Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Cotton Candy Snow

I feel out of words to describe it
This cotton candy snowfall we had yesterday afternoon.
I was snowing when I went to town
And still snowing when I got back

When we turned onto our little dirt road
It was like the "White Way of Delight"of Anne of Green Gables Fame
Only with snow instead of apple blossoms


Our driveway
is a bit of an uphill
and my son was driving
He made it up about 1/4 of the way
and came to a stop.
Then he had to back out without running into the banks.
I asked him if he wanted me to try, he said no.  He tried again.
Okay fine mom, you do it.
Well, I am embarrassed to say that I didn't make it nearly as far up as he did.
the wheels went one way and the steering wheel went another.
Whoops, I'll try again.
Same thing, ony worse.
So, after having just had a discussion on the way home about how he was still a new driver and had a lot to learn,
I hoofed it up the driveway, and let him drive up.
It took him three more tried, but he did it.

Anyway, in the meantime, I went in and got my camera
It was already starting to get dark,
My camera battery was pretty much dead
And I knew if I waited till tomorrow,
the effect would be gone.


So, even though these pics are far from professional
And don't do justice to the fluffiness that I wanted to capture,
They're mine.


Saturday, February 18, 2012

OMG - It's the Clean Machine!

 A couple of times a year
I go against the grain of who I am
and go on a cleaning frenzy,
shocking those around me.


Not just the weekly vaccum and floor wash,
or the biweekly dusting, if we're lucky

but an all out cleaning frenzy.

I never know when its going to come on
there are no identified triggers that I can avoid
it usually just starts with an innocent round with my Bissel Upright vaccum
or a casual sweep of the kitchen.

Today, it was the living room that fell victim.

I did get the bedrooms vacuumed
and the kitchen floor washed
but the living room bore the brunt of the action.
Somewhere between cleaning the glass topped coffee table
and wondering if this Turtle Wax Upholstery Cleaner really works,
I fell victim.


I put on some music
in this case, it was an old Billy Joel cassette that I taped from an old employer's CD
back in the days when CD's were fairly new
and blank cassettes were still the preferred method of recording favourite tunes

I gave my husband and my dog fair warning of what was going to happen....
Music that they probably wouldn't care for,
Sung along with and probably overpowered
by me...I am told I can't sing very well, but I beg to differ!


So, while belting out tunes about piano men, up town girls, innocent men and New York states of minds,
I spritzed, sprayed and wiped my way around the room,
cleaning the nooks and crannies and feeling like I accomplished something good.

I even stood on a chair to wipe some spots off of the ceiling that looked like someone threw half of a cup of cofee up at it - they've been there a while!  There's also a couple of spots that came one Christmas morning when my son threw silly puddy up to see if it would stick.  It did.


If I'm lucky, the tidiness will last a day.

Maybe when the snow melts and spring is finally here,
I'll feel like doing it again!

 

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Valentine's Day in the eyes of a 17 year old in love

He thinks that he is love
and who am I to say that he's not?


I was 17 and in love at one time
And the love lasted to this day

I have never seen him so excited for Valentine's day
He had big plans:

She was going to sleep over the night before
(with him sleeping on the couch of course)

He had bought her flowers
and sought out my advice as to how to keep them fresh for the next day

He bought her a box of chocolate
 and was proud of how satiny smooth the box he picked out was!

He would make her breakfast in bed
(with my help of course!)

They would not go to the school on Valentine's day
(I know, I know, but I can turn a blind eye once in a while)

They would go public skating
and then go horseback riding with her horses.

They would go to dinner (probably A&W or Subway!)
And then go to a movie.

So how did it all turn out?
~~~
Well, other than the fact that he wouldn't believe me
when I told him that you can put more than three pieces of bacon in the pan at once,

and he wouldn't believe me
when I told him they did not have public skating when everyone is supposed to be in school,

Things went as planned.
 ~~
To be 17 and in love,
Would I do it all over again?
I don't think so!




Thursday, January 13, 2011

Every day is a lesson in life, whether we want it or not!

"Good judgment is learning from your mistakes,
which are usually caused by bad judgment"


Sunday - When you see Christmas chocolates on sale for 50% off, don't buy a box to take to friday's card game night, because it won't last that long in your house, even if you hide it in your desk drawer.

Monday - When your child loses his coat in school and can't find it for weeks, remind him to check the gym.

Tuesday - when shovelling snow, if there's a sudden wind, stop shovelling and wait for it to pass.....do NOT, under any circumstances, throw the shovel load into the wind.

Wednesday - You can't hang shelves with only two hands.

Thursday - When the overnight snowfall is 10 cm, and your teenager refuses to wear boots, don't even bother shovelling a path for him to the car while you are waiting for it to warm up, he doesn't care if he has wet feet for the rest of the day and doesn't care if you care that he has wet feet; he would rather you didn't care that he has wet feet.

Can't wait to see what I learn next!


flickr credits here

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Room With a View Please


There's something to be said for being happy with the place in which you live
Sometimes I think that if I ever won the lottery
(As my better half is positive we will one day)
I wouldn't want to move

I like my property
Its not ocean view
that would be kinda hard as the nearest ocean is a 6 hour drive from here
Its not even lakeview
although I live in an area where you can't drive for 15 minutes without seeing a lake
But its 10 acres and all ours
(at least it will be in 7 years when the bank is paid out)

Our street has four 10 acre parcels on it
2 belong to our neighbour - we can just see his lights through the trees at night
1 to us
and the last parcel is just forest
belonging to somebody who may one day build there

I even like our house
although its kinda small and is technically a mobile home
I suppose I'd consent to building a new house
But there are more memories here

I am satisfied
More than satisfied
I love my home
And there's a lot to be said for that.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Missed moments


As photographers
(and I use that term very loosely with respect to myself)
We do capture some great times

Sometimes though
We are just not prepared
And we miss moments that won't ever return

The other day my mom and my 16 year old
Were watching a hockey game
The Canucks just may make to the Cup this year
The possibility is there anyways

Anyhow, mom & Trevor are great Canuck fans
And were watching the game as I sat nearby reading or knitting
Or whatever I was doing - it doesn't matter

The Canucks scored a goal
First goal of the game
And my mom and my son yelled and jumped out of their seats halfway to the ceiling
(Keep in mind my mom is 70)

They turned and gave each other a high five

It was so special to see
We didn't even mention it later
It was just one of those things
That they will probably remember for the rest of their lives

The day grandma and I watched a hockey game
The day my grandson and I watched a hockey game

For that moment in time, 16 and 70 were united in a common love
*
*
*

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A Narrow Escape


No matter how hard we try

We can't keep their wings clipped forever

Sooner or later they have to fly

*

*

*

Preferably later rather than sooner

*

*

My boy's friend , a girl friend but not a girlfriend

Is moving to Edmonton to live nearer to her dad

She didn't want to go alone

And so asked Jeremy to go with her

*

no no no no no no no no no


But you can't say no to an 18 year old

Because that automatically means yes

*

As far as I'm concerned, he's too young

He has a good job here

He's saving his money here

Edmonton is an 8 hour drive from here

He won't have anyone to snowboard or bike with

He will have to bus to work

It's darn cold there!!

*

The more reasons we give

The more determined he becomes

*

Then, plans changed

the moving date changed from the 28th to th 30th to the 3rd

I think he started having some doubts

but wouldn't give in

*

After much soul searching (I hope)

He decided to hold out a little longer

*

And I...

I can hold on a little longer

*

But I know I have to get rid of my clippers

*

Soon