Words

2012 is here, and I promised myself a theme word for the new year. This was harder than I thought it would be.
I used to raise tropical fish and kept several aquariums at one time. I recall how important it was to maintain the pH balance of the water, always testing the conditions to monitor acidic vs alkaline levels. When my fish tank was out of balance, the water sometimes was murky and my angel fish started swimming sideways. Like the fish tanks, my life needs balance as well. Balance is actually a way of life. It is finding an even position so you don’t need a matchbook under a wobbly leg, because at the root of every balance problem is a lack of stability. Every wobbly table has a leg that is in trouble. In order to bring more balance in you need to take out what unbalances your life. That includes people, projects, and duties that waste your time or drain your energies. Sound harsh? Not really, it’s true. You also need to bring in what is missing, like people, projects, recreation, calmness or God, to replace what you have eliminated or what is missing.
I like the concept of the 4-fold person: one who balances the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components of her life. Does this mean then, that BALANCE will be my word for 2012? No. Achieving balance in my life is really about change, and I don’t mean the stuff that Chris has jingling in his side pocket. CHANGE is tough, especially when it means throwing out old habits and adopting new ones, and to gain balance, I will need to change some things for sure. So is CHANGE my 2012 word? I don’t think so.
We all have the potential to change; I know I do. Potential defines who we are, and what we can excel at. So the question becomes 3 fold – do I have the potential to make the changes that will bring about balance? My answer is yes; but only if I am PROACTIVE - only if I take the action to effectuate the change; only if I take control of situations by causing something positive to happen rather than waiting to respond to it after it happens. Being PROACTIVE in 2012 is the key, but before anything else I need to make the COMMITMENT to want to create the balance I need. I must be Proactive and make a Commitment to create the Changes I need to achieve Balance. So it seem I have more than one word for 2012 doesn't it?

Another Year Ending

Can you believe that 2011 is almost done? Part of me is just so happy to be moving to a brand new year.
After all, doesn't it mean a "new beginning", out with the old and in with the new? I have always laughed at that, but we all fall for it. That magic time of year when you flip the calendar and everything miraculously changes or falls into place. What happened to that old saying: "today is the first day of the rest of your life" or "why wait for spring, do it now!" If you remember those sayings then you don't need January 1st to set goals, or throw out old habits, or resolve to do or not do this or that; and besides, we don't always get to start over on January 1st.
In many cases, things are just as they are, and no matter the date on the calendar, some things are just the way they are, and no date on the calendar will change that. Maybe our health issues, or finances or relationships are not in a position to just flip over like a miracle on that magic day and be right as rain. In other words, January 1st isn't always synonymous with a new start. Some things will carry over and that is just the way it is.

So that said, as I type (and yes this is usually where it all happens), I look back over the last 12 months to see what kind of year it was. For me, the best way to do this is simply by taking a journey backwards through my blog. I don't know how I managed before blogging. Ok, I just took that magical trip down 2011 Memory Lane. It appears to have produced a good crop of raspberries, zucchini and cauliflower. This is good. We took a trip overseas, had some good company, made some new friends, and added a few outbuildings to the property. But something is missing and I think it was a theme. I didn't have a theme for 2011. I simply must have a "word", just one word for 2012 which can be my theme. That word will inspire, motivate, lead me through 2012 (she said).
I shall be back in the new year and let you know what the word is.
In the meantime:
To all my friends and family who crossed my path or visited in 2011 - thank you.
To those of you who took time to read my blog, or even comment - thank you.
To those of you who keep in touch via email or even by phone - thank you.
To those who have come into my life for the first time this year - thank you.
For those who have encouraged, inspired and motivated me - thank you.
To those who have cried with me, laughed with me and fought with me - thank you.
To those who included me in their prayers - thank you.

Wishing you only good things for 2012.

Christmas Nostalgia

Nostalgia is the good feeling you get when you remember things from your past.

Wikipedia’s says: The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in an idealized form. The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (nóstos), meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and (álgos), meaning "pain, ache". It was described as a medical condition, a form of melancholy in the Early Modern period and later an important trope in Romanticism.

For me, nostalgia represents the "good old days”, an image, a smell, a song, a tradition or some simple memory from my childhood. Nostalgia makes me sit back and smile and think, wow, that was fun. Most of my days are usually filled with routine activities that aren't significant – commuting to work, buying groceries, or sweeping the floor. When Christmas rolls around, I am particularly nostalgic, and I guess I tap into the past to remind me that my life is meaningful, that I have values and good relationships.

