Sunday 19 October 2014

Time To Turn The Page

Wow! You must think I died or something! Nope... Just kind of had a writer's block for a while I guess... So let's see if the break did anything to improve my skills at all! Haha!

The year has literally flown by in a blink of an eye! As I sit here writing this I am staring out my window at my backyard and can see the beautiful trees changing color and I am stunned that it is already Fall.



Geese are honking over head, practicing for their flight South soon. Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of spending Thanksgiving with most of my family out East. My nieces and nephews there are growing so fast and are such a blast to be with! I keep telling my sisters to enjoy this period of time in their lives (as the baby throws up on one sister and my other sister has to break up the kids who are fighting in the other room! Ha!).



This Fall marks the final year I have a 'child' in high school. My baby boy will be graduating and all my young men will be working on that age old question... 'What do I want to be when I grow up?'... also know as the "how long can I live at mom & dad's now before they get annoyed and demand rent??" My oldest is 22 and has figured it out. As long as he's a perpetual student, he's safe! Ha! Everyone cross your fingers that the 2 younger ones don't follow suit! Heehee!

Each chapter of our lives seems so intense and 'forever' when we are in the moment. Pregnancy seems like the longest 40 weeks EVER! Then all of a sudden here's this beautiful child in your arms. That seems never ever to want to sleep! Or be potty trained. Then all of a sudden he's starting his final year of high school and you think.. Whoa! Did I blink?

I look over my shoulder and see my mom with her seemingly endless supply of energy. Mentally I know she's getting older... but I'm not ready to turn that page yet too. I love her the way she is.



Fall is so beautiful. The crisp cool air, the gorgeous colors, the anticipation of warm evenings by a fire. Time to turn the page on the next chapter of the year.



Glad to be back! Missed chatting with you all! Enjoy those warm toddies at the football games and hope it doesn't snow before the kiddies go trick or treating at the end of the month...

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Listen To The Song Of My People

Good morning to you all and I hope you are having a glorious last day of April. I know I am procrastinating instead of getting some much needed paper work taken care of, but it can wait another few minutes til I've finished my coffee our chat today! Ha!

I am staring out my bedroom window at an endless blue sky and that warm Spring air coming in the window and it just feels so darn good! Right now it blissfully quiet except for the birds chirping and the occasional dog bark, but soon this silence will be broken by the neighborhood 'battle of the bands'.

I don't know how it is around your house, but here in little suburbia, weekends are a pressure keg of 'git her done!'. If you aren't up to date on the local red neck lingo... Basically it means everyone is up mowing lawns, heading to Home Depot, gardening centers, Walmart etc etc and then they start working outside... with 'their' music.

Now don't get me wrong... I'm pretty open minded about most types of music. If I get a choice.. I'm usually going to put country on. (I usually don't get a choice... Ha!) And this is where the problem comes is...no one seems to agree on a music genre around here. One neighbor has rock blasting, another has pop... Some teens down the way play stuff that make my ears bleed...each competing to be louder than the other. Sigh.. I'm getting old!

But something wonderful happens later in the day. As people finish their chores and head inside or off to other places, one by one all the competing 'bands' go silent until all you hear are the birds again, and maybe some children laughing and playing. As the sun sets, sometimes we have a fire and watch the stars come out. The kids like having their music on then... and if I'm really lucky, they even let me pick my country station!

Here's to warm Spring days and listening to the songs of their people!

Monday 28 April 2014

Would You?

Good afternoon to all my family & friends spread out all over this wonderful planet we call it home. I hope the Spring sunshine is warming your souls and refreshing your spirits after what has seemed like an endless winter. (at least here in Canada!)

It's been glorious to wake to the sounds of the chickadees chirping and robins singing in my yard! This weekend it was so sweet to see bunch of little things sparrows fluttering in the birdbath just outside my living room window. My dogs were just going crazy knowing that they were so close yet unattainable! Ha!

My husband & I also celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary this weekend. (I was a child bride! Ha!) I have officially been married longer than I have been single. What a crazy thought. I remember all the excitement before the wedding.. all the plans.. all our expectations for our future. And as I look back at that young bride and groom and what they had 'planned' for themselves, what they thought those wedding vows meant as they said them, I think to myself "Would I do it if I knew what was coming ahead?".

My husband & I had this conversation a few weeks ago, and it's interesting to REALLY think about it. Of course your immediate reaction is to say, "of course I would!!". But I threw in a curve ball as we discussed it. I said to him what if we saw all the stuff ahead of us... the good, the bad, celebrations, sadness... everything that picking the journey with that partner would entail. You can't change any of it. You just have a heads up.

