One Part Inspiration...

It was a beautiful summer's evening.  My husband and I were inside, happily ensconced in relaxation - tea and goodies in hand.  The quiet evening was interrupted when the dog began barking non-stop.   Neither one of us wanted to move from our respective spots. However, Henrik has a very loud bark and we have small neighbours next door.  They go to bed long before we do.   Finally after several minutes of hoping the barking would stop, I decided to go investigate. I got up and went to the door and reprimanded the dog for his noisy outburst. And then I looked closer. No wonder he was barking!  A blue heron had parked itself on the barn roof, apparently with the intention to catch some of the frogs that were in the newly cleaned-out pond that my husband had dug last year. I called my husband to come, see. Then I ran to get the camera, tip-toed outside and took this picture. The heron didn't move. Then I checked the picture and ...

Yesterday, my husband and I had a chance to take a quick trip to a favourite spot - we have lots of memories wrapped up in one lake. We have holidayed there, we have had community beach parties, we have shopped, and wandered through the streets and down to the hot springs.   We decided to add to our treasure book of memories. We started down the road towards one park, but found ourselves at a completely different - yet familiar - side of the lake - and all because I said turn right instead of left . Not too far from the beach is a tree that has our initials on it.  My husband carved them before we got married. Although we didn't end up hiking up to see the tree, we talked about it as we sat and watched a blended family play at the beach. We compared the kids to ours at that age - the older sister who never liked her brother trying to get her wet. - the younger brother who could think of a million ways to douse his sister, and the youngest boy,  whose gre...

I have been looking at this bench for several years. My husband bought it for me as a Mother's Day gift a decade ago.  Over time, the sheen has become dull and there were bite marks from teething puppies on the handles.  It is much loved, but worn looking. I decided to bring the bench back to life. One summer day, my daughter and I went to the paint store.  She had some projects too.  After much discussion, I bought "onyx" stain (at a great discount) and armed myself with some new paint brushes. One of the reasons I felt free to start the project was an afternoon I had spent with a flap sander that someone had given to me.  I was able to sand down the handles enough to smooth out the puppy bites.   The bench was  paint-ready.   As you can see, Kitty was a good supervisor throughout the task. It was a messy job.  I had enough forethought to wear gloves. Otherwise, people might have thought I was born in Africa. I decided to take a...

Yesterday was my birthday.  I love my birthday. I really should date these statements.  I wrote that sentence  a year ago.  And it has sat in my 'drafts' post box ever since.  Every time I look in the 'drafts', I see it and wonder if I should finish it.    But then I get distracted and close it up for another day.  Well, today is another day.  I will finish it, because yesterday WAS my birthday.  And I do love my birthday! I don't remember all the birthdays that I have had.  However I do have a sampling of some memorable ones.  Here they are in no particular order: My fifth birthday, when my brother made me a play house out of a big cardboard box, complete with curtains - and surprised me with it when I woke up that day The year my sister made me a set of birthday scrolls - each wrapped with a little golden ring, with memories of our growing years and beyond inscribed and drawings of us on them. The year a girlf...

" Sure Glad That's Over "   My husband says he is going to put this statement on my gravestone. (Secretly I think he'd do it too...if it doesn't cost too much) Over the years, he has heard me utter this statement many times.  It is a bit of a mantra. Saying "Sure Glad That's Over"  may have to do with some project I have to focus on, with  a deadline looming, at which time I will have to have my act together (parties, recitals, presentations) and I feel overwhelmed by the details. I often say it when I am in the middle of a tunnel of activity and can't see the light of day. And sometimes I utter the statement when I have something to do that  I am dreading (dental appointments, music performances)  and know that I just have to muscle through and finish.  Sometimes the phrase isn't "I'm sure glad that's over", but "I'll be so glad when ____"  I caught myself saying this often in the process of renovati...

Meet Tiller.  He is my husband's answer to the fact that our venture in borrowing Grampa's rototiller didn't work, and the weeds are winning in the new area we have designated for the garden.  Tiller's job is to eat the weeds, fertilize the area and get the clay-laden soil ready for us to till next year. Henrik is very curious about this new pet.  He has spent endless hours trying to nip Tiller, lick Tiller, bark at him and race him up and down the fence line.  A few times he has even figured out how to get into Tiller's space and terrorize him.  The funny thing, is, Tiller is a very social animal.  I half believe that he thinks he is another dog.  He willingly races Henrik as far as he can around the perimeter of the fence, and then squeals and snorts and calls for Henrik when he disappears out of sight. They have conversations together.  Henrik is louder than Tiller.  He has a very LOUD bark.  And he gets overly excited about T...

When my sister and I were young, we used to play house.  One of the most common statements we made was " Let's pretend that didn't happen ".  This meant, that we had a do-over.  The script just wasn't making sense, or it wasn't fun any more and we needed to start again.   Unfortunately, this cannot be used in real life.  " Let's pretend that didn't happen"  just doesn't work.  It may not be fun any more.  It may not make sense.  But a 'do-over' isn't an option.  Your only choice is to deal with the life script you are given.   In the past few months, I have had several conversations with people whose life scripts took a very different turn than what they had envisioned in their 'playing house' days. Some experienced loss of relationships.  Others lost loved ones much too soon. Others are dealing with financial or health issues.  They each could say "I never would have imagined this is how my life would turn...