A dear family friend once told me...
"You and I are the same, we are not whole unless we are creating"
At the time she was refering to my desperate search for meaning when I had a nasty bout of depression after my first son was born. But she hit the nail on the head! I was in a place then of domestic survival. I was on mat leave with a "high needs baby" with no experience with childcare at all, and barely had any time to sleep or eat let alone be creative. (It was a dark time, but everyone survived it thank heavens.)
I heard her through the mire, and I took action. I forced myself to look outside and collect pretty flowers (with babe in stroller) and I tried to think beyond the desperation of the moment to anything ANYTHING inspiring (listening to music was very helpful when nothing else was available -- though sometimes any noise at all was more grating than soothing).
As interesting as it is to look on that part of my life, that's not what this post is for.
I NEED TO CREATE. I KNOW I AM HAPPY WHEN I AM CREATING ON MANY LEVELS.
Right now I am creating on so many levels I'm not even sure I can list them all.
I am drawing, writing, working, organizing my home, cooking, gardening and enjoying long walks in the woods as much for the ambience as for the exercise.
And yes, I am a happy, happy mommy and a happy happy wife too.
9.22.2013
9.20.2013
Book
A few years ago I had a dream that was so vivid and fully formed, I decided that I had to write it. It's a SciFi dream, complete with aliens and a post-apocalyptic humanity. The dream was brief, but with it came a complete history and cast of characters that I really want to read about. Since they don't exist except in my head, I guess it's up to me! I am no writer, and I'm a busy girl and my days are full of house-mom chores, self-employment responsibilities, and a to-do list a mile long of things I want to do more of (hang with friends, garden, draw, declutter, read, etc...)
It is still in my head even after all this time. Like a favourite novel that I want to revisit.
The good news is that my husband goes to bed VERY early.... after he hits the hay the house has to be very quiet. Since he has to get up for work at 4:00am, he must sleep to get even the facsimile of enough sleep. And though I don't have to go to bed at the same time, I usually follow after settling the kids into bed and reading them a story. It's just easier.
For me, the advantage of lying awake for some time before sleep comes is that I get to tell MYSELF a bed time story to settle my mind after a busy day. The "story" is unfolding night after night. An exploration and gestation of that original dream.
Well I have finally started writing it down.
I hate sitting in front of my desktop keyboard after doing it all day for work, and the story just seems to freeze when I sit in this office chair. The couch position is great for the dialogue to come (not quite as good as my dark room and comfy quilt while falling asleep though). I have been attempting to put pen to paper in front of the evening TV time... but everything is puking out so fast that it is getting jumbled and messy.
Perhaps I should "borrow" my husband's laptop for this. At least I will be able to read the typed stuff. We will see.
In short, I am excited about what has started in my head. Even if it's never published, it will be something of me in words. When I am ready to share it, I hope it will be worthy.
It is still in my head even after all this time. Like a favourite novel that I want to revisit.
The good news is that my husband goes to bed VERY early.... after he hits the hay the house has to be very quiet. Since he has to get up for work at 4:00am, he must sleep to get even the facsimile of enough sleep. And though I don't have to go to bed at the same time, I usually follow after settling the kids into bed and reading them a story. It's just easier.
For me, the advantage of lying awake for some time before sleep comes is that I get to tell MYSELF a bed time story to settle my mind after a busy day. The "story" is unfolding night after night. An exploration and gestation of that original dream.
Well I have finally started writing it down.
I hate sitting in front of my desktop keyboard after doing it all day for work, and the story just seems to freeze when I sit in this office chair. The couch position is great for the dialogue to come (not quite as good as my dark room and comfy quilt while falling asleep though). I have been attempting to put pen to paper in front of the evening TV time... but everything is puking out so fast that it is getting jumbled and messy.
Perhaps I should "borrow" my husband's laptop for this. At least I will be able to read the typed stuff. We will see.
In short, I am excited about what has started in my head. Even if it's never published, it will be something of me in words. When I am ready to share it, I hope it will be worthy.
9.11.2013
Married 19 years...
... how cool is that?
We went for a walk on the waterfront and had a terrific meal at a floating cafe called "Penny's Palapa" - featuring Mexican themed, extremely fresh, fish dishes..... oh my it was tasty! Too bad it's only open in the warm season (outside-only dining area). Then we walked some more down the seawalk and stopped to watch the local water wildlife (and the local people too). It was simply lovely.
We've been a couple more than 2 decades and I still genuinely love spending time with him. Sure it's not always perfect, but I feel gratitude for what we have together every day.
9.03.2013
More Camping!
We got a few days off in a row, so we took to the hills with trailer and truck.
Our favourite place is a modest campground with pit toilets and fire rings - no services - no cell service either. A spot that is a 45 minute drive past the pavement up and down logging roads hugging a very large lake on Vancouver Island (approximately 40 km long and 1.6 km wide).
I love it there. Just love it. We tried a new spot this time, just wonderful!
(looking back up the trrail to our site)
Our favourite place is a modest campground with pit toilets and fire rings - no services - no cell service either. A spot that is a 45 minute drive past the pavement up and down logging roads hugging a very large lake on Vancouver Island (approximately 40 km long and 1.6 km wide).