It seems like this time of year is so busy, so chaotic and so stressful for everyone. I started to think of years ago when Christmas was a magical time. We didn't get many presents BUT we never expected to, either, so the ones we did get were special. And it all started with the Advent calendar we hung on the wall or cupboard. Each of us kids taking a turn to open a new day on the calendar, counting each day, and waiting for the birth of Jesus on Christmas day.

I remember getting a big beautiful wide eyed doll just like one I had seen in a store window - couldn't believe she was actually mine that Christmas morning! And then there was the Christmas when I received 2 very special monkeys, one red, one black. I still have one, minus one arm, they were my treasures.

I remember one year being so excited when I opened a package with a blue velvet dress, handmade by my mom. She was sewing late on Christmas Eve, a red velvet dress for my sister Joan, and I had wished she was really making me one instead. Obviously she had, and who knows how long into the night she sewed to get both of them done. My mother was unfairly widowed in her early forties, and I know she sacrificed a lot to put anything under the tree - no credit cards in those days - everyone lived within their means and even us children knew the limits. I remember mom giving me some coins to do my own Christmas shopping. Sometimes I would find a teacup in the thrift store for .10c other times a little hankie. Always something simple for mom, and she was always pleased with the little gifts; and I spent wisely. When I think back to the times we ate noodles and prunes, or sauce on toast for dinner several days a week, it was my Mom's way of insuring gifts under that tree.

It was a favourite holiday, and we always had Christmas music in the house. I remember the Jim Reeves and Burl Ives songs my mother played, and our house smelled like Christmas for days before and after. Evergreen forest smell from the live tree we would decorate with our old special decorations. Some were homemade, like this hollow egg shell turned into Santa. It's a treasure I keep that is more than 50 years old now.

Then there was the smell of shortbread baking in the oven and chocolate doodads on the counter, roasting turkey (that usually came from a Christmas hamper we would receive from the Kinsmen each year), plum pudding and even candle wax. A big part of Christmas was midnight mass. I would have to have a nap at 9pm so my mom could wake me at 11pm to get ready for church. Then there was the beautiful choir singing carols, followed by high mass and incense – more sounds, smells and memories. To this day I cry when I hear certain carols and I wonder why. It was Silent Night that brought it on this Christmas mass. A hidden nostalgia no doubt.

The other part of Christmas was the extended family---aunts, uncles and cousins, and of course my grammy Bukowsky was usually with us as well, usually wearing a classy caftan and big clip-on earings. Despite bickering or crowding, there was always an extra card table that could be opened up for a few more to sit around at dinner time, and somehow the walls always were elastic. Now many of these people have passed on, and others have gone their own way, but the gathering and enjoying of one another are still precious memories, and part of my Christmas nostalgia.

Christmas was special in those days - no expectations, just genuine happiness over what we did receive. We were more selfless and more kind. The house was warm and we had clothes to wear. It was all simpler then, we were happy with a board game or home-made clothes. Now parents feel they have to buy their kids the latest, greatest, most expensive toys, clothes or gadgets. It's sad. I hear people say they want a simpler Christmas. Well, don't buy those expensive gifts - don't even start that tradition. Go back to the basics. We all can create the simpler, more innocent days of Christmas, no matter how old or young we are.

Merry Christmas 2011.

Our quiet Christmas included a simple creche and nativity scene lit with colored lights. Add to this our 2 cats, 2 dogs and we.
Simple as that.

Christmas Eve

A quiet Christmas season for Chris and I. Perhaps by circumstance and perhaps by happenstance. Living on Bowen has its challenges for sure, but it also has a uniqueness about it that you don't find in the city: a good sense of family community.

Christmas Eve we joined our friends Susan and Bob down the road for a fabulous dinner. Susan owns a shop on Bowen called Fabulous Finds, so it is only natural to expect a fabulous meal, in a fabulous home, with fabulous tree trimmings and fabulous company.
Bob and Susan have a unique collection of Christmas ornaments for there tree, collected from around the world. There are no two the same and some are very exotic. I particularly liked this frog ornament.

We had the most fabulous appetizer which I will have to try to make. It was pitted dates stuffed with a roasted almond and some goat cheese, wrapped in bacon and broiled until the bacon was crisp. Amazingly delicious.

Bob BBQ'd a tenderloin to perfection, topped with sauted shitake mushrooms, and Susan cooked parmeson-topped scalloped potatoes and roasted carrots with rosemary.
Pecan pie and whipped cream for desert.

