Now Just Calm Down !

Well it just so happens to be that 'day' again.  You know the one...we all have that one day a year where even though we try not to, we kind of feel like we are just a teeny bit more special and dare I say, more precious, than on any of those other regular days of the year.

Okay, I may just be speaking for myself (I doubt it)   but so what if I am.

The Birth Day.

Why after so many of them does it still even matter?

Rationally, there ought to be an expiry date on celebrating the Birth Day.

But that just seems so depressing. 

Especially when the ultimate  expiry date is clearly getting closer.

So what I am trying to say is  'thanks' to ALL of you dear friends and to my remaining family for making this day wonder-full.  I am glad you haven't  gotten tired of me...yet!

You have all been so kind.

Cheers!

 

THOM Talks *

Today's topic is THOM Talks* which are a lot like TED Talks...but they're not.

 Oh, please allow me to explain.  

A  THOM Talk* is always associated with a joint home project and

you guessed correctly, there is one and only one presenter.
 

It is similar to a 'proclamation' or a  'lecture'  requiring my rapt attention and, this part is very important... Absolutely. No. Interruptions.    A question, or a comment,  from our audience of one,  can be viewed as   'insubordination' and could be grounds for my immediate termination.

Me so scared!  

It is always assumed that I know nothing about the endeavour we are about to undertake.    During the THOM Talk*  I am only required  to stand by to run for tools, then additional tools,  and finally for all the tools we own and  then to watch in utter disbelief as many of these tools are tossed about.   There are moans & groans spewing freely.  Frustration builds.  Blame is attached to moi for it most certainly was/is  my idea to do whatever it is we are attempting to do.  

Inevitably there follows the vow to never, ever  agree to do any of my "hairbrained" ideas again . 

(Since this last tidbit  is one that is included at some point during every joint  project,  I guess we could call it a

'key point'

of a THOM Talk*)

Another element of  a THOM Talk* is that it can and does very often veer into the  philosophical realm such as  this  very sad lament/query:

  "Will I ever be allowed to retire?"

(pas moi asking this, obviously as I am most happily re-tired)

Meanwhile the TTalk* continues with me admittedly zoning out most of the babble and just hoping we can finish a good portion of the project before all is lost and

our TTalk* presenter abandons the lectern and walks off the stage/ ie. the job.

This is the critical slippery slope stage.

Most of our joint projects do get completed and some of them almost  get completed.

But none if them even  get started without a

THOM Talk*

 

I hang my tail and laugh -- Life...its funny.

***

Stay tuned for the next THOM Talk*  on

"Trains

To Toot or Not To Toot"

Put Down Your Gadgets, PLEASE.

This is just a little rant.   

A rant that will do no good and affect no change in anyone's behaviour.   Perhaps I am the only one annoyed by this now accepted behaviour among human beings but I must say something.

This attention to gadgets is so rude.

 It has become socially acceptable for some people to keep their gadget gripped and at the ready,  whilst visiting and chatting and conversing and enjoying food & drink, in the company of others.

The gadget is then referred to and information is accessed throughout the time spent together.

Every query is searched for and answered immediately from gadget-world -- there are no more mysteries.

Pictures are shared and more are taken while the present moment  is merely gotten through in order to be documented for viewing after the fact (!).

It is a tsunami of bad social behaviour that is here to stay. 

 Old school courtesy requires those of us without a gadget gripped in our fists to just sit quietly by and feign interest in 

all the facts & figures

that can be instantly obtained & verified.

Being so 'connected' seems so isolating that soon the art of conversation will be like LATIN,  still around but not in usage anymore.

Oh well.

Just my rant for the day

and just my opinion

as I try to disengage my own self from my

GADGET

now. 

 

Summer Ramp Up !

I should expect this to happen every summer, because it always does.  The season starts up slowly and meandering with a few guests trickling in and the building & maintenance  projects getting started  and then...WoW -- things start to RAMP UP.   All of a sudden I am actually on holiday myself.   I know, a concept that may be foreign to all of you who still have jobs and work for a living, but just because no one is paying me anymore doesn't mean I don't work and work hard every day around here -- okay dismounting

 from my high horse now...sorry. 

 I admit its hard for me to not be productive but I am enjoying as I do every year,  seeing who makes the trek to the great white north.

There are a few repeat visitors and also some first-timers.

