Work at Night.

The work day around here is never really "done" ~ case notes at night is my routine when it's too busy to log them in during the day. Then any final emails or call for the day are completed. And when that's done, it's festival season planning and there are countless spreadsheets to review, meetings to plan and budgets to play with. I so appreciate Sundays as our day to just be and not think about work and any other obligations we are committed to. Hope you have any amazing day ~ I'm so looking forward to the sun today, some outdoor time as the air warms up and a snuggle on the cozy couch later to watch an episode of "The Dropout." 

Namaste my dear blogging buddies.

~ Chy

Sunday Morning.

Heat wave continues. We're up and off

to finish building our new shed before

it gets unbearably hot. Fingers crossed

we can get the last bits done today ....

Namaste. Stay cool!

~ Chy

Sunny Sunday.

My sweet ceramic basket that I usually put out for Easter has not gone back to the storage room just yet. I think it's just perfect to house a small plant pot, so out it stays. 

Today is so sunny! But that will change tomorrow when the rain settles in for about 4 days. We do need it. The bit we got last week wasn't really enough, though it greened up our landscape (looks so amazing now) and helped with the forest fires. I'm so hopeful the rain will come and stay as long as they've predicted so the fires can be brought under control. So scary but thankfully not close to our region. 

The plan for today is to cut back some of the old growth on my perennials, get the rain barrels set up for the season, finishing weeding the veggie patch and plant my pea, carrot, beet and onion seeds. Holding off on the others until it's warm again after all the rain. Then I'm going to take a long shower and relax on the deck ~ trying to finish my book so I can start the next one. Indigo had a great sale not long ago and we did a little stocking up. Maybe some art studio work later as well. I've been doing some purging and tidying, and hope to work on the one dollhouse this week that I'm trying to finish up. I've got some new ideas to try. Getting there!

I'll be back later with "Right Here. Right Now."

Enjoy your sunny Sunday. Namaste my buddies.

~ Chy

Lazy Sunday?

We have worked hard to make sure our Sundays are laid back, even lazy. Or at least we've attempted to get this in to place. But then we do our workouts in the morning and have energy. So what happens when you have energy? You start doing things that turn your "lazy Sunday" in to a work day! Really going to have get better at NOT using Sunday as a work day. Yesterday, after my workout and shower, I spent a couple of hours mixing up soil less soil, then planted 80 cups of flower seeds for the garden ~ Canterbury Bells, Sweet Peas, Delphiniums, Soapwort, Batchelor Buttons, Foxglove and more Lavender. Can you imagine if they all germinated and bloomed? Fingers crossed this works. The rest of the day was laundry, emails, writing, a founders meeting for our radio station, working on the beginnings of a Strategic Plan, then making a list of grants to write this month, and finally, a short video to honor "International Bereaved Mother's Day" to post. A good day and the only thing that kept us indoors for most of it was the cool air and the rain that was here and there. Today has started out with a full sky of blue and no clouds. Hoping it warms up so we can be outside later. Meetings this morning and then time for catching up on projects for the rest of the morning. A meeting this afternoon with a community that would like to increase programming for their residents. Tonight? Maybe writing. Or read my book. Or watch a show that we've PVR'd. We'll see.

Photos above: my sweet Holly Hobbie plant pot from my childhood that I'm potting a sweet tiny plant I've been nurturing. Will do an update photo later with the finished look. And below that .... dinner from last night. So good! And the best: leftovers for lunch today. Mmmm ....

Wishing you a beautiful Monday!

~ Chy

Sunday Dinner.

Waiting for the snow on Sunday, we

had a lovely dinner, just the two of

us, with a sparkling lime drink and

my favorite ~ roasted veggies. Yum!

~ Chy

A Fine Sunday.

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. We're trying to enjoy our weekend but of course, our hearts are heavy with the idea that in any moment, we could get a call that the virus has spread through my mom's care village. I'm truly hoping they are going to be just as successful as they've been in the past, and this one resident ends up being the only case. Your blessings have greatly helped me feel supported. I will update as we know the status. 