I love it there. Just love it. We tried a new spot this time, just wonderful!
(you can see the lake from the picnic table with it's own short trail to the shore)
(here is our private beach)
(sitting in a kayak on the beach - yes the dog is in a kayak on the lake!)
(the weather was stunning the first day and the lake was warm)
(then the weather changed... and stayed spotty if not downright miserable the rest of the time)
(at least we were allowed a campfire with the rain)
(the morning we left we were tired of being damp, this shot was taken after we had packed up and just before the heavens opened up in a torrent with thunder and everything!)
We all got to paddle around in the kayaks at one point or another, and it was quiet and relaxing in the kayak in the rain. Steve had his unicycle, Cam had his R/C rock crawler truck, I had my e-reader and T got to leave work and the honey-do list behind. The camping trip did it's job, we all felt relaxed and happy the whole time. The only wild food I got to harvest was a lovely white chantrelle mushroom and a few berries (honestly the rain wasn't fun to forage in). The spot was excellent for it's scenery, sheltered beach and it's extremely quiet location.
Harvest Time!
Lots of weeding this week (I let it get a little out of control) rain or shine, I uncovered the veggies among the unwanted grasses and weeds.
Happily gardening, there was harvesting of veggies.
And digging out the canning supplies... pickled green beans anyone? I'll be tacking tomatoes later in the month. And the apples are just getting started!
It was a disapointing year for zucchini, and raspberries, but a bumper crop of peas and beans, and my first attempt at potatoes and broccoli was rewarding enough to want to plant more next year.
The onions were being systematically destroyed from leaf tip to hollowed out root bulb by something, so I pulled the remaining ones early (and small) just so I'd have SOMETHING of them.
All in all the first season in this new garden (the test run for the soil and space) was successful, and it will be getting more action and even more plants and rows next year. I will be enlisting hubby and children to really make it an honest effort for food production instead of the dabbling of fresh treats that it has been up to now.
I must move the raspberries. The spot that I put them is hard to access (not that I got any berries anyhow) but I can't think of where a good spot would be with good sun, easy access and not in a place that would block other veggie's sun. It will come to me.
And I get to explore my small greenhouse's potential now too. The summer sun was too intense to use it, but now that the sun is more shy, I should be able to plant some lettuces, spinach, and maybe beets and kale. The potted strawberries will head for the shelter as well.... I wonder if that will help them. I found a really neat thing on line for a tiered strawberry planter made from large PVC pipes that I want to try to make... pretty sure gutters would work too.
I have a fig tree. It looks very sad. I think it wants to stretch its roots deep in the ground instead of the pot its in. Where to plant it? Figs CAN grow very large. But I'm not sure if I have that kind. They also like warmth and sun.... like the raspberries, I need to find that sweet spot for the plant before I dig. Somewhere that I can easy wrap it to protect tender shoots from winter frost until it's well established.
This weekend wasn't ALL work. T and I managed to get to a friend's 50th birthday BBQ and T's dad's birthday lunch. I visited my sister, went for a couple walks and the family even went to the park and whacked at some tennis balls with a baseball bat (the first time ever for that activity). So it wasn't raining the WHOLE weekend. LOL.
Happily gardening, there was harvesting of veggies.
And digging out the canning supplies... pickled green beans anyone? I'll be tacking tomatoes later in the month. And the apples are just getting started!
The onions were being systematically destroyed from leaf tip to hollowed out root bulb by something, so I pulled the remaining ones early (and small) just so I'd have SOMETHING of them.
All in all the first season in this new garden (the test run for the soil and space) was successful, and it will be getting more action and even more plants and rows next year. I will be enlisting hubby and children to really make it an honest effort for food production instead of the dabbling of fresh treats that it has been up to now.
I must move the raspberries. The spot that I put them is hard to access (not that I got any berries anyhow) but I can't think of where a good spot would be with good sun, easy access and not in a place that would block other veggie's sun. It will come to me.
And I get to explore my small greenhouse's potential now too. The summer sun was too intense to use it, but now that the sun is more shy, I should be able to plant some lettuces, spinach, and maybe beets and kale. The potted strawberries will head for the shelter as well.... I wonder if that will help them. I found a really neat thing on line for a tiered strawberry planter made from large PVC pipes that I want to try to make... pretty sure gutters would work too.
I have a fig tree. It looks very sad. I think it wants to stretch its roots deep in the ground instead of the pot its in. Where to plant it? Figs CAN grow very large. But I'm not sure if I have that kind. They also like warmth and sun.... like the raspberries, I need to find that sweet spot for the plant before I dig. Somewhere that I can easy wrap it to protect tender shoots from winter frost until it's well established.
This weekend wasn't ALL work. T and I managed to get to a friend's 50th birthday BBQ and T's dad's birthday lunch. I visited my sister, went for a couple walks and the family even went to the park and whacked at some tennis balls with a baseball bat (the first time ever for that activity). So it wasn't raining the WHOLE weekend. LOL.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)