Unexpected Beauty

Lizzard Loves unexpected beauty.

So many pretty colors jammed in one tight little space!

I was struck by the shock & tangle of colorful wire in a junction box in our dining room. Our home is still majorly under construction & much of what is happening there is quite ugly.

Like the mud pit. 

Yeah. Our backyard is a mud pit wasteland!

Or the guy cleaning out the porta potty. 

Don't get me wrong - I appreciate it being cleaned, but
the process is pretty ugly.

But not this. This struck me as beautiful. Maybe it is all the color in a room that is now covered in white drywall including the ceiling (hooray for drywall by the way. Lizzard also desperately Loves drywall - it means we are inching ever closer to moving into our home). Maybe part of its beauty lies in the amount of work I saw go into wiring our house. Hours & hours of work by 3 great guys. The time from mid December to mid March was occupied by filling in the "guts" of our house - it was a slow process to install new plumbing, HVAC & electrical. There is a certain beauty in the almost finished product pictured above. If you want to read more about our "house to a home" project, we have a blog about it.

As per usual, I'd love to know where you have found unexpected beauty recently! Please feel free to share in the comments :)

Voting

Lizzard Loves to vote.

Only once - no "vote early, vote often" for this girl ;)

Why? Because in a year when I've felt really quite out of control in many ways; I can assert my opinions in a concrete way. Right there on paper, I connected the lines next to the candidates whose policy & plans I support. Slid that paper into the balloting machine, a couple quick beeps later & my voice had officially been heard! Democracy hinges on participation. We can not be apathetic in this regard - it is too important to assume "someone else is going to do it". We owe it to ourselves to take the few minutes out of our day to vote. It is a privilege that so many around the world hope, fight & pray for; don't squander it!

Now, please dear God, let this election season be over- its killing me! November can't come soon enough!

Family Winter Fun

Lizzard Loves winter, you know this already! 

As today is the first day of spring 

(though it dawned feeling like it was in the 20s....there's Chicago weather for you!) 

I'm looking back at all the fun outdoor adventures we had this winter.

I also love spending winter with my family including my nieces and nephews!

Here is an assortment of things that have made me happy this winter, all of it family related:

Miss Anne's first ice skate

Miss Anne's first ice skate

Anne's first downhill ski

Chris came for the big day too :)

Meeting up with this smiling face at the Gunnison airport

Hennie's amazing ability to sleep
while Marg & I snowshoed!

Hennie's first downhill ski!

Marg, Hennie & my first time fat biking

Shredding the gnar with my sissy

Bluebird days in the mountains

Hiking with the adventurous Samantha,
why would you use the bridge to cross
the creek??

Hiking with Chris & Samantha