Sure Glad That's Over!

Did you ever have something coming up that you did not want to do? 
Not looking forward to it.
I'll take a pass please
That was my last two days. But it's done now. I'm on the other side and I can say "sure glad that's over!"
You see I'm turning 50 this year and well, that means, Colonoscopy time. Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression. It's uncomfortable for sure, but really, not that bad. I'm no worse for wear and my innards are as clean as a whistle - probably the first time in a long time. 
I started with the prep, which is truly, worse than the procedure. But I have to say, my friend Dan Cutrona describes it much better than I so I am shamelessly cutting and pasting his description.

"There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet."

That pretty much covers it. I put in a rough day yesterday, started up again around 3:30 in the morning and carried on well into this morning and even after the procedure. I'm a wee thing and I think the prep may just carry on a little longer than required with me.

The hospital staff at Picton Hospital were wonderful, caring and gentle. True story,  I literally had a home birth once to avoid a hospital IV. I told the nurse there were often troubles getting an IV into me and she very carefully checked all veins, tapping and patting. She found one she felt would cooperate and slid that needle in on the first try. I was soon wheeled into meet and discuss any concerns with the doctor doing the procedure and a very nice young anesthetist asked whether I liked  County wines or not and then promptly sent me to sleep. One of the last things he told me was the SandBanks Baco Noir was very nice.

I woke up, had some gingerale and some Peek Frean Social Cookies which tasted amazing after not eating for two days, my husband helped me back to the car and I spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating on the couch. I had company too.

This is Sasha sitting on my legs. You can't tell but she put her little paw right over top of my hand where the IV had been and just gave me a constant reassuring pat.

She's very sweet and soft.

Frodo was hanging out beside me too (and the phone and TV remote). Now Amelia would be here as well except she got herself into some trouble (aka the garbage) while we were at hospital and she feeling very bad about it outside in the rain and sulking and she refused to come in. 

So here I am. My tummy is a little tender but I had supper, no problem and I'm expecting to put in a full night's sleep without running to the white throne. 

Still, Sure Glad That's Over!

Camping

Before Sheldon and I were married, we would go camping with our church youth group. Bunches of kids trucking through the wilderness, back packs and various bags in tow. But we soon figured out it was easier to canoe in - that way you did not have to carry everything ALL THE TIME. You canoe - then you carry, then you canoe, then you carry. You get the drift. 
Once we were married we continued our inclination to head into the great outdoors. I say all that to point out we have now been camping every year for over 25 years. We Crowders are a well-oiled machine when it comes to this hobby. Everybody knows what they are doing, when to pack, what to pack, when to paddle when to not, where and how to pitch a tent, start a fire, you name it. We are especially good at the food thing, cause when you are camping calories simply don't count. So there is lots of junk food, meat and the occasional carrot.

Canoeing with the kids

But things are changing, and as usual, I don't really care for it. For example, last year was our first time we did not camp as a family since Randi our daughter was in Japan for the year. Bit of a hike to make it back in time to hop into a canoe. We took along a sub-kid. One of Adrian's friends who had been camping with us before, just to make me feel balanced. Plus, he's a great kid who doesn't have issues with bugs, dirt and no toilet or shower.
This year although Randi was back in Canada, work commitments prevented her from joining us. So we were down to 3. 

In 2007 the kids were not too keen on camping photos

I'm no idiot - I can see what's coming. It will soon be down to 2. 
I love camping, I love my family, why can't I have both? Forever? 
Just another sign of the times that my kids are extricating themselves from this family hub to work towards starting their own. I know there are lots of parents out there who can't wait for the empty nest but I am not one of them. I will grudgingly accept it  however. 

Canada is a beautiful country. When the weather is good, the moon is full and the air balmy it is perfect for camping. I will go, with or without kids, for as long as someone wants to stick me in the canoe and paddle me out there when I can't do it myself anymore. 

