The Bodhi Chicklet

{Virtual Coffee}

2012-01-31T13:27:00.017-05:00

Hello Tuesday. Good-bye January. It's time for Virtual Coffee! If we were meeting for coffee today you would be taking your chances because Riley is home with a stomach bug and we are just sitting on the sofa, watching some tv, reading some books and generally taking it easy. That's an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie which was my breakfast because I'm 51 years old and can eat what I want.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I have been feeling like I've been chewed up and spit out by life. I'm finding it hard to just go through the motions and I'm really needing more rest than usual. I wonder if the January blahs have caught up with me or if there is something else looming and gloaming. I am reminded of the old adage, "it's always darkest just before it gets pitch black". Whereas I'm usually the one telling others that this, too, shall pass, I have been having to repeat those words like a mantra as I slip and slide through these days and weeks. I would share with you a story which serves to remind me that things do, in fact, pass. It involves my friend's dog, Rosie, and Riley's red plastic lego ball.

It did pass and my friend was brave enough to, um, retrieve it, clean it up and return it.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you the Queen of Arts came for a visit last night and got a taste of how scrambled my life is. She came bearing wine

and chocolate

two things that soothe many a savage beast. When she left for home, Riley and I dressed up

and went out looking for some snow because it has been kind of hard to come by this winter.

Rain and freezing rain has been on the heels of each bit of snow and not even the lake has frozen close to shore

but the grass is like an skating rink and the trees and bushes are encased in ice.

Even these guys are having an easy time of it.

In honour of the Queen's visit we left behind some rocks

and then I locked him back up in his cage.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you we found two old bath bombs in the back of the linen closet and I would show you a bathematical equation. This

plus this

equals this

which looked an awful lot like the tea I was also drinking.

I guess it was because it was old, the bomb didn't bomb as much as slowly fizzle.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would want to share a few quotes that I have been meditating on, the first from Katrina Kenison which is, "Cast your lot with 'being' instead of 'doing'. The second from Goddess Leonie, "The person who is happiest wins". And then suggest we go over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 to see if she will rustle us up some of her Hillbilly Lattes.

Virtual Vermut

2012-01-20T18:09:00.019-05:00

Hello Friday, hello vermut. Make mine a double. No, a triple. If we were meeting for vermut today I would tell you what a roller coaster ride this week has been. I would ask you if you know what hatred looks like because I stared it in the face this week. And while details have to remain a little bit sketchy for the moment, until it all gets sorted out, I would admit it involves a child and a pair of very sad adults. Unfortunately it is my child and a pair of adults in his life who wield a certain amount of power in his day-to-day life and it is going to bring change in a big way to our house and hopefully, in the long run, in a good way. I have shed many, many tears this week in anger and frustration and pain for my son experiencing his own pain and one of the things that I have come out on the other side of this with is that I am so grateful I am not capable of that kind of hatred. It has also shown me how much my village cares and that there really are kind strangers out there and I now have some of the resources available to make life better for him.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would say I kissed good-bye this face this morning

as Riley went off on a day of adventure on the train. As much as I have loved this time to myself to do some groundwork for the upcoming change and fiddle around in iMovie, I have missed him.

If we were meeting for vermut today we would, of course, talk about the weather because it has been so flippin' cold. Nose biting, eye liquid freezing, car battery seizing cold. I would tell you that since winter came so late this year, I had almost forgotten how much life gets interrupted during and after a blizzard. Of course the kids still go to school and the adults still go to work - what gets interrupted is everything else like meals and "me" time. And as a weekly check-in for how I am doing with my Year of Me, I would tell you that I am learning that saying "yes" to "me" often enough in the smaller things makes it easier having to say "no" to "me when the bigger things come along because there isn't such an accumulation in my body and mind of "no" to "me". And as a second observation I would say that I am learning I have to push "me" forward and yet remain available to be a cradle where I can land.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you this Hello Kitty balloon that blew its way into our backyard

and tell you we had great fun telling the dog to go and get the cat out there while we watched her race around the yard looking for her nemesis. And to try to forget about the cold we picked up pizza at our favourite place last night.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you a box of goodies that arrived from Anna from Blossom Blessings. The packaging was beautiful inside and out

that's a brown paper bag from Trader Joe's I discovered when I cut off the outer wrapping

but what was inside, nestled in flower petals was more beautiful. Anna makes magical products and here are a few I ordered from her new Etsy shop. The smudge spray

face elixir

and chakra oils

My chakras are about to get some work done on them in such a gentle but effective way.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would tell you to look outside at the night sky

because it is an amazing mix of greens and blues that you really only see when it's this kind of crazy cold out. Then I would suggest we head over to Kate's at The Catalan Way because it's much, much warmer where she lives and I believe she is expecting us.

Channelling Egon Schiele

2012-01-14T16:44:00.006-05:00

Some non-dominant hand portraits, again from Carla Sonheim's Drawing Lab and in honour of Week 1 of Lisa's Wild Elephant Project.

Virtual Vermut

2012-01-13T13:46:00.014-05:00

Oh my, if we were meeting for vermut this afternoon, I would have to say that yes, there is an animal on my head.

With all the snow we've had the last 24 hours (and it's still falling) I had to bring out the heavy Canadian artillery - my beaver hat - The Thing to wear when shovelling. I would admit that I often forget that I am wearing it and only remember when people walk by and smile at me. I would tell you it started off looking like this yesterday afternoon

and by evening I figured it was time to shovel when I saw this.

Of course, everyone gets in on the fun because there's nothing like a romp in the snow after dark.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you my new Buff. With a name like that I had to buy it (and play with photo apps).

But when I take it off, it makes my hair look like this.

Which may, in fact, be an overall improvement.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would tell you I finally threw out my favourite pair of cheaters

All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put these back together again. And I would tell you about a scary moment I had cleaning out the fridge. I wasn't sure if this was really, really old mashed potatoes or some kind of stinky cheese

and since I don't "do" stinky cheese I had to ask the stinky cheese lover in the house. It wasn't stinky cheese. But on that subject, most people I know are happy that I've switched over to eating un-sulphured apricots.

If we were meeting for vermut I would proudly say that I have kept my promise to put myself higher on my to-do list this year and show you an ink dropper drawing I made

from instructions in Carla Sonheim's fun book, Drawing Lab. It's a wonderful resource for inspiration and stretching creatively. I have been gifting myself studio time regularly, showing up at my page and it feels good. Oh yes, and I have been taking the word "no" out and exercising it quite a bit and you know what? Nobody around me has starved or gone naked, and - I still have a job.

I would tell you that the people I live with have gotten creative about what to do with the empty toilet paper rolls.

At least they are changing the empty ones now but it would be nice if they would get creative a little closer to the recycle bin. A girl can dream, can't she? And I am wondering what they are going to do with them now that the plunger handle is full.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you this heavenly pot of Creosote balm that came in the mail all the way from The Herb Mother.

It came highly recommended and I can't wait to try it. The creosote bush has many healing properties including treating all kinds of wounds, parasites and unwanted growths (is there any other kind?). And let me tell you, if the jar was bigger, I would consider lathering up a few people I know with it. Buying more handmade products is something else I am putting as a priority this year. And then I would say let's go over to The Catalan Way and wake up Kate because I think she fell asleep on the train home from Barcelona again.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T05:13:00.002-05:00

Virtual Vermut

2012-01-06T16:19:00.013-05:00

It's Friday, so it's time for Virtual Vermut! If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would ask you if you know how easy it is to suck up lego with the vacuum? And you might laugh when I say it's a credit to my lack of housekeeping that we have any lego left at all.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would tell you I have proof of global warming and then show you the mosquito that is alive and well in our house in the northeast of North America in January.

Which would segue well into this sweet gift of a print I got for Christmas.

I do love me some Dalai Lama.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would tell you these last two weeks I have slept in so many days but I think I should look a lot better than I do after all that excessive sleeping. And while we're getting physical I would say that even though I am sad to see the holidays almost over, I am not sad to see the end of "Christmas is coming" spam that was flooding my inbox trying to get me to buy Viagra.

If we were meeting for vermut today we would probably talk about the weather, or rather - the lack of it. We spied this sidewalk kamikaze and chased him down the street, just for laughs.

But when we have had a little "weather", it has been either quite beautiful

or dreadfully cold. So cold, in fact, it forced me to try on my new yoga socks one morning as my yoga room is also the coldest room in the house.

But after a few poses the toes didn't stay on and my feet ended up looking like mutants from the olden days when toes socks were first fashionable.

And then because we would both laugh nervously thinking about our old rainbow coloured toe socks, I would show you a giant bowl of tea - David's Tea(s) to be exact. A girl can't have too much chocolate, money or tea! And I would admit that I just might be addicted to the combination of Green and Fruity, Organic Green Seduction and Rooibos de Provence.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you something funny I got in the mail this week from my bank -

and say that at first I laughed out loud. I mean, who is financially prepared? And then I was kind of ticked off thinking how audacious of them to send this kind of mailing out after loosing a substantial chunk of my investments this last calendar year.

And then just before you left I would show you something really scary from the grocery store shelf that just can't wait until next Halloween

and wonder if you would dare eat any. I would be too afraid I would glow in the dark. And you would go out into the cold and I would head over to Kate's at The Catalan Way because she got the King in the holiday cake yesterday so she is in a celebrating kind of mood.

Soul Food

2012-01-05T13:21:00.004-05:00

Today I am deciding what is going to feed me. Lately I have had trouble digesting many things that I am usually accustomed to eating. I am finding things spicy when before they were never spicy enough. I am often not hungry and yet eat something simply because it is time. I need to hydrate more even though my thirst level, too, has dropped. And yet I feel like I am gaining weight. I am expanding and change is afoot and I can't nor do I want to stop it. Today I am deciding what is going to feed me.

