Generosity and Support of Our Family and Friends

Sunrise on Greenhouse

I sleep poorly for various reason even at the best of times but with the looming moving date quickly approaching my normal sleep of about four hours has become disrupted. So just after four this morning I was up and ready for the day. I don't mind this time of day and I love watching the sunrise to the awakening world. It's funny the thoughts that flit through your mind while packing. The peace of the morning allows these thoughts to flow freely allowing me to ponder a bit at times.

Four years ago July 1 we moved to this house. I can't believe it's only been four years as so much has happened in such a short period of time. Our lives have changed so much! We had bought the house based solely on location being waterfront property and had never seen the inside. My husband just had to be on the water! The house itself is quite cottage style with sloping ceilings upstairs that remind me of my childhood home. When we moved in everything was painted what the previous owner called chestnut but really was builder's beige almost a peach colour. We put our touches on the inside with Redwing Red in my husband's sports room, taupe for most of the house and pink for my kitchen. I've never been in another house where pink worked for a kitchen but here it just does. I can't say I'm fond of green painted anything but chose that for the garage and back door because it matched the exterior. We added our touches everywhere. Now as the house becomes stripped of our touches it once again becomes a house not a home.

I'm purposely avoiding the garden right now. I put so much work into it's creation and the reality is the new owners are likely going to demolish it. Instead I'm working on packing and am behind on my June 15th goal of everything packed. I'm back in physio which is helping but physical limitations are playing a role as to how much I can pack each day. Exactly one week from today we are moving. Today is the second last garbage day so I want to make the most of it. Yet I can't help pondering over certain things.

The generosity and support of our family and friends has been amazing! We have offers for help for this last week of packing, several trucks ready for the move even though we hired movers for the bigger items and we have both family and friends coming to help get the new house organized. I can't even begin to put into words how much this means to us. We are so very blessed to have such an out pouring of support this way!

Wordless Wednesday - Heirloom Rose

Heirloom Rose
June 14, 2007

Packing

Sunset on the Water
June 17, 2007

As our home becomes stripped of our personality we find a greater need to escape the growing mountains of boxes lining narrow paths to each room. Our escape has been taking off for a few hours on the boat. Sunday night we headed to one of our favourite marinas for dinner. The marina is at the mouth of the entrance to the lake. The meal itself is nothing fancy but the food and atmosphere is always outstanding. I think they have some of the best onion rings I've tasted. We usually eat outside on a covered glider overlooking the docked boats while watching other boats and freighters entering and leaving the lake. In the afternoon and evening there is a live band as well. They hold special events for the boaters as well like Christmas in July where boaters are to show up with their boats decorated. This event is quite popular with the little ones. We like this place well enough to boat there three or four times a month sometimes more often especially when we have others with us. Mind you we take the boat out as often as possible given our relatively short boating season.

Sunsets are beautiful at anytime but there is just something special about viewing a sunset while heading home on the boat. Sunday evening the water was rather calm instead of the often choppiness that occurs from extra boat traffic on the weekends. It was a gorgeous night to boat home with the sunset almost on the horizon that when combined with the lull of the engine and splashing of the wake was soothing to the soul. Just what we needed!

Monday Funnies - Barbecue Rebel

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Happy Father's Day 2007

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers today!

A special note:
Happy Father's Day
to my wonderful husband
This post is dedicated to you!

I didn't have a father growing up. My biological parents were deceased and the home I grew up in had no male role model. Things changed when we were wed as I learned to share living space with the opposite sex. That was a real hoot! Just when we had that somewhat figured out, I was expecting our first baby. My husband became more protective and as if possible more attentive. When our little bundle of joy was born he was there to help me through the labour and welcome our first into the world. As new parents we knew very little so did a lot of flying by the seat of our pants. My husband stepped right in helping with baby duties, changing diapers, doing laundry and calming the baby when nothing else seemed to help. The baby loved sleeping on Daddy's chest. I can still see his huge hands gently struggling with the first few diaper changes and those very small newborn clothes. In reward the baby's eyes would sparkle and give a huge toothless smile just at the sound of Daddy's voice. He was Daddy's boy! As his sibs joined the ranks, we became more assured of our parenting style and as parents we were united on major issues but the kids quickly realized that Daddy was a huge push over on smaller things. If Mom said no, Dad might say yes so why not cut out the middleman aka Mom and just go straight to Dad? We caught onto that little scheme faster than our darling angels thought we would. The kids also knew Dad was a little more liberal than Mom so by approaching Dad first, he might be able to talk Mom into allowing them to do something they really wanted to do. Since Dad had excellent negotiating skills it quite often worked to the kids' advantage but usually with conditions and they knew if those conditions were broke they wouldn't get that privilege again.

But Dad could fix things Mom couldn't. A bandage from him meant the world. Sure Mom could kiss boo boos but Dad giving a bandage, that was a real highlight. He could kiss away tears that sometimes Mom couldn't. He could do that man talk thing gals just don't get and if they try they mess it up. He could put things together without instructions because men don't need instructions and he could always find the way to where we were going because men don't need directions. And late at night, you would find him giving a final goodnight kiss and later as they got older, sitting up late waiting for them to get home. Getting home late was a good thing as the kids talked out what was going on that night and despite wanting to sleep he would listen patiently sometimes offering advice if needed.

There were some things that my husband aka Dad just did better than me aka Mom. Dad is a easy, laid back, take life as it comes and adjust type person while Mom is pretty much the opposite. They say opposites attract. Anyway, that made Dad the mediator, negotiator and sometimes humorous sidekick. He also encouraged the kids to try something new and even take risks that Mom would have balked at. He bit his tongue when sometimes they did stupid (on the surface) things long enough to find out why they had did so. Neither of us ever believed in spanking but I will tell you my husband has this thing where he twists his tongue then sticks it between his teeth when he is angry. The kids caught onto this very early and would stop whatever they were doing. They simply knew not to cross the line. If you give a child respect you get respect back and Dad knew that. So life went.

