Yes, there is joy in spring cleaning. I am presently taking a wee break from the joy, to record this fleeting insight.
Usually in "before" and "after" pictures of all sorts, I opt for the "before". In spring cleaning, I have an opportunity of fully appreciating the "after". Keep in mind, that for many, my "after" would be a nightmare of "before". Wood heat, big dog with big paws, muddy driveway, outside footwear inside lead, to put it bluntly, inside dirt.
It is not that I don't give the floors a quick brush or mop every so often, but thorough, frequent scrubbing does not seem to have secured a place on my life path. I strive to make the housekeeping category "almost ok".
I sometimes joke, in the muddiest times of the year, that I am considering going into Shurgain, to buy some seeds to plant on my kitchen floor. They say humour has roots in reality.
It is not just the the floors whose deeper cleanliness is hidden beneath a substantial patina of living. I really try to quickly dust when I begin to be tempted to leave messages in the furniture dust.
The frig is done. The kitchen chairs are washed.
Just this morning, I tried a cleaning tip, I saw this week on the computer- how to effectively clean your chandelier. Yes, I have a chandelier. It is not in the dining room, as I chose not to have a dining room, because I wanted to eat and entertain in my big friendly kitchen.
My chandelier is a wonder, I picked up at a garage sale, on my way to visit a daughter at university, years and years ago. Blue and pink and purple and crystal clusters of grapes with their delicate green glass leaves, hang from the piece. Candlelike low wattage bulbs glow in place. What a wonderful delight for my bedroom ceiling, as it accents the nature inspired life on the wallpaper.
The reality is to clean such an item is a big deal.
But not this time. This time I took my recently purchased hairdryer, with an extension cord, with me as stepped with aplomb up onto the bed. With the thing on high, I blasted the delicate cobwebs and the accompanying dust clots throughout the room. The results were miraculous. As I write the sunshine coming in the bedroom is having a whee of a time dancing light up onto the ceiling.
The plants that fill my bedroom window demanded immediate attention. Their delicate selves did not appreciate the leavings from the chandelier. Knowing the needs of living things have priority, they were soon whisked and spritzed. I went on to tackle the rest of the room, with rare abandon with the exception of the slatted clothes and of course the less than perfect floor. They await another burst to spurt from a happy homemaker.
I must go now as I promised myself I would finish scrubbing the living room floor before, I go out into the sunshine. A neighbour just called to tell me to come to visit, as her little next door neighbours' cat had just had five wee kittens on her soft kitchen chair.
I think I'll take a little fish as a gift to the new mum. The floor can wait.
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
I'm choosing the Microcosm
It is a beautiful, bright sunny day. I'm planning on concentrating on life around me. There is so much out there beyond my understanding.
1. The sage plant in my bedroom has beautiful, tiny blue flowers.
2. I actually pruned many bushes before they began to spread forth.
3. At a local Hall, I learned so much about leather back turtles from a local professor and
fishing people.
4. Spring plants- Coltsfoot, crocus, pussy willows, cilia - so far.
5. The little boys are running down to play on the shore.
6. A little boy fishes for trout in the brook.
7. The old dogs lie out in the sun.
8. The red lumps on the rhubarb plants are emerging.
9. The first spring peeper has made a call.
10. Gardening gloves replace mittens.
11. there are times when it is ok to let the fire go out.
12. Jackets replace snow wear.
13. Some people have had their snow tires changed.
14. I wake up to bird songs.
15.A local farmer is sugaring off.
16.Running shoes replace boots.
17. It is time to bring out the chairs on the front porch.
18. The wild leeks are making their appearance.
19. The hot dogs for shore suppers are in the frig.
20. The choir is preparing for Spring Concerts.
21. Relatives are making arrangements for summer visits.
22. Clotheslines are a flutter.
23.There is enough light for the children to play outside after supper.
24. The soccer teams are forming.
25. The last snow from the mighty drifts have almost disappeared.
26.Pens for chickens are being prepared.
27.Open seed catalogues rest on kitchen tables.
28. It is not all that long until lobster season.
29. The cottagers are returning.
30. People from town are checking out the bay.
31. I no longer have to wrap myself up in a comforter, to sit in the television room.
32.The crows are jovial.
33. The willows glow yellow.
34.the birches and maples glow pink.