My brother was a first timer this year and I was so thrilled to see him and have him finally see my life here.  It was a bittersweet time for both of us as we have begun to forge a different relationship now that our mum has died.

It really was closure and re-start, at least for me and I do think for him too.

There are also the long-time friends and the blasts from the past friends who show up too.  

Me so lucky to have love in my life and so many who put up with all my nonsense.

 

Back to Blogging

Sometimes it is not so easy to get back to the basics.  But, tonight I decided that I miss posting here.  So I am just diving in with no agenda other than getting into the swing of blogging once again.  This is the garden earlier this summer on a cool misty morning.  Things were just starting to sprout and look a lot different today but anyway, it was just one of those lovely moments when all is good in your world and the coffee is almost ready.   I was antsy for the vegs to really get going but being the first year for that plot it was a bit s-l-o-w on the grow.  The last 4 years were spent de-rocking, de-weeding, de-rooting of said weeds, repeat process at least 2 more times, then add compost, topsoil, organic stuff, straw, cover crop, turn, turn, mix & turn,  and then (finally) plant for the first time this spring.  I promised myself I would just chill and plant easy things that basically could grow themselves but I still harboured such high expectations. 

 Okay, the last 2 weeks have seen some major growth with some tomatoes on the vine, some microscopic squashes, actual kale and chard at edible sizes, carrots (tiny & tasty), beets incubating still,  beans miraculously forming, potatoes in the mounds and many peppers of all kinds as well as something that might be an eggplant!   Not bad for homemade dirt, I'd say...not fabulous but an okay first time out. 

 Wow, I feel better coming back to my blog.  

SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY

Yesterday, March 11th,  one year ago my mother died.

One year ago.

Funny how fast this past year flew by and really it does feel like only 

yesterday.

Every day since,  I have replayed all the events that transpired during the weeks I spent with her during the whole ordeal and then the weeks afterward just plodding through all the details that follow a death.

Mostly I ruminate about what I could have or should have done differently.  Silly, yes, as we all did the best we knew how and every decision and action was fraught with so much emotion.

It brought some of us in the family closer and it caused disintegration of the already tenuous ties with others.

The 'new order'  in the family is now different and in so many ways 'better'.

I guess when your last parent dies there is permission granted to become a full-fledged adult once and for all.

No need anymore for pretense.

So say what you mean and mean what you say but try to do it kindly.

Maybe that is their parting gift to us, their children -- a final letting go for us to figure things out for ourselves.

Well, for me it has been a sad year and a very introspective year as well as a year of shifting priorities and loyalties.

My mother was honest,  sometimes annoyingly so,  but I admire that more now than ever.  She didn't always sugarcoat her assessments and she rarely wavered on an opinion.

Since her death I realize I need to be more like that and also because

 all our stories will end the same way -- one moment, one day,  we will just stop living.

Thanks, Alyce,

                                                   for everything.

 

PLANTS...so Yum!

Almost any 'traditional'  dish can be made and made deliciously with all vegetables.   A perfect  example is my 'vegetable pot pie'.  I merely made a few adaptations on the classic 'chicken pot pie' recipe that I absolutely loved for years and what you see is the result.   Its beautiful and full of carrots, potatoes, peas, mushrooms,  celery, onion, green beans, sweet potatoe, butternut squash and I think that is it.   Oh and also handfuls of herbs (savorie, thyme, rosemary, sage,  garlic, salt & pepper...really anything works),  and an organic vegetable broth base mixed with a flour rue of sorts to thicken it slightly

. 

I'll leave the crust up to you.  I make my own or sometimes use the frozen 'tasty-flake' ones.

I do not claim this to be 'vegan' but it just might be!

My goal is to try to be completely meat & dairy free which if you know me my biggest challenge is my morning coffee

WITHOUT

CREAM!

I am working on that one and may have found my remedy.

I'll keep you posted on that.

Enjoy the 'pot pie' if you give it a try.
   

Turns Out I've Been Right About Everything All Along

I started this post a few days ago and came

 up with so many examples to hammer this idea home,  but, then upon further reflection I thought what's the point?      It's only my short list of personal truths so here goes: 

* Your colon is a self-cleaning organ.  It does not need help to perform its function.     If it ever does, then you are probably pretty sick or have a really        lousy diet. 

*Exercise is good for a lot of things but not for losing weight.     

