through the week

1 Tuesday and it's time for work. 6 am why do you come so soon?
2 The day is full of ups and downs, lots of changes, lots of learning and lots of laughs to offset all the craziness of the day.
3 Girls night out for dinner. We meet up for an early evening of drinks, food, and laughs all round. It was fun to surprise one co worker with a card for her birthday!
4 Mr P and I spend our evening in the hot tub. We soak away the stresses of the day and find comfort in just sitting there, holding hands and absorbing the serenity.
5 Miss Tula catches a bird! Mr P is looking down on her as she stalks her prey and we are both more than surprised that our fat cat can actually catch a bird. She takes it around the corner and when she looks up at me with her big green eyes looking for praise, she opens her mouth and whoosh, away goes her catch!
6 We have had a few visits from the neighbourhood bear but he's not finding much of anything to munch on these days so we're feeling comfortable leaving the front door open for Tula again.
7 Love, love, love being with my girls. Being at work is just the remedy I needed to make me smile and smile I do.
8 Enjoying a cold frap on the deck while listening to the Tragically HIp and feeling a gentle breeze on my skin.
9 The day is done. Time for dinner. 

bits and pieces

1 I've been putting in a lot of hours at work and it's definitely paying off. Feeling confident and capable and sometimes even, dare I say it, relaxed!
2 The house is clean and shiny and smells like layers of lemon. It's the fragrance of the soap and the furniture polish that's drifting in the air.
3 Outside it's a combination of rain, wind, clouds and blue sky. Mother Nature is a wee bit confused today.
4 The colours of nature are bright and cheery compared with the dryness of summer in our desert paradise.
5 We did a hard prune on a tree in the back and it opened up our view dramatically.
6 I try my best to sit back and watch things unfold but eventually I speak my mind.
7 I must be doing something right, my clothes are just a teeny bit looser. Or maybe it's just stress.
8 The new training is easier than I expected. Possibly that's because I've had this training earlier in the year. Different facility but same workload.
9 I start the day in the dark. Pitch black but by the time I get to leave it's sunny, warm and welcoming.
10 I miss my girls! There is something special about the girls from swb and I'm appreciating them more and more every day. Oh, how I wish I had more work there.
11 Mr P is home on Sunday and we talk about our plans for the next two weeks. A few things are planned but mostly we'll just hang out, hike and putter. I like that plan.
12 I catch myself being very negative today. A friend's husband points it out to me, in a kind and gentle way. I need to regroup.

I am grateful

1 Before we know it a week has gone by and it feels like he's barely had time to unpack and now he's packed and gone.
2 The grandkidlets have a busy afternoon playing in the mud! Mud pie soup was on the menu.
3 He has a rough night with a snuggly nose and by morning both grandkidlets are in bed with me.
4 They love being outside so we spend the morning on the deck making tents to lie about in, read books in and picnic in.
5 A trip to the park and it's swinging, playing with little girls and racing to get to the slide first.
6 They are good helpers. She sits in the front of the cart and piles each grocery item neatly in front of her; he holds the mini crisp bag and tries desperately to open it.
7 At bedtime they snuggle for stories then she shifts to a spot of her own. He's at the top of the bed and she's reverse at the bottom. Feet to feet! I remember doing the very same thing with my sister but with more angst!
8 It's time for baking and my helpers are the very best at pouring things, putting the cupcake holders into the tin, filling those tins and best of all eating the batter off of their spoons.
9 When it's time to decorate the cupcakes they put some candies on the cupcakes and more in their mouths. I give them each the choice of an iced and candied cupcake or plain. Surprisingly (or maybe not), they choose plain.
10 After work I go to Winners, just to look around, I tell myself. The bag is full of pjs, socks, underwear and a book or two.
11 Three days of work and I'm finished this particular rotation for a while. Everyone's holidays are over and the first temp gets priority for workload coverage.
12 A part time job posting has come up at the hospital switchboard. I apply and now it's the waiting game. It would be lovely to have a set schedule instead of being always on call.
13 Sometimes we need support, The kind of support that mom's give.
14 Sunrise
15 Feeling grateful for the day and the quiet.
16 What a joy to sit in the shade on the deck and just read.
17 Legos, doll houses, tea sets and umbrellas are fun to put away, for now.
18 He's strong and he can do this.
19 Winds blow the umbrella right out of its stand. I fiddle with it for a while and eventually it is snug and secure.
20 A sunny and warm weekend so far. The skies were blue and cloudless.
21 He likes what he hears and says he felt validated hearing it.