On the Bright Side ...

We are sitting in the middle of a bit of a deep freeze lately. 

Yesterday morning:

This morning:

On the bright side, at least we can pick up ice cream at the store and not worry about it melting if we have a few more stops before we get home.

Happy Polar Vortex to you, wherever you may be!

Rabbit Watching

We have a new RDD (Rabbit Detecting Device) in our home! It is free of charge and was activated automatically.

This is how we discovered our RDD:

1. Install one cat table beside the living room window (window must face a direction in which neighborhood rabbits can be detected)
2. Move kitchen table and chairs to sit directly behind said cat table (a chair alone would suffice but if there is no table to sit at, one may miss the RDD alarm when it is activated)
3. Sit patiently and wait (a few cups of coffee and a round of morning word puzzles is often sufficient)
4. Alarm is activated when your RDC (Rabbit Detecting Cat) sits on the cat table and the cat's tail automatically finds its way between two of the wooden rungs on dining room chair (I forgot to mention that a chair with wooden rungs on the back works best for this application)
5. When said cat spots a rabbit (or bird or any interesting moving object outside), tail will automatically go into "wag" mode and set off the alarm (I guess one also needs a specially designed cat, who wags his tail like a beaver flaps its tail as a warning - luckily, we have one such cat in residence)
6. The thwacking of RDC's tail sets off your RDD device and your next course of action is to peek out the window and wait
7. Warning: cats see things humans cannot. Our RDC detected motion far sooner than the human eye could detect and there were several (seemingly) false alarms before the RDC's alarm changed ever-so-slightly ...
8. Then! Two rabbits were spotted by a mere human. They cavorted around a little while but had to keep moving due to extreme cold weather warnings

Thanks to our RDC and RDD, I finally had a chance to spot TWO rabbits together, in full view from our living room window! I have not witnessed a dual rabbit spotting since July 19th (yes, I am serious about Rabbit Spotting and it is documented well, within the contents of this blog space).

RabbitDetectorDevice - get yours now!
To be fully functional, tail must find its way between the rungs of the chair
(in this photo, the tail is slightly askew so no alarm was set off at the time of this picture)

A Moment in the Sun

I was sitting in a waiting room yesterday and was fortunate enough to be in a spot where I could watch happiness unfold.

There was a dad with his two children between me and those were standing in line. The baby was faced towards those waiting in line. There was a second child (a year older, according to what I overheard) who sat facing the opposite direction but the dad picked up this little girl so she became visible to those who were waiting.

I just sat back and watched the magic.

It started with the face of an older lady lighting up as she smiled, waved and talked quietly to the baby. The smile that lit up this lady's face transformed her. She looked lighter, happier, joyful as I watched a youthful version of herself reappear.

Then it happened again. And again. And again.

Young, old and anywhere in between. The light these two small children brought into the room was awe inspiring.

As I watched those in line light up, I found myself smiling. The reflection of the joy bounced around the room and hit me between the eyes. I now wonder if I was the only one who felt the boomerang effect of the sense of "happy" these two small children brought into the moment.

When the young family left the room, the essence of their presence lessened. But I still felt the moment within me. I wondered about the others who were transformed in the moment.

That little family had no idea of the impact they made in those moments. A ripple effect of joy was cast. One will never know the far reaching effects of that little moment in the sun. I'm grateful I was on the sidelines to watch and record the event.

It was a moment in the sun on a cold and wintry February.

Despite it All ...

Despite the fact that the contents of our main floor have been moved downstairs ...

Despite the fact that our kitchen cupboards have been emptied into the living room ...

... and a bedroom

... and a closet

Despite the fact that our home is in full on displacement mode ...

I haven't felt this peaceful in a very long time.

I have physically touched everything upstairs (except the contents of the linen closet and bathroom). I know what we have, what we don't have, a lot of the excess has been culled and I still have a place of bliss to sit and soak up my morning:

Note Mom's bright light shining upon me and her clock still hangs on the wall in my little oasis under her light.

Despite it all ...

I feel serene and delighted at the way things are going.

That is all.