Random Things On My Fridge

For the past 70 years or so, the fridge has become somewhat of a fixture in your average household. The shape and colours have changed throughout the years but there it sits patiently holding your milk and cheese, keeping it nice and cold. When I was first married we had a second hand fridge that someone gave to us. Then it died. We fixed it and it died again. So we decided it was time to look for a new fridge. With baby Randi in tow, off we went to a second hand appliance store. We told the owner we were looking for and he took us to the warehouse. Then we told him how much we could afford. He promptly took us behind his warehouse into a field and showed us a beat up abanded Fridge. Thought that was pretty rude when we are clearly a young, penniless couple with a baby to boot. Eventually we ended up with some green 70s monster that someone donated to us and it fared well for over 10 years! When it finally gave up the ghost, I'm happy to say we finally had some money at that point and we went to Sears and bought us a very pretty, brand new white fridge, which we are still using to this day.
But my fridge, much like most, is usually covered in a cornacopia of pictures, magnets and notes. Here are a few that are presently part of the fridge decor:

The middle is a photo of one of our previous ballerina's home in NewBruinswick. Natayu came from an incredibly creative family and when he wasn't hanging with us during the school year, he was here in this beautifully redone church. As for the bare naked fella - I believe he came from another ballerina who had a friend bring it back from Florence Italy. And, of course, an old photo of Randi and Adrian!

This is one of my favourite photos, taken at Canada's Wonderland as we zoomed down on a roller coaster. It is getting old and faded but I LOVE the expression on Adrian's face. It still makes me laugh every time I look at it. And at 6:00 am on a cold winter morning, a good laugh never hurt anyone.

Another photo of one of our previous ballerinas that lived with us and at the time, her fiance. They were married in 2012. We went to the wedding and, I cried, of course. The green fella is one of a selection of muppet magnets I picked up somewhere. They are scattered about on the fridge. And on the far left is a magnet from Pilot Insurance where I worked at the age of 20-24, my first office job!

This scrap of paper has been on my fridge since I was first married. I just like it.

Here is a photo of our dear friends son's wedding, my Mom hand-feeding a sparrow and a friendly reminder on how to treat people from the good Book

Another muppet magnet with a great cat photo from a calendar. Just happens to be my Sister's Heidi's birthday.

Lastly, a Christmas card from a coworker Karen of her two amazing pups, Bella and Mac and a rather gnarly looking pizza dough recipe.

So there is a glimpse of what I get to look at everyday. The question is, what's on YOUR fridge....

A PERFECT DAY

You know when you have one of those really perfect days. A day that just start out right and at the end of it you fall into bed happy and content with a stash of new memories to watch over and over again as you smile indulgently to yourself. 

But what does a "perfect day" look like? And is it different for everyone? I thought I would ask around and discovered there seems to be a theme for most people.

A perfect day involves: serenity, peacefulness, love of family and friends, nature (often water). A young mom wrote "no demands/responsibilities placed on me." For those of you with kids under 10, I'm sure you can relate to that one! But that is a common theme as well. A perfect day involves no timelines or commitments, just a day to enjoy. People want "yummy" food, or music. 

So I suppose I should fess up and let you all know what a perfect day looks like to me, since I'm the one who begged the question. 

So, let's see....a perfect day. I definitely would start with some alone time with a good cup of coffee - no wait, let's make that a perfect cappucino! In the warmer months I would enjoy it outside under the gazebo in the garden. In the cooler months you would find me by my fireplace with a blanket. My dog would be snuggled up beside me and I would have Sasha the cat on my lap. I would get my groundings, spend some time in prayer and recharge.  
After that the perfect day would involve spending some time outdoors, getting exercise, enjoying family and/or friends, loving and being loved. It would involve excellent food including chocolate of some form, great wine and music. A large dose of laughter must be sprinkled liberally throughout. I would end the day quietly, with a good book or movie and a good bed. There.....that sounds perfect to me.

Now I know that may not be so perfect for someone else. For you party animals and shopaholics my day would be missing a few key factors. But I think most people really just want a simple pleasures of life. 

And that's the good news - these simple gifts, though maybe not all of them at once, packed into one day, are readily accessible to us all. 

Here's to perfect days, and perfect moments. May your life be filled with them!

RENOVATIONS

We have started a renovation job this week. It involves my eating area and a major part of the downstairs flooring. The plan is to remove the wall between the eating area and the TV room (done), putting in a door out to our deck where there is presently a window and putting down new flooring throughout the front hall, into the kitchen and the dining area. 

WALL REMOVED LOOKING INTO TV ROOM

Now most of you know how stressful renovations can be so if you think of me the next little while, please say a prayer to God above and all blessings for a speedy recovery regarding my house's surgery.

WALL REMOVED LOOKING TO EATING AREA

I'm not so sure how I am going to cope with the chaos and the plan is to complete before our ballet student returns the beginning Sept. from Japan. Our first ballerina, when she was stressed, would do this action that involved cupping her fingers around one of your eyeballs, sorta like she had an "eye headache" and was trying to pull out her eye. I can feel myself beginning to recreate this action....

This could be a very long month for me....I'm open to suggestions.