I'll do a separate post on our movie premiere evening last night for our grandson. It was a great distraction and he was so excited! Picture to follow later. 

Today is cloudy and snow is on it's way at some point. It's still warm so we're going to head outside later to try and put our greenhouse back together (there's another post) and then try for the third time (another post!!) to get our rink ready for the water man to bring us a truckload of water this week. Looking forward to skating soon on our little rink.

Once we're done these tasks, I'm going to either have a lovely hot shower OR a warm bubble bath. And then snuggle down the rest of the day to finish up some paperwork (preschool registrations), watch an episode of "Bridgerton" (new series ~ quite good!), write a letter or two (love my pen pals!), catch up on some blog reading (I'm slightly behind!) and help dh make a scrumptious Sunday dinner (can't wait to see what he's going to create tonight!). Not an exciting day but after a very busy week, a slower paced day that I'm looking forward to. What are you up to on this fine Sunday?

~ Chy

Sunday Thoughts.

A few thoughts on a warm and sunny Sunday morning ....

We had our annual music festival this weekend. Friday night and Saturday night. Last year was the first year and we held it outside, with a huge circus like tent covering the staging and seating area, in case of rain or super hot weather. And as much as I hated how much that damn tent cost, it was so worth it in the end, as we had both rain and super hot weather. The artists loved being outside but also covered as did all the festival attendees. This year, due to the Pandemic, we could have shut down our festival like most did, but in the end, we gambled and did a virtual festival from an indoor venue (just the artists, techs and our board in attendance for safety). Last year, we had just over 1,000 attendees, amazing for a first year event. This year, we've hit over 3,000 viewers! Hmmm. We definitely want to be outside next year again but it was a very well run event again this year. No worries about rain. No worries about heat stroke. No worries about ticket sales. Very relaxed and such a lovely time together. Planning for next year is already under way. We are already excited for the 2021 festival.

Work is still at home. But school will be back to normal in about a week. We're all nervous as our little guy goes back. Lots of measures in place to keep kids healthy and safe, and staff too. I'm not sure if this will last all year, especially as we head in to flu season. Fingers crossed as he heads back. Our granddaughter will continue to homeschool as both she and our daugher~in~law have heart conditions. And mama is doing her Masters but this year, for now, the University has put it online. So they can stay home and study safely. 

We hope to BBQ today. So far, the weather looks amazing. Heading in to town to pick up a few groceries, I'll do a quick fridge clean out and pantry tidy, and then water the plants. Sitting out on the deck for a bit in the sun would be great. We just had a couple of days of rain again. Sun and relaxing is definitely a great Sunday plan! No stress,  no worries. 

Weekends are for chilling, catching up, coordinating and conversations. I hope you've had all of these over the last few days and that  your week is amazing as you head in to it. Ours is full with meetings on Zoom, convos by phone and playing with our little guy before school begins. A bit of gardening, maybe the final coat on the deck and sanding the veranda, and another tidy of the garage before the cold weather returns. Hoping to meet with our house audit guys to see where we're at for our claims. And planning for our next event on the 22nd of September is mixed in all of this as well as booking an appointment with my naturopath to set up my flu shots for the Fall. Not sure if we can get in for our teeth cleanings yet but I'm going to call to see what the set up is. Some letter writing to catch up on as well and maybe a few more pictures to hang. Busy busy week but keeps us from fretting about the Pandemic. Makes the weekends more fulfilling knowing we've had a busy week.

That's all for my Sunday Thoughts.

Hope your week goes well!

~ Chy

Happy Sunday.

Wishing you and yours an amazing

day of love, sun and new memories!

~ Chy

For all Moms ....

