PURPLE DOOR HOME: Warm Weather, Wine and Whitewashing!

A perfect February vacation with a nice blend of home & NH, friends & family, and skiing & chilling. We started the week at home and then came to NH on Sunday afternoon. The Nealon family joined us Sunday night and The Smith's and King's had rented my brother's house so they came over to join us after dinner. They insisted on walking home and then proceeded to get lost walking back and ended up spending 45 minutes wandering the dirt roads and finally throwing snowballs at Duck Head when they couldn't rouse us! They have requested Myles Away signs to mark the path back to Chris and KT's! We skied Sunapee Monday with 19 of us!! So fun to see our little and big munchies all skiing together! And to see Kelsey back on the slopes again after her back injury. She didn't miss a beat!

Me & my guy. Thanks Laurie for the pic!

We came back here that night and had a huge Mexican potluck and feasted! Fun to see our kids get along as well as we all do!! So glad ML and Moc rented my brother and KT's place. It would have been cramped fitting everyone in Duck Head with everyone's ski gear! Truthfully we've never fit four families here. Three is a squeeze and ideally just two families fit best in our small quarters. When the kids were all in my kitchen I realized how big they are all getting!! And none of them are full grown yet!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these women and their kids! So fun to think we went to elementary school together and now our kids are great friends!

Tuesday we went to a small spot in Claremont called Arrowhead Recreation for tubing and many of the kids tried snowboarding for the first time. The price can't be beat. The lines were insane when we arrived but when we realized the entire place was run by volunteers we saw it through a new lens and MaryLee and Eric were even teaching other's kids how to use the tow rope and ski and snowboard. It was a gorgeous day and so much fun tubing and snowboarding together. The Kings and Nealons left that afternoon and the Smiths and Henry hung out with us that night before hitting the road.

Our boarders. Brennan was their teacher since he was the only one that had done it before!

Please Mom can the Smith's come over tonight?!

Wednesday we had a family ski day and skied over 23 runs. It was unseasonably warm and we enjoyed skiing with our jackets off! Before we hit the slopes we chatted with an 85 + skier he even had the patches on his jacket to prove it! He was watching us all get ready and said nothing better than a day skiing with the kids! Later we chatted with another senior on the chair lift who pointed us towards his favorite double black diamond Goose Bumps! Rod and I rode up with a man and his son in the afternoon and mentioned we'd been at Arrowhead the day before. He couldn't believe it as that is where his dad had learned to ski when they grew up coming to a tiny little lake you've probably never heard of called Crescent Lake. He described the exact turns and dirt roads and signs on trees to our house. Turns out he was in the very next cove in a cottage called Haven. Small world! Big messages. These are the memories our kids will treasure for a lifetime! So glad we are able to share them with them!!

Love skiing and riding the lift with my girlies!

I ended up staying in NH a few extra days this week while the kids and Rod headed home to work, hang with friends and sleep in their own beds. They all wanted to go home but I didn't. So I stayed. Me and the dogs. I didn't have a car and I had whitewashing on my brain and plenty of food in the pantry so I was good to go. I coordinated rides for all the girls activities so I knew I could stay and Rod could work and off they went. We had skied all day so I was already tired but I poured a glass of cabernet and got started!

First off was the kitchen. We had known we might start whitewashing this week so we had all the supplies but when the Smith's came over Tuesday night we realized we weren't going to start together. I had forgotten to pack work clothes so I basically spent the next two days in pjs so I didn't wreck my good jeans or yoga pants that I'd brought for skiing. I've never whitewashed before so I decided to start behind the fridge. Two cups white flat ceiling paint mixed with 1 cup of water. Brush on one board at a time and wipe off with a cotton cloth as you go. When I first started I felt like you could barely tell the difference and I wanted a dramatic change in the kitchen. We have a lot of pine walls in the cottage which I love and find charming but in the kitchen with only one tiny window it is very dark. The space is small so I wanted it to feel brighter and airier and perhaps a little bigger. I sent Rod lots of progress pictures in case he hated it and had second thoughts. Not sure what I would have done about it if he had!!

About half way done!

Finished!

I love painting. Besides the arm, finger and hand pain I find it very relaxing. I was thinking yesterday that it is almost meditative to me. I've been so sick the past few months and so unable to accomplish anything but daily living that it felt good to dive in and get some work done! I don't mind staying in NH alone. I enjoy the solitude and quiet especially when I have something that would take Rod and I multiple nights to accomplish in 2-3 hour stints. I'd rather put in a few 8-10 hour days and plug away at a job than do the same over the course of 9 nights!! My arm was killing me at the end of day one. Ten hours may have been pushing it. I could barely throw the ball to the dogs! But then I started the master bedroom! Why finish one room when you can finish two!

I did rest for a minute...my outfit for 2 1/2 days...pjs!

I love the lake and Duck Head cottage. But I have a hard time relaxing when I wake up to at least 4 shades of wood in one room. Time to do something about it!

The view from bed day two. I like it! Time to get up and finish!

Getting there!

Finally getting my groove!

The view from bed after I finished! I just had to lay down!

This before and after makes the worth work it!

After I finished I cleaned up, took a shower, changed into some new clothes, sat in the windowseat to enjoy the view of the lake, visited with my sister-in-law and nephews, played ball with the dogs and took a nice long walk. It's so warm here today. I had the door to the balcony open while painting. Perfect night for a fire. Rod and the girls will be here any minute!!