zoe, missing you, let the sun shine in

1 Zoe is learning to be on her own a bit more. But she really doesn't like it. Every time I come home she's right under my feet, mewing and purring and trying to trip me. I'm so lucky to be loved so  much.
2 The grandkidlets have been  under the weather for ages now. I'm missing getting my hugs and seeing their big smiles.
3 Finally, after days and days of snow and rain there is respite. Today, there is blue skies and warmer weather. Yes, I know it's December but warm and sunny is always welcome.
3a I'm sad to read the last blog post from the woman who inspired me to start my own blog. I wish her well in her new journey. However, it makes me realize how easy it is to get sidetracked and to lose sight of the things I need to stay grounded.

eat this, more like myself, party on, and my darlings

1 I take the opportunity to actually make myself a "real" dinner; a pot of steamed baby potatoes and carrots and a green salad to go with it. I savour each bite knowing it's healthy nourishing food and tasty too.
2 My body and mind have been so exhausted from all the activities going on around me that it's been challenging to stay grounded and focused but tonight after an afternoon of puttering and resting I feel a bit more like "me."
3 My friend and I are planning to have an online business party. What a great opportunity to make new friends and help people get healthy too. Good times. More posts about this will be coming. I suspect we will have more than a few laughs to share.
3a I surprise the grandkidlets with a visit to their house today. Kes is busy on his ipad but Izzy comes a runnin' and launches herself into my arms. I miss them both so much and am determined to organize my work schedule so these two darlings can come for a sleepover. I need more hugs please.

fun stuff, in the sand, helper

1 She is growing up so fast our little Izzy! Love her so much!

2 The grandkidlets came for a visit today and as Mommy was vacuuming out their car and carseats they were playing in the sand pile!!! (They enjoyed their bubble bath!)

3 Tula wanted to hep me work today...I think she just wanted to chew on the cord!

from one to nine

1 It's fun to think up ideas for crazy wrap parties. I plan to have one at our home and one at a friends home in the city. Making up It Works goodie bags, business cards, blitz cards, price lists and more. It was nice to have help from M.

2 The grandkidlets love, love, love being in the water. It's so warm that they never want to get out. I'm happy to have this little bit of paradise to share with them.

3 Joyce is here for an appointment so we meet up for dinner and then head home for a visit and a soak. We stay up way to late but had so much fun it's worth it.

4 A few trips to Costco. Well, sometimes it's just not the right size or colour or it's a splurge that can go back. I'm determined to be less of an impulse shopper.

5 Finding a few plants to put into the large pots around the house that are perennials so that I can keep my "gardening addiction" costs lower this year.

6 Sometimes we just can't fix it. Words soothe and hugs help but it's out of our hands. So we support, love and keep moving forward.

7 Just a walk in the park, or rather a walk on the waterfront. We had a fun time wandering about and found a little creek on the other side of the road that had some benches for just sitting and hanging out.

8 We heard a large Canada Goose squawking and flapping it's wings like it was desperate to be heard. It looked at one point like it might be feeding little ones but there wasn't much of a spot for a nest so...

9 Home to sit on a warm deck in the sun. Oh, summer I feel your presence~

going, going, gone, kisses for grama, and reach for the sky

1 After a long wet day the sun finally made an appearance just in time for sundown. It shone down on the far side of the lake and gradually moved behind the mountain and it was cool once more.
2 The grandkidlets snuggled in with me for a bit when I stopped in for a visit this afternoon. They are in the perfect place for me to kiss the tops of their heads, repeatedly.
3 Tulips are such majestic yet simple flowers. I love how proud and tall they stand withstanding the winds and rain and how they seem to stretch even higher when the sun is out.

cleaned up, fun in the snow, and let's do it again sometime

1 With no work happening for the next little while I have time to catch up on things around the house. A dusting here, a wash there and soon things are looking much, much better.
2 A quick bit of fun in the snow with the grandkidlets. Grampa made them a little sled out of some rope and a rubbermaid container! 
3 Dinner out with new friends. How much fun is it learning about each other!? Can't wait to get together again. Thanks Sam!

