Mrs. Scrooge??

Christmas is over

THANK YOU!!

Only a few more days until I can clean Christmas up and stick it in the shed

for another year.

*

I am not a Christmas person

Not a holiday person of any sort

I much prefer ordinary days

*

However,

there are some parts of Christmas that I do like,

One of those being my village.

*

That is one of the things I wish I could keep up all year round.

If I had a bigger house, I would devote one room to a village

I've always loved making miniatures

Model train sets, Lego villages, doll houses

So, this would be my favourite Christmas "tradition"

*

I do want to make a Christmas scrapbook

the pages featuring my favourite ornaments and other parts of Christmas that I do enjoy

So as I pack away Christmas for another year,

I may have to photograph the special things

*

Because, although I started out writing as Mrs Scrooge

I have to concede that

even I

enjoy some parts of Christmas.

*

And if that wasn't a rambling conglomeration of thoughts with no direction to them whatsoever

Then I don't know what it was

*

Apologies!!

Harlem Crowns

A night on the town

At the expense of the P.S.O. boys basketball team

The Harlem Crowns

A downscaled version of the Harlem Globetrotters

This is my son warming up ....little does he know!!

These guys were absolutely hilarious

They had the girls laughing at the boys

The little kids laughing at those big teenagers

The parents laughing while trying to hold their cameras steady

The refs had to throw the rule book out

And the boys were able to laugh at themselves

After they got through with being embarrassed

If these guys come to your town

And you need a laugh

You've got to go

And if your kid thinks his team can beat them cause they can beat all the local schools

Tell him to think again!

because these guys will run circles around

Those big macho invincible

testosterone overloaded

High School Boys!

Biting off more than he can chew

Monty, my big brave dog
*

He loves to play

*

Hasn't got a mean bone in his body

*

*

But it seems he has no sense of danger

*

Either that or he likes to live on the edge

*

Cause a big cow moose

*

with her baby nearby

*

Is not the best play mate

*

*

*

I guess he's like me

*

And lives for danger!!

(And, this is not the best laid out post

But my intentions were good

I've been at it for over an hour

And I need to get dinner on

And that's why I stopped blogging in the first place

So, sorry I didn't get a chance

to visit the rest of you

I'll get to it

I promise)

The real McCoy

I'm a dollar store fan

:

I could probably spend more in a dollar store than in a fine clothing store

:

Last week I saw these snowflake window clingons

:

And since I don't know what happened to the ones I had last year

:

I picked up a couple

Then the weatherman said that our unseasonably warm November was coming to an end

Arctic air was heading our way

Bringing snow and cold temperatures

I don't mind either, after all,

We were long overdue

The thermometer dropped steadily every day

Snow shovels, boots, mitts and toques were brought out

Cars and trucks were being plugged in over night

And

:

:

I didn't need those dollar store clingons

:

Jack Frost did my windows for me!!

I'm back

I think I may give this blogging another shot. I've probably lost any followers I had, and I haven't got anything awe-inspiring to say today, and I forget how this even works, but, what the hey, we'll see where this takes me

Sun, o glorious sun!!

There are lots of "feelgood" sensations

~

To me, one of the best ones by far

Is the warmth of the spring sunshine on my bare arms.

The first day of the year that I can be outside

in just a T-shirt

And not have to shiver

To feel the spring sun's warmth on my skin.

To lay on the trampoline & watch my son try to convince Monty to bring the ball back

To gaze around my yard and think of all the projects I have for this year

~

To lay my head down on my warm arms,

close my eys,

and give into the sun.

~

MMMMmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

~

Wishing you all sunny days ahead!!

Only the best

Wouldn't it be great if we could choose, before we are born

which of our parents' characteristics we wanted?

If we could, in effect, from a limited list,

choose who we are to be?

~

What would you choose?