WW - Tree Pose

2012-01-04T07:13:00.002-05:00

Virtual Vermut

2011-12-30T16:10:00.010-05:00

Happy Friday my friends. And because it's Friday, you know it's time for Virtual Vermut! I almost got lost in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I'm glad I made it in time to show you some of my favourite shots like our Christmas socks

my favourite advent calendar I actually crafted a couple of years ago from a piece of large green felt, magnets, beads and some trinkets from Michael's.

And then I would want to show you some of my favourite tree decorations.

If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would tell you I really felt like Santa once all the gifts were wrapped and re-hidden in this large - ahem- garbage bag.

I had to remind everyone to not throw it out, but there was little danger in that as it is a most rare occurrence when someone other than me takes out the trash.

If we were raising our glasses today I would tell you that the day of Christmas Eve was really cold. How cold? So cold even the dog got an ice beard when we went out to deliver Christmas cards.

And we finally got a little snow - not that I am complaining - but someone in the house was bellyaching over the possibility of a green Christmas.

We were able to take a walk on Christmas day and leave some special rocks in some of our favourite places.

And then since we were getting a little silly I would introduce you to my optimistic thermometer, to which I always need to subtract an additional five degrees (celsius). This morning it read this

when it fact it was this outside.

But as painfully cold as it's been the last few days, we had one day near freezing when we were able to go out for a ski. Riley had wanted to do this trail

since last year. And my muscles will tell you that we did every one of the 11 kilometers of the Rabbit trail which was kind of foolish (at my age) since it was our first time out this year.

But it was worth it because we saw a couple of babbling brooks

tee pees

and I saw a lot of this

Drinking our hot chocolate later we made some art out of the donut sprinkles

If we were meeting for vermut today I would ask you if you have chosen a word for 2012. I would tell you that I didn't choose one for last year and I almost didn't want to pick one for the coming year but with certain events these past few weeks I have decided my word for 2012 is going to be "me". This coming year I intend to take better care of my body and spirit and put myself first on a regular basis. And if I had a fall back word it would be "no" because I intend to put that word in regular rotation in my vocabulary. And then because my vermut has run out I would say let's go drop in at Kate's at The Catalan Way to see if she has unpacked her bottles yet and maybe give her a hand with her dogs whilst she goes away for a few days. But I would say I have dibs on Blue because she stole my heart the first time I saw her.

$300.57

2011-12-24T10:16:00.002-05:00

$300.57 of groceries. Not including the turkey.

Releasing Ceremony - Welcoming Back the Light

2011-12-23T12:12:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T16:21:00.002-05:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-12-20T10:53:00.010-05:00

Wow, look at that! Five days until Christmas, I don't know who is more excited in our house. So, if we were meeting for coffee today you would find me sipping sweet, chocolaty coffee while I dance around the studio with Seal and Amy Winehouse, and for that you might want to put your sunglasses on.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would check in and see if you are in the holiday spirit. I have had head my head down for so long just trying to fit it all in that when I allowed myself to look up today I felt a lot lighter, despite what is still dogging me on my endless list.

If you were coming over for coffee today I would make you drink plenty of it so you would have to avail yourself of the facilities and you would remark on how clean my bathroom is. I spent considerable time in there this weekend not availing myself but cleaning and scrubbing and washing so that, for the first time in a long time, everything in there was sparkling clean at the same time.

I would confess that often times I just clean the one thing that seems the most in need but this week even the bowl cleaner

and the plunger got their due

as well as the baseboards and the floor. Luckily it is a largely wood bathroom so the dirt shows less, or maybe I just stop seeing it after a certain point.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you the cat we saw in the dollar store

and say that I would have that expression on my face too if I was expected to dress up like that, and show you some L-O-V-E we found at Starbucks, courtesy of the Jones company

and admit that we must be singlehandedly keeping that coffee shop in business as we run around this holiday season.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say that after a near breakdown with plenty of tears on my part, Riley's unfortunate situation at school may be coming to a head. I am hoping that the principal actually heard my words between my hysterical gulps and snivels and that she is not just trying to appease me, I would be relieved to truly believe changes are afoot.

And to lighten the mood back up a bit I would show you the plethora of Christmas cards we have received

despite my ingrained habit to not send out any of my own and it makes me grateful for each and every person who sends them out without expecting to get one in return. A humble thank you.

And I would leave with this one last shot for our hostess, Amy,

who so loves vintage. It is from a neighbour's front yard and it reminds me of growing up and what was around my old neighborhood. Don't forget to drop in over at Lucky Number 13 for some holiday hillbilly lattes. May your coming days be merry and bright!

Virtual Vermut

2011-12-16T13:36:00.008-05:00

Oh my stars, if we were meeting for vermut today I would say I am sorry for dropping off the face of the earth and wonder, has it really been two weeks since I showed up here? I would tell you that I have been really sick - flat on my back sick with some kind of super bug that wouldn't succumb to any of my usual bag of tricks and so I just had to ride it out.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would introduce you to Harriet

who you couldn't help but notice since she is sitting right on the end of my nose. Harriet, the virulent pimple that appeared the night of the office Christmas dinner, naturally.

I would tell you that one of my latest challenges has been how to have time to both live and to blog about it but I wouldn't have to tell you that I have let the blogging part slide, including leaving comments for those who always show up for me and I would want this to serve as a humble apology for lurking.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you some of our outdoor lights lit up

but admit that it is not easy to take decent pictures in the dark.

I would tell you we got our Christmas tree last week

which is a little bigger than this one

but we are still waiting for some snow to make it feel a little more festive.

I firmly believe I can live without the white stuff but I know it is coming and so we might as well have a bit to brighten up these dark, dark days which would be a nice segue into a light bulb moment I had last week.

After unscrewing a burned out light bulb I noticed that it was 52 watts. Not 40 watts. Or 60 watts. But 52 watts. Have you ever?

I would tell you we got the warm and fuzzies last Sunday when we joined the scouts going door to door collecting for Christmas baskets.

It was astonishing the sheer amount people gave from their cupboards which took the sting out of those who peeked from behind their curtains and didn't open the door to us.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would ask you if you ever felt the irony when, once you have managed to twist yourself into a perfect pretzel in a yoga class, the instructor says, "breathe naturally" when you can do anything but. And I would ask you if you thought it was an insult or a compliment when, after spending two hours in a chair at the hair salon, nobody at home notices a change in your look.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would tell you that during my blogging absence I have had to deal with some pretty ugly stuff, much uglier than Harriet. And I would tell you with certainty that racism is alive and well in my son's school. I have been sitting on the fence over one particular incident, many have advised me to go higher up on the ladder, all the way to the school board and without revealing the details I will say that it left me angry and shaken and it was probably a good thing that I was as ill as I was when it happened because I didn't have the energy to have a full blown reaction and knowing my temper, you would agree my Virulent Virus was a blessing.

And while we were on the subject of Riley,

I would tell you a story that would make you cry. Yesterday I took him to see Santa after school, we hadn't yet been able to get to the mall for our annual visit. When he was asked what he wanted for Christmas, Riley said, "peace on earth". Santa asked if he would like something just for him and he answered, "No, no - I'm good". Santa was kind of stunned and admitted that was a first for him. So with that attitude I am putting my anger and trembling legs into my releasing bundle

that I will be burning on December 22nd as part of Pixie Campbell's Mother of All Releasing Ceremonies. I have been accumulating plenty of things I would like to release, material and emotional baggage that I am ready to fire up and send off. Judgment makes up a big part of my bundle and I would ask you why it seems easier to release judgment towards a total stranger than towards someone you are close to. I am throwing in fear and uncertainty and mean spiritedness and impatience and a whole lot of other things that no longer serve who I want to be. That will be some bonfire and I will say that I will try to take some pictures to show you next week. Then I would say let's go over to Kate's because she is back in her Catalan digs with Bonnie and Blue and could use some help with her bottle of vermut.

Friday Haiku - the viral edition

2011-12-02T08:14:00.002-05:00

oh dear, my nose is

whistling like a cheap kazoo

pass the tissue box

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T04:15:00.000-05:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-11-29T10:21:00.016-05:00

If we were meeting for coffee today you would want to keep it virtual because I have come down with yet another cold. And as weird as this is going to sound, I am blaming my mouthwash.

If we were meeting for coffee today you couldn't help but notice that November is almost out the door and on December 1, I've been told, we can start turning on our outdoor Christmas lights. The elves have been busy at work outdoors decorating

and I'll show you some shots next week of everything lit up.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that Riley and I have been up to some more shenanigans around town

I would ask you if you are squeamish because if you are, I wouldn't tell you about our Breakfast with the Lynx event on the weekend at our Ecomuseum. We got to prepare breakfast toys for these lovely animals

and hide them in their enclosure. It took some creative thinking how to put squash and cabbage leaves together with recently deceased chicks, super worms (like mealy bugs but much, much bigger and quicker), raw fish and sausage casing. I'm not sure which the lynx liked the most, but this chick-in-a-swing was the most popular with the adults, although I had a hard time being cavalier about it myself.

And unless you are ready to call PETA on me, these animals are carnivores and because they are not able to be returned to the wild, they need to be provided for.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you the caribou at the ecomuseum

and ask you if you don't think she looks like she could have been Separated at Birth from my old girl.

I would tell you that after last week's teasing bit of snow, we managed to make the perfect snowball

and that I found a moth in the bathtub

which kind of freaked me out more because it is November than because there was a flying insect indoors.

And before we trotted over to Amy's Lucky Number 13, I couldn't help but show you the wooden wolf head we found while scouring for sticks down by the water.

Riley wore it on his head all the way home. It's a truly fabulous piece and it will find it's way into my work at some point. So thanks for stopping by and hopefully by next week I'll no longer be contagious.

Virtual Vermut

2011-11-26T14:43:00.000-05:00

Saturday, Saturday where's my glass? Ah, there it is.

If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would laugh and say that having missed Virtual Coffee the last two weeks in a row I hope it isn't reflecting on my character that I managed to get to Virtual Vermut.

If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would have cobwebs in my hair and dust under my nails having spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning up Riley's corner of the art studio.

