The two-day workshop kept me focused outside of myself. Being back at my desk today allowed me to focus inward again - not a good thing. It didn't help that it was yet again rainy, dark, windy, miserable weather.
I have always suffered from a tendency to react psychosomatically to bad thoughts, and currently I find myself in a downward spiral caused by lack of sleep, accumulating exhaustion, frustration, and anger.
It takes a lot of energy to counter this process, which can really gain speed and mass if left alone: the sadness creates the tiredness which disinclines me to exercise which then exacerbates the tiredness and the sadness.
When I am happy, I have energy; when I am sad/angry/frustrated and feeling powerless, I have no energy. So, I have to make a conscious effort - and I am always amazed at what an effort it is - to break free. Tomorrow, luckily, I am going to see my wonderful energy healer, and then on Saturday I will go to yoga.
The most import thing for me for next week is to lay out a plan for going to yoga several times, and then to do it - the benefits are enormous when I do go, I know this.
But man, when I feel like this, I am paralyzed.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Keeping on
Today I actually got to work in an area of strength - instructing a mentoring workshop. I had been asked to do the EDS mentoring workshop for Prevention, and we have scheduled 2 to start with. The first one is today and tomorrow, and then the second one will be December 1/2 (gad - December?).
After the disappointment of yesterday, it was very satisfying to go into the classroom again and realize that I do have strengths - I am able to be entertaining and funny and still make a lot of points using information that people want to know about mentoring. I have 15 participants, just a good number, and they are joining in and seemingly enjoying the process, asking questions, etc. They have a good sense of fun, and while I can see a few using their laptops, I don't mind, because they are doing it only a little bit and still participating in the activities.
I inherited the mentoring workshop as a very popular item in our EDS calendar, and I think I have kept the intent and the integrity even though I have rearranged the syllabus, so I feel pretty good about it. And I sure needed that today!
After the disappointment of yesterday, it was very satisfying to go into the classroom again and realize that I do have strengths - I am able to be entertaining and funny and still make a lot of points using information that people want to know about mentoring. I have 15 participants, just a good number, and they are joining in and seemingly enjoying the process, asking questions, etc. They have a good sense of fun, and while I can see a few using their laptops, I don't mind, because they are doing it only a little bit and still participating in the activities.
I inherited the mentoring workshop as a very popular item in our EDS calendar, and I think I have kept the intent and the integrity even though I have rearranged the syllabus, so I feel pretty good about it. And I sure needed that today!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Autumn colours
I really love walking around on a sunny Fall day (or a day with some sunny periods and lots of grey or black clouds) and taking pictures. I am getting to know my Nikon D80 little by little, and I enjoyed using it to capture these October colours.
Here is one of my favourite of this year's autumn photos, mostly because of the strong dark trunk and my favourite approach - backlighting. I had several walks in the neighbourhood in October, and every time, I am most seduced by the colours and the light when the sun is behind the subject.
This huge yellow tree is also backlit, but the effect is different because of the small size of the leaves - I was captivated by its lacy effect. I am not sure what these trees are, but when you have a whole street of them, the tunnel effect created is amazing. I was trying to capture that by shooting from the middle of the sidewalk, which goes back into the photo, leading your eyes to the next tree. Another visually attractive aspect of these particular trees is the extra growth they get on the trunks, which shows up here as a golden fuzz on the tree bole. And again, the darkness of the trunk and branches provides a strong contrast to the yellow-gold aura of the rest of the tree.Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Remembrance Day Part Two
We went out in the afternoon after checking the weather as best we could and deciding, based on the number and size and blackness of the clouds, to take the car to Granville Bridge and the Seawall. Had a very nice walk going east from Granville Street as far as Cambie Bridge and back again, during which time it was variously sunny, spitting rain, and threatening.
After almost an hour's hike, we drove to Jericho Beach thinking to have a beer at the Jericho Sailing Club's neat little hideaway cafe, which overlooks the ocean and a great view, but it was closed - not only closed, but in the middle of renovations. So off we went to Granville Island to the Arts Club Lounge....Closed. Undaunted (and very thirsty), we walked over to Bridge's under a very threatening and black sky, and were welcomed in to the warmth and general social chaos, there to enjoy calamari and a drink.
By the time we walked back to the car it seemed as though the worst of the weather had blown over, mostly making the North Shore very wet, but apparently the rains are to appear tonight. For us, we had a lovely afternoon without getting pissed on!
After almost an hour's hike, we drove to Jericho Beach thinking to have a beer at the Jericho Sailing Club's neat little hideaway cafe, which overlooks the ocean and a great view, but it was closed - not only closed, but in the middle of renovations. So off we went to Granville Island to the Arts Club Lounge....Closed. Undaunted (and very thirsty), we walked over to Bridge's under a very threatening and black sky, and were welcomed in to the warmth and general social chaos, there to enjoy calamari and a drink.
By the time we walked back to the car it seemed as though the worst of the weather had blown over, mostly making the North Shore very wet, but apparently the rains are to appear tonight. For us, we had a lovely afternoon without getting pissed on!
Remembrance Day 2009
Red for Poppy Day. Didn't go to the Cenotaph this year, but have honoured our veterans on my own. Most significant was the collection of portraits the students in the Langley Fine Arts School did of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan - absolutely amazing work - portraits are very difficult to do, and the kids created beautiful and moving tributes to all the soldiers who have died there so far. It was very moving to read the reaction of the families, as well....They seemed to appreciate the gesture from the young students equally as much as the finished portraits.
My nephew-in-law, Jake, is scheduled to go to Afghanistan with the US Marines; in fact, he may have already left, I'm not sure. He and Sophie live down in California so we are somewhat out-of-touch, although Sophie lives on Facebook, and I take my info from her postings. She is completely in the military social circle, with friends consisting of marine couples....They sound like a bunch of teenagers (although they are all around 20 years old now) having fun with bbq's and such, but the reality is, they are facing losing their spouses for a large chunk of time to a battle zone. I hope Sophie has lots of support for while she is alone and worrying about Jake.
My father was never in the military, and spent the Second World War working in Edmonton, where apparently some woman on the street handed him a white feather to indicate that she thought he was a coward for not being in the army, when the fact was that they wouldn't take him because he had had tuberculosis. He would have been 27 when the war started, so I guess people thought he should be signed up.
My grandfather, my mother's father, spent the First World War overseas driving an ambulance. I don't know whether that was because he was a Conscientious Objector, or just his job in the army. He died when I was 6 and I never had a chance to talk to him about it. His son, my Uncle Arch, was in the Navy during the Second World War and part of the crew that captured a German submarine off the East Coast, but he never talked about it either. He learned to be a diver in the navy, the kind that went down in a suit with an on-the-boat air pump (i.e. not Scuba) and he did some diving commercially after the war, before becoming a tug boat captain. Arch looked very handsome in his navy uniform, I must say - he was in his early 20's, I think.
One thing I am very grateful for is that my 2 dear sons have not had to face going to war and have had no inclination, being of an artistic bent, to choose the armed forces as a career. I remember when the first Gulf War started, that was my immediate reaction - OMG we're at war - what does this mean for Jordan and Liam? But it didn't last long, and it really was never a full-on, fight-to-maintain Canadian sovereignty type of war, so the fighting was restricted to 'career' soldiers and not the general public, as in previous wars. In fact, the Gulf Wars were so small that I cannot remember their dates - something I feel bad about, as some Canadians did die, and others ended up having collateral damage as a result of being part of it.
Anyway, I honour the war dead and the survivors in my own way, with thanks.
My nephew-in-law, Jake, is scheduled to go to Afghanistan with the US Marines; in fact, he may have already left, I'm not sure. He and Sophie live down in California so we are somewhat out-of-touch, although Sophie lives on Facebook, and I take my info from her postings. She is completely in the military social circle, with friends consisting of marine couples....They sound like a bunch of teenagers (although they are all around 20 years old now) having fun with bbq's and such, but the reality is, they are facing losing their spouses for a large chunk of time to a battle zone. I hope Sophie has lots of support for while she is alone and worrying about Jake.
My father was never in the military, and spent the Second World War working in Edmonton, where apparently some woman on the street handed him a white feather to indicate that she thought he was a coward for not being in the army, when the fact was that they wouldn't take him because he had had tuberculosis. He would have been 27 when the war started, so I guess people thought he should be signed up.
My grandfather, my mother's father, spent the First World War overseas driving an ambulance. I don't know whether that was because he was a Conscientious Objector, or just his job in the army. He died when I was 6 and I never had a chance to talk to him about it. His son, my Uncle Arch, was in the Navy during the Second World War and part of the crew that captured a German submarine off the East Coast, but he never talked about it either. He learned to be a diver in the navy, the kind that went down in a suit with an on-the-boat air pump (i.e. not Scuba) and he did some diving commercially after the war, before becoming a tug boat captain. Arch looked very handsome in his navy uniform, I must say - he was in his early 20's, I think.
One thing I am very grateful for is that my 2 dear sons have not had to face going to war and have had no inclination, being of an artistic bent, to choose the armed forces as a career. I remember when the first Gulf War started, that was my immediate reaction - OMG we're at war - what does this mean for Jordan and Liam? But it didn't last long, and it really was never a full-on, fight-to-maintain Canadian sovereignty type of war, so the fighting was restricted to 'career' soldiers and not the general public, as in previous wars. In fact, the Gulf Wars were so small that I cannot remember their dates - something I feel bad about, as some Canadians did die, and others ended up having collateral damage as a result of being part of it.
Anyway, I honour the war dead and the survivors in my own way, with thanks.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thanksgiving Monday 09
It is early on Thanksgiving Monday - I'm up because I woke up at 5 am and couldn't get back to sleep. that may be thanks to the homeopathic journey I have begun - sleeplessness is one of the symptoms I hope to remedy, and the process involves getting worse before you get better. Being wide awake at 5 am and unable even to doze qualifies as worse, even for me!
Already I have something to be thankful for - the forecast for this week originally was rain starting today and lasting all week, but the increasing light outside is revealing a beautiful, clear day. Since the kidlets are coming over today, it would be nice to be able to go outside and play....
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner, with all of my kids, grandkids, stepkids, and Gerald - a full house to be thankful for ;-).
I am going to come back to this during the day; right now, I have been up for almost 2 hours and, since JR is awake now too, I can get into the kitchen and rustle up some food without waking anyone.
Already I have something to be thankful for - the forecast for this week originally was rain starting today and lasting all week, but the increasing light outside is revealing a beautiful, clear day. Since the kidlets are coming over today, it would be nice to be able to go outside and play....
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner, with all of my kids, grandkids, stepkids, and Gerald - a full house to be thankful for ;-).
I am going to come back to this during the day; right now, I have been up for almost 2 hours and, since JR is awake now too, I can get into the kitchen and rustle up some food without waking anyone.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Holiday Trifecta
We finished our wine-tasting tour with Zanata (not sure of the spelling) and Godfrey Brownell (sure of the spelling ;-). The first place was in a nice old house, but the host was in a hurry, as he had a bus tour arriving momentarily. The wines were quite nice - we particularly liked the whites - but not outstanding. But I did help myself to some money plant seeds in the garden on the way out - I figured they were probably not going to be harvested, and I have been wanting to plant some money plants. Back when I was a poor single mum, I thought it was a giggle having money plants at the front door, and I have been wanting to grow them again. Now I have the seeds, but I'll have to wait until next spring to plant them.
Our last winery was Godfrey Brownell, an odd place that Rob, Nikki, and I had visited in 2007 when we did our all-day wine-tasting tour with Pete, Irene, and Elsa. The grounds look run-down and neglected - there are weeds in the vineyards, and the terrace bricks are crumbling, and the whole operation looks very, very low-key - as if no one really cares what people think.
