OK here I am catching up with life a million light years too late. Several things are on my mind, not enough time to satisfy anything, so lets start with the pressing.........
I have to admit not to be a royalist, but I am a 'fan' ( using the term very loosely) of Will & Kate. I love how not royal they appear to be, I am following them through their Canadian tour - and don't let anyone say this is a vacation for them, they are working their butts off & all power to them - got to love 'em!
It's our wedding anniversary today. I have asked that we spend the evening on the beach with a fire & 'picnic', I know it's going to be awesome - who needs a 'cottage' when we have this. Added to our exciting evening, the fireflies came to play so we were entranced by their performance - I believe in faeries and fire flies have to be their cousins - or close. What an awesome evening - on the beach with dinner cooking on the open fire - we have to do this more often - I'm seeing a lobster cook off!!!!!!!!
What else????? By the way this place is close to heaven on earth!
Lichen Planus - its a brute! A skin disorder that is still a mystery. The dermatologists suggest steroid treatment - but of course anyone who has never suffered through this would give that easy out. I even read when it gets itchy it could be covered with a bandage - are they kidding - or just trying to fill the psychiatric units?????? So ...... as a sufferer of this enigmatic skin disorder let me say the dermatologists are out of order! Go with the homeopathic suggestions, they have a better feel for life. It's not a matter of symptom management, it's all about what causes this disorder & alleviating that cause for a saner life. When I read it can be insanely itchy, let me say, no words were better used. Man can it ever! I'll speak further on this once I have the proof of a 'cure' I seek!
OK, I'm off to bed. I have so much to say but get weary trying to say it!
later
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Look how pretty we are!
It snowed on Thursday - oh boy did it snow! It snowed all day, by about 3pm we thought we should venture out to clear some path so we could get out - should we want. But, the snow that had fallen earlier in the morning had been more like freezing rain - then had turned to snow, so the snow we were trying to move was extremely heavy! Suffice it to say, after 2 hours of work with me & my snow blower & Phil on his plow, we had some clearing done. We were both exhausted because of the weight of the snow & the machinery working so hard to move it making it a very physical experience!
But now, the snow lies thick and white, glistening. The trees are laden with snow. It is truly beautiful out there. Cold, but oh, so lovely. The chickens would prefer to stay indoors as they don't have insulation to their feet, but they even venture out onto their little door steps. The sun was shining today, it can't help but make anyone feel good.
Monday, December 6, 2010
It came to me, quite unexpectedly, that if I thought too much about it I could become vegetarian!
Now that's a scary thought, having been brought up on a farm & eaten animals that I have 'known', but the past week or so has brought the more contemplative side of me to the fore. Let me explain. The chicken family that we have is a pure hit or miss with gender. We have chickens because we like the eggs they produce. Try as we like we cannot get roosters to lay eggs, thus they do not earn their keep. They get very hungry though and we have to feed them. They cannot scratch enough feed in their run. So several weeks ago we heard about a place that would do the 'deed'. It took a while to find where this place was. In fact it was while visiting the place I get beef from that I found about the chicken place.
While I was at the beef place, the farmer told me he had just killed a bull - did I want to see it? Well, not being squeamish & being a farmers daughter there was only one answer - 'of course!'. So there the bull was in all his undignified glory, hind legs hauled high, belly bared and head on the drain. In his mouth was his last mouthful of grass - his last supper. This beast had no idea what was happening as the .22 was put to his head. He had no fear of his impending doom. Which brings me back to our chickens.
We had to get our chickens to the 'processing place' on Wednesday morning. Phil wanted to catch them when it was still dark as they still roost then. Our only means of transporting them was to bag them. An undignified way to travel, but safe. Once at the destination they then had to be put in crates to await there turn(!). Phil was very uncomfortable about the whole proceedings, but was realistic that it had to happen. My thoughts were more convoluted than that. I have a tendency to put human emotion to any situation, be it an animal, book - anything! I worry about the fear that went through the heads & hearts of our chickens. It upsets me - almost enough to not want to eat meat. I say almost, because I enjoy the meat & we were designed to eat meat, but I only wish our chickens could have gone the same way as the bull!
Now that's a scary thought, having been brought up on a farm & eaten animals that I have 'known', but the past week or so has brought the more contemplative side of me to the fore. Let me explain. The chicken family that we have is a pure hit or miss with gender. We have chickens because we like the eggs they produce. Try as we like we cannot get roosters to lay eggs, thus they do not earn their keep. They get very hungry though and we have to feed them. They cannot scratch enough feed in their run. So several weeks ago we heard about a place that would do the 'deed'. It took a while to find where this place was. In fact it was while visiting the place I get beef from that I found about the chicken place.
While I was at the beef place, the farmer told me he had just killed a bull - did I want to see it? Well, not being squeamish & being a farmers daughter there was only one answer - 'of course!'. So there the bull was in all his undignified glory, hind legs hauled high, belly bared and head on the drain. In his mouth was his last mouthful of grass - his last supper. This beast had no idea what was happening as the .22 was put to his head. He had no fear of his impending doom. Which brings me back to our chickens.