Someone call 1-800-hoarders for me, would you? At least the state of my corner can be explained by hiding Christmas presents, the work I bring home from the office and ...and...

So if we were meeting for vermut today I would say that it is the little stuff that will finish me off. Kids, especially boys, seem to have so much of the "little" things like lego and go-gos and bits of glue and stones and twigs - all of which are absolute irreplaceable treasures, the quantity of which can make me crazy.

If we were meeting for vermut I would show you the state of my foot after another night of using the "bananas" at karate.

And because it involves a foot you would laugh until the vermut came out of your nose since there is nothing quite like an injured foot to bring on the laughter. But I would have the last laugh because just about all of my Christmas shopping is done, including the stocking stuffers. All I have left are the requisite gift cards, cash and living gifts to seal up. Do you know it is now less than one month until the big day? I confess I did a lot of online shopping this year and I love coming home to packages at the door, even if they aren't for me.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would show you a picture I took from the office window on Wednesday.

And of our first snowman this season.

But I would be lying if I said I was sad to see it all melt these last two days. I did seize the moment for a big clean up in the backyard because dog poop is so much easier to see and pick up on a frozen white surface.

If I poured myself another glass I might share with you the thought that sometimes I get the feeling that some people like me far more than they should and that feeling makes me fall into a hole where I try to be who they think I am but my truth is I need to be more like myself. And I would ask you if you felt the same way. And you would probably roll your eyes and wonder out loud if I am ever going to use any of the other effects and frames on the Picnik site other than the polaroid one. Which would make me say, let's go over to Kate's at The Catalan Way and see if she has any ice as this vermut seems to be going to my head.

Virtual Vermut

2011-11-18T14:04:00.009-05:00

Oh vermut, vermt, where have you been? If we were meeting for a vermut this afternoon I would show you this little ditty, my first attempt at using iMovie (heaven help me). I filmed it a few weeks ago then cussed my way through a few hours trying to get it into iMovie and the only reason I'm even showing it is not because of the cinematography but just because it felt like such an accomplishment to even bring it this far. I only wish I knew how I finally got it to load into iMovie.

If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would tell you I have mostly been absent from the blogosphere because of signs like this

which pretty much sums up what has been following me around this fall.

I would tell you my day started with these three fellas largely because I was tired of looking at them sitting on the counter since October 31.

If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would ask you if you believe me that this is actually soap

and some bathbombs.

Aren't they stunning? And I would tell you that I finally got a shot of this mural and if you use your imagination you can see past the graffiti and imagine it back in its heyday.

Remember when smoking cigarettes used to be cool? There is another building about to go up beside this one and soon enough it will disappear from sight which is kind of sad.

If we were meeting for vermut today I would ask you if you think this looks like deer antlers

and if you would be surprised to see this rose still blooming in my neighbor's front yard.

And I would say that owls really do follow us everywhere, this one we saw in Ottawa last weekend.

If we were meeting for vermut this afternoon I would share with you my rock from yesterday

and say I hope it spoke as much to the person who found it as it did to me.

And then I would suggest swinging by Kate's place at The Catalan Way to see if she is pouring today. Her place is very Zen at the moment so we may just have to pass the bottle around.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T07:17:00.002-05:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-11-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it's November? And time for Virtual Coffee? Oh, I know I have been missing in action on all blogging fronts but that's just life sometimes. If we were meeting for coffee today I might fore go coffee and stick to one of these smoothies that I am still drinking even though it's now officially cold out. That is some greens+ with rice milk and flax seed oil and frozen strawberries and cranberries and despite the colour after blended, it is quite delicious.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would ask you if you minded if I showed you some celebration photos from last week since I was otherwise indisposed, like our pumpkins

and the ninja I got to accompany for two hours on the streets.

I would tell you we have had some really hard frosts lately that make everything look as if it is coated in granulated sugar

and after turning the clocks back last weekend I want an extra hour every weekend, maybe even every day.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say that every time I go to the grocery store these last few months I seem to ring up $140 on my bill. Sometimes it is $142.16 other times it is $146.79 or $143.56 but the first two digits are always a "1" and a "4" and I would say that I challenge my government to say that the annual cost of living is at one or two or even three percent when my grocery bill and the cost at the gas pump has taken more from my pocket than ever before.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say that we have been struggling with viruses and that I am quite frankly done with the extra time this zaps from my day.

Then I would tell you that I finally cleaned out my fridge and the oldest thing I found was a yeast package that was best before "2009".

If we were meeting for coffee today I would want to show you a real vintage ghost we found on our trick or treating route that our hostess, Amy, would adore.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would confess that I finally killed off this

it may have taken me the better part of seven years, but I finally managed to kill a spider plant. But I would be quick to qualify that after suffering under my tutelage for three years, this cactus

has now revived, but only after I gave it its last rites in the spring and planted it in the garden to live or die as it chose. Apparently it chose life and I have moved it indoors, figuring I can't do more harm to it than a Canadian winter can and this should prove that you should never engage me to take care of your houseplants for even as little as a week.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would have much to say about accompanying 2 teachers and 44 8-year old children on a field trip to the science museum. As if I needed more challenges to my patience and my inner strength, I volunteered to spend the day as such. And I would admit that I did have quite a bit of fun too. There was a giant bubble making machine where you could actually pull up a bubble around you

and this infrared camera showing the hot spots and cold spots on your body. I laughed to see that the end of my nose read "green" which means cold and, like my feet and hands, the end of my nose is really almost always cold.

But I would admit that when we finally got home, I locked myself in the bathroom and told Riley that unless it was bleeding or on fire, not to disturb me for an hour.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you about the letter Riley wrote to Santa on Saturday night. He wasn't asking for any presents but he did seem concerned that Santa wouldn't recognize the house after we moved the furniture around a bit. He also asked Santa what he could do to help him. I just sat, staring at him and then I said, "do you know how much I adore you?" and he answered, "I think it's a lot".

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you about this scouring sponge I bought. It is made out of recycled materials because, like you, I try my best to recycle, upcycle and decycle, but I can't tell which side to use for scouring because what appears to be the spongy side is hard as a rock.

And then I would let you talk to me a bit because everything I have been feeling lately has been so intense and I just know I am being split wide open and it's both scary and a relief at the same time but I just can't put it into words because really, there just aren't any.

And then I would say let's go over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and catch up with what has been going on in her world.

Friday Haiku

2011-10-28T17:47:00.002-04:00

The "lice" note came home.

Meaning someone in Riley's

class has lice. Oh Joy.

So, now I'm scratching

like a bear on a tree (sh*t)

and picking through scalps.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T03:25:00.000-04:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-10-25T10:55:00.017-04:00

Hello Tuesday, it's time for Virtual Coffee!

If we were meeting for coffee today I would ask how your Halloween planning is going. I nagged poor Riley so early on in the month that we are quite ahead of the game for his costume. A few small details to create/add and we're on.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would share with you one of my truths and that is it is much easier to get up regularly at 5:00 a.m. when it isn't so flippin' dark out. I've been struggling to not hit the snooze bar lately and when I succumb I'm often grumpier for that bit of extra sleep.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that crow followed me all the way home from school this morning.

And then I found this nifty stick that reminded me of a bird claw.

I might share with you some more orange colour that graced us this week. I'm still harvesting some tomatoes - unbelievable.

And I adore these orange lentils.

It looks like a control freak stacked these pumpkins

but it wasn't long after a few kids passed through that they looked like this.

Even though they had a pretty good guard over them.

I would also show the one heavenly blue that tried its best to make me smile

this was as far as it could get though and I must admit I admire its tenacity. And don't you just love the colour of the water after steaming artichokes?

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you what an 8 year old will get up to when left unattended in a store with a large mirror.

And least week after we got stuck in this most frustrating traffic jam one exit from our house, I found this on my phone.

Which is a darned site better than the fact that I've had to move on to these

as my prune juice just wasn't making the grade. And you would know then we were coming to the end so I would say let's go over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 because she is going to show us how she makes those Cinnamon Hillbilly Lattes.

Friday Haiku

2011-10-21T01:14:00.001-04:00

An example of

the bane of my existence,

or my nemesis.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-10-18T13:17:00.015-04:00

Hello there! If we were meeting for coffee today you would be laughing at me. My hormones have been wreaking havoc on my system and I've had to pull out the heavy artillery.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say that today is almost all about colour. Like the first bag of clementines I bought and the collard greens I have been craving

and the chinese lanterns I picked out of the bin

and the spectacular leaves that jump out at me.

I love the words on the random pages of the dictionary I opened to like, "hobgoblin", "Cornishman" (in honour of Kate from The Catalan Way who wrote me a lovely email this week) or "purge" - like tiny moments of kismet.

I might show you a few neighbourhood sightings like the sock monkey

or some diehard flowers that are keeping my spirit alive during these darkening days

How about this newly decorated garage door? It's on the house down the street, you know - the one that looks like the Brady Bunch lives there.

I would tell you how the wind blew so hard on Sunday I had to laugh at the canopy from Eyesore Number 1 that got washed and hung on the line (I was half hoping it would blow off and defeat the purpose of constructing the base layer next year)

I might show you a few scary things in our front yard

but this is the scariest - how much damage one squirrel can do in a few hours.

We've decided to give this one over to him in the hopes he leaves our other pumpkins alone.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would confess that my first favourite place for hiding Christmas gifts is now full.

And in an act of utter selfishness I made myself an earring this weekend. Actually, I made myself the companion earring to the pair I started to make a few years ago.

