Trick or Treat

My three younger grandchildren couldn't come to trick or treat where I live but at least I got a sneak peek of what they looked like when they knocked at other people's doors.

Finnley the Spiderman

Carys and Jessie 

And the neighbor witch without her broom

I went trick or treating too. I was hankering for a snack but wasn't interested in the sugar overdose regular stuff, so when I discovered I was out of popcorn I decided to ring the neighbor's doorbell. I knew she was handing out Cheezies and sure enough, I came home with a stash.  

Explosion Versus Calm

Some mornings I wonder if I should have even bothered to get out of bed. 

An exploding oven door isn't exactly my idea of a great way to start the morning but shit happens and a person has to get on with their day. So I did.

That was yesterday. Today was a better morning and a better day. Part of it was spotting this little fella sneaking a snack on someone's front lawn.

The other part was nipping a few things in the butt and getting things done. It's always nice when you can wrap up some loose ends and check things off the to do list. Now if I could only stop adding to it I might catch up to myself one of these days.  

Signed a contract with two schools today so that's not exactly helping my cause in the free time department but I'm pretty happy about how it will boost the financial end of things. I'll give it a whirl until the end of this school year and see how it goes.

I was going to just post pictures on my blog tonight so I could get my butt to bed before the clock strikes 12 or 1 am for a change but I get on here then I don't want to shut up. 

It's kind of a stress relief pill before bed. If I can at least write something, whether it makes sense or not, then I can lay my head on the pillow and go right to sleep. Which is exactly where I'm going to head to now.

A Cat's Life

If there's such a thing as reincarnation I think I'd like to come back as a cat. Not that every cat has it easy but Miss Pumpkin sure has it good at our house.

It's been a busy weekend but a good one too. Embarked on a major project and got lots of it done but there's still lots to do before being able to all it a done deal.

Went to a play last night at Peace Players theater. A musical of Shrek. Lots of young actors in that cast and they put on a pretty good show. Watching the actors on stage made me think back to my FCSS days when we performed a few skits for Volunteer Appreciation Night. We always had a blast doing those. That's about as far as I ever got in the acting department.

I thought I'd get to bed before midnight tonight but it's already past that so forget that idea. Might be another hour yet before my head hits the pillow.

The Mighty Peace

I don't have the name of the photographer so I can't give him credit. But what a beauty!

"The Mighty Peace" as Georgette would say. This photo was taken specifically for her, then printed on a canvas and given to her as a farewell gift when she moved to Edmonton last week.

She often stopped and sat on that bench to enjoy the view when she was out taking a walk by the river. It was the absolute perfect gift for her. She got to bring a piece of the Peace River with her.

A few weeks before, on a beautiful Monday morning, I was driving her back home, and as we descended into the valley via the Judah Hill way, she exclaimed, "Ah, the mighty Peace."

Knowing her heart twas heavy as a result of her impending move and she was feeling rather melancholy when she spoke those words to me, I responded to her by saying, "You know Gerogette, peace is something you take with you in your heart wherever you go."

She smiled then and said, "You're absolutely right. I must take peace with me."

I hope that every day she is able to hold on to that peace in some small way.

Things I Need to Say

Sometimes I hate being busy. Sometimes I thrive on it. Right now I'm vacillating between the two.

I am so very grateful for the written word and what it's done for me over the years.

Deadlines looming in the near future feel like I'm about to leap off the edge of an Olympic diving board with a dead weight attached to my feet.

No matter how old they are, knowing my children are going through hard times makes my heart ache as much as, if not more than, if it were me. However, no matter how hard it is, I'd rather be in the loop than not be.

Life, love, connection and Oneness, is not only about the good stuff and the joyful moments, It's also about the not so good and painful moments and everything else in-between. One can't exist without the other.

A Calgary situation has made me realize how some people are absolutely clueless as to when or how to support family and when they should just get the hell out of the way.

Tonight I feel fortunate I live in Canada and I feel deeply for the people who live in Mexico and in Patricia's path.

How the simplest things in life bring me the greatest pleasures. Seeing an older couple walk hand-in-hand.  A child laughing uncontrollably. A hot shower after a hard days work. My cat trying to get my attention by pawing at my face.

A deer running free.  

A sunrise or sunset.

Old buildings as reminders of.....

how life used to be.

