...to lead a drama-free life, except that it means I'm left scratching my head, wondering what to share.
Things have been... uneventful this week. It's been pouring rain, and now it's beautiful and sunny (albeit cold; the stars overnight were beautiful but it was bordering on frosty this morning). I'm *finally* catching up on computer related 'errands' that have been postponed again and again (can you say *long* overdue library books?!).
I'm reading some really interesting books right now (yes, the overdue ones, LOL)... I just finished re-reading Vladimir Megre's Anastasia of the Ringing Cedar series, and I'm actually reading the Idiot's Guide to 2012 as well as another 2012 book by John Major Jenkins. And then there's one called Global Shift, about the changes in consciousness being experienced during these times. And I'm *LOVING* Thich Naht Hanh's (sorry if I spelled that wrong) book about creating joyous community. Absolutely LOVING that book and realizing how far I have to go towards mindfulness. A very humbling read. And still very inspiring.
I'm also preparing for our community craft fair this weekend. My son is selling his birdhouses he makes (and bee and bat houses) and my daughter has fleece baby blankets she's made. I've got raw food goodies: curry nori sticks, pizza crusts and flax crackers, raw muesli, and sprouted trail mix, tamari almonds and oatmeal raisin cookies and kale chips. The dehydrator's going full tilt this week! And the beauty part is, if I don't sell it all, that's alright! I'll have raw food already made for later!
The kids and I went on a nice bike ride last night. You have to be careful, though, as some people drive pretty darn fast on the main road around here and the gravel shoulders are hard to bike on. Usually we just bike around the provincial campground and back but it's nice to go somewhere different for a change.
The kids are both doing great. They're laughing and giggling (as they should be) on the trampoline, out in the sunshine right now. They make up all kinds of games and creative play. It's wonderful to watch. I'm gonna get out there and enjoy that sunshine, too!
07 April 2011
03 April 2011
sunday
nothing much new... i moved a bunch of dirt yesterday and we had a nice day outside... hung laundry out to dry, etc. today it's overcast but still a nice at-home day. the kids are watching little house on the prairie and i'm going to make bread in a while. pretty darned idyllic life, i know.
28 March 2011
seeing Beauty everywhere
I picked up a copy of Anastasia (Vladimir Megre) the other day and began re-reading it yesterday... outside, on the deck... in the sunshine, with the birds chirping... and a raccoon sleeping in a tree not too far away. The sounds of nature definitely enhance one's reading experience of the Ringing Cedars series. It's such an easy read and really connects you with Nature on a level you hadn't previously known existed, imo. And now, mid-way through the book, it's simply amazing to me how everything around me is transformed... granted, I have the privilege of being surrounded by the beauty of Nature, and not nearly as many man-made things, but even in the things Man (and I use the term to define human beings, male or female) has built, there is a perfection, even in the half-finished, not completed things. It is a beauty "as it is" and releases me from expectations of perfection. I just love the Ringing Cedars series. I could speak volumes on it, but I won't. ;) If you've read it, I'd love to hear what you thought of it. And if you haven't, um... why not?!
26 March 2011
Earth Hour
In the midst of celebrating Earth Hour over here. My daughter's playing piano by candlelight (and LED headlamp)... I'm able to continue getting things done on the 'puter (laptop - YAY!) and the house is alight with candles. I have a *lot* of candles and candleholders. We live rurally, so we're well prepared for power outages. ;) I've just turned the main breaker to the house off, so there's no auxiliary power running. Nothing. We use so little power as it is, it's hard to use less other than turning that breaker right off... it's the things like the fridge, or the few lights we'd normally have on... taking a break from those things. And yes, I do believe that if each of us, in our own way, make an effort to make the Earth a better place to live, that it *will* make a difference. :)
This week we've spent a lot of time preparing for emergencies. Our emergency preparedness kit is *mostly* together. We had nearly everything we needed already, just not all in one place, and not inventoried. It is now. There are only a few little things left - I want to get a small photo album of family members' photos together (I have some, but not all)... it would be a source of comfort for the kids after an emergency, and also practical if you needed to have a photo of a relative if they were missing. Also, a little cash. A set of clothes and shoes for each family member. Important household papers, such as copies of birth certificates, house insurance and life insurance and mortgage and home ownership papers, that kind of thing. And food. Obviously we already have clothes, cash, food, and the necessary papers, but it's a matter of putting it in the *kit*... which is what this week has been about. Just gathering things together.