Over the years, my husband aka Dad taught the kids life skills to last them a life time other than fishing as that was Mom's job. He had the patience to teach them to drive. Oh and does he ever deserve medals for that! He's helped them move oh so many times without complaining and even provided comic relief for those tense moving moments! I saw him cry coming down the aisle with our second even though he was full of pride. The pride shines through in the family wedding photos! Now I get to see his love and pride in family take a new shape through our new grandbaby. And the cycle continues, ever change yet familiar.

Our kids are now grown and starting families of their own. While they are very independent, they still turn to us for guidance, support and sometimes help. Dad remains a key role model worthy of respect. He deserves accolades for a job well done, one he accepted of his own choice and one he has more than excelled at. He continues to be the pillar of strength for our family. He is aways there just to chit chat or to offer advice and he has no problem offering more when needed. He is the most unselfish and giving person I know. He has demonstrated a true love for his family in every sense of the word. We are so very blessed to have this unique and wonderful person in our lives!

I love you honey for being a wonderful father to our kids!

Mute Swans

Mute Swans
(Cygnus olor)
June 14, 2007

One benefit to living on the water is the abundance of wildlife. We have been visited by deer, wild rabbits, opossums, raccoons, skunks, voles, mice, ermines, muskrats, snakes, toads, bats and waterfowl just in the four years we've lived here. Then there is the wide variety of fish that I sometimes am lucky enough to get a picture of them swimming in the water. According to our soon to be new neighbours, we will be visited by even more wildlife at our new house. The house is designated rural so we will have an actual mailbox at the end of the driveway! My husband wanted on the water and I wanted in the country so this is the best of both, rural and on the water. I guess he missed that tiny little detail involving livestock and farming. That's not a problem since living life on the water is most pleasant indeed!

It always amazes me the diversity of waterfowl in our area. Yesterday a family of Mute Swans decided to visit. These swans are magnificent as they glide majestically through the water! The babies are just too cute as most babies are. They are called mute because unlike two similar looking swans, Trumpeter and Tundra, these swans do not make any sound. In this area we see both the Mute and Trumpeter Swans on the water and in wetlands. The Tundra Swans are seldom seen in either place here during the summer months but they do fly overhead during their migration and often land in the area then. Trumpeter and Tundra Swans both have black beaks but the Tundra Swan also has a yellow patch under the eye. They can also be distinguished by their voices with the Trumpeter being a much deeper resonate sound compared to the softer, melodious sound of the Tundra Swan. Mute Swans are large birds about 40 inches in length, larger than either the Trumpeter or Tundra Swans. They can be distinguished from the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans by their reddish-orange beak with a black base. The lores and knob are above the beak. The female (pen) has a slightly smaller beak than the male (cob) but other than that the sexes are very similar. The young are called cygnets and remain grey until their second summer.

It always gives me great pleasure to be fortunate enough to photograph wildlife in its natural habitat. Learning more details about the various local population of wildlife species, their demes and their habitats gives me a greater appreciation for the stunning beauty in the area we so very privileged to live. It also strengthens my desire to be a steward of the land, treading lightly and leaving the land and waters better than how I found it.

Life in General

Wake
June 9, 2007

And the soap opera of our move continues but we are plugging on despite the hassles. I joked with my husband yesterday that someday we would sit on the porch in our rocking chairs laughing at the whole event. Today instead of dwelling on the negative, I thought I would post some positive things going on. From the picture you can tell we've had the boat out. She's a sweet thing big enough to stay on for a weekend or so yet powerful enough to water ski. All worries melt away when you are on the water. A lot of factors play into this from the humming of the motor to the splashing of the water against the boat to the glistening of the water to the sun kissing your face and to the wind blowing through your hair. Aside of hiking in a deep forest, being on the water is one of the few times I feel totally at peace. Not that I don't feel at peace at other times but this is a total peace, a one of a kind feeling where absolutely nothing else matters and all is well in the universe. It's where I blend entirely with the environment to become one.

On the good news front, we have family reunion fast approaching and a wedding for one of our kids. At that time we will be step-parents to two lovely teenagers so we can't wait to get to know them better. Furthering the good news, our first grandbaby aka Grandpa's Suckie or Grandma's Toy is now sitting on her own and quite proud of that fact so she decided to play the roll-over game as well. You should see the pictures! Her Mom aka my baby aka (sib nic name) reports she has also taken to maneuvering herself down the stairs on her bottom when someone holds her arms. I can't wait to see this one! Mom also reports some serious teething going on with the teeth being ready to break the gums any day now. The internet and email is just so amazing that we can get pictures and videos of this kind of thing within minutes of it happening!

Apparently I turned a year older this month. Having spent that particular day in the dentist chair and at physio, I declined to go out for dinner. I think I feel a bit older but I'm looking good and feeling pretty dog gone good too :) I thought about shopping a bit for the new house, not much just solar lights, in between appointments but realized the friendly MOT would rather have my time and money. I can't say the picture on my license will look much better but it probably couldn't get much worse. I do hope they tweaked the filters to get that nice glint of grey something some of my friends don't get that I won't colour it but it is important to me to keep my hair completely untreated.

So in an hour or so I hope to be washing the worries of the day away as we enjoy another scenic view of the water.

Until tomorrow,

Wordless Wednesday - Mallard Duck

Mallard Duck
June 11, 2007

Rambling and Ranting

Blue Gill
June 9, 2007

On May 31, 2007 we signed the papers waiving all conditions for the purchase of our new house. Officially and legally our house was sold the day before. Little did we know we would be entering the twilight and nightmare zone! The buyers are obnoxious, arrogant snots who demand on getting their own way. They went through four times before the official signing, getting progressively ruder each time. They wouldn't budge on times at all to the point my husband missed his golf day and I missed a doctor's appointment because that was the only time they were available. Then they were only in the house all of 4 minutes! So when they insisted on coming through after signing the contract we told them not on Saturday as we had plans. He called and left a nasty message at my husband's office indicating either we let them in or he would pull out of the deal even though he had signed the sale contract! Excuse me? He signed the contract then was threatening to back out so we cancelled our plans on Saturday and let him go through for the fifth time. Imagine our surprise when he was actually showing the house to another couple! We have rooms pulled apart and boxes stacked. The house is organized chaos! The girl wanted to see under the carpet so he went to lift up the wall to wall carpet in the bedroom when I stopped him. She turned around and said "you will if you want to sell the house". I calmly told her no, the carpet stays as is. It is sold! Which part of that don't they understand? Well they were nice and pissy so we took that opportunity in front of both real estate agents to verbally notify them we were not available for them to go through for the following two weekends. Then my husband met with the lawyer this morning to weigh our options. You know threating to take your ball and go home when you don't even have the ball is not the brightest move in the book. At best the deal completes as intended. At worst we end up owning two waterfront properties, one of which will be sold very quickly if the first deal falls through. Of course if that happens there is the following lawsuit not something very appealing given I'm in one now (in my favour). Either way, we move on the 28th period.

