So Now the Work begins...

The paperwork is done.  The lawyer has everything he needs to close the sale.  Now the work...the real work...commences.  We have set a goal of listing this house in the next three weeks.  We have mountains of sorting to do, because precious little will be moving with us to our new home.

Our children are happy that we will be sorting through and discarding.  This means less for them to do down the road.  I have often heard said that the first half of your life is spent accumulating things and the last half of your life is spent getting rid of those things.  How true!

When I contemplate the process of packing and sorting and cleaning, I develop palpitations.  Last night when I had a few minutes to myself, I gave myself a little pep talk.  "Worrying," I told myself, "will get you nowhere.  So far, things have  gone smoother than anyone has expected, and there is every reason to believe that this trend should continue.  Test the theories.  Think positively.  Expect the best and that is what will come into your life.  Leave the rest to a Higher Power."

So...that is my intention.  I will work on my attitude as I work on this home...  All is well...and this shall be my focus...

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Black Bloc Cowards...

I am sure that everyone has seen the news concerning the violent protests in Toronto, orchestrated by the Black Bloc.  I had never heard of these thugs until today, and asked my niece (who works in one of the damaged Starbucks), who they were...  I think that her answer is worthy of note...


 "The Black Bloc is this stupid tactic that the people that are causing the damage downtown are using to try to pull the police away from the main line.
All of the district managers from the downtown core were at my store all morning and then shortly after the beginning of the protesters passed by my store things got a little crazy so they (my store managers) evacuated us to another location. We did have to pass through their route, but the groups we cut between were peaceful. The windows in my store got smashed up after we had left. Everyone from my store left as a group and we stayed together. Everyone is safe.
This is all very frustrating and a bit scary. I don't feel like this is Canada, and I really don't feel like this is Toronto. I really mad that young people are destroying the places where other young people work to earn a living and pay for their education. It's especially frustrating that the world is seeing this and thinking that this is what Canadian youth look like. I've been really happy with how the police have been handling everything; they seem to be approaching the whole thing in a really sensible way that is keeping the general mass safe and specifically targetting the troublemakers."

So...  I hope that my readers appreciate that we Canadians do not support these people.   They are thugs.  Their actions negate the actions of the peaceful protesters.

White hood or Black... It is all the same thing.  Cowardly individuals hiding behind cloth.

Soon...

 Soon I will be sitting on my deck, watching the world go by...

...waiting for you to join me...

...and when you arrive, I will show you where you will lay your head......

I will serve you your morning cup of coffee...or tea...here.

I can HARDLY wait!!!

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And here is the rest of the story...

"Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-orientated behavior. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but, theoretically, it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well.  According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality."


We are taking our dreams from the shelf and we are moving on!  Thanks to the gentle prodding of a good friend, and motivated by a desire to "minimize pain, and to maximize our pleasure" and by the desire to live smaller, we have decided to move. 

So... we found this...and knew we were home.

We did not venture far from dad.  We are close enough that we do not have to change our phone number, but we are going to live in a home that our children and their children can share and enjoy...

Our neighbours will be Llamas a, sheep and cow, Blue heron, and Otter, and birds of all description.

So please send positive thoughts and prayers for a quick sale of this home that we now live in, so that our dreams can be realized....now.

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But wait! There's more!

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Well... It was like this....

We went for a drive, and visited the home of an Otter, a Blue heron, and more than a few Dragonflies... a naturalist's paradise for sure!

 Mr Otter seemed undisturbed by our visit, and continued to busy himself with all those things that Otters do...

Mr B loved our outing and could not seem to get enough pictures!   But wait!  There IS more.  Next post ! (Hehe!)

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"Anticipation"

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think.  Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.  ~A.A. Milne

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How does your garden grow?

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Help Please

I have two older apple trees that are approximately 15 years old, in my backyard. We have not been able to harvest the apples for several years as the apples are misshapen and riddled with brown streaks.

We discovered the culprit is the Apple Fly Maggot. Last year I hung out mock plastic apples that were coated with glue and caught many flies, but I see they are at it again this year.

Does anyone have a cure for this? Should I just cut them down? It is discouraging to put so much effort into something that does not give back...

Questions 7. 8. and 9.

Question 7... Why do you blog? Blogging has filled a huge gap in my life. Since moving to this neighborhood, I have longed for a buddy. Now I have many. Lately, I have longed to read "good" news. Now, I do... several times a day...when I visit your blogs. It lifts my spirits.

Question 8.... Do you get regular exercise? No...but I have all the good intention in the world. Unfortunately, I have poor follow-through. I am working on that.

Question 9..Are you happy? If not, I should be. I have everything to be thankful for. At times, however, I am prone to feeling melancholy. It isn't truly sadness and is difficult to describe. (I think I may have inherited this state of mind from someone I love very much.) My best self-cure is to focus on the present, because the future terrifies me at times. When all else fails, the following words I find comforting...

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

A few of my paintings....

Djan asked if I had shared any of my paintings here... I have been negligent in taking photos before the painting moves to its new home...but here are a few that I have dug up.

The painting below is one of the first that I did.

The red-toed tree frog was done for Natasha...a young girl that lived with us for a time.

Below is Dustin, my grandson. I am hoping to do one of each grandchild!

This is my kayak painting. It hangs on my wall in the LR, and when the snow falls, I imagine myself in the cockpit, paddling on Lake Simcoe. I have received an offer for a purchase of prints and am currently looking into this process.

I will see if I can dredge up some more pictures...but not today. I think I may just start another painting...

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Questions 4, 5, and 6.

Here you are, DJan!

4. What do you think is your strongest asset? I believe that my strongest asset is having a large supportive family. We do not sit on each others doorstep, but we can always count on each other for support, guidance, and a healthy dose of love when we need it.

5. Do you like parties and why or why not? Hate them. (Unless they are family celebrations.) I do not do well in crowds. I don't drink. I never feel comfortable in just being myself...and I just can't communicate well with people I barely know.

6. What is your favorite activity? Hands down, painting. Unfortunately, I don't do enough of that. There never seems to be enough hours in a day, but when I do find the time, I also discover that the hours pass...and I think about nothing else but the emerging image on the canvas.