                      The only way  to lose weight is to eat less. Period.
   

 *The meat industry (factory farming) is a shameful and horrible fact of our modern world ( Let's include the dairy industry in this one) and needs to change -- I am doing what I can for that.

     

*The only reason a well fed, semi-intelligent , person with means,  becomes a hunter is because they enjoy killing animals. 

Please, will just one hunter admit this?

     * Genetics and luck are two things needed  in life to be successful and money and education  do both help a great deal.

    

*Sun protection  is 

the best thing you can do for your skin to keep it looking decent for a few decades.   The concept of 'anti-aging'  is marketing as its worst  (best?).

    

*YOGA is ridiculous.   Sorry but it is.

   

*Most of us are average.  Being  'special'  or 'gifted'  is a modern label applied to every child -- how can this possibly be the case?  And as George Carlin once asked "at what age does a child stop being special?"

   * It really is not possible to achieve 'anything'  you want in life.  

(see above  'genetics, luck, money,education')

*A clean home is a thing of beauty

(speaking of mine not yours and how I feel comfortable living)

*I try to be polite and kind to all living things.

*I prefer being charitable in a personal and private way.

*I do not like to talk about my personal finances.

*Your religious beliefs are your  religious beliefs. 

(and lastly for now)

 

    *When someone stops living, they are just gone, and that is okay.

   
  

 Okay, I may have gone on a bit here but trust me...I left out a lot of things -- stuff about friendships and family and feuds and making amends, as well as the art of cooking....so many post ideas for yet another day.

Cheers. 

 

     
  
     
   
    

 
 

Variations on a Theme or Thoughts & Prayers

Okay here's one that perhaps we can expand upon:   

"It takes an village to make an idiot"  

Why, you may wonder, do I feel the need to expand upon this ?
Not sure.  I just know that I enjoy saying that phrase.
It's funny that's for sure and it does have some truth to it.
It can be a spot-on observation in any number of situations.
It can be combined with the ever popular:
"Don't worry, you'll spin out before you flip"
which is a comforting adieu that many of our departing dinner guests enjoy.
 That would be after an evening of enjoying, yes, you guessed it:
"Fruit wine...what's not to love?"
That being a favorite of  Shitt's Creek fans.

Then the variation that I use repetitively whenever we drive past a certain property off the main hi-way here, that being:
"It takes a village to make a mess"
I continually find it a hilarious observation of the jumble of crap, rvs, campers, pools, containers, pilesof stuff,  other vehicles and lean-to's  that have multiplied on what started out as a fairly decent new house build.
I know, I know...I am so judgmental.  That, my frenemies,  is exactly why I blog. 

"Best Regards"

Gidyup...

Our little Cowgirl.

Gone but definitely not forgotten.

WINTER is Severely Under-Appreciated

A very happy dog.   Its about  -7'C and that is a BIG smile.   

Take note all you winter whiners and complainers...what a beautiful time of the year this is!     Last night the full moon made the snow actually glisten-sparkle-twinkle like a white starry sky.  I guess I wouldn't mind not hearing about how cold it is outside (yah) or about the shoveling (okaaayyy) or especially about wanting/wishing to be elsewhere (snore).

Hey, I left California,  the land of milk and honey and salads and citrus so,

yeah, I get it sort of.  The monotony of perfect weather, day after day, week after week, year after year,  really bugged me.   Don't laugh -- perfect weather fosters a weird lifestyle of sport shopping and consumerism.

The 'its never enough' syndrome.    

 Now I choose this place--to be present, in the here & now,  where the cold beauty of a winter day and night is 'more than enough'.

Stunning.

  

   

It's My Blog !

 

The nice thing about having a blog is that I can post about anything I want.  Unlike F-Book which can and does,  de-volve into the 'mundane'  that make up most of our lives, a blog gives one the opportunity to gloat, to compare and contrast, to talk about religion, politics and family feuds (without an onslaught of comments or offended persons).

 I have been paying more attention lately to Canadian politics, as some of you know.

Suddenly things are interesting for a few reasons.

The above picture of 'JT' (from the December Vogue)  is an obvious one but his election also exemplifies a big difference between Canada and the US.

The election process here was swift and there seemed, to me, to be a minimum of mud-slinging, name-calling and out & out untruths being bandied about by candidates...UNLIKE what goes on down south which sometimes seems like

 a gong show combined with a triathlon--

who can be the most ridiculous and who has the most endurance to go the distance.