35. I am thinking of finishing the painting in the kitchen.
35. Composts are once again a common topic of conversation.
36. The red wigglers are free n the garden.
37.The snow shovel is in the barn.
38.Outdoor rinks have disappeared and the NHL soldiers on.
39.The sun is setting farther and farther up the bay.
40.The Gaspereau are surging up some rivers.
41.The farmers are busy in the orchards.
42.The small and big rock falls continue.
tbc
1. The sage plant in my bedroom has beautiful, tiny blue flowers.
2. I actually pruned many bushes before they began to spread forth.
3. At a local Hall, I learned so much about leather back turtles from a local professor and
fishing people.
4. Spring plants- Coltsfoot, crocus, pussy willows, cilia - so far.
5. The little boys are running down to play on the shore.
6. A little boy fishes for trout in the brook.
7. The old dogs lie out in the sun.
8. The red lumps on the rhubarb plants are emerging.
9. The first spring peeper has made a call.
10. Gardening gloves replace mittens.
11. there are times when it is ok to let the fire go out.
12. Jackets replace snow wear.
13. Some people have had their snow tires changed.
14. I wake up to bird songs.
15.A local farmer is sugaring off.
16.Running shoes replace boots.
17. It is time to bring out the chairs on the front porch.
18. The wild leeks are making their appearance.
19. The hot dogs for shore suppers are in the frig.
20. The choir is preparing for Spring Concerts.
21. Relatives are making arrangements for summer visits.
22. Clotheslines are a flutter.
23.There is enough light for the children to play outside after supper.
24. The soccer teams are forming.
25. The last snow from the mighty drifts have almost disappeared.
26.Pens for chickens are being prepared.
27.Open seed catalogues rest on kitchen tables.
28. It is not all that long until lobster season.
29. The cottagers are returning.
30. People from town are checking out the bay.
31. I no longer have to wrap myself up in a comforter, to sit in the television room.
32.The crows are jovial.
33. The willows glow yellow.
34.the birches and maples glow pink.
35. I am thinking of finishing the painting in the kitchen.
35. Composts are once again a common topic of conversation.
36. The red wigglers are free n the garden.
37.The snow shovel is in the barn.
38.Outdoor rinks have disappeared and the NHL soldiers on.
39.The sun is setting farther and farther up the bay.
40.The Gaspereau are surging up some rivers.
41.The farmers are busy in the orchards.
42.The small and big rock falls continue.
tbc
Monday, 15 April 2013
discombobulate verb
Definition of discombobulate verb
[ with object] humorous, chiefly North American disconcert or confuse (someone):(as adjective discombobulated) he is looking a little pained and discombobulate.
I am discombobulated.
This weekend I heard the term "monetizing compassion" in a television political discussion. Apparently this is an emerging term.
What the hell!
I can't understand why low paid jobs are being sent offshore, while many here in the East Coast are desperately looking for work.
I can't understand why Canadian International Development has to be tied to our economic good as children continue to needlessly die of Aids in Africa.
I can't understand why the process of accepting refugees to our country is a less and less welcoming process.
I can't understand why we have difficulty recognizing the First Peoples' rights, because those rights are at odds with with our financial benefit.
I can't understand why we and our companies can irrevocably maim the good earth, without thought for those who will follow us.
I can't understand why it is necessary for more and more people to sleep on the street.
why so many desperate mothers do their food shopping at the Dollar Store.
why some families can't afford to wash their clothes.
why there can be such a chasm between those with so much and those
with little.
To be honest I'll never understand.
Monetizing compassion is an impossibility.
I am discombobulated. (not humourous)
Let's ALL pull together.
I am discombobulated.
This weekend I heard the term "monetizing compassion" in a television political discussion. Apparently this is an emerging term.
- Monetization is the process of converting or establishing something into legal tender. It usually refers to the coining of currency or the printing of banknotes by central banks. Things such as gold, diamonds and emeralds generally do have intrinsic value based on their rarity or quality and thus provide a premium not associated with fiat currency unless that currency is "promissory": That is the currency promises to deliver a given amount of a recognized commodity of a universally (globally) agreed to rarity and value, providing the currency with the foundation of legitimacy or value. Though rarely the case with paper currency, even intrinsically relatively worthless items or commodities can be made into money, so long as they are difficult to make or acquire. Monetization may also refer to exchanging securities for currency, selling a possession, charging for something that used to be free or making money on goods or services that were previously unprofitable.