So far, we have the tent(s), sleeping bags, tarps, cookstove & fuel, cutlery and plates and cups, etc., first aid kit, Swiss Army knife, a bag of entertainment (a novel and a kids' magazine, a pack of uno cards & a regular deck of cards, a couple small notepads, pencil, pen, pencil crayons, sharpener, eraser, that kind of thing), toiletries (tp, toothbrushes & toothpaste, floss, soap, a razor for dh, a small mirror, pads - although I prefer the Diva Cup), dishsoap, towels, kitchen wash cloth & drying towel, a set of camping pots & a camping kettle, a water filtration system, and emergency stuff like windup radio, flashlight, extra batteries, light stick, emergency blankets (those small silver ones), and much more.
We are prepared!! LOL
This week we've spent a lot of time preparing for emergencies. Our emergency preparedness kit is *mostly* together. We had nearly everything we needed already, just not all in one place, and not inventoried. It is now. There are only a few little things left - I want to get a small photo album of family members' photos together (I have some, but not all)... it would be a source of comfort for the kids after an emergency, and also practical if you needed to have a photo of a relative if they were missing. Also, a little cash. A set of clothes and shoes for each family member. Important household papers, such as copies of birth certificates, house insurance and life insurance and mortgage and home ownership papers, that kind of thing. And food. Obviously we already have clothes, cash, food, and the necessary papers, but it's a matter of putting it in the *kit*... which is what this week has been about. Just gathering things together.
So far, we have the tent(s), sleeping bags, tarps, cookstove & fuel, cutlery and plates and cups, etc., first aid kit, Swiss Army knife, a bag of entertainment (a novel and a kids' magazine, a pack of uno cards & a regular deck of cards, a couple small notepads, pencil, pen, pencil crayons, sharpener, eraser, that kind of thing), toiletries (tp, toothbrushes & toothpaste, floss, soap, a razor for dh, a small mirror, pads - although I prefer the Diva Cup), dishsoap, towels, kitchen wash cloth & drying towel, a set of camping pots & a camping kettle, a water filtration system, and emergency stuff like windup radio, flashlight, extra batteries, light stick, emergency blankets (those small silver ones), and much more.
We are prepared!! LOL
23 March 2011
The circle of Life
Today was a beautiful sunny spring day... It was nice to get outside and feel the warmth of the sun on your face, and just to be in Nature.
This morning, our 'sickie' hen passed away. She's not been well for a couple months, I'd say, but the past week or so, it's been quite acute. Every morning she'd come to me and ask to be put in her own pen, separate from the others. So when I'd be home all day, I'd put her in isolation and she seemed to be faring better in there, although still hadn't been eating much and wasn't laying. But the isolation pen isn't very secure from predators, so each evening I'd put her back in the coop with everyone else. This morning ds let the chickens out and he didn't know to put her in on her own... and by mid-morning, she was near-death when I went out, the others had pecked her so badly. So I held her in my arms and just held her as she passed on about an hour later. I cried. dd cried. I know it's "just a chicken," and death isn't 'the end' (at least, not imo), but still, to see a sentient being pass through life's cycle, in your arms, is a humbling - *very* humbling, and grounding experience.
This afternoon, we went to WildPlay's Monkido Adventure Course. It was... exhilarating! Zip-lines, and an aerial obstacle course for a couple hours in amongst the tall firs and cedars in the forest. dd did the kids' course with dh guiding from below. ds and I did 3 of 4 levels of the adults' course of increasing difficulty. It was pretty amazing. We all had the wits scared out of us at different places, but sometimes doesn't that just bring life down to the very basics? Doesn't it just make you appreciate life a little more when you scare yourself half to death?! Between the morning's and afternoon's events, it was a day to feel grateful for life. A day to honour Life.
Since the afternoon's excitement, it's taken several hours of recounting our adventures to settle down... I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight! The past couple nights we've had a froggy in our pond outside our living room window. There are few things better than the sound of a frog croaking on a starlit country night when you're drifting off to sleep! Sweet dreams, Kermit!
Grateful for all of life's blessings,
~n~
This morning, our 'sickie' hen passed away. She's not been well for a couple months, I'd say, but the past week or so, it's been quite acute. Every morning she'd come to me and ask to be put in her own pen, separate from the others. So when I'd be home all day, I'd put her in isolation and she seemed to be faring better in there, although still hadn't been eating much and wasn't laying. But the isolation pen isn't very secure from predators, so each evening I'd put her back in the coop with everyone else. This morning ds let the chickens out and he didn't know to put her in on her own... and by mid-morning, she was near-death when I went out, the others had pecked her so badly. So I held her in my arms and just held her as she passed on about an hour later. I cried. dd cried. I know it's "just a chicken," and death isn't 'the end' (at least, not imo), but still, to see a sentient being pass through life's cycle, in your arms, is a humbling - *very* humbling, and grounding experience.
