NOT INCLINED TO IDLENESS BUT NAPS ARE ANOTHER STORY

I'm just finishing a week of holidays and I packed a lot into that 7 days. This is a little surprising because I started my week with very little plans. I had a week of nothing ahead of me, just idle time to sit around and read or whatever.

The problem is, I'm not inclined to idleness, which I come by quite naturally - my Mom often refers to my Dad as "Antsy Jack" cause he just can't sit still. 

So I started the week by taking "Antsy Jack" and my oldest friend on the earth, Denise, strawberry picking. 

Here's Pops in the patch. At 80 years old and post stroke - still going strong!

It was a rough years for strawberries with some killer cold nights and lots of rain, but those little red jewels were out there, albeit small, if you put yourself to the back-breaking work. Then I spent the afternoon cleaning and cutting berries. 

Then I had a nap.

Next day I spent some time digging up yet more unwanted trees in the garden and ripped up weeds to boot. 

Then I had a nap.

I played keyboard for a funeral and prepped a room for painting.

Then I had a nap!

Thursday dawned grey and rainy so I spent the day repainting my son's room from dark blue to Maui Mist. 

Sasha was into the blue....

But Lulu was inclined to Maui Mist

Then, well, I had a nap.

Friday was banking, laundry, groceries you all know the drill. I'm pretty sure there was a nap involved.

Saturday we headed to Toronto to meet up with our old billet Nami who will soon be heading back to Japan and our handsome son Adrian to check out Ripley's Aquarium. It was busy and crowded but watching those fish and other underwater sea creatures glide by in their easy pace was so soothing and relaxing. I went a little snap happy but here are a few shots (taken with my Iphone no less!)

These fish were large and in charge

The stingrays looked like they were flying overtop of you.

A bit of a show off if you ask me...

The jellyfish were amazing!

Since Sheldon was the one driving the car, I snuck in mini naps on the way home

Today was church, lunch with friends, a skype date with Randi (home in 25 days!),  baking of chocolate banana muffins and time writing this up for all of you. 

I like to be busy. I don't like being idle. But the side effect of my business is I need to re-energize with the occasional 1/2 nap. So (yawn) if you will excuse me, it's almost time to catch a few zzzzzzs. 

THOSE TIMES YOU SAY "AHA"

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how some things elude me. Which is true. But every now and then, in fact nearly every day, there can be times when the lightbulb goes off, the universe reveals a nugget of wisdom or truth and you go "AHA!" 

For example, I was biking home from work the other day and stopped at a light smack in the middle of town. A lady was crossing in front of me on one of those scooters. She was well into her 60s, cigarette dangling from her mouth, big pink bow in her wiry grey hair and wearing shorts and a tank top, her breasts sitting comfortably in her lap. I watched her motor on by with the orange flag flapping in the breeze and clearly she was having a good little ride. I had an "AHA" moment. You know those bumper cars at the fair? They must be like riding one of those and you find you are suddenly not confined to the enclosure but set free to zip around at will. No wonder they are so popular!

Musicians have AHA moments and they share them with us.

"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need." Thanks Rolling Stones for that! 

Or one of my favourites: "Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." A true nugget of wisdom right there.

I've been taking a hot hatha yoga class and after a few months I've AHAed the best part of the class is the beginning where we all are very quiet and we lay on our blankeys with our eyes closed and I feel like I'm 5 years old in Kindergarten again and the very end, where we all are very quiet and we lay on our blankeys with our eyes closed and my body is all loosey goosey from stretching and pretzelling. 

Today, in church my pastor spoke to us about Fatherhood. He gave us lots of excellent insight including this little gem: "It is easier to build a child than to repair a man." AHA!

So, although some things may elude you, keep your ears and eyes open and you will soon find there are lots of other things being revealed. The bird, by the way, is a house wren, case you were wondering. 

PAY BACK!

If you have followed this blog you know I spent a week in May loving my garden into fruition. All that back breaking shoveling, pruning, digging, moving.
Well....
It's pay back time!
So, here comes a plethora of garden shots. 

I get to sit under the canopy and take in this gorgeousness during morning coffee

The pink clematis is sneaking up the fence and opening wide

The purple clematis, a garden matriarch, is taking over the whole south wall!