It may have been as short as one year ago, but it's more likely it was two years and it's kind of hard to tell in the photo but those small silver beads from Bali have tarnished, but only on the one earring that has sat on my table for so long. I guess I could be accused of procrastination.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would want to thank everyone who supported my dirty kitchen floor last week by the confessions about their own kitchen floors. I realize now that I really could have let my own go for a few more weeks, maybe even months. And then I would confess something I did since we last saw each other. Last Friday Riley came home with his first grade 3 report card and, according to his teacher, he is failing reading. I can't believe it, Riley can't believe, nor can anyone else who knows him. For the last three years he has been at the top of his class in this subject and all of a sudden he is incapable of reading and understanding text? So I kind of fired off a few rather aggressive comments in response, also questioning why he performs so much differently at home than in the classroom. I could have understood if she said he was struggling with writing (which is abhorrent and we are working on neatness) or in math since he is having a hard time getting his head around logic problems but reading? I sense something else going on here that is uglier than ugly and which is something I won't talk about here.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you we went shopping for winter boots and discovered that Riley's feet have grown two sizes since last winter. I know it's natural and normal, but it still kind of freaks me out.

And before I go I would show you these gorgeous swatches of material I picked up for some upcoming projects. I already know what I am going to do with the red piece

and the rainbow roll of batik was too delicious to leave behind.

I might just hang strips of it all around the house like prayer flags.

I am going to send you over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and ask you to save me one of her hillbilly lattes while I and google "how do I make a ninja headdress" since seeing all this orange has got me in the spirit for making a halloween costume.

Friday Haiku

2011-10-14T10:30:00.002-04:00

I have tomatoes

hot peppers and cilantro.

Hot salsa tonight!

Simplicity -vs- Abundance

2011-10-13T10:29:00.010-04:00

Something struck me this past weekend, the weekend that represents the harvest, the abundance of produce and stating gratitude for all on our plates, and that is how I really march to my own drum. While the rest of the country was travelling to be with others, laying tables with a glut of food and drink, I spent the days alone with my boy up at our cottage, taking the bare minimum in what we would need in food and clothing. Less than one shopping bag for what we would consume and one change of clothing, thumbing my nose at the "what if"s of getting dirty or wet. Instead we feasted heavily on nature then came back to a simple dinner with friends, people who are becoming my village.

I saw this shot as the moon came up, realizing how filled I feel. Lately I have often felt filled with anger, irrational waves of venom and victimhood. Seeing my fear of losing control behind these episodes helps me to process the emotions. Pixie Campbell has been talking about Releasing Ceremonies and the value and richness of letting go.

I live in The House of Stuff, my son the most learned of Stuffologists. He hoards not just much loved toys but every stone, twig, leaf, bottle cap, jagged bit of metal that comes his way. As much as I try to cull and recycle and gift away both of our stuff, it must be coming in the door faster than I can get it out. The Art of my letting go is including letting go of the need to keep the house organized, tidy, free of dog hair, washing the kitchen floor (simply because I can't remember the last time I did), finding my focus for what I want and need to do with my time. After months of going inward, letting go of old rituals to go with the flow, I now need to do the opposite. Instead of hibernating in these darkening days I need to get myself out there. I need to unclaim this limbo. Right after I eat about a half a dozen of these:

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-10-11T12:41:00.005-04:00

Another Tuesday, another sunny day. Oh my, but we have had this string of unseasonably warm and delightful days. So, if we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that all kinds of wildlife came into our lives this past week. I would also have to mention that if you are squeamish about creepy crawlies or slithery slimers, you should read no further.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you we had a four day weekend and I really needed that time "off". Off from early morning schedules, filled backpacks and homework done on time. Instead our week centered around bright splashes of colour and some unusual animal surprises. Our first surprise was a dragonfly in the house

We did our best to get him back outside but we feared we may have damaged him in the process, so delicate are his wings.

We also took a trip up north and were met again by these smiling faces

It was so warm we sat on our dock and if we were meeting for coffee today I would show you the view.

We felt surrounded by orange

in more ways than one, then because we were sitting on the dock, I would slip in this shot of one of the dock spiders with a ginormous egg sack under its body.

To get that image out of your mind, I would share some more splashes of colour that don't seem to want to go south, just yet.

There were masses of ladybugs and we discovered it was prudent to keep our mouths shut, especially on the bike trail.

We stopped to eat lunch here by these rapids

and I would tell you it felt more like June than October, except with less biting bugs than June usual brings.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I had to suffer this face for a while on Saturday morning.

Riley had a sleepover with the wolf cubs and during that time one of the other cubs stole a toy that he had brought - a little green pig head from the angry birds game - and it irks me more knowing that it was another cub and not just another kid. For some reason I was under the impression that a boy scout would be less likely to be a thief.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that early Saturday morning I looked out my window and saw a neighbour's dog on my front lawn tailing the long cord she is usually tied up with and nobody on the other end of it. I ran outside in my skivvies to corral her in my backyard.

Mia is an escape artist and I thoroughly enjoyed my 7:00 a.m. phone call to my neighbor:

ring ring

Neighbour: "Hello?" (groggy and little grouchy)

Me: "Hi Todd, it's Kim."

Todd: "Yeah?" (quite annoyed now)

Me: "I, uh, have your dog in my yard," (again).

hee hee

This is not the first time I have either found Mia in my yard or caught her running loose and I've lost track of the number of times I've called Todd to come and pick her up. I suspect she found herself in quite a bit of trouble when she got home.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you we had one last gasp at Wild Willy's ice cream parlour yesterday

then came across this in the park

and I was fascinated with how it side winded its way back into the grass.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would share a link with you that gave us endless fun a few days ago and see if you don't find it as addictive as we do.

Then we would go over to Amy's at Lucky Number Thirteen and see some more of her weekend photos.

Friday Haiku

2011-10-07T07:42:00.000-04:00

Horror of horrors!

I turned my seat warmer on

in my car today.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-10-04T13:05:00.005-04:00

Hello October, hello Tuesday. If we were meeting for coffee today you would want to make it virtual because I have been really sick. Actually, I was doing well and then had a relapse yesterday which has left me feeling really germy. I realized yesterday that I needed some comfort food and got an iced capp

from Timmy's and it hit the spot. And it was one of the last things I was able to taste before the sinus congestion blasted that small pleasure out of the water.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that my friend, Cheryl, braved my state of health to meet me for lunch yesterday. Actually, I kind of broadsided her and only told her I was still sick when we met up. I tried to douse myself with tzatziki and extra onions on my falafel but only ended feeling like Pepe Le Pew all afternoon, leaving clouds of eau de greek dining wherever I walked.

If we decided to do the virtual coffee thing I would tell you I am feeling just a little bit soggy after much of this

and this

the past week.

I would share with you that a very special friend, Don Key,

was passing through town this week and we got to spend some quality time together. As I understand it, she likes to remain somewhat anonymous as she does important work in the animal rescue field. I think this works, don't you?

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that in order to keep our sense of humour about the school year, we have started to weigh the nightly homework.

It goes like this, "How many pounds of homework tonight, Riley?" Only ten pounds, not too bad!

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I keep finding these little videos (mostly of me) that Riley has been taking with my camera or phone. And that the idea of replacing a roll of toilet paper escalated into a full blown scene (mostly by me) this week and I'm thinking I'm going to have to find a creative outlet for this age-old conundrum and if you think this thought has nothing to do the first part of this paragraph, you'll have to stay tuned because I'm brewing a little learning personal project.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would probably kick you out now so I could catch a nap before I pick up Riley from school and encourage you to drop in at Amy's Lucky Number Thirteen as I hear there are lots of birthday cakes floating around over there.

Thanks Ted!

2011-09-29T08:35:00.001-04:00

If you have ever had the feeling that Big Brother is closer than you would like him to be, I invite you to watch this Ted Talks

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-09-27T10:29:00.008-04:00

Can you believe it's Tuesday again and the end of September already? If we were meeting for coffee today I would say let's sit outside because I want to soak up every minute of this sun and 70 degree weather.

If we were really meeting for coffee today you might ask me what happened to my foot

and I would tell you that this karate class Riley and I are taking is much tougher than I thought it would be. Last night I thought I had broken my foot but this morning it wasn't swollen, only bruised and I can walk on it with minimal pain. The teacher reminded us that karate is a combat sport and not ballet and that she didn't want to hear any, "Ow! Ow! Ow!s" or any "Boo Hoo Hoo's". I have an inkling I may be in over my head. Especially when, during the last ten minutes of the class the more advanced belts stopped, suited up and did actual combat. What really freaked me out about it was how much Riley was a keener - my usual peaceful, non-confrontational son was so excited at the thought of getting to that level. Help.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you about my girls' night out last week, the first one in two years and show you Linnear's Killer Shoes*.

I would also tell you that while I was out partying iMan and Riley engaged in some property defacing and would admit that this particular act of vandalism, writing in wet cement

is something I have always wanted to do.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you about a new unpaid and thankless job I have been corralled into, that being a third grade math tutor. Riley's teacher this year is new to the school and more or less new to the profession. She offers a stark and welcome contrast to his grade two teacher who retired at the end of last year and who was wonderfully old-school. But his new teacher has very high expectations, in my opinion a little lofty for the beginning of grade three. Nightly Riley and I are working math until we are both nauseous, we even had 8 pages of math over the weekend that had me both cross-eyed and seeing red. Then I would also admit that the house has succumbed to its first of the school year viruses which, all in all, is pretty good since we usually get invaded within the first days of school.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say I am woefully short of photos this week and short of words so maybe we would just go over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and see if she has any extra of those Hillbilly Lattes laying about.

*These are not my shoes, but Linnear's. I could never wear these for even a minute, I'm not nearly that brave.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-09-20T10:07:00.018-04:00

Hello Tuesday, it's time for Virtual Coffee. If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I'm hoping for a slightly calmer week than last. I actually told someone today that I am "almost" embracing the autumn. And maybe I should capitalize the "A" in almost. The weather has been delightful and although I am missing the warmth of the days, there is something in the air (other than the fertilizer from the pig farms on the south shore) that is bringing in something new. Riley and I saw something in air the other night

and even though it's hard to tell, that is a shot of some geese flying south. We stood on the sidewalk and shouted at them to come back, don't go! But they didn't listen. A few neighbors came out to see what was going on and that just kind of sewed up our reputation on the block.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that yesterday I discovered:

1) ALL my shoes squeak and I want to know what's up with that because it's making me feel like an old fart; and

2) "LOL" has now pervaded business correspondence as I found it peppered throughout an email at work and even finding myself finding it unprofessional makes me feel like an even older fart.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would segue that last fart talk into a something that happened at our karate class last night. Yup, "our" karate class because both Riley and I are taking it. I guess I ate a little too heavily before rushing off to class because I had, well, a little uncomfortable gas throughout. At one point when we had to yell out "hai" at the end of a sequence of movements, I opened my mouth and out came a "BRRRAAAACK!" but I would tell you that I was very grateful it came out the end that it did.