~

From my mom, I would choose

creativity

the ability to speak up for myself

the ability to make friends easily

to connect with strangers

honesty

determination

sense of family

and her pleasure at simple things

~

From my Dad I would choose

knowledge

humour

down to earthedness

determination

honesty

openess with affection

creativity

sense of preconception

and being secure in the knowledge that he can do anything he sets his mind to

~

What would you choose??

image credit here

Look what I see!!

Can spring really be here??

The pussy willows seem to think so

(And, if I do say so myself, this is a great picture in which my camera behaved as it should)

Can it be...can it really be......my tulips coming up!!

(Tulips in the garden, tulips in the park, but my favorite tulips, are two lips in the dark)

((sorry, that was written in my gr. 9 yearbook, have never forgotten some of those!))

And, even the daffoldils seem to believe its time to wake up

(And my camera was not behaving here!)


Green onions grow plentifully here, probably because no many other kinds of vegetables do.
You won't see any cucumbers or lettuces or cabbages in our neck of the woods!

What do I predict will be my biggest garden pest this year??

Monty!

Playing in the last remaining snow patches

Or so I thought until I got up this morning

and opened my bedroom curtains!!

Hopefully, by the end of the day, it will be all gone,

allthough, as I look out my window at 9:45, it's still snowing lightly

That's okay, its just because I, along with half, make it three quarters, of our town

took our snow tires off last week.

'Till next time!

Life gets in the way

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass,

It's about learning to dance in the middle of it"

I've been kind of in and out of storms lately

Once in a while there's an hour or two when the sun breaks through

Then the gales come back in double force

Its been hard to hold my breath

And then to keep breathing again

~

This has put me behind in my schoolwork

(Didn't feel like doing much of anything last week)

So now I'm playing catchup

~

I'm going to play a quick catchup in blogland

'Cause darn it all, I miss you all!

~

((xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox))

photo credit here

Happy Weekend!!

We don't get many rainy days here, but today we are having one, half mixed with snow. I had an adorable, cheerful, pink picture I had cut out of a magazine to scan in and post on just a day like today, but my scanner does not always like my firewall protection, and is being finicky. So, I took these out of an email I received, and, without further adieu, Happy Weekend to all!!!!!!

Hump Day (as in over the hump of midweek)

Coffee and the paper

That's my wednesday morning ritual.

Good rituals are good habits

~

Wednesdays are the days that our local paper comes out.

Most often I go to town,

Pick up the paper, go to Timmie's (Tim Hortons, for you uncanadians)

Have a coffee & a bagel & the paper.

~

This morning I didn't go to town,

But still had my ritual.

(I may need 2 cups this morning)

~

I have almost an unreasonable anticipation for wednesdays

There is hardly ever anything in the paper that I didn't already know

Small towns being what they are

~

I already knew about the state of the timber industry, the new drama lady who had come to town, the fact that we will likely have a harsh fire season because of the dry winter, the occurance of the banker's variety show this past weekend, that there had been a charge in the sinking of the "Queen of the North" in which 2 local residents were never found, that the grad fashion show is coming up, that the Taskeo mine project is controversial, that local teenager Taya is in the children's hospital with cancer, that Art had turned 90, and that our friend Bud had died peacfully.

~

I did not know that an impaired driver drove into the ditch, that a home in Forest Grove had burnt down because of a chimney fire, that the Garlic Festival was being resurrected, that 2 local girls had been invitied to play in an elite Vancouver spring hocky league, that there had been a fire drill at the junior high, or that the South Cariboo Idol search is underway.

~

I do know that this post will likely have bored you all to tears.

Sorry 'bout that.

That's life in a small town.

And I love it.