BTW, I'm not sure if this is a rambling or ranting post or just one to get things off my mind. As upset and concerned as I am, some very positive things have come out of this deal so far. First I haven't killed the little snots and that is likely a very good thing. Second, I have bit my tongue a lot so as to not come back with snarky comments. Third, my husband and I are pulling on the same rope so we are gaining strength from each other. Forth, somehow despite everything I'm finding an inner calm. It's weird but I know what has to be done and so despite the stress there is still calm. Yesterday the phrase this too shall pass popped into my head and from that point the calm has grown.

Take care and many blessings to you,

Monday Funnies

Garden Gnome
©2007

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Dealing with Stress

Selling a house at best can be very stressful but when the buyers are arrogant young snots, it quickly becomes a nightmare. Unfortunately the senerio for us is a nightmare. This was a week where the many blessings helped keep my sanity! Some of these blessings were:

1. family - support, love, laughter
2. baby talk
3. good friends
4. discovering a new pub with good food
5. smooth and organized packing right on schedule
6. fresh strawberries
7. two lovely, problem free boat rides
8. wind blowing though my hair
9. a new med
10. blue skies

Have a great week filled with many blessings,

Wordless Wednesday - Strawberries from the Garden

Home Grown Strawberries

Monday Funnies - Predicting Hominid Behavior 101

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - The House is Sold!

What a whirlwind week we had filled with a lot of emotions and blessings. The biggest blessing filled with anticipation, excitement and a bit of nervousness was the official sale of our house and the official purchase of our soon to be new home mid-week. Some of last weeks many blessing included:

1. family - love, support, laughter
2. good friends
3. sharing a friend's well deserved community recognition
4. sharing a friend's 50th birthday celebration
5. hospitality and fellowship of soon to be new neighbours
6. the sweet taste of the first delectable strawberries from the garden
7. organized chaos
8. memories
9. digital camera
10. wildlife antics
    

Canadian Geese

Canadian Geese
June 1, 2007

A family of Canadian geese visited the neighbourhood yesterday. The goslings followed mommy around while Daddy kept a watchful eye!

Sold!!!

Exactly two months ago yesterday we listed our house. It doesn't seem like it has been that long ago. Wednesday it was officially sold but the sold sign didn't go on until Thursday after we waived conditions on the house we were buying. Once again we're making plans for turn a house into a home. We are both very excited!

Details: The house is single family well maintained brick two level with the lower level entirely below grade at the front of the house but exposed at the back much like building a house into the side of a hill. It is brick with solid structure. The yard is divided into three main areas - garage to road, garage to house, house to water. The side yards are what I would consider access areas but like the rest of the property are all maturely landscaped.

What we are gaining: The house is set on property geared towards friendly privacy. We really like this instead of fences! There's practically no privacy in our current home so that in itself will be a real plus. The house is on a dead end road off the main road so traffic will be minimum. Other gains - separate utility room, cold storage, guest room, larger dock, gas fireplace, bigger garage and mature landscaping.

What we are giving up: We are giving up the large vegetable garden and greenhouse. The moving date is early enough that I will be able to plant a few vegetables and will have some in containers but for the most part will not have any kind of formal vegetable garden this year.

We had decided to buy the other house regardless whether the HVAC or built-in appliances were working. Our reasoning for this was we have all new major appliances except the dishwasher which I had planned on replacing here this summer anyway. We found out in the early stages the AC wasn't working there and because of the age likely wasn't repairable. The owner compensated by offering to leave her three year old washer and dryer. Neither are energy efficient and since we have new front loaders, we will likely sell hers to offset some of the costs of a new AC. Yesterday we went through again to measure for appliances. We will have to do a kitchen remodel to remove her built-in stovetop and oven so the JennAir will fit but that shouldn't be too bad and it was something we knew we would have to do. Rechecking the furnace confirmed we need to go furnace shopping as well. It's a Clare Megasave I that is almost 24 years old. A bit of research revealed that we can't get parts for this beast and besides we want a high efficiency furnace something we had planned on replacing at this house. We replaced our hot water tank with an energy efficient one just over a year ago but the new house has a rental hot water tank so we will have to replace that. Oh and we found out yesterday after we had signed the papers the dishwasher didn't work so it looks like I'll be getting my much coveted Bosch. Other than that, the house is in move in condition and didn't present any problems we weren't expecting.

We had a chance to meet one couple next door who invited us in for drinks. I'm going to have to work on that aging process a bit more because they thought we might have young kids! They are really a nice couple with a lot of the same interests as us.

So there it is in a nutshell, signed, sealed, delivered and SOLD!

Wordless Wednesday - The Redwing Parrot

May 6, 2007

Monday Funnies - Bouncing Baby Biochemist

Monday Funnies will run each Monday. They may be a cartoon, joke or rendition of something I found humorous anywhere from the time I can remember and now. I hope they give you a little chuckle to start your week with.

Have a great week!