If we were meeting for coffee today I might ask you if you remember me telling you last week how grotty my kitchen and bathrooms were. I would say that a good sign that your kitchen is really dirty is when your babysitter decides to clean it in your absence. Needless to say I found that a little embarrassing and got on the bathrooms immediately.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say that despite the crazy buzy last week, I didn't think I had that much to say but it turns out I was wrong. You might say you think my house smells a little bit smokey and I would tell you that earlier this morning I was smudging the house and set off my smoke alarm. The one that is connected to the house alarm which is connected to a loud speaker in the house which is connected to an external central station in the same kind of way the knee bone is connected to the hip bone. Luckily I managed to convince the alarm company to not send the fire trucks but I would also confess that I bent the truth a little and said I had a cooking accident, fearing what they might think if I had said I had over-smudged. The idea of intentionally getting something to smoulder inside one's house doesn't usually sit well with insurance companies.

And lest you think that my life is just one hysterical moment after another, I would ask you if you think there could be an uglier word on planet earth than "oncology". With due apologies to those who work in the field and do so with gentleness and sensitivity, every time I hear the word I wish that it was called something else that sounds a little sweeter. My mom is making her game plan with her doctors and it will be a tough haul these next months.

And because I hate to be maudlin I would show you something I found in my closet. I bought these last May and immediately forgot about them for sandals and bare feet.

They are kind of like Ugg shoes and I have been wearing them everywhere.

I would tell you about some guidance received from the Universe last week. Right after I announced my birthday give-away, I chose this rock

and I read it to mean that my personal stock is always replenished so why not give more?

If we were meeting for coffee today I couldn't help but share with you some of the photos my mother passed down to me last week after grousing that my sister had absconded with all the family photos. It was astonishing to realize that these are my people

I love how the women in long skirts all hold their children close to them and how often they are wonderfully uncentered like this baby standing in a corner

or my mother and her mother off to one side

or unfocused, although there was a time when it was considered to be more artful to have them unfocused.

I would introduce you to, "Our John",

show you how Arthur loved his Grandma,

and wonder how many of them came back from war.

Here is Uncle Edwin at 82 years old - it appears there is longevity on that side of the family,

Hannah and Agnes as "Babes in the Woods",

Harriet and Bessie "about 1900"

a hand painted one,

and amongst many, many unlabelled and undated ones, these two are my favourites

This one is another Harriet and dated 1910 - just over a hundred years old and is in ridiculously good shape.

I also love this one of my dad and my niece (she is almost 30 now)

and this one of my grandmother on the New Brunswick shore - I never remember her smiling so happily.

And there were a few less flattering ones like me with our family dog when he was just a puppy

and four generations of women, that's me - the foxy one on the far left.

Seeing this photo was so illuminating because I never thought of myself as ever having had long hair, at the time I always felt it too short to pull back or put up or style in different ways and I also never thought of myself as particularly foxy and it's kind of sad that it has taken me so long to feel good about myself, but better late than never I would say.

And before I head over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 to make her some chicken soup, I would leave you with some sound advice from a postcard to the seasick: Keep your mouth shut.

Give-Away Winner(s)!!!

2011-09-15T20:48:00.024-04:00

Oh my, please forgive me. I started to make this post on Tuesday night with a little help from my friend, as I had said I would announce the winner of the set of six cards made from prints of my original art birthday give-away (that doesn't sound right, but you know what I mean) on Tuesday. But, life being what it is, this has become the moment to pull it all together. So, without much further ado....drumrolllllll

On this day

my trusty friend

and I, took all the names from the blog post comments and from the facebook comments

put them in a hat

shook it up

and

VOILA!!!

BUT! This was too much fun. So we chose another

BUT! We couldn't stop there, so we decided to have a runner-up (or two)

who would receive a 3-card set

We discovered that giving really does feel better than receiving so we picked another

and another

Until there were no names left in the hat. Ahhh, now that feels better! I have some of your snail mail addresses and will contact the others by email for theirs. I just need a wee dram of time to clear off my art desk and then they will be in the mail. This is my sincere thanks to all who stopped by to leave a comment or a message, you all encourage me and support me in ways you will never know.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-09-13T13:52:00.017-04:00

Well looky here, Tuesday has rolled around again at an astonishing pace. If we were meeting for coffee today it wouldn't surprise you to hear that I am, once again, on the fly. I hate to think we are this far into September but I know that it will take time to settle into a new schedule.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that on Sunday morning I woke up, looked around, and realized I had reached the end of my tolerance for dirt. The place got a heavy duty vacuuming and the second floor even got dusted. The bathrooms and kitchen floor are still rather grotty though so if we were meeting for coffee we would have to go upstairs and balance our cups on the bed.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you this weekend I experienced morning glory envy. Riley and I went to a large nature reserve and found this literal wall of Heavenly Blues outside the information centre.

And there was this spot he called The Circle of Life (he cracks me up).

We also met up with someone fishing who had caught this small mouth bass and we were pretty excited about it until he bent down and kissed it a little too passionately before he released it back in the water. I got us out of there pretty quickly after that.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I am finally ready to concede that trips to the pool are over until 2012. Today I washed all the pool towels and bathing suits and stored them away until then. Although our local pool closed a week ago, on Saturday we went to a friend's house who has a pool with a heat pump (yay!) and that day it was warmer inside the pool than outside. I would show you what I snapped when we were sitting in her hot tub, just because he looked so darn cute.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that on the aforementioned walk through the nature reserve I saw so many different mushrooms that I'm thinking of making a new regular post called Mushroom of the Week.

Which would segue me into realizing how little I've posted at this home away from home over the summer and how I've really reduced my Chicklet identity almost exclusively to Virtual Coffees. But I would be quick to qualify I don't mean that in any kind of derogatory way, just that more often than not I've tended to save my thoughts up and spill them once a week.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you how Riley is heavily into a phase where almost all his sentences start with, "Remember when..." And then he will describe something that could have happened ten minutes ago or back when he was two years old and it has been keeping my under-performing memory hopping.

And if I had more time I would love to tell you about Toby and Roosevelt, two rescue dogs who are hoping to be adopted together and who have more energy than Riley

and all the colour that has been jumping out at me like the tray of berries I froze for smoothies later this fall

and the bowl of pesto I whipped up, but knowing you, you would tell me it looks like bats' barf

so I would threaten you with The Karate Kid if you kept insulting my cooking skills

and then say let's go poke Amy at Lucky Number 13 and see how she's getting into the new school year.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-09-06T20:26:00.009-04:00

Oh my goodness, it's Tuesday, time for coffee and considering the late hour I am making mine a decaf.

If we were meeting for coffee today/tonight you would be doing the two-cheeked kiss with me because yesterday was my birthday. I would tell you I got to have a good old fashioned lay-in yesterday morning to the ripe old hour of 8:30 a.m. and I would tell you it felt fantastic. As I made my way downstairs I was greeted with my first birthday wish on the stairs

If we were meeting for coffee I would tell you I had an unusual birthday and a really fine one. The weather was kind of crappy but after a whole summer of one hot, sunny day after another I really didn't feel as if I had missed anything. I would also tell you that the first part of our long weekend Riley and I spent at our cottage doing end of the summer things like taking a last kayak paddle on the lake, a last peddle in the peddle boat and our last few swims. We (finally) finished off our last jigsaw puzzle and this shot is for The Queen of Arts who did her fair share of the 101 alligators when she visited us. (There is Riley putting in the last piece.)

I would show you the pot of pansies that greeted us each time we arrived, the first real planting of annuals I have done in many years and I would tell you how much joy I got each time we walked down the driveway to see their happy faces

I would tell you that I couldn't leave last week's mushroom theme alone and will show you a few more specimens we uncovered like these first ones close to our house

they are all so huge, my toes almost got full refuge under these umbrellas. Then there were these spikey ones I didn't notice last week

and the one I wanted to time-lapse photograph, but had to settle for just two photos taken a day apart, Day 1:

Day 2:

These little puppies have incredible growth rates and it is as if you could almost sit and watch them grow.

I would tell you we had to say a few difficult good-byes to some of our favourite things and this little/big guy was so sad all he could do was wave two of his eight legs at us in the hope to antagonize us again next summer.

If we were meeting for coffee tonight I would be sporting the top I bought for myself for my birthday (with benefits to charity which makes it all the better) and which I would tell you arrived just today in the mail.

I adore it but fear for its wash ability as it was hand made in Nepal but the earthy scents of organic pigment are rich and I haven't wanted to take it off since I tore off the packaging.

And I would end by showing you a rock (hand painted by the Rock Fairy)

we left on a neighbour's garden monkey last week which is still there despite horrid weather and I am thinking they either haven't noticed it or keep propping it back up so that we and others can keep getting a thrill every time we pass by.

And then I would say that I am so utterly knackered that I don't think I can even call up the energy to stop by Amy's Lucky Number 13 to score one of her Hillbilly Lattes and will just call it a night and hope that next Tuesday I will be up bright and early with bells on to be a little more entertaining.

Birthday Give-Away

2011-09-05T17:32:00.003-04:00

Being a part of the blogging world has brought me close to so many and gives back to me so much that, inspired over here by another blogger's birthday give-away, I decided to do one of my own. Leave a comment here and next Tuesday I will choose the winner of a set of six cards made from some of my art this past year. These will be printed on photo paper and mounted as greeting cards (blank inside). Here are some sample images I pulled, largely from my "what I learned" series I started after my 50th birthday last year.

