I'm writing this in lieu of a Christmas letter thus saving trees and postage.
Once again the Christmas season is upon us. The earth is covered with a beautiful blanket of snow, the trees are all frosted, houses are decorated and people are ready with a smile and a 'merry Christmas'.
Like my mother did, I love the season and all the glitter and good will. Christmas was her favorite time of the year and she left us in time to spend Christmas in heaven 12 years ago.
I must admit that it is hard for me to get into the spirit of Christmas lately as I miss my mom and dad and Howard. I also miss my friends and our shopping excursions and the Christmas Eve party. I really miss having my son with me even though when he was still living with me, he was often off with his own life and friends.
Christmas is also a time for reflection as the year draws to a close and I find myself wondering what the new year will hold in store for me. I think it is time for me to make some changes in my life - one being that it is time for me to start to give of myself by volunteering. I need to find out what is available in the area - food bank, reading with kids/adults, driving the elderly to appointments, etc.
My year in recap - I started as a consultant for PartyLite and then attended conference in Ottawa. While I was so close, I decided to head to Pembroke to visit my sister and niece. Pembroke is on the edge of the Canadian Shield and is a beautiful place to visit.
In December, I went with a friend and her sister to Mexico for a week of sun and surf. While there I was able to go parasailing - a terrifyingly awesome experience! We also went snorkeling a couple times and I was able to see some sea turtles, coral and some colourful fish. I just love snorkeling!
After my trip to Ontario, I was given a new kitten. She is a beautiful tabby with a wonderful personality. She magically climbed into my heart from the moment I first got her - thus her name is Majik. Misty has become her buddy and vice versa and my M & M girls bring me lots of laughs with their antics and they are both cuddlers so my lap and shoulders often have a warm body or two on them.
Branigan is still enjoying his life as a bachelor and his work. He still rides his bike as often as possible and plans to take it with him on our trip to Italy next summer. He makes me so proud as he is maturing from an amazing kid to an awesome young man to a wonderful adult. I love him so much!!
I am still enjoying retirement. Someone told me that I'd go through a grieving process after I quit work and I laughed at that. No grieving from me about leaving work unless you count the fact that I miss a couple of my co-workers and the nice pay cheque every two weeks. I am able to go when and where I want and my only restrictions are my kitties and my house. I think I've only worn a watch once or twice since I retired and the only time I really have to pay attention to the time is when I have an appointment. I only wish is that I could have brought my friends with me.
My Christmas plans are to celebrate early with my friend and her kids (who I often refer to as my 'grandkids') then off to Moose Jaw to spend Christmas and boxing day with my sister and family.
2013 is sure to hold a lot of new adventures for me - meeting new people and seeing new places. I hope it holds lots of wonders for you as well.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Here we are in November already and winter is here to stay. We didn't get our usual snow that melted in a day or two followed by a few nice days - what we called Indian Summer when I was growing up. Wonder how politically correct that is now and if it isn't, what has replaced the term?
Not much happening in my area of the woods. Made a short trip to Moose Jaw and ended up sampling the care at the emergency department overnight. Nothing major, just a quick tune up.
One good thing about the snow (other than it is pretty) is that it has gotten me more excited about my upcoming trip to Mexico. Sun, surf, snorkeling and sipping margaritas - wish I was already there! Just a bit over a week to go!
Small town life definitely has some bonuses that you wouldn't find in a city or even in a bigger town. When the snow fell, I was totally unprepared (as usual) and had a trip planned to the Moose. I needed my winter tires put on before I headed out on the highways but I had only 1 day to get the job done or I'd be driving with my summer tires. I called the local garage and they were able to squeeze me in even though they were swamped with tire changes for other unprepared souls. The proprieter said she didn't want me driving on my summer tires on the icy roads. Not only did they squeeze me in for the change, but they came to the house and loaded the tires in the car for me! Wonderful people, great service and very reasonable costs. I know someone who will be getting a nice Christmas gift!
I've been thinking about putting up some Christmas decorations outside but have been much too lazy to dig them out and then have to brave the cold weather to put them up. I don't really feel like making the effort as I expect to spend the holiday either away or home alone. I will decorate inside a bit though - after all, I have all my lovely Partylite to display and enjoy. I did get moving and set up some of my decorations. Now I just have to find lights and decide what I want to do for a tree. I don't think I'll be setting up a big tree - I can just imagine Majik's delight in exploring one. I have a hanging 'tree' that my sis and I made but it is buried in the storage room somewhere. I'll keep you posted on what I decide and maybe even post a picture.
Majik went to the vet last week to be spayed and declawed. I seriously thought about not declawing her but she was scratching the hell out of Misty as well as the furniture and me. I spent way too much money on my furniture to have her ruin it. I only have one pet carrier and took both cats into the vet (Misty needed her shots). Majik travels not too bad and is somewhat used to it whereas Misty has only been in a car for vet trips (few and far between as we had a vet who made housecalls) and to move here. The trip was uneventful - they didn't even sing for me on the way but Misty sang a chorus or two of 'Don't Fence Me In' on the way home.
In case you didn't notice, I made a few changes on my blog. Now you can link to my Pinterest boards, the blogs I'm following and some of my favorite sites. Still needs a bit of tweeking but it's getting there.
Well, I must sign off for now and get some housework done. I sure wish I could fold my arms and nod and all the work would be done!