~

(What I don't know is why when I tab to the next line, there is a space between the lines, does anyone else know??)

listen to me, go away, i hate you, dont leave me

how do i deal with them

those demons in the night

i toss and turn

they wont leave me alone

these demons in the night

they settle in my head

and whisper in my ear

do it do it do it do it

no one will know

my soul screams in return

at those demons in the night

my hair is twisted

my pillows are balled up

i'm tangled in the sheets

my cat takes off tired of my thrashing about

will they go away tonight

will i give in to them

or can i appease them for one more night

they know my weaknesses so well

those demons in the night

they know the inner me

the real me

the me that hides away from the world

the me that no one really believes is me

they know just where to find me

they know just what to do

they know more than i

because i know not what to do

why am i me

why cant i just be

why wont they let me be

they exhaust me

i want to give in

temporary measures are temporary bandaids

and just don't cut it

thoughts of my children

help me to fight them off

my children

if i didnt have them

i wouldnt be here

tonight i say to them

those demons in the night

go away let me sleep you dont need to feed on me

not tonight

let me put you off for one more night

i will not give in to you tonight

and tomorrow will be a new day

Launched

Trevor's Acting Debut

Some of you may remember a post I wrote in August

featuring my son & his first acting class,

& his ultimate goal of being a professional actor.

~

One of the disadvantages of our small town way up north,

Is the lack of options for that kind of thing.

We are, after all, 5 hours north of "Hollywood North"

aka Vancouver.

~

Yes, they have drama classes in school,

but because I wanted him to take a "learning strategies" class,

Trevor was not able to take drama this year.

~

Anyways, this wonderful gal named Sheila moved to town

Her loves are teenagers and acting

And she opened a drama "business" (for lack of a better word)

And put on a spring break drama camp, every afternoon for 2 weeks.

The kids wrote a play, produced it, did "head shots" & practiced auditioning.

~

Some did it for the fun of it, but for Trevor it was serious stuff.

He blossomed & bloomed in the compliments,

And his self-esteem rose up through the roof.

~

He played a grumpy, mouthy, teenaged murder suspect,

which, I have to admit,

wasn't a great stretch of the imagination for him.

But he did it well, I was proud of him,

and best of all....

~

~

He was proud of himself.

Mirror Mirror on the wall....Who's the prettiest of them all?

"My mommy's the prettiest girl in the world"

~

"Well, my mommy's prettier than even a princess!"

~

"My mommy's prettier than all the princesses in the whole wide world"

Remember those days?

The days when fathers were heroes and mothers were goddesses?

Doesn't seem like all that long ago.

And I know that reality sets in as toddlers turn into teenagers.

And we're not quite as high on that pedestal as we once were.

Still....

You're reasonably sure you're not,

the ugliest creature on our little blue planet,

Third from the sun

Then your teenager says to you....

"Mom, don't you wish you were as pretty as Demi Lovato?"

That's the nudge that knocks you right off of any precarious hold

you still had on the aforementioned pedestal!!

demi lovato

Please ignore my fiddling around...I am trying to figure out how the heck to make this picture bigger.

I have been trying to focus on the main thing lately...

rather...

the main things..(with an s)

~

Problem being, I have too many main things.

~

I have had to sort through my life

And look at my priorities

~

Unfortunately,

Blogging has not been able to be one of them

~

That doesn't mean I've gone for good

Nor that I don't think of you all, and wonder how you're all doing

'Cause I surely do.

~

And it doesn't mean I've gone for good,

Hopefully when spring break is over, I'll have a bit more time

For my creative self,

~

For now though,

my spirit flies on the wind of focus

(Is there such a thing?)

~

Show & Tell

Some of you that follow my blog

Also follow my cousin Dagmar's

She commented on mine the other day

Remembering when we were kids

///

I was looking through my pictures,

I wanted to find something to crete a new header with

Also a new avatar.

\\\

I came upon this:

///

Dagmar & I and the rest of our cousins on that side of the family.

Can you pick us out?

(Hint...we're the oldest

Well, except for the one in the red T-Shirt - our Aunt Tonny,

who passed away a few months ago.)

\\\

This was probably one of the only times we were all together,

As they all live in Holland,

And my brother & I grew up in Ontario.
We were on a holiday in Holland

And it was my 9th birthday

///

I was so incredibly shy

With all these cousins, who grew up blocks away from each other

I hardly knew them,

couldn't talk to them very well.