Ultimately the choices will be mine unless there is a particular image you would like.

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-08-30T11:52:00.009-04:00

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for virtual coffee. If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I didn't cry yesterday morning (for the first time) when I took Riley for his first day of school.

It always seems to be a strikingly sunny day for the first day of school and I'm a little sad all the photos I got were squinty ones.

I did catch his usual worried expression when he's looking for friends in the schoolyard.

And so it goes. Another ten months ahead of us and it feels like the energy has tangibly shifted. The nights, the mornings, the lake and the pool water - all drastically cooler than they were ten days ago. There, now that made me cry.

If were were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that it's MushroomGate in our neck of the woods. And there were even some little tiny Grimm's fairy tale type of red ones I didn't capture. What I did find was this spooky black one

some that looked like they belong under the sea

the bold

the classic

the umbrella style

the "there's a leprechaun living under here" ones

and how about a Dr. Suess orange one with some kind of polka dots

or ones that could be puff pastries with a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar on top

and this one that I don't even know where to begin to describe.

I might ask you if you think a seven legged Daddy Long Legs might be good luck?

and oddly enough there were two seven-legged beasties side by side which made me wonder if a new bug species has been born

or if you ever heard of my dock spiders being called "jesus spiders" because, dang it, they actually walk on water. I will admit that from time to time when I see one of these honkers I have taken the lord's name in vain.

And I've said even worse when I walk into these kind of camouflaged webs strung between trees.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I ran into an equally scary zombie

and discovered that I am highly allergic to this proliferating beastie of another variety.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would ask if you also feel as if these have gone and changed whilst you weren't looking

and as beautiful as they are, their next step is to fall off and my mind won't even let me go where the next step is. But if we were meeting for coffee today you would chide me and remind me that I am supposed to be living in the moment. Then before we headed over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 for one of her hillbilly cinammony lattes we would stop by The Rock Fairy's place and drop this rock in her lap and see what she would come up with to paint on it.

After the flood, the laundry

2011-08-29T11:24:00.005-04:00

Yes, the washer is going full tilt today cleaning up what I used to clean up my flooded basement yesterday. It takes a village because I couldn't have done it alone and it's a good thing my village includes the amazing neighbours, Heidi and Glenn, who came running without being asked and took charge.

But before the laundry, more visitors, at 5:00 a.m. this morning.

As there was four of them and not just one and as they were not the least bit fazed by my presence or that of my dog, I took to heart Ted Andrews' words on raccoon medicine. Masks and transformation. Delicious and delightful. Now, back to the laundry.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-08-22T20:01:00.014-04:00

Ah, coffee time. After a week off I really need a double-double. But I'm going to settle for this intimate one french press style.

Taking a week off means I have so much to say I don't know where to begin. So, if we were meeting for coffee today I would start by telling you we have been mobile. We have hung out with new and old friends

pink friends

scary friends

a gargoyle or two

and a very gangster-y dog named Capone.

We have done our best to keep the vineyards in business

bought new shoes

landed on the moon

rode a snapping turtle

and been thoroughly searched.

We have swung on swings built for giants

made our way through elaborate natural labyrinths

been chased by crocodiles

camouflaged ourselves

availed and relieved ourselves for days on end on compost toilets

and in outhouses

We have held tight to the concept of world peace

been silly

waited on chickadees

and jumped off of docks.

We have left behind rocks

and bits of our hearts

We wished on a rainbow

took a chance on breakfast

mourned our ravaged tomato plant

laughed at a Christmas tree car

sat in the hot tub

tried to get a bit of culture under our belts

and drove over 500 kilometers to find Montreal steamies.

We have had good news and not so good news and been in full throttle of life. Oh and yeah, we have had our share of coffee.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I have been Home Alone for 36 hours straight now, the first time that has ever happened in eight and a half years. I would tell you that at first it was a bit unnerving and I just paced around the empty rooms but now I'm kind of revelling in the selfishness being alone for a stretch of time allows. I would tell you that my heart is heavy with school starting up next week, I'm not ready for another ten months of the kind of lifestyle that brings nor the kind of weather that the segue into the school year will ultimately bring. If we all hold the thought, maybe we can turn back the clock a month so I could do all of this over again. But then you would tell me that I need to just be in my moment and embrace it and deep down I would know you are right. Then we would head over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and see if there is any of that chocolate pie left over from her birthday.

Cameo

2011-08-18T20:17:00.004-04:00

I am putting in a cameo appearance here at my own blog before I high-tail it off for another weekend at my cottage. On the heels of my trip to Ontario where I met, yes, two of my favourite bloggers, Indigo Girl and Oreneta, guess who's who here (hint: my sister and Riley both are included):

I am so incredibly grateful that Indigo Girl and Oreneta (and/or their husbands) drove silly distances just to get together in the flesh. Time is indeed so precious and I am glad that they seized their moments and helped make it happen. Forming community, growing friendships has become essential to my own well being.

What an incredible journey this summer has been. In just under two months I have travelled, often times not so far but often times deep into nature. I have railed and moaned and crowed and laughed. I have frightened and secured and built and deconstructed. I had no idea when school ended on June 23 that so much would have come to me and mine in just under two months. So much of it is good, rich. All of it is ultimately healing and encompassing.

Oddly enough a theme that has popped up this last week has been bee/wasp stings. My sister's partner got two in short succession last Sunday, my sister got one shortly after his, I got one the day before but only realized what it was once the swelling had gone down. And today I got a bumble bee sting on my neck. I had brought in a bundle of laundry from the clothes line just before a thunderstorm and tossed it into the dryer. Stepping back I heard an incredibly LOUD drone. I spun around and around, trying to find the source not realizing it was attached my neck. I hated to kill the bee but, well, let's just say I am in way more pain than he is right now. I like Ted Andrew's description of the bee, "it remains a symbol of accomplishing quests that appear to be impossible", which pretty much sums up my life. Of course it symbolizes many other things (fertility, productivity and certainly the balance of work and play). More to examine there as we have dealt with a few bee *ahem* issues (like a 5,000 + hive in the floor of our garage just two years ago).

So many openings came these last months. I don't know if it is because I have tried to attune myself to the rhythms of nature or if it was just what had been coming down the pike regardless of my personal input. In the end I don't think it matters. It is here, I am living it and even if I'm not sitting on the pot of gold, I am alive and more vibrant that I could imagine possible.

Now as I head back off to the wilderness it is with a box of school supplies and printed strips to identify each and every one of the 2HB pencils, markers, glue sticks, pocket protectors, duo-tangs, binders, exercise books, tissue boxes and other bizarre requests. I have to admit I remember the days when I was given ONE 2HB pencil at the beginning of the year which was replaced once it was used up, exercise books were provided free as were pencil sharpeners, erasers, colouring pencils, construction paper, scotch tape - all of which we now provide for our own kids. When I was in grade school I never had to wash down desks as my son has had to do as a regular class activity, that was a custodian's "job". Which probably goes to show what a geezer I really am. And, proud of it.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-10T04:21:00.000-04:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-08-09T06:32:00.006-04:00

Oh hello Tuesday, it's time for virtual coffee! If we were meeting for coffee today I would want one of these ventilowfatmochahalfsweeteasywhips

because it's been a while and I have been disciplining myself to live cleaner and less extravagantly.

If we were meeting for coffee today I could bore you with lots of photos but instead I will share some colour.

and say that nature just does it better.

I would tell you about my boy's intuitive side and how he is using nature to call in spirit. He was working owl spirit pretty intensely on Friday night and Saturday we fell across this

which wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but I heard the answer.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would try hard to not freak out that it is August 9 and instead remind you (and me) that there are still three more weeks before Riley starts school. But I did have a long hard look at the school schedule and would tell you that out of the 18 weeks before the Christmas break, only 8 of those are full 5-day weeks - the other 10 weeks include some regular holidays and pedagogical days. And that the longest stretch of 5-day weeks is 3 weeks in a row, which occurs at the end of March. My, my.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I will be gone for much of this next week, on a road trip that looks like it includes (eeeeek!) meeting two fellow bloggers in person!

I would say that I feel like I am really living this season, despite spending a tidy sum in gas, I have frequently picked up and gone into nature and am learning to occasionally put my own needs first, even if for only short periods of time. I feel a slippery grasp on living with intention because that is the best I can do at the moment and it's helping me to get closer to knowing what, or who, I want to be when I grow up.

Then I would say let's go and see what Amy is talking about over at Lucky Number 13.

Today

2011-08-04T20:02:00.004-04:00

Talking about today makes me need to preface last night. Last night at 9:00 p.m. I discovered that I needed a "Christmas" related costume for Riley for his swimming lesson at 9:00 a.m. this morning. So what is a hard-pressed mother to do? First up, scrounge through the holiday bins in the basement for the Santa hat. Check. Then get creative and pull out my Caran d'Ache colour pencils and VOILA!

Riley as a Christmas tree! Not too shabby for 12 hours of notice.

The rest of my day involved finding my main yahoo email account hacked, and with my deepest apologies to those who also subsequently got invaded via their emails in my contacts list. I have had quite a few problems with yahoo these last two years and am thinking I need to switch over to another provider. I also have tried GMail but am not crazy about their formatting. Any suggestions out there? And now I read in the news that Paul McCarthy also feels "hacked" and I guess I should feel as if I am in good company (snicker).

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-08-02T10:08:00.007-04:00

If we were meeting for coffee today I would have a lot to say as I missed out on having coffee with you last Tuesday. I would show you the bowl of latte I had with my friend Tammy,

and tell you that we also ran into another friend who I always see at this cafe no matter what day or time of day I go, who also happens to be a member of the wolf club.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I have gone kicking and screaming out of July and into August and that I can hardly believe my beloved July is over.

