A REFUGE

 Have you ever been caught in the rain without an umbrella so you start looking around for a big leafy tree for refuge? I sure have. In fact happened today! While attending a church picnic in the park we watched the wave of rain making its way across the bay heading towards the picnic tables. Scrambling ensued and I snugged up to a tree trunk while my cherries, guacamole chips and peach muffins took the brunt of it. No time for that "no food left behind". 

A refuge provides protection where we can relax, let our guard down, feel safe and comfortable.

We just got back from a week at the little cottage. We been fortunate rent this slice of heaven since our kids were teenagers. 

This is a refuge for me. A place of peace, safety and letting my guard down. Makeup? Please...Alarm clocks? Spare me. Bra? well....maybe.

My garden is my go-to refuge from May to when the temperature drops too low to manage with just a blanket. 

Then we switch to the big comfy chair by the fire which can be popular so I have to share it with Lulu.

Camping is high on my refuge list! Canoeing, campfire and a cosy tent by the water

Sometimes refuge comes in the form of a person. Someone who can make you feel safe and protected. 

If you have a faith, you can find great comfort in Psalm 46, a beautiful song of comfort

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

And sometimes, you can be the source of refuge for someone else. 

We all need safe places to land. I hope you have a few tucked away yourself. 

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

 

Just look at these flowers...are they not gorgeous? 

A sight for sore eyes? 

They were given to me as a thank you from someone I helped support during a difficult transition. 

I am beyond appreciative of the gesture; especially now, in the last grasp of winter's long, cold, and dare I say stubborn resistance to step down. 

And like a breath of fresh air, their scent is clean and spring-like.  

I'm sorry winter, but your days are numbered and we have all had enough of your shenanigans: your third and fourth rounds of snow, your surprise bursts of bitter arctic air, your "don't put those winter boots away yet" sarcasm and especially your insistence to continually ice things up to a treacherous level. 

Fuss and fury all you like but the snow is melting faster than you can pile it up again, the robins are singing love songs and the sun is getting warmer and stronger.

Just ask Jett as she is heating up her black satin fur coat in the sunbeams

No matter how bad things look, there is hope ahead for better days. 

So take heart my weary, winter/world-worn companion!

 "Hope humbly, then; with trembling pinions soar;

Wait the great teacher Death; and God adore.

What future bliss, He gives not thee to know,

But gives that hope to be thy blessing now.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast:

Man never is, but always to be blest"

Excerpt from Essay on Man by Alexander Pope

LOOKING FOR GOOD FRUIT

 We are having a good ole fashioned winter in Ontario this year. 

I've shovelled and shovelled until the snowbanks at the end of the driveway are higher than me.

I had to make a path off the deck and into the back yard for Lulu!

And yes I admit, it's pretty, but I've had enough! The unending onslaught of snow and frigid cold is wearing me down. 

Much like the news - the unending onslaught of anger, violence, chaos, confusion. It's wearing me down. I've had enough of the sneering, condescending broadcasts that pick apart to make their righteous point, stamping their feet and yelling I'm Right and You're Wrong. 

So, here's my plan: as far as winter goes, like Tom Petty, I won't back down. Already, the days are getting longer, the sun a wee bit warmer. Eventually, winter will lose its' grip. The whole of Ontario knows it. 

Meanwhile I do things that bring good results. 

I pulled out the leftover bacon fat in the fridge and rolled it in some bird seed. Then I hung it up in the tree for the sparrows, juncos and cardinals to enjoy.  

As for the news, I try to find a broadcast that just gives the facts, without all the hyperbole. 

And I look for the good fruit: love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control, patience. Because a good tree (character) produces good fruit. And it goes without saying a bad tree (character) produces the opposite: hate, anger, chaos, violence, impatience, self-centeredness - you get the picture. 

Right now, the season seems long, cold and unending. But it will. And in the meantime, I will practice things that produce good character, like feeding birds in the dead of winter. 

Even a small act of kindness can make difference.

 

WHEN I WANDER OUT THE WINDOW

 Happy New Year - welcome to 2026! I've passed through a lot of 365-day cycles since landing on earth in the 1960s and seen a lot of changes. 

Especially out the window. What window? Usually the one I'm staring out, my internal thoughts wandering and coalescing into plans and conclusions. 

Take this window for example:

This is the one I stare out of while I have morning coffee. It almost always involves a winter scene because from spring to fall coffee is in the garden. But winter finds me in the big comfy chair with the fireplace on and Lulu curled up. I'll wander around between prayer, plans for the day and throw in a few hopes and dreams. 

Now this window is at work in the kitchen. Not a great vista, just overlooking one of the parking lots around the mall.  

But this window is a mental health break for me. The office is one big maze of "pods" and windows can only be found at the front door, in certain big wig offices and in the kitchen. 

I've wandered out this window for over 25 years: 

I've let off some steam and stress from work

Grieved here after saying goodbye to coworkers and loved ones who have moved on or died.