These wild geraniums hang out near the back of the garden and look like little pearls on an oyster bed of green.

I love peonies and have about 3 or 4 bushes. Their scent is heavy and fresh after a morning rain

This bush drops these little pink flowers all over the driveway and car. Not complaining

Yellow. Love it.

The fountain bubbles and laughs when the birds come to play

It is a law of the universe. You reap what you sow. I sowed a lot into this garden, I reap the beauty of it in return. But it's not just for gardens.

We sow into our children. Take them to music lessons and soccer practice. We spend time with them, laugh and listen to them. Trust me, you will reap rewards from it.

I participated in the final recital for my cello teacher's students this afternoon. Like all her students, I worked hard on my piece called Scherzo (a musical joke). Unlike my brother, I'm not a good performer, nerves get the best of me. But it was not half bad! I believe I'm beginning to sound like a cellist!

Whether you sow into relationships, a craft, a garden, your health good or bad. Trust me.

There's pay back!

SOME THINGS JUST ELUDE ME

There is this bird hanging around our house singing his heart out. For the life of me, I cannot nail this bird down. 
And that's frustrating cause I'm a bit of a birder. When I'm out for a walk I can nail down pretty much every bird I hear like a little ticker-tape in my head: blue jay, chipping sparrow, finch. 
I've used my handy bird app - narrowing down my search by locale, size and song. I've even spotted the little critter but still, no luck!
It eludes me....some things just do.
To elude means to escape or avoid especially by cunnning. It means to baffle. You are trying to find it, figure it out, nail it down, but you are baffled. 
The other day we took Lulu for a walk in the dog park. Coming around the corner we see on a nearby hill a knight in shining armour.

A baffling sight to be sure. Was he yelling "Neee!"? Was he looking for a maiden or a shrubbery or a horse? The answer to this one did not elude me for long. We walked over and chatted to the group of them and discovered this is what they do for giggles and kicks. They are a "re-enactment group." 

In a local cemetary there is this tombstone:

It all makes sense until you get to Lavanta and Cynthia. No birth date, no death date. Surely, at least, they knew when they were born! Now that's an elusive tombstone. 

There is a Proverb that says: "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." 

  Some things are just hidden for us just so we can glory in the game of figuring it out. If you are like me, stubborn and persistent, you keep trying. 

So if there is something that is eluding you, consider yourself royalty, don your helmet and let the search begin. The answer may be hidden or concealed but it's there, for you to find. 

As for me, I WILL find out what this little bird is. But right now, it eludes me. 

TURNING ANOTHER PAGE

Yesterday, we gave our thanks and best wishes to our fearless and saucy worship leader Dan Cutrona as he officially retired from his position of leading music at church. All of us who sing or play in this ministry and Papa C (as I affectionately call him) both had to turn another page. 

I could literally write a book (a real page turner....) about all we have been through together and believe me there have been bumps in this road but Dan has done his best to navigate us all through it. 

On Thursday nights our team members would gather for practice. I'm missing a few players but this is the jist:

Here's part of my view!

In front of me are Bette-Anne, Ted and Paul on bass

To my left, Jeff (the "Fishin' Musician" cause if he's not playing, he's fishin) and Evan back there on drums keeping us on the straight and narrow

And there, on my right is Papa C. I snapped this during his last official Sunday service and I can't tell you how much I will miss him. 

The best way I can describe Dan is he is a genuine Maverick. Never one to follow the crowd, he did what he felt he should do and he did it with passion and a whole heartedness. Now, this does not always fly well and can certainly rub people the wrong way. But Dan shared his incredible gift regardless of what people thought in the Christian and nonChristian setting. 

I had arranged a farewell Barbecue at our house for Dan after church. Saturday; beautiful, warm, downright humid. My backyard is inviting, the fountain is bubbling, the grass is mown and the flowers are blooming. But Sunday turned cold, wet and damp. Sheldon braved the rain to barbecue up the meat and over 20 of us hunkered down inside.

Shouldn't have surprised me, that is just like you Dan to go against the grain! 

I will miss you Papa C, and your genius with rhythm, music and how you can hear a song come together. But it's time to turn the page. If you ever want to write that book about our musical adventures.....nevermind...you know what they say about Vegas.