P.S. I am writing this now, because I know things will get worse before they get better. When I lose my little oasis under Mom's Bright Light, I may lose a little of my serenity along with it. Then again? Maybe I won't.

I Only Have a Kitchen Because It Came With the House

Something mystical and magical has happened in and around the domain of our kitchen the past while. The aroma of food cooked from ingredients has been wafting through the air much more than usual.

This all began in and around the time I took off at Christmas. I had twelve consecutive days off of work from all sources. I had few demands on my time and rarely had to leave this little sanctuary I like to call home. In order to stay put, I had to stock up on a few groceries.

The groceries I selected were easy to assemble meals. But they were meals which consisted of meat, potatoes, vegetables &/or a salad. I picked up a little fruit. I topped off any needed grocery items. Then I stayed home and hibernated.

It was a hibernation which included eating food, but it was hibernation none-the-less. I had to cook to survive.

This was the beginning of a time of subtle change.

I did very little more than soak up the solitude and better food choices. I pumped myself full of everything I needed to get through the longest part of winter. I shored up my reserves, set a few new intentions and headed into the new year in a better mind set than I've had for a while.

I made very few changes other than taking care of my feet, writing daily and eating a little better. A little self care + some writing therapy + healthier food choices = a more grounded "me".

This grounded version of myself has been able to make decisions, do hard things, endure tough days and walk forward from whatever life has had in store.

And ...

The reason I write all this today is because this grounded "me" is not using kitchen renovations as an excuse to indulge in take out food choices. I am cooking.

I had this conversation with the repair person I spoke to when I couldn't get our new-to-us oven to work yesterday (we now have a white fridge, microwave AND stove!). "I had planned on using the oven this weekend ...". I didn't add the part about hoping to heat up frozen pizza, but I did not tell a lie. The friendly repair guy gave me enough direction to figure out the puzzle of turning on the oven and voila! We were all ready and set to go.

This new-to-us stove is probably the oldest stove I've had to date. I don't want new "disposable" kitchen appliances. I want the old stuff. Appliances that were built to last (which come with a six month guarantee):

I'm loving the look of our new-to-us appliances!

I always like to show off my newly cleaned oven because one never knows when it may look like this again (unfortunately, our new-to-us oven came with the previous owner's cooking debris).

Guess what is in that pot on top of the stove. Homemade turkey soup. Yes! Sustenance for today and maybe a day or two beyond.

That is ... if it isn't too "sagey". I couldn't smell the aroma of sage and "turkey soup" so I thought I'd sprinkle just a little bit more sage. Only the lid wasn't firmly attached and 1/4 of the can of sage I just opened fell onto the top of the soup. This is what I was able to scoop off:

Despite the unfortunate sage incident, soup is still on and I will not fret about cooking today. I've done enough for one day. 

I am already enjoying puttering in our new kitchen and renovations are still underway. A new kitchen and I'm cooking in it too?! 

At this rate, I may need to find a new place for this:

Let There Be Light!

The first thing our Kitchen Reno Guy did, as he started undertaking the task of remodelling our kitchen, was to upgrade the dim light above our kitchen sink to three bright LED lights. The first set he brought home would have directed lost planes to our home so he toned down the wattage and we now have bright lights over our kitchen sink.

He had me at the bright lights. And it's only gotten better from there.

It is so exciting to come home at the end of our days to see what has transpired in our absence. I have yet to be disappointed. 

Our house is in a bit of a mess but it's okay. 

This too, shall pass. And in its wake, we are going to have a brand new-to-us kitchen.

Look at the delightful morning scene in our kitchen-thus-far. We now have dimmable under counter lighting. 

I spent the morning using only the lighting from under the counters and it honestly felt like Christmas. My favorite part of Christmas is turning off all the lights in our home except the white Christmas lights. I find white light serene. It soothes and calms me.

I gazed at our kitchen-in-progress and knew without a doubt in my mind. This Time of Great Renovation is right. 