It was a great evening, and we tried some excellent new wines. Here we are, Chris and I, just sitting down to dinner.

After dinner Susan and I tried our best to harmonize a few favorite Christmas carols, while Bob, below, gave some attention to their favorite kitty, "Peanut".

And the Winner Is......!

Chris Weyler - Bowen Island Poker Association! After 43 weeks of Thursday night poker league tourny and cash games, and despite finishing only 200dreth's of a point behind the big winner, Chris was recognized as the "2011 best overall player of the year" and awarded this trophy". A great finish Chris! Can you find a good place for it to live?

To Err is Human, To Age is Devine!

It was my birthday yesterday - no earth shattering event by any means, but nevertheless my special day. The sun was out, I had the day off, and a day to spend as I wished. Jake and I had 3 walks, one to the new mailbox up the road, where I picked up a nice stack of birthday cards as you can see below. I puttered in the garden, deadheading and cleaning up the finished blooms. Next I met my friend Robyn for lunch at the new CupCutter restaurant at the golf course, but forgot my camera. I had a lovely salad and 4 prawn shooters. When I got back home I pulled the fountain out of the pond and watched the fish swimming in sparking clear water. When the fountain comes out, I know I am ready for winter. Dinner was at Tuscany with my friend Joanne. I had the most delicious linguine vongole: Joanne had an incredibe special apple pizza with carmelized onions and cheese: Later that evening went down the road to Bob and Susan's who made me a special rum cake with whipping cream! Very yummy. Chris was in town all day for another event, so he and I will celebrate tonight or tomorrow.

Lavender Harvest

I just love lavender. I have a variety of plants - English, French and Spanish - about 12 in total. I find the English and French lavender to be the best producers, and the hardiest. If I had to choose, it would be English lavender. I was very late this year and should have harvested my lavender sooner, but better late than never I say. I harvested only one plant this afternoon, and as I write, I feel intoxicated by the aroma around me. The plant I harvested gave me an incredible yield. Without having a plan, I filled 7 small vases and placed one in every room of the house. It smells heavenly, and is so relaxing. Next I filled a few sachet bags with the flower buds, though not sure what I will do with them yet. I have a bowl of flower buds left and will likely try to make some more sachets, or perhaps fill a sock and keep some in the drawers. Next year, I will start early and get creative. For now, I will just be soothed and calmed by the scent of this wonderful perennial.

October Bonfire!

What a beautiful fall day today!! Warm, maybe 16c. Today just called out to us - "have a bonfire". So we did. A few phone calls, and some good neighbors popped over to join us around the fire for drinks and BBQ hotdogs.

Interesting Wine

A friend gave me this bottle of California wine the other day. It was a lovely merlot and I just loved the label "little black dress".

Food

I'm on a diet. Yes, again. It's what I do. At least once a year, for as long as I can remember. This year is the toughest though, as I have the most weight to lose. Oh well, it's my own doing, but I am motivated, and where there is a will there is always a way. So far I have lost 10lbs. I am not going to tell you how much I need to lose, other than saying it is significantly more, but I am in the right head space for dieting. Tonight I made a cool stir fry with what I could find in the fridge: zucchini, mushrooms and brussel sprouts (shredded with no core), and then lots of chopped garlic and onions. I sauteed just enough to have the brussel leafs limpen. Very tasty indeed, even Chris had some for his dinner too. Dieting can be a lot of fun, especially if you experiment with new cooking styles and dishes.

Wood, Wood, and More Wood

This was another "wood" weekend, with a "two-fold" agenda. You may recall my mentioning the neighbor's "bad fence", well one of the bad patches of the fence is now hidden by a new wood storage shed running parallel to the fence, and adjacent to the vegetable garden. Since we were lucky to come by a fresh fallen cedar that some nice neighbors down the road had cut from their frontage, Chris figured it was the perfect excuse to build another wood storage shed; after all, we had to put the wood someplace because the other woodshed was full, and this one could be strategically placed to cover part of the bad fence. The 14 year old boys next door split the wood for us, and Chris built the wood shed very cleverly I would say, given the slope of the land. I moved and stacked all the wood into the shed on Saturday. Since it is the beginning of fall, and the weather held, I also started the never ending task of chopping kindling. It's one of my favorite things to do! I managed one cedar chest full, plus another smaller box. I just love wood, and how it smells and feels.