the week in review

1 Gaile and family are here for the evening and she's spending two extra days with me. We talk, laugh, eat, drink and shop, watch movies and give and get best friend hugs. Perfect!
2 Our early dinner was amazing, delicious and just the right amount for each of us. The restaurant decor is a combination of soft comfy seats, concrete and huge, and I mean HUGE light fixtures. I'll be sure to post a photo next time we eat there.
3 It's cold and windy but we quickly find our spots near the fireplace.
4 A heated blanket for keeping warm. It's been on a chair for many years but now moves about the house, warming me.
5 The sun shines so brightly that we have to close the blinds to see each other while we chat about just about everything.
6 Morning comes early and with it a sliver of sunshine through the foggy clouds.
7 The grandkidlets and I make chocolate cake with tons of icing and star sprinkles for their daddy and mommy.
8 Kesler slowly and deliberately spreads the icing on the cake and then all of a sudden his fingers are covered in icing and he plunges them into his mouth to lick every last bit.
9 Two grandkidlets with chocolate icing on their cheeks, noses and lips.
10 Another friend comes for a visit and we enjoy Thai food and green tea until we float out of the restaurant and head home to talk into the night. So good to catch up.
11 It's so cold you can see your breath.
12 I think I'm falling in love. Yes, you heard me right, I love toasted blueberry bagels smothered in cream cheese.
13 Voted.
14 The lady at the polling station looks at my ID and says yes, you're fine. And I smile and reply, "Yes I am fine" and we laugh at how that sounds.
15 The skies are a pinkish hue now but each time I look out the window the shade is different until it's just blackness.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

1,2 3 Work seems to be the consuming topic of late. I am busy with a new job and doing two sets of training. Not sure which of the 4 jobs I will keep but I'm giving myself just a bit of time to figure it all out. To be sure though, switchboard stays, the rest...well I have to think hard about what works, what doesn't and why.

4 He makes a good dinner of garlic smashed potatoes/yams, salad, roasted stuffed portobello mushrooms, and steak! Oh yes, apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

5 I miss the grandkidlets. Tomorrow we will have them for a few hours while their parents work on some stuff around their home. I think it'll be a park day if nice, otherwise maybe the library or just crafts here.

6 She's coming for a visit soon and it can't come soon enough! 

7 Book club is tomorrow and I'm not even close to being prepared for hosting it. Tomorrow I can throw it all together if I make my lists tonight.

8 Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel is the book I've chosen for our group. 

9 Here's my book review. 

The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

This book will NOT be for everyone. If you're looking for a quick escape, lots of action or a strong romance, this is not the book you want. However, if you enjoy books that aren't your usual fare and are strong on psychological tension, this is a good choice.

I loved this story of an elderly woman, who is a rather judgmental, cantankerous person. I like novels that show how a person grows and changes and I find slow change to be most believable and true to life, as it is in this book.

It might be easy to see Hagar Shipley's life as being rather ordinary, even dull. But I didn't – she was married to a man she eventually saw as inferior and coarse, her relationships with her children, her desire to make a proper home and better herself - were all quite realistic to me. Sometimes, I was filled with sadness and pity, sometimes I laughed out loud, and sometimes, I just wanted to shake some sense into her. As she becomes increasingly frail and dependent on her son and daughter-in-law, she also comes to see her life in a different way. Hagar's struggle with her own painful life memories as she tries to protect her independence and maintain her pride is quite heartrending.

It is a reminder of the hardships of past generations; how foolish pride is, and how it stands in the way of freedom and happiness.

10 I stay home from work today and just rest. So welcome, so needed. I've only had 3 days off in three weeks!

11 Mr P eats the soup I have made and I eat the salad he made. Funny, how food someone else cooks always tastes better.

12 I'm sitting in the living room imagining the new sectional we will have here one day. Not yet, we haven't found the 'right' one. But soon.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