- Compassion is the understanding or empathy for the suffering of others. It is regarded as a fundamental part of human love, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism —foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.
What the hell!
Where are we going?
I can't understand why low paid jobs are being sent offshore, while many here in the East Coast are desperately looking for work.
I can't understand why Canadian International Development has to be tied to our economic good as children continue to needlessly die of Aids in Africa.
I can't understand why the process of accepting refugees to our country is a less and less welcoming process.
I can't understand why we have difficulty recognizing the First Peoples' rights, because those rights are at odds with with our financial benefit.
I can't understand why we and our companies can irrevocably maim the good earth, without thought for those who will follow us.
I can't understand why it is necessary for more and more people to sleep on the street.
why so many desperate mothers do their food shopping at the Dollar Store.
why some families can't afford to wash their clothes.
why there can be such a chasm between those with so much and those
with little.
To be honest I'll never understand.
Monetizing compassion is an impossibility.
I am discombobulated. (not humourous)
Let's ALL pull together.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Pink Shirt Day Apr. 10, 2013
In 2007, a grade nine student wore a pink shirt to school, at the local rural high school. He was mercilessly teased by a group of older boys.
The next day, two older boys came to school with fifty pink shirts for themselves and their friends. They wore the shirts as an act of solidarity with the new boy and as an act against bullies.
News of this kindness spread across the country and beyond Canada's borders. The young men were humbled by the attention they received. From their act, a movement was born. Today, is Pink Shirt Day in the Annapolis Valley, a day to address the issues of bullies and the bullied.
This past weekend, a young woman in this province took her life. The news of her life and her death have spread across the country and beyond Canada's boundaries. She killed herself because at fifteen she drank vodka, became drunk and was raped by four young men. One of these men took a picture of the rape, as it was taking place. A young man turns to the camera and gives a thumbs up.
When the young girl returned to school the next week, she discovered this picture had travelled throughout the social media of her fellow students. "Slut"was a word she heard too often that day. She was devastated. Her Facebook became a receptacle for trash.
At home, she collapsed, then told her mother the story. In time, the police were called. She did not return to her school, but enrolled in a new school. She was a good girl with a kind heart who made a mistake and became an object of distain and ridicule, when four boys obsenely took advantage of her mistake.
Unfortunately, there will be much to discuss on this "Pink Shirt Day". Rape and harassment are on a path so far beyond bullying, but have roots in the same dangerous thinking that there are excuses that allow some humans to treat other humans, inhumanely. Humans are humans, who must all be treated with respect.
At this moment there are girls in local schools being labelled sluts and of course, the boys are just being boys.
One fine young girl took her life last weekend. Two years of suffering became more than she could bare.
The communities that touch young peoples' lives must provide effective ways for both young men and young women to discover the honourable ways, to be human with each other, in this confusing world.
The next day, two older boys came to school with fifty pink shirts for themselves and their friends. They wore the shirts as an act of solidarity with the new boy and as an act against bullies.
News of this kindness spread across the country and beyond Canada's borders. The young men were humbled by the attention they received. From their act, a movement was born. Today, is Pink Shirt Day in the Annapolis Valley, a day to address the issues of bullies and the bullied.
This past weekend, a young woman in this province took her life. The news of her life and her death have spread across the country and beyond Canada's boundaries. She killed herself because at fifteen she drank vodka, became drunk and was raped by four young men. One of these men took a picture of the rape, as it was taking place. A young man turns to the camera and gives a thumbs up.
When the young girl returned to school the next week, she discovered this picture had travelled throughout the social media of her fellow students. "Slut"was a word she heard too often that day. She was devastated. Her Facebook became a receptacle for trash.
At home, she collapsed, then told her mother the story. In time, the police were called. She did not return to her school, but enrolled in a new school. She was a good girl with a kind heart who made a mistake and became an object of distain and ridicule, when four boys obsenely took advantage of her mistake.
Unfortunately, there will be much to discuss on this "Pink Shirt Day". Rape and harassment are on a path so far beyond bullying, but have roots in the same dangerous thinking that there are excuses that allow some humans to treat other humans, inhumanely. Humans are humans, who must all be treated with respect.
At this moment there are girls in local schools being labelled sluts and of course, the boys are just being boys.