― Stanley Gordon West, Growing an Inch
Not much happening in my area of the woods. Made a short trip to Moose Jaw and ended up sampling the care at the emergency department overnight. Nothing major, just a quick tune up.
One good thing about the snow (other than it is pretty) is that it has gotten me more excited about my upcoming trip to Mexico. Sun, surf, snorkeling and sipping margaritas - wish I was already there! Just a bit over a week to go!
Small town life definitely has some bonuses that you wouldn't find in a city or even in a bigger town. When the snow fell, I was totally unprepared (as usual) and had a trip planned to the Moose. I needed my winter tires put on before I headed out on the highways but I had only 1 day to get the job done or I'd be driving with my summer tires. I called the local garage and they were able to squeeze me in even though they were swamped with tire changes for other unprepared souls. The proprieter said she didn't want me driving on my summer tires on the icy roads. Not only did they squeeze me in for the change, but they came to the house and loaded the tires in the car for me! Wonderful people, great service and very reasonable costs. I know someone who will be getting a nice Christmas gift!
I've been thinking about putting up some Christmas decorations outside but have been much too lazy to dig them out and then have to brave the cold weather to put them up. I don't really feel like making the effort as I expect to spend the holiday either away or home alone. I will decorate inside a bit though - after all, I have all my lovely Partylite to display and enjoy. I did get moving and set up some of my decorations. Now I just have to find lights and decide what I want to do for a tree. I don't think I'll be setting up a big tree - I can just imagine Majik's delight in exploring one. I have a hanging 'tree' that my sis and I made but it is buried in the storage room somewhere. I'll keep you posted on what I decide and maybe even post a picture.
Majik went to the vet last week to be spayed and declawed. I seriously thought about not declawing her but she was scratching the hell out of Misty as well as the furniture and me. I spent way too much money on my furniture to have her ruin it. I only have one pet carrier and took both cats into the vet (Misty needed her shots). Majik travels not too bad and is somewhat used to it whereas Misty has only been in a car for vet trips (few and far between as we had a vet who made housecalls) and to move here. The trip was uneventful - they didn't even sing for me on the way but Misty sang a chorus or two of 'Don't Fence Me In' on the way home.
In case you didn't notice, I made a few changes on my blog. Now you can link to my Pinterest boards, the blogs I'm following and some of my favorite sites. Still needs a bit of tweeking but it's getting there.
Well, I must sign off for now and get some housework done. I sure wish I could fold my arms and nod and all the work would be done!
“Smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone.”
― Stanley Gordon West, Growing an Inch
Thursday, 18 October 2012
The Month of Remember
I am renaming this month Remember.
It seems I've been doing a lot of reminiscing these past 2 weeks. Some in a melancholy way but mostly in a 'do you remember when _____ did _____?' way. Oh my goodness the fun times had while remembering people, places and events from past lives.
For example, an old friend recently sent me some photos of me and my cronies all dolled up for K-Days (what they used to call the Edmonton Exhibition). I think that was the one and only time I ever dressed up for the occasion. There were 4 of us gals - 2 were dressed as dance hall girls and myself and one other girl were dolled up as if we were fancy ladies. What on earth was I thinking when I got dressed that evening? My outfit was brilliant yellow and white and of course had feathers - I looked like a canary out of one of S. Dali's paintings! Thank heaven I wasn't as fluffy as I am now. We looked like we were having a great time. My memories of the event are fuzzy but I vaguely remember us prancing around and showing off our garters from time to time (I had legs back then) - very unladylike behaviour indeed!.
Another friend and I recently enjoyed a few good laughs as we reminisced about when we worked together many years ago. That was way back in the day when it was actually fun to go to work and it was the norm to spend at least some of the shift laughing until your belly hurt. Oh the stories I could tell about working in that hospital....but that is for another day. Let's just say that patient care was handled differently than it is these days. Just thinking about some of these stories has me chuckling as I type this.
This month has also had some hilarious family remembrances as well as some sad ones, sometimes mixed up together. For example, when friends and family got together to remember Howard there was sadness at his being gone from us but also many fun memories of some of his notorious antics.
Memories should be taken out, dusted off and enjoyed rather than locked away until they are forgotten. Even those memories that aren't so pleasant should get an occasional dusting as they are a part of our history and helped to make us the people we are today (just leave the unpleasant feelings in the box).
This month of Remember, pull out the family album or get together with someone from your past. Have a few laughs, shed a few tears and share some of those old memories. You'll find that the more you share, the more you'll remember.
It seems I've been doing a lot of reminiscing these past 2 weeks. Some in a melancholy way but mostly in a 'do you remember when _____ did _____?' way. Oh my goodness the fun times had while remembering people, places and events from past lives.
For example, an old friend recently sent me some photos of me and my cronies all dolled up for K-Days (what they used to call the Edmonton Exhibition). I think that was the one and only time I ever dressed up for the occasion. There were 4 of us gals - 2 were dressed as dance hall girls and myself and one other girl were dolled up as if we were fancy ladies. What on earth was I thinking when I got dressed that evening? My outfit was brilliant yellow and white and of course had feathers - I looked like a canary out of one of S. Dali's paintings! Thank heaven I wasn't as fluffy as I am now. We looked like we were having a great time. My memories of the event are fuzzy but I vaguely remember us prancing around and showing off our garters from time to time (I had legs back then) - very unladylike behaviour indeed!.
