One Part Inspiration...

Are you tired of me talking about moving yet? Well, tomorrow is the 'final' move. I use the 'final' lightly because it looks like the transitions are not quite finished. This is because the plumber has been very casual about plumbing, and there are actually very few pipes completed. Last I heard, he was on a motorcycle trip somewhere. Good for him. Not so good for me - who was counting on having a toilet to flush by the time I moved. So we are facing another round of transition. I love being a nomad. It's so fun. All that being said, I just wanted to announce that I really don't know how often I will be able to post on this forum for a while. You may check in and find that I've managed to get one in, and then again, maybe not. We are switching telephone/internet companies and there are complications with that as well. We thought we'd have service by today, but something went wrong, and they won't be back until Wednesday. Not having technology at my f...

Twenty-two years ago tonight, I could hardly sleep for the excitement of waking up the next morning to be a bride. I had everything laid out, ready for the big day. I read and re-read my vows, hoping not to mess up when I said them. Part of my pledge said: " I look forward to sharing my life with you, and whatever the future holds, I will stand with you and beside you, until death separates us ." After living out these vows for 8,035.335 days, I have a very different perspective on what those words meant. As a new bride, I looked forward to sharing life with my husband as an adventure - almost as if I was going to be on a long vacation with him. Now I look forward to sharing my life with him in more genuine ways. I look forward to a cup of tea at the end of the working day. I try to anticipate which tool he will need me to hand him when we are working together. I count on him listening to me vent about the challenges of my day, and making the ONE observation which cra...

I've been spending a lot of time on the phone - getting information from, and relaying information to parties who are connected, but don't want to talk to each other. Each has their own bureaucracy and set of rules. Neither will budge for the other. And I am caught in the middle. At one point today, I wanted to get each of them on separate phones and hold up the two receivers so they could talk to each other. Enough of this 'he said' - 'she said' stuff! Perhaps I will send them each this video. They can choose which they want to be. They will likely both want to be the "North -going Zax". Then I will be back at square one.

Do you ever watch T.V. with closed captioning? I do sometimes, when I am trying to settle down, but my husband is already sleeping. I put the T.V. on mute, and read the CC, to catch the action, while letting him rest. There are a few things I've noticed about CC. : First of all it's not always that accurate. Secondly, there's a lot of times when they throw letters together like the person is going to be able to figure out what they are talking about. Third, sometimes, whole batches of dialogue go by without any CC. It's like the scribe gets so involved in the action, they forget to tell the viewer what they are seeing. Recently, I wrote down some of these things I've seen on CC. just to prove my point I am transcribing them here, as I saw them. These are real folks. I am not making this stuff up. I find it endlessly entertaining. " Self steam ". Hmmm. Does that mean the person is self-motivated? Or needs help feeling better about themselve...

A week from now, we will be living at The Pokeaway. I feel good about it. It has been a lengthy year with more twists than a balloon animal. Even though we are moving long before the house is 'ready', there is a sense that we will soon be coming 'home'. It started with a trip with the real estate agent to look at potential homes - one of them was the one I refer to lovingly as the 'head- basher' house. It left quite an impression on me - literally and figuratively. Even today, I can put my hand up to my head and feel the indentation where the that beam dug into my scalp. Then it was roller-coaster ride to finish up the details to seal the deal on the place we had chosen to buy. At times it didn't look as it we would be able to, but in the end, we pulled through [Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition]. Following that, we began a waiting game to get into the house to assess what needed to be done. Meantime, my designer husband worked up some plans f...

Yesterday, in one of my groups, one of the ladies mentioned she'd met a new friend last week. She couldn't remember her name. We talked about it for a while, and then I recognized the description of the lady she was talking about. She commented "She's a really nice lady". I agreed. "Yes, she is very nice". One of the other ladies piped up "Well aren't we all dear, until someone has to live with us." I almost think that is a classic statement! As my dad used to repeat "To live with saints above, ohhh! That will be glory. But to live with saints below, now that's a different story!".

We start by stopping for ice cream. It's our little tradition. We don't mention it on the way up. But on the way back, when we have safely delivered the working boy to camp, one of us says: " Are we stopping for ice cream? " and the other responds with a smile of acknowledgment that the thought had already crossed their mind. There are two places from which to choose. We always go to the one on the left. My husband's choice. He likes tradition and it just wouldn't be the same if we turned right. He always asks for the same flavour - Chocolate Chip Mint. I like to experiment. Within reason. I'm not interested in Green Tea Ice cream. And I don't want Bubblegum either. However, Tiger is high on the list and something Chocolately is not far behind. Afterward, and since we have no kids and no place we have to be, we meander home through the back roads. We comment on houses we like. Barn colours which don't fit. And the unusual crops peopl...

Remember this????? And remember this? My most brilliant Father's Day gift? Let me refresh your memory. I gave him the gift that builds itself. [insert smile] Well here's a wee update! This was several weeks ago... This was last week... And, this was today... I can almost imagine the front porch swing. I better hone up on my lemonade-making skills.

One can't help but notice the daisies growing spontaneously around our area. They grow everywhere: along the freeway, in fields, and in ditches. They don't spend a lot of time thinking about where they grow. They just grow. They don't concern themselves about standing straight and tall. They bloom in wild abandon. And when they are cut and brought home, they don't apologize for the odd spider they carry with them. They just let their happy faces smile into the eye of the beholder. They don't care if they live in a fancy bouquet, or are grabbed by the handful and put in the first vase available. Sometimes I wish I had the wisdom of daisies.

