purpose.  There is so much energy and intellect invested in the planning.  I'm sure that others feel the same sort of void after any long project of passion, which culminates in a single day of celebration.  There's this existential "who am I" that creeps in after all that passion is laid down and your soul is poured out.  Or maybe only introverts feel like this...

I did visit my Mom briefly but kept the trip very quiet so I didn't have to visit all over town. I just needed mental space, privacy, and to turn completely off and be with my Mom.  I wanted no commitments, no plans.  

I did visit a charming little antique shop when I was home and found these divine dinner plates (Furnivals), a set of 11.  A few are quite dark while the rest are a lighter blue:

These will work great with all my white and gold Limoges china.

My Mom was in the midst of a little renovation work when I was home, installing some new windows in her little 1940's house.  Four new windows went in on the west side along with two new front dormers in front (not shown).  

All the new windows are double-hung which means both the top and bottom panes are moveable (up and down) and also can be tilted into the room (hinged at the bottom) for easy cleaning.  Gorgeous windows with lovely trim work and nice sills inside.

The bathroom window (the horizontal one) is an awning style (opens out like an awning, so you can leave it open in the rain).  They have a very heavy winter out east, and the windows will really help with energy efficiency this winter.  She burns wood mostly, but also oil. You can see the spot awaiting her new (beige) oil tank, with its new cement pad.  I didn't think of it, but oil tanks need to be replaced every 10-15 years as they can corrode inside and then you have an environmental mess on your hands (not to mention no heating oil!)

Shortly after returning to Calgary, this happened on September 10th:  

We may be winter-hardy Canadians but we were all utterly appalled to have snow in September.  Since all our trees were still covered in leaves, the soft wet snow weighed the trees down heavily and caused mass destruction around the city.  People lost power for hours, and there were numerous small fires and damage to homes as trees weighed down with snow fell atop hydro wires and homes:

Our apple tree.  Not impressed.  After this photo I went out and knocked snow off branches for half an hour, saving our tree from damage as many trees lost branches from the weight of snow.  Our power was out for 9 hours.  The house was 15C (60F) when the power came back on as the furnace was off all day.  It was around freezing outside.  Some people were without power for days.

After the snow debacle, it warmed up to summertime temperatures again, thank heaven.

For our next adventure, we will soon leave for our honeymoon in South Carolina!

If you have any suggestions for decor, dining and sightseeing in Charleston, Savannah, Fripp Island, or neighboring towns, please send them!  It looks like foodie heaven, and we already have home and plantation tours planned for Charleston, as well as some historic sites (Fort Sumter) and a list of shops to visit in historic downtown Charleston and Savannah.

Please send your suggestions!

xo Terri