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - A Good Laugh

As stressful as life can be sometimes there are always blessings, always something to be thankful for. We've bought and sold houses before so this should be old hat to us yet at this point in our lives it is proving to be very stressful. The love and support of our family and friends is counteracting that stress, providing a different perspective and a few times providing comic relief. It's funny how a belly aching, side splitting laugh can just wipe out all signs of stress! Last week's blessings included:

1. family - many hugs and kisses to our beautiful family
2. baby snuggles and giggles
3. sharing a joyful call - She said yes!!! Our family will grow by 3 in July!
4. a promising lead on one of my genealogy brick walls
5. celebrating a key milestone of true friends (75th Anniversary, service club)
6. celebrating the memories of a wonderful friend who left this earth way too young
7. having a go getter real estate agent who understands our needs
8. having one good hair days - super shiny, well behaved, looking great
   
9. mastering one more technique in Photoshop
10. found out high speed is finally available here and in the new location (previously unavailable in neither)

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

Agitation

Sunset
May 23, 2007

What a wonderful site to sooth the soul Wednesday night. The prospective buyers came through to do some measuring and were all over the place. I was really on edge the entire time. On one hand I understand what they are doing and I don't want to do anything to jinx the finalization of the deal but boy is it ever bothering me. That means I have had little sleep and am agitated, not really a good frame of perspective. They are coming through in about an hour with a contractor/inspector because they want to see if they can do a particular renovation involving a flat roof. We do not want them or anyone else walking on this roof not that you can't structurally but we were told when we bought the place that walking on it could cause leaks. Besides if they were to accidently fall we would be liable. So we told our real estate agent that we did not want anyone on that section of roof. She has them bringing a ladder with the specifications of no one on the roof. Hopefully tomorrow I can report all is well, the deal is signed and the last of strangers trooping though our house. Wish us luck!

Victoria Day Weekend

We just celebrated our long weekend for Victoria Day. Wow, what a weekend! The sale of the house events are moving swiftly and despite a good offer, the real estate agent wanted to show the house Monday. She put it off from Saturday which was a very good thing as our kids were home. Friday I felt the onset of a sinus attack so knew the weekend would be not the best. We had a 40th Wedding Anniversary party to attend. The flower pictured above is from the anniversary party. I was thankful the sinus attack did not hit full force then but by the following afternoon when I had to be at a must attend bridal shower for our best friends' daughter it had it with the full impact. Noise of any kind is just not a good thing during these attacks but I was determined to go. Saturday night I crashed just after the kids got here with the grandbaby, weary of dealing with the pain, walking sideways and overall feeling horrid. Sunday morning my head felt like it was crushing in but that didn't matter to grandbaby who decided for some reason (later learned to be that she doesn't like a wet nappy) to exercise her lungs at full tilt and gosh was she upset! Get this, three grown adults and not one of us thought to check her nappy! Mommy was finally out of the show and came to our rescue. One nappy change and the kid was giggling as if nothing happened. After the kids left we did the spit & shine for the house showing and I actually was able to get a short nap in before the house was shown. All in all despite the sinus attack, it was a grand weekend! One well spent with family and friends and good memories.

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - The Kids

Oh my gosh! I almost forgot to blog my blessings from last week. Things are happening rather quickly here and with our long weekend the kids are home. So last week's blessings include:

1. family
2. friends
3 celebration of a 40th wedding anniversary for long time friends (absolutely beautiful!)
4. celebration of a bridal shower for our best friend's daughter
5. an offer on our house we felt comfortable accepting
6. online pictures of the new house to reassure us we are doing the right thing
7. a great dental report, only four more fillings to go (the bad part is the problem tooth still has to come out but I think I'm gaining the confidence and trust to be able to handle it)
8. fresh asparagus!
9. nice, climate weather
10.peaceful calm anticipation

Have a wonderful week filled with many blessings!

Restless Tension

Clouds
April 10, 2007

There has been a lot of activity on our house yet no offers. Yesterday I came up with a brilliant plan of possibly rebuilding on the same lot something my husband seemed to be a bit interested in. After all the location is great but would be better with a bit more privacy something that could be established easy enough. In my mind I had already resided myself to no movement on the house meant no action. Frankly I'm getting tired of the spit & shine routine anyway. The house showed Wednesday evening then the real estate called asking if an outside agent could show at 1 pm on Thursday. I got that news just after getting out of the dentist's chair so had to scurry home instead of the nice leisurely shopping for a wedding shower gift. After the showing I eyed up the asparagus I had picked up on the way home wondering whether to process it or not because the real estate agent had call to say not to go anywhere. I assumed that meant they were wanting to show the house again that afternoon. Then I got another call asking when my husband would be home. Just after six o'clock she arrived with the first offer.

The offer is almost perfect. The potential buyer(s) are investors speculating on flipping the house. There are no conditions regarding the buyer selling their house or finding financing. They aren't interested in any of our appliances. The offer is $27,000 less than our asking price and apparently they got their offer price from the property taxes assessment that is always based on the value 5 years ago. Since we already dropped the price of our house in order for a quick sale to secure the new house we aren't willing to go much lower so we counter-offered with a slightly reduced price As I type this they are in negotiations with their real estate agent. I suspect things will be going back and forth today several times. So now we wait with restless tension...

Wordless Wednesday - Overhead

Overhead
April 21, 2007

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Mom

Today is Mother's Day a day when children are supposed to show their moms a little extra love and attention. Normally I do not make two posts in one day but this being a special day and also a BYBS. In the spirit of celebrating both Mother's Day and my blessings, here is my BYBS post.

I've been blessed in so many ways in relation to motherhood. My biological mom died shortly after her birth so I never had a chance to know her. I've been blessed that she gave me life and left enough of her behind that I could discover her as a person. My foster mom was a wonderful person who loved me as her own. She was a mom to me in every sense of the word by lovingly guiding me to the person I would become. Unfortunately she was aged 59 when I came to be so only had the chance to greet two of my kids into the world. The absence of her warm, loving and generous spirit is a huge void in my life.

Mothers can't be mothers without kids. My kids have taught me so much about myself and about life. I anticipated their births wondering what each little miracle was going to look like, be like and pondered their future. Kids are born with unconditional love. There's the smiles, the tears, the baby kisses, cuddles and dependence. Somehow they overlooked parenting mistakes and sometimes perceived unfair parenting policies. In return they got unconditional love and respect. Over the years I have watched our kids mature into beautiful, independent adults now starting families of their own and one thing remains consistent, the strong emphasis on family. They are a source of love, strength, pride, companionship and wonderment. A parent's responsibility is never over even when the kids are grown. We take enormous pride in our kids as we continue to guide and support them. This day is made so much more meaningful to me be I've been blessed with having the opportunity to be a mother and continue being a mother to a few of the most awesome kids you will ever meet!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!