I would tell you last week I had my second massage with the magical massage therapist, Maria, but when I got dressed that morning I forgot someone else on planet earth was going to see my underwear.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I have learned to know when I'm having a hot flash in a heat wave and that is when I am at the office and looking for another layer to peel off whilst everyone else is walking around in sweaters with their teeth chattering. And when I say, "is it just me or is it hot in here?" and everyone says that it's just me.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you the levitating crab apple

and then say, "fooled you!"

I love how kids can get so much time and fun out of something simple like a single crab apple. I would tell you that Riley took his first solo trip in the peddle boat this weekend as our delightful house guests had claimed the kayaks. I keep forgetting how much he is growing up and how trustworthy he is.

And then I would tell you about something else that happened on the lake on Sunday, something which made me confront a fear and which I am so grateful for happening. We were out in the canoe with our guests, two adults, two children when one of the children got twitchy and decided to leap out and swim back to our dock. But sixty pounds quickly leaving one side of a heretofore carefully balanced canoe means one thing - capsize. Before anyone knew what was happening it went over and before I had time to be scared I was in the water counting heads. We miraculously managed to pull/push the canoe to shore and emptied it and I might have photos to show of this except that my friend's non-waterproof camera was in her pocket at the time. My inner guidance had made me leave the dog and my own camera back on shore. A big lesson learned for the small fry was exactly why we wear life jackets no-matter-what in any boat (I expect to hear no more griping for some time about this) and I think the same lesson wasn't lost on the adults who had been cautious enough to be wearing them as well. Gratefully there was also sun after the event to help dry things out.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that there has been some wicked office gossip going on behind backs. I do my best to disassociate from all of this on a regular basis but if there is any truth to it, it has cost the lives of two innocent goldfish and that's where I tend to take it to heart. How interesting that the Brave Girl's message today advised against engaging in any kind of drama so I am going to take that advice and take a few steps back to my usual Switzerland post (which is, in fact, what they call me at work because my reputation is not to engage).

If we were meeting for coffee today I would eventually get around to talking about where my soul searching has led over the last two weeks. What I seem to notice in other people's lives is their support systems and how I lack in that area. Which brings out the victim archetype in me thinking that if only I had so-and-so or so-and-so to help out or take on some of the daily details of raising Riley I would have more time and energy to get my life moving forward and although there is plenty of truth in what I am thinking, there is also plenty of truth in the idea that many things I don't do or get done for my own self is because I am not making choices that would grant me enough importance in my own pecking order. Being a mother has meant making sacrifices I never dreamed would be asked of me, some of these I have given willingly and others I have gone down fighting over. As my birthday approaches I am putting some energy and effort into moving my needs and wants up on my to-do list in the hope that with intentional practice it will become habit. And I would share with you the entry from June 28 on my "Women Who Do Too Much" page-a-day-calendar which reads:

"Some of those we are close to - like children, husbands, pets, and colleagues - experience our being focused as withdrawing from them...not so! Those around us need to learn that they cannot always be the center of our attention and our being focused does not mean that we have abandoned them. Our being focused is not about them. It is about what we are doing."

and ask you if you don't think those words are brilliant too?

I would tell you I finally answered Crow's call.

Oh Crow! This powerful, thrumming bundle was made by the magical Pixie Campbell and arrived in my mail box on a day when I really, really needed to hold it in my hand.

And I would leave you with a picture that makes my own heart thrum, pure joy

and suggest we head over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 to keep this conversation going.

On Heat and Navel Gazing

2011-07-23T16:19:00.008-04:00

Yup, it's hot enough for me. Most of me is loving it, I really seem to thrive on heat, even if it is at a slower pace. To keep cool today it required an entire pitcher of iced tea

a bowl of cherries

and many, many yellow plums.

Although I will admit that even I have a heat limit, which I think I reached yesterday. These next few days I am painting Riley's room, getting some new furniture in for him. At eight and a half, I figured it was time to update the toddler bed and the change-table-slash-set-of-mini-dresser-drawers.

As I was saying, yesterday I reached my heat limit. After spending the afternoon in Riley's room, moving out furniture (on my word that boy has hundreds of books) trying to sort through and throw out stuff that has been in there for too long, I was sweating pretty heavily. The sweat would dry then the process would start up again. And I would dry off, again. After a few rounds of this my underwear was stuck to my body like glue. We were invited to swim in a neighbour's backyard pool but I couldn't get my underwear off to get my bathing suit on. I was thinking I was going to have to cut it off my body.

Today is day two of the room painting. Four hours and one stomach bug later, the primer is up, and I am sipping this jelly jar of cool blue Hpnotiq. Even the colour is cooling.

No worries about underwear sticking to me today, having opted out of putting it on in the first place. Which brings me to my first bit of navel gazing.

Two themes have been recurring in my field of vision lately. The first is choice. How we choose to spend our time. As much as I love summer vacation and the more relaxed pace (not to mention the weather), we are half way through summer vacation and I have felt robbed of my time. I feel more demands on me, things I am hard pressed to say no to. Which has left me undone. Is this how I choose to spend my time? I see others around me in real time and blog time who seem to be freer in making choices or maybe it's a matter of having a better support system for the choices they do make. More navel gazing on this theme is needed.

The second recurring theme is boiling down, if you can, the purpose of life to relationships. A few readings have come to me suggesting that the essence of our life is relationship(s). It is, obviously, not about the bigger and better toys or the lofty goals or the path we choose to reach them or even our learning process, it is about how we gift ourselves in relationship. Which has me asking what I am bringing to my own relationships. Those closest to me suffer the brunt of my impatience, my frustrations. Am I bringing enough good stuff to those ones that are important? Perhaps another jelly jar of Hpnotiq will induce a deeper sense of reflection, or sedation.

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-07-19T05:01:00.000-04:00

If we were meeting for coffee today we would be doing a drive-through because, once again, we are on the road. Today we are driving into Ontario to help my mother with her move. Which will mean at least 3 hours of driving and moving boxes in sweltering heat. Which certainly beats moving boxes in a snow storm.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you we squeezed in another weekend at our cottage, doing plenty. First at another lake and another beach with friends which was lovely and second on the petit train du nord bike path where we rode at least 20 kilometers.

We also spent enough time chez nous, welcoming back an old friend

I think he thinks he's hidden

but then we caught him on our own dock too. In fact we kind of chased him around in our peddle boat but I think he may also have been enjoying observing us as he never flew too far.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you about this strange looking plane that buzzed our lake over and over.

Can you say, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"? And let me tell you that the deer flies are horrid right now, so horrid I picked up one of these

It's an electronic mosquito swatter. Or, make that an electronic "moisquito" swatter. (Doesn't anyone proofread any more?!)

Which must be why it also works on deer flies although it really just stuns them but it gives you the advantage to finish them off with your shoe whilst they lie there inert. If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I was laughing with a salesman in a sporting goods store on Sunday over this, The Executioner.

He said it was like my moisquito swatter only uber strength. And with a name like that, I believed him. And if I had had it handy I might have used it on this

which was flying around my bedroom one morning. Except he disappeared and then reappeared days later, spent. I would qualify all this talk about bug execution with the philosophy that as long as they are outside (where they belong) I tend to leave them alone, except for things that are naturally aggressive like wasps and deer flies.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would ask you if your kids are crazy for go-go crazy bones.

Riley is somewhat obsessed with them. And if you had never heard of them I would tell you that stepping on one of these is exactly like stepping on a piece of lego. But when you look like this

you forgive him once the swearing is over. And then I would suggest we go over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and see what's cooking.

The Conversation

2011-07-15T08:42:00.000-04:00

A few nights ago I took Riley to the pool after supper and we unexpectedly met one of his friends there. Naturally, I thought this was stellar for me as I suddenly didn't have to go in the water. Riley played with this friend for almost two hours and when I pulled him out we had this conversation:

Riley: why didn't you come in the water with me?

Me: I didn't think you wanted your old, fat, stinky momma if you had a friend to play with

Riley: you're not stinky

Reading between the lines is easy. What struck me was how I described myself and how that story I tell myself about myself isn't true. I'm not stinky.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T04:00:00.000-04:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-07-12T10:13:00.002-04:00

If we were meeting for coffee today it would be somewhat of a miracle because I have been AWOL or perhaps AWL because I have been truly absent with leave, my own personal leave. And I could not tell you why other than it was just a gentle segue on my own part that I barely recognized my own absence.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I have been to my cottage two weekends in a row. The first weekend my sister brought this mini-kayak for Riley

as last summer he was driving her own full-sized kayak on his own, without help and only ride-by supervision. He took to it like stink which made me go out and get this 8-foot puppy to paddle along side him.

Unless you have already paddled, it would be hard to describe other than it brings a special feeling of control and power that is rare to experience at any age.

And lest you think I am a bad mother endangering my son out on a lake by himself, I would tell you that there was always someone riding close by.

He discovered that his open style kayak is great for resting on in the early morning sun too.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would introduce you to this guy who has been beating up my country house something fierce.

I have had to call in unfriendly reinforcements as if I were to leave him (and his rather large family) on their own, I would have no house left. I would add that there has been lots of bird medicine appearing in my life and that in the last week alone these three unusual feathers have crossed my path.

And what would a blog post about nature be without a shot of dock scat?

It was easily six inches in diameter and, if you are like me, you are imagining the size of the thing it came out of.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I have caught myself doing absent-minded-professor-like things like putting empty pickle jars in the fridge.

And that this is just an example of the harmless things I have done.

If we were meeting for coffee today I might broach the subject of my most recent change that has come upon me. I'm not even sure how to put it all into words, only that it is natural and likely long-time coming. I would tell you I have been feeling a certain lack in my life and instead of filling it with time wasters I have chosen to go inward and listen, or try to listen to my directives.

I would tell you I filled myself up with nature these last two weeks with lots of these

and this momma merganser with her nine (!) babies

On Saturday Riley and I went to the local beach and found exactly this many people there by 11:00 a.m.

We had the place to ourselves for awhile so we made some sand art

before the crowds hit. Later that day I discovered that now, when my knees get sunburned, they could double for elephant skin.