Another friend and I recently enjoyed a few good laughs as we reminisced about when we worked together many years ago. That was way back in the day when it was actually fun to go to work and it was the norm to spend at least some of the shift laughing until your belly hurt. Oh the stories I could tell about working in that hospital....but that is for another day. Let's just say that patient care was handled differently than it is these days. Just thinking about some of these stories has me chuckling as I type this.
This month has also had some hilarious family remembrances as well as some sad ones, sometimes mixed up together. For example, when friends and family got together to remember Howard there was sadness at his being gone from us but also many fun memories of some of his notorious antics.
Memories should be taken out, dusted off and enjoyed rather than locked away until they are forgotten. Even those memories that aren't so pleasant should get an occasional dusting as they are a part of our history and helped to make us the people we are today (just leave the unpleasant feelings in the box).
This month of Remember, pull out the family album or get together with someone from your past. Have a few laughs, shed a few tears and share some of those old memories. You'll find that the more you share, the more you'll remember.
Friday, 12 October 2012
Memories of a Friend
It has been 5 years now since my best friend, husband and sometimes adversary was taken from this world.
When Howard died, I was enveloped in a self pitying fog and all I could think of was how much I hurt. I tried to focus on my son's hurt but that was as far out as I could reach. It seemed to take a long time before I could start to acknowledge that other people were hurting just as much. It seems strange to say it but I remember being truly surprised to realize that his brother and his family were also hurting.
I think that day was the turning point for me - when I went from being so wrapped up in my own misery to accepting the fact that he was indeed gone from this life and wasn't coming back no matter how hard I wished. It wasn't really such a great step from this point to deciding that I had to choose between curling up into a ball and letting life pass me by or pulling myself up out of the fog and making a new life for myself. I've seen people who have chosen both paths and absolutely refused to allow myself to wallow in self pity and withdraw from friends and family. I opted to embrace life and honour his memory by moving on. I am eternally grateful to my friends and family who gave me their love and support - I don't know that I could have dispelled the fog without you.
Much has happened since then - I decided to retire from my career of almost 30 years and to move to a new home in a new town. I've had to learn (or in some cases, re-learn) how to do many things, from fixing a toilet to car maintenance. I've continued to travel - something Howard and I had developed a love for.
I've had times when I'm so angry at Howard for 'deserting' me that I would gleefully hit him and times when I had to laugh at some random memory. There are many times when I open my mouth and out pops a Howardism. When I feel like I just can't make it, I can hear him saying 'suck it up, princess' and sometimes when I am feeling low I can almost feel his arms around me lending me his strength.
Being touched by sudden death makes you realize that tomorrow may never come so you need to live every day as if it were your last and every good-bye as if it is the last. I don't want to ever again have to regret words left unsaid or hugs not given.
Howard taught me that life is not to be feared but embraced. If he hadn't convinced me to give love a chance, my life would be missing so much. Yes it hurts that he was taken away but his willingness to share his life was such a wonderful gift. I would rather have the pain of losing him than the emptiness of never having loved him.
Howard never asked for anything in return except perhaps honesty and friendship and gave so much of himself to everyone he knew. He was a friend that you could count on to share your laughs and tears, to give support in times of need, to be a sounding board and often played the devil's advocate. If you told him something in confidence, you knew it would stay that way. He loved to laugh and the sound of his laughter is one of my favorite memories. He loved his son with all of his heart - no father could have been prouder of his son than Howard was. He loved his parents, his brother, neices and nephews as well as a multitude of relatives and friends.
When preparing for his funeral, I grasped onto one saying that I still think describes Howard to a T - He lived, he laughed, he loved. And his love was returned by the bucketful.
Rest in Peace Howard
You will always be remembered
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
A Profound? Insight
I've been doing some thinking about various paths I've travelled in my life. Too many times I've started down a path and suddenly found there was a pile of branches or rocks in the middle of the path. If I could see an easy way around the obstacle, then I would continue on my merry way. I might even continue on my way if the solution was a little more difficult. But if the only way to the other side of the obstacle was to take the chance of getting scratched by the branches or stubbing my toe on the rocks by finding a way through the pile, I will often back away and head off down another path that looks like it might be easier.
There have also been times when I've taken the chance on getting hurt and have been rewarded for my efforts. Every one of these times has been when I have had someone to support me and help me find the way through.
The example that immediately pops into my head was one that changed my life in countless ways - my marriage. Howard was 'just' a friend and co-worker. He was the kind of friend who you could talk to about anything and the co-worker who you knew had your back. However, he had decided that he wanted to be more than just a friend. I really liked him a lot but couldn't see what on earth he saw in me. The more I liked him, the more I pushed him away, afraid of getting hurt when he realized who I really was. For some reason, he refused to let me push him away and accepted me as I was despite myself. Wow! what a wonderful feeling when I realized that he truly did love me, baggage and all!! Because of him, I've been able to look at myself with a different view.
I often look at my life in three phases - before Howard, with Howard, and after Howard. My life before Howard is important in that it includes so many events that helped shape me into the person I would become but is overshadowed by the twenty-three years I shared with my best friend. I honestly think that if Howard hadn't loved me enough not to give up on me, I would have missed out on so much happiness.Those two phases combined to make me the person I am for this present phase of my life. Without that combination I wouldn't have been strong enough to survive the vast emptiness that enveloped me when he died and to carry on forging a new life for myself.
