One Part Inspiration...

I don't know why, but this winter seems to have been a very long one. Maybe it is because we moved to The Pokeaway just as it was settling in. And there were several big storms - not as much snow as they promised, but the wind! oh the wind! Add to this, getting used to how the house sounds and acts when these storms hit, and it made for quite a few sleep-deprived nights. In early March, I suddenly realized that the cherry tree was beginning to show signs of hope. The little blossoms appeared in their initial dark pink state. Each day I watched the progress. It is the second year I have watched the transformation. But last year, I watched from a different vantage point. Back then, when we were in the middle of all the destruction and reconstruction, I imagined myself standing on the landing of the stairs, looking out the window and seeing the tree. This morning, was the culmination of that dream

Today, I got to spend the day celebrating my husband's birthday. I took it as a holiday, just for a start. It was a fun day. I did a few errands in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I went and bought him his birthday presents and got some things for his birthday supper. Buying something for him is always a dillema. Should I buy something practical? (Clothes) Or something useful? (Tools) Or something that I want? (A new lipstick) Usually, if I have a brilliant idea, I find out afterwards that he has been way ahead of me and bought it already. One year, I bought him a router table, and not too long after that, he proudly showed me the router table that he had found on sale. So I had to take mine back. Then, not wanting to be outdone, I thought I would get a router book. I reasoned that because he likes manuals, he might like to read up on how to use the router. A couple days after that, he came home and said " Well, I did what you always do. I saved some money and so I sp...

I don't like clothes shopping. You may have guessed that by now. I try to avoid it if I can. I'm allergic to humiliation. There's something about walking into a store, trying to guess my size, and being completely wrong, that gives me hives. One time, I went into a store where they give you numbers to keep track of what you try on. If you decide you don't want something, you have to give it back and they give you another number. And you can't go back out on the floor to see if there's something more appropriate, unless you don't have any numbers left. Already uncomfortable with this system, I ventured into the change room and found that the dress didn't fit. I went back out to the guard lady in the change room, and asked quietly if it came in a larger size. She yelled out to the woman at the other end of the store " SALLY, CAN YOU GET THIS IN A LARGER SIZE?? ?" I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole before she said anythin...

What a great idea to have a spring holiday! I am filling it bits of nothing: a trip to the airport, to pick up my husband and father-in-law, who had returned from a weekend trip; a shopping spree with my son, who has grown out of another round of jeans; cleaning windows (not very successfully) to let the sun shine in; reading; planning parties; researching how much it would cost to move the piano to The Pokeaway (cough, cough,...maybe I'll just find someone with a trailer); going to see my daughter receive a bursary for further schooling. It has been such fun to have the option to decide what each day will hold. I planned my holiday well. I have four days this week, and three days next week to enjoy (not including the weekends). And to top it off, the weather has been really gorgeous. Today, I looked out and saw that the willow tree had leaves starting! And when I went for my walk, I saw at least two cherry trees in full bloom. Ours is next I think. I don't even feel one...

On Sunday, I did something I haven't done in a while. I went to my daughter's soccer game. Not only that, but I drove five young people there. It brought me back to 'the old days' of weekends spent driving to sports, watching sports, going to the drive through on the way back to celebrate wins, or mop up losses. The difference now is, the size of the players. One of the girls on my daughter's team was over six feet. She made a handy post for one of the other team's players to slam up against. The weather was good. And most of the game was played in the light. It was a good afternoon.

When he was little, he would begin dreaming of his birthday party, several months ahead. Every day he asked me how many days it was until the celebration. Finally I told him that I would not discuss his birthday until the 1st of March. So he never said a word for the rest of February. On February 28, he was asked to say grace. " Thank you God this day. Thank you for this year. And thank you God, that it is almost March the 1st ." Over the years, we have had many types of celebrations. I remember planning hot dog roasts, making bingo games, and a laser tag expedition, or two. But this birthday was different. He was going to be responsible to plan it all. For several weeks we had discussions about what types of activities he would have, who would come, how long they would stay, and what kind of food we would serve.. I set up an on-line 'sign up', but in the end, he got it all done on another social network. The kids arrived at one. The last of them left at nine. It went...

All right already. I'm a little steamed. I got a notice from my employer saying I have to get a Criminal Record Check. It will be my expense and will come off my paycheque . No reimbursement. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I phone the contact man up and ask if I can submit the Criminal Record Check I had done last year when I started my other job. He said no. When I questioned him further, he said that the information on this one was different than the one I had done last year. So I pressed further and asked what information they would be looking for. He said "This one will have information about working with children under nineteen, and frail adults." I told him that is the same type of check I had done last year, and he said "Well, there's other information as well." So I asked him what other information would be required that would be different. Well, he couldn't tell me, but he was sure it was different. R.e.a.l.l.y.? I was stunned at...

I'm feeling all nostalgic today. It's this little guy's sixteenth birthday. The time has flown by. From the beginning, he has been a joy. He is not a person who is easily panicked. He takes life in, and turns it over in his mind and sometimes that is where it stays; other times, he comes out with the most captivating observations. Always good at drawing, he would substitute drawing in the air, if he didn't know the name of things. "Mom, where's the whift whift whift [sound of his finger drawing in the air]" and if I could figure out the shape, I would know where to help him find it. This year, he got a stellar 98.2% in art. This is one of his pieces. He is the third child, and had to spend more time watching than being invited to play. And he couldn't get a word in edgewise, if he had wanted to,because the others in the family were so busy talking. One day I was explaining the concept of a credit card to his brother. I used the example of a c...

The other night, it happened again. I did something stupid, and am bruised and battered. I can show you this one. But not the other four, because they are in impermissable places. They do have the most interesting shapes however, and have provided me with much entertainment as I have tried to find a comfortable way to sit, and lie down. I am rather prone to injury. I should accept that by now. But it never occurs to me in the heat of the moment, that my actions will result in disaster. I just think " Hey, look at that! I can skate backwards!" or " I will just show the youth pastor how to wrap my hand around this rope swing and swing over this gulley .", or " Why don't we just jump off this moving hay wagon and see what happens ", or " I'll just try and look really cool, as I slide down this bannister, while my school mates are watching ." This particular event happened when I was at a bridal shower. I don't want to go into details, b...

Something you cannot see when you read my blog are my drafts . As of today, I am up to fifteen. Every time I open up my blog to write, I see them. They are highlighted with the word draft . Every once in a while, I open them up to see what I have written. I make an attempt to alter them, to make them satisfactory (in my opinion) for publishing. Some of them I completely revamp and publish; some have been there for a few years. Each draft hangs askew like a picture without a properly placed hook. It's hard to know exactly what to do with them. The draft file is the blog junk drawer - It contains odds and sods of useful bits and pieces I may use one day, and I am reluctant to press "Delete". Quotes I like. Topics that have appealed to me. My views on life in general, and nothing in particular. Most days I am content to close the drawer and open a new one because all that clutter confuses me and makes me unable to work. So I open up "New Post"...