Still I Rise ....

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

 I rise.

Maya Angelou .... 1928 ~ 2014

Waiting ....

.... still waiting. We moved in to our

just over 16 months ago. And from

the beginning, I knew what I wanted

this kitchen nook corner to look like.

But between packing and unpacking,

settling in, theater work, hospice work,

centre work, trying to landscape, and

spending time with our family ....

.... this little corner has sat and sat. No

life to it, just a spot for items to be.

This weekend, my beloved dh helped me

finally change this corner from nothing

to something. I'll do the reveal a little later

in the week. For now, you'll have to wait ....

Curious Kitty.

Kylo is a very curious and playful kitty. He loves to

explore and is a great playmate for our grandbaby. So

much fun to watch the two of them amuse and truly

entertain each other. It never gets old, making us laugh.

Wordless Wednesday.

People Watching.

I'm at the dealership this morning while they do my oil change (free for as long as I have my car) and swap out my summer tires for my winters. They are supposed to shuttle me to work but the driver is late and ironically, my car will be ready before she's back. So I'm sitting here, chilled out and "people watching" while I wait. A fun activity when the moments ahead are boring. I like to try and guess the life behind the body, the story behind the life. I love people watching when I'm sitting waiting for something or someone. Great way to kill the time.

Across from me, a lovely Asian lady who is wishing to buy a car but there is a blip in her credit. She's all dressed in black, with comfy Ugg boots and a knitted handbag. On her phone and texting and scrolling like mad. She doesn't look too worried, maybe slightly. Hope she gets her car today so she can smile and be happy.

Another older Asian man was across from me but is now pacing. I'm not sure if they are together as I came in after they were already here. They haven't conversed or made any eye contact that I've seen. Maybe they are together but he's not happy about the credit situation. He's calm but nervous. But not smiling at all.

Older woman who's on her phone and not participating in watching the tv that is on for us to watch. Maybe the show doesn't interest her. Maybe she's meal planning. Maybe she's chatting with a friend. No guess by her face. She has a "I'm not going to look at anyone" kind of look about her. I'm sure she'd rather be somewhere else.

Older guy who is clearly retired and has all the time in the world today. Not taking the shuttle offer. He'll just wait. No interest in the tv. No interest in walking around or going to visit the shops close by. He'll just sit and wait, and wait, and wait. And people watch.

Ah, a new seat mate! She just came out of the sales office with a big smile on her face and a glossy folder in her hand. She's excited  .... perhaps a new car? Or a good deal? Or she thinks she got a good deal!! It's hard work getting a good deal. I know, I'm the queen of good deals!

More sales guys than customers today. It's quiet in here, a bit chilly and I do wish they would put the fireplace on. But I declined the shuttle to go anywhere because my car is supposed to be done in the next few minutes. An oil change, inspection and tire swap, plus car wash, all within an hour and a half. I'm happy to wait vs. taking the shuttle and having to wait to be picked up again. I need to get to work but am happy I could do some work here and not get too behind in my schedule. Plus, taking the shuttle would have meant sitting in a closed vehicle with a grouchy looking driver and people who need to be somewhere, just like me. Happy my dealership is fast and I can get out of here to get on with my day. It was fun but my people watching is now done. 

What's on your plate today?

Any "people watching" in your day?

A New Tool.

We started, as a family, a support group program for families, after we lost our son in 1996. It morphed into a family centre and encompasses much of our lives today. After 20 years of leading groups, I've started to make changes to move my heart and my work into new directions. Thankfully, I have wonderful people in my life who have been able to step into the roles I'm slowing releasing. But tonight, we had a bit of a glitch as a weather advisory was issued, just 4 short hours before our monthly support group meeting was supposed to start. Fog so thick you can't see a foot in front of the car. And freezing temps that will make the rain covered roads very slick later tonight. It's never easy to cancel anything but we wanted our families to be safe. So we changed our meeting tonight from meeting on site, in person, to an online experience. A gamble for these grieving families. 