Which is a might sight better than what I discovered behind my knees.

I can't believe I never noticed them before but then again, I rarely look in a full length mirror and when I do, my legs are usually covered.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that also in the last week I went to upgrade my ancient cell phone and came home with this

after being sweet-talked into it by the salesman. I knew almost immediately it wasn't for me so after a few days I went back and exchanged it for this

which is what I really wanted in the first place and it's kind of scary how much fun it is. I would ask you what apps you might suggest as the apps store is kind of overwhelming.

If we were meeting for coffee this week I would tell you that last week Riley had his first swim meet and at the pep rally just before it started, I thought he looked both so tiny and so grown up at the same time.

I would tell you how easy it is for him to make art out of nothing, like dirt on the road

or with an old pop bottle and gathered twigs.

How deeply he inspires me when I have these feelings of being in backward motion.

And then I would say I am sorry for not letting you get a word in edgewise and I would listen to your story because it is so important that we do that for each other.

And then we would head over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and see what her pot is brewing.

Happiness Is

2011-07-10T17:38:00.002-04:00

a flower shaped soap pie when the dishes are done

What I Owe

2011-07-07T20:35:00.002-04:00

I am wondering tonight, to what do I owe this space, this moment. I have been silent on my blog, finding myself stretched more and more and not being able to scrape enough time together to formulate even a meager post. And then I wonder why that should even matter. I am relishing the sudden burst of good weather, time with my boy. Dreams are still being cogitated, photos still documenting. And a list being made of what is really important to me with what I want to really, really do with my life. I am painfully aware of my fears, of my shortcomings, my weaknesses. Somewhere my strengths lie, waiting to be acknowledged and invited to come out to play. Home life is tumultuous, work life is similar. I have been challenged this week to stand up for myself, all the while feeling out of my body, watching myself speak up and assert, mark my space like an animal, staking out my intellectual territory and justifying decisions made. Transitions, movement, knowing it's all good.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T02:47:00.000-04:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-06-28T05:54:00.015-04:00

If we were meeting for coffee today I would want a long, tall, cold one. I would tell you my hot flashes seemed to have stepped up and I would never have believed I could be left panting with virtually no effort on my part. On Sunday we took Riley to Cars 2 and I sat in the ice box of a cinema and swam around in my chair in a pool of sweat.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that last week I went for a massage, the first one in a few years. Normally I don't really like anyone touching me like that and I think I have put up mental blocks other times on the table but I think I found a master healer in Maria. When it was over I felt inches taller and more clear headed than I have ever felt. She took years of stress and tension out of my body and I am so grateful I gave this gift to myself to start off our summer.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you (finally) my repainted bathroom.

I would tell you about this "student" company I hired to do the job and how much of a rip off it turned out to be. Sloppy work, disrespectful painters walking around my house and it will likely have to be redone in a year because of the lack of preparation but I am just going to live with it right now and enjoy the clean look. I had a follow up call this week from the company for feedback on the project and I gave them an earful, so I now feel closure with all this.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you about this ridiculous bag of chips I found, bought and ate.

Each chip was heavily coated - and I don't even particularly like ketchup.

And while we were talking about food I would tell you that Riley had his first Gigi's pizza last week and you would agree that there is nothing better than Gigi's.

If we were meeting for coffee today you would ooooh and aaaah over some treasures I brought home from my mother's recently. With her upcoming marriage and move to another city, she is clearing out some of her baggage. While my sister left with the grandfather clock and her cedar chest, I would say I think I got the better deal when I scored her button box

skeleton keys

and her box of lace bits

Isn't that butterfly smocking amazing?

Then of course there was the metal Craven A box (love the black cat)

My father's wedding ring she bequeathed to Riley

ditto the Limoges plate

I remembered my grandmother wearing this cameo often so I claimed it

and it was a toss up over her two Hummel figures so I let my sister choose hers first. Mine came with the embroidered Linens cloth.

Even though I have no idea what I am going to do with all this stuff, I would tell you that the memories from my childhood are thick in it. And instead of making me feel old, I feel proud to have come from an era where care was taken in manufacturing and the packaging of a product was meant to last almost forever.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you my first pair of El Naturalistas.

which came to me in a whole mad-cap caper kind of way, thanks to The Queen of Arts. I saw these in a local store but the $174 price tag (over $200 with tax) made me choke. Online I scored them for $114 but the catch was the company doesn't deliver to Canada. So The Queen (and her amazing Dave) stepped in to accept them and ferry them all the way to me on their last trip here. Woot!

And before we headed over to Amy's to see what she has cooking today, I would show you our first seasonal buttercup which Riley pointed out to me this morning whilst my own brain was already five miles ahead of where I actually was.

Kids are great for bringing you back to center. Oooh, look Amy at Lucky Number 13 has left her sidewalk chalk outside, let's go and draw something naughty!

Am I The Only One?

2011-06-25T20:42:00.003-04:00

Who ...

- wipes the table after a meal (or before)

- ditto the stove and counter tops

- notices the trash pail needs to be cleaned and cleans it

- vacuums

- gets rid of stuff

- picks up and puts away loose clothing and shoes

- changes the sheets

- ditto the toilet paper and paper towel rolls

- buys toilet paper, tissues and paper towels without fanfare

- locks the door at night

- gives a damn

- closes the window when the rain is coming in

- bears the brunt

- puts gas in the tank

- makes sure the homework is done, the bathing suits and soccer shoes fit

- empties the dishwasher

- cries alone in frustration

- hides her favourite desserts (so she can be sure there will be some left when she is finished doing all of the above)?

No, no, I didn't think so.

Friday Haiku

2011-06-24T11:19:00.006-04:00

The cleansing power

of rain is misunderstood.

Go outside and dance.

Somewhere...

2011-06-23T20:45:00.005-04:00

...over the rainbows....

Today was "that" kind of day. Riley and I saw two rainbows tonight, the first was jaw-dropping but I was driving and as such couldn't document it other than in my heart. The second was during supper when I ran out into a thunderstorm with my point and shoot whilst the sun was shining (talk about wacky weather). And even though I boosted the colour a bit in photoshop here, this second rainbow was the rare, full kind where you could see both ends. Rainbows are magic and transient and make you want to run up and down the street ringing everyone's doorbell so you can share it. I love "that" kind of days.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T02:28:00.000-04:00

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-06-21T09:05:00.013-04:00

Oh my, it feels like so long since we've sat down for coffee. I've been just going through things, living life, trying to find a way to better manage my time but I think this is just a cycle where I am learning more about myself and that I will find some balance when and as it moves forward. If we were meeting for coffee today I would first tell you about my coffee meeting last Tuesday with The Queen of Arts a.k.a. The Rock Fairy.

We sat outside and had a little friend come and share our crumbs.

The Queen and I are connected in ways that defy words so it is always a healing time when we see each other in person and just talk. She talked me through my perfect day and it was an interesting experience getting all the details down. I am learning it is important to have the details when you are building a dream.

The details in these iced coffees, which is how we ended our time together, include a bit of vanilla soft ice cream and mocha syrup.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I have been feeling bouts of complete hopelessness. Where my stomach sinks low and my head expands in grief about how hard this life can be. I would tell you how scary this is and how necessary it is to talk about it because I think a lot of people feel that way from time to time and just acknowledging it makes me aware of how transitional the feelings are. I might put it down to aging which is a subject that has also been hitting me hard lately. I am learning lessons about loving my body the way it is without trying to fix its brokenness. And about the awareness behind what I choose to put in it. (I might leave out how, by 9:20 a.m. I have already put in two chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.) I would also confess that I feel like I'm evolving into a proper eccentric old crone.

I might tell you that I darkened the doorway of a Wal-Mart recently, something I haven't done in well over a year. I would tell you I was looking for an inexpensive bowl - something I needed for a pot-luck and something I wouldn't mind leaving behind if I had to. And to my surprise I found this beautiful red plastic bowl for under two dollars.

But the best part was that it was made in the USA and NOT in China. Thumbs up for Wal-Mart this week.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you Eyesore #2 which appeared in my backyard one afternoon.

I have already written about Eyesore #1 which, at the time, was simply named The Eyesore. I never imagined I would have to start numbering these things. I would ask you how you could live with someone and have such opposite ideas of what is tasteful. And you would agree that since my backyard is small, it really is no place for such a monstrosity. Is it too much to ask to be consulted when choices are made about shared living space?

If we were meeting for coffee today at least one of us would be sneezing a lot as pollen is thick in the air and coating just about everything with orange. I would tell you about a dead bumble bee Riley and I saw and the absolute saddle bags of pollen on his legs

and speculate that this was probably the reason behind his crash landing.

And speaking of crash landings, it would be the perfect segue into telling you how I was called upon to learn how to gift wrap a hula hoop this week.

After not being able to find a gift bag big enough, I tried googling "how do I gift wrap a hula hoop". I don't know if I was more astonished to see there were actually postings about it or that many people (obviously) thought it was worthy of putting out there. And I even delivered it on my bike which completes the circle on the subject of crash landings.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you I reconnected with an old friend this weekend while out on another mission. We used to laugh about how we would likely end up giving each other blue rinses and we drank a lot of tea back in the days.

And I would say that I think we still look like a pair of hot chicklets.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would share that I have dipped deep into animal totems and am finding it such a rich, rich world. I would tell you that some whale medicine has called up multiple bear lessons that I need to heed.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that school lets out in three days and I am going to relish every second of this time of year. I am going to breath and feel and dance and squint up into the sun and then go and sit in the shade with my hot flashes.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would show you this video

my friend, Cheryl, shared with me before heading over to Amy's at Lucky Number 13 to see if she has the kettle on.

I Ask You...

2011-06-17T20:29:00.003-04:00

...OK, it is mid-June here in the northern hemisphere so why, why, I beg, are the maple leaves turning this colour NOW????

Do they know something I don't know?

{Virtual Coffee}

2011-06-14T19:42:00.003-04:00

... has been pre-empted by LIFE. It will be back next week.