The Passing of Summer

August is going by so quickly and summer is flashing before my eyes as we speak (type?).

Earlier this month, I spent a few days with my brother at his cabin. Oddly, most residents don't spend summer weekends at the cabin;  they travel around the province and go to the cabin in winter! Well, that was fine with me as it was so peaceful and quiet. It was warm but overcast on this late Saturday morning; so after our huge brunch, Bob suggested we take the rubber boats out on the pond. Sure, I thought! I'd love to learn to row.

Well, perhaps others have what it takes, but I certainly didn't! Try as I might, rowing was not to be added to my list of accomplishments. My arms and hands didn't want to work in conjunction with one another; so I spent quite a bit of time going round in circles until my brother took pity on me, attached a line and rowed me to the other side before setting me free to make my own way back. I did eventually make it back to the other side, but little of my rowing was in a straight line. I zig zagged back and forth, stopping periodically to laugh at myself and refuel from my bag of almonds and juice pack as it took longer than was probably necessary! 

It was so lovely on the water! Just the sound of Bob's oars slipping in and out of the water and the occasional loon or woodpecker, the tranquility only broken by the sploshing and splatting my own oars like some drunken, anxious beaver! 

Back onshore, we changed into dry clothes (bums always get wet in rubber dingies). Then we took the radio out on the deck to listen to any Newfie's favorite Saturday radio program, "Big Tom's Shed". They play hits of the 70's and 80's; they also take song request calls from people around the province which can make for a lot of funny calls and a lot of laughs. Then just as we finished pouring a cold, frothy brew, the sunshine came out from behind a cloud as if to say "Sit. Relax. Enjoy."



There we were, sitting in our deck chairs overlooking the calm of the lake, sipping a much needed cold one, deliciously tired after our exertions, the sun warming our now-dry bodies and the dulcet sound of Neil Young's "Sugar Mountain" began to play. It was pure magic! One of those moments that I purposely ear marked.

"THIS is what life is all about", I thought. "Moments like these are what make life worth living; simple pleasures!"

Get out there and enjoy summer before it leaves again!




Footnote: This took place 3 weeks ago, but both my hands and wrists are suffering from terrible arthritis pain now after my feeble attempts at rowing. Sometimes, it's maybe better NOT to try something new. Oh well! C'est la vie! This too shall pass.

NO SOUP (hike) FOR YOU!

One of the most frustrating things for me in this aging process is the way I discover my limitations. Sometimes, it's a simple matter of doing what you've always done but finding out that you aren't as good or as flexible as you used to be (i.e. yoga poses); or perhaps your stamina is lacking and it takes you longer because you need to rest more (i.e. gardening). And other times, it's as simple as looking at something you would have done before and knowing that you don't want to take a chance this season (i.e. jumping into the river from that bridge). Okay! as much as I don't like losing these things, I'll adjust my lifestyle and keep soldiering on.

However, most of the time, I find my limitations by unintentionally hurting myself. There's nothing gentle about it; no gradual decline in ability; no warning bells or alarms saying "Danger, Will Robinson!"; no little voice in my head saying to be extra cautious.

 

AND to add insult to injury, the memory banks are so full that I often forget things like the need to adjust the time I've allotted to something, that I can't do more than one "extra" per weekend, and that my recovery time will be longer and that's it's absolutely necessary. After 60+ years of living one way, it takes a lot of time, love and patience with oneself to relearn or to even let go. (So I keep reminding myself!)

I walk and hike because I love it; nature feeds my soul and gives me renewed purpose. But I also do it because it's good for me: it keeps me flexible, my sleep and digestion are better, I'm happier and it helps me lose weight. But when I'm actively trying to take care of myself and my body rebels by telling me after the fact via prolonged pain and distress that I made a wrong choice, it feels like betrayal. I have met the enemy ...... and it is ME!

Yep, I overdid it last weekend; and then put my back out just by picking up a tissue Tuesday. There was no hike. There was no walk. There was no picnic at the beach with friends. Boo hoo! The smallest violin played for me in my own mind as I rend my clothes and poured ashes on my head!

