I'm afraid that this blog has fallen to the fate of everything that requires a degree of effort.  Since starting to work full time, 12 hour night shifts, I have slept my way through blogging and painting and just about everything else that I have ever enjoyed.

So folks, I will be back now and then until March of 2016 when I throw in my hat and join the ranks of unemployed and loving it.

Thank you for every comment that you have left along the way.  I will continue to visit your lovely blogs.

Wendy

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle....

Today I visited my best friend.  I can say that in all honesty.  

I've known Fran for 25 years.  She watched me struggle through to the end of a  difficult marriage.  She guided me when I assumed the role of a single parent.  She introduced me to a better man.  She has always been on the sidelines cheering me on.  I was always MORE than "good enough" in her opinion.

Visits were always encouraged.  She always made time for me, and if I arrived an an in opportune time, I never knew it.  She restored my sense of self worth and value.

She told be that I was HER best friend.  I am sure that she told everyone the same, but she was believable...and I never doubted her word.

  

In her presence, my cup filled and runneth over.  Is this not how every "best friend" should make you feel? 

Fran is the embodiment of goodness and pure love.

She is living in a nursing home now, and today I summoned up the courage to go and visit her.  I wasn't sure how I would find her, as her family told me that she had become confused, and difficult at times.  Would she remember me?  I fretted over that...so I silently whispered the prayer she had taught me 25 years ago.

"Is there any remover of difficulty save God?  Say praised be God. He is God.  All are his servants and all abide by his bidding."

I approached her and watched as she lay sleeping.  How tiny she is now.  At 100 years of age, she has become smaller, and more frail.  She reminded me of tiny newly hatched chick...transparent...translucent....so very fragile....

We had a good visit.  As I reminded her of who I was, and of who she was, she began to waken and become that person that I knew so well.  We reminisced...and she did well.  Her mannerisms are the same...the way she used to laugh, click her tongue and flick her finger when she was amused, returned.

I reminded Fran of the trip we made to Ottawa to visit the Peace Tower.  Many years before, her father, Frank Hollister, had created the stained glass windows that adorn the Tower.  She was given the red carpet treatment and was taken on a personal tour so that she could see her father's creation close up.  She needed to get closer than most, as she has been legally blind for most of her life.

She told me that she remembers the trip.  If she doesn't, she was very convincing.  

I love you, Fran.  You filled all the empty places.  You still do.

Oh boy!  I have a new camera!  Our large camera was cumbersome and awkward to tote around...so I have been shopping for something reasonably priced and one that did a much better job shooting macro, because I LOVE macro!!

The Canon Powershot was on sale at $116.00!  Will you look at the macro I shot!?!

I think I feel a painting coming on!!

Social Media

Who in the room has not heard of Ffacebook?  Raise your hands, folks...  And how many of you do not belong to Facebook?  No hands??  Oh, wait...there's one!  Oops!  Forgot to count my own hand!  two!!

Up until February I belonged to FB.  I left when my account and my privacy was compromised.  I haven't looked back...until now.

I miss the cute pics of my grand babies and hearing of the small things that are shared on a daily basis.  A fish died...a play at school....a beloved pet's death....  I miss hearing about these things.

I miss the contact with my nursing school buddies, and my work friends.  I miss my S-I-L's and their families.

I miss my BFF.

I may have had 70 or 80 friends on my friend list....or so I thought...but since leaving, I have heard from none...other than a few close family members.  This is a little surprising and a little disappointing, as after all, my friend list was long....or so I thought....

FB, it seems, creates an illusion/delusion of friendships and relationships.

I may go back one day.  I hope I don't.  It all depends on how lonely I get, actually.  For now, though, I'll  refrain.  I have more time on my hands since leaving.  I have good friends that I have made through blogging, and for the most part, I have more in common with those people than I did with 90% of the friends I had on FB.

Do you cultivate your garden of friends? Do you nurture relationships?

BTW...  Thank you to all that visit, and leave comments.  I know that I post infrequently due to work commitments....but I love it when you say hello.  I know it takes a minute to leave a comment, but your visit, and comments are really appreciated.

Looking Forward to More Days Like This....

"Papa?  What's this button for?"

"It's the horn.  Don't push it, ok?"

