I'M INTO FIKA

Whenever my mom drops by she simply must give me something be it food or clothing or whatever. It's the mother in her. Often she provides me with reading material; little excerpts of the entertainment or fashion sections from the Glop and Pail....I mean Globe and Mail. 

The other day I was reading one and came across an article on the art of "Fika". In case you are new to this, Fika is a swedish term, both a noun and a verb which basically refers to a coffee break. It "refer to the concept of setting aside time during the day for a cup of coffee (or tea), a sweet roll (or slab of rye with cheese) and the company of others (or not)." The key here is not just gulping coffee from your travel mug on the way to work but making the time to take a break.

Well. Pass the pollen and call me honey. 
This was a euraka moment for me. 
I have been a faithful fikaer for years. 
I could give classes! 
I'm a fika pro!

This was me, prepping for a fika moment

I like to start my pets real young into Fika!

And my kids - Fika at a french bistro downtown!

One of my favourite Fika places - at the cottage on the dock

I Fika at work too...

And at home, with blankets and pets

Ya know, some things you are just born good at! 

THE PRINCIPLE OF SOWING AND REAPING

There is a principle at work in the universe that what we sow, we shall also reap. Lately, I've been putting it to the test.

This week I took off work to wrestle my garden into submission. Besides, I love the month of May and I want to spend some of it actually outside and not in a windowless cubicle 5 days a week. 

I spent stupid amount of money on soil, cow poo, plants etc. and started with mixing the soil and poo into a gourmet meal for the garden:

Then I had to spread the good stuff around: sowing good soil for good crops - see?

I have a LOT of perennials so I had to pull out quite a few that were getting rather pushy and either move'm or trash'em. 

Old Man Frodo helped supervise and made sure I stayed on task:

"All right...break's over. Get back to work human." He's a slave driver.

I sowed a lot of love and hard work into the garden so let the reaping of rewards begin! 

I had to crawl out a second floor window onto the roof to reap these beauties but they are worth it.

The heady perfume from my Lily of the Valley's are now scenting the morning air. 

I housed some Geraniums and Petunias and Marigolds into my planters to enjoy as well

But reaping and sowing goes beyond a garden. We have for over 10 years now had ballerinas live with us while they attended high school and an intensive ballet school near by. Shannon, who lived with us back in 2007 came to visit for the weekend. She now lives and dances in Melbourne Australia. What a joy it was to see her again!

 Because we sowed into this young woman's life many years ago we have now reaped another daughter!

We have a lifetime of reaping and sowing from our actions, decisions and choices, both good and bad. Here's to a good harvest!

ENJOY THE RIDE!

The merry month of May started off with gorgeous weather. What a breath of fresh air after a cold Canadian winter! I was pretty antsy to hop on my bike and ride to work but Sheldon was away for the week in Toronto and I needed to the car to check in on Lulu and other errands on my lunch. So, after work, I thought I would hit the waterfront trail instead.

This is a different kind of ride than my jaunt to work. For one thing, I go helmetless. Not likely I'm going to get hit by a car so I take advantage!

There are lots of families, kids, dogs, lovers, friends but thankfully, no cars. 

I stopped to snap a photo of some elegant swans. Only problem was the swans were more interested in what was under the water than a biking paparazzi. I finally gave up and just took this photo.

Bottoms up girls!

Here is another shot of the trail that holds rather humbling memories for me:

You see that curve ahead? Well one day many, many years ago I was rollerblading along here and thinking I was all that as I swooshed along. Suddenly, I hit a branch...or something... and then this curve in the trail was upon me. As the song goes I did the hokey-pokey and a shook it all about, that's when I landed on my butt! I have not been on rollerblades since.

It was getting late and I still needed to do some cello time with Morrie, but I was waylaid by a train.

Trains always win people. So I do what I'm told and had to wait it out. No cello time for me.

All in all, a nice little bike ride and I recommend it. It had no particular purpose, I was not going anywhere but it got the bike ants out of my pants.

On a side note - Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing Moms! We had plans to pick up indian food for both sets of parents who were coming to lunch but the indian restaurant was simply not answering the phone. I had my guests coming in less than 45 minutes and food needed to be had. A quick trip to the grocery store, some fancy footwork in the kitchen and voila - an impromptu lunch on the deck!

I was not planning on cooking and cleaning on Mother's Day but like the train crossing the road or a restaurant that was supposed to be open, or raising children for that matter, sometimes things don't always go the way you planned! Sit back and enjoy the ride!

THE POWER OF A GOOD WORD

When it's getting near the time for me to stock up on groceries, I always ask the family if there is anything they would like me to pick up. 

Our ballerina, Lauren, who is living with us thought she would add a few items:

Nice one Lauren- just thought you would throw in that hot tub eh?
I'll just make a quick stop on the way by and pick up an extra large. Now there's a good word! Speaking the positive and believing it will happen! 

This past week I was at Tim Horton during a work break picking up a tea. As I was standing there waiting I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to this lady behind me.

"I wanted you to know you look just like a fashion model!" she says.
"Thank you! That is very kind!" I respond. And then she says:
"Perfect!"
"Thank you! That is very gracious of you!" I stammer back. 
"I just say what's in my heart!" she replies.

Now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by this over-the-top compliment session from a complete stranger but I ask this angel in disguise what her name is (Noreen), tell her I will keep her words in my heart and head out the door.

Let me paint a clear picture here for you: 
I was wearing a blue dress with a beige sweater and comfortable walking sandals.
I'm barely 5 feet tall.
I'm over 50
I'm presently sporting grey hair, wrinkles and zits. 

Yet in this stranger's eyes, I'm "perfect". I have to tell you I was pretty teary on my way back to work. Those are powerful, good words. Because I sure don't feel like a fashion model and I definitely don't feel perfect. 

I think sometimes when we really need to be encouraged and reminded of just how beautiful we really are, God brings someone to us just to give a little reminder. 

You may not believe it but it's true! 

One morning as I was walking the dog I came around the corner to a beautiful sunrise! 
"Nice work God!!" I whispered "that is beautiful!" 
"You are more beautiful to me then that sunrise." He whispered back. Nearly knocked me off my feet! 

So.... let me just encourage you to spread the power of a good word and be someone's angel. Let me also encourage you to believe that you truly are an amazing creation, a beautiful miracle, even flawless.