When I was there last time, we all liked the wines, and I bought 2 bottles of a red named William Malman, one of which we consumed that night at Rob's. It was offered this time too, and I still liked it - in fact, Liam bought a bottle, but I did warn him that my second bottle, which we carefully saved for a year before opening, had turned to vinegar! Their best wines were $40 each, so I was not tempted to purchase either one; Liam agreed that, while they were tasty, they were not worth $40.
Overall, it is a slightly strange experience at Godfrey Brownell; the look of the place does not inspire confidence, yet they have some good wines, and this time they had also a jazz duet playing very nice music back under the trees. But very few customers. Liam looked them up later and reported that the look of the place is a deliberate choice, not neglect....I'm still not sure it works for me!
After stocking up on some groceries, we went home and played a hilarious game of Pictionary while waiting for the very delicious roast chicken to cook. After dinner, we played Balderdash, again to much hilarity. While Therese didn't come on the wine tour (she is, after all, only 16), she did join in the games, and we all had some good laughs. Later, we just relaxed in the living room and drank wine and yakked.
The next morning I was up at 7 am again, and it was sunny - I even put on shorts. But by the time the others were up, it had clouded over, and the rain came pouring down, accompanied by strong winds. Finally, by noon, it was simply cloudy but not raining, so we grabbed a quick sandwich and loaded up the car with our luggage, thinking to look at some shops and galleries in Nanaimo before going to the ferry. But we took the Yellowpoint road to go past Rob and Nikki's old house, and decided to stop at the very lovely (even in the dripping wet) Roberts Memorial Park, where we used to visit when Rob and co. lived a mile or so down the road. It was a very nice walk beneath huge cedars out to the beach, which is sloping and flat rocks, not gravel or sand. Everything smelled fresh and verdant, and I was delighted to be there again.
Invigorated by our short hike, we stopped at my favourite neighbourhood pub, the Crow and Gate, which is an old-English style pub in a park-like setting on Yellowpoint Road, not far from Cedar. Liam and Mel had never been, and were quite delighted with the appearance both outside and inside. It was very crowded, so much so that we tried sitting outside for a while, but it started raining again and we ended up on a bench beside the fireplace, but we eventually got a table. We were having such a good time talking and laughing that we decided to have another round and a couple of ploughman's lunches, and just stay there. I really enjoyed it, as I rarely get to go to a pub, having a partner who doesn't like beer and who has a dim view of pubs in general - although he likes the Crow and Gate just fine!
Mel, Liam, and I caught the 5:45 ferry, and sat in the caf eating snack food and relaxing: Mel watching Grey's Anatomy on her new Notebook; Liam writing up his wine-tasting notes; me reading my book.
We took the jitney together to the long-term parking lot, found our cars, and headed home. When I got home about 8:30, John and Daisy were at Angus and Natalie's - he had installed their new dishwasher for them. I was invited over for a glass of wine and a viewing, but I was by then too tired of traveling and wanting to just nest.
All in all, a great visit on the Island, and I still had the holiday Monday free to spend time doing chores. John and I had brunch and Scrabble with Angus and Tash, then Tash and I went shopping, all over town, for bookshelves. I had decided that we desperately needed shelves for the books piling up in the basement, so off we went. We ended up at IKEA and bought 2 different shelves, one for my office and one for downstairs books.
Then Angus and Tash came over for a movie and pizza, and we had some laughs - Angus WILL talk during the dialogue - then John went off to close down the Bonanza Gallery for the last day of the PNE (yay!!!!) and A&T went to the PNE to pick up Andre, who was working at the Gallery.
I unfortunately woke up at 4 am unable to sleep any more even though I needed to, with a sinus headache, so I stayed home from work. And here I am.
Our last winery was Godfrey Brownell, an odd place that Rob, Nikki, and I had visited in 2007 when we did our all-day wine-tasting tour with Pete, Irene, and Elsa. The grounds look run-down and neglected - there are weeds in the vineyards, and the terrace bricks are crumbling, and the whole operation looks very, very low-key - as if no one really cares what people think.
When I was there last time, we all liked the wines, and I bought 2 bottles of a red named William Malman, one of which we consumed that night at Rob's. It was offered this time too, and I still liked it - in fact, Liam bought a bottle, but I did warn him that my second bottle, which we carefully saved for a year before opening, had turned to vinegar! Their best wines were $40 each, so I was not tempted to purchase either one; Liam agreed that, while they were tasty, they were not worth $40.
Overall, it is a slightly strange experience at Godfrey Brownell; the look of the place does not inspire confidence, yet they have some good wines, and this time they had also a jazz duet playing very nice music back under the trees. But very few customers. Liam looked them up later and reported that the look of the place is a deliberate choice, not neglect....I'm still not sure it works for me!
After stocking up on some groceries, we went home and played a hilarious game of Pictionary while waiting for the very delicious roast chicken to cook. After dinner, we played Balderdash, again to much hilarity. While Therese didn't come on the wine tour (she is, after all, only 16), she did join in the games, and we all had some good laughs. Later, we just relaxed in the living room and drank wine and yakked.
The next morning I was up at 7 am again, and it was sunny - I even put on shorts. But by the time the others were up, it had clouded over, and the rain came pouring down, accompanied by strong winds. Finally, by noon, it was simply cloudy but not raining, so we grabbed a quick sandwich and loaded up the car with our luggage, thinking to look at some shops and galleries in Nanaimo before going to the ferry. But we took the Yellowpoint road to go past Rob and Nikki's old house, and decided to stop at the very lovely (even in the dripping wet) Roberts Memorial Park, where we used to visit when Rob and co. lived a mile or so down the road. It was a very nice walk beneath huge cedars out to the beach, which is sloping and flat rocks, not gravel or sand. Everything smelled fresh and verdant, and I was delighted to be there again.
Invigorated by our short hike, we stopped at my favourite neighbourhood pub, the Crow and Gate, which is an old-English style pub in a park-like setting on Yellowpoint Road, not far from Cedar. Liam and Mel had never been, and were quite delighted with the appearance both outside and inside. It was very crowded, so much so that we tried sitting outside for a while, but it started raining again and we ended up on a bench beside the fireplace, but we eventually got a table. We were having such a good time talking and laughing that we decided to have another round and a couple of ploughman's lunches, and just stay there. I really enjoyed it, as I rarely get to go to a pub, having a partner who doesn't like beer and who has a dim view of pubs in general - although he likes the Crow and Gate just fine!
Mel, Liam, and I caught the 5:45 ferry, and sat in the caf eating snack food and relaxing: Mel watching Grey's Anatomy on her new Notebook; Liam writing up his wine-tasting notes; me reading my book.
We took the jitney together to the long-term parking lot, found our cars, and headed home. When I got home about 8:30, John and Daisy were at Angus and Natalie's - he had installed their new dishwasher for them. I was invited over for a glass of wine and a viewing, but I was by then too tired of traveling and wanting to just nest.
All in all, a great visit on the Island, and I still had the holiday Monday free to spend time doing chores. John and I had brunch and Scrabble with Angus and Tash, then Tash and I went shopping, all over town, for bookshelves. I had decided that we desperately needed shelves for the books piling up in the basement, so off we went. We ended up at IKEA and bought 2 different shelves, one for my office and one for downstairs books.
Then Angus and Tash came over for a movie and pizza, and we had some laughs - Angus WILL talk during the dialogue - then John went off to close down the Bonanza Gallery for the last day of the PNE (yay!!!!) and A&T went to the PNE to pick up Andre, who was working at the Gallery.
I unfortunately woke up at 4 am unable to sleep any more even though I needed to, with a sinus headache, so I stayed home from work. And here I am.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Holiday Deux
We picked Mel and Liam up at the ferry about 12:30, and went straight home to decide on our afternoon activity which, by that time, had to include a place to eat lunch. We ended up in Chemainus, at the Willow, a very nice sandwich place. The sun was pretty much staying out, and there was a strong wind blowing, and it was clear and crisp and gorgeous after the rain of the morning (Rob and I went through several separate downpours on the way to the ferry).
Liam had brought a Wine Access magazine with write-ups on the wineries of Canada, or maybe just BC, and he was interested in a place called Averill Wines, so we headed there. It is just north of Duncan, off the road to Cowichan Lake. We saw the sign and turned off the highway, and proceeded up a rather long, gravel road, climbing steadily. We were all kind of wondering whether there really was a winery at the end of it, especially when we passed a field of very neglected-looking grape vines, but suddenly we saw fields and fields of very healthy-looking vines covered in blue netting, and immediately after that, a stunning wood/glass/rock building, brand-new and surrounded by rock gardens - Averill Winery!
This was our first stop on our wine-tasting tour, and it turned out to be the best, in hindsight - although we sensed that might be the case when we looked at the grounds, and then tasted their wine. Liam produced his business card - Icon Wines, which resulted in a very nice talk with the owner and a tasting of a wine he doesn't normally pour. He turned out to be a retired physician who was very interested in Mel's pregnancy and very fun to talk to.
I took several photos while we were there - not only did the winery look beautiful itself, when you turned around and looked out at the view, it went for miles....A panorama that looked out over the valley, out to Cowichan Bay, and further to, on a perfectly clear day, the San Juans. I also bought my only bottle of the day - a $28 Pinot Noir that we had tasted which I thought was excellent. I will take it home to share with John....
Because we had started so late, we were pressed for time the whole afternoon, as some wineries close at 4 pm, and others, 5 pm. This necessitated some planning of our route and decisions about where to go, in what order. We decided on close as opposed to known, and drove across Highway 1 to try a couple of places about 10 minutes from Averill. The first one was by appointment only, so we moved on to the 22 Oaks winery, a very, very new venture that was surrounded by baby, non-producing, grape vines. The tasting room was in the lower floor of a new, attractive house surrounded by lawn and adirondack chairs - it looked like a nice place to sip some wine 'in the garden', which two women were doing. However, I didn't find their wine very good, especially for the $20 price tag.
Liam had brought a Wine Access magazine with write-ups on the wineries of Canada, or maybe just BC, and he was interested in a place called Averill Wines, so we headed there. It is just north of Duncan, off the road to Cowichan Lake. We saw the sign and turned off the highway, and proceeded up a rather long, gravel road, climbing steadily. We were all kind of wondering whether there really was a winery at the end of it, especially when we passed a field of very neglected-looking grape vines, but suddenly we saw fields and fields of very healthy-looking vines covered in blue netting, and immediately after that, a stunning wood/glass/rock building, brand-new and surrounded by rock gardens - Averill Winery!
This was our first stop on our wine-tasting tour, and it turned out to be the best, in hindsight - although we sensed that might be the case when we looked at the grounds, and then tasted their wine. Liam produced his business card - Icon Wines, which resulted in a very nice talk with the owner and a tasting of a wine he doesn't normally pour. He turned out to be a retired physician who was very interested in Mel's pregnancy and very fun to talk to.
I took several photos while we were there - not only did the winery look beautiful itself, when you turned around and looked out at the view, it went for miles....A panorama that looked out over the valley, out to Cowichan Bay, and further to, on a perfectly clear day, the San Juans. I also bought my only bottle of the day - a $28 Pinot Noir that we had tasted which I thought was excellent. I will take it home to share with John....
Because we had started so late, we were pressed for time the whole afternoon, as some wineries close at 4 pm, and others, 5 pm. This necessitated some planning of our route and decisions about where to go, in what order. We decided on close as opposed to known, and drove across Highway 1 to try a couple of places about 10 minutes from Averill. The first one was by appointment only, so we moved on to the 22 Oaks winery, a very, very new venture that was surrounded by baby, non-producing, grape vines. The tasting room was in the lower floor of a new, attractive house surrounded by lawn and adirondack chairs - it looked like a nice place to sip some wine 'in the garden', which two women were doing. However, I didn't find their wine very good, especially for the $20 price tag.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Holiday Weekend
MacMini and I are at Rob's house, in Saltair, for the long weekend. I came over Thursday afternoon on the 3:15 to Duke Point, and Rob and Nikki picked me up. As it was dinner-time, we went to one of my favourite places, the Crow and Gate - an English pub near Cedar. It was very busy, but we managed to get a table and have a delicious pan-fried oyster dinner.
