Hello November.

A month that is both a dread as we get closer to

darker nights and cold weather, and a sweet month

with a number of special days, including three of us

in our little family with birthdays. We had truly a

great Summer, but Fall seems to have gone by way

to quickly. We've had 1 small adventure with snow.

It melted quickly but I'm sure the true weather will

show up soon. Until then, I'm still going to enjoy

the little bit of Fall colors that are still hanging on.

Soon the warm colors will become white and crisp!

Hope you're still enjoying an amazing Fall season.

💗 Chy 💗

A New Journey.

Well, we've started on a new journey in our lives. After almost 12 years of missing our first puppy, Celtic~Raine (aka Celti), whom we loved for a solid 16 years, it was time to welcome a new little one in to our family. We have spent the last year thinking about this, research breeds, and training, and dreaming about a tiny pup to fill our arms. Celti was a Bichon Cocker, and very much more Cocker Spaniel than Bichon Frise. This time, we couldn't find a BC, so we tried to find a breed that would have a similar temperament, and a hypo~allergenic pup as well. After feeling like we'd never find just the right breeder, we stumbled on Alanna and her family. She breeds "Poochons" which are Bichons and Poodles. We fell in love and after many conversations, we started the process of becoming an adoptive family. 

Yesterday, we visited Alanna and her family to choose our puppy in person. We had paid our deposit back on May 24th, our puppy was born on July 4th, we received photos and updates over the last few weeks, chose a pup, with a back up via email and photos, and then finally got to meet in person. The family was warm and welcoming, the puppy's were truly cared for and loved, and I'm so thankful that I was able to restrain myself and only choose one puppy, and not the other 8! And we chose the little one from the photos that we fell in love with. A sweet ball of fluffy fur, with some white markings that made her even more endearing. Right from the start, I said the little spot on the top of her head is in my mind, a kiss from Celti from Heaven. That made our choice even sweeter! 

I'll do another post actually introducing our new addition once she's home and settled.

💗 Chy 💗

Hello August

One of my favorite Summer months, while waiting for

my very favorite season of Fall. I love August for a few

reasons ~ it's our Wedding Anniversary each year. It's

the month of my mom~in~laws birthday. And my sweet

cousin too. I loved August as a kid when we spent lots

of time out at our grandparents cottage on the beach. I

loved it as a kid when we would go shopping for new

clothes and back to school supplies. I always start my

Christmas shopping and planning in August. And now

that I've started mastering the art of gardening, this is the

best time of year for my growing landscape. All in all,

this is the loveliest month around! What do you think?

💗 Chy 💗

Silence.

When she goes quiet, it's not

because she has nothing to say.

Her silence isn't emptiness ~ it's full.

Full of words too heavy to speak.

Full of emotions too raw to unravel.

Full of pain that feels impossible

to put into sentences.

She's tired.

Tired of explaining herself over and over again.

Tired of being misunderstood.

Tired of holding it all together when no one sees

the cracks forming beneath her surface.

Her silence isn't indifference ~ it's exhaustion.

It's the weight of carrying battles no one else can see.

It's the struggle of fighting wars within herself while

pretending everything is fine on the outside.

Sometimes, the deepest battles are fought in silence.

The loudest cries go unheard because

 they never leave her lips.

So if you notice her retreating into quiet,

don't mistake it for peace. 

Ask her what she needs. 

Give her space ~ but also let her know you're there. 

Because behind her silence lies a heart that's

breaking under the pressure of keeping it all inside. 

And maybe, just maybe, she doesn't need

 solutions or advice right now.

Maybe she just needs someone to

sit with her in the stillness.

To acknowledge the storm without

demanding an explanation.

Because her silence isn't

weakness ~ it's survival.

And sometimes, the bravest thing a woman

can do is stay silent when the world

expects her to speak.

~ Unknown

💗 Chy 💗

March Bucket List.