We had to get our chickens to the 'processing place' on Wednesday morning. Phil wanted to catch them when it was still dark as they still roost then. Our only means of transporting them was to bag them. An undignified way to travel, but safe. Once at the destination they then had to be put in crates to await there turn(!). Phil was very uncomfortable about the whole proceedings, but was realistic that it had to happen. My thoughts were more convoluted than that. I have a tendency to put human emotion to any situation, be it an animal, book - anything! I worry about the fear that went through the heads & hearts of our chickens. It upsets me - almost enough to not want to eat meat. I say almost, because I enjoy the meat & we were designed to eat meat, but I only wish our chickens could have gone the same way as the bull!
Monday, November 22, 2010
memory sucks!
So, the plan is to create Christmas tree decorations from egg shells. I know sounds a bit kindergarten - ish, but it's all in a good cause. I'm going from memory - easy, just save the shells, boil them so they are clean, spray them gold & silver & put glitter glue to make them fancy. I'll pull a thread through the tops to hang them on the tree.
So what's the problem? 10 years ago there wouldn't have been one, now my fingers can't tie knots, struggle with the thread & needle and seem to be so clumsy with the painted shells they all touch each other. BUT I've done them, they look 'primitive' even childlike but I never suggested we were gong to be making this tree classy!
When I planned this my memory told me how I could do it, my memory fails to accept disability. This is a good thing!
So what's the problem? 10 years ago there wouldn't have been one, now my fingers can't tie knots, struggle with the thread & needle and seem to be so clumsy with the painted shells they all touch each other. BUT I've done them, they look 'primitive' even childlike but I never suggested we were gong to be making this tree classy!
When I planned this my memory told me how I could do it, my memory fails to accept disability. This is a good thing!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Back home
After my excitement about going west to see my boys - and various friends, I'm home again. I had a most pleasant week seeing who I wanted to and having time to chill. I also had the good understanding that we had done the right thing to move to where we are now.
Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the easy access to malls and activity - yea for Ikea and their $1 breakfasts! But I enjoy more the tranquility of where we are now, thus making the sojourn to see my boys all the more exciting allowing me the chance to mall surf once in a blue moon.
I've been home almost 3 weeks and that time has flown as we reopened the cafe on our winter schedule - which makes for long days as it isn't so busy; but we will be open for the winter, and we are picking up bookings for Christmas parties, which is always exciting. It is one of my best pleasures trying to make a pleasant evening for a group of people. It has a certain adrenalin rush - like the cafe when a group enter, but this is a different adrenalin surge. There is an anxiety about food quantities and the hope that it is cooked well - not burnt - and all that good stuff. Once the desserts are served it becomes much calmer in my mind and I can relax.
We had a week of stormy weather - rain that wouldn't go away and then high winds. We were lucky in that we live up on he hill, but many folks suffered with flooding. The winds didn't seem to do too much damage, but I don't like high winds - they scare me.
Family life is back to normal again, now I'm home. The chickens are getting more distinctly separated. We have had the greatest difficulty discerning the genders in some of our birds. Some of the males mature faster than others, I think we are now 'there'. We have a house of girls (with 2 boys) and a house of boys (no girls). We have heard of a place where we can take our unwanted males and they will do the 'deed', leaving us with 'oven ready' chicken. We just have to find out where this place is and make the trip! The girls are safe. Well, I say that. On Sunday we were having our morning coffee when we heard a terrible hullabaloo outside our window - it turned out that a hawk was attacking one of the girl chickens. We chased the hawk off and it sat on the garden composter defying us until Phil threw a stick at it and then the dogs chased it off! This hawk was the same size as the chicken! We thought we only had foxes to worry about for the safety of our feathered family!
Our neighbour up the hill came down & ploughed our vegetable plot - I'm so grateful for him doing this as it is too much to dig by hand. In so doing he has brought another crop of rocks to the surface. We have quite rocky soil, it grows good stuff - as long as you want the crop 'on the rocks'!
Finally, today we attended the funeral of our 'next door' neighbour - about a kilometer away. Poor Ed hadn't been so well over the summer, but he looked quite well on Sunday at church. Funny what a week will bring. We will remember him fondly and always refer the corner to his property as 'Ed's gate'.
Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the easy access to malls and activity - yea for Ikea and their $1 breakfasts! But I enjoy more the tranquility of where we are now, thus making the sojourn to see my boys all the more exciting allowing me the chance to mall surf once in a blue moon.
I've been home almost 3 weeks and that time has flown as we reopened the cafe on our winter schedule - which makes for long days as it isn't so busy; but we will be open for the winter, and we are picking up bookings for Christmas parties, which is always exciting. It is one of my best pleasures trying to make a pleasant evening for a group of people. It has a certain adrenalin rush - like the cafe when a group enter, but this is a different adrenalin surge. There is an anxiety about food quantities and the hope that it is cooked well - not burnt - and all that good stuff. Once the desserts are served it becomes much calmer in my mind and I can relax.