Friday, which felt like Saturday to all of us, was fun - Rob had to do some inspections on Salt Spring Island, so Nikki, Therese, and I went along too. He dropped us in Ganges at 9:30 am, saying he would pick us up at 2:30. We started at Barb's Buns, which Nikki wasn't familiar with, and had delicious coffee and some baked goods. It is a neat place, full of Salt Spring regulars, with yummy food and, happily, few tourists. I have eaten there many times, both breakfasts and lunches, often related to sailing, as it is just a couple of blocks from the marina.
Nikki, Therese and I then set out on a marathon gallery-visiting, shopping spree, checking out anything of interest. I actually spent quite a bit of money, mostly in a Fair Trade store that had very neat stuff from India and other places, and in the Art Gallery/Gift Shop on the road just past the fish shop. I have been there quite a few times before; they always have something different, and their things are good quality. They have paintings, sculptures, jewellry and all manner of interesting things, and I ended up buying a present for Mel and a couple of things for Christmas presents - probably a first for me, the last-minute shopper!
We didn't stop for lunch, just had a snack on a bench overlooking the bay, so by the end of our time in Ganges I had sore, tired feet. I found I have been there so often that I know the village and the shops quite well. I was able to take Nikki and Trey out on the short little hike past the townhouses out to the point - I don't know what it's called, but it's a little trail that winds past these luxurious townhouses, over rocks and up and down until you climb up, then down to the point. The point faces an island separating the marina basin and the channel leading from the other marina out to the waters south of Ganges. Therese was fascinated to see a large white swan swimming over by the island, and she was delighted when it swam all the way over to us, probably thinking that we might have some food for it - it came right over and walked onto the sand, but we were up on the rocks so removed from any harrassment it might have planned! Trey took lots of photos....
Rob met us an hour early, which suited my feet very well, and we made the 2:10 ferry at Vesuvius. We had come on the 8:30 am ferry from Crofton - the small, cars-on-open-deck type of ferry. It's a short trip, about 20 minutes, and on the way back, beautiful in the sunshine. We had dressed for cooler weather and clouds, but it got sunny as the day progressed, and then positively warm.
On our way home we shopped for groceries at one of my favourite places, Russells Market, and took the slow road back to the house - I do like Island time! After that, it was relaxing, and reading, and helping with dinner....Afterwards, Kathy and Andy, and Fred and Sheena, came over and we all had a nice visit, drinking wine and yakking.
Rob and I stayed up after Nikki went to bed, but only for about 40 minutes - I was dead tired after all that relaxing!
Today, Saturday, I am excited because Liam and Mel are coming to visit. They have never seen Rob and Nikki's beautiful house and I know they will love it. I am so pleased they are coming, because Liam has always enjoyed Rob's company, and I have wanted for years to get him, and Jordan and family, to come over and visit. Rob and Nikki are so welcoming, and they have such a neat place and so many things to do here, that I know Mel and Liam will like it, and hopefully, decide to come again, especially in better weather (it has rained, sunned and clouded so far today). Having Liam and Mel come is like going on a holiday with them!!
Friday, which felt like Saturday to all of us, was fun - Rob had to do some inspections on Salt Spring Island, so Nikki, Therese, and I went along too. He dropped us in Ganges at 9:30 am, saying he would pick us up at 2:30. We started at Barb's Buns, which Nikki wasn't familiar with, and had delicious coffee and some baked goods. It is a neat place, full of Salt Spring regulars, with yummy food and, happily, few tourists. I have eaten there many times, both breakfasts and lunches, often related to sailing, as it is just a couple of blocks from the marina.
Nikki, Therese and I then set out on a marathon gallery-visiting, shopping spree, checking out anything of interest. I actually spent quite a bit of money, mostly in a Fair Trade store that had very neat stuff from India and other places, and in the Art Gallery/Gift Shop on the road just past the fish shop. I have been there quite a few times before; they always have something different, and their things are good quality. They have paintings, sculptures, jewellry and all manner of interesting things, and I ended up buying a present for Mel and a couple of things for Christmas presents - probably a first for me, the last-minute shopper!
We didn't stop for lunch, just had a snack on a bench overlooking the bay, so by the end of our time in Ganges I had sore, tired feet. I found I have been there so often that I know the village and the shops quite well. I was able to take Nikki and Trey out on the short little hike past the townhouses out to the point - I don't know what it's called, but it's a little trail that winds past these luxurious townhouses, over rocks and up and down until you climb up, then down to the point. The point faces an island separating the marina basin and the channel leading from the other marina out to the waters south of Ganges. Therese was fascinated to see a large white swan swimming over by the island, and she was delighted when it swam all the way over to us, probably thinking that we might have some food for it - it came right over and walked onto the sand, but we were up on the rocks so removed from any harrassment it might have planned! Trey took lots of photos....
Rob met us an hour early, which suited my feet very well, and we made the 2:10 ferry at Vesuvius. We had come on the 8:30 am ferry from Crofton - the small, cars-on-open-deck type of ferry. It's a short trip, about 20 minutes, and on the way back, beautiful in the sunshine. We had dressed for cooler weather and clouds, but it got sunny as the day progressed, and then positively warm.
On our way home we shopped for groceries at one of my favourite places, Russells Market, and took the slow road back to the house - I do like Island time! After that, it was relaxing, and reading, and helping with dinner....Afterwards, Kathy and Andy, and Fred and Sheena, came over and we all had a nice visit, drinking wine and yakking.
Rob and I stayed up after Nikki went to bed, but only for about 40 minutes - I was dead tired after all that relaxing!
Today, Saturday, I am excited because Liam and Mel are coming to visit. They have never seen Rob and Nikki's beautiful house and I know they will love it. I am so pleased they are coming, because Liam has always enjoyed Rob's company, and I have wanted for years to get him, and Jordan and family, to come over and visit. Rob and Nikki are so welcoming, and they have such a neat place and so many things to do here, that I know Mel and Liam will like it, and hopefully, decide to come again, especially in better weather (it has rained, sunned and clouded so far today). Having Liam and Mel come is like going on a holiday with them!!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
I'm back!!
OK, this is sooooo cool! I have my very own, brand-new Mac computer - a MacBook! John brought it home for me tonight and gave it to me after dinner. It is white and wee and clean and I love it!
I so enjoyed blogging when I was on holidays, and I got used to pulling out my miniMac several times a day and writing...and I equated writing with my mini instead of my clunky old pc, so when it died (choked on a dvd I tried to play, possibly) I stopped writing. I really felt it, but I couldn't get interested in writing on the clunker, with its clunky keyboard. John very kindly took away the miniMac and tried to resurrect it, but nope - it's dead. So instead, he turned up tonight with this beautiful new miniMac.
Tomorrow I will start doing entries again, but tonight, I am just getting such a kick out of looking at this beautiful new machine, and trying to understand it - it has a camera, for pete's sake - that I can't really think straight!!
John, you do know how to surprise me! That's pretty neat, after 5 years....
I so enjoyed blogging when I was on holidays, and I got used to pulling out my miniMac several times a day and writing...and I equated writing with my mini instead of my clunky old pc, so when it died (choked on a dvd I tried to play, possibly) I stopped writing. I really felt it, but I couldn't get interested in writing on the clunker, with its clunky keyboard. John very kindly took away the miniMac and tried to resurrect it, but nope - it's dead. So instead, he turned up tonight with this beautiful new miniMac.
Tomorrow I will start doing entries again, but tonight, I am just getting such a kick out of looking at this beautiful new machine, and trying to understand it - it has a camera, for pete's sake - that I can't really think straight!!
John, you do know how to surprise me! That's pretty neat, after 5 years....
Thursday, August 6, 2009
NanaBee Three
A week ago Sunday, when John and I were in White Rock with Liam and Mel helping put in the laminate floor for Jordan and Kerri (on one of the hottest days!), Liam announced that Mel is pregnant, and we all cheered!
Liam has always wanted to be a father and have his own family, and I know that is something he looked for, and certainly found, with Melinda. I have always known that he will make a wonderful, caring, father, and it's obvious to all of us that Mel will be a fabulous mother.
The announcement was a surprise, but only sort of. At our July 1 backyard bbq I noticed that Mel was not drinking beer or any alcohol, and I remember thinking 'Oh, I wonder if she's pregnant?'. I sat looking at her, and thought that I could see a definite glow....But I didn't say anything, or ask directly, because I so want to be respectful of my kids' space and not be that prying mother-in-law.
Kerri, on the other hand, just laughed and said that she had been asking directly all along! (But I figure that it's different coming from her, as she and Mel are the same generation.) I know that Kerri has been saying for the past year now that she hoped Mel and Liam would start a family soon, as she wants a cousin for Mackenzie to play with. As it is, the baby will be born in February or March 2010, so 'Kenzie will be 5 years older than 'it' and about 6 years old before they can really play together. I have a feeling 'Kenzie will make the new baby into her doll, to dress and fuss with....
As for me, I am so delighted - for Liam and Mel, and also for the rest of us. John and I so enjoyed seeing 'Kenzie go from baby to toddler to 'going concern' and know that we will have great fun with the 'Meliam' baby too! John loves the grandkids and is so good with them, and of course, I am absolutely crazy about them. I so clearly remember Liam as a baby and can hardly wait to see another version of him ;-)
And then, down the road, John and I still have Mits and Pete to look forward to as a source of grandchildren....so we are very lucky.
Liam has always wanted to be a father and have his own family, and I know that is something he looked for, and certainly found, with Melinda. I have always known that he will make a wonderful, caring, father, and it's obvious to all of us that Mel will be a fabulous mother.
The announcement was a surprise, but only sort of. At our July 1 backyard bbq I noticed that Mel was not drinking beer or any alcohol, and I remember thinking 'Oh, I wonder if she's pregnant?'. I sat looking at her, and thought that I could see a definite glow....But I didn't say anything, or ask directly, because I so want to be respectful of my kids' space and not be that prying mother-in-law.
Kerri, on the other hand, just laughed and said that she had been asking directly all along! (But I figure that it's different coming from her, as she and Mel are the same generation.) I know that Kerri has been saying for the past year now that she hoped Mel and Liam would start a family soon, as she wants a cousin for Mackenzie to play with. As it is, the baby will be born in February or March 2010, so 'Kenzie will be 5 years older than 'it' and about 6 years old before they can really play together. I have a feeling 'Kenzie will make the new baby into her doll, to dress and fuss with....
As for me, I am so delighted - for Liam and Mel, and also for the rest of us. John and I so enjoyed seeing 'Kenzie go from baby to toddler to 'going concern' and know that we will have great fun with the 'Meliam' baby too! John loves the grandkids and is so good with them, and of course, I am absolutely crazy about them. I so clearly remember Liam as a baby and can hardly wait to see another version of him ;-)
And then, down the road, John and I still have Mits and Pete to look forward to as a source of grandchildren....so we are very lucky.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
One weekend to go
I am back home now after the weekend away - an extended weekend, admittedly. I intended to write about my mini holiday, but then JR and I went off to dinner at Enigma, where we had a lovely meal, and then we watched a video: The Great Buck Howard, which was very John Malkevich, and quite good. The protagonist was played by Colin Hanks, and his father in the movie was played by his real father, Tom Hanks, which was fun!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Fireworks
Wednesday was the hottest day so far - according to the weather people, the heat wave would slowly abate after that (although I didn't feel appreciably cooler on Thursday). On Wed. I mostly loafed around conserving energy.