Yah of course there were some shenanigans here but nothing so outrageous or malicious in nature to cause much trouble. 

You may call me naive here if you please but I call it like I see it and my perspective does have some basis in reality.

Canada is a good place to live and I am so grateful (and lucky) to be here.

                                                               

Yes we do get a little bit of snow, now & then, in our neck of the woods and

there is nothing as beautiful as a fresh snowfall. 

 

 

  

Wild Thing, I Think I Love You

Occasionally, my camera comes through with a more than decent photo.  This one is the eye of a wild (well sort of) burro taken this past August in South Dakota.

These guys are all so adorable.

Yes, we stopped and we fed them carrots.   It was nice to see everyone doing the same thing.  Just feeding and petting and being kind to animals. 

Lots of smiles and just plain happiness.

Thanks Elleoj for being the best horse whisperer and fellow cheap wine drinker around.  Both Ms. Sartonline and I so enjoyed basking in your hostessness.

We love South Dakota!

And now on to my favorite subject of late our new Prime Minister !!!  Yes those are exclamation marks due to my extreme pleasure and pride.   I even read online (so it must be true) that "Canada is suddenly sexy".

Come on people and take a gander at our new head of state!

Monsieur Justin Trudeau

Am I right?

So, for my stateside friends and occasional readers,  this is who we get to look at and who now represents Canada (exclamation points !!) to the world...Yay.

Yes, this is the adolescent level to which I have sunk,  but the good part is that I am now 'suddenly' interested in politics.

You go, you sexy Canada!

How to Fracture a Family

Hmmmm.  Yes it has been quite awhile since I've posted anything here and not because I haven't tried.  Let me say that as is always true in life, for all of us,  things got complicated.   Hence the title of this post.  But I am not going there or anywhere near 'there' today.  I'll leave it to your imagination as to the why and the how,  but I will say that things have sorted themselves out in the only way possible since they were going in that direction for most of my life.   Shortly after that last post way back in February I headed down south for what turned out to be the end of life for my mother.  Unexpected on so many levels yet not on one big one -- she was 88 years old.   It is a all too common story I now know -- a fall, a break, a surgery to repair said break, pneumonia, heart attack, kidney failure, hospice, the end.   For any of you that know me, you know that talking about this now in what may sound like a glib and matter of fact way is only because the shock and exhaustion of the whole ordeal is tucked behind me.  We all did what we felt we had to do and each and every family member and friend that participated in the weeks leading up to and during, and after this event has come away with their own version.

I lost my mother which is a terrible thing for anyone but death is a part of life obviously.  The other family members who were lost,  were not lost due to death,  but their loss was orchestrated consciously out of some need that remains a mystery to me and may always remain so.   I am beyond any feelings of anger or sadness at their choice to absent themselves from me,  although it is ultimately,  very sad.   Out of respect for all of them I will remain out of their sphere. 

Death definitely brings out the worst in some,  but  the very best in others.     Never more true for me than now,  so holding a grudge is not going to be part of my repertoire.   A choice we all can make or not.
 
A thousand thanks to those who acted with grace and selflessness and dignity during a difficult and sad time.  You know who you are.   I think the term is 'stepped up to the plate'.   I would not have been able to go it alone. 

                                    ....     life is indeed still good    ...

  

 

Life is Good

This is the view on the morning after the one big snow we got this winter.   

Stunning and so perfect.

Pristine.

A winter wonder land.

Glorious.

Oh, Canada!

 

Flooring Update-- a little late !

Well the flooring in the new addition is down and has been in since before Christmas but I have been lax on reporting renovation progress....the holiday blues did get the best of me.  The pics are not the best because its kind of hard to get the whole space and so many details are being tended to... like the baseboards.  Stuff like that takes us a whole lot of time but since these photos were taken I can proudly say that 90% of them are attached.  The small length that we couldn't attach is because there is a moisture leak on one of the new(old) reused fixed windows we installed.  We can't do the the re-caulking on it until the temperature warms up -- yes, that frustrates me to no end...I want it done.  Anyway, I will take some better photos as many small details have been completed.  As with any renovation its all in the details! 

holiday blue

From the woods below.

Winter.

Blue.

Nice.

Happy Blue Year to all the cowgirls & cowboys out there.