As we got older, they learned english & I learned dutch

And communication became a little easier

\\\

I remember another time in Holland...I was 14,

we were in a deli, & I got up the nerve to ask, in dutch, for a "vlees-kroket"

(A yummy dutch meaty deep-fried thing [who's spelling I probably butchered]that I never get enough of and if you could send frozen meat products in the mail Dagmar would be mailing me every month)

And they laughed at me.

All in good fun, but I was mortified.

It took a long time before I dared to do that again!

///

But in this picture, Dagmar & I are obviously sharing some kind of joke..

Don't ask me what it was...

Maybe Dagmar remembers

(She's younger than me, so has a better memory...

That's my story & I'm sticking to it)

\\\

Anyways, the pointof this story,

Well, there isn't one

I just wanted to have a

"show and tell" day!

///

\\\

///

Caterpillar in a tree

How you wonder who you'll be

Can't go far but you can dream

~

Wish you may and wish you might

Don't you worry, hold on tight

I promise you that there will come a day

Butterfly fly away

~

Butterfly fly away

Flap your wings now you can't stay

Take those dreams and make them all come true

Butterfly fly away

~

We've been waiting for this day

All along and knowing just what to do

Butterfly, butterfly, fly away

~

~

~

Isn't that a tearjerker?

My son is graduating this year, and any verses I hear about growing up & growing out

Make my chest all tight inside.

You know the feeling.

I can't take credit for the song, its Miley Cyrus's,

And the Flickr credits are here

But as I passed by my son on his computer

On my way to toss a piece of wood in the stove,

(not the one who's graduating, the younger one)

He was singing to this

And I've heard him sing it a thousand times before

But this time it caught my ear

And I had to come back into my office & write it down.

Olympamania

(No, I don't like this layout, I'll have to mess around with it when I have time)

There's got to be some parable about people following each other blindly to their deaths

Like lemmings over the cliffs

I' just to lazy to go searching for one

I did just spend more than 1/2 an hour

Looking for pictures to accompany this post

Without any luck.

People must be so crazy over it all,

They haven't had time to upload their pictures

So you'll have to listen to my rant & rave without them

Except for this one:

I'm sure the world knows

that the Olmpics are being held in Vancouver this year

My home province

I wouldn't go anywhere near the place

Even if I was paid big money to do so.

I have nothing against the Olympics per se,

Nothing against a celebration & competition of amateurs at sports

Nor am I unpatriotic

I am proud to be Canadian

And wouldn't have it any other way

What I am against is the gross commercialism

The gross misrepresentation of government over the last 10 years

Of how much money was to be spent

The schools that are being closed all over the province,

Because of budget cuts

The rural areas that "don't count anyways"

6 years olds having to spend 2 hours each day in the school bus

The cuts in medical care

Women in labour having to travel over 120 km.,

To deliver a normal, no risk baby

Because our hospital cannot afford to emply an anesthesiologist

The Vancouver Public Library

having to put masking tape

over all the labels of the electronic equipment they own

which is not manufactured by Panasonic

Because Panasonic is an Olympic sponsor

People being asked to refrain from wearing any clothing or drinking any beverage in public

That bears the logo of any competitor

To any Olympic sponsors

Those are just to name a few

I simply cannot grasp the mindset

Of the thousands of people celebrating right now

Downown Vancouver,

Only a block away from Canada'a poorest district

Filled with homeless, forgotten, drug addicted human beings

That everyone tries to sweep under the rug.

Have they all been brainwashed?

A lot of the people I speak with

Feel the same way I do

So it was surprising to hear of the large turnout

As the torch passed through my hometown.

I've never been one to involve myself in protest rallies

But I am so utterly and vehmently opposed to this

That if I lived in the Vancouver area,

I would protest with all my might.

Consider this my protest.