About 5 pm Jordan, Kerri, and the kids came by, and we sat in the basement to have a drink. Then we all piled in their van, and went down to Kits beach. We were very lucky to get a parking spot right in the park - a nice young man was leaving as we drove in AND gave us his parking tag, good until 2 am!
We walked up Yew Street checking out the restaurants, and settled on a fish place, only to find that our server was Shira, my nephew Morgan's partner! We had a delicious dinner and a beer, then went down to the beach and established our little spot with chairs, blankets, beach toys, and hot kids. All of us except Jordan went in the water, which was refreshing and not too cold.
The sunset was pink and impressive without gaudiness, although it seemed to take a long time to get dark. It was entertaining to watch people as the beach filled up with a fireworks crowd. I provided some entertainment myself, no doubt, as when I went to the women's washroom to pee and change from my bathing suit, I found I had forgotten my shorts and, rather than walk all the way back to the blanket and then have to wait in line again, I chose to walk back wearing my t-shirt and blue underpants. I told myself that since the underpants covered as much as my bathing suit bottom, it really didn't matter, but I did notice a few people looking at me oddly!
JR came on his motorcycle and used his cell phone to call and locate me, so he was in time for the fireworks, which came on as advertised, at 10 pm. The country was England, so the music Jords found on the radio started with God Save the Queen. The fireworks were exciting and fun. I have always loved them, and am incapable of being critical - they were bright, and colourful, and big and star-shaped and saucer-shaped, and so on....I just enjoyed them all, and have no idea how they rated against the previous 2 fireworks displays.
Of course it took us quite a while to get through the traffic and home (JR made better time on his motorcycle, and was there to help us unload the folding chairs), but it was still worth it. For me, it meant that I got to see the fireworks with such ease, with the kids, so it was great. Otherwise, with JR's lukewarm attitude to them, and the inconvenience of the traffic, we would not have gone.
About 5 pm Jordan, Kerri, and the kids came by, and we sat in the basement to have a drink. Then we all piled in their van, and went down to Kits beach. We were very lucky to get a parking spot right in the park - a nice young man was leaving as we drove in AND gave us his parking tag, good until 2 am!
We walked up Yew Street checking out the restaurants, and settled on a fish place, only to find that our server was Shira, my nephew Morgan's partner! We had a delicious dinner and a beer, then went down to the beach and established our little spot with chairs, blankets, beach toys, and hot kids. All of us except Jordan went in the water, which was refreshing and not too cold.
The sunset was pink and impressive without gaudiness, although it seemed to take a long time to get dark. It was entertaining to watch people as the beach filled up with a fireworks crowd. I provided some entertainment myself, no doubt, as when I went to the women's washroom to pee and change from my bathing suit, I found I had forgotten my shorts and, rather than walk all the way back to the blanket and then have to wait in line again, I chose to walk back wearing my t-shirt and blue underpants. I told myself that since the underpants covered as much as my bathing suit bottom, it really didn't matter, but I did notice a few people looking at me oddly!
JR came on his motorcycle and used his cell phone to call and locate me, so he was in time for the fireworks, which came on as advertised, at 10 pm. The country was England, so the music Jords found on the radio started with God Save the Queen. The fireworks were exciting and fun. I have always loved them, and am incapable of being critical - they were bright, and colourful, and big and star-shaped and saucer-shaped, and so on....I just enjoyed them all, and have no idea how they rated against the previous 2 fireworks displays.
Of course it took us quite a while to get through the traffic and home (JR made better time on his motorcycle, and was there to help us unload the folding chairs), but it was still worth it. For me, it meant that I got to see the fireworks with such ease, with the kids, so it was great. Otherwise, with JR's lukewarm attitude to them, and the inconvenience of the traffic, we would not have gone.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Dancing naked
Today I read a book called 'Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn'. It is one of the best books I have ever read. I found the story fascinating - one of those 'I-couldn't-put-it-down' books - and very well written. I really did not know what was going to happen, and because of the level of the prose, enjoyed the journey of finding out.
Most importantly, it spoke to me in a personal, direct way that few books do, as much as I enjoy reading them. All through the narrative there were times when I had a gasp of recognition, a sense of familiarity with the heroine's thoughts and actions that was so comforting yet very revealing to me.
The story is, simply, of a woman whose husband cheats on her, and what she does with her life from that point on. The description of how she feels when her whole world shifts is so real, and her painful, step-by-step recovery is so sympathetically drawn, as are the female friends who support her.
It is a wonderful rallying cry for women to be strong and independent, a message that I think we need constant reminding about, or at least some of us do....
I was only a few pages into the book when I was planning to buy it for all my women friends and relatives for Christmas, an indication of my opinion of the book, although not perhaps a very practical one.
And part of the attraction is that one of the locations for her story is in Mexico, in the Mayan Peninsula, an area that I love deeply. The woman, Meg, ends up with a house in Mexico, on the water, and of course that is one of my deepest-held dreams, to be on the water in Mexico.....
The book is 'Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn' and the author is Kris Radish.
Most importantly, it spoke to me in a personal, direct way that few books do, as much as I enjoy reading them. All through the narrative there were times when I had a gasp of recognition, a sense of familiarity with the heroine's thoughts and actions that was so comforting yet very revealing to me.
The story is, simply, of a woman whose husband cheats on her, and what she does with her life from that point on. The description of how she feels when her whole world shifts is so real, and her painful, step-by-step recovery is so sympathetically drawn, as are the female friends who support her.
It is a wonderful rallying cry for women to be strong and independent, a message that I think we need constant reminding about, or at least some of us do....
I was only a few pages into the book when I was planning to buy it for all my women friends and relatives for Christmas, an indication of my opinion of the book, although not perhaps a very practical one.
And part of the attraction is that one of the locations for her story is in Mexico, in the Mayan Peninsula, an area that I love deeply. The woman, Meg, ends up with a house in Mexico, on the water, and of course that is one of my deepest-held dreams, to be on the water in Mexico.....
The book is 'Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn' and the author is Kris Radish.
From the bestselling author of The Elegant Gathering of White Snows comes a poignant, outrageous, refreshingly liberating story about one woman whose life takes an unexpected turn…
Meg Fratano has just witnessed the unthinkable: her husband of twenty-seven years making love to another woman. In her bed. And all Meg wanted to do was watch. Quietly, secretly, watch. Then she realized her life would never be the same.
Meg isn’t sure what she wants, but she knows it’s not what she had. After almost three decades of marriage and two children, she has finally awakened to how unhappy she is.
Now, with the help of friends old and new, and even her teenage daughter—a former brat who has blossomed into a startlingly wise young woman—Meg just might break through the chains of everyone’s expectations for her and find the strength to take the first step on her own path. To strip away a lifetime of inhibitions. To dance naked at the edge of dawn…
Don't sweat the small stuff
The usual response to 'Don't sweat the small stuff' is 'It's all small stuff' but I have a new one: 'Can't stop sweating'!
I am not bearing up well in this humid heat. I have waves of sweat dampening my clothes and making me feel in turns heavy-headed and faint. I am crabby and tired and feeling rather desperate because I am so hot.
We came back from a movie to a very hot house, much hotter than outdoors at 9:35 p.m. JR and I ended up disagreeing because he has the fans blowing out the windows, whereas I like them blowing on me to dry the moisture on my skin (I got tired of saying 'sweat'.) While I have no doubt it's useful to have the fans blowing outside, I really suffer without the fan's drying properties on my wet self.....We both came down here to the basement, and I was seriously considering sleeping down here, but now that I've sat here 10 minutes, I am liquid again so I guess this is no improvement.
Ironically, we decided to go to a movie because movie theatres are air-conditioned, and ended up at the Dunbar only to discover that it had air-conditioning only in the lobby. Half-way through Harry Potter, which is over 2 hours long, I was bathed in sweat and feeling itchy again.
The movie itself was great fun....Focused a lot on the boy-girl aspect of things, since the main characters are all now 16 or 17 years old, but there were lots of magic tricks and wand-wavings too, and of course, this is the one where Dumbledore gets killed right at the end....The last book in the series will be 2 movies, as it is so long and covers so much. When all of the Harry Potter movies are out, I think it would be fun to buy the dvd set.
Spent some time today organizing things for my trip to the Island, reading the list sent by the kayak tour people and making a pile of things in my office to be packed. It is extremely difficult to be thinking about wet gear and things to keep me warm in the campsite at night, when I am fainting from 29 degrees of heat - I have to keep reminding myself that the weather could change between now and Saturday, when we actually embark on the kayak weekend!
Talked to Elsa and arranged to pick her up at McDonald's in Ladner, so we can load her stuff into my car easily, and then hit the ferry. I made reservations for both ways, even though Duke Point is not usually that busy, as it means one less thing to worry about on the trip. I am looking forward to this adventure, and it is very neat that Nikki is coming too - I think it's the first time she's done something like this, although she is an experienced kayaker.
I told Elsa that I haven't yet used my new kayak, and that I was hoping she would go kayaking with me in August. I have yet to carry my kayak by myself or attach it to my car; I have been waiting for JR's help. But Sunday is his only day off, and the last 3 Sundays were spent with him looking at houses with Mits and Pete, and then helping Jordan and Kerri with their flooring - there has been no time to help me play with my new toy.
Most of today I spent reading. I started a new book last night, and then read all of it today. It was an amazing book, one of the best I have ever read. I am still absorbing it, and very, very sorry it is finished....
I am not bearing up well in this humid heat. I have waves of sweat dampening my clothes and making me feel in turns heavy-headed and faint. I am crabby and tired and feeling rather desperate because I am so hot.
We came back from a movie to a very hot house, much hotter than outdoors at 9:35 p.m. JR and I ended up disagreeing because he has the fans blowing out the windows, whereas I like them blowing on me to dry the moisture on my skin (I got tired of saying 'sweat'.) While I have no doubt it's useful to have the fans blowing outside, I really suffer without the fan's drying properties on my wet self.....We both came down here to the basement, and I was seriously considering sleeping down here, but now that I've sat here 10 minutes, I am liquid again so I guess this is no improvement.
Ironically, we decided to go to a movie because movie theatres are air-conditioned, and ended up at the Dunbar only to discover that it had air-conditioning only in the lobby. Half-way through Harry Potter, which is over 2 hours long, I was bathed in sweat and feeling itchy again.
The movie itself was great fun....Focused a lot on the boy-girl aspect of things, since the main characters are all now 16 or 17 years old, but there were lots of magic tricks and wand-wavings too, and of course, this is the one where Dumbledore gets killed right at the end....The last book in the series will be 2 movies, as it is so long and covers so much. When all of the Harry Potter movies are out, I think it would be fun to buy the dvd set.
Spent some time today organizing things for my trip to the Island, reading the list sent by the kayak tour people and making a pile of things in my office to be packed. It is extremely difficult to be thinking about wet gear and things to keep me warm in the campsite at night, when I am fainting from 29 degrees of heat - I have to keep reminding myself that the weather could change between now and Saturday, when we actually embark on the kayak weekend!
Talked to Elsa and arranged to pick her up at McDonald's in Ladner, so we can load her stuff into my car easily, and then hit the ferry. I made reservations for both ways, even though Duke Point is not usually that busy, as it means one less thing to worry about on the trip. I am looking forward to this adventure, and it is very neat that Nikki is coming too - I think it's the first time she's done something like this, although she is an experienced kayaker.