Of course, there have been other times when I pursued my goals and was richly rewarded. My role as a mother (constantly rewarding) and my education are two of the important ones and there are many others of varying importance.
Looking over what I've just written has me thinking why I felt the need to write this. Recently a path I've chosen to travel has become littered with obstacles and I've been thinking of quitting. I've also been thinking of taking on a new project that has many potential problems and have just about given up on it before I even try. I think that by writing this I gave myself a much needed reminder of the great things that can be attained if you don't quit when the going gets tough.
Now after all that profound insight, I need to write about something much lighter. These days that means a note about Majik's latest amusement. She periodically watches me type (probably just watching the letters appear on the screen but I'd like to think she is reading it with approval).
I recently got a delivery of a small item in a much larger box. After I took out the item I left the box and the packing material to be disposed of later. Majik had other plans however. She tipped the box on its side and pulled out the plastic air pockets. As I said, the box was larger than the item so necessitated a long strip of these pockets. She has had a great time pouncing on them, burying her toys under them then hunting for the toys, and attacking them. I'm amazed that they haven't popped on her as she has amazingly dagger-like claws that she feels no need to sheath when on my lap. Could it be that she is sheathing her claws when playing? Perhaps it is a sign of cat love when they use their claws on their slave - if this is the case, then I have proof that she loves me a lot!
Gotta go - I hear my cheesecake calling me.
.....must.....obey.....cheesecake......
There have also been times when I've taken the chance on getting hurt and have been rewarded for my efforts. Every one of these times has been when I have had someone to support me and help me find the way through.
The example that immediately pops into my head was one that changed my life in countless ways - my marriage. Howard was 'just' a friend and co-worker. He was the kind of friend who you could talk to about anything and the co-worker who you knew had your back. However, he had decided that he wanted to be more than just a friend. I really liked him a lot but couldn't see what on earth he saw in me. The more I liked him, the more I pushed him away, afraid of getting hurt when he realized who I really was. For some reason, he refused to let me push him away and accepted me as I was despite myself. Wow! what a wonderful feeling when I realized that he truly did love me, baggage and all!! Because of him, I've been able to look at myself with a different view.
I often look at my life in three phases - before Howard, with Howard, and after Howard. My life before Howard is important in that it includes so many events that helped shape me into the person I would become but is overshadowed by the twenty-three years I shared with my best friend. I honestly think that if Howard hadn't loved me enough not to give up on me, I would have missed out on so much happiness.Those two phases combined to make me the person I am for this present phase of my life. Without that combination I wouldn't have been strong enough to survive the vast emptiness that enveloped me when he died and to carry on forging a new life for myself.
Of course, there have been other times when I pursued my goals and was richly rewarded. My role as a mother (constantly rewarding) and my education are two of the important ones and there are many others of varying importance.
Looking over what I've just written has me thinking why I felt the need to write this. Recently a path I've chosen to travel has become littered with obstacles and I've been thinking of quitting. I've also been thinking of taking on a new project that has many potential problems and have just about given up on it before I even try. I think that by writing this I gave myself a much needed reminder of the great things that can be attained if you don't quit when the going gets tough.
Now after all that profound insight, I need to write about something much lighter. These days that means a note about Majik's latest amusement. She periodically watches me type (probably just watching the letters appear on the screen but I'd like to think she is reading it with approval).
I recently got a delivery of a small item in a much larger box. After I took out the item I left the box and the packing material to be disposed of later. Majik had other plans however. She tipped the box on its side and pulled out the plastic air pockets. As I said, the box was larger than the item so necessitated a long strip of these pockets. She has had a great time pouncing on them, burying her toys under them then hunting for the toys, and attacking them. I'm amazed that they haven't popped on her as she has amazingly dagger-like claws that she feels no need to sheath when on my lap. Could it be that she is sheathing her claws when playing? Perhaps it is a sign of cat love when they use their claws on their slave - if this is the case, then I have proof that she loves me a lot!
Gotta go - I hear my cheesecake calling me.
.....must.....obey.....cheesecake......
Monday, 8 October 2012
Helping the Economy One Shopping Trip at a Time!!
After a trip to a Regina shopping mall, I have determined that malls are great for the economy. I was returning some clothing to a store in the mall when I passed a bedding store and fell in love with some bamboo bedding. This purchase now has me planning to paint my bedroom. If I had gone to a Walmart or some other big box store, I never would have seen the bedding store and made those purchases. This will in turn encourage me to help out some more by making further purchases at the hardware store for paint and maybe even a trip to another store for some decorative items for the room. All because I walked into a shopping mall to return a few items! Down with the big box stores!! Yay for malls!! Maybe the politicians should be made aware of the greatness of the mall. All the while I was busy helping save the economy I was also saving some money for myself - Yay Me!! And before you ask, I did indeed save money - I returned the clothes saving money that way, and all the bedding I bought was on sale, saving me even more money! Now I just need to find a hardware store that has paint, etc on sale to save myself even MORE money!!
