the ancient hawaiian garden

nou o makana

the ancient Hawaiians were sustainable gardeners as we discovered on our walk through Limahuli gardens at the north end of Kauai.

yoga on the beach

It is so wonderful that right off the bat i met a yoga teacher. I was doing a sun salutation on the sand in front of our unit and along came a wonderful lady who has taught me so much more about yoga. Teachers are everywhere.
Every morning we spread our towels out as yoga mats and begin our day. The sun rises here are magical and no words can describe them. They are not so much sun events as they are cloud events. The clouds transform the sky by colour and action.
Our beach is perfect for us although not so great for young children as there is surf, yesterday a monk seal came up and rested here. We didnt see it as we were struggling up the canyon.

The wildlife refuge at Kiluea Point.

tj

we saw red footed boobys and nesting albatross, a nene 

hawaiian goose,and yet not until we hiked the canyon did we find the red tail tropicbird or keuai

from the sublime to the ridiculous

we left YYC at 1:30 and with a good strong tail wind were were landing in 7 1/2 hours.

i am trying to learn and post at the same time. forgive me i will get better at it. we only brought the BB playbook and I have no experience with it.

.

u

somebody should knock me out before I fallover. I cant believe the  view from our room. I am beyond tired.

i

Ice grips in Hawaii?

Only 3 more sleeps now. I am trying to figure out how to pack hiking boots and snorkle fins in small carry -on and one small case that will also be stuffed with books,electronics and light clothes. This is the only luggage we will be taking.
I wonder if I can put ice grips on our running shoes?
Bryan has booked us a private hike with a native guide up to the top of Waialea Canyon. Why? you ask? Appparently this is a difficult hike with lots of slippery sections. Why I asked?
apparently it is beautiful.
I don't know if I will be posting to this blog. from Ha, I will only have a play book and I have to learn it. and then live through the hike.

G's first Christmas luncheon

Stuffed with homemade chicken soup, pita sliders, grape tomatos, mandarin orange,cup of milk, rice crackers,gorgonzola cheese and a wedge of lemon. That was what the tiniest guest had for lunch.
She was somewhat wary of |Toto at first and then she discovered that she had all the power and could feed him. He very daintily took the crackers from her wee fingers and she was delighted. But she came alive when Unca B put Ray on the stereo, This kid is a dancer.
L brought over two huge boxes of toys for her. I mean huge. She has more toys than most kids get in a lifetime. L's grand daughters donated their toys and filled my back room cupboards for G.  I hope she takes one or two home with her each time she and her new- to- come sibling visits until my cupboards are bare.

We woke up this morning to a beautiful fall of snow. When the sun broke through the clouds it seemed as though was wasn't a better place on earth to live. Then I opened the door to a breath sucking temperature of -10C. Damn that's cold.

 

 

Gwynneth and her christmas prezzie

 

They left me to babysit

 

Some things just change

If you have been reading this blog you will have noticed how in this past 18 months we have seen huge changes in our lives.
Most of the events have been the deaths of loved ones and then once in a while wonderful news like a wedding. But, sometimes one comes out of left field.

I drove by my old childhood home last night and it is ...gone.
Just a chain link fence around the demolition. My dad built this house, actually my parents did together and I was involved as well. They took pictures of themselves up on ladders with hammers and paint brushes in hand.  I carried bags of cement , 2x4's and nails home piled on top of me in the baby buggy. I didn't actually expend any effort. One of my parents had to push the buggy up hill.
We moved into it during completion, finishing the bathroom and kitchen as my dad earned the money to buy the materials.
No one could do that today. Can you imagine city hall keeping their sticky greedy beaks out of your home if you didn't have an 'occupancy permit'?
Now that home, built with such pride and love is gone. It is like a death.

Our friend Mike has passed away

We got one of those horrible calls again today. " Dad just died," said the sad voice on the end of the phone.,, After a long hard fought battle against cancer our friend Mike Jackson succumbed last night at 9:30. He was in hospital in Comox. About the time Bryan decided to pour himself an 'Oirish'. He doesn't usually do that but felt the need for one about the same time. An unwitting toast to his dear Irish friend.
Mike was a very close friend of Bryan's and mine. I can't believe how many hours, if they were counted up, that the two of them spend on the phone together. They discussed the economy of nearly everything, the politics of nearly every country and predicted often about the economic  precipice that they were peering over. It was with great glee that one would call the other about some brilliant buy in a mining stock or somesuch and how much they would make if they sold it today. The next day the call would be about how much they could average their losses had they sold when they first thought of it the day before.
If it wasn't for those nefarious bastards in the city that controlled the stock they bought.
For over 36 years we have been friends, we laughed a lot together, we ate wonderful food together and drank the best wine together. If it wasn\t for Mike I wouldn't know that I should expect to get the best. Mike had the most wonderful sense of entitlement and why not? He always expected everyone to give their all and he would pay for that priviledge.
He stayed in the best hotels, travelled first class and demanded the finest service. He was generous to a fault and over the years has been a kind and loving friend.
We will miss him greatly.

More lessons from Ginger

Ginger was a very astute and perceptive dog. She could read body language and then give feedback with her wonderful eyebrows. She would ask, "Are you getting ready to go for a walk or to work? Oh, those shoes, that means that I might stay home, right. Which one of you wants to go for a walk? Are you thinking of getting up and getting me a treat? If not, maybe you could think of that, I like the jerky ones."