I spent this weekend fairly inactive. I did go yard saling with my BFF, and afterwards we had tea and sarnies on her back patio in the sunshine. But I spent the majority of my weekend resting with a heating pad at my back watching Netflix (Hello "Last Kingdom" and "Orange is the New Black" ) and looking longingly out my window at the green hills which were calling me.  But then later Saturday afternoon as I was lying outside in my lounge chair, I was struck by the beauty all around me. I was reminded of how privileged I am to live where I do and enjoy the luxury of a sunny day, a comfy lounger, and the joy that can be found in simply existing on such a day in such a place. 
  

I may be slowing down quicker than I like, I may have to wear more strings on my fingers as reminders, I may have to adjust my lifestyle, and yes, sometimes I may be house-bound just because of my own stupidity. 

But life is still beautiful! And I will continue to pursue it and grab whatever beauty I can in whatever way I can. 

Happy Summer Solstice

My heart has been heavy for the past week with the horrific news reports of what happening to immigrants and their children in the U.S. Now that we at least know families will be kept together from this point forward, I feel a little less sad. But, of course, there has been no report on reuniting families that have been torn apart already. My heart breaks and my head is reeling with anger at this. I am so sorry for my American neighbours. But as there is little I can do here in Canada, I sit and wait for some semblance of humanity to surface in those responsible for perpetrating this crime. And I pray. 

 

And then I turn my focus to my work (there's always some issue to advocate for or against at a women's centre); and I turn my focus to my children (one is currently visiting Tokyo so I'm living vicariously through her); and I look for joy in the little world closest to me. 


I've had some stellar evening walks! It's finally warming here in western Newfoundland with perfect temperatures for walking. Last evening's loop took me past the seaside with the sound of the gulls and the waves gently lapping (and the occasional car speeding past) and then through the forested former rail line with birdsong and the scent of flowers .... and barbeques! Yum!

Beauties found in the ditch along the way. 

Last night, I took an especially long walk to clear the cobwebs and dust out of my head. (Literal dust: there are renovations happening at the office, and I eat dust in spite of the mask I wear.) I also just wanted to leave the big work to God while I enjoy His creation. Then I came home, put dinner in the oven and turned on some Buena Vista Social Club to listen to while I soaked in a lavender and epsom salts bath. 

Yeah! That did the trick!

The joy of the unexpected.....

Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving; and this year my  daughter, Molly, is hosting us .... which means a trip to the city (and NO dishes for me to wash!) So, my plans for my b'day were a day at home going through my winter wardrobe to see what shrunk again while in boxes under the bed. Darn dust bunnies!

But early Sat morning when the rain and clouds began to clear, it was "Let's go eat cake and sushi in Halifax"! The girls were all for it. 

The marvelous start of our day began with "breakfast" at Julien's French Patisserie. It's located in the beautiful Hydrostone district of Halifax, an area rebuilt with stone houses after the destructive Halifax explosion of 1917. Julien's has such a great variety of sweets and savorites which made it too difficult to decide what treat to have ..... so I bought 3! After all, b'days only come once a year! 

I then dropped the girls at the mall to meet up with friends, and I headed to Value Village to walk off breakfast and look for nothing in particular. (Nothing in particular cost me $30.) Back at the mall, I treated myself to a new facial cream from The Body Shop and did a little early Xmas shopping. 

And at 5 pm after we'd all worked up an appetite finding bargains, we headed to my favorite little sushi restaurant B-Well Cafe. It was Chihiro's first sushi experience in such a long time, so she was very happy. Annkatrin had never eaten Japanese before but liked her chicken terriyaki bowl (but not so much the sushi she tried). And I was so happy to have both tempura and inari sushi. Yum! 

At home with aching feet, I opened my gifts from the girls - each one unique and lovely with a touch of homemade. I am blessed to have such great kids. Then we sat around until the wee hours of the morning playing Yahtzee and Phase 10 and eating sour gummy worms and the rest of my "breakfast". (Sugar hangover today!) 

While the sun shines, a person has to take advantage of it and get out and enjoy. There's always tomorrow for chores, right.  