He said then you could be better prepared for the hard stuff. But what if you live WAITING for the hard stuff. You KNOW it's coming... you were warned when you 'signed' on. I said maybe if you saw all the hard stuff coming (financial struggles, sickness...) you might say that life path with that partner will be too hard and you will keep searching for that elusive 'perfect' person.

It was an interesting conversation and the options were endless. By the time I had finished irratating him with the 'what ifs' we had had a pretty good debate. Ha! One thing we did agree on though. Everyone has days where they think that they should have done something different with their lives, but in the end, we all celebrate life's successes & support each other during hard times. Some of our wedding vows are truly put to the test, while others are as easy to do as the first day we said them.

Would I pick this journey again...?
Absolutely! It's been quite a ride!

Tuesday 1 April 2014

April Fool!


Good April First to you all! I hope the tricksters haven't been too bad to you... well a little bad would be good! If you were fooled or did some fooling this year I would love to hear about it! Or send me a picture too!

I think Mother Nature is playing the longest April Fool's joke ever. If this winter ever ends (according to the calendar it has.. according to my window it has not!) I think I am seriously going to look into learning how to build igloos and train my dogs to pull a sled! Who knows? These might prove to be great life skills in the coming ice age.. Ha!


I jest of course! We all know that the Earth is heating up not cooling down. (ya right, Mother Nature! Ha Ha!) Scientists show us pictures of polar ice caps melting and poor polar bears stranded on small chunks of ice... I say send the bears here to Alberta! It's frigging cold here!


But alas.. rumour has it that Spring is just around the corner. Bird song is in the air. The sunshine is definitely that warmer Spring sun, and the days are getting longer! Last night it was still bright until 8:30pm!

So Mother Nature... Whatever medication you forgot to take back in February or March... smarten up and get this season thing back on track. This joke isn't funny anymore and I, for one, am anxious to get my hands in the dirt and plant stuff and get my usual sunburn!

Happy April 1st Everyone!

Friday 14 March 2014

Dry Brown Grass

Good morning everyone! I am hoping that the longer days and warmer spring sunshine are touching that weary winter soul within you and renewing it with the freshness of a new season upon us.
Who knew that seeing a few patches of dry brown grass would excite me as much as it has this year! Every morning I check out my window to see the progress the warmth of the sunshine has had on the old hard dirty snow. My front garden is where I have the brave little crocuses pop up as soon as they possibly can, so I check every day to see if there is any signs of their brave little spikes.
My fingers just itch walking into hardware stores... Seeds... New planters... New bird feeders.. Bird baths... Solar lights... Stain for the deck.. Paint for the door... Ahhhhh! To be outside and enjoy the birdsong and fresh air. Long walks with my dogs and watch them run and chase dandelion fluffy and grasshoppers. I know! I'm getting ahead of myself... But I saw those patches of brown grass!
Those patches hold such promise to us. We survived another hard winter! We have the promise of those wonderful warm days ahead. Those lazy days bring neighbours and friends out of their winter hiding and gather around BBQ's and fire pits & pool parties.
It's funny the things that inspire us! May you find your patch of brown grass today and be excited for what tomorrow brings! Old Man Winter is almost done! Long live the power of the brown grass! Ha!

Thursday 13 February 2014

Happy Heart Day!

Wow! Incredible how time flies... Hope you are all keeping warm. Maybe enjoying your favorite hot beverage or hot toddy while cheering on your country during these winter
Olympics.(Go Canada!)

It's been very heart warming to hear the stories coming from the Olympics. How friendships are forged and how no matter where each of our Olympians place, we as a nation are proud of each one.

This kind of makes me think of our families & friends, especially this close to Valentines Day. We are like our own little nations... with close friends who fill special niches in our lives, maybe some neighbors are a bit of a... Ummm... 'struggle' to form an alliances with (Ha!)

And each struggle and chat over a fence. Every call or video chat with family & friends near and far makes me realize how special each and every one of you are. (Ha! I'm a poet!)

In this day and age it's such a gift to be able to pick up a phone and hear a loved ones voice, or type a few words & let your teenagers know you love them with out embarrassing them in front of their friends. Ha! Another favorite of mine is Facetime with everyone. Living so far away doesn't feel so far for a few minutes when you have kids dancing & singing & telling you stories. It's almost like being right there in the room with them.

I have a pretty fantastic 'nation' and at the very core of it is a very awesome family. I know we put the 'fun'  in dysfunctional way more often than we should, but at the end of the day, I have wonderful husband who works hard to keep our 'nation's capital' with a roof and food. And I also have 4 great guys living here who are each my favorites! Heehee! Luv Ya guys!

Happy Heart Day Everyone! But especially to my family & friends... For without you all I would just be a crazy dog lady!