Early Blooms.

We were at Costco the other day and picked up a tray of these sweet annuals. I love the early blooms of white, pink and lavender. Trekked down to the potting shed and brought in a few pots to wash up. I won't plant these just yet as we can still get super chilly temps, like today. Traditionally in this region, the rule of thumb is to wait until after the May Long Weekend, which is May 21st to the 23rd. Usually by then, the threat of frost, heavy rain or super cold nights is gone and we can plant without worry. I truly wish we could live in a more temperate climate where gardening could be a year long experience. Or at least longer than a few months every year. But we are too engrained in our community here and it would be super difficult to leave. So we put up with the 4 Seasons we have and love, and dream about a longer growing season. One day, we'll grow our own early blooms instead of picking them up from the greenhouse or Costco. 

Today was the first day back in person for our kid's grief program after 2 years of virtual classes. I was slightly nervous not knowing if everyone would show up, but they did and it turned out to be an amazing first session. Now I'm excited for next week. Such brave little souls, seeking comfort and education, healing and clarity. I facilitated the Parents Group and they were equally as amazing as the kids and the teens. A lot of pain was shared in our tiny space. Honored these mourning families chose our program. 

Tonight we're working on our Festival (just 7 weeks away!), talking about an upcoming trip, and then settling in to chill for the rest of the night. Dh is bbqing in the moment, the girls are out shopping and little guy is at his dad's for the weekend. Tomorrow is Mother's Day and dh did spend time at our other house today doing some work in prep for another round of painting tomorrow. I did the bottom kitchen cabinets on Friday and some trim. Tomorrow, he's going to tackle the bedrooms and I'll finish the top kitchen cabinets and continue the trim work. We hope to be done this week so we can list and get it sold while the market is still crazy hot. Wish us luck! We're almost there. Can't wait!

Oh, wow, I mentioned Mother's Day and then went right in to painting. Our plan is to sleep in a bit but still get up at a decent time to shower, head to the house to paint, tidy up once we're done, then stop to visit my mom for a bit and shower her with gifts and love, head home to watch a race (not sure what but that's on the schedule), then we'll have dinner and settle in for the hockey game. I'll post a photo of our special dinner that I got to pick out today. Mmmm!

Wishing you a lovely evening!

~ Chy

Memorial Moment.

Sharing my words.

The candle is lit.

The treat on the way home.

The curls that lasted in to the night.

I had the honor of speaking at our Annual Hike

of Hospice on the weekend. My short but sweet

talk included not a "moment of silence" but an

opportunity to have all our attendees participate

by sharing their loved ones name out loud. I'm

very proud that this was well received. Making

an event meaningful is key to the success of it.

Thankful for the support of my team and all the

guests who were respectful of this "Memorial

Moment" and for our local community hospice.

~ Chy

The 1st of May.

A busy few days have kept me from blogging but I have kept up with everyone's adventures and lives. Know that if you're on my list of "Blogging Buddies" I read you each and every day. My daily and tiny little escape from the stressors of the World. I love my time away as I peek in to your lives.

On the weekends, we often have many chores and tasks to take care of. Between our festival, the radio station, yard work, upkeep on the cottage and relationships to nurture, it's always a busy time. This weekend, I worked on 4 grants, attended an event for our hospice where I was responsible for a Memorial Moment, some counselling clients, groceries, a trip to Costco, cleaning our little abode, laundry, plants to water inside and move to other locations for more growth, and plants to explore outside as our landscape changes from white to green. So excited to see our lavender plants are greening up but the rest are all still brown for now. Hopefully we finally get lilac blooms this year ~ fingers crossed! I'm so excited to see the trees have tiny buds too.

I often wonder if we'll have more time once we retire but then think of all the creative endeavors we've gotten involved in and I'm not quire sure that our hoped for retirement will be any quieter. But as long as we're fulfilled and having fun, that's all that matters. It will be different to not have counselling clients every day, or group work, or mentoring staff and volunteers. Not ready for this yet but down the road, the change will be so strange. I'm sure we'll be ready by then! It's fun to think about though .... a little dream.

As much as our love our sweet weekends, I do look forward to driving back to work on Mondays. Always a great energy day for me, I love the start of the week to get things sorted and underway. We're hosting a gathering at hospice on Thursday so I've kept that day open for being part of the sessions and helping out as best I can. Fun stuff!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Looking forward to reading your adventures!

~ Chy

April Snow ....

My photos look so dull but the reality is, that was the best light of the day. Why, you may ask? Because it freaking snowed, again! Yes, it is April. Yes, it is Spring. Mother Nature seems to have forgotten that we're supposed to be in a rainy season so that we'll sprout blooms and color. But oh no, she graced us with another day of the white stuff. My bronchitis cough continues to linger, so I ended up staying home to try to recover as the next few days are crazy busy and I need my voice. Right now, if I talk, I cough. A day without talking was prescribed and I hope it worked. It was sooo hard to not converse. Despite the fact I think and actually know I am a very shy introvert, I do talk, a lot! Very quiet in our cottage yesterday. Dh had a great time teasing me. I'm still cozy in bed at the moment but getting up soon to shower and head in to work. A few more days and then I can take it easy again. Sunday can't come soon enough!

Today I have to catch up with my team, sift through the job applications that have come in to fill one of our grief counsellor positions, create a Power Point for a presentation tomorrow, support my team in the last kids program for this term, head back to my other office for a fire inspection, home for dinner, then just one counselling session this evening. Will be interesting to see how my voice holds out. Tomorrow I head to a community south of us to present to a group of teacher on a PDD (Professional Development Day) ~ the topic is "Grief in the Classroom" and it's one of my favorites to chat about. My student, now full time colleague until the end of Summer, lives in the community, so she's going to join me for the morning and then she'll head in to work and I'll head over my other office to provide 2 counselling sessions. Saturday we have our annual Hike for Hospice and I'll be speaking at the beginning and leading a small ceremony for all those who we are walking to remember. Not sure if we'll stay for the day or head back home. Will depend on my energy and my voice. Sunday .... no plans. We should paint at the other house but for now, I'm leaving it open as a day of rest if needed. It will be needed! 

That's the grand plan for the next few days. Thankfully, the sun is back out today, the snow has melted and I am still super tired but can feel I have enough energy to get through the day. Looking forward to seeing my team too. I hate being away from the hospice, even when it's just a day. Feel like I miss too much. It's going to be an interesting change when we get to retirement. Hopefully by then I'll have transitioned from a very busy position to a much lighter work load. 

Wishing you a beautiful day.

And hope you have no snow!

~ Chy

Birthday Flowers.

My mom's birthday was on the weekend.

She's creeping along getting closer to 80.

So thankful she's healthy but wish her

mind was still all intact. So many more

stories and true wisdom to share that she

now has so much difficulty in providing.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest mama!

The flowers were a gift from my auntie.

So loved, so missed by those who can't

visit. I miss her funny jokes and her laugh.

~ Chy

Floral Inspiration.

I have a wooden basket pretty much identical

to this one. Even has a little metal plate on the

front declaring"flower market" and I just did

a lovely paint job on it. I've decided these pics

are the inspiration I need to style the basket

for our cottage. Love the look and the colors.

~ Chy

Baby Shower.

One of my colleagues is finished work

for a bit while she patiently waits for

her first precious baby to arrive. Before

she was done though, we gave her a

sweet little surprise baby shower. And

she loved it. It was a lovely afternoon

as she opened up each gift to reveal

tiny items for her nursery. So much fun!

~ Chy

Island Dreaming.

When I dream of our island, this is one of the

images that creep in to my head ~ so serene.

~ Chy