And tomorrow is here! Today is winter clothes day ..... and perhaps I'll make some Million Dollar relish ... and I know I'll do a lot of relaxing ... all wrapped in the joy of an unexpectly wonderful birthday. 

Old Friends ..... Bookends!

What's sweeter than an unexpected visit from a long ago, absent friend.  25+ years since we'd sat and laughed and shared.  And although we'd kept up via others, it was wonderful to wrap arms around each other in greeting, look deep into each others eyes and say "Hi!  Long time, no see."

The weekend also contained beautiful sunshine, a trip to my local Frenchies thrift store (where I scored this pair of Tom's for $10), brunch at the farmer's market, and lots of relaxation on the deck with my Saturday crossword puzzle and a beverage.  

One of those beverages was a cocktail made from soda water and the Strawberry Vodka that I made last weekend.  Look at that beautiful color.  And it tasted like fresh strawberries.  So yummy!

I used the "bleached" strawberries and a couple of quarts of fresh strawberries to make strawberry freezer jam ..... but all the strawberries floated to the top of the jars!  Sad?  No; not at all. I get strawberry jam on the top layer and strawberry sauce on the bottom. 

The weekend included a much anticipated, much desired visit to 
Hell's Bay microbrewery  in Liverpool NS where I picked up a couple of growlers (large, brown jugs) of beer -- one as a gift and one as a sampler for Amy and I.  There's a lovely relaxed attitude between us both concerning things like formal mealtimes, so that means plenty of opportunity for impromptu snacking on delicious treats.   

Do try these "Beanitos"; they are scrumptious ..... especially with a roasted red pepper dip.  

Sunday morning, I attempted to counter my weekend indulgences with a 1/2 hr walk to meet another friend for our monthly coffee chat; and then my return walk home was to be on the trail/old railway line which I'd never attempted before.  What fun! 

Note of advice:  Do not attempt to walk for 1.5 hr at noon on a hot summer day when your water bottle is only half full and the last half of the walk is uphill! Oy vey! Thank goodness for the A&W at the 3/4 mark. That ice cold root beer and padded swivel chair felt soooo good.  I made it home in one piece thanks in part to Albert and Walter!

This week has been much less adventurous as my shins and feet are still recovering.  How easily we forget our age and ability, huh!

Boozy Berries and R 'n' R!

Summer berries!  Yummy!  I know that we never run out of wonderful ideas for using and preserving, but isn't it great that people keep coming up with new ones.

Because of Hurricane Arthur, I didn't get to take Nagisa strawberry picking as I'd promised.  So, Friday we visited a local u-pick and purchased berries:  8 quarts to be precise.  We cleaned and trimmed and bagged several quarts for the freezer.  But one new idea (new to me, anyway) piqued my interest.  So I gave it a try.      

Strawberry Vodka

I got the idea from a rabbit trail that began with checking out "Cherry Bounce" at The Runaway Spoon (another recipe I plan on trying) which led me to other boozy fruit recipes and then eventually to David Lebovitz and the simple recipe for strawberry vodka --- just the choicest fruit, a decent vodka and a week of your time.  I'll let you know how it tastes.

Saturday, Amy and I dropped Nagisa off in the city; she's headed for a month long summer camp.   And I was headed for freedom! She's a honey of a girl, don't get me wrong.  But sometimes Mama doesn't want to feed the babies on time; sometimes Mama just wants tea and toast for supper; or sometimes Mama wants to walk naked from the bathroom to her bedroom, etc. etc.

After we dropped Nagisa off, we went to several thrift stores Sally Ann had 50% off selected items; and of course, I had a 30% off coupon for Value Village.  Even more fun, we visited the Asian grocer for Japanese and Korean supplies.  Then we found this little gem:  Cafe Aroma Latino and stopped in for lunch.

The thing I most liked about Cafe Aroma (besides the food) was that you could order one of each thing:  the portions were small and the prices were as well.  

We began in Mexico with a beef taco as well as Colombia for a couple of empanadas; they were gorgeous!  Full of flavor and not at all spicy.  Then we visited Guatamala for chuchitos and a couple of tamales; but sadly, we were a little disappointed in them as they were fairly bland.  We probably should gone to El Salvador for pupusas.  Oh well!  Next time!  But overall, we were pleased with the meal and the lovely decor.