We have been so fortunate to have a really love "early Spring" though my daughter keeps reminding us that our "3rd Winter" should come along anytime soon! One can only hope. After a week of bitter cold, this past week was filled with beautiful blue skies, warm air and melting snow. It's slushy and I have no idea what color our car is, but the feeling that just around the corner, we'll soon be seeing buds on trees and flowers in our garden makes me so happy. It feels lighter. I wore a sweater to the centre yesterday, instead of a big Winter coat and boots, with hat and scarf, and layers of mitts. It was nice to put on a cotton pair of socks, instead of my wool ones. And to not have to warm up our wheat bag to warm our bed at night. If "3rd Winter" comes along, this little reprieve has been so lovely for my heart and my spirit. 

Love the "March Bucket List" as my visual for today. It has me excited for this month. The thought of starting some seeds inside, to wear lighter clothes and to decorate for St. Patrick's Day makes me smile! As a 4th generation Irish lassie (maybe 3rd, not sure how it works), this is one of my favorite celebrations. A whimsical day that truly signifies Spring for me. I've put all of Christmas away now, and have started to get out the green for the day. And then a bit of Spring is happening too. Changed out the front door wreath and hung up the wind chimes on the back deck. We couldn't put "Bruce the Moose" away as he's actually buried under some ice but once that melts, we'll hang him to dry and then tuck him away until next Winter. I'm starting think about our Spring projects for outside and what we'd like to accomplish this year. 

Hope you are starting to get excited about Spring!

💗 Chy 💗

Spring Dreaming.

The last few years, we've had pretty mild

Winters. Not much snow, though we did

have a few good snowfalls. No real storms

though. Late Falls and early Springs. We did

appreciate these and hoped for many more

Winters but truly this year, we've had a lot of

snow! Lots of sun, a bit of cold, no storms

but snow, snow, snow! The good thing is we

we all hope it will help keep forest fires at

bay. So today, a little bit of Spring dreaming!

💗 Chy 💗

Dream Flight.

We discovered when we were planning our trip that

our credit card gives us free entrance and free meals

at the Westjet and the Air Canada lounges. So once

we were checked in for the trip, we totally indulged!

This was such a bonus as I was personally so very

anxious about getting on a plane to fly over the sea.

Partly because of 9/11, but mostly because of my

vast and dangerous food allergies, making travel hard.

With extra epiPens and a bag full of Reactine, we set

off and found the lounge to be quite the experience.

There was a number of food items to choose from and

as we didn't know what the onboard food would be,

it was lovely to enjoy 2 bowls of warm chicken noodle

soup, fresh bread, fruit, veggies, spring rolls, cookies,

and ginger ale. Dh had some items I couldn't eat too.

There was several hours to kill and this worked well.

The lounge was comfortable, with big windows to see

planes arrive and take off, and soft jazzy music in the

background. We talked, took photos, relaxed and by

the time we were ready to board, the anxiety was gone.

The YEG sign at the airport. One thing we laughed

about was having to walk out to he the "prop" plane

for the 1st leg of our trip. It was just dropping us off

in Calgary for our connecting flight but it still felt funny

to be on such a big trip yet we had to walk to the plane!

Once we were in Calgary, we took the tram to the gate

and a short time later, we were on our way, in the air!

The trip in total was late afternoon our time and we

landed in Paris, France around noon the next day.

We did lots before we left, making sure that life,

work and our home were all in order so we could

truly enjoy without any worries. It's always a lot of

work but worth it to ensure we can focus on the trip.

💗 Chy 💗

 

Overseas Dream.

We left Canada on Sunday, January 26th.

Though I have been to Europe, my lovey

has not, so this was a big dream come

true. We even had a sunny, warm day.

Never do we travel with a large suitcase

but this trip is both a long vacation for us

and a business trip for dh. We even hope

to add in a anniversary celebration as it

was a big one in the Summer but we've

had so much on the go, we didn't get to

truly celebrate. So what better way to do

this then take a trip to another country!

💗 Chy 💗