Visit

My parents visited!

Last night I made a chicken stew that turned out very well- quite pleased with that.

At 9pm every night the baby bunny awaits mummy. Last night I watched with the baby and the mummy did not come and I was worried. But at 11pm when I looked out there was an adult bunny on the lawn so I guess it was just running late. Anne-Marie said- that's what happens on Friday nights!

I hoped to make some more inroads on the house but was working on laundry and other maintenance tasks. It was a beautiful day so I didn't want to stay inside all day. I watched the broadcast of the European gymnastics championships and I took a nap. So more laid back, and less productive.

Tetanus

I had a routine tetanus shot yesterday and today my shoulder is very painful. We were doing a clean up your workspace day and it was hard for me with 2 gammy arms.

This evening I saw one of the baby bunnies again. It hopped much better than on Monday but it meant I couldn't get close to it. Still, glad to see it hopping around. I left some lettuce out in case they want to eat it in the morning.

Last week's dinners

I have gotten backlogged and trying to catch up.  These were the dinners from last week! Dutch baby Incredible pancake dish with ricotta cheese and tomato medley. Very yummy! Pork Thai Green curry It was very spicy but good.

Baby bunnies

Baby bunnies in my back yard (white cap is 2 cm for scale- they are tiny) Hope their mummy comes back soon.

a long week

It has been a week of sleeplessness and tears as the passing of Gary has hit our community hard.

I wrote this today:

Dragons

For Gary:

“Dragons last forever but not so little boys” (Puff the Magic Dragon)

When you are young with eyes wide open

You see the dragon as exciting and fun

It fills the holes

And heals the hurts

But only temporarily

As you stand back in wonder and watch him streak across the sky.

He fills your days and you feel complete.

You grow older and the dragon’s tricks don’t seem like so much fun anymore.

But it still fills your wounds and makes you feel better.

You need him.

As the years go on, the dragon grows up as well- bigger, heavier, stronger.

The weight is on your shoulders.

Carrying your dragon becomes work.

Becomes your task.

Sometimes the weight is so heavy that you can’t breathe.

While the dragon used to care for you, now you care for him.

And the days go on.

Suddenly, you see the light shining.

You try to put the dragon behind you.

And move forward.

As you pull away, it starts to tear.

Inside your soul.

The wounds that were stopped up, reopen.

Sometimes the hurt is so much, you stop pulling. Making the tear stop.

But then.

A quick tear, ripping.

Sudden and unexpected, freedom.

Flying, soaring.

No more pain. No more dragons haunting the night.

The pain is real but so is the freedom.

The dragon slips into the cave, but you fly up to the sky.

Weightless.

Like a dragon with angel’s wings.

Punch in the gut

Woke up this morning to read Gary's obituary and felt like I had been punched in the gut.
http://yourlifemoments.ca/sitepages/obituary.asp?oId=957607

I wrote this today in remembrance:

For a life cut short
Incomplete
I'm sorry that you won't see the next sunrise;
sunset;
birds flying free in the air;
flowers bursting out in the sunshine.
I'm not sorry that you won't feel the pain.
So fragile, but so strong
Fighting against the root.
Hope arising.
May you live on in the hearts of all who knew you.

Invaded

With all the rain yesterday, a squirrel tried to take refuge in the robin's nest. I shooed him away but I think that may have deterred the robin from choosing the spot (they hadn't laid eggs yet). We'll see if anything develops tomorrow.

While there was a lot of rain yesterday, there was a dry spot for Megan's baptism. It was a beautiful time.

On Saturday I worked hard and completed most maintenance tasks as well as a "forward" task of cleaning my desk. One small corner of the house is a start! I have a vacation day tomorrow so I hope to get more forward tasks done.

I got a swiffer to clean the bathroom ceiling because I was having a hard time reaching, especially after the arm injury. It seems to work pretty well!

2:30am

This morning at 2:30am sirens streaked across the city. I don't know why, but it certainly was loud! So it must have only been a call a few blocks away.

This morning, the robin is sitting on the nest. I wonder how much she likes laundry?

I have started the maintenance tasks for the morning (laundry, dishes) but I also did a "forward" task by putting a protective coating on the kitchen island. It takes 72 hours to set, so for that reason, it jumped the queue!

Maintenance

Since the new window opens up the back view, when I woke at 5am I could see the sunrise sky (couldn't see the sun because of trees). I went to Loblaws at 7am to pick up some food as James travelled to Ottawa today for a soccer tournament.

Many tasks that I do around the house I consider "maintenance"- like laundry, dishes, cleaning the bathrooms but what I hope to get to is moving forward. My goal for the summer is to give each room a good clean by taking all the furniture out and cleaning everything. But I worked really hard last Saturday and still only was accomplishing "maintenance" tasks. Hopefully, I will get further this weekend!

Some robins managed to make a nest on the back porch within 24 hours but are now gone.

Transformative windows

When my computer changed to Windows 10, my picture compiling software no longer worked. I looked up online and it said that there was an issue with the software and Windows 10 but gave me a work around which is why I can still post photos here.

I had some brilliant windows put in my house today. The house now smells like caulking. The bathroom and dining room were not huge transformations but the back window completely transformed the view of the garden:
old

new

bathroom old

Bathroom new

Dining room old

dining room new

Looking out

The oriental peony seems to be doing well, it looks happy!

I woke early in the morning again. I like sleeping with the windows open but the animal kingdom gets up pretty early. I love listening to everything sing.

Tomorrow, the new windows for the house will be put in.

Cat fight

I woke at 4:30am to the sound of what I initially thought was a cat fight. It went on for a long time so eventually I got up to see if I could see anything. The noise was coming from the front. When I got to the front I couldn't see anything but I realized that the noise was not cats but another animal that I had heard coming from the same area before. Maybe racoons? Maybe there was a nest? I never figured out what or who the fight was about but it is one of the hazards of sleeping with the windows open.

I spent the day working through the timetabling for next year.

May 30- the day that the oriental peony blooms

Facebook told me that on May 30 2013 I posted that the Oriental Peony bloomed. It bloomed again May 30 2016!

 

 

 Earlier this week I made pork scallopini with naan bruchetta. It was surprisingly good and very easy to make.

There is another pretty flower in the garden as well.

so far

While I feel like I have been quite busy, I have not accomplished as much as I though I would today. In total I did 6 loads of laundry - whites, darks, reds (James' soccer uniform is red so I did the reds all as one), 2 loads of delicates (lights and darks) and one load of sheets.

I went to Shoppers as they had a lot of things one sale (though they don't often have the stock if it is a very good sale!)

The pizza crust for dinner tonight is making in the breadmaker.

Still have some more hours to accomplish things this evening!

Work day

Today is a work day around the house. I have to work double time because tomorrow we are heading to Kim's in Harrowsmith after Rustle so won't get anything done chore-wise. I am on the third load of laundry so far. Have washed dishes and gone to Loblaws and made lunch. Let's see how the afternoon goes.