Viva La Canada!

My Old Man

Today he turns 50

That old man of mine

"You're only as old as you feel"

He always says

~

How does it feel

To be 50?

That's like, half a century

or

Half a dollar

~

He was 26 when we met

(Almost half of 50)

I thought he was old then,

I was 17

Eons ago

Half a lifetime ago

~

We've changed since then

Both of us

For better or worse

We're not who we used to be

For better or worse

~

His daughters, 5 & 3 at the time

Are grown women

Our sons

In a few years, will be grown men

~

We've built a life since then

Moved away from the city

Built a life in the Cariboo Country

The place we call home

~

We've bought & sold homes & cars & trucks & vans

Along with kids, we've raised

Dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, birds & fish

~

One thing that hasn't changed

Is our committment to each other

We're not as "lovey dovey" as we used to be

And I miss that

But our love has always been there

To pull us through

~

My old man

I love you

Guilty as Charged

Look at this adorable guy
His big brown eyes, in which I detect a hint of defiance

His "please love me 'cause I'm so darn cute" expression

Also his "I'm innocent, I didn't do it"
expression

Uh huh.

Let me back up a bit.
We have a big property, 10 acres.
About half an acre of that is a fenced-in dog pen, built by the previous owners.
It kept our older dog contained for the 6 years he was with us here.

Monty, however, learned at about 6 months how to pull the wire fencing lower down and clamber over it.
No amount of reinforcing will keep him in..
He absolutley hates being away from me and won't put up with it.
Which is why the pen could be useful, because if I have to go out somewhere where I can't take him along, he won't "stay", but will follow me down the road.

The other night my son & I went to the movies. I had put Monty in the kitchen with his usual night-time barricades in place.
He was not impressed.
He pushed over the wooden-chair gate, & got into the living room.

When I got home, I saw what he had done, gave him shit (which was probably useless at that point), put him out & took some pictures, intending to share them with y'all.
Alas, I didn't know at the time that my camera card was not in the camera

So, I can't share the pictures unless I re-create the mess--------
plant stand pulled down & chewed on, pot of lilies emptied & half digested, lotion oozing out of its punctured tube,
and,
that innocent face.

Use your imagination!

You'd Think........

This is my kitchen stove.

Nothing special, somewhat outdated.

Not likely to get a new one till this one finally goes kaput

And since things were made better a few decades ago,

That's not likely to happen.

Seen it all before, right?

This is my kitchen stove from a differnt angle

Not so flattering, right?

Those pretty little things

Designed to hide the ugly coil elements

Those handy little things called burner covers.

They are my nemesis

If you've ever bought them,

Take note that the package does not come with a warning,

an advisory,

A do not handle if incompetent disclaimer.

You know why that is?

Because they know that simple-minded folks like me

Who refuse to learn from their mistakes,

Will make the same mistake over and over.

And they will profit.

At least once a month, when I'm making some delectable delight,

I'll have turned my back for an instant.

Maybe to go water a plant or two,

Or fold a couple towels,

Or do any of the other number of things that women do

When we are "multi-tasking"

Suddenly, the air is pierced by the screech of the smoke alarm.

I instantly know what happened.

Into the kitchen I run,

Pull the pan off the burner

Burn my fingers trying to flick it off

Cause where the heck did all the oven mitts and kitchen towels disappear to?

The cover lands on the floor

The dog tries to lick it as I keep him away with one foot

(Thank god I have no little kids crawling around in the way)

I may get a nice little moon-shaped tattoo

On the floor.

Matches the other ones.

But, I do learn from my mistakes

I do, I swear I do!!!

Because tucked in a cupboard

I have all the other covers I bought at the same time.

I may not be the brightest crayon in the box,

But

I have foresight!

(And maybe some stock in the burner cover makers' companies

Might not be a bad idea!)

And, by the way, I did not format this in the run-on style with no breaks between the paragraphs in which it appears.

My blog has a mind of its own!