---- who have new babies in arms, toddlers to chase,

older kids to homeschool, teens to banter with, and

adults to be proud of. For all moms who are missing

their own moms on this special day. And all moms

who have aching hearts as they visit the graves of

their child who has died too soon, too young. This is

a day to be celebrated, honored, wherever you are in

your mothering journey. I hope you are loved and

spoiled today, with breakfast in bed and sunny skies

to look forward to. Happy Mother's Day to you all!

~ Chy

Sunny Sunday.

The snow began on Friday and continued

all day and through the night on Saturday.

Our pergola on the deck has beautiful

ridges of snow now covering the beams.

My tiny potting shed, shrouded in light

and shadows, and surrounded by snow.

The forest outside our bedroom windows.

Frosty and with buried deer foot prints.

The sun casting a shadow from the trees

I use to hang my hammock when the air

is warmer and the ground is green again.

Looking forward to the melt and the warmth.

Hope your Sunday is as sunny as ours is here,

in our little house in the big woods in Canada!

~ Chy

Sunday Night.

Last night, someone down the road disrupted our quiet Saturday night by shooting off fireworks. Then the music started. It's unusual to hear outside noises inside our house but the fireworks were loud. And the music increased in volume over time. We ignored it, knowing it wouldn't last all night. Eventually, we trekked off to bed as Saturday had been a busy work day (kids grief class and then individual counselling sessions) and we both soon fell fast asleep.

However, it wasn't long before the music was thumping and thumping and there didn't seem to be an end to it! I did think about calling the non~emergency number for the RCMP but I couldn't figure out if the music was in our subdivision or out on the Range Road. And I also kept thinking it would just stop in time. Maybe a neighbor would call. So I wouldn't have to be "that neighbor!" Finally, at 4:00 a.m., I couldn't handle it anymore and went and stood out on our back deck. It was hard to figure out the direction. It was beyond our one neighbor but again, I couldn't figure out from where. So off I trekked back to bed, reading for a while and tossing and turning. Around 4:40, suddenly, it stopped! I'm not sure if someone else finally called in or if the party broke up or if the individual(s) finally got tired but the silence was heaven! Off to sleep I went, at least for a bit.

Our painters came back this morning to finish the garage so I was up early to shower and let them in. Dh has a nasty bronchial cold, so I made him some warm cinnamon raisin toast and then settled down to create our Fall Home Task Binder. Once I had our tasks laid out in the binder, I then took a bit of time to mark some items off by tackling them while dh had a long, hot shower. I started the laundry, cleaned out the laundry room, re~organized inside the cabinets inside, then the closet in that small room, put the garbage and recycling together to take down the lane for pick up tomorrow, tidied up from breakfast and put the dishes in the dishwasher, tidied the bathroom and wiped down all surfaces, folded my mom's laundry to go to her care home tomorrow, folded our laundry, cleaned out the fridge (wiped it all down as well), swept and vacuumed, cleaned the furnace humidifier, soaking the pad, then once the painters were done in the early afternoon, we headed in to town to get groceries, then home to put them away and while dh took a break, we watched "Escape to the Country" while I dug out the Fall decorations and starting making our home feel warm and cozy. Dh put the fireplace on and the rest of the afternoon was spent writing on our laptops, watching our show and staying cozy while the wind howled. 

I made dinner (wow!) and then we finished decorating, tidied the kitchen and ran the dishwasher, put 2 more loads of laundry in (all done now), and settled down to watched 2 shows. Everything is done now, we're ready for a busy week and to end our weekend, we're going to watch the 1st episode of Season 1 of Downton Abbey. Yup, we're just a bit behind but now that the movie is out, we thought it was time to jump in and see what all the fuss is about! Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for your week too. 

~ Chy

Happy Sunday.

Wishing you a beautiful day full of

love, family, memories and reflection.

~ Chy

Sunday Dinner.

A new sparkling cooler to try after a nice

day of project, working out and napping.

A small pork chop with onion soup mix,

4 cheese risotto and ceasar salad. Yum!