But I have to say, our gamble paid off! We had at least 4 times more attendees than we normally would have. And so many of them have commented how nice it was to join in when they can't because they live so far away. Or the weather keeps them home. I think we may have hit on a new idea here. A safe place but online, where families can share their experiences while we guide and moderate the conversations. We'll chat later to see if we should do this more often. Maybe in time we'll let go of the in person group meeting and just click online to connect to each other. Hmmm .... I kind of like this new tool ....

Sunday Dinner.

When I was growing up, Sunday Dinner was a very special meal. We lived in a different community then, in a different province and had family all around us. Each week, we rotated between going to my grandparents homes and our home. Rarely, was it at our home and if it was, my dad would BBQ. But at my grandparents homes, dinner was always a "roasted" affair. My dad's parents loved to make a beef roast each time, with mashed potatoes and veggies. The only thing that I didn't like about visiting there was that my grandmother did not believe that I had food allergies, and she made me eat at least one spoonful of potatoes each time. The rest of the meal, I would try to gulp down my food over a very swollen throat. Potatoes are so bad for me now, my throat will actually swell closed. But I did enjoy the company, the warmth of their small house and the routine off helping my grandfather rewind the big clock before dinner and then watching Walt Disney and the Walton's before we headed home. We were the only grandchildren in town during this time on that side as my cousins were living overseas. Lots of attention for just my brother and I, and my mom and my dad.

Going for dinner at my other grandparents home was much louder, very busy with all the cousins, aunties and uncles, and tons of smoke in the air. Yes, they both smoked and that was the only thing I had a hard time with during those visits. Yuck! I still can't stand the smell and look away when I see someone smoke (thankfully, a rare sight these days). But the fun of playing with my cousins, exploring the garden and having my youngest uncle, who was still living at home at the time rough house with us more than made up for the smoke. My grandmother had a tea cup from England for each of us and after dinner, we'd get to have a cup of real tea, not just milk with a drop of tea in it! Dinner was often either a few roasted chickens or a turkey or goose. And no one made me eat potatoes. No sore throat, just itchy eyes from the cat and smelly clothes and hair from the smoke.

As our family grew, we've tried to create our own Sunday Dinner tradition. My dh came from a family that didn't have this experience and in my own small family, after we moved from one province to this one, we didn't have family dinner as often. I used to think how sad it was that our dining room wasn't used that much. I'm thankful that we've had a dining room in our last 4 houses and each was and has been used quite a bit. Our kids grew up knowing the dining room was a special place and we've had many hours of laughter and good food around the table. I hope this do this with their own families one day. With all of us spread out, we can't have them all over each week but it's nice to even have a dinner by Skype. Or when their is a special holiday.

Sunday Dinner was always a great place to try out new recipes. Some were hits, some, not so much! But at least our kids would try them, even if they complained. We've gotten in to a routine in our new house of having roast chicken each Sunday and it's fun to come up with new side dishes. This one we tried recently came from a Facebook post and when I went that day to buy some fresh brussel sprouts, the grocer had to go to the back to get some for me. He commented he had never seen brussel sprouts leave the store so quickly. He had actually refilled the bin 4 times just that morning and was worried he'd run out by noon. I told him about the FB post and he laughed saying it wasn't the first time a receipe online has depleted their stock. Here's the link if you want to try this delicious dish. Highly recommended.

It was pretty easy to make and so tasty. We had it

again this past week when our son was here to visit.

Browning onions makes my kitchen feel so cozy

and so "fall like" ~ very homey and warm.

All mixed together. This was before I had put the

cooked bacon back into the dish. Made it colorful.

Warm chicken gravy with spices and drippings from

the pan. So tasty and worth the time to make it.

There's the brussel sprouts all ready in the back with

the bacon added in. And the seasoned chicken, ready

for it's gravy, stuffing, potatoes, salad and fresh buns to

finish off this very scrumptious and easy Sunday Dinner.

Do you have traditional Sunday Dinner?

Or special dinners throughout the year?

In the Post.

 

I spotted this sweet little Halloween

card and just had to buy it for our little

granddaughter. She lives in the big city

beside us but I don't think we'll see her

before the big day, so we took a few

minutes out to send this along in the post.

Our grandson then decided to add in a

picture he drew for her. We'll likely do

a Skype session that night and I hope

this will have arrived in her mailbox.