One fine young girl took her life last weekend. Two years of suffering became more than she could bare.
The communities that touch young peoples' lives must provide effective ways for both young men and young women to discover the honourable ways, to be human with each other, in this confusing world.
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Scary Puzzle Piece
It is hard being a Far Away grandma, especially when country feet quickly refuse to painlessly play city games on concrete sidewalks.
But then there are jig saw puzzles.
My small grandchildren are puzzle whizzes. I think the skill has been passed down, through a long line of puzzlers. The puzzles may have child friendly themes, but the puzzle pieces are just as difficult as those of adult puzzles.
My East Coast daughter sent my young grand daughters a wonderful puzzle. The picture combined many familiar and not so familiar characters of many fairytales, into a delightful scene reminiscent of a Bruegel painting. The puzzle was fairly large. There were so many characters that of necessity they were very small.
To be honest, I am sick of the Disneyfication of so many of the ancient stories. I particularly liked this one.
The characters would have been far more familiar to the Brothers Grimm. One person in particular, the Beast, of Beauty and the Beast, looked like he had just recently arrived from the Dark Side. His eyes almost glowed. From the beginning, the small piece made me somewhat uncomfortable and made my four year old granddaughter more than a little apprehensive.
The two little girls and I set out searching for edge pieces to assemble on the top of an old blanket box in their mother's room. We made a good team. By bedtime the outline was almost put together. The next night and the night after that we worked together on the puzzle.
We found all of Rapunzel's long braid, one of Red Riding Hood's shoes, and began to gather the pieces, for a Giant. We had a good time together, we tried to avoid each other's elbows, as we excitedly rushed to place each piece we had been looking for, for some time.
The evening before I was to fly home we finished the puzzle, except for the last piece. It is always an honour to be able to place the last piece, an honour often reserved for the youngest puzzler.
The problem was that there was no last piece to be placed. There was Beauty on a brick balcony with an empty place beside her. We couldn't find the scary piece. My grand daughter said she hid it because she didn't like the piece. Unfortunately she couldn't remember where the piece was hidden.
We searched and searched everywhere, without success. The puzzle remained almost finished when I left.
Today, two weeks later, I got a call from her older grand daughter to tell me, the piece was found. Unfortunately, the puzzle was disassembled and back in the box.
The Beast will have to wait for Beauty until the next time.
I asked the little sister where the piece had been found. She replied that it was under the bed.
I wasn't the least bit surprised, because as I remember from my childhood, under beds was where scary things lurk.
Monday, 18 March 2013
City Experiences - Toronto Revisteded
Recent Toronto Experiences
1. After all those years of giving my seat up for the elderly on the subway, a young man gave up his seat for me. Oh well, pluses and minuses.
2. The city is changing constantly, yet in many ways still stays the same.
3. I am definitely not swimming in my own gene pool here. The diversity is refreshing.
4. For the first time, I went out for chinese food with someone who could order in Chinese.
5. Most people live in cities and dream dreams of the country.
6. It is painful to walk on concrete, when I seldom walk for any time on sidewalks at home.
7. It is possible to walk from one end of the new subway train to the the other.
8. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
9. The snowdrops are a special treat amid all the surrounding cement.
10. The regular rumble of the subway underneath the house is somehow soothing.
11. Parks are an essential part of children's daily life. This is where they can run.
12. I see more alphabets on signs than I consciously knew existed.
13. I went for my first ride in a Zip car. Instead of owning a car you sign up and can pick up a car at one of many downtown spots. The cost per hour covers insurance, gas etc.
14. Most cars on the streets are black, white or grey and clean and shiny.
15. So many people are ordering on line, the malls and shopping areas are losing customers.
16. Nova Scotians are not the only ones constantly talking about weather, especially when it is bad.
17. It is not difficult to get worn out by constant noise.
18. Oh so many homeless.
19. It is still fun to find coins on the street, as the snow melts.
20. It seems odd to see so many people and not recognize anyone.
21. Art is a bigger part of everyday life.
22. Sirens are a common sound.
23. People stil hold doors open for each other.
25. Food is everywhere.
26 Some of it is scary.
27. Oh for the taste of pure mountain water.
28. Some of the new houses on the Bridle Path are bigger than
small hotels. Who has that many relatives?