I told Elsa that I haven't yet used my new kayak, and that I was hoping she would go kayaking with me in August. I have yet to carry my kayak by myself or attach it to my car; I have been waiting for JR's help. But Sunday is his only day off, and the last 3 Sundays were spent with him looking at houses with Mits and Pete, and then helping Jordan and Kerri with their flooring - there has been no time to help me play with my new toy.
Most of today I spent reading. I started a new book last night, and then read all of it today. It was an amazing book, one of the best I have ever read. I am still absorbing it, and very, very sorry it is finished....
Monday, July 27, 2009
Hot enough to melt chocolate
Today was a scorcher. I can take fairly hot weather, but when humidity is part of the mix, I start to lose it. There are people who love the heat, and seem always to be cool even in the face of high humidity, and then there are those like me: liquid and uncomfortable and looking frazzled.
The only way I can cope with the 29 degrees in the house (and whatever the humidity is) is to have a fan blowing directly on me. Right now I am sitting in the living room with the front door open and the fan blowing straight at me, grateful that I don't have to share it with anyone - I mean, really, the oscillating mode means the fan moves away from me for 5 seconds and right now, it's all about me!!
Ironically, it is cool at work, where I'm not. I talked today to someone from the office, and she was mentioning that it was fine there, thanks to the air conditioning. But I am still grateful to be on hols, heat wave and all.
Mits and Pete were here for dinner. I cooked the potatoes for the salad in the morning, made a green salad, and let JR do the barbie. I wasn't up for any other cooking. After we had been visiting in the living room for a while, with the fan keeping us slightly less than boiling, I decided that we could have some chocolate truffles as a treat. I searched them out in the cupboard and was opening the new bag when I realized that I could squeeze it, which definitely wasn't right. Sure enough, when I opened the bag I discovered that the individual truffles, which are little individual mounds about half an inch in size, had all melded together! When I tried to take one out of the bag, my fingers met in the middle - it was like trying to eat cream cheese with your fingers ;-).
So I have come to the conclusion that a heat wave is good for the diet, if not for the exercise program: the only food one feels like eating is salads, and the most appreciated drink is water!!
The only way I can cope with the 29 degrees in the house (and whatever the humidity is) is to have a fan blowing directly on me. Right now I am sitting in the living room with the front door open and the fan blowing straight at me, grateful that I don't have to share it with anyone - I mean, really, the oscillating mode means the fan moves away from me for 5 seconds and right now, it's all about me!!
Ironically, it is cool at work, where I'm not. I talked today to someone from the office, and she was mentioning that it was fine there, thanks to the air conditioning. But I am still grateful to be on hols, heat wave and all.
Mits and Pete were here for dinner. I cooked the potatoes for the salad in the morning, made a green salad, and let JR do the barbie. I wasn't up for any other cooking. After we had been visiting in the living room for a while, with the fan keeping us slightly less than boiling, I decided that we could have some chocolate truffles as a treat. I searched them out in the cupboard and was opening the new bag when I realized that I could squeeze it, which definitely wasn't right. Sure enough, when I opened the bag I discovered that the individual truffles, which are little individual mounds about half an inch in size, had all melded together! When I tried to take one out of the bag, my fingers met in the middle - it was like trying to eat cream cheese with your fingers ;-).
So I have come to the conclusion that a heat wave is good for the diet, if not for the exercise program: the only food one feels like eating is salads, and the most appreciated drink is water!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The mind-body connection
Exploring spirituality and the inner self has been of interest to me for the last several years, although I didn't really do anything until I took a meditation class in the fall two years ago. I enjoyed it very much, and for over a year had a 6-day-a-week meditation practice, starting each day with a 30 minute session. But this year, especially when I was going to boot camp at 6:30 a.m., I let the practice fade away. Now I am exposed to meditation again, at least in small bits, through yoga class, and I am considering starting up a practice again. Not sure how, though, because I am challenged enough just getting up in time to go to yoga (and work, when I have to ;-).
After my breakfast this morning, I went shopping at Costco, and bought myself several books, including one on the Buddhist philosophy by the Dalai Lama - a person I admire very much. I haven't started reading it yet, as I am re-reading parts of an excellent book by Dr. Gabor Mate called 'When the Body Says No'. It is fascinating! It is about the mind-body connection and how people with serious diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis, etc. have in common chronic stress - whether acknowledged or unrecognized.
I have read the whole book, but now I am reading parts again and highlighting them. Mate is talking about pyschoneuroimmunoendocrinology - the mind-body connection - I first read about in Candace Pert's book 'Molecules of Emotion', which Mate quotes from. There is a lot of science now to prove that illness and disease occur at multiple levels in our bodies and that they relate to emotions, even at the cellular level.
Dr. Mate's theme is that serious diseases like cancer are related to suppressed anger and other strong but unarticulated emotions. Most of the examples in the book are anecdotes from his medical practice, but he describes a lot of research backing up what he says. Psychological tests administered to people waiting for results of cancer tests accurately identified the people whose medical tests would, after the fact, come back positive for cancer. Their personalities as defined in the psychological tests showed them to be suffering from chronic, long-term stress.
I have read the book thinking of the people I know who have, or have died from, cancer....and it all fits. The last chapter gives qualities to cultivate to avoid becoming ill.... I totally recommend the book!
After my breakfast this morning, I went shopping at Costco, and bought myself several books, including one on the Buddhist philosophy by the Dalai Lama - a person I admire very much. I haven't started reading it yet, as I am re-reading parts of an excellent book by Dr. Gabor Mate called 'When the Body Says No'. It is fascinating! It is about the mind-body connection and how people with serious diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis, etc. have in common chronic stress - whether acknowledged or unrecognized.
I have read the whole book, but now I am reading parts again and highlighting them. Mate is talking about pyschoneuroimmunoendocrinology - the mind-body connection - I first read about in Candace Pert's book 'Molecules of Emotion', which Mate quotes from. There is a lot of science now to prove that illness and disease occur at multiple levels in our bodies and that they relate to emotions, even at the cellular level.
Dr. Mate's theme is that serious diseases like cancer are related to suppressed anger and other strong but unarticulated emotions. Most of the examples in the book are anecdotes from his medical practice, but he describes a lot of research backing up what he says. Psychological tests administered to people waiting for results of cancer tests accurately identified the people whose medical tests would, after the fact, come back positive for cancer. Their personalities as defined in the psychological tests showed them to be suffering from chronic, long-term stress.
I have read the book thinking of the people I know who have, or have died from, cancer....and it all fits. The last chapter gives qualities to cultivate to avoid becoming ill.... I totally recommend the book!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Happy House News!
We just got a phone call from Mits saying that she and Pete have had their offer on the cute house in Burnaby accepted! They are, of course, very excited....Mits is sure she will feel terrified later, but right now, they're ecstatic!
The house is one block into Burnaby, i.e. a block east of Boundary. It's too bad it doesn't have a Vancouver address, but it seems to be good value otherwise. We saw it yesterday with the kids, and it was beautifully done up on the main floor. The basement is a shared laundry area, and then a suite that they can rent to a student, and it is nicely finished. But upstairs the owners have taken great pains to make the most of a very small top floor. The front door enters directly into the living-dining room from a high outside staircase and open landing. The living rm to the left of the front door is very small, with room for a couch and a chair and a tv - but what more do they need? The dining room, to the right, was open and bright, and enhanced by a giant mirror that really made the whole area seem bigger. Plus there is a huge view looking south, as the house is on a hill.
The kitchen has been redone and is very modern, with an island in the middle where guests can sit. There is a small bedroom off the kitchen, then the master bedroom, complete with sliding door to a ground-level deck, is behind the kitchen. The bathroom is tucked around behind the spare bedroom, by the back door. You have to go out the back door and around to get to the basement and the laundry, but that is not too much of an impediment. There is a nice back yard with a giant cherry tree, and an old but serviceable garage and a lovely clump of trees for privacy at the back.
So Mits and Pete are very happy, and I am happy for them - such excitement! They will have the house inspected and then the deal will go through, and they will move at the end of August.
I am very happy for them!
The house is one block into Burnaby, i.e. a block east of Boundary. It's too bad it doesn't have a Vancouver address, but it seems to be good value otherwise. We saw it yesterday with the kids, and it was beautifully done up on the main floor. The basement is a shared laundry area, and then a suite that they can rent to a student, and it is nicely finished. But upstairs the owners have taken great pains to make the most of a very small top floor. The front door enters directly into the living-dining room from a high outside staircase and open landing. The living rm to the left of the front door is very small, with room for a couch and a chair and a tv - but what more do they need? The dining room, to the right, was open and bright, and enhanced by a giant mirror that really made the whole area seem bigger. Plus there is a huge view looking south, as the house is on a hill.
The kitchen has been redone and is very modern, with an island in the middle where guests can sit. There is a small bedroom off the kitchen, then the master bedroom, complete with sliding door to a ground-level deck, is behind the kitchen. The bathroom is tucked around behind the spare bedroom, by the back door. You have to go out the back door and around to get to the basement and the laundry, but that is not too much of an impediment. There is a nice back yard with a giant cherry tree, and an old but serviceable garage and a lovely clump of trees for privacy at the back.
So Mits and Pete are very happy, and I am happy for them - such excitement! They will have the house inspected and then the deal will go through, and they will move at the end of August.
I am very happy for them!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday together
Sunday is so important to me, because it's the only day JR and I have together. That doesn't mean that we don't do things separately if that's how it works out, but Sunday is our day.
We had an excellent one, in spite of the fact that Angus and Natalie and Andre are in TO so unavailable (we do enjoy our breakfasts of blinis and Scrabble, and we look forward to when they are back from visiting family.) After a very leisurely morning, we rode on our motorcycles out to White Rock and visited Jordan and Kerri at their new townhouse. They have bought in Alderwood, in White Rock, and are uber thrilled with their new home.
They have a townhouse with a spacious main floor, a completely finished basement, and an upstairs that has 3 bedrooms, already painted. Kerri's parents were there, helping with the taping and painting and removal of nasty carpeting upstairs. In the main floor there was already laminate; they are planning on putting laminate in the upstairs too (Jordan has already ripped out the carpet). I am going next weekend to help with the laying of the laminate; we are all prepared to follow Liam's instructions, as he laid a laminate floor when he bought his apartment on Howe Street some years ago.
It was so much fun having the 'tour' of the place and listening to what they are planning. The layout is super - the kids can play downstairs, plus Jordan will have an office/studio there; the main floor has lots of room for dining and living room plus the kitchen is super, with new appliances and a nook for the 'family computer'.
And the upstairs, they had already painted Julian's room a very neat green (to be accented by red and black, Jules' colour of choice) and Mackenzie's room in pink.
For me, the neatest thing of all was that Jordan several times likened the layout and the style of the townhouse to the one we lived in all the time the kids were in school, in White Rock. From what he was saying, he had fond memories of our home then - he considered it a good thing that his new house was similar to our old one - and I was so happy that he remembered the old one fondly. It was the home we had when Mike and I separated, and I was a single, money-strapped, edgy mum.
We spent about an hour looking at their new home, listening to their plans, and just visiting. I am very happy for them! And I'll be back next weekend to help....
Then we got on our bikes and rode to Boundary Road, in East Van/Burnaby, grabbed an undelicious snack at McDonald's, and then met Mits and Pete (and Aiko and Jenn) at the house that the kids are looking at. Very cute house, very nicely detailed so that you had to look closely to see the flaws, but John is very good at that and highlighted a few things for them to consider. All in all, a sweet house and I could see them getting a real kick out of it. But - oh my goodness! The kids had several stories of houses sold in the last week where people paid waaay beyond the asking price just to secure the house. This is a scary trend, going back to a year ago, and makes it so much a seller's market!
We finished off at Safeway buying a few grocs, then grabbed a snack at the house and went downtown to see 'Up' - another PIXAR movie that was very enjoyable.