A Typical Evening

Where the heck does time go? I see I haven't showed up here for 4 days. I'm quite sure I had more time on my hands when I lived in an apartment. There was no eaves-troughs to clean out, no grass to cut, leaves to pick, or painting to do. But, I couldn't do a darn thing about the drab dirty white walls, I only saw one side of the world and by the time the sun crossed over to the other side of the building I wanted to run away from the dungeon I lived in.

Now that we live in our own place, I don't have to put up with a 250 lb man doing gymnastics and letting out some bellering martial-art sounds on the floor above our heads at all hours of the night. Nor do I have the nasty smell of marijuana drifting down the hallway or have to put up with partying college students all weekend long.

Now what I have is windows all around so I feel like I'm part of the world no matter what room I'm in and a front and back deck to catch the sunrise and sundown. I have a shed to store my bike instead of having it sit behind the table in the dinning room. And the only noise I hear in the evening is the sound of soft music playing in the background, the scratch of my pen across the page or the tap, tap, tap of my keys as I answer emails, record my meditation or write on my Lou to You webpage. 

Did I or Did I Not?

Did I do week two of my course? Not.

Did I pick more leaves tonight? Not.

Did I clean the eaves-troughs? Not.

Did I write to my friend in Armstrong? Not.

Did I wash the windows before the weather turns too cold? Not.

However, I did:

Travel 2 hours to and from work.

See four clients.

Put posters up around town.

Take someone out for lunch and join her for a walk in the wind.

Meet with the library people in Peace River to confirm arrangements and what I'll need for my book reading next week and the course I'm to give in two weeks.

Meet with people who wanted to buy my book.

Text back and forth with my daughters who are going through a rocky journey and under a lot of stress right now.

I did my office paper work. Wrote and shared my meditation. Responded to email. Had supper. Read a bit and soaked in the tub for 45 minutes.

And I picked up my journal and wrote three things I'm grateful for today.
- a short river walk with someone who wanted company
- my book being out there doing what I hoped it would do
- the unexpected cheque I received in the mail.

On another note, have a look how our little village had a great idea a while back on how to preserve the town's history.

Passion

I thought about passion a lot yesterday. Where does passion come from? My passion for writing or anyone else's passion for that matter. Where does it come from? 

It wasn’t taught to us.  Does passion come from an inner need?  Does passion get deposited within us by the Creator because we have something to contribute to the world? Is our passion also our mission? Is that our purpose while here on earth? Is it to discover and live our passion? 

What about those who say they don’t have a passion? Is their purpose different or is it that they haven’t discovered or named their passion? Is passion hiding within everyone and it’s a matter of allowing it through, or not?

This is what Mark Nepo says about passion.  “When resisted, it carves out the heart daily.” Man, have I ever felt that in regards to writing a book and am I ever feeling it now. 

It’s time to get down to the business of writing again before my heart looks like chopped liver. Reconnecting with the passion of story, of finding the right words to adequately say what I see, feel and live or what I am passionate about, and to put it in a format where I can share that with the world is meaningful for me. 

It is a challenge that is full of ups and downs and sometimes launches me through a gamut of emotions from A to Z, yet it is the single most rewarding thing that for me makes time disappear.  

My dream place to write and create

When I come to the end of a good page, paragraph or even sentence, I feel the vibrant energy that comes from singing my song.

Today singing my song was to complete week one of my Visual Journaling course. Yoohoo! Only four more weeks to put together now.      

What I'm Grateful For

Gratitude was the order of my day today-just because.

I got up and opened the door  to check on the weather and discovered the trees had gifted me and formed a river of gold on my back deck. Even after picking leaves day after day, this sight this morning still looked really pretty to me.

I heard from all three of my daughters today which always warms my heart, Even if it's just a few short text messages I like to stay connected. Today I got pictures of them and some of my grand kids. I'm thankful for the awesome people they are and for the technology that allows us to stay connected even if we live far away from each other.

I got to help people which in my books is always a good thing not only for them but for me too. People forget that sometimes. That it goes both ways.

After a hard days work, I got to watch a movie with my honey. It was a movie to do with writing, (screenplay writing) but nevertheless, writing.

I had a one hour hot bath to soak my sore muscles and the minute I closed my  eyes I was off to dreamland until the progressively cooler water woke me up. Now I'm wide awake of course.

