One Part Inspiration...

Random thankful thoughts: Thankful for heat This year, for the first time in three years, we will have heat radiating from a heat source that isn't electrically oriented.   We made it through two winters of living here without a heat source.  And we have the Hydro bills to prove it.  Once the radiators were hooked up and running, my husband was so excited he turned the heat right up to 25 degrees Celsius.  It worked great.  The only problem was that it was one of the hottest days of the year already.  What we learned from this exercise is that the radiators heat up quickly and they hold their heat for a really long time.   We all took a long cold shower to counteract the effects of this experiment. I am already thankful for the heat.  I will not take it for granted.  

Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I have been busy at work, getting together some programs to celebrate.  And, as in every year while I'm doing this, I am reminded again of the way gratitude transforms. So I am starting on a little project of my own. I cannot promise a certain number of posts on this, but I am going to focus on expressing gratitude for the next little while, until we finish eating the turkey dinner! One of the things I have been most grateful for in the past six weeks is the unprecedented number of dry, sunny days we have had.  It's been a chance for the garden to have another 'go-round' - my hanging baskets which are not stellar by this point of the year, have started a second life.  The poppy which normally blooms in spring, has bloomed again.  Gorgeous. More than that though, it has meant not having to worry about the furniture being moved in and out while the flooring went down. Which brings me to my new favour...

under our paint job at the front door, my husband painted this tree... what is on the floor under the carpet?  only the contractor knows... a love note left from the contractor to the plumber about placement of the fixtures other directions...what does that arrow mean? vanity and tiling ready to be put in the ensuite... last time you'll see this plywood flooring measurements written down for those who know what it means When we were pulling apart The Pokeaway, we found a lot of hidden stuff.  Most of it was junk.  But every once in a while, there was a message written somewhere that meant something to whoever would find it.  I found that part of our journey endlessly interesting.  It was like a construction geocache.  We have had a few  construction geocaches at The Pokeaway.  I've posted them above. Another geocache I find interesting, is the piece of door trim that documents the heights of the children at certain a...

A passage of time has come and gone.   September 4 was my last first day of sending kids to school.   I  followed him down the street while he was walking towards the bus stop, until he caught me.   I felt a little sheepish, because his eyes told me that he knew why I was there.   He graciously let me walk the rest of the way with him.   And then take my 'last-first'day' picture as he got on the bus. These moments are cherished in a mother's memory.  Unfortunately, mothers don't usually have the time or space to sit and soak in reflection.   The bus had barely rumbled down the street, when the phone rang reminding me I had a dental appointment.  And so, the moment passed.   I wiped my eyes and got in the van. 

Ever since March, when we got the green light to go ahead and begin another phase of the reconstruction of The Pokeaway, my life has been in reverse.  What do I mean by this, you might be asking.  Good question.  I will try and explain. First, there was the pulling up of the floor in the dining room to drill a hole through to the crawl space, so that the plumbing could be installed.  Once the plumbing was in place, we had to find someone who would know how to treat the radiators we bought - they were very grungy-looking and needed testing to make sure that they wouldn't leak once they were installed.  [We had found them on Ebay.  They were working but had been taken out for a newer application.]  This actually took a VERY long time.  Radiators, and the care of them is not something that is common anymore.   But because my designer husband wanted to restore the look of this  house built in the 1940's, work was stalled until...

On my way to work one day, I got very itchy. I thought I was being a hypochondriac. With all the work being done in the house, there were lots of creepy-crawlies but I was sure none had entered the van with me.  But when I got to work, I looked in the mirror and sure enough there was bite marks on my neck and shoulders.  I peeled my collar back and a little black something fell on the floor.  I couldn't see where it had dropped, but I felt sure it was the culprit of my bites.  The itchiness continued.  I went to the staff meeting, and continued to scratch (ever so discreetly).   After the meeting, I showed one of my co-workers the results of the bug's work and said I was paranoid that there were more bugs trying to bite me.  She suggested that I use the industrial dryer we have at work for a few minutes.  "Put it on hot" she said "and it will kill anything in your clothes". I thought this was a good idea.   Off I went to the laundry...

Take a beautiful setting such as a "Friendship Garden" in the city and it makes a wonderful backdrop for a Friendship Birthday Gig.  Some of the ingredients included a thermos of hot water and a small tub, for the birthday girl to soak her feet while the henna was being applied.  Other ingredients were a warm summer evening and the element of surprise - we just showed up at her door with and took her away for the evening.   The three of us have been friends for a very long time, and the birthday girl had celebrated a milestone.  As it turned out, we had to postpone our celebration of it because of conflicting schedules, but in the end it was a lovely way to extend welcoming her to the "Ruby" club. We took our time with the events we had planned for the evening,  and ended up at a private venue for a birthday tea.  While the tea was being steeped, she got to enjoy a mini-pedicure and foot massage.  Caramel corn and other goodies ...