back on track

1 Mr P is off on a trip up north. He's spending time with family, wiring workshops, helping with moving and a little hunting and fishing.
2 It's time for a change. Time to make things simpler and better. What does this mean? It means cutting back on work. Down to 2 jobs and feeling much much happier.
3 Miss Tula is enjoying her time outside these sunny days. Chasing flies and grasses, stalking moles and voles and mimicking birds in the hopes of catching one. 
4 The clouds move fast and furiously across the sky, morphing as they go, blocking the moon so it becomes dark and feels like someone turn off the lights.
5 My leg is mending and my knee feels pretty healthy. Time for walking. Lots of it.
6 I've given myself a 90 day challenge with running/walking. I've done it before and I'll do it again. 
7 I can feel the addiction to running in my veins after my fast walk today.
8 The kids have been coming over for lots of hot tubbing and playing. Gotta love it.
9 We have an opportunity to talk, into the wee hours and clear the air, make new plans and think about what's next.

family ties, our day, and It Works

1 What a great day spent with family. I'm so grateful we moved to the interior. It's been a year of big personal growth and healing, time with family and being able to contribute to the lives of the wee ones and be a part of their lives.
2 There's time for lunch, a few Toopy and Binoo shows, then a grand time in the hot tub, bath and snacks before Kesler and Izzy both have naps. Oh, and let's not forget Daddy. He had a nap too.
3 We work on business and marketing ideas for my It Works business. thebeautifulbody.ca. My daughter in law was creative, helpful and really put it together for and with me. She created business cards, sample cards and then we made our own samples! We took straws and heated and sealed one end, filled the straw with gel and then sealed the other end. Next we punched holes in the cards and attached it with double sided tape and ribbons! Tomorrow I'll see how it goes over at Book Club. Feeling hopeful.

an attempt at filling in the gaps

1 It's kind of interesting how when life takes off this blog plays second fiddle. Not forgotten that's for sure. I'm always grateful, sometimes life just  keeps me from posting about it.
2 A dear friend came to visit for a few days and we had lots of fun exploring our own backyard. 
3 Two friends were over for a visit and along with Mr P we had lots of fun and good laughs over a caesar or two, appies and an amazing curry dish that J made.
4 Mr P is busy with a variety of projects one of which is installing closet and bedroom doors in the basement. He's very meticulous in his measurements. I'm thinking it's a case of measure twice, cut once.
5 NIck and Sara arrive from China and Mr P takes the time to go pick them up in Vancouver. They're a wee bit travel weary and soon are napping while he's driving.
6 No tears when they arrive because it just feels too darn great to have them hear and I'd rather see them clearly than through my tears.
7 Two long, very long days of training. I'm glad the morning shifts are over!
8 B has an opportunity to move into her third position. She's obviously more than qualified and this new job will net her an additonal $10K! HOLY
9 The house is very quiet and still. I like to listen to the sound of the ticking clock.
10 Nick and Sara have gone to spend the day with Chris and family. It's nice to see the boys together, wives, children and lots to share. One big happy family.
11 I'm thinking it'll be fun to get this party started with my ItWorks business. Fingers crossed it takes off. I really do much better at these things when I've done a bit of research!

just me, puppy training, and let's getaway soon

1 They're off on a family trip tomorrow to California, Mr P is away working and thankfully I work the next six days as well. It's good to be busy but I think I'll enjoy some alone time as well.
2 Little Kuma will come for a few days while his parents are away. He's a wee Corgi and not quite trained yet so I'm planning to make him a space, get some pee pads and work hard to make sure he enjoys his time here too.
3 Jan and I meet up for a late lunch. It's been ages since we've seen each other, well, it's been a month but that's a long time when you live so close by. It's always a good time when we're together. We're planning a visit, at their place near the end of August for some relaxation, photography and fishing. It's been years since I've fished and I'm really looking forward to this time away.

thursday's thoughts

1. I'm grateful for a good nights sleep. Every now and then sleep is either elusive or broken up with waking up but when I get those deep restful sleeps my world just seems to run smoother. 
2 I am grateful that our family is close by and that we are blessed to spend time with each other often and that we can share life with all its ups and downs.
3 I am grateful that I could come home after work, to watered plants, a clean kitchen and someone waiting to see me.

