On Day 15, I finally hung pictures, fixed a couple of lamps and put the remaining finishing touches on my house. My neighbor, Jenny, had moved in next door at the same time that the pipe had burst in my house in January. I’d told her that I’d get her over for the ten-cent tour as soon as I had everything put back together.

So, in the afternoon, once everything was in place and sufficiently clean, I headed out to the back fence and called over to Jenny to come take a look. Jenny’s in her late 20s and very different from me so I was surprised at her ooohs and ahhhs over my interior design. The unexpected delight was the joy that I felt just sharing the house with someone new. Now, I can’t wait to have more people come to visit.

Day 16 was glorious. The weather was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, when I headed forty minutes north of here for beautiful Door County, Wisconsin with my sister Linda and sister-in-law Patti. Patti was nearly finished with her own construction project ~ adding a second floor to their cottage. We did some work around the house ~ hanging pictures and rearranging furniture ~ but we also took some time to lounge in the water. At Patti’s insistence, I grabbed a floatie from the shed and laid on my belly with my face in the leg hole opening to watch the aquatic life. It was like a little glass bottom boat without the glass. I was amazed at how clear everything looked. The sun illuminated the colors to the point of brilliance. There was detail in the seaweed and plant life that you could never see while you were standing or even sitting in the water. I hoped that a minnow would swim by but I couldn’t stay still enough in the water.

When I got home and told my daughter about my new experience, she told me that the kids had been doing that for years. Well, it was still new for me!

Yesterday, Day 17, the world kept feeding me a super-size portion of irritation. How could I wake up feeling like that when the day before had been so glorious?! By days end, I knew I had to shake things up. I wasn’t even thinking of new experiences. I just wanted to get away to somewhere, anywhere that wouldn’t be here.

I got in the car and drove. I thought, “Okay, just lead me somewhere where it’s nice and maybe I can get out and walk for awhile.” When I found myself turning on familiar streets, I just rolled my eyes. More irritation. But, I kept driving and ended up not too far from my house in a subdivision that I didn’t even know existed. I turned the corner and parked as soon as I saw the entrance markers.

The neighborhood was nice. Pristine lawns, well-kept houses that were large but not huge, and a few pretty gardens that enhanced the landscapes. I got out and started walking.

It was really quiet. Sunday evening and no one was around. I was pretty much moving in unplanned directions, not knowing where these streets would take me and not caring either. As I turned west, the houses and yards began to get bigger and more opulent. I became aware of the prosperity and abundance that lived just a few short miles from my house. Now I was really enjoying this walk, checking out all the architectural eye-candy that the neighborhood offered. When I reached the top of a hill and headed north, I was blown away by the house in the middle of that block. It wasn’t a house. It was a castle ~ three spires on the roof and everything.

By the time I got back to my car, I had worked up a sweat, relieved the irritation and drank in some sweet possibilities. And I’d found a new place to walk. The magic of the whole experience was way too much.

I think something else that’s new and exciting is about to happen!