Happy Mother's Day 2007

Flowers from My Kids
Mother's Day 2007

Interviewed by Dana of Southern Gal Goes North

Clouds
May 8, 2007

There are so many creative ways bloggers are coming up with to stimulate their creativity. As you know I participate in Blog Your Blessings Sunday and have done a couple of Click & Comment posts. I did at least one Wordless Wednesday post but I like to talk so of course forgot about that last Wednesday. I was surfing on BlogExplosion and came across Southern Gal Goes North. The author had an interview where she answered questions from another blogger. This is a great way to get to know other bloggers and it is interactive. So I've joined the "Interview Me" bloggers.

If you would like to participate, leave a comment here saying "Interview me." Please leave your blog address so I can interview you in return. I will visit your blog, draft five questions for you and link back to your post. When someone leaves a comment indicating that they would like to be interviewed, you do the same thing. In this way we get to know a few things about the blogger that may not come out on their blog plus we get to read a lot of interesting blogs.

Dana author of Southern Gal Goes North asked the following questions for my interview:

1. I see you are selling your house. What are the top three things you’ll miss most about your garden? Are you taking any plants with you to your new house?
This garden was started from nothing, only an idea that was expanded upon based on necessity. The ground couldn't be easily tilled so I went to raised beds. I'll miss seeing the visual impact of my creativity. An aerial photographer was selling pictures he took to homeowners in the area. He took a beautiful aerial view of the house and garden last September. I don't think it really hit home how much I had accomplished until I saw that photo. It is a very organized almost formal layout that would be hard to duplicate so I will miss that as well. I will also miss most of the critters that visit the garden. When we moved here, I brought as much as possible which ended up being about 3 1/2 pick-up truck loads of plants. It was a "have garden will travel moment". I promised my husband I would not do that much for this move if we actually move. Plants in containers will be coming and I am now starting strawberries in containers. I'll be taking clumps of herbs and rooting them in the greenhouse to take with us. I will also be rooting cuttings of some of my favourite plants to take with me.
2. I read somewhere in your blog that you were writing a book. What is it about? Speaking of books, have you pre-ordered the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yet? Which HP is your favorite?
My current book I'm writing is the story of my seventh great grandfather. He was rumoured to be the first white man in the area now known as Detroit, Michigan before Cadillac arrived. His story is quite an interesting one. The plan is to develop a series starting with him then following though each generation but really the story starts before him at his father and mother who was a Fille du Roi. So the first chapter does a little back tracking. I haven't pre-ordered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but not because I didn't want to. My birthday is close to the release date so I know one of my kids will think of that for a gift. I'm really looking forward of book 7. It should hopefully answer some of the questions that arise from the Harry Potter series. I think my favourite Harry Potter book would be Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In this book all of the characters are maturing. Their strengths and weaknesses are more pronounced. There are subtle hints as to what they may do in the future after leaving Hogwarts. There are also more clues about how and why events have unfolded as they have along with a deeper understanding of the characters who have played a role through the series. The significance of certain events or items (Horocruxes) become clearer in book 6. After reading book 6, I went back and started re-reading the books. It was amazing how the perspective gained in book 6 changed the view of the other books. I suspect this will be the same for book 7.
3. How do you juggle your time between your housework, hobbies, blogging on your multiple blogs, and cooking? What works best for you?
That is a good question. First I follow the quadrant personal management based on Stephen R. Covey. I try to keep most of my activities in Quadrants I - III and avoid IV (quadrant of waste). For the most part I am quite organized and follow a daily schedule that includes a to-do list. Everything is given a priority rating based on the ABC method then further prioritized using the 123 method. That means something rated as A1 is the top priority. Monthly planning is done the second last day of the month for the following month. That's where I schedule in any appointments or events. Weekly planning is done every Sunday and since most homemaking chores are done on a schedule I know for example that Mondays and Wednesdays are clean the bathroom days, Wednesdays are the 27 Fling Boogie and etc. because I've just been doing it this way for so long. Then I have daily routines, specifically a morning routine and and evening routine. Each consist of five items meant to keeping things running smoothly when the unexpected comes up. My dayplanner is almost surgically attached to me and I do a lot of multi-tasking. Homemaking including family, cooking and gardening fall into QI (important, urgent) so they always take priority. My hobbies including blogging fill a creative need but fall into QII (important, non-urgent) so that means they can wait until my scheduled "me" time. Those are my "B" things. For the most part everything falls into place. I went for awhile several years back where scheduling and the schedule were the most important thing making home life very rigid. Then I discovered Covey's work and haven't looked back. For me, First Things First and the fundamental Covey principles of the 7 Habits work wonderfully allowing organization but with flexibility. I also think knowing myself helps a lot. I'm an early riser, likely one of those kids who was scared they were missing something when they slept. I don't sleep a lot unless I'm sick. At the same time I am very active so have to keep busy. Multi-tasking is just a normal part of my personality. My hands are busy even when watching television. I think the real reason is I want to pack as much life into my life as possible :)
4. What is your favorite thing to cook and why? What is your family’s favorite thing?
Hmm, that's a hard question because I love to cook. I think one of my favourite things to cook is roasted turkey. It always comes out perfect and gets rave reviews from my number one fan club aka my family. I rant that it likes to fall apart but my family loves it this way. Turkey is one of those very frugal dishes as well so I always look forward to making turkey stock from the carcass. My family's favourite thing to eat is a toss up between lasagne made with homemade spaghetti sauce (my offering) and homemade burgers (my husband's offering). Now, my lasagne likely has him beat especially during the cold months. The sauce is made from scratch using fresh ingredients, nice and meaty with lots of mushrooms and 9 cheeses. See where I'm going here? This is very, very good stuff! My husband makes these burgers to which I am only allowed to make the buns. He shoos me out of my kitchen, then makes these fabulous burgers he grills. They end up about 2 inches thick and about 5 inches in diameter. They are then placed in a toasted fresh baked (my job) bun and loaded with lettuce, mayo, tomatoes, dill pickles, cheese and hot peppers (for some) along with homemade relish, mustard and ketchup. I can't even finish one.
5. What kind of boat do you have? Pontoon, fishing, speed boat? What are your favorite things to do on your lake? Why would I like to visit there?
   