We had an excellent one, in spite of the fact that Angus and Natalie and Andre are in TO so unavailable (we do enjoy our breakfasts of blinis and Scrabble, and we look forward to when they are back from visiting family.) After a very leisurely morning, we rode on our motorcycles out to White Rock and visited Jordan and Kerri at their new townhouse. They have bought in Alderwood, in White Rock, and are uber thrilled with their new home.
They have a townhouse with a spacious main floor, a completely finished basement, and an upstairs that has 3 bedrooms, already painted. Kerri's parents were there, helping with the taping and painting and removal of nasty carpeting upstairs. In the main floor there was already laminate; they are planning on putting laminate in the upstairs too (Jordan has already ripped out the carpet). I am going next weekend to help with the laying of the laminate; we are all prepared to follow Liam's instructions, as he laid a laminate floor when he bought his apartment on Howe Street some years ago.
It was so much fun having the 'tour' of the place and listening to what they are planning. The layout is super - the kids can play downstairs, plus Jordan will have an office/studio there; the main floor has lots of room for dining and living room plus the kitchen is super, with new appliances and a nook for the 'family computer'.
And the upstairs, they had already painted Julian's room a very neat green (to be accented by red and black, Jules' colour of choice) and Mackenzie's room in pink.
For me, the neatest thing of all was that Jordan several times likened the layout and the style of the townhouse to the one we lived in all the time the kids were in school, in White Rock. From what he was saying, he had fond memories of our home then - he considered it a good thing that his new house was similar to our old one - and I was so happy that he remembered the old one fondly. It was the home we had when Mike and I separated, and I was a single, money-strapped, edgy mum.
We spent about an hour looking at their new home, listening to their plans, and just visiting. I am very happy for them! And I'll be back next weekend to help....
Then we got on our bikes and rode to Boundary Road, in East Van/Burnaby, grabbed an undelicious snack at McDonald's, and then met Mits and Pete (and Aiko and Jenn) at the house that the kids are looking at. Very cute house, very nicely detailed so that you had to look closely to see the flaws, but John is very good at that and highlighted a few things for them to consider. All in all, a sweet house and I could see them getting a real kick out of it. But - oh my goodness! The kids had several stories of houses sold in the last week where people paid waaay beyond the asking price just to secure the house. This is a scary trend, going back to a year ago, and makes it so much a seller's market!
We finished off at Safeway buying a few grocs, then grabbed a snack at the house and went downtown to see 'Up' - another PIXAR movie that was very enjoyable.
You can't go back, but you can see the photos
Just finished reviewing all the photos on Facebook in Gwen's space. She was my mother-in-law for 14 years, and died in May. My ex, Michael, has posted a series of photos of Gwen and her family, organized into decades beginning with the 40's. Most of the old ones I had never seen, as they were the property of Gwen and Bob, but the 70's and 80's had some with me in them - Seventies clothes and all - that were familiar scenes but which I had never seen.
It's quite weird to go back in time like that. Bittersweet, really, because the pictures are of a marriage gone - Mike and I split in the 80's. And yet, there is so much shared history, plus the kids, plus the parents....It is sad that things don't work out some times.
It's quite weird to go back in time like that. Bittersweet, really, because the pictures are of a marriage gone - Mike and I split in the 80's. And yet, there is so much shared history, plus the kids, plus the parents....It is sad that things don't work out some times.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
My latest new project
I have a new project - another blog. I decided to create a blog that would deal with one topic only - my efforts to reconstruct myself by increasing fitness and reducing weight.
I got the idea a month or so ago to spend my holiday 'staycation' doing all the things that I talk about doing but never quite get around to, or I start, but I don't follow through. I have 3 weeks, and I think that is enough time to get some new habits start to feel like old habits. Because this is a staycation, I am not running off to a fat farm or a 2-week retreat in the Sierras (although it would be nice), I am doing things at home. But that just makes sense, anyway, because my intention is to start something that I can continue once I am back at work.
Today I am in that wonderful space of all-my-holidays-are-in-front-of-me, so I feel confident and empowered. I got off to a pretty good start, even cleaning my office so I wouldn't feel cluttered. I have planned an approach, rather than creating a rigid schedule, although I have some things scheduled too: on the August 1st weekend I am going kayaking with Elsa, and on the following weekend I am doing a 2-day yoga retreat on Galiano. I chose to do this because I want to set my intention for continuing yoga once my holidays are over, and I think the retreat will do that while also nurturing my spiritual side.
The blog, BeeFreeThree, is to help me be accountable. I want to document how I do, so that I can reward my successes and, perhaps, understand my failures. Going public, at least in theory (I don't have any readers ;-) expands the accountability. Plus I need practice writing, and I might get an article out of this. I am very interested in exploring issues of health and fitness and diet for women over 60 years of age, and this is a highly personal, and certainly meaningful to me, way of doing that.
I am looking forward to the journey!
I got the idea a month or so ago to spend my holiday 'staycation' doing all the things that I talk about doing but never quite get around to, or I start, but I don't follow through. I have 3 weeks, and I think that is enough time to get some new habits start to feel like old habits. Because this is a staycation, I am not running off to a fat farm or a 2-week retreat in the Sierras (although it would be nice), I am doing things at home. But that just makes sense, anyway, because my intention is to start something that I can continue once I am back at work.
Today I am in that wonderful space of all-my-holidays-are-in-front-of-me, so I feel confident and empowered. I got off to a pretty good start, even cleaning my office so I wouldn't feel cluttered. I have planned an approach, rather than creating a rigid schedule, although I have some things scheduled too: on the August 1st weekend I am going kayaking with Elsa, and on the following weekend I am doing a 2-day yoga retreat on Galiano. I chose to do this because I want to set my intention for continuing yoga once my holidays are over, and I think the retreat will do that while also nurturing my spiritual side.
The blog, BeeFreeThree, is to help me be accountable. I want to document how I do, so that I can reward my successes and, perhaps, understand my failures. Going public, at least in theory (I don't have any readers ;-) expands the accountability. Plus I need practice writing, and I might get an article out of this. I am very interested in exploring issues of health and fitness and diet for women over 60 years of age, and this is a highly personal, and certainly meaningful to me, way of doing that.
I am looking forward to the journey!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Today is my Birthday
Decided to change the name of my blog to 'The Bee Diaries'. I did a Google search and found no other instances of the exact same name, whereas both Bee Joyful and The Integration Project each had several different permutations....
In my search, I found 'Diary of a Cereal Killer'. It is hilarious! I tried to put it into Blogs I'm Following, but it was actually part of a much larger enterprise that I did not want to recommend, as it was too large to scope out.
So Google 'Diary of a Cereal Killer' and have a giggle!
In my search, I found 'Diary of a Cereal Killer'. It is hilarious! I tried to put it into Blogs I'm Following, but it was actually part of a much larger enterprise that I did not want to recommend, as it was too large to scope out.
So Google 'Diary of a Cereal Killer' and have a giggle!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Father's Day
I read in the newspaper yesterday that 'Fathers are becoming the new mothers.' The article described 3 men who had made drastic changes in their working lives to enable them to be more involved with their children. Once they had done this and begun spending more time with their kids, they found themselves involved in a very real way with the emotional side of parenting - something they had not been part of when they were doing the more traditional 'Hi-kids-I'm-home' role.
It was interesting that the reasoning around fathers' becoming mothers was not that the men were spending more and better time with their kids, like the mothers, but that in doing so, the men had found that they had fallen more into the nurturing, female role. Nurturing takes time - you have to be there, in order to 'be there'. There are fathers who have managed to fill the more traditional role and still have the ability to connect emotionally with their offspring, but it takes determination and talent, and not all males even know where to start. Yet more and more males can attest to the fact that, when they did slow down and consciously take more time to just 'be' with their son or daughter, the connectivity they longed for (and often had missed with their own fathers) did happen.
So many more parents, fathers and mothers, need to step back and look at the time they spend with their children. Because we tend to parent as we were parented (and so many of us Boomers were parented with the traditional mom-home-dad-at-work approach), it takes a conscious effort to change, but change we must. Our children can only benefit if we can have fathers who are more involved in their whole lives, rather than coming home at night to inquire if they have done their homework or not.
I think I started out well with my children, but after a time the pressures of single parenthood and personal struggles caused me to focus on my own internal landscape more than my sons'. And for that, I will be forever sorry.
To the son who is now a father, I would say 'Do this, as I did, but better'. And I think there's a good chance of that. Happy Father's day, DJ.
It was interesting that the reasoning around fathers' becoming mothers was not that the men were spending more and better time with their kids, like the mothers, but that in doing so, the men had found that they had fallen more into the nurturing, female role. Nurturing takes time - you have to be there, in order to 'be there'. There are fathers who have managed to fill the more traditional role and still have the ability to connect emotionally with their offspring, but it takes determination and talent, and not all males even know where to start. Yet more and more males can attest to the fact that, when they did slow down and consciously take more time to just 'be' with their son or daughter, the connectivity they longed for (and often had missed with their own fathers) did happen.
So many more parents, fathers and mothers, need to step back and look at the time they spend with their children. Because we tend to parent as we were parented (and so many of us Boomers were parented with the traditional mom-home-dad-at-work approach), it takes a conscious effort to change, but change we must. Our children can only benefit if we can have fathers who are more involved in their whole lives, rather than coming home at night to inquire if they have done their homework or not.
I think I started out well with my children, but after a time the pressures of single parenthood and personal struggles caused me to focus on my own internal landscape more than my sons'. And for that, I will be forever sorry.
To the son who is now a father, I would say 'Do this, as I did, but better'. And I think there's a good chance of that. Happy Father's day, DJ.
You never forget how to ride a bicycle
However, you can get really bad at it.
Yesterday I went for a walk, as I often do on a Saturday, up to the Dunbar shopping area. It's a good 30-minute walk from home, and I love talking the residential route up from 16th rather than walking straight up Dunbar. I was heading for Dunbar Cycles.
Saturday morning I jumped in my car intending to take a serious look at some bicycles. I own an old mountain bike, but I was pretty sure that I would ride more if I could get a new one, especially one that was lighter and easier to hoist into the back of my car. My plan was to check out the cheaper bike purveyors, like Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, etc., as I knew I didn't want to invest $2000 in something I wasn't sure I would ride. But the traffic yesterday was insane! Driving East-West in Vancouver is problematic anyway, but yesterday it was bumper-to-bumper all along 12th Avenue, Broadway, and, finally, 4th Avenue. (The irony of being stuck in traffic going to buy a bicycle, when I would not have been stuck had I been riding one, was not lost on me!) Anyway, I gave up and went home (although I did stop at Carter Honda to check out the motorcycle stock, and found a demo 750 Aero on sale....).
Needing exercise and preferring to walk with a purpose, I decided to walk to Dunbar Cycles. I really was going just to look (I had dropped in on the local 10th Avenue bike shop in the morning, but they had only one bike under $700 and most were in the $1500 and up range) but I also knew that I had thought about it for long enough and might, indeed, make a purchase.
I had help from a very nice man who explained that I needed the 'extra-small' size of frame, which they proceeded to whip out of a box and assemble just so I could try it. Well, I fell in love with it immediately. It has adjustable everything, with the flick of a lever - no need to carry tools - and the gears sure have improved since I last bought a bike, some 15 years ago! I got a Fort-Knox-type lock, and proceeded to ride home.
It's a good thing there are quiet streets between Dunbar and home, is all I can say. I wobbled. I braked. I took the corners as if I were riding on ice, and at the stop sign, damn near fell off. I have been riding my motorcycle a lot lately, and when you come to a stop, you put your feet down to balance the bike. Well, I automatically did that on the bicycle, only to discover that, unlike on the motorcycle, my feet come nowhere near the ground....Luckily, I somehow managed to slide off the seat and plant my feet before I toppled over, but it was a near thing. And of course I wasn't wearing a helmet, so I was feeling vulnerable anyway.