They also had a small shop attached where we filled our basket with mole sauce, purple tortillas, dried hot peppers, tajine, hot sauce and all sorts of other goodies.  Such fun!  I love finding new food sources.

I'm looking forward to my month of relative freedom.  Yesterday after work, Amy greeted me with an amazing super supper salad and yummy healthy cookies made from oats, almond meal, chocolate ships and coconut. Don't you love it when someone else does the cooking.

Later in the week, I'll show you my thrift store finds.

In the meantime bloggies -
It's summer!  

Breathe.
Relax.
Swim.
Explore.
Enjoy.

And eat!

What delicious items have been on your table lately?

Are you Sprung?

What a "large" day out there in Bridgewater NS folks:  blue skies, sunshine, positively balmy at -1 degree C.  Gorgeous!


The electric heat is turned off upstairs and the windows are all open just a crack to let in some fresh "air, air, air, for Lord's sake!" (in the words of Eloise's Nanny).


I'm spending the day gloriously alone just puttering around the house.  The laundry is in the washing machine --- and I may even hang a thing or two on the line (and bring it back in later stiff as a board).  I think I'll also shovel the snow off the back deck ... in anticipation of near(??) future blanket-covered, hatted 'n mittened coffee breaks.  Short coffee breaks. YES.  But ohhhhh!  The joy that thought brings to my heart.

We have sprung forward, people.  

No matter that we will see snow again this week:

We have sprung forward!

Spring Forward" by Mary Robertson  
http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Spring-Forward/293334/1926925/view

Happy Easter!

It was the most glorious of days today.  Plus 12 degrees with bright sunshine.  I have so many bulbs coming up in the front garden and there were at least 8 crocus in bloom.  

I wore my jean jacket!  I walked.  I thrifted and had fries and a Moolate from Dairy Queen. Ayaka and I made cheesecake and strawberry mousse filled hollow chocolate eggs for tomorrow's dessert.  Then we watched Harry Potter and Orphan Black.

I gave the girls their Easter Bunny pails early because we'll be doing Easter breakfast at church then scurrying around preparing prime rib dinner for 8-10 of us.  So, at we sat in front of the TV, we happily munched on Easter eggs.  I ate a Cadbury cream egg; I like that you can only buy them at Easter.  Makes it special.

Know what else is special?  Having such a great relationship with God and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and the joy and freedom that He brings.

Because as much as I love family meals and eating Cadbury eggs, I love my life in Christ.

Happy Easter my friends.  He is risen!

The magic of sunshine!

Hands up everybody who's ready for spring.

Me too!  So, when the sunshine came out yesterday afternoon, I opened my blinds at work and let it warm my back.  When I got home at 5, it was still shining; and I had to stand in the driveway for several minutes just to drink it in.  

We all know that sunshine is necessary for optimum health.  But in the midst of snowstorms (3 in the past 2 weeks) and rainy days (4 in the last 2 weeks), even those few hours of indirect sunshine  had a magical affect on me.  I could feel the stress sliding off; I could feel endorphins and serotonin being produced; I could feel my hormones balancing themselves and all the stars and planets beginning to align.

Ahhhhhh!

• It made me want to take a 30 min walk --- but it was freezing and I was hungry.  
• It made me want to eat spa foods -- so the girls and I made a huge salad with my favorite blend of lettuces (or is more than one lettuce "lettuci"??)  and ate broccoli quiche with iced Jasmine green tea. Yum yum!  
• It made me want to stand on my back deck and shout "Thank You, God, for this tangible sign of life and hope!" -- but I said it silently. 

" Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun."  Ecclesiastes 11:7

Later that evening with the promise of spring in my veins, I treated myself to a spa evening.  I soaked up to my neck in an epsom salts/eucalyptus oil bath; then I exfoliated every inch of my body that I could reach (thereby ensuring that nothing negative could possibly stick to this ole' smoothie!).  Why I even painted my fingers and toes!  

I get a little excited about sunshine and the arrival of spring! 

Only 25 days!

Happy Friday everyone.