~ Chy

Show End.

Our show ended yesterday afternoon. It was another great performance and we're all feeling really good about the rehearsals, the fundraising, the long hours, the physical work and the run. Our best show ever at the Fringe. After we ended, we all walked over to a local pub for a final drink together and the conversation (after the speeches and gifts were delivered) quickly turned to next year's production. Lots of options and great excitement surrounded us. Such a great team.

In time, some of the cast had to leave, so a smaller group of us retreated to our favorite pub but unfortunately, it was after 4 p.m. and our little guy wasn't able to be in the pub. So we went next door to another pub we've never been to. We now have a new favorite spot to spend time in. Pictures and commentary to follow. For now, I've posted a pic of the cooler and white chocolate I love to indulge in after a very big event. My "go to" treats for a job truly well done!

We got home later in the evening, full of good food, good cheer and great memories. It wasn't long before we found ourselves closing our eyes while watching a show on tv so up to bed we went. And woke up over 12 hours later this morning. We were tired! This morning we've lounged a bit in bed, watching a few episodes of "Escape to the Country" and munching on raspberry toast. We plan to do a bit of gardening today if the weather holds out (its cloudy and rain is predicted) and then a trek in the City to stock our booth at the Antique Mall ~ we've been selling quite a bit this month and we need to fill in the empty spaces. Then home for dinner and a bit more snuggling down to rest as this will be a very busy and active week. Lots to do before Fall hits our region. 

What are your plans on this quiet Sunday?

Do you have a busy week coming up?

Sunny Sunday.

It's a long weekend here in our region ~ the Heritage Day celebration. Canada is a favorite location for those seeking a new home and our culture is diverse and rich. This weekend is an opportunity to experience the vastness of our "melting pot" community. In the river valley, a 3 day festival is on, rain or shine, and thousands will descend on the large park that hosts the event. We used to take our kids but haven't gone in a while. Big crowds aren't my thing and I'd rather use the weekend to reflect on our heritage and enjoy our home and our garden. Spending time with clients and families all week long makes our weekends very precious to our well being.

We planned out our long weekend to include yesterday as a working day (I work on Saturdays and it was busy but we got lots done), today is gardening day and tomorrow is fun and visiting day with family. I have to have a 3 day weekend like everyone else so technically I should have Tuesday off but I think I'm going to bank it as we have a big even this coming week. With extra hours, I plan to add this day and the hours and other days I've kept to have a week off in early September. We have so much happening this month, all good stuff, that having a bit of time off once it's all done makes the extra work and hours worth the time. Ah, time off!

Gardening today is going to start with weeding, then we're laying landscape fabric down on the areas that will be getting rock. If we're not careful, we can get too many weeds and I really don't want to spend each and every weekend pulling weeds for hours on end. So fabric, rock, cedar chips and limestone will help keep the majority of it at bay. We're also hoping today to start building up the front walkway. It has a couple of spots that fill with water when we get too much rain and in the Winter, there is times that those spots melt then freeze, making our front walk not always the safest route for visitors. We have a plan to rectify this. Hoping it works! If not, we may have to regrade the whole area, which is not our wish. We'll try this plan first. Fingers crossed.

Our veggie patch is growing well and we also plan to pick some items today for dinner. Peas, beets, maybe some onions and we'll try to pollinate the pumpkins and zucchini. The cucumbers aren't doing very well so I may pull those out and see if we can grow more peas. Strawberries are small still but they keep growing so we'll see how they fair. This is truly our "experimental garden" and for a first try, we're not doing too bad at all. I'm impressed! It's fun to walk down to our patch each night to see what has popped up since the day before. Now I want a greenhouse, so we've been doing some research to find out what would fit, what holds up with our Winter weather and what we'd get the most use out of. I've decided I don't want a plain aluminum look but a lovely black framed unit. And just found out yesterday I can order the decorative ridge cresting to add a Victorian look to whichever greenhouse we end up choosing. I'm also looking for a book to buy so we can read up on greenhouse gardening over the Winter as we prepare for next season. Can't wait already.