   We have a 22' SeaRay Overnighter and am considering going larger this year depending on the house but not bigger than 30'. Of our boating group we are likely the smallest or getting close but it has a cuddy for sleeping as well as washroom. She's a real sweet thing with a lot of power, perfect for water skiing or tubing. All my kids as well as myself fish by my husband does not and I know he grits his teeth when we haul our catch in. He takes me out a couple of times a month or until we have enough fish in the freezer usually by about mid July. Our favourite thing to do on the water is putzing watching other boats and just being out on the boat. But on hot days we boat to our favourite swimming hole, drop anchor and spend the day. I'll pack a picnic lunch and if it runs late we sometimes stop at a favourite marina with a gorgeous view of the sunset. It's lovely travelling back to the light of the moon when the water is nice and smooth. We spend about six weekends a year on the boat as well.
   
   We like to enjoy all aspects of the water from sunrises to sunsets, swimming and sometimes we just sit and float. We are lucky to be on the Great Lakes waterway so have ready access to three of the Great Lakes. These are Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Huron with their connecting waterways and rivers or smaller tributaries draining into the lakes. The area is absolutely gorgeous. We do have four seasons but it is just as beautiful in the winter as in the summer. It's all about the water but there is more to the area than that. There are a lot of small marinas to stop for a bite to eat or enjoy the quaint little harbour towns. The whole area is peaceful, soothing both the soul and body. Quite often there special events in the harbour towns like re-enactments or local celebrations (almost must go to's) and a lot of county fairs. The area is studded abundantly with farmers' markets, vegetable or fruit stands, orchards, wineries, beaches and campgrounds. There are wonderful down home cooking restaurants with some of the best food you will ever taste but there are also some nice highend restaurants for an elegant evening out. There are several museums in the area as well. It is like a recreational mecca with always something to do surrounded by some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!
   
   

Thanks for interviewing me Dana. If you are ever in our area, drop me a line so I can point you to some must see attractions. I'm looking forward to reading other blogs and interviewing the authors.

A Comedy of Errors

I was up early then noticed something strange sitting on one of our posts yesterday. My eyes were still sleepy so even the binoculars didn't work well. So I grab my garden clogs to go investigate while still in my pyjamas because no one in their sane mind is up at 5 am except me. Wrong! Now my neighbours know I wear Harry Potter pjs! The mystery item turned out to be a large stack of golf scored cards my husband had sorted while on the dock when the house was being shown the night before. He does the scores for the men's league. Why they were left out there is beyond me but it rained, no actually stormed heavily so all the cards were soaked. So the countertops were covered with drying score cards all day aka no cooking for the day.

I had the great pleasure of getting personal with Bell Sympatico yesterday. Despite the other problems I've had like not being able to access usenet through a newsreader, the only thing that bothered me was for some reason sending email halted. Or so it seemed. I was trying to send a video of the grandbaby to the kids and kept getting error messages. So I call their nice friendly tech support machine that makes me jump through all the hoops by pressing the right buttons. Finally I got a humanoid on the phone. Apparently English was a second language as I could barely understand her. She kept referring to Outlook even though I explained I was using Mail on Mac OS X. She told me to delete all email accounts which wasn't possible because I have two ISPs. Ok then she said to delete the Sympatico account and re-enter all the information. Then she told me to send a test message to see if it would go through. It did so problem solved. Messages were downloading just fine as well. I hung up the phone and tried to send the video message again. Up popped the error message! So I called the friendly tech support machine again, jumped through all the hoops and got another humanoid to whom I related the first problem and what was done. He spoke very broken English and was difficult to understand but somehow walked me through what he thought was the problem. Apparently Macs are foreign computers to Sympatico as the instructions were for Windows. So the preferences were deleted and reinstalled. A test message was successfully sent so problem solved. I hung up then muttered a few not nice words, settled back and tried sending the video message again. Up popped the error message! By now I was not a very happy camper so called up the friendly tech support machine again, jumped through the hoops and got a humanoid. I calmly told him what was happening and what I had done. He asked if I was trying to send an attachment so I told him yes. He asked how big. I told him the file was 32 MB to which he replied that Sympatico only allows attachments upto 20 MB then proceeded to try and sell me other services. Well there you go, almost 2 hours on the phone and finally a reasonable explanation for what was happening and why that particular message wouldn't go though. Why could they not have told me that in the first place? Kudos to Sympatico who will be losing my business as soon as the one year period is up in September.

Ok so that should have been enough for one day, right? Nope! The bluejays came back for a second helping of peanuts. I grabbed the container by the lid which I had neglected to vacuum seal. The peanuts went everywhere covering the kitchen floor. One bluejay was pecking at the window and here I was sitting on the floor just laughing. Hey, it was better than crying!

My husband arrived home with Chinese take-out and six packages of the chicken breasts that were on sale. I had forgotten I asked him to pick up more for another bulk cooking session. I took one look at the chicken, stuffed it in the fridge because the day was jinxed enough. Then he told me about the nice phone call to the guy responsible for getting our boat ready for the spring. You know the guy we pay a lot of money to? Apparently he is having a tiff with the owners of the marina where we keep our boat so people like us are getting caught in between. He didn't do the spring set-up because of those problem which led to us almost being stranded and we did need a tow even though we didn't have to pay for it. Getting a boat towed is costly. Our last tow bill was $700! This guy is holding almost 600 boats hostage just because he is having a tiff with the marina owner. So where is the humour? I started laughing when my husband was telling what was going oh. He asked what was so funny. At least this guy speaks English, I replied.

BTW, the boat problem sounds like a dirty carburetor. Another boater told us what to do and we'll get it checked out from there. My husband has decided this guy won't be touching our boat again and I agree.

The Hummingbird

Hummingbird
May 10, 2007

Look at my newest guest to my garden! This picture was a downright fluke. I was so excited at seeing the hummingbird and not wanting to scare it off while I grabbed the camera, I'm surprised I got a picture at all. The feeder is hanging on the back porch so I can see any activity from the kitchen window. I took several pictures set on auto setting (Canon PowerShot A540) then switched to AV setting and took a couple more. This one was taken on the AV setting.