So I have a new bike, and today, while the weather holds, I am going for a ride with JR. I need practice, that's for sure, and he has been saying he would like to get back into riding his bike, so I am INTEGRATING cycling into my life and, hopefully, his.
LATER...Mission accomplished: a 30-minute loop out to UBC on the 16th Avenue bike path, and then back on the University Blvd bike lane. The only real disadvantage I felt was the lack of wing mirrors to see over-taking traffic - something we take for granted on motorcycles. Aside from that, I came back in love with riding my new bike. There are 24 gears - 3 large sprockets and 8 small - and shifting them is smooth and easy - nothing like what I remember from previous bikes. I sailed along, changing up and down as the resistance hit me, thoroughly enjoying myself.
The lack of cycling skills did get me thinking about the whole 'use it or lose it' thing. How many things do we learn in our lives, and then forget? What do we retain, and why? They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle, and that is true. But I found I had forgotten how to watch for traffic, how to stop gracefully, and how to corner smoothly. I had forgotten, as well, the exhilaration of the downhill ride!
What other things have I lost that I used to do with an unconscious grace, and now remember only the basic physical actions? Whistling is one: I can put my lips together and produce a sound, but I can't whistle 'Surrey with the Fringe on Top' the way I could when I was 7....Also, when my grandchildren were born, I noticed with each of them that while I knew how to cradle their heads and keep them secure, I had lost the naturalness of holding them - something that once was the entire focus of my life, with the baby who became their father.
As an educator, I find the whole area of learning retention fascinating, and am constantly finding examples, in my life and the lives of others, about how important that 'use it or lose it' adage is.
Yesterday I went for a walk, as I often do on a Saturday, up to the Dunbar shopping area. It's a good 30-minute walk from home, and I love talking the residential route up from 16th rather than walking straight up Dunbar. I was heading for Dunbar Cycles.
Saturday morning I jumped in my car intending to take a serious look at some bicycles. I own an old mountain bike, but I was pretty sure that I would ride more if I could get a new one, especially one that was lighter and easier to hoist into the back of my car. My plan was to check out the cheaper bike purveyors, like Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, etc., as I knew I didn't want to invest $2000 in something I wasn't sure I would ride. But the traffic yesterday was insane! Driving East-West in Vancouver is problematic anyway, but yesterday it was bumper-to-bumper all along 12th Avenue, Broadway, and, finally, 4th Avenue. (The irony of being stuck in traffic going to buy a bicycle, when I would not have been stuck had I been riding one, was not lost on me!) Anyway, I gave up and went home (although I did stop at Carter Honda to check out the motorcycle stock, and found a demo 750 Aero on sale....).
Needing exercise and preferring to walk with a purpose, I decided to walk to Dunbar Cycles. I really was going just to look (I had dropped in on the local 10th Avenue bike shop in the morning, but they had only one bike under $700 and most were in the $1500 and up range) but I also knew that I had thought about it for long enough and might, indeed, make a purchase.
I had help from a very nice man who explained that I needed the 'extra-small' size of frame, which they proceeded to whip out of a box and assemble just so I could try it. Well, I fell in love with it immediately. It has adjustable everything, with the flick of a lever - no need to carry tools - and the gears sure have improved since I last bought a bike, some 15 years ago! I got a Fort-Knox-type lock, and proceeded to ride home.
It's a good thing there are quiet streets between Dunbar and home, is all I can say. I wobbled. I braked. I took the corners as if I were riding on ice, and at the stop sign, damn near fell off. I have been riding my motorcycle a lot lately, and when you come to a stop, you put your feet down to balance the bike. Well, I automatically did that on the bicycle, only to discover that, unlike on the motorcycle, my feet come nowhere near the ground....Luckily, I somehow managed to slide off the seat and plant my feet before I toppled over, but it was a near thing. And of course I wasn't wearing a helmet, so I was feeling vulnerable anyway.
So I have a new bike, and today, while the weather holds, I am going for a ride with JR. I need practice, that's for sure, and he has been saying he would like to get back into riding his bike, so I am INTEGRATING cycling into my life and, hopefully, his.
LATER...Mission accomplished: a 30-minute loop out to UBC on the 16th Avenue bike path, and then back on the University Blvd bike lane. The only real disadvantage I felt was the lack of wing mirrors to see over-taking traffic - something we take for granted on motorcycles. Aside from that, I came back in love with riding my new bike. There are 24 gears - 3 large sprockets and 8 small - and shifting them is smooth and easy - nothing like what I remember from previous bikes. I sailed along, changing up and down as the resistance hit me, thoroughly enjoying myself.
The lack of cycling skills did get me thinking about the whole 'use it or lose it' thing. How many things do we learn in our lives, and then forget? What do we retain, and why? They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle, and that is true. But I found I had forgotten how to watch for traffic, how to stop gracefully, and how to corner smoothly. I had forgotten, as well, the exhilaration of the downhill ride!
What other things have I lost that I used to do with an unconscious grace, and now remember only the basic physical actions? Whistling is one: I can put my lips together and produce a sound, but I can't whistle 'Surrey with the Fringe on Top' the way I could when I was 7....Also, when my grandchildren were born, I noticed with each of them that while I knew how to cradle their heads and keep them secure, I had lost the naturalness of holding them - something that once was the entire focus of my life, with the baby who became their father.
As an educator, I find the whole area of learning retention fascinating, and am constantly finding examples, in my life and the lives of others, about how important that 'use it or lose it' adage is.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Too much aware
Things get in the way. I live such an active internal life - why is it so hard to put my ideas on 'paper' as it were? What stops me from writing, when I talk to myself so much? Even though I have ensured privacy by not telling anyone of this site, why am I so challenged when it comes to writing? I can only conclude that I am not, in spite of a lifetime of telling myself so, a writer. My understanding is that writers share one compulsion, and that is to write. Yet I can go for days with my inner dialogues churning in my head, editing my thoughts, and creating metaphors for my life that in the instant resonate with recognition, and yet not record them.
I need to put aside the excuse that 'things get in the way'.....
I need to put aside the excuse that 'things get in the way'.....
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easters Past and Present
We had a lovely Easter Sunday with the kids, yesterday. Hugh came Saturday night and stayed over; the others came Sunday morning, supposedly for brunch, but by the time we ate, for lunch! Mits and Pete came, and Jords and the family - Kerri Jo and the kidlets, Jules and Kenzie. We were celebrating Mits' birthday plus the rite of spring called Easter - for us, a non-religious celebration of blooming daffodils, brilliant cherry blossoms, warm rain, bunnies, and chocolate.
The 2 kids immediately went to the basement and pulled out the lego and various figurines; everyone else relaxed in the living room and chatted, while I cooked. My timing was thrown off because of a surprise phone call from Norway, so I spent at least half an hour getting thoroughly heartsick talking to my brother, Peet, nephew Dee, and sister-in-law Irene, all of whom I visited last summer and whom I miss, constantly. Dee and Irene are coming over next year during the Olympics, but I wish I were going back to Norway this summer, first!
While I was cooking, before the kids came, JR went out, bless him, and did the Easter Bunny thing, so we had chocolate goodies for everyone, at the end of the meal. Before overloading the kidlets with chocolate, however, I gave them Easter gifts: a book each, and a toy each. Thanks to the rain they couldn't run outside, so it was good to have a new toy to entertain them with! Not that they are ever any trouble keeping entertained....Jules plays happily with the Lego (a giant supply saved from when his dad and uncle were kids, plus some that Hugh donated as well). He comes upstairs to show off his latest creation, then goes back down and plays contentedly. Kenzie likes to monitor what her brother is doing, while keeping the grown-ups in sight as well. At one point I looked downstairs and Mits was seated on the floor while Kenzie showed off the figures she was organizing; another time Kenzie was climbing the back of the chair to give her dad kisses. She is what my mother would have called 'a going concern'.
I was very grateful that everyone stayed for a visit after lunch, as I was too busy cooking beforehand to visit. I so much love having our kids visit, and I am so happy that my kids and JR's kids enjoy each other's company. At the end of our 'brunch' I served angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries, in honour of Mits' turning 26....Then we brought out the chocolate!
Easter when I was a kid was always so exciting, because we got more candy and chocolate than we normally saw any time other than Christmas! My parents never organized an Easter egg hunt, something I did every year with my boys, but we were always delighted and thrilled with what they gave us. Each year it was something different, and a different presentation. Sometimes there would be a basket for each of us, with a variety of chocolate and marshmallow goodies; other times there would be a large hen or duck that pulled apart to reveal hidden sweets. One year I received a lovely egg cup of white with blue flowers; I have it still. Our treats would be in plain sight, on the kitchen table or counter, waiting for us to get up and discover them. And I don't remember there being rules on what we ate, and when, or how much...a huge departure in our rule-bound household. Easter was, simply, a day of indulgence.
Most years we went to church, as my parents were church-going, at least in my early childhood. I was always impressed with the music and the flowers that filled the church on Easter Sunday, and sometimes I had a new pair of spring shoes or a new coat to celebrate with, but when it came down to it, Easter was about the surprise - the wonderful gift 'from the Easter Bunny' first thing in the morning. All the rest was insignificant.
The 2 kids immediately went to the basement and pulled out the lego and various figurines; everyone else relaxed in the living room and chatted, while I cooked. My timing was thrown off because of a surprise phone call from Norway, so I spent at least half an hour getting thoroughly heartsick talking to my brother, Peet, nephew Dee, and sister-in-law Irene, all of whom I visited last summer and whom I miss, constantly. Dee and Irene are coming over next year during the Olympics, but I wish I were going back to Norway this summer, first!
While I was cooking, before the kids came, JR went out, bless him, and did the Easter Bunny thing, so we had chocolate goodies for everyone, at the end of the meal. Before overloading the kidlets with chocolate, however, I gave them Easter gifts: a book each, and a toy each. Thanks to the rain they couldn't run outside, so it was good to have a new toy to entertain them with! Not that they are ever any trouble keeping entertained....Jules plays happily with the Lego (a giant supply saved from when his dad and uncle were kids, plus some that Hugh donated as well). He comes upstairs to show off his latest creation, then goes back down and plays contentedly. Kenzie likes to monitor what her brother is doing, while keeping the grown-ups in sight as well. At one point I looked downstairs and Mits was seated on the floor while Kenzie showed off the figures she was organizing; another time Kenzie was climbing the back of the chair to give her dad kisses. She is what my mother would have called 'a going concern'.
I was very grateful that everyone stayed for a visit after lunch, as I was too busy cooking beforehand to visit. I so much love having our kids visit, and I am so happy that my kids and JR's kids enjoy each other's company. At the end of our 'brunch' I served angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries, in honour of Mits' turning 26....Then we brought out the chocolate!
Easter when I was a kid was always so exciting, because we got more candy and chocolate than we normally saw any time other than Christmas! My parents never organized an Easter egg hunt, something I did every year with my boys, but we were always delighted and thrilled with what they gave us. Each year it was something different, and a different presentation. Sometimes there would be a basket for each of us, with a variety of chocolate and marshmallow goodies; other times there would be a large hen or duck that pulled apart to reveal hidden sweets. One year I received a lovely egg cup of white with blue flowers; I have it still. Our treats would be in plain sight, on the kitchen table or counter, waiting for us to get up and discover them. And I don't remember there being rules on what we ate, and when, or how much...a huge departure in our rule-bound household. Easter was, simply, a day of indulgence.