After our landscaping and gardening work, we'll shower, have a lovely dinner and hope to sit out on the patio for a fire. Or lounge on the deck. Either one will do to relax.

Wishing you a wonderful day?

What are your plans this sunny Sunday?

Inspiration.

My inspiration for Spring. I have

my Lavender seeds tucked away in

the fridge, waiting for seeding day.

And our bird bath is in the garage.

Now we just need the temperature

to rise, the snow to melt and the

ground to thaw. I did a quick count

and Spring is due in just 38 days ....

Sunny Sunday.

Finally, a sunny day! In keeping with our relaxed

Sunday routine, I've adopted the above list as my

"keeping me grounded on this sacred day" mantra.

But with the sun today, I have added a few tasks to

complete before the predicted dreaded snow arrives 

this week. I hope it doesn't make me a hypocrite.

Here's my task list for this beautiful sunny Sunday:

* long shower to easy my achy body

* unload the dishwasher from last night

* gather the ingredients to make a pie

* plant our spring bulbs in the warm earth

* send an email to a group I belong to

* create a scrumptious family dinner

* set up the room that I will paint tomorrow

* put the wicker furniture in to storage

All easy tasks and ones that will make this day flow 

smoothly and the week easier to manage with life

in order and tasks taken care of. The snow likely

won't last long as warmer days are predicted after.

But in our climate, being prepared is key to not

getting caught in a blizzard. We'll be ready for sure.

What are your grand plans for this Sunny Sunday?

Are you busy getting ready for this Winter?

Cozy Sunday.

Ah, Sunday! In keeping with our promise to each other that our Sundays would be at home and restful, our plans for today are very small. Just a few tasks to tackle. On our short list were the following:

* Put the Halloween decorations away, which will happen ~ a quick task as the bin is ready and we just need to take down the few hanging objects, fold them and place them in the bin, and then take the bin down to the little Christmas room storage space we have. 

* Take the organics bin down the lane to the garbage drop off spot for the truck to pick it up tomorrow, along with our blue bags of recyclables. 

* Put away the folded clean laundry that was completed yesterday but is still in the basket.

* Make a list of dinners for the week and any grocery items to pick up.

* Put the wicker furniture under the back porch, safe and out of the elements for the winter ~ it's dreary and over cast today but the next two weeks are supposed to be very warm and sunny, so I think we'll keep the wicker out while the weather is still beautiful and we can still enjoy sunsets on the front veranda. It's easy to tuck them away if the weather forecasts do change.

* Write some letters, read some blogs and write a blog post or two. Things I love to do but have to put on my list so I don't fill the list with other tasks that aren't timely or really critical. Learning to balance my lists with things that are needed to be done and things I want to do. 

I think I'll replace "put the wicker furniture under the back porch" with "curl up on the couch in front of the fireplace with dh while he watches the hockey game today and I can nap!" Not a bad compromise. I'm still comfy in bed but plan to get up in a while to have a warm bath then tackle our small list, get dinner ready for a slow cook today and start a new letter to a dear friend or two. Tomorrow I'm in town for a bit and meeting a friend for lunch. Today is our family day off together and tomorrow is my day off while everyone else is at work and school. 

How will you spend your day today?

Wishing you a warm and relaxing Sunday!

Restful Sunday?

I have always believed that Sunday should be a true day of rest and rejuvenation. When our children were young and I was at home full time, it was easy to use Saturday as our day to tackle chores that were done together. And then Sunday was our day to sleep in, hang out, play, read, trek down to the big park at the end of our street, BBQ and just be a family. Things shifted a bit when I was offered my current contract with our local hospice, after 20 years at home. I started out very part time. But after a few years, they asked me to come on board full time. And the bonus was, I could choose and work my hours the way I needed to, so I could still have time to juggle my family commitments and my work life. My husband came home at that time and was able to carve out his own career, while taking care of the house and life for all of us. Our weekends were a bit different, as I took on working on Saturdays, with Monday off, a schedule I still love today. At that time, anything we didn't get done on Saturday we could move to Monday and do those items together or he would add them to his list and get them done during the week. It worked well and we still had down time. Sundays were our rest days.