I can feel Mom's nod of approval every step of the way. As I shovelled snow on a windless day a few days ago, Mom's outdoor wind chimes rang with intent. It wasn't just a light "tinkling" of the chimes. It was purposeful and it was as though the chimes were working to get my attention. I looked up and around me. No wind. The chimes were chiming. Then there was silence.

This happened one time when I was shovelling snow at Mom's house. Her snow shovellers didn't shovel everything Mom wanted shovelled so I went out one windless morning and puttered away at the task. I was thinking of Dad as I shovelled. How he would have simply "known" to shovel the patio stone area...

It calms my soul to think and wonder about the energy left behind after one no longer walks here on earth. Is there some energy left behind? Could I be having a "touched by an angel moment" when I feel this presence? 

Everything to do with this renovation has been easy. The seas have parted and it has been easy as taking the next forward step. The presence of Mom & Dad's spirits live strong within me. It is such a comfort to feel them in my heart and soul as I step back into the world of living my life more effectively once again. 

Whose energy is guiding me through this process? Can I take the credit for mustering up my ambition, hopes and dreams? Or can I laud the skies above for some mystical and heaven sent encouragement.

I only know what I know.

Life has had every reason to feel hard, so very hard these past few weeks. And it hasn't. Each and every time a moment had the power to overwhelm me and suck me under, I took deep, long breaths and talked myself down. "Don't over think this" "Just wait" "Don't react. Just wait for the moment to come to you, then act"...

Whatever the guiding force within my life may be at the moment, I am grateful. The path I'm following is bright and easy to follow.

It must be the new lights in our kitchen! Let there be light ...

Mis-Communication 101

My youngest son and I recently had a conversation which would have been interesting to hear, from the outside, listening in. I was chattering away, knowing (in my own mind) what I was talking about. Meanwhile, my son was very quiet. I now believe he thought if I just kept talking, he would eventually figure out what I was saying.

As I have mentioned before, the main floor of our home is in a state of chaos and confusion to those who have not walked in my shoes. Not only have I held onto a good grip of where I've moved everything but I am finding things which have been lost to me for a very long time.

Thus, I was describing the temporary home of our pot holders. I opened the cupboard door, told my son I had moved them and pointed to their new location. He was very quiet, so I tried hanging them from their original hanging spot while continuing to ramble on about the pot holder's new home. It was then, that the cloud of misunderstanding lifted. "Oh, that is what you are talking about? I was going to ask if they were under the oven mitts." Apparently, I use the term pot holders and oven mitts interchangeably, when indeed my son was correct.

We chuckled and moved on through our conversation.

He was a captive audience to my rambling due to the fact that he was boiling up some spaghetti noodles. He has done this once before but that was a very long time ago. So I was bestowing everything I know about boiling noodles as he made his way through his second maiden voyage in this new terrain. "I usually add just a bit of oil to the water to keep the noodles from sticking together..." When he asked how much, I answered as anyone who is is as skilled as I, in the art of culinary expertise, "Oh, just a glug or so." There was an undetectable silence which filled the air.

Then came the need for a plate for his spaghetti and meat sauce creation. He pulled a plate out of the cupboard, covered in reno-dust. New to us reno dust. I told him, "Just give the plate a swoosh and it'll be fine".

At this point, my son shook his head with a smile. "A swoosh? .... A glug? ... Pot holders? ..." He commented on how hard it was to follow the directions on the box when I was giving him all of this added information in a lingo he didn't comprehend.

We laughed.

Then I recalled the time I made barley soup with Mom. She found a recipe that sounded good and she kept adding "what she would do" to the instructions. Then she tuckered out on me and I was left with a half prepared batch of soup, with half the instructions being those from Mom which did not correspond with the written recipe. I was so lost.

Hmmm ... maybe I have a bit of Mom interwoven into me in ways I would have never guessed. I smiled as I told my son the barley soup story.

Life goes around and back. We find traces of who we are, within those who have been a part of our lives. The lingo, the unspoken words and little things learned along the way. They lie beneath the surface and make an appearance when you least expect them.

I have so many stories to tell Mom. This little ditty would have made my weekly letter to her. And she would have known all my lingo. We spoke the same language, Mom and I.

This memory is for you, Mom.