At our local island festival in a park right near the cove, we had a surprise visit by the Coast Guard hovercraft. What a noise it made coming into shore. The water was so shallow, I was surprised to think it would even come in. Once in though, it just deflated to sit on the shoreline for all to view or ask questions of the crew. I thought it was a pretty cool sight considering I had never seen a hovercraft that close up.

Fish For Tea, Baked or Fried??

Today Chris thought we should go out and catch our own dinner. Going for salmon meant traveling quite a ways to get to where the salmon were, so we thought we would just go and try for cod. The first drop we made landed us a small Sole. Enough for one. Chris said it was a baby halibut, but I know better! We promptly landed a second one the same size, so we now had dinner for 2! Chris wanted to get some cod, but we first had to battle those nasty dog fish. But then, just off the side of this little rock called Onion Island, we started to nail some small cod. Enough to get 3 or 4 meals out of (in the freezer). All in all it was a fun day. As we started home, I snapped this shot of our island (westside) with a good view of our only mountain, Mt. Gardner.

Beet Root

Chris planted lots of beet root this spring and we managed to harvest over 30 small beetroots. Since Chris planted them, it was his choice as to what to do with them. He chose pickling. We did it tonight. Not being a preserver or having any of the preserving instinct, I simply googled a recipe for pickled beets and they were done in less than 1/2 an hour. Four jars as you can see. Wow! I know have a great recipe for pickled zuchini!

Lavender and Ludicrous

Saturday morning started pretty much like most others... garage sales! There were 3 of them, and I did very well. My first find was Tuki, a Polynesian statue (on the left), not to be confused with Jake. Next came my purchase of a couple of patio umbrellas. This red one was the favorite, and right away found a home in front of Chris's workshop. Other finds were a cool fish chime, an ornamental olive oil can from Nice, and a cedar chest that we will use to store kindling. My next event for the day was staining some landscape ties. I did a dreadful job and picked the wrong stain color. But once it dried I thought it might be a good contrast to the yellow spartium, the lavender and the purple cone flowers. The lavender against the crazy funky shack is now accented by the purple/cherry ties. It is quite ludicrous really if you are right in front of all this.

Cabbage Patch Cat

There really is much to be said about having a cat, and about being in the presence of one. They don't say much, and they certainly don't suffer from insomnia like many of us do, but they really know how to improve the look of the corner garden when it's the last spot in the yard that is getting any sun. Our little Smoke loves the red cabbage garden and he loves to have his photo taken. Always rolls over at the sound of the lens opening. It's simply impossible to look at a cat like this and feel any stress. What a great calming drug to have around the house.

Director's Chair

Finally I have the chair I've always wanted. For $5 bucks it was a great steal at this weekend's local garage sale. It is the right height, very solid and really comfy. The best part is that it totally folds up for easy carrying or transport. I can now sit and direct the rest of this movie of my life called the "Accidental Home Owner". Perhaps from the height of my new chair I can better direct the acts, scenes and changing plots.

Stuffies and Dogs

I have listened to so many dog owners who won't give their dog a stuffy toy because they rip them and eat the stuffing. Well, Jake is different. He has this "Monster" stuffy that I won through Monster.ca job board at my last HR conference and it goes everywhere with him and he likes to sleep with it as well. It truly is odd but he just loves this little toy.

Cat Days of Summer

Funny how cats can put those lazy days of summer right into perspective, and they can do it so effortlessly. I hadn't seen Smoke or the Gypsy girl all morning, until I went for a wander in the front garden There, ever so relaxed and into their own dreamtime, I found them both in the middle of their mid-morning naps. Such a relaxed approach to life. They slowly open one eye when the camera snaps and then simply roll over. While on my knees on the grass taking the pictures, I know that I am closer to their level and can feel what they see from below - faces of people who depend on them and faces of people on whom they depend.

Today's Wood Works

The neighbor boy Sean and his Dad Peter came over today to help split our wood. I wasn't home at the time (lucky me), so it was just Chris to help them. The splittage was waiting for me in a big pile in front of the wood storage crib when I got home. It was my job to stack it. Took me about an hour and a half to stack, but I am ready for the next lot tomorrow, and then we will be done for the winter.

Sunflower

My first one ever grown! It just opened today and what a lovely lemon color the petals are. I wonder how big it will grow?

Rembrandt ?

I have just discovered the art of staining wood!!! It started with a quick re-stain of our good neighbor's (and ours) fence and gate. I had never stained before... and I loved it. Then coincidentally, our friend Rick up the road gave us a whole lot of cans of stain because he was moving. Well.. I have now been going crazy. I want to stain everything in sight. It is so much easier than painting.