Our kitchen table is dressed in a Thanksgiving kind of decor with an arrangement of fresh flowers that Andree made to look so pretty. Yes, for sure, there's a lot to be grateful for.

Oh, before I sign off, Kate in answer to the comment you left on my last blog post, the course I am creating is "Visiaul or Art Journaling." It is using the power of imagery along with the written word to express one's lived experience - how one feels as a result of a stimulus of some kind I provide as part of the lesson. I seriously have to get going on that if I want to be able to teach it in a matter of two weeks. Yikes!  

Busy Times

I feel like a squirrel scurrying around trying to stockpile a stash for the winter.

Ahh, writing that made me sad just now. Writing about a squirrel reminded me that I lost my little buddy in the back yard and I don't have him to greet me now when I go out there. It was about a month ago or so that the little feller got hit while crossing the road. Broke my heart.

The reason I feel like a squirrel is because of the busy times these days. There's lots to get done before old man winter pokes it's nose around the corner and the days are getting shorter and shorter. I hurry to get out there as soon as I get home to make use of those few precious daylight hours. How quickly it's changing!

I had a bit of a break in-between clients today so I took advantage of it to walk down to the river again. It was beautiful, warm, sunny, calm, peaceful. Once I'm out there, it's so hard to make myself go back to the office. I could have spent the rest of the afternoon out there with no problem whatsoever.

Every now and then, if I stand in the right spot, I get to be tall

For a minute there I thought I found somebody's leg on the river bed.

They are announcing rain for the next 4 days. I sure as hell hope they're wrong. I'm not finished with the outside stuff. But, if it rains it might make me get down to the business of building the 15 hour course silly me accepted to give in a couple of weeks. Talk about creating situations to work under pressure. Build it and they will come, they say. I just have to convince myself I can build it then get down to business and do it!

A Yellow Rose Day

It looked like Frosty the Snowman outside this morning but what a beautiful day it turned out to be again today. I love the many colors and smells of fall. It adds spice to my life.

My morning started off with this beautiful yellow rose sent to me with love by my friend Marcel. Isn't it beautiful all clad in it's frosty decor.  

While the frost was melting away in the morning sun I decided it was a good time to complete this entrance project that's been nagging me for a while.

Yep, back in the closet, but not for long!

By mid afternoon, the leaves were drying off and flying off the trees after that last bit of frost. Still more to come of course but the fresh air, the crunch of the leaves under our feet, the smell of autumn, the contrast of the bright gold against the green grass, all of it is well worth it and makes for a satisfying day.

Do they make wider rakes do you think?

A Carpet of Gold

My Days' Meanderings

Let's see. What did I do today?

I fed Pumpkin. That's always the first call of the day. Read my meditations from the two books I work with everyday. Helped my honey (a little) prepare breakfast for our guests who stayed overnight. Visited with them for a while. then I went outside.

I moved the biggest of our two fire pits to the back of the shed where it won't be in the way for this coming winter's snow blowing, shoveling days. I left the little fire pit there for now, just in case I get the hankering for a few more toast on the campfire kind of breakfast or midnight snack before bed. Then I brought some fire wood in the house for the chilly nights that are sneaking around the corner.

I sold a car. (Yes, that's what I said.) Took a ride to McLennan to return an item to the Home Hardware store and visited with company some more over lunch at the Connection Coffee Shop. Once the company were on their way home, Andree and I hopped in our vehicle to go visit some friends in Falher for an hour or two.

Came home and started to attack the leaves at the neighbors as part of the maintenance and care for their yard for which I took a contract for. Stayed out working until darkness descended upon me and forced me in the house.

Sat down for dinner, once more prepared by my honey, then started to work on my meditation writing which I also do every night. Answered my emails. Made popcorn. Soaked in the tub. And now here I am, making an entry before I retire to bed to do some reading in the new book I just downloaded on my Kindle.

But first, let me introduce you to my youngest grandchild, Mr. Finnley Oliver Shaw. He's a real growing concern and a photogenic little man that one.

Starting Over

Yesterday we cleaned up all the leaves on the ground. We knew it was just the beginning of the round up of leaves but we figured we'd be good for a few days anyway.

This morning we look outside and we thought for sure someone had taken all six or seven bags of leaves we filled the night before and spread them all over the yard again.

But no, it was simply the magic of Fall with the help of a good wind and rain and "Voila!" Another carpet of gold!