Every once in a while, I remember.
This summer, while on our annual camping trip, I was reading a thought-provoking book called, The Ancestors Are Arranging Things, and segments of it discussed Allumette Island – where I spent time as a child. and it brought up many memories.
It was a long time ago < 1981> that my Dad passed away on a summer vacation that would change a lot in my life.
That which I remember before that, is only moments, snippets in time.
Snippets of Dad:
– cooking his home grown swiss chard and eating it himself – I think no one else liked it.
– boiling water and pouring into his glass grape juice jar that was kept in the fridge, and if you drank it and didn’t refill it, well….
-supper at 4:30 p.m. so that he could grab a nap before heading out for civic duties.
– his garden and compost set up.
And the cottages….

-the night I saw a family of skunks crawling out from under the porch when I needed to venture out to the outhouse.  Pretty sure everyone was awakened for that adventure.
– map-o-spread on graham crackers with hot chocolate and resoundingly loud singing along with the 78’s on the wind up record player. “She’ll be com in’ ‘round the mountain” as a long-time standard.
– the gift of an inside set-up of a port-a-potty for Mom, to which I may have innocently declared, “That’s not vey romantic”, but now as an adult, realize it was a phenomenal gift of comfort and security to his wife at the rustic cottage.
-and canoeing and the peddle boat, and the hours he spent on upkeep of a beautiful piece of land, where I learned to love the outdoors.  I would not have had the opportunity if I did not grow up with every summer involving a trip to the cottages thanks to Dad, and Mom, of course.
And then, after my Dad passed away, my sister picked up the torch. So,thank you Ginny too, for taking the time to pack up your little sister, a big black lab and head out for those weekends in the small cottage.  And yes, I remember the bear crossing the road ahead of us as we were about to pull into the long winding lane and our sudden trip back to Waltham for Grandpa’s hunting rifle. We never needed it, thankfully, but it was the thought that counted.
And our long canoe trek, from the cottages to Waltham, through what now might be considered pretty small rapids, but you made your little sister feel somewhat safe, as we “road those rapids”.

As I am blessed now with a husband who I have been camping with each August since 1996, I know I am most appreciative of it due to those seeds planted in my childhood.
I was never a strong swimmer and am still not today. But I love the canoe, and flat water paddling for the sheer relaxation of it, with a few small challenging trips through slightly rougher water, once in a while, to say I can still do it.

And stars, and the wild blue berries and raspberries and blackberries that bring back memories of summers at the cottage and heading out to our blueberry fields for picking.
The only thing I don’t think I’ll ever replicate is lying in the back of the family station wagon in my PJ’s headed into town to the Dairy Queen and maybe a drive-in movie.
—
Sadly and unexpectedly, recently I was back at the cemetery where my Dad is buried. I was deeply saddened to be there for the loss of a childhood friend , but it allowed me to take a fresh photo of his headstone.
Thanks Mom for the company and helping me find it.
Sometimes we all need a reminder that this life is precious, so don’t hesitate.

There are folks out there who just ooze enthusiasm. They rave about the things that are amazing in their world.  And they do it in real time, in your face, up close and personal.
They freak me out a bit.
But I do appreciate them a lot. It saves me the energy of having to put that kind of effort into things and allows me to just get S*&T done.
I’ve been noticing a few of them around lately, and just thought I should take a moment to thank them. They won’t notice this as they are too busy being gleefully involved in the exciting things in their life.  These people actually say ” mmmm” with a musical quality when they eat.  AS I say – freaks me out a bit…. But they are still cool.
So thanks all you Passionate People – keep up the good work! Just keep the volume in check around my delicate ears 🙂

At the beginning of September, I always feel like the new year is starting.  It’s back to school for many people – both kids and adults, and there’s a freshness to the air that just blows away the sweatiness of summer.
For the first week or two, though, I wait with anticipatory tension and hope to see which of my classes will run, who I’ll get to play with again, and what new adventures I’ll be embarking upon.  Now that I know the status of most of my classes, I can take a deep breath and get down to business. There’s still room on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. if you want to try bellydance 🙂

It’s been an interesting September though during the wait – creating 7 new dresses for Bollywood For Fun < 4 more to be made over the next couple of weeks as well>…learning a new routine taught by my co-founder of BFF, Eurika for Cine-Musique last night…

as well as reconnecting with the Luxe ladies for a brief stint of Alterations Specialist work…
And now, I feel I can start to focus on the other many things I’ve had to put aside for the moment while I was prepping for the “new year”.
While I am no longer chair of the OttawaBrowncoats, my company, TAV Creations, is a sponsor, and I will be there to support the charities, enjoy Serenity, and see the amazing costumes and great people who come out for this fun event.
I also took some time while on holidays in August to examine more ways I can be good to me, I’m actually pretty self- preservationist most of the time anyway, but I can easily get caught up in doing more than I can do without starting to twitch, so part of my new year’s resolutions involve taking some time for me and my little family every week.

And eventually, I’ll even start getting out to more events that are not directly related to my work/business/etc. and trying some new things – but one step at a time.
For now – let’s get this new year off to a mellow start:
http://vine.co/v/OadAxpTeUJu

 
’nuff said, right?
Oh – and go see Guardians of the Galaxy…just saying’…
See ya in September!

Friends of our are doing something awesome! Check and support if you can!!

This weekend, we had a yard sale, checked out the new apartment we’ll be moving to within the next 2 weeks and generally had a bit of an emotional  roller coaster time.
After 17 years in an “unusually large for the price” apartment, with access to a back yard that almost no one else ever used, it will be strange to start paying “market value rent”, for a place about ¾ the size of our present place, with a much smaller yard area and 5 other, fully occupied units.
It’s still an older building with “character”, it’s in our chosen area to live; due to the other aspects of our lives, it was most logical for us to stick around this area.
And it’s disconcerting, strange, and hard to always keep up the positive viewpoint since we really would not be moving if things were totally in our control.  But we did make the choice to move now, instead of waiting to see how bad it might get here with the new owners doing renovations upstairs.
And we have so many blessings that even with this small change in our lives, I am grateful for the offers of many friends to help us move – STOP ASKING US WHEN- WE’LL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS WE DO! 🙂
Downsizing, living more simply, letting go of excess, all such noble sentiments and I am doing my best to go with the positives of it.  Certainly, I am glad we were able to sell and give away a LOT of stuff yesterday and the few things I kept to sell online are items of value that someone will be willing to pay for – or wedding gifts !!
And there will be a grieving process that I will be going through as well. But I grieve privately, so while I am sure folks believe they are being supportive by making, “Aw, that’s too bad”  type of sentiments, it is not actually helpful.
I know you are all there to support us, if and when we need you.
THANK YOU.  YOU ARE APPRECIATED. But like anyone who has gone camping with me, worked an event with me, or generally been around me, I will ask when I need the help, but otherwise, as I’ve heard many friends say, “Stay  outta the way! It’s safer that way…”
We have a lot of changes still coming in our existence, so if you feel you want to be helpful, keep sending us work to help us pay the bills, “like” my silly Sprocket pictures, and occasionally, when we have time for it, we’ll be out there socializing and enjoying your awesome company.
Ok – personal time done !
Come see me dance Friday, July 25th at Summer Sizzle and if you don’t have a ticket, you can win one from me here!

Taken by me , July 9,2014 at Bordeleau park in Ottawa.