There's Nothing Like It!

Toast on the campfire. It's the best!

Give my brother a hammer and a nail and he's totally useless.  Give him a piece of steel and he can make anything. He loves projects and challenges and lucky for us, we were the lucky recipients of a new fire pit for our back yard.

I didn't waste anytime. As soon as I finished cutting the grass and dusk started rolling in, I gathered up some wood and gave it a try. Next came the loaf of bread, peanut butter and honey.

Umm...hmmm....So yummy! Toast cooked with electricity doesn't even come close to the taste of a toast made on a campfire. There's just nothing like it!

 

Birthday Tea Party

My little granddaughter was 4 years old yesterday. I may not have been there physically but I was there in spirit to join her for her tea party.

One of the reasons for moving to Alberta was to be closer to my children and grandchildren but I'm still 8 hours away from the younger ones. Still, it's a more manageable trip when I don't have to cross the Rocky Mountain range to get to them in the dead of winter.

I hope to make my way out to see them again soon. Those little ones have so much energy they tire me out but they also fill my bucket and bring me life.

Sometimes I wish I wouldn't have to work for a living and I could be more of a grandma to them. But then again, there's a fine balance between being involved in their lives and being over involved in their lives.

I want to be one but not the other.

I heard somewhere that butterflies are attracted to pure spirits. That's what little Jesse is - a pure spirit. She has her own little character but she's true to who she is. There's no pretense there. No games. No fear in being herself. My wish for her is that it stays that way.

Reaping the Rewards

The garden has gone crazy! I think the soil is a little too rich. The potato plants reach up to my boobs and you need to be as thin as a host you get at Sunday mass to squeeze in between the rows.

Potatoes, peas, beans, kahlrabi, beets, radishes, onions. Our own little market garden. Had our first feed off of it the other day. I tell you, there's nothing like sitting down for a meal where first of all you know what you're eating and where it comes from, and second, you know it can't come any fresher than from the earth to the pot on the stove.

Putting a seed in the ground and watching it grow always amazes me. It's the miracle of life that evolves right before my eyes and it is so symbolic of life for human beings. But whether it's plants or human beings we're talking about, what isn't well taken care of struggles to survive and what is nurtured, tended to and cared for with love, not only grows but thrives!

McLennan Bird Walk

On my last visit to see my friend at the hospital I decided to visit the bird walk. I brought my journal with me knowing full well it would be my only chance to pick up my pen and write for a few minutes before heading home to visit with our company.

My journal entry:

"I'm at the end of the dock of the McLennan bird walk. I thought I'd sit here and write for a while after my visit at the hospital and before heading home. I was looking forward to soaking in the sun but a mass of black clouds have gathered and the wind has picked up so it's actually a little chilly.

Still, one feels like it's a little oasis out here in the middle of a swamp and field of various grasses and cattails.

There are a lot of birds singing although I have no idea what they are. I'm not a bird watcher really. Except for the most common ones, I know very few birds by name.

I need to write to Kim tonight. I'm not sure what to say to someone who I feel has pretty much kicked me in the teeth and I haven't spoken to in several years. It was a surprise to get her email the other day which included an attachment of a 4 page letter. Apparently she got a hold of my book "In Search of Oneness" and she had a whole lot to say about it and what it touched in her.

I am asking for guidance right now in what needs to be said and how to say it. I'm asking myself - do I want to continue to side with hurt and resentment? Do I want to carry that around in my heart and soul or do I want to live love and the sense of Oneness I speak of?

I don't want to turn my deepest loving nature over to the life of this wound. It has no purpose and it serves no one. Mark Nepo says, "The human heart no matter how often it is cut can reassert its impulse to love."

I choose to reassert love. Tonight, I will write this letter."

Have To or Choose To

I suppose I should quit now with this blogging stuff. Get on and do something else with my day. But hell, it's my day off and why not be doing something fun that I haven't had a chance to do in what feels like forever.

There's lots I could be doing like vacuuming the popcorn and crumbs on the floor, watering the neighbors plants, preparing something for supper, washing clothes, attempting to fix the kitchen tap that has been dripping in like forever, or staining the two little wooden stools to match the front and back deck Andree and I fixed, scrubbed and stained this past week.

Here's part of the back deck.

We took down the corral around the front deck and here's what it looks like now.

"Have to's" are going out the door today as I dive into the "I choose to's." I might still tinker with that kitchen that but I'll move it into the "I choose to" list first. 

Special Days

Some days come and go and some days linger on. The company I had around Canada Day lingers in my heart and warms me right down to my toes.

My daughter Brenda and her husband James and their funny little man, Finnley.

Then they left and my other daughter Jody and her two daughters Carys and Jesse came. 

Along with them was my other granddaughter Sadie. The only one of my grandchildren I didn't get to see was my oldest grandson. Maybe next time Cole.

Life Happens

I'm not even going to bother trying to explain or to make excuses for not posting here for the past 22 days. Life just happens sometimes.

And, as much as I swear to the importance of the written word, there are times when people and relationships come first and that is how it should be.

The way I see it, lived experiences add juice to the written word.

It's not to say I didn't write but my paper journal is what invites me to come forth at the end of a long busy day. It's a place to let go. It is like coming home.

A very dear friend of mine broke her hip on June 26th. What a shitty deal that is, especially for someone who is in the last year of her eighties, active and full of life. But a broken anything is a shitty deal for anyone I suppose.

This one is a trooper in every way imaginable and she wasn't about to give up.

The will to live, a healthy mind, a positive attitude, and a strong desire to continue to live her reason for being is helping her make tremendous strides on her road to recovery.

Everyday I've been expressing gratitude that I live closer to her now and I was able to visit and spend a lot of time with her through her 3 week hospital stay.

What Matters to Me

“Heart Centered Connections” is what matters to me.

This is why I had to write a book that came from the heart and had the potential to reach into the heart of others otherwise there wasn’t going to be much point in writing it.

This is why I can’t do the small talk conversations for very long without my eyes glazing over.

This is why I look for and thrive on heart centered relationships with meaningful conversations where there is the opportunity to go deeper.

This is why I am nourished by books that carry a message I can learn and grow from and by the writing I do every day.

This is why I love moments of solitude and the moments when I connect with the grandeur, mystery and gifts of nature.

All of this provides me with “Heart Centered Connections” that add meaning and purpose to my life - connections where you are connected to me and I am connected to you in the center of our being.

This is what matters to me.