Had a nice trip to Moose Jaw to see my sister and her other half. I took Majik with me and introduced her to the horde of dogs. She did the Halloween cat trick and scared off the chihuahuas. The bigger two basically just ignored her for the duration of our visit. The little ones wouldn't even look at her for the most part and if we took the kitten to them, they couldn't get away fast enough! One of them wouldn't even come back into the house after a trip outside until she decided that it was too cold out for her. I think Majik is now big enough to stay home when I go away for a day or two. I know Misty will be pleased for her company and I don't think Majik will miss the car ride. I will miss her singing to me though :D.
Yesterday I decided to tackle refinishing my dining room table. It was a project that has needed to be done for eons now as the finish had gotten tacky. When in the Moose, I finally bought a heat gun (my craft one died when I tried to use it) and a scraper. After scraping and sanding the table top and sides, I realized that I have no idea where I put the stain I'd purchased eons ago. Now I have to wait until I can get somewhere to buy some. (was way too lazy to drive for 1/2 hour to get some today) Maybe tomorrow would be a good day - then I can exchange the printer ink I bought for the right one as well. One more shopping trip....one more economy save!
Today is Thanksgiving so I would be amiss if I didn't say thanks to all my family and friends for their love and support. And of course I must thank my kitties for their companionship and entertaining antics. I definitely won't forget the Higher Power, be it God, Buddha, or Whoever, and be thankful for all that I have and for the world around me.
Until next time - walk with your chin up, but not so far up that you can't see those less fortunate than you.
Had a nice trip to Moose Jaw to see my sister and her other half. I took Majik with me and introduced her to the horde of dogs. She did the Halloween cat trick and scared off the chihuahuas. The bigger two basically just ignored her for the duration of our visit. The little ones wouldn't even look at her for the most part and if we took the kitten to them, they couldn't get away fast enough! One of them wouldn't even come back into the house after a trip outside until she decided that it was too cold out for her. I think Majik is now big enough to stay home when I go away for a day or two. I know Misty will be pleased for her company and I don't think Majik will miss the car ride. I will miss her singing to me though :D.
Yesterday I decided to tackle refinishing my dining room table. It was a project that has needed to be done for eons now as the finish had gotten tacky. When in the Moose, I finally bought a heat gun (my craft one died when I tried to use it) and a scraper. After scraping and sanding the table top and sides, I realized that I have no idea where I put the stain I'd purchased eons ago. Now I have to wait until I can get somewhere to buy some. (was way too lazy to drive for 1/2 hour to get some today) Maybe tomorrow would be a good day - then I can exchange the printer ink I bought for the right one as well. One more shopping trip....one more economy save!
Today is Thanksgiving so I would be amiss if I didn't say thanks to all my family and friends for their love and support. And of course I must thank my kitties for their companionship and entertaining antics. I definitely won't forget the Higher Power, be it God, Buddha, or Whoever, and be thankful for all that I have and for the world around me.
Until next time - walk with your chin up, but not so far up that you can't see those less fortunate than you.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Nature's Beauty
Looking out my front window, it looks like it will be another lovely day. The trees are so pretty with their show of autumn colours. It seems a shame that nature puts on such a gorgeous display of reds, greens, golds and browns but only gives us such a short time to enjoy it. Before you know it all the leaves will be off the trees leaving us with a depressing view.
Oh well, it won't be too long until nature gives us another awesome treat. I love the trees and grasses when they are covered in hoar frost. To be able to see the hoar frost at its finest when the sun just peeks over the horizon causing the countryside to look like it is covered with diamond dust was one of the perks of working night shift.
I don't think I could ever live in a country that doesn't have the freezing temperatures needed for the glittering snow covering the fields and houses. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the cold weather and snowy driving conditions but I think that nature has given us the beauty of the season to compensate for the hardships.
I actually think that winter is the most beautiful season of all. After a newly fallen snow, everything looks so clean and sparkles so prettily. When my son was small I used to tell him the sparkles in the snow were magical diamonds. You could only look at them and if you tried to pick them up, they would disappear. Also, in the midst of the season we are treated to such wonderful holidays as Christmas and New Years. Just thinking of all the lights and decorations on the houses through the Christmas season makes me smile. Winter also holds a couple of very special memories for me. My wedding took place in late November and the two of us became a family in March six years later. I pause here for a bit just to remember and smile.
I suppose you might wonder if I've gone off my rocker thinking about winter already. Well I have a good reason to think about it because a girl friend and I are finalizing plans for a Mexican holiday this winter. It will be quite an adventure as I plan to do a lot of snorkeling and fully intend to go parasailing! I am soooo excited!
Today is laundry day. I don't mind doing laundry, but my companion Mr. Tis complains loudly when I have to climb the stairs. Arthur I. Tis especially hates it when I am carrying a heavy laundry basket. You would think I would learn to take the laundry downstairs before the hamper got full but noooo - not me!
Well I think that is enough ramblings for today. Now I'm off I go to do that darned laundry. hmmm...maybe I'll just tie the laundry in a sheet and boot it down the stairs.
Tomorrow I think I'm going to write about friends. But you never know what my wandering mind will be thinking about when it comes time to write.
Now go hug a friend today.
Oh well, it won't be too long until nature gives us another awesome treat. I love the trees and grasses when they are covered in hoar frost. To be able to see the hoar frost at its finest when the sun just peeks over the horizon causing the countryside to look like it is covered with diamond dust was one of the perks of working night shift.
I don't think I could ever live in a country that doesn't have the freezing temperatures needed for the glittering snow covering the fields and houses. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the cold weather and snowy driving conditions but I think that nature has given us the beauty of the season to compensate for the hardships.
