One Part Inspiration...

"Fast away the old year passes."  It certainly has. "Fa. la. la." It has been a year of settling in. There were grey days,  and days of beauty. There were days of celebration, and days of grief. There were surprises and routine. There were new and interesting experiences, Story telling at  "Deaf, Deaf World" Day at my daughter's school and plain old 'get-the-laundry-done' days.  There were projects started; some were completed, and some were put on hold. Preparing for phase #2 of building projects Water feature by the back corner of the house There were connections made. Some will be long-term; others will be added to the memory bank for occasional future reference, but will be brought out to enjoy - like hosting the Japanese students.  サーモンの実行を参照してくださいに旅行 A trip to see the salmon run with the Japanese students Beach day - last weekend before school Once again, I am remin...

I was thinking about this post the other day.  I haven't looked at it since I posted it, but I wanted to know what I'd written and how I'd done.  Things I wanted  to do in 2011 and how it worked : 11. Go for more walks .  Yes, I definitely went for more walks. It was one of my favourite things to do with my friends who came to visit.  Especially since we have a dike to walk along, that makes you feel like you are walking inside of a postcard.  10. Get organized .   Hmm..well, I'm not sure about this one.  I have organized a lot of things.  I think I should have been more specific.  One of the differences between now and then, is that I have more of a feel for how to make things work here at The Pokeaway. 09. Make a difference. I think I made a difference.  Especially at my work.  Using music to connect with people, is an easy way to make a difference - even if it is just in giving people opportunities to have new and i...

I like to watch home shows where the guests show off their skill sets.  I especially like watching how people decorate.  One of the shows I watched recently was very timely.    One of the guests on the show demonstrated four different ways of folding napkins.  I was hosting a birthday party. I had napkins. I watched carefully and then tried it out on my own.  I was very impressed with the results.  The table looked very festive.  The guests seemed to like the effect - despite a few comments about how impractical it was to try and eat dinner with the decorations in the way.  Silly people.  One day they will be socialized. On Christmas morning, my #2 son helped me decorate the table for our brunch.  Again, I was very impressed.  It was festive, and very functional. And then there was my husband, who had good-naturedly suffered through watching one of the many shows I have recorded.  The host was ...

A few years ago, one of the parents of my piano students gave me this little  music box.  It is one of my favourite things about bringing out the Christmas decorations.  It never fails to bring a smile to the face of the person watching it.  So I am sharing it with you here, so you can have a smile too.  I apologize in advance for how quiet the music is.  The tune is 'Pop Goes The Weasal', just in case you can't turn the volume up enough to hear it.  

I admit it.  Gifts are one of my favourite things.  To me, the best gifts are those that are well-thought out and speak to the inside of a person - not just a quick stop at the store to pick up a sausage because it's 4:00 on Christmas Eve.  This is the 24th Christmas I have spent with my husband and when I think back on some of the gifts he has given to me, one of the most memorable was the sewing machine.  The reason for this is that I know that he'd been saving up to buy a computer for himself, and instead, he turned it into a gift for me.  First of all, he wrapped up a pencil sharpener that was shaped like a sewing machine.  He put it in a big box and when I opened that one up, there was a note inside that said "For the real version, go downstairs".  When I went downstairs there was the most beautiful sewing machine.  It runs like butter.  And even though I am not the best seamstress, every time I pull out the sewing machine for a littl...

Many years ago, the day after Valentine`s Day, I called my mother to tell her some very good news.  The night before, my boyfriend had proposed.  I was going to be married!  I remember that I didn't sleep very much at all, after arriving home with a ring on my finger.  I could hardly wait until the morning hour which would make it legimately late enough to call home to tell my mom the happy news.  She lived in a time zone that was three hours ahead of where I was.  I think it was about 6 a.m. my time, when I phoned. What made that conversation even more sweet, is that I had pre-arranged a surprise trip back to my home town. I was leaving that afternoon.   It was a break week from school - the college was going to be shut down anyway, and my brother had agreed to pick me up from the airport, keep me overnight at his apartment, and then take me to the bus the next day, where I would travel a few more hours to make it...

The tree. The tree.  Ah the beautiful tree.   But before that, these: Generally there is a natural disaster that occurs when approaching the tree-felling/decorating event. Needles fall off the tree faster than the water flows down Niagara Falls.....  The lantern fails to light. .... It's too cold and the children stand in one spot and cry they can no longer feel their feet.  .....they get one boot stuck in the mud and are too embarrassed to say anything until the family has arrived back home.  ....SOMEONE forgets to bring rope and SOMEONE ELSE has to ride home with their arm out the window, desperately clutching one branch to stop the tree from falling off the roof while the cold wind whistles past.  .........the discovery that there is only one way to let it stand in the corner because it only has one good side, but SOMEONE failed to notice that little detail when the flashlight shone on it in the field.....or it is too big to fit in the st...

Do you know what a kerschizzle is?  A kerschizzle is an electric impulse which is sent to the limbic system in the brain.  The limbic system is closely associated with the eyebrows and when a kerschizzle happens, it makes a person frown distractedly.  The kerschizzle response is usually the result of many experiences which wreaked havoc in the person's life.  Whatever the subject of said havoc, when the word is mentionse, memories to return in a rush, causing a collapse in a heap with loud moaning. The word that does causes this reaction in me is DECORATIONS.  Specifically the Christmas type.  I have so many havoc-wreaking memories of DECORATIONS, that around this time of year, I experience kerschizzles on a regular basis. That is until this year. It suddenly occured to me that I needn't allow the "D" word to conquer me. Whatever happens happens. Que sera, sera. Fa la la la la la.  I have ...

Another one of my favourite things at Christmas is to play music.  One year, not too long ago, my husband gave me a stereo which plays 3 CDs at a time.  It also has a 'shuffle' feature, so I can listen to three varieties for over two hours.  My current modas operandi is to pick one CD with instrumental music, one with peppy music and one with more meaningful music.  It is a nice balance. That way, I never get bored with one type and if I don't like a particular version of a song that the artist does, I figure something better must be coming up next. There is one caviat to enjoying Christmas music.  I can't play it if I feel the least bit melancholy. Playing well known and such sentimental music can create a kind of a homesickness inside of me and before long, I find myself in a puddle.  Finding myself in a puddle is not always a bad thing though, especially if my husband is around to see me dissolve.  He is a pretty good...

There's certain things about the Christmas season that I love.  One of them is the  movies.  I love Christmas movies.  The plots are so thin you can see right through them.  And that's one of my favourite things. They usually feature a well dressed individual, who doesn't have their priorities straight.  They live in a beautiful neighbourhood and yet never get around to enjoying their surroundings because they are too busy working all the time.  The car they drive is always expensive looking and fast; they tap their fingers distractedly on the steering wheel alot - usually while they are talking on a Bluetooth to reschedule all their appointments because they are stuck in traffic. Somewhere along the line, something catastrophic happens. Or perhaps I should say something magical.  There is a """"RANDOM"""" (*wink** wink*)  meeting with a person who has the power to effect change.  Once th...