Met people who are woven into the fabric of my life 

Waited impatiently for the clock to hit closing time before a big vacation. 

Planned and mentally ticked off a hundred things that needed to be done for weddings or holidays or just what to make for dinner or accomplish on the weekend.

Considered and decided to retire. Considered and decided to return and continue to work casually! 

All the while this window was like that movie The Time Machine as I watch the seasons and the style of cars change. 

Lived through the COVID years when the empty office had 6 feet distance signs on the floor and red tape like some murder scene. 

I watched a solar eclipse from that window and a Derecho - one wild thunderstorm that left the whole city in shambles with broken trees and downed hydro lines everywhere. 

Yup....a lot of history with this window! 

So the year begins with another winter scene out the window(s) I wander to. I'll sip my coffee at home or watch the seasons change at the office. I'm praying a year of favour is ahead for you and for me. And who knows - if I stick around long enough, maybe I'll  see flying cars as I wander out the window!

SAVOUR THE SEASON

How is your Christmas season going: hectic, stressful and chaotic? Is your To-Do List maxed out? Or maybe you have nothing at all on your list and no one to share it with. Christmas is a lonely and even painful time. 

I land somewhere in the middle. I have presents to buy, baking, events etc. but I also have have a very quiet home with one husband, one dog and two cats - all very entertaining but sometimes I miss the youthful energy of having kids around.

So here's my strategy - I'm going to take the moments and live them, enjoy them - really savour the season. They are gifts especially for me.

Making Christmas cookies with my grand babies. Who cares if they plaster them with sprinkles and I spend the next month vacuuming up little sugar balls?? 

Up and out the door first thing in the morning to make a snowman.

After a lot of cello practice, I participated in a Christmas concert. What a gift to create music with other musicians and share it as well. 

I spent an afternoon at a friend's house making wreaths. Food, fun and laughter! 

Making Christmas treats to share like these rum and pecan balls are a way for me to show love and appreciation.

So, in these moments I find Joy, I find Peace. The very things the Christ Child came to earth to bring:  

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven and on Earth, peace to those on whom His favour rests." (Luke 2: 13,14)

He came to bring a New Kingdom; one made up of righteousness, peace and joy (Romans 14:17)

That is my wish for all of you too. That you can find these moments in the midst of Christmas and savour them.

Moments of Joy and Laughter

Moments of Peace and Righteousness

IN PRAISE OF THE BLACK CAT

 

At the end of September we picked up a new kitten. Except for a small patch of white on her belly and a couple of white hairs on her chest, she's jet black. 

So, I called her Jet! 

Jet was born to feral parents and faced a life of scavenging on the streets. But a friend at work supports a cat rescue group known as "a.r.k" and managed to trap and secure Jet along with her brother and mom. 

Now, she's well settled into our home: a loving, practically boneless (she goes limp when you pick her up), nonstop purring machine. 

She's great company for DandyLion who has been pretty lonely since we lost Sasha last Christmas. Not that they were fast friends! In fact Sasha rarely paid any attention to Dandy. Still he missed her. Now Jet is a shadow boxer and they play constantly. 

Now you may wonder, why would I choose a black cat?

Statistically speaking, they are less likely to be chosen as your next pet and make up the majority of those waiting in shelters. There are lingering superstitions around them being bad luck or evil.

But my experience is she is nothing but sweetness and love. She is great company and her antics, whether with DandyLion or on her own are always entertaining. 

So next time you are looking around for a new cat, check out the little black one with the amber eyes! 

She might be a  black cat, but she's an angel on my shoulder!

THE LATE BLOOMERS

 

The hibiscus in my garden (called the Hawaiian Punch) has decided to be a late bloomer. Here we are in October and it's still coming out with a KAPOW!  

My vegetable garden, was an under achiever all summer. Here's what's left my harvest: 

One measly tomato and a handful of basil. 

I attribute this to the heat, chronic lack of rain, and my ineptness. But lately a few things have decided to go the distance before Jack Frost waves the frozen flag: strawberries are beginning to blush red, peppers are sprouting and Mrs. Rosemary and Mr. Thyme are happily flourishing.

They are all late bloomers, paying no heed to the seasons or the time. 

Do you know who else were "late bloomers"? Frank Lloyd Wright, Grandma Moses and Michelangelo who really didn't come into his own until his 70s. 

You might have hidden talents yet to be revealed. Maybe you've had an inkling to try your hand at water colours, photography or kick boxing. It wasn't until I was pushing 50 that I published a book, learned how to play the cello and checked out classes in modern dance. 

This is Gepetto, my garden rabbit. He tends to hide and move around for the benefit of the grandchildren. He also keeps an eye on the little chained waist watch in his hand, always anxious about time. 

Maybe all your time and energy is focused on family, raising children or your career. 

But that's OK. Just ask Gepetto - time flies and before you know it you will be able to focus your energy elsewhere. So keep checking out new things, experiences and ideas.

There's nothing wrong with being a Late Bloomer!