Saturday Morning.

Writing from my cozy bed this morning. The train whistle is loud this morning but somehow comforting. Dh just finished his workout and is showering. Everyone else in the house is still sleeping. I'm taking it easy and not working out until after my Cat Scan on Tuesday. I did finish staining the deck yesterday in anticipation of putting together the greenhouse this weekend. Our plan in the moment, after I shower, is to head in to town and buy a can of paint for a project, head to Costco to pick up dh's prescription and look at new sunglasses for me (I drove over my other pair!), and then spend the day putting the structure together .... if it doesn't rain! It's predicted and it's cloudy but we'll see what happens. We may start piecing it together in the garage and then move it over. Tomorrow's weather sounds great, with sun, no clouds and warmth! I'm hoping to work on the dollhouse today as well. We may bbq tonight, put the fireplace on, pop some popcoarn and watch a movie or Netflix. Tune the World out day! It's been another tough week, so the weekend for us is a chance to recharge our energy.

Do you like my pic above? It's a wood block piece of art called "Carry on Down the Road." It's a personal favorite of mine from a company on our little island on the West Coast of Canada, Salt Spring Island. The company is called "Cedar Mountain Studios." Family run and we're so excited to see we can now buy blocks here in our own home town. I have my eye on this one for my birthday in the late Fall ....

This one is called "Wander" and just like the one above reminds me of the daily journey we are on. I love all their blocks but wall space is limited! These do stand up on their own as well. But I like them on the wall. We've begun to give them as gifts. And by chance, on our little island where these are made, we found these on our trip last October:

Aren't they sweet? I keep this on my desk, under my lamp, so I see them each day to remind myself of why I do the work I do. They are in memory of our sweet babies who died and a visual of what we have lost. They make me smile. And fill my heart with love. I'm not sure the family at Cedar Mountain ever thought that a grieving mom would become attached to these wood blocs for the reason we have but I'm so glad they created these. A reminder of who we are, how far we've come and why this work we do is so vital. 

All for now. Wishing  you and your family

a beautiful and restful weekend. Namaste.

~ Chy

6 Months.

We've been home now for exactly 6 months.

This time has been filled with work, play,

food, purging, shopping, re~organizing and

making the most of every day. I can't believe

we have been at this "new normal" for such

a long time. It still feel surreal but we're are

also embracing the gifts in all of this chaos!

Wishing all of you good health. Stay safe.

~ Chy

Food Review!

Dh surprised me with brekky in bed on

Sunday. We had bought sausage rounds

at Costco and he was eager to try them

out. My verdict? Perfect! No grease,

tasty and just the right size. We will be

having this again for sure. So yummy!

~ Chy

Well Fed Family.

We have a family of 4 Bluejays that have been visiting

our bird feeders over the last few months. Today, I had

filled them up and this little guy came back and forth

and soon, they were almost empty again! Unsure of

where the rest of his family was but he was very well

fed through the day. Maybe he's filling up their nest ....

~ Chy

Crocheted Quilt.

Isn't this quilt amazing? My eldest

daughter crochets and I quilt, so

this would be a joint project from

the two of us. So excited to try it!

~ Chy

Feeling the Love.

Thank you all for your kind wishes and thoughts, 

prayers and blessings. Keeping positive and calm!

~ Chy

Anxious Mind.

This is me today. My mind, my gut and my body are full of anxiety. Anything I've tried to make it calm down has not worked. Outside of the same worry we all have, all around the World with this virus, I have a new concern to share today. If you have a spare blessing, please send one to me.

I'm not one to ask for prayers or kind thoughts. I am pretty self sufficient in working through hard times. It is what I do naturally and what I do in my professional life. But this one is different and scary for me. I have tinnitus in my ears. This is new and confusing, exhausting and worrisome. Tinnitus is a constant ringing in both ears, with for some like me, an added bonus of a very high pitched screech as well. Lovely! Last week, my tinnitus changed a bit and on Thursday, I developed a "whooshing" noise in my left ear that mimicked my heart beat. It was so loud I actually couldn't hear out of that ear. Called our amazing family doctor the next morning (it had happened later the night before) and she was immediately concerned in this change. Her plan was to contact my ear doctor, who I had visited in March, just before Covid began. He had set up a CT scan but it wouldn't be until the early Spring of 2021. However, with the change in my hearing with this new sound, her hope was the ear doctor would be able to rebook me earlier. She did call me later that night to let me know that I would be getting a call with my new appointment. I did get a call first thing on Monday morning from the hospital with the date. I now have a CT scan booked for September 23rd. Nervous to see what's going on (don't read Google, it's a bit scary) but happy to be getting in so quick. But then my doctor called early last night to see how I am and if the new date had come through. I thought getting in on the 23rd was amazing but she was not happy with that. She feels this needs attention now, talked in length with me about what to do if I have even the slightest change and that she wants me to call in and get on the cancellation list so we get a quicker answer and treatment if needed. So now my anxious mind is racing and every little move I make is concerning. Waiting for a call back from the hospital to see if I can get on the list and get in sooner. And this is my plea for blessings. I know it's selfish with so much happening outside our front door and you don't know me. But my worry is big and I feel terrified with the what if's. I need to know how to stay calm and well until we can get an answer. I'm thankful for my amazing family and an incredible family doctor who checks in when we're worried about anything. She is comforting but also needed me to know that she's worried and that I need to be on top of this. I'm following her directions and hope that at the end of this anxious filled time, my health will remain well, that this will be a blip with an answer and a resolution, and that life can continue on from this point, with an extra measure of grace and gratitude for this life, as crazy as it may seem at times. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. So needed now more than ever! Namaste.

~ Chy 

Hello Fall ....

I'm so sad to see the end of Summer. We are still

hopeful for some warm weather over the next

month or so. But all of us have commented how

it already feels like Fall, even though there are

only a few yellow leaves here and there. The air

is crisp now in the morning and the sun definitely

is setting earlier and earlier each night. We had a

cloudy day yesterday and I actually turned on the

furnace for a while as it felt chilly in the cottage.

A cozy day to stay in and catch up on my work.

Today, I have a Zoom meeting and counselling

sessions but we have a little block of time to go

to the local landscaping company to order some

clay to fill in a low spot that this Winter will be

our skating rink. We're also going to look at a

few samples of stone to place around the flower

beds. As much as we've done since we moved

to the country, there is still lots to do. Our motto

is "a bit at a time" and it is lovely to now look

around and see our progress. Things are taking

shape and I love to now spend part of the cold

Winter dreaming up what we'll do next Spring.

I love Fall for so many reasons. When I was a

child, it was exciting to go back to school after

a long and lazy Summer. I love the changing

colors and crunching leaves. I love all the prep

to be ready for the long and cold Winter. I love

cleaning out the flower beds and our veggie

patch and turning the dirt, ready for the new

growth once the snow disappears. I love the

fires we have in our little stove and roasting

marshmallows while bundled up. I love that

the bugs have gone away but miss the birds on

our feeders. I love the idea of gathering books

to fill our nights and new paper to write letters.

I love the smells of the Season and the hot

drinks that fill our tea cupboard. All of this

coziness makes home even better and every

day I'm thankful for this place and space. It

is the best place to be as the weather changes.

Wishing you and your family and friends an

amazing Fall. Stay safe. Be well my buddies!

~ Chy