This afternoon, we went to WildPlay's Monkido Adventure Course. It was... exhilarating! Zip-lines, and an aerial obstacle course for a couple hours in amongst the tall firs and cedars in the forest. dd did the kids' course with dh guiding from below. ds and I did 3 of 4 levels of the adults' course of increasing difficulty. It was pretty amazing. We all had the wits scared out of us at different places, but sometimes doesn't that just bring life down to the very basics? Doesn't it just make you appreciate life a little more when you scare yourself half to death?! Between the morning's and afternoon's events, it was a day to feel grateful for life. A day to honour Life.
Since the afternoon's excitement, it's taken several hours of recounting our adventures to settle down... I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight! The past couple nights we've had a froggy in our pond outside our living room window. There are few things better than the sound of a frog croaking on a starlit country night when you're drifting off to sleep! Sweet dreams, Kermit!
Grateful for all of life's blessings,
~n~
20 March 2011
Spring has Sprung!
This afternoon, spring is officially here! YAY for the Equinox! YAY for the returning sunshine and daylight and *warmth*! YAY for new growth and rebirth and all of that! To mark the return of spring, I shall hang laundry on the clothesline! YES! :D Nothing says spring like clothes on the clothesline, right?!
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Saturday. We met friends of ours from the sunshine coast in town and the kids played at PlayZone, an indoor play place, and my eldest and my friend and I took a round of mini-golf. Then we went for lunch together. Afterwards, while the car was in for a regular check-up, the kids & I tried to go on the adventure Monkido course at WildPlay, but you have to book in advance (and omg, it's expensive!)... so *maybe* on Wednesday when dad's home, depending on the weather, we'll try it. We hung out at Grammy & Grampa's for an hour and the kids chatted away happily, then home for a nice evening in. Grampa said how nice it was to have our dog over there all day; he'd been doing yardwork and as he has no dogs of his own at the moment, it was nice to have the canine company all afternoon. I'm glad Sophie was able to hang out there; I didn't think she'd have much of a day in the back of the car for hours.
Today there's nothing on the agenda. I see it's going to be sunny again... it's still quite cold, though. But I'm hoping to get outside and move some dirt, maybe plant the 10 emerald cedars I got yesterday ($3.50 each at Thrifty's!) along the front boulevard where I cleared all that broom last month. They're in 1 gall pots and quite small, still. I'll have to protect them from the marauding deer around here until they grow substantially taller, but it'll make a nice living fence/hedge along the boulevard. I haven't decided what to plant in front of them - maybe rosemary, lavender, or heather... or wildflower mix in the ditch. ANYTHING to keep the broom from coming back!!!
I made delicious 'cheezy' kale chips the other night in the dehydrator. I'd picked it fresh from the garden and wow, they're delicious kale chips. mmmm mmmm good. I'm planning on making some raw sushi today or at least some rice paper wraps. I've been making those often lately... they're pretty quick to make: shredded carrot and purple cabbage, alfalfa sprouts, some lettuce, and some avocado wrapped up altogether in a soaked rice paper. Eaten with some sweet thai chili sauce (no, not raw), it's delicious. The rice paper's not raw, either, but all it contains is "rice, water, salt" and it makes a quick wrap.
Our book club's going to read Vladimir Megre's Anastasia for our next book! Okay, I confess, it was my pick and I was *sooooo* excited to discuss it with them. I'm totally looking forward to re-reading it. If you've read it, I'd love to hear what you thought of it, too!
Enjoy your first day of spring! :D
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Saturday. We met friends of ours from the sunshine coast in town and the kids played at PlayZone, an indoor play place, and my eldest and my friend and I took a round of mini-golf. Then we went for lunch together. Afterwards, while the car was in for a regular check-up, the kids & I tried to go on the adventure Monkido course at WildPlay, but you have to book in advance (and omg, it's expensive!)... so *maybe* on Wednesday when dad's home, depending on the weather, we'll try it. We hung out at Grammy & Grampa's for an hour and the kids chatted away happily, then home for a nice evening in. Grampa said how nice it was to have our dog over there all day; he'd been doing yardwork and as he has no dogs of his own at the moment, it was nice to have the canine company all afternoon. I'm glad Sophie was able to hang out there; I didn't think she'd have much of a day in the back of the car for hours.