I was a bit bummed over last night's house showing. Apparently the people liked all the appliances, furnishings and after seeing the poker table need to get to know us better. Seesh! Like they didn't even look at the house just what we had. This morning was a true blessing seeing this little creature! He brought a smile and pleasant thoughts. I can't wait to see him visit the feeder again!

Boating

Minnows
May 8, 2007

The water was a vivid turquoise and quite calm yesterday. Minnows were schooling around the dock piers. This is always a good sign as we catch minnows to be used for bait. Sometimes it is just nice sitting there watching the silvery flashes flit about in the water.

The house was scheduled to be shown at 7 pm so my husband came home early to take out the boat for her maiden run of 2007. We decided to go and check out the potential new house as seen from the water. No problem until the boat stopped and we couldn't get it started again! It wouldn't have been such a bad thing since the sun was shining brightly, the temperature was wonderfully warm and the water lapping against the boat was quite relaxing. The problem was we had to be back for the house being shown. We finally got her going and she ran beautifully until slowing down for the cut then she died again. A fellow boater towed us in and offered drinks to sooth our nerves. All in all it was rather fun in a bit of a sadistic way. Honestly I wouldn't have minded just staying on the boat for a few days away from everything.

Life is just really hectic right now and since the boat aka money hole in the water is a way to get away from the chaos, we really don't need any problems. Apparently the guy we pay very good money to winterize and get the boat ready for spring neglected to do an engine test. Had he done that he would have seen gas spewing out that thingie (my term) where my husband had me hold the screwdriver while he tried to start the boat. Thank goodness for two batteries! Other life highlights include unexpected health problems with our oldest, the &^%$ insurance company along with the lawsuit and now secondary lawsuit (yep I really needed that one), the pending sale of the house with all that entails and that ever blasted cell phone. This is the time of year I should be out enjoying getting the garden going and immersing myself in cooking. Both are difficult with the pending sale of the house so I've taken a different approach. Our daily activities are going continue as normal whether the house is being shown or not. I need to cook as a depressor, sorry!

Garden Gnome
©2007

A Touch of Yellow

Goldfinches
May 3, 2007

What is a garden without birds? I look forward to the return of the goldfinches each spring. I posted this picture to my gardening blog yesterday but thought I would share it with my readers here as well. Goldfinches are beautiful little song birds that flit about the feeders brightening up the garden with their showy yellow feathers.

I've been up since about 4:30 this morning for no apparent reason other than I was tired of sleeping. Stress is suspect but not confirmed as a cause to my increasing restlessness. We went to see the grandbaby on the weekend. While enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast Sunday my husband's cell phone rang. It was the real estate agent wanting to show the house at 7 PM that night. Since we weren't home she put it off until last night. So I did the spit and shine yesterday, canned up thirteen pints of chicken stock and had chicken in the oven when they arrived so the house smelled pretty good! This young couple is pretty interested but they already mentioned they want my washer and dryer. No way! I've waited almost 30 years to get a set like this so they are not negotiable. My husband disagrees. So we are having a bit of a tiff over this when the real estate agent calls asking if they could go through again tonight, this time with their parents as they are ready to make an offer.

By 5:30 this morning I had the spit and shine done, one load in the dryer, second load in the washer and the oven doing the self clean thing. I've had a chance to take pictures of the moon, sunrise and garden as well as listen to the birds welcome the day. That leaves the rest of the day for a trip to the farmers' market and doing a small bulk cooking session. Chicken baked in roasted tomato sauce will be in the oven filling the house with a wonderful aroma while the house is being shown again. It's a good thing we don't mind eating dinner late!

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Perspective

The past week was an "I don't want to deal with it week" so I will leave you with last week's blessings:

1. family
2. giving family support
3. baby giggles
4. laughter
5. DH secured a huge account
6. a spur of the moment travel to visit the kids and grandbaby
7. baby snuggly cuddles
8. the digital camera
9. garden nursery
10. glorious sunsunshine
    

TGIF

Tulips
May 3, 2007

It's been one of those very stressful and expensive (dentist & dermatologist) week so I'm looking forward to the weekend. The boat is in the water ready for her maiden voyage of the 2007 season. The weather is promising to be warm and sunny so perhaps tomorrow we will take her out. Tonight we are going to a dinner theatre featuring a nice meal of salmon or roast beef with all the fixings including soup or salad and desert. After the meal we will be able to bust our sides laughing to the comedy this troupe puts out. We haven't missed one of their shows in quite a few years and it is always a treat to see the newest production. To all my readers I wish you wonderful, peaceful and relaxing weekend!

Stormy...

Storm Clouds
April 10, 2007

As many of you know I have been undergoing a lot of dental work lately, something not really appreciated given my dental phobia. You will also know we have our house on the market so there is more stress then. Well, yesterday I spent a lovely two and a half hours bonding with my dentist. He froze then added more then added more until he was up to a total of five additions just to get my mouth froze enough to work on it. I'm classified as hard to freeze and despite the extra, most of my left lower side was unfrozen by the time I left his office. So that was my fun afternoon. The position in the chair had really aggravated my cervical injury so all I wanted to do was get home and lay down. I was not impressed when he said I need a crown for the one tooth to the tune of $850 CDN and that's after paying $375 yesterday. The worst part is the freezing makes me physically sick to my stomach. When I got home I thought perhaps I should keep moving knowing that it would help so decided cooking would take my mind off of everything. I nicely hauled out all the packages of chicken breasts to remove the skin and bones when the real estate agent called wanting to show the house at 7 giving me time to do the spit and shine but no cooking and perhaps enough time for a half hour nap. I just finished the spit and shine when she called again and asked if they could go through earlier. I was in tears! The showing went well so after they left I crashed on the couch somehow despite the pain blissfully drifted off to sleep with the food channel playing in the background.