29. There isn't a food that you can't have delivered to the door,
except Mary's baked beans.
30. No one bakes squares. They don't even know what they are.
31. There is a trend towards grand kitchens and take out food.
32. Beautiful old homes in the more affluent parts of the city are
bought for two million dollars and then torn down to build monster
homes.
to be continued.
1. After all those years of giving my seat up for the elderly on the subway, a young man gave up his seat for me. Oh well, pluses and minuses.
2. The city is changing constantly, yet in many ways still stays the same.
3. I am definitely not swimming in my own gene pool here. The diversity is refreshing.
4. For the first time, I went out for chinese food with someone who could order in Chinese.
5. Most people live in cities and dream dreams of the country.
6. It is painful to walk on concrete, when I seldom walk for any time on sidewalks at home.
7. It is possible to walk from one end of the new subway train to the the other.
8. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
9. The snowdrops are a special treat amid all the surrounding cement.
10. The regular rumble of the subway underneath the house is somehow soothing.
11. Parks are an essential part of children's daily life. This is where they can run.
12. I see more alphabets on signs than I consciously knew existed.
13. I went for my first ride in a Zip car. Instead of owning a car you sign up and can pick up a car at one of many downtown spots. The cost per hour covers insurance, gas etc.
14. Most cars on the streets are black, white or grey and clean and shiny.
15. So many people are ordering on line, the malls and shopping areas are losing customers.
16. Nova Scotians are not the only ones constantly talking about weather, especially when it is bad.
17. It is not difficult to get worn out by constant noise.
18. Oh so many homeless.
19. It is still fun to find coins on the street, as the snow melts.
20. It seems odd to see so many people and not recognize anyone.
21. Art is a bigger part of everyday life.
22. Sirens are a common sound.
23. People stil hold doors open for each other.
25. Food is everywhere.
26 Some of it is scary.
27. Oh for the taste of pure mountain water.
28. Some of the new houses on the Bridle Path are bigger than
small hotels. Who has that many relatives?
29. There isn't a food that you can't have delivered to the door,
except Mary's baked beans.
30. No one bakes squares. They don't even know what they are.
31. There is a trend towards grand kitchens and take out food.
32. Beautiful old homes in the more affluent parts of the city are
bought for two million dollars and then torn down to build monster
homes.
to be continued.
Monday, 4 March 2013
A Hearth Bug's Armchair Travels
I love to fly. There is no better "people watching" than in large airports.
In my teenage years, there was little more appealing than going out to Toronto Airport, to watch people from all over the world, re-unite with people they love. I was a cheap date.
The reason I travel is to be with people I love. Having grand children has greatly intensified these experiences.
I have travelled to far off places to visit the unfamiliar, familiar. It was such a thrill to stand in the Scottish Highlands, among the foundations of the crofts from which my family, two hundred years ago, were herded to make way for sheep. Being at home remembering is the best part.
I picked some heather to bring back to a land of maple leaves.
My passport is in the process of being renewed. I want to be ready if I am needed outside our borders, but, I have no wanderlust.
My present joy is getting a taste of far off places from the adventures of far flung travellers. Women, I have known as babies, right now are experiencing places I will never be. A long time friend's daughter will soon be returning with her husband from Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia. Another young woman, who has been part of my life since her childhood, will soon be returning to her family from Rwanda.
What a pleasure it is to get a personal peek of "other" from the views on Facebook.
In my teenage years, there was little more appealing than going out to Toronto Airport, to watch people from all over the world, re-unite with people they love. I was a cheap date.
The reason I travel is to be with people I love. Having grand children has greatly intensified these experiences.
I have travelled to far off places to visit the unfamiliar, familiar. It was such a thrill to stand in the Scottish Highlands, among the foundations of the crofts from which my family, two hundred years ago, were herded to make way for sheep. Being at home remembering is the best part.
I picked some heather to bring back to a land of maple leaves.
My passport is in the process of being renewed. I want to be ready if I am needed outside our borders, but, I have no wanderlust.
My present joy is getting a taste of far off places from the adventures of far flung travellers. Women, I have known as babies, right now are experiencing places I will never be. A long time friend's daughter will soon be returning with her husband from Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia. Another young woman, who has been part of my life since her childhood, will soon be returning to her family from Rwanda.
What a pleasure it is to get a personal peek of "other" from the views on Facebook.
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