Today there's nothing on the agenda. I see it's going to be sunny again... it's still quite cold, though. But I'm hoping to get outside and move some dirt, maybe plant the 10 emerald cedars I got yesterday ($3.50 each at Thrifty's!) along the front boulevard where I cleared all that broom last month. They're in 1 gall pots and quite small, still. I'll have to protect them from the marauding deer around here until they grow substantially taller, but it'll make a nice living fence/hedge along the boulevard. I haven't decided what to plant in front of them - maybe rosemary, lavender, or heather... or wildflower mix in the ditch. ANYTHING to keep the broom from coming back!!!
I made delicious 'cheezy' kale chips the other night in the dehydrator. I'd picked it fresh from the garden and wow, they're delicious kale chips. mmmm mmmm good. I'm planning on making some raw sushi today or at least some rice paper wraps. I've been making those often lately... they're pretty quick to make: shredded carrot and purple cabbage, alfalfa sprouts, some lettuce, and some avocado wrapped up altogether in a soaked rice paper. Eaten with some sweet thai chili sauce (no, not raw), it's delicious. The rice paper's not raw, either, but all it contains is "rice, water, salt" and it makes a quick wrap.
Our book club's going to read Vladimir Megre's Anastasia for our next book! Okay, I confess, it was my pick and I was *sooooo* excited to discuss it with them. I'm totally looking forward to re-reading it. If you've read it, I'd love to hear what you thought of it, too!
Enjoy your first day of spring! :D
17 March 2011
Attitude of Gratitude
This morning dd and I lay in bed, watching the sun streaming across the trees in the backyard. It was BEAUTIFUL. I liked how it danced on the branches, on the needles of the tree, as the branches swayed in the light wind. She liked how it filtered through onto the trunks of other trees, the lightness of the trunk surrounded by the darkness of the forest and branches. We remarked that the trunks must be warm to the touch from the sunlight.
When I went out to let the chickens out, feeling the warmth of the sunshine on my back felt *SO* wonderful! SOOOOOOO good. The chickens are grateful for the sunshine, too; you can tell when they do their 'happy cluck' all around the yard... happy to be outside, happy for the sunshine, happy for some cracked corn. ;) I'm happy we've got chickens. Sure, it's a responsibility, but they're delightful and bring joy to our lives.
I am grateful for the beautiful, fresh kale growing in the garden. I had some in my smoothie the other day, but mostly I just like munching on it when I'm outside.
I am grateful for having two nights in a row out with other friends. Book club on Tuesday (I hadn't even read the book, but insisted on going, and I'm glad I did. Hearing what the others had to say about the book was really interesting.), and then the hs'ing support-or-socialize night last night - which I wouldn't have gone to if a friend hadn't suggested I drop my kids off at her house with her family. Tuesday the kids went to grammy & grampa's, who always invite them over and are exceedingly gracious. So two nights out. What a treat!
I am grateful for getting to sit with a friend I haven't seen in months at aikido on Monday night. Her son is back taking the class, which gives her and I an opportunity to reconnect. I cherish her friendship.
I am grateful for the preparations we've made as a family towards emergency preparedness. It doesn't have to be done all at once, but with communication, it has come together, bit by bit. We were talking about it (the hs'ing mamas) at swimming yesterday and it was good to know others are starting to talk more about getting kits together and so forth. I want to communicate about it, to get prepared, so that what the Japanese are dealing with right now isn't in vain. Their tragedy should be the wake-up for the rest of us to get prepared. Now.
I'm grateful for dh. He's a pillar of support in our life and works tirelessly (actually, he gets quite tired, LOL) so we can have the life we have. From the outside, it might look very gender-stereotypical - the breadwinning father and the stay-at-home mother, but these roles are not as they are because it's expected of us, because of outside social pressures. They are the way they are in our house because they've been discussed, negotiated, and chosen consciously. It just works well for our family.
Today I'm going to donate blood. I haven't donated in at least a year. I'm sure it will go well. It will be interesting to see how my iron levels are (as they test at the very beginning of the donation process).
We'll have to be prompt with piano lessons. Sometimes we arrive 5 mins late and then chit chat at the end, so we end up getting out of there 15 mins past when we're supposed to. But today, dd has her end-of-year figure skating show and we need to be on-time. Both sets of grandparents are coming to watch. I'm very much looking forward to the show! I need to get the videocamera ready to go.