But then we decided it was time for an adventure. It was time to move, time to expand our space to better accommodate our extended family. And suddenly, our quiet and restful Sundays became the day we'd meet with our builder (often) and the day we'd use to shop for or scout out our choices for the build. It was a lot of  work and we got in to a habit of getting our work done either on Saturday night or I'd do it all on Mondays. By now, my dh had returned to the corporate world, after being home for over 6 years with our youngest, who turned 18 the year he went back. With a busy Sunday, every hour taken up with a tight schedule, and Mondays full of tasks, chores, lists and phone calls, I had NO down time. We vowed once we moved to the country that we'd "take back" our Sundays. For quite a while, we did just that but this Fall, with the prediction of an early Winter, we've found ourselves filling up our Sundays again. Extra yardwork, making sure the house is set for snow and cold, swapping out Summer tires for Winters, putting away Summer clothes, digging out our warm woolies, Thanksgiving, Halloween and then Christmas, plus 3 birthdays and 2 Christmas Concerts, all taking extra time. 

This Sunday was different. I had truly had enough of rushing around to get things done without any regard for my physical, emotional, spiritual and creative self. So starting on Friday, we broke down tasks, and decided that Sunday would be a "light" day. We got lots down yesterday and allowed ourselves a chance to sleep in a bit this morning. Then we went into town with our daughter and grandson, then home to do a couple of tasks in the garden, including cutting down some tree branches that were in the way for our new fence and gate. We put our back deck furniture under the porch, safe from the harshness of Winter. And swept the deck, laid out the skating rink liner, made 2 quiches for dinner and lunch tomorrow, and put away a load of laundry. We were done by 3ish and then after hot showers, I cozied up on the couch to read, write, explore ideas, watch a few shows and enjoy some quiet time. Dh and dd and gs are now watching the hockey game in the theatre room downstairs, dd is upstairs getting ready for her day tomorrow and I'm watching a show about Castles in Scotland. Lovely way to spend a cozy Sunday evening. This coming week is supposed to be very warm and sunny, after a week of intense fog and rain. We're hoping our gates and fences will go in by the end of the week while it's still nice out. Next weekend, we'll put our wicker furniture under the porch, along with the rain barrels and sweep off the veranda. Our garden will then be ready for Winter. Soon we'll start our Christmas decorating and write out our cards, finish up our shopping and plan our scrumptious dinner. But only tasks related to those that we love to do can spill over to Sundays, as long as we're in agreement. For now, I'd like to go back to having Sundays for cuddling. Cozy and restful, as they always should be.

What do your Sundays look like?

Are they a day of rest or full of activities?

Gloomy Sunday.

It was quite a "gloomy Sunday" around here today. The sky was cloudy, even dark at times and we had a few snow flakes that feel, making it feel cold after a couple of weeks of sunshine and melting. We all slept in and lazed about for a while, then tackled a few tasks. Here's my list of accomplishments on this hazy and chilly day: 

*took a long hot shower

*started the laundry

*tidied up around the house

*organized our files

*sent in a book order for our centre

*created the monthly deposit for the bank

*made dinner and did the dishes

*played with the pup and the child

*folded the laundry

*took some small boxes up to the art studio to unpack

*took some boxes of extra tile out to the garage

*moved the lamp in the laundry room 

to sit on top of the water cooler

It was a quiet day, a restful day, a task oriented day but in the end, still gloomy. Maybe we needed a day like today.

How was your day?

Was it a "gloomy Sunday"?