Today's tick off concerns genealogy even though I am still in pain. I thought between cooking and genealogy today would at least be productive. A few years ago I wrote a very detailed essay that I want to include in my book. I know the hard copy was sitting on the printer but I have somehow misplaced it. I thought I had a back-up copy in Word but since changing over to Mac have not found it in the documents. Not being able to find these kind of things really irritates me as I tend to be a very organized person. So I now have to spend my time searching through drawers and computer files.

On the bright side, I must be doing something right with my blogs. My cooking blog got it's very first spam comment! It was very long so I lost interest after the first sentence but I really do promise to go back and read it (not!). It was by someone named Anonymous which is a pretty neat name. Thanks to Anonymous I now know everything that is wrong with the world and why. I can see a whole generation of kids being called Anonymous just because so many of their parents have communicated with this really cool person.

Wordless Wednesday - Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms

Memories

Full Moon
April 30, 2007

I'm still working on moon shots. Quite often I'm up and about throughout the night. The moon was shining brightly not last night but the night before. I had to snicker at that phrase as I can recall an old rhyme me mome used to say:

Not last night but the night before
Two tom cats came knocking at the door
I went downstairs to let them in
And they knocked me down with a rolling pin
The rolling pin was made of glass
So I turned them over and smacked their a$$!

My mom wasn't a curser so to hear her use this word would put us all into a fit of giggles because she would turn a bright red in the face when she said that word. Oh the stories she could tell! Enough of that tangent. I've been trying to capture shots of the moon with my digital camera. This one came out not too bad but I think a tripod would have really helped so I'm going to pick one up and try playing with the settings the next time to see if I can get better moon shots.

Click & Comment Monday

My day-planner sheets have an inspirational quote at the top of each day. In the bottom corner is an icon with the reminding thought for that month. For the month of April the thought has been Cherish along with the supporting thoughts to reach that goal of nurture, replenish and shine. Cherish means to treat with affection and hold dearly. I'm reminded of the old love song Cherish by The Association. What are your thoughts on cherishing those who mean the most to you.

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - It is What it is

I would love to report that last week was perfect but it wasn't. As far as weeks go it wasn't the worst one in my life but it was a far cry from the best one. I was lamenting to my husband after the Examination for Discovery. He listened patiently to all my concerns then replied simply "It is what it is." and gave me a huge hug. Everything just seemed ok if even for a few moments. Last week blessings:

1. my husband
2. my family
3. a personal paradyme shift
4. a quiet acceptance
   
5. comfort and strength from nature
6. return of the goldfinches
7. tulips waving in the wind
8. cooking for pleasure and relaxation
9. an inexpensive and unexpected furnace repair
10. unexpected friendliness from a semi-enemy (or perhaps just dealing with their own problems enough to make problems for us)
    

Turmoil

Clouds with Filters

This photo is actually one of the clouds posted earlier this week. Out of frustration to get some type of picture that actually portrayed more of how I feel today, I played with Photoshop. It was a way for me to calm down, collect my bearings and get back to life. I think it shows some of my turmoil and frustration in a rather interesting way.

Today would have been one of the best rants since I had the Examination for Discovery from the defense lawyer today. I bit my tongue so many times during the lovely, lLet's get to know you questioning for two and a half hours. I did not breakdown, curse or kill him so that's likely a very good thing especially since this is likely the first of at least one more if not two bonding opportunities with the balding, overweight, heart attack waiting to happen defense lawyer to whom I have to explain every detail of my life. My lawyer said I handled everything very professionally. What came out in this though is my lawyer is now launching a second lawsuit against the insurance company to run concurrent with the first lawsuit. All I could think about was "Oh goodie, like I'm not stressed enough!". I really need to get away from this.

So, even though it is not Sunday, I'm going to blog my blessings from today. All in all, my conduct and answers were professional without getting emotional, snotty, sarcastic or my temper in an uproar. Every time I felt I was going to explode, I just looked out the window and counted to ten. I saw the birds flitting through the rain, the rain beading on the window panes and the vivid green behind the green. All the signs of spring gave me the strength to do what I had to do today. For that I am truly blessed!

Wordless Wednesday - Lone Cloud

Lone Cloud

Ruby Sunrise

Sunrise
April 23, 2007

There is something about mornings that I just love. It could be the quiet just before the world awakes or it could be the promise of a new start. This was yesterday's sunrise. I think I'm getting the camera setting a bit better. Despite the red skies and rain around us, it only rained briefly here. Others lost power but I don't think there was a lot of rain. Today promises more rain as the storms move north.

The Squirrel

This Morning's Entertainment

I joined the Click and Comment Monday bloggers. So please click and comment about today's' picture. This picture is kind of a fluke. We had an indoor rodent problem so after taken other measures we installed several electronic and solar pest deterrents throughout the house. The side effect has been the squirrels do not like our yard much anymore. I toss out peanuts each morning for the bluejays. If you want to see a cute video of them taken a couple of days ago, visit my gardening blog, Garden Gnome Wanderings. Each bluejay has their own unique personality as do squirrels. It can be quite entertaining to watch both. Before the pest deterrents, the bluejays would actually go after the squirrels and quite often the squirrels were on the losing end. This young squirrel braved the sonic bombardment then scurried haphazardly into the safely of the maple tree. The picture was take from indoors on zoom using a Canon PowerShot A540.

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - Life Can Change in an Instant

The events of last week were a vivid reminder to all as to how one's life can change in an instant. Never pass by the opportunity to tell those important in your life how much they mean to you. Last week was an emotional and stressful one for me on so many levels but it was also filled with many blessings. Last week's blessings:

1. family - love, emotional support, laughter, communication
2. memories - the creation of my garden
   
3. creativity - mainly in the kitchen, Photoshop
   
4. the sun's kisses
5. blue skies - vivid, bright blue!
6. blazing sunsets - absolutely gorgeous sunsets
7. bluejay antics
8. greenhouse peppers from a friend
9. chatting with neighbours
10. help with templates from other bloggers
    

all alone

I took this video clip of the remaining guinea hen. I'm pretty sure this is a female and her distress is quite obvious. She isn't eating simply calling for her mate that will never come. She was like this yesterday and again today. The noise is precisely why the others were killed by callous individuals not understanding how beneficial guinea hens can be. It's not likely she will be nesting in this state of distress. What a shame to see!