UPDATE: I cancelled piano last-minute as donating blood took a *long* time. My appt was at 2:40 and I wasn't out of there until 4:10, and that was leaving about 10 mins before they like you to leave (they like you to sit and eat cookies for 15 mins after donating but I skedaddled after 5). But donating itself was painless, thanks to nurse Patrick, who's a pro at getting that disgustingly large needle into my deep veins. I have quite a bruise after, but it was a quick donation - under 10 mins with the needle actually in the arm. dd couldn't figure out why we were at a church to donate blood. "Shouldn't you go to the hospital to give blood away?" LOL too funny. Lamenting about the waiting during the screening process, dh said that's why he just won't donate blood. "Who has 2 hrs to sit there except retirees and maybe SAHMs?" And having to make appointments ahead of time, while I realize it's good for Cdn Blood Svcs so they know how many people to expect, discourages people from spontaneously dropping in. Still, as they say, "it's in you to give." Despite having to wait extra-long during screening, I'm glad I went.
When I went out to let the chickens out, feeling the warmth of the sunshine on my back felt *SO* wonderful! SOOOOOOO good. The chickens are grateful for the sunshine, too; you can tell when they do their 'happy cluck' all around the yard... happy to be outside, happy for the sunshine, happy for some cracked corn. ;) I'm happy we've got chickens. Sure, it's a responsibility, but they're delightful and bring joy to our lives.
I am grateful for the beautiful, fresh kale growing in the garden. I had some in my smoothie the other day, but mostly I just like munching on it when I'm outside.
I am grateful for having two nights in a row out with other friends. Book club on Tuesday (I hadn't even read the book, but insisted on going, and I'm glad I did. Hearing what the others had to say about the book was really interesting.), and then the hs'ing support-or-socialize night last night - which I wouldn't have gone to if a friend hadn't suggested I drop my kids off at her house with her family. Tuesday the kids went to grammy & grampa's, who always invite them over and are exceedingly gracious. So two nights out. What a treat!
I am grateful for getting to sit with a friend I haven't seen in months at aikido on Monday night. Her son is back taking the class, which gives her and I an opportunity to reconnect. I cherish her friendship.
I am grateful for the preparations we've made as a family towards emergency preparedness. It doesn't have to be done all at once, but with communication, it has come together, bit by bit. We were talking about it (the hs'ing mamas) at swimming yesterday and it was good to know others are starting to talk more about getting kits together and so forth. I want to communicate about it, to get prepared, so that what the Japanese are dealing with right now isn't in vain. Their tragedy should be the wake-up for the rest of us to get prepared. Now.
I'm grateful for dh. He's a pillar of support in our life and works tirelessly (actually, he gets quite tired, LOL) so we can have the life we have. From the outside, it might look very gender-stereotypical - the breadwinning father and the stay-at-home mother, but these roles are not as they are because it's expected of us, because of outside social pressures. They are the way they are in our house because they've been discussed, negotiated, and chosen consciously. It just works well for our family.
Today I'm going to donate blood. I haven't donated in at least a year. I'm sure it will go well. It will be interesting to see how my iron levels are (as they test at the very beginning of the donation process).
We'll have to be prompt with piano lessons. Sometimes we arrive 5 mins late and then chit chat at the end, so we end up getting out of there 15 mins past when we're supposed to. But today, dd has her end-of-year figure skating show and we need to be on-time. Both sets of grandparents are coming to watch. I'm very much looking forward to the show! I need to get the videocamera ready to go.
UPDATE: I cancelled piano last-minute as donating blood took a *long* time. My appt was at 2:40 and I wasn't out of there until 4:10, and that was leaving about 10 mins before they like you to leave (they like you to sit and eat cookies for 15 mins after donating but I skedaddled after 5). But donating itself was painless, thanks to nurse Patrick, who's a pro at getting that disgustingly large needle into my deep veins. I have quite a bruise after, but it was a quick donation - under 10 mins with the needle actually in the arm. dd couldn't figure out why we were at a church to donate blood. "Shouldn't you go to the hospital to give blood away?" LOL too funny. Lamenting about the waiting during the screening process, dh said that's why he just won't donate blood. "Who has 2 hrs to sit there except retirees and maybe SAHMs?" And having to make appointments ahead of time, while I realize it's good for Cdn Blood Svcs so they know how many people to expect, discourages people from spontaneously dropping in. Still, as they say, "it's in you to give." Despite having to wait extra-long during screening, I'm glad I went.
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