I have been researching various opportunities that might evolve into new career pathways. Doesn't that sound impressive? Simply put, I am looking for work. Let me clarify. I'm looking for more , paid work. I don't need a lot; just about five or so more hours. To date, I have been putting out feelers for more contract work, and I have done a lot of reading about all the careers I could apply for through the government "find a job" website. Doing all this research has given me some solid ideas. I've decided I don't want to do 'in-home care', or be a dispatch operator. I'm not ready to be a line cook, and I'm not qualified to be a truck driver. I could be a monk. O.k., maybe not. [Although that was a real posting.] I'm not really interested in being a tour guide. I could possibly try my hand at 'Art Instruction'. Move over Picasso. Again, not such a good plan. It is pretty overwhelming trying to decide what to do w...

On the weekend, I was on a roll. First of all, no-one, and I mean no-one, wanted to move the loveseat and rocker which we had brought with us. They had served us well, but it was time to move on. Secondly, the time for moving is looming, and we need to have some things in place in order to survive. One of these would be a place to bathe. We had decided to put in a shower unit upstairs. Although we found and loved one which looked something like this, we weren't quite sure what our budget would allow. So I went on a personal mission to find out what a good second-hand shower unit would cost. I went to several places which had such items. Prices varied, but I felt like I had a better idea what was out there, and so went home to discuss it with my husband. He nodded when I told him the information, and that was about it. Until Saturday. I went on a classified ad site, and found a 'corner shower unit', that was much less than what I had seen. Not only that, it came with...

We gave notice. Come what may, the end of July will find us at The Pokeaway full-time. In reality, there isn't as much to move, since we took 'the basics' when we came to the condo, and put the rest in storage. Still, when I look around, I see the bits and pieces of things which we've done to 'manage' being here, and wonder how it will all come together, once we begin to pack in earnest. I have wondered too, what in the world we've got in storage. After a while, when you live with only what you absolutely can't imagine living without, there's a sense of freedom in not being tied down by having to dust all that 'stuff'. Part of me wants never to have to look at the things we packed up. There are very few things in storage which I have wished I had in these past eight months of temporary living. Still, I'm sure that once the dust settles (in about two years), it will be a little like Christmas at our place. "Right!! I forgot ab...

It was a hot, sunny day today. The perfect day to head to the beach. One of my favorite things about summer is taking the opportunity to enjoy a day away - a cheap vacation - and the luxury of sleeping in my own bed at night. But it's more fun to go with someone. I started out a little early, and dropped off some pop bottles, so we could pay for some of the parking. Then I headed over to my in-laws. The girls were very excited. They had all their stuff together, [iPods and sunglasses] and were sitting in their vehicle, waiting to go. The dogs asked politely, with sloppy tongues if they could accompany us, but we said "It's girls only today. Sorry." We weren't exactly sure where we were going. I was the navigator. I said we were heading to one beach, but we ended up at this one by taking a different turn. It didn't matter. We were happy to get out and enjoy the sunshine, and the company. I always enjoy spending time with my mother-in-law. We hav...

At the moment, I'm keeping my husband company, while he watches the semi-finals of the World Cup Soccer Tournament. I'm still in my jammies - although it is already well into the afternoon. It is day three of my July holiday. The first of July was a great taste of the holiday to come. I got to go to the parade with my #1 son, and wave at all the floats, and enjoy the community atmosphere. We had a great vantage point. The only thing was, that the candy ran a little thin by the time they got to us, so we didn't clean up as much as we normally do. My son kept the crowd entertained by yelling random things to the parade entrants. " Thanks for coming to my parade , I really appreciate your support ", and " I'm 100% for whatever cause you are representing" . And when the candy-throwers actually looked like they had some goods, he yelled to the little kids " ATTACK! " It's been a few years since he went to a parade. I had one more day...

I have the opportunity to do a little tutoring during the summer. One of the activities is to make an acrostic poem using the letters of your name. I'm having fun with mine; not quite sure which one to use. M aking my way through the summer, A nd enjoying each day as it comes, R ecalling ye ars gone by and all the places I have been. N ever dreaming I would end up I n one of the most beautiful locations on earth. or M ust A sk R e: N ext I nstallment M oving A nd R eally N eed I nspiration or M any times I feel afraid, A nd wish that I was wiser. R emembering that my earthly steps N eed a divine advisor, I kneel before the Lord.

A few months ago, I was approached by the Activity Director at one of the facilities where I work to see if I would let her pass on my phone number to a resident who wanted to get in touch with me. I said yes, and shortly thereafter, I received a phone call. " Is this Marni ?" she said. " Yes ." " Well I live at _________and I heard you play the piano. Now, I'm turning 100 and I am looking for someone to play at my party in July. I've heard you play, and I think you're quite good. Would you be willing to play? It will be from 2 - 4:30 p.m. on July 3. " After a little thought, [How can I say no to a centenarian?] I said yes. I had two follow-up phone calls, one from the niece and one from the birthday girl. Then earlier this week, I was given a hand-written agenda, with the parts where I was supposed to play outlined and starred in red. . The centenarian had been a school teacher. She was used to organizing people. I ended up havi...