1 Waking up in the dark is difficult but coffee certainly helps the process.
2 He has a very low key day and even though he's had naps and sleep he's still tired and recovering from his weeks away.
3 Yes, there are leftovers for one last day!
4 The grandkidlets come for the day and we take them to two parks and manage to bake angel food cupcakes and oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
5 She's never happy to go home but today there's the promise of getting ready for Halloween for her to look forward to.
6 Kes is certainly enjoying playing with trains. Today he's focusing on books about trains.
7 I love how they gently drift to sleep. After lunch I get out the story book and the three of us lie on their bed. She lifts her arm over her head and I know she's almost asleep and Kes curls on his side.
8 A sheepskin rug is laid in front of our fireplace. The grandkidlets love it and rub their backs and tummy's on the softness.
9 It is what it is for today. Some days are just like that.
10 She loves her costume so much that she had been wearing it since noon he said, but our grandson was much happier without his. She was a princess and he was a dragon! Both very adorable.
11 Dinner with family in a lovely Italian restaurant with good conversation and a bit of catching up. Mr P's brother is doing a course about an hour from our home and so its' a quick trip for us.
12 Nothing else went as planned. He's grumpy and has isolated himself in the downstairs office. Alone time can often be just what we need to 'get over things."

timing is everything, warmed up, and let's talk

1 Oh, it felt so good to get out in the fresh air and walk and run especially after that wicked headache yesterday. Sometimes I am fast, some bits were slow but all in all it was the perfect rhythm for today.

2 The house is dark and cold and it's just me here. Mr P calls and soon we're talking about how he's home in a week and a half and I'm warm again.
3 It's wonderful that we share a similar sense of humour. I love talking to my son and hearing about his day, driving adventures and what the grandkidlets have been up to. It's good to hear a smile in his voice again.

Sunday and Monday's notes

1 The grandkidlets and I spend the afternoon together. First it's a trip to Costco, followed by a visit to the hospital to visit some of the girls I work with, then home to play and read and finally to snuggle and sleep.
2 He loves mac and cheese and she's hooked on fish (she thinks it's tuna and there's no convincing her otherwise!)
3 She comes this close to a melt down, then pulls it together and manages to settle herself.
4 It's a wet and cool day so what better way to play than to get out the big blue and white umbrella and make a tent!
5 She loves that umbrella and the fact that she's able to walk around the deck and stay dry! She must have gone back and forth at least 15 times!
6 I picked up a shift at the switchboard and it feels great being back to it after a few weeks at another job.

odds and ends, read this, and fun with water

1 A day of puttering around the house and yard with Mr P. He installs another camera in the lower back of the house, mows the lawn, we moved the fountain into the rock garden and cleaned up all the front driveway area.
2 It's funny to hear a man say, "We could read the instructions!"
3 The grandkidlets play around in the bucket of soapy water. First they wash the toys, and then they wash the car. Well, actually Izzy washed the car and Kesler wanted to eat the cloth!

it just didn't work out, fire, and snazzy

1 Two days in a row we thought we would have time to see the grandkidlets but things piled up and now again no visit or sleepover. I think we have one sad little girl. Hopefully Mr P will have things done tomorrow and we'll spend a bit of time with them both.
2 The forest fire is now 25% contained and there is a perimeter of 60% so hopefully this means that the fire will be contained in the next day or so. Lil Red spends a few hours in the morning and again in the afternoon doing water runs to and from the lake to the fire area. Most of the day he's flying over our house or near it. At the moment there's a break either for the day or for refueling so it's peaceful.
3 The security cameras are almost installed. Mr P's been working on it all day and now is configuring the software. We will know via smart phone app if there is any activity showing up on the cameras. Very snazzy!

double dipper, sisters,and something's fishy

1 We wake up early, all of us. Breakfast is eggs with bacon and strawberry jam on toast. Everyone gets to taste the jam but Kesler thinks that the jam is a dipping pot and repeatedly tries to dip in his toast.
2 We have lots of fun at the farmers market and playground. Izzy meets a few girls her own age and tells them, "We're sisters because we're all the same age!" They suddenly are jumping up and down and hugging each other!
3 Dinner with the parents of the grandkidlets is outside and relaxing. Mr P bbqd salmon on a cedar board. Very tasty.

more opportunities, look me in the eye, and twirly

1 Three more job postings have come my way. I am really hoping for the hospital job. It's work I am trained for and have done previously. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an interview for that one! Wow, what a lot of choices suddenly.
2 The hummingbirds seem to really like the front feeder. There's a water fountain and lots of bright colourful flowers for them as well. As I was planting my large pots they were feeding, playing, hovering right above me and at one point one was eye to eye with me! Love it!
3 I won! Yesterday I won a photo contest for a flower photo and the prize was a specially made suncatcher. I think it's perfect for the grandkidlets so it'll be a surprise gift for them on Mother's Day!