We had a week of stormy weather - rain that wouldn't go away and then high winds. We were lucky in that we live up on he hill, but many folks suffered with flooding. The winds didn't seem to do too much damage, but I don't like high winds - they scare me.
Family life is back to normal again, now I'm home. The chickens are getting more distinctly separated. We have had the greatest difficulty discerning the genders in some of our birds. Some of the males mature faster than others, I think we are now 'there'. We have a house of girls (with 2 boys) and a house of boys (no girls). We have heard of a place where we can take our unwanted males and they will do the 'deed', leaving us with 'oven ready' chicken. We just have to find out where this place is and make the trip! The girls are safe. Well, I say that. On Sunday we were having our morning coffee when we heard a terrible hullabaloo outside our window - it turned out that a hawk was attacking one of the girl chickens. We chased the hawk off and it sat on the garden composter defying us until Phil threw a stick at it and then the dogs chased it off! This hawk was the same size as the chicken! We thought we only had foxes to worry about for the safety of our feathered family!
Our neighbour up the hill came down & ploughed our vegetable plot - I'm so grateful for him doing this as it is too much to dig by hand. In so doing he has brought another crop of rocks to the surface. We have quite rocky soil, it grows good stuff - as long as you want the crop 'on the rocks'!
Finally, today we attended the funeral of our 'next door' neighbour - about a kilometer away. Poor Ed hadn't been so well over the summer, but he looked quite well on Sunday at church. Funny what a week will bring. We will remember him fondly and always refer the corner to his property as 'Ed's gate'.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Getting ready
It's nearly here, my trip to Vancouver to see my boys!
I have been excited about this trip for several weeks. I dislike traveling, hate flying but unless there is some other way, it's my only option. Furthermore, this is a trip without my Phil; we rarely go anywhere without each other but someone has to stay home and mind the 'family'.
All that aside, I'm still excited. My list of friends phone numbers is along with my itinerary, my imaginary list of intentions grows as my departure date gets nearer and before I know it.... I'll be heading home!
It's been an odd time here. We have reduced the cafe days to 4/week. Having been well supported by locals I felt it was churlish to close after 'the season', we did Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday and have closed for a 2 week break - hence my opportunity to get away. It feels like the end of term. I've had a big clean in the kitchen, the fridges are gleaming, the ovens have been cleaned and the cupboards tidied, all ready for the reopening.
My days are without focus when I'm not doing the cafe. I like to be busy with a purpose, so now I'm finding myself frittering away and suddenly it's evening!
The cafe is the nearest thing in my life to replace my swimming. The everyday focus, the need to practice and constantly be improving, the discipline, challenges I give myself and the adrenalin rush, it's all there. Who knew there could be found something that would provide all that twice in my lifetime? How lucky can a person be?
Well, I should have some focus in BC for my week there. The break will be a rest and my excitement will have to be endured! I'll try to contain myself.
I have been excited about this trip for several weeks. I dislike traveling, hate flying but unless there is some other way, it's my only option. Furthermore, this is a trip without my Phil; we rarely go anywhere without each other but someone has to stay home and mind the 'family'.
All that aside, I'm still excited. My list of friends phone numbers is along with my itinerary, my imaginary list of intentions grows as my departure date gets nearer and before I know it.... I'll be heading home!
It's been an odd time here. We have reduced the cafe days to 4/week. Having been well supported by locals I felt it was churlish to close after 'the season', we did Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday and have closed for a 2 week break - hence my opportunity to get away. It feels like the end of term. I've had a big clean in the kitchen, the fridges are gleaming, the ovens have been cleaned and the cupboards tidied, all ready for the reopening.
My days are without focus when I'm not doing the cafe. I like to be busy with a purpose, so now I'm finding myself frittering away and suddenly it's evening!
The cafe is the nearest thing in my life to replace my swimming. The everyday focus, the need to practice and constantly be improving, the discipline, challenges I give myself and the adrenalin rush, it's all there. Who knew there could be found something that would provide all that twice in my lifetime? How lucky can a person be?
Well, I should have some focus in BC for my week there. The break will be a rest and my excitement will have to be endured! I'll try to contain myself.
Monday, August 23, 2010
All is quiet
It was a kind of sad day here as we got rid of several of our 'extra' roosters. I had advertised then as free to a good home but no-one seemed interested. It becomes expensive to have 8 or 10 young roosters who will never lay any eggs, but require to be fed. Least the girls will give some eggs and help support themselves. Another thing that the roosters do is crow! They start at slight dawn - as soon as it isn't dark, and they crow ALL DAY LONG! Now, we don't mind this, but when we have visitors who come especially those who come for B&B, the crowing is noticed. Some like it as it reminds them we are in the country, but I'm not so sure about those who are trying to sleep! Anyway, problem solved. They have left the premises to be done with how ever. I don't need nor want to know the details. I just feel sad as we knew them all as little fluffies!
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