Most years we went to church, as my parents were church-going, at least in my early childhood. I was always impressed with the music and the flowers that filled the church on Easter Sunday, and sometimes I had a new pair of spring shoes or a new coat to celebrate with, but when it came down to it, Easter was about the surprise - the wonderful gift 'from the Easter Bunny' first thing in the morning. All the rest was insignificant.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Good Friday
Yesterday was one of those rare days when JR and I have time off together. We decided to ride on his motorcycle (BMW 1200 GS) to Harrison Hot Springs for a day trip, trusting that the threatening clouds would decide to move on instead of raining on us. (This was most important to me, as I haven't yet found my wet suit since the move.)
We took the freeway out of town and joined the Lougheed Hwy just before the Port Mann bridge, as we wanted the more country-like setting it offers. It doesn't really get rural until east of Mission, where it opens up by Nicomen Island, but the scenery between Mission and Harrison Mills is worth it, winding along past Loch Erroch and the Sasquatch Inn. The section up and over Mount Woodside is a great ride, especially coming down the east side - some steep corners and curves on the last stretch before the road flattens into the Agassiz farmland.
I found that from the time we left Mission, I was on a nostalgia rollercoaster ride, recognizing all of the landmarks and many of the buildings from years of having traveled the Lougheed. The view up the hill of the Abbey, the right-angled train crossing at Dewdney, Nicomen Island, Deroche, where we had stopped one time on a family drive to play in the schoolyard and 3 year-old Pete left behind his beloved red foam horse, causing tears all the way home once the absence was discovered, Loch Erroch - it's now unimaginatively 'Lake Errock', and Harrison Mills, with the Sasquatch Inn and Kilby's museum....all of it so familiar. I searched in vain on Mt. Woodside, coming and going, for the spring where we used to stop to get the pure, clear water bubbling up by the side of the road; in fact, I had been dismayed some time ago to read that the source of the bottled water I was holding was Mt. Woodside, so I guess the free part of the spring had to be suppressed.
Due to bridge repair work on Miami Slough we had to take the back road into Harrison, going past Tony's house as well as a new section that had been swampy forest when I lived in Harrison. We were early for lunch, having stopped in Dewdney for a coffee and snack, so we drove up the road around the lake and went to Greenpoint Park, where our family used to picnic and swim every summer. I pointed out the small island which was owned by our neighbour, Fred; throughout my childhood it was the pinnacle to me of ownership, to have one's own island - I haven't lost that feeling!
Walking under the tall cottonwood trees that surround the boat launch area, I experienced an annual phenomenon for the first time: the cottonwood tree leaf buds were bursting and falling to the ground one-by-one in a continuous cascade of spent shells. They made a noise like raindrops at the beginning of a shower - a sort of popping noise as they hit branches on their way down; to my delight, I was able to stand beneath with my face turned up and watch as the bud casings fell all around me. It struck me once again how much pleasure and peace I derive from contact with nature, however simple.
Because it wasn't sunny and warm (it was, at this point, cloudy and windy - the 2 o'clock southerly had started off the south end of the lake and created a windline of waves that was slowly advancing northward) there weren't too many people in the Village when we returned, but there were still no parking spaces along the dike. I looked in vain for the Springs Cafe, and remembered finally that I had learned of its demise the last time I had been in Harrison, two years ago. We ended up eating in the Lakeshore or some such - not particularly tasty but definitely a great view!
After lunch we walked out around the spit in the centre of the beach, and I told JR the story of how our neighbour, the same Fred, had been the head of a project to dredge the sand of the lake and create the beach and spit when I was a teenager. Up until then, Harrison Village had only the dike at the end of the lake to offer visiting tourists - there was no beach at all along the entire end of the lake. The village council paid Fred and his crew to dredge the lake sand and form a beach and spit across half of the end of the lake, to enclose a large swimming hole that trapped the lakewater and warmed it, unlike the rest of the lake, to a bearable temperature for swimming. The beach has been an enormous success; most people visiting now would never know that it was not a natural phenomenon.
Having walked the circumference of the spit, we proceeded back along the beachfront, stopping at the Rocky Mountain chocolate shop for some Easter treats, and watching the tourists. Of course, we were tourists too, but I found that I haven't lost the proprietory sense when I am in Harrison of 'them' vs. me-belonging-here, even as I am looking at, and disagreeing with, the latest incarnation of supposedly tourist-friendly landscaping the Village is imposing on the main intersection....Over the years, the Village has, in the name of 'tourist attraction', built up the section of beach where tourists first see the lake, so that, in fact, they cannot see the lake for the washrooms, viewing platform, rock gardens, and other trappings deemed necessary to keep visitors in the area. I think it a shame that they didn't build a little further along the beach, so that visitors approaching on the main road into town would see, first and foremost, the stunning vista that is the view from that spot: a long sweep of dark-green lake with mountains rising on either side, and snow-topped Mt. Breckenridge in the distance, blue and white and towering over Echo Island.
In any case, we changed back into our riding gear, climbed aboard, and headed back home, taking the Lougheed back to Mission and then joining the freeway at Abbotsford. Again, we had some spatters but no real rain, and arrived home tired but dry about 5:30, 7 hours after we had left.
Both of us agreed that it had been a lovely day trip, and that we had seen enough of Harrison Hot Springs to last for some time. As much as I have fond memories of growing up there, I find it poignant to look at the old family home (something we can do easily from the Village, as it is perched on the mountain-side quite visible to all, albeit at a distance) - I see how beautiful it is now that someone with money has completely remodelled it, and have many regrets about not being able to keep it in the family.
We took the freeway out of town and joined the Lougheed Hwy just before the Port Mann bridge, as we wanted the more country-like setting it offers. It doesn't really get rural until east of Mission, where it opens up by Nicomen Island, but the scenery between Mission and Harrison Mills is worth it, winding along past Loch Erroch and the Sasquatch Inn. The section up and over Mount Woodside is a great ride, especially coming down the east side - some steep corners and curves on the last stretch before the road flattens into the Agassiz farmland.
I found that from the time we left Mission, I was on a nostalgia rollercoaster ride, recognizing all of the landmarks and many of the buildings from years of having traveled the Lougheed. The view up the hill of the Abbey, the right-angled train crossing at Dewdney, Nicomen Island, Deroche, where we had stopped one time on a family drive to play in the schoolyard and 3 year-old Pete left behind his beloved red foam horse, causing tears all the way home once the absence was discovered, Loch Erroch - it's now unimaginatively 'Lake Errock', and Harrison Mills, with the Sasquatch Inn and Kilby's museum....all of it so familiar. I searched in vain on Mt. Woodside, coming and going, for the spring where we used to stop to get the pure, clear water bubbling up by the side of the road; in fact, I had been dismayed some time ago to read that the source of the bottled water I was holding was Mt. Woodside, so I guess the free part of the spring had to be suppressed.
Due to bridge repair work on Miami Slough we had to take the back road into Harrison, going past Tony's house as well as a new section that had been swampy forest when I lived in Harrison. We were early for lunch, having stopped in Dewdney for a coffee and snack, so we drove up the road around the lake and went to Greenpoint Park, where our family used to picnic and swim every summer. I pointed out the small island which was owned by our neighbour, Fred; throughout my childhood it was the pinnacle to me of ownership, to have one's own island - I haven't lost that feeling!
Walking under the tall cottonwood trees that surround the boat launch area, I experienced an annual phenomenon for the first time: the cottonwood tree leaf buds were bursting and falling to the ground one-by-one in a continuous cascade of spent shells. They made a noise like raindrops at the beginning of a shower - a sort of popping noise as they hit branches on their way down; to my delight, I was able to stand beneath with my face turned up and watch as the bud casings fell all around me. It struck me once again how much pleasure and peace I derive from contact with nature, however simple.
Because it wasn't sunny and warm (it was, at this point, cloudy and windy - the 2 o'clock southerly had started off the south end of the lake and created a windline of waves that was slowly advancing northward) there weren't too many people in the Village when we returned, but there were still no parking spaces along the dike. I looked in vain for the Springs Cafe, and remembered finally that I had learned of its demise the last time I had been in Harrison, two years ago. We ended up eating in the Lakeshore or some such - not particularly tasty but definitely a great view!
After lunch we walked out around the spit in the centre of the beach, and I told JR the story of how our neighbour, the same Fred, had been the head of a project to dredge the sand of the lake and create the beach and spit when I was a teenager. Up until then, Harrison Village had only the dike at the end of the lake to offer visiting tourists - there was no beach at all along the entire end of the lake. The village council paid Fred and his crew to dredge the lake sand and form a beach and spit across half of the end of the lake, to enclose a large swimming hole that trapped the lakewater and warmed it, unlike the rest of the lake, to a bearable temperature for swimming. The beach has been an enormous success; most people visiting now would never know that it was not a natural phenomenon.
Having walked the circumference of the spit, we proceeded back along the beachfront, stopping at the Rocky Mountain chocolate shop for some Easter treats, and watching the tourists. Of course, we were tourists too, but I found that I haven't lost the proprietory sense when I am in Harrison of 'them' vs. me-belonging-here, even as I am looking at, and disagreeing with, the latest incarnation of supposedly tourist-friendly landscaping the Village is imposing on the main intersection....Over the years, the Village has, in the name of 'tourist attraction', built up the section of beach where tourists first see the lake, so that, in fact, they cannot see the lake for the washrooms, viewing platform, rock gardens, and other trappings deemed necessary to keep visitors in the area. I think it a shame that they didn't build a little further along the beach, so that visitors approaching on the main road into town would see, first and foremost, the stunning vista that is the view from that spot: a long sweep of dark-green lake with mountains rising on either side, and snow-topped Mt. Breckenridge in the distance, blue and white and towering over Echo Island.
In any case, we changed back into our riding gear, climbed aboard, and headed back home, taking the Lougheed back to Mission and then joining the freeway at Abbotsford. Again, we had some spatters but no real rain, and arrived home tired but dry about 5:30, 7 hours after we had left.
Both of us agreed that it had been a lovely day trip, and that we had seen enough of Harrison Hot Springs to last for some time. As much as I have fond memories of growing up there, I find it poignant to look at the old family home (something we can do easily from the Village, as it is perched on the mountain-side quite visible to all, albeit at a distance) - I see how beautiful it is now that someone with money has completely remodelled it, and have many regrets about not being able to keep it in the family.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Here and Now
Trying something new is not my forte - I tend to stick to the familiar even as I dream of possibilities. So I am challenging myself to try this 'blogging' thing as a vehicle to writing - something I have always said I would like to do, yet never take the time to do.
For years I have stopped myself from writing on the grounds that I have nothing to say. This is probably true, but I intend to write just for the sheer joy of stringing words together while at the same time organizing my thoughts....After all, I talk to myself all the time - why not write to myself?
I know quite a few people who journal, and that's a fine thing; I've tried it, but I find I can't handle the physicality of writing with pen in hand anymore - my writing hand gets sore doing a birthday card! Also, the journal-writing I've done has tended to be at times of emotional crisis, so that I am capturing the details of a deep well of emotional despair at the end of a relationship, or complaining about something or someone....I would rather, now, write of joy, and sunshine, and hope, as well as negative things, in the balance that is life.
We'll see how it goes....
For years I have stopped myself from writing on the grounds that I have nothing to say. This is probably true, but I intend to write just for the sheer joy of stringing words together while at the same time organizing my thoughts....After all, I talk to myself all the time - why not write to myself?
I know quite a few people who journal, and that's a fine thing; I've tried it, but I find I can't handle the physicality of writing with pen in hand anymore - my writing hand gets sore doing a birthday card! Also, the journal-writing I've done has tended to be at times of emotional crisis, so that I am capturing the details of a deep well of emotional despair at the end of a relationship, or complaining about something or someone....I would rather, now, write of joy, and sunshine, and hope, as well as negative things, in the balance that is life.
We'll see how it goes....
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