"I won't Papa..."

"Sorry Papa"

He's REALLY sorry....  Can you tell?

I have to thank my daughter for sending me this beautiful quote this morning.  Lately both of us have faced challenges with close friends and family.  It is always disheartening when friends question your integrity, or when friends or family choose not to acknowledge something done well because thy feel you might be looking for compliment...but in the end, what really matters is written below in beautiful prose.

Homes and Lessons Learned Along the Way

I have been thinking a lot about houses this week.  I believe that is because our current home is offering challenges which has got me to contemplating what it is that I want in my home.

There have been a number of homes that I have grown up in, that I remember with great fondness.  And, yes,  I have grown up in each and every one...and learned valuable lessons along the way.

My first home was othe one my dad built on Harlton Crescent in Toronto.  It was a large two storey home.  My brother and I shared a bedroom upstairs.  It was in this home that I learned survival tactics.  As hurricane hazel headed towards Toronto, adults whispered the news and concerns.  My brother heard a lot more than I did...thankfully so, for that night he diligently tied my kimono strap to my wrist and secured as many of my toys as possible so that when our parents came up to carry us to safer ground, our treasured toys would be dragged along with us.  Many lives were lost that night.  Our family, personally, knew many.

For a short time, my grandparents lived in our basement after selling their home.  I dearly loved them both.  Surrounded by such a loving family, this home always felt safe, and warm.  I learned the value of a loving family.

We moved when I was eight years old, to Etobicoke.  I grew up on Moford Crescent, and when I left to study nursing, I did not move back home.  I eventually married, and moved to Pinegrove, near Woodbridge, along the banks of that same river that claimed so many lives when Hurricane Hazel hit.

My first home was 107 years old.  It had charm and character.  It had flaws but I loved that home in spite of the fact that it needed a lot of work, and wasn't perfect.

My mother hooked this picture of that home...

My marriage wasn't perfect either but for many years we loved each other.  I this home I learned acceptance, patience, and tolerance.  I fell back upon the survival tactics I had learned so many years ago.

We moved up to Milford Bay and into a home that was to be our forever home.  Unfortunately, that was not to be, and my children and I moved into Bracebridge after the sale of our home in Milford Bay. I worked hard and supported my family on one income.  I developed a strength of character and a strong resolve, and again fell back on survival tactics learned along the way.

Along the way, I met hubby and my family grew.  When my children moved on, the house was no longer needed, so we packed up and moved to Beaverton to be closer to my dad, and to shorten Wayne's drive to work.  We purchased my parents home.  I learned that less IS more, and after 8 years, started looking for something smaller...which brings me to where I am now.

We went for a drive one day, saw a small house on the Talbot River, and fell in love.  It was a cottage that had been winterized, sitting on peirs.  The grounds were beautiful...and we were separated from neighbors by large lots.  A beautiful farm was in our backyard, where horses and llamas and sheep grazed.  There was even a large deck with a screened in room.  What more could one possibly want?

We were challenged that first year, by a septic tank which was not up to code and did not work.  After having the tank pumped 10 times we decided to fix the problem...and we did at tremendous cost.  I have to tell you, though, nothing beats a toilet that flushes.

This winter we have been challenged again.  Because of the severe winter we have had, our house has shifted, and there have been many, many times that we could not get our doors properly closed.  (Thank goodness we moved from electric heat!). We decided that perhaps our house should be raised a block or two, but the thought of putting out thousands of dollars again brings me to where I am going with this post.  

Three years ago I fell in love with this little cottage on the river with all it's imperfections and quirks.  I would have been happy if we hadn't changed a thing.  Was the winter really all that bad?  We managed.  Do I really need to raise this house, or can we get by with looking at the peirs, insulating properly and just dealing with the moving of the house?

This home has personality.  It has character.  It is alive.  It inhales and exhales, winter and spring.  

I am learning how to let go of the need for perfection, and to be satisfied and happy with what I have.  I believe that this house offers everything that I need.  It is a gathering place for family.  It is a port in a storm....a soft place to land.  I really do love it, and I think I will stay.

Could I live here alone?  There is no need to think about that right now, but should that time come, I will draw upon every lesson offered by every home I have lived in along the way.  All I know is that this is my home, and where I most want to be.