Sunday through Tuesday

1 The family is over for Father's day and Mr P's birthday. We share a feast of bbq hamburgers, spicy chorizo sausages, salads, apple pie and chocolate cake! Everyone was stuffed!
2 The kids have a new dog. A Welsh corgi. He's rather adorable, more brown that yellow and very fluffy for a corgi. They've named him, Kuma. <It's the name, Bear in Japanese>
3 Kuma has fun chasing Izzy trying to nip at her dress hem. She squeals and runs faster, laughing and wanting him to stop yet wanting to keep going.
4 Monday is a cold dreary day. The rains have come and the clouds are settled over the mountains and into the lake valley.
5 We putter about fixing this and that. Mr P is hard wiring the office for internet so it's bits of cutting and pulling and patching and suddenly it's done and smokin' fast.
6 The winds start to howl and lying in bed it sounds spooky and with the rain louder than usual.
7 A decision needed to be made and it was made. It wasn't easy to have the conversation but in the end it's about competency, confidence, safety and vulnerabilities. I walked away from the hospital job because I wasn't prepared for a diet of steady graveyard shifts. It was a good decision.
8 A mistake by another driver means we have a dent on the right side of our car. She wasn't looking and backed right into us. Hopefully insurance will cover all the repairs. She was nice enough to apologize and say to Mr P, "Sorry for the inconvenience." We manage to get our groceries and head home without further incident.
9 I start re-orientation at the union office next week. Sure look forward to that. It's a brand new office and new staff to meet and greet. Yay!

Cherry pit, putter on, a/c, and tradition

1 We spontaneously stop into a restaurant right beside the Buckerfields shop. It's called the Cherry Pit and when we open the door to enter we're pleasantly surprised at the casual decor and see how full of people it is. Usually that's a good sign that the food is good right? We decide we're hungry but not starving so we share a breakfast of eggs, toast, hash browns and bacon. Great decision! It's a place we'll come back to and definitely kid friendly! Plus...they did the bacon just right!
2 And the puttering continues. Mr P puts up more towel bars and toilet roll holders, mirrors and some framed photos. I water the plants and wash the deck and front entry. We both tire in the heat <not acclimatized yet) so we nap.
2a We try out the air conditioning and are shocked at how quickly it cools off!
3 Family dinner on Sunday is a tradition now. The kids come in the early afternoon and we have a chance to visit and let the kids play. Kesler always loves the water but today he's drawn like a moth to a flame to the geranium plants. He likes eating them so we spend half our time saying no and pulling it out of his mouth! Isabelle has decided she doesn't want to get wet so she climbs onto my lap and covers herself with her little fuzzy white blanket that she calls her "mimi" and looks up at me and says, "Can you hold me like a baby Grama?" We cuddle for a bit then it's Grampa's turn.

in the heat, Sundays, and red and white

1 We spend so long lingering on our deck over coffee and breakfast that it's pretty warm out by the time we are ready for some of our talked about tasks. We decide to plant the dogwood but once we're outside Mr P gets distracted and ends up on the hillside in the front cleaning up some dead branches . We try to pace ourselves but the heat is a little more than I expected and I quickly head for shade and cold water. I think we're still acclimatizing.
2 It's Sunday which means family dinner! Our lovies come earlier today so our meal is earlier than usual which is nice in the heat.  Mr P marinated some pork ribs last night and grilled them this afternoon. Ithey were done to perfection with the bits of bbq sauce crunchy and caramelized.
2a Izzy and Kes play out on the deck in the water with hoses and buckets, shovels, cars and best of all bubbles! I love how eager they are to water plants and dump water on themselves not caring that it's cold and that their clothes are wet.
3 We planted a dogwood shrub that the kids gave me for mother's day in a spot by the front door. It was a thoughtful gift and we're looking forward to seeing it grow through the seasons. It has variegated leaves in the summer and once the leaves are gone in the fall it will display its dark red branches and that should be especially lovely in winter. Red and white...how Canadian is that?