I actually think that winter is the most beautiful season of all. After a newly fallen snow, everything looks so clean and sparkles so prettily. When my son was small I used to tell him the sparkles in the snow were magical diamonds. You could only look at them and if you tried to pick them up, they would disappear. Also, in the midst of the season we are treated to such wonderful holidays as Christmas and New Years. Just thinking of all the lights and decorations on the houses through the Christmas season makes me smile. Winter also holds a couple of very special memories for me. My wedding took place in late November and the two of us became a family in March six years later. I pause here for a bit just to remember and smile.
I suppose you might wonder if I've gone off my rocker thinking about winter already. Well I have a good reason to think about it because a girl friend and I are finalizing plans for a Mexican holiday this winter. It will be quite an adventure as I plan to do a lot of snorkeling and fully intend to go parasailing! I am soooo excited!
Today is laundry day. I don't mind doing laundry, but my companion Mr. Tis complains loudly when I have to climb the stairs. Arthur I. Tis especially hates it when I am carrying a heavy laundry basket. You would think I would learn to take the laundry downstairs before the hamper got full but noooo - not me!
Well I think that is enough ramblings for today. Now I'm off I go to do that darned laundry. hmmm...maybe I'll just tie the laundry in a sheet and boot it down the stairs.
Tomorrow I think I'm going to write about friends. But you never know what my wandering mind will be thinking about when it comes time to write.
Now go hug a friend today.
Monday, 24 September 2012
A Bit of This and A Bit of That
HELP!!
I seem to have caught some kind of bug and am not sure how to treat it!
I woke and got out of bed at the odd hour of 10 am and didn't crawl right back under the covers after feeding the cats. Without even thinking about it, I tidied my hutch drawers, did my few dishes from supper, arranged my consultant kit so it's ready to go at the drop of a hat, put away the home decor items that were out of season and redecorated with seasonal items and attended a conference call meeting (and even paid attention!). (note these are not in cronological order) Next I intend to organize my catch all basket of filing and rearrange my sample kit. I don't know where I could have picked up such a nasty bug but I sure hope it goes away soon!! Heaven only knows what I'll do if I know where everything is without having to dig through a half dozen piles of stuff!! OMG!! What will I do next? - clean and organize my craft room? my bedroom? maybe even (shudder at the thought) the storage room?
While doing all this, I didn't even take one break toplay check on my FaceBook!!
Has Hell completely frozen over?? Is the sky going to fall? Oh me, oh my!!!
Yesterday (OK, technically it was early this morning) I talked a bit about my spastic kitten, Majik. Today I have another story about my four legged brats. Misty is a long haired cat prone to matting who for some reason absolutely refuses to let me cut her butt hair - you'd think she doesn't trust me with scissors for some reason. Anyway earlier today I could smell something very unpleasant and figured Majik had been too lazy to go down to the basement to do her thing. I searched all possible nooks and crannies (amazingly easy to do now that the room is clean) with no success. Then I got a lovely surprize when Misty jumped up on my lap for a cuddle. Yup, you guessed it! She had a lovely clump of doo-doo stuck in her butt hair. After my immediate reaction of 'get off me!!' I rushed her into the bathroom and drew her a lovely bath. Well you can imagine that she was NOT appreciative of the dunking!! I never thought I'd be so glad that she is declawed! I definitely got a huge laugh at her expense after her bath - she looked soooo pissed off and unfuzzy!
And that sends me onto another tangle of thoughts.....Don't you wish people could find it as easy as animals to be forgiving? If a person slights another (even when done with the best of intentions) we tend to hold onto that anger/hurt/disappointment for far too long. This causes feelings between both parties that can, if not dealt with in a healthy manner, can wreck marriages, long term friendships, break apart siblings, etc. And all too often when the slighter acknowledges their slight and apologizes to the slightee and the slightee responds with forgiving words (don't worry about it, I forgive you, it wasn't anything worth fighting over, etc), neither one really means it. Thus the slight festers and grows into something really ugly.
As I grow older and wiser (at least I'd like to think there is some benefit to getting old), I look back on past relationships and can see how I let the ugly growth come between us - all too often over something so petty as to be ridiculous. Now, I'm not saying that I've learned to forgive and forget - there are still some hurts from the past that are too embedded in my psyche to forget, and to be honest I don't want to let go of the constant companionship of that said growth. However, I am learning how to let go of the petty grievances and keep the ugly growths from growing larger and uglier. It is not always easy to admit when you have caused someone discomfort or downright pain and admitting your error may not always result in being forgiven. But if you honestly mean your apology and can accept that you can't control how your apology is taken, then at the least you have kept another monster at bay.
We should all strive to be like Misty - she was truly upset at being tossed into a tub of water (and I think her feelings were hurt when I laughed at her) but after spending a few minutes trying to put her fur back into its usually fuzzy state, she was again on my lap, purring and licking my ear. Can you just imagine what the world would be like if we all were like her?
WOW!! That was a mouthful! And that last line made me laugh as I got a mental picture of everyone in the world as cats. Can you just imagine the amount of hair balls there would be? Even worse, with everyone being a cat, there would be no humans around to feed us or clean up after us!
After hopping from topic to topic, I seem to have refound my natural state of laziness and no longer feel the urge to do further cleaning. Whew!! I certainly hope that is the end of that!! Now I am trying to decide if I want to get up off my butt for a snack or just stay put and touch base with my FB games. That is much more like the true me - hope that imposter stays away now. That basket of filing and the sample reorganizing will just have to wait for another day.
So long for now. Smile at someone you don't know - likely you'll have brightened their day and yours.
.
I seem to have caught some kind of bug and am not sure how to treat it!
I woke and got out of bed at the odd hour of 10 am and didn't crawl right back under the covers after feeding the cats. Without even thinking about it, I tidied my hutch drawers, did my few dishes from supper, arranged my consultant kit so it's ready to go at the drop of a hat, put away the home decor items that were out of season and redecorated with seasonal items and attended a conference call meeting (and even paid attention!). (note these are not in cronological order) Next I intend to organize my catch all basket of filing and rearrange my sample kit. I don't know where I could have picked up such a nasty bug but I sure hope it goes away soon!! Heaven only knows what I'll do if I know where everything is without having to dig through a half dozen piles of stuff!! OMG!! What will I do next? - clean and organize my craft room? my bedroom? maybe even (shudder at the thought) the storage room?
While doing all this, I didn't even take one break to
Has Hell completely frozen over?? Is the sky going to fall? Oh me, oh my!!!
Yesterday (OK, technically it was early this morning) I talked a bit about my spastic kitten, Majik. Today I have another story about my four legged brats. Misty is a long haired cat prone to matting who for some reason absolutely refuses to let me cut her butt hair - you'd think she doesn't trust me with scissors for some reason. Anyway earlier today I could smell something very unpleasant and figured Majik had been too lazy to go down to the basement to do her thing. I searched all possible nooks and crannies (amazingly easy to do now that the room is clean) with no success. Then I got a lovely surprize when Misty jumped up on my lap for a cuddle. Yup, you guessed it! She had a lovely clump of doo-doo stuck in her butt hair. After my immediate reaction of 'get off me!!' I rushed her into the bathroom and drew her a lovely bath. Well you can imagine that she was NOT appreciative of the dunking!! I never thought I'd be so glad that she is declawed! I definitely got a huge laugh at her expense after her bath - she looked soooo pissed off and unfuzzy!
And that sends me onto another tangle of thoughts.....Don't you wish people could find it as easy as animals to be forgiving? If a person slights another (even when done with the best of intentions) we tend to hold onto that anger/hurt/disappointment for far too long. This causes feelings between both parties that can, if not dealt with in a healthy manner, can wreck marriages, long term friendships, break apart siblings, etc. And all too often when the slighter acknowledges their slight and apologizes to the slightee and the slightee responds with forgiving words (don't worry about it, I forgive you, it wasn't anything worth fighting over, etc), neither one really means it. Thus the slight festers and grows into something really ugly.
As I grow older and wiser (at least I'd like to think there is some benefit to getting old), I look back on past relationships and can see how I let the ugly growth come between us - all too often over something so petty as to be ridiculous. Now, I'm not saying that I've learned to forgive and forget - there are still some hurts from the past that are too embedded in my psyche to forget, and to be honest I don't want to let go of the constant companionship of that said growth. However, I am learning how to let go of the petty grievances and keep the ugly growths from growing larger and uglier. It is not always easy to admit when you have caused someone discomfort or downright pain and admitting your error may not always result in being forgiven. But if you honestly mean your apology and can accept that you can't control how your apology is taken, then at the least you have kept another monster at bay.
We should all strive to be like Misty - she was truly upset at being tossed into a tub of water (and I think her feelings were hurt when I laughed at her) but after spending a few minutes trying to put her fur back into its usually fuzzy state, she was again on my lap, purring and licking my ear. Can you just imagine what the world would be like if we all were like her?
WOW!! That was a mouthful! And that last line made me laugh as I got a mental picture of everyone in the world as cats. Can you just imagine the amount of hair balls there would be? Even worse, with everyone being a cat, there would be no humans around to feed us or clean up after us!
After hopping from topic to topic, I seem to have refound my natural state of laziness and no longer feel the urge to do further cleaning. Whew!! I certainly hope that is the end of that!! Now I am trying to decide if I want to get up off my butt for a snack or just stay put and touch base with my FB games. That is much more like the true me - hope that imposter stays away now. That basket of filing and the sample reorganizing will just have to wait for another day.
So long for now. Smile at someone you don't know - likely you'll have brightened their day and yours.
.
My First Blog - Majik and Miracles
Well, here I am entering the world of bloggers for the first time. I've thought often of writing a blog but something always came up. Then I started to get serious about it and did a wee bit of research - everyone said to start you have to have a topic. Well - that almost did me in until a friend of mine (yes I do have some friends - and don't even have to pay them!) told me that having no topic can be a topic on its own. Next, being the cheapskate I am, I had to find a free blog site and after another miniscule amount of research decided on the Blogger.
So what am I going to write about today? HMMMM let's see.....how about how my day went.
I got up at my usual hour - about 2 pm and did the usuals to prepare for my day. (If you thought I was going to go into details about the 'usuals' - you are one SICK puppy and need to go chase your tail in somebody elses yard) Then I had an unusual thought - that it would be a good day to get some housework done. Anyone who knows me, knows that is nothing short of a minor miracle and should I follow up on the thought, a full fledged miracle!! Get out the marker to mark this one on the wall cuz I actually did some cleaning.
Of course the cleaning was broken up by a couple of breaks to check on my FaceBook page (you never know when someone might put up a status or picture that will be life changing!!) However, my breaks weren`t as frequent as usual as I was really into the cleaning mode. Not entirely sure if it was my own doing as I was also listening to some motivational speakers at the same time. Yeah, that`s got to be it - it was the speakers! Big sigh of relief - hate to think I might be turning over a new leaf (shudder).
If you are wondering what amazing motivational speakers could keep me working at cleaning my house, it was The Mind Aware with Dana Wilde and some guest speakers. Pretty good stuff, you might want to check it out for yourself.
You still here? You've got quite a tolerance for boring stuff, don't you.
Anyway, to continue with my day (evening now, actually)....I then decided it was time for sustenance and the order of the day was tomato soup and a ham sandwich. I sat down to eat and watch the news when a little thief decided to help my diet by trying to steal my sandwich. 'Ah Ha' says I - 'you won't be performing any tricks like that!' And I lift her from within centimeters from my food and place her on the floor. 'Ah Ha' says she - 'I won't be put off that easily!' and jumps back onto my lap using her sharp kitten claws on my legs in the process. Then she proceeds to give me a cute kitten look just before trying to steal the sandwich again. After a few more cycles of me putting her back to the floor and gaining a couple more scratches on my already well scratched legs as she not so nimbly jumps back up onto my lap, she cuddles up to me purring loudly. Of course I cave and give her what she's been wanting all along - some of the ham sandwich. Fickle kitten! Once she had what she wanted do you think she'd stay and let me know of her eternal gratitude? Hell no! Once she decided there was nothing left for her as I had greedily eaten my sandwich and tomato soup wasn't quite to her liking, she jumped down and went to play with the elder cat. Hmpf! We'll just see who's boss come feeding time tomorrow!!
Feeling cheated and unloved, I turned off the boring news and decided to continue the cleaning by doing my dishes and tidying up the counters. When the idea struck me to start to sort my paperwork my poor psyche just couldn't handle anymore of this 'new me' and my mind wandered off to the land of blogging. I sat down, set up my blog and you know the rest of the story.
Now it is time to do something important - get myself a nice cold cooler and check if there are any mind blowing statuses on FaceBook.
Good-bye until we meet again. If you are a crazy enough to come back, that is.
PS just in case you didn't figure it out, Majik is the kitten.
So what am I going to write about today? HMMMM let's see.....how about how my day went.
I got up at my usual hour - about 2 pm and did the usuals to prepare for my day. (If you thought I was going to go into details about the 'usuals' - you are one SICK puppy and need to go chase your tail in somebody elses yard) Then I had an unusual thought - that it would be a good day to get some housework done. Anyone who knows me, knows that is nothing short of a minor miracle and should I follow up on the thought, a full fledged miracle!! Get out the marker to mark this one on the wall cuz I actually did some cleaning.
Of course the cleaning was broken up by a couple of breaks to check on my FaceBook page (you never know when someone might put up a status or picture that will be life changing!!) However, my breaks weren`t as frequent as usual as I was really into the cleaning mode. Not entirely sure if it was my own doing as I was also listening to some motivational speakers at the same time. Yeah, that`s got to be it - it was the speakers! Big sigh of relief - hate to think I might be turning over a new leaf (shudder).
If you are wondering what amazing motivational speakers could keep me working at cleaning my house, it was The Mind Aware with Dana Wilde and some guest speakers. Pretty good stuff, you might want to check it out for yourself.
You still here? You've got quite a tolerance for boring stuff, don't you.
Anyway, to continue with my day (evening now, actually)....I then decided it was time for sustenance and the order of the day was tomato soup and a ham sandwich. I sat down to eat and watch the news when a little thief decided to help my diet by trying to steal my sandwich. 'Ah Ha' says I - 'you won't be performing any tricks like that!' And I lift her from within centimeters from my food and place her on the floor. 'Ah Ha' says she - 'I won't be put off that easily!' and jumps back onto my lap using her sharp kitten claws on my legs in the process. Then she proceeds to give me a cute kitten look just before trying to steal the sandwich again. After a few more cycles of me putting her back to the floor and gaining a couple more scratches on my already well scratched legs as she not so nimbly jumps back up onto my lap, she cuddles up to me purring loudly. Of course I cave and give her what she's been wanting all along - some of the ham sandwich. Fickle kitten! Once she had what she wanted do you think she'd stay and let me know of her eternal gratitude? Hell no! Once she decided there was nothing left for her as I had greedily eaten my sandwich and tomato soup wasn't quite to her liking, she jumped down and went to play with the elder cat. Hmpf! We'll just see who's boss come feeding time tomorrow!!
Feeling cheated and unloved, I turned off the boring news and decided to continue the cleaning by doing my dishes and tidying up the counters. When the idea struck me to start to sort my paperwork my poor psyche just couldn't handle anymore of this 'new me' and my mind wandered off to the land of blogging. I sat down, set up my blog and you know the rest of the story.
Now it is time to do something important - get myself a nice cold cooler and check if there are any mind blowing statuses on FaceBook.
Good-bye until we meet again. If you are a crazy enough to come back, that is.
PS just in case you didn't figure it out, Majik is the kitten.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)