1. If things don't go your way, don't sweat it, just take a deep breath and let it out with a blow and rest.
2. Do upward facing dog every once in a while. This pose helps with your balance when you have to get a sore or tired hind end out of bed.
3. Downward dog is a good one to do always...slowly and stretch every muscle in your back when you do this pose. Maybe you will be lucky and feel your spine pop. Now, even if you are human you can do this... still in downward facing dog, lift one leg and take your foot as far back as you can, open your chest and turn, flex your foot. This will release any tension in your spine. This is not why dogs do it but the benefit is the same.
4. Use your nose, not just to smell tree trunks and fire plugs but use it when you snuggle up to your loved ones. Smell them, and take a deep breath. There is primal satisfaction in this action.
5. Keep a half smile on your face at all times, you can let it break out into a grin when you want to make those around you feel happy.
6. Wrestle.
7. Drink lots and lots of water.
8. Claim a corner of the couch all to yourself whenever possible.
9. Take a path not well trodden, there maybe a surprise along the way, not always what you might expect.




10. Eat saskatoon berries.

The shower

Okay so I have taken a while to get these pics up. I don't have all of the wedding pics yet so I will upload  what I have beginning with the bridal shower.

some of the ladies Heather, Linda, Gail and me

Shelley and the flower girl....Gwennyth

Everybody enjoyed a nice meal...lets see , we had a seafood pasta, grilled sirloin on  a bed of greens, a dessert of puffy meringue cake and a chocolate cake to die for....covered in little zoo animals. Oh we had too much grub....

my girls 

a happy bride and her friends...What is that behind her?  Did her mother decorate with toilet paper?

Linda to the rescue ...

oh my goodness what could be in this box

I think this is from Peg....oh my goodness.

Add caption

All such beautiful shower gifts. What a lucky pair. 

Today's Lessons From Ginger

1. Greet every day with enthusiasm. no matter how you feel.
2. Go outside every morning no matter what the weather.
3. Say good morning with a kiss to those you love
4. Don't pack around too much stuff. You don't need much more than your ID.
5. Greet your friends with a chest bump or something similar.
6. Run for the feeling of the wind in your hair....or walk fast depending on how old you are.
7. Never complain
8. Be kind and patient with your family and friends.
9. Lean on your best friend and sigh
10. Nap often
11. Eat with gusto
12. Drink lots of water
13. Take your medicine without complaint
14. Trust your family
15. Guard your family
16. Accept those who don't understand, just walk on by.
17. Celebrate a bone literally or figurativly
18. Swim every chance you get
19. Run around and jump for joy after a pedicure
20. Roll in the snow and on the grass, no matter how old you are.



My dear old friend Ginger

I am writing this before she goes because I don't know if I will be able to see through the tears to type when she is actually gone. When you read this she will have passed away.
I met Ginger in 1997 when she was 11 months old and immediately I knew she was my dog. I had been thinking of getting a dog for a few years and one day I opened the paper and my eyes were drawn to an ad for adoption. I should have cut it out and saved it, thinking of it now makes me laugh. The ARF foundation was fairly new and a dog who had been rescued from one of the reserve rescue trips had several puppies and one of whom had been adopted out to a family that was overwhelmed by a new dog and new human babies and the family returned the dog  to ARF to be re-adopted. She was as they described, part Great Dane and part Lab and her name was Ginger.
I called Laurie Flavin who was the founder of ARF and she arranged to meet me at the park for an introduction. I asked Linda if she would come with Angel, her German Shepherd so that Angel could give us her opinion as well.
The dogs got on famously and from the very first greeting they were life long friends. They were so close it was as if they were spiritual twins. They never tired of each other's company all through their lives and even shared each other's bones.
Ginger looked like a shepard crossed with a rottweiler. There was no Great Dane. We thought she was beautiful.
The next night I brought Bryan to Laurie's house to meet our dog. He didn't know it at the time but I was determined that she belonged to us. Bryan was armed with cheese in his pockets.
She approached him timidly and as Laurie's pack moved through the house Ginger stuck to them. She growled at us as she went past. I thought surely she will realize that we were her true pack. No, off she went thinkng she would  have nothing more to do with us.
The next day after talking it over we called Laurie and she brought Ginger to our house. As Laurie slipped away through the door Ginger panic'd and ran to the window to watch her drive away. She wimpered and came right back to me and kissed me on the cheek. I took that as a "lets give this relationship a try" kiss.
I had never had a dog before and knew nothing of the creatures, She had never had me before and knew nothing of us. Together we learned. She to understand English and me to open my heart to her.
We went everywhere together. She would patiently wait out my client appointments in the back seat of the car and then the van and then an SUV and then a cross over.
We walked miles and miles and miles together. We explored back roads and highways and side tracks. She showed us so many things on our road trip holidays that we would never have noticed without her. She used her nose where ever she went and she taught us to stop still and listen and look.
Together we have been as far as Prince Rupert to the California Redwoods. We have walked wild and windy beaches on the west coast of Vancouver island and we have trudged along the banks of the Saskatchewan river in Nipiwin and floated in the swimming holes of the Kananaskis Sheep river. We have been in snow drifts that covered our heads and hot summer days panting in the shade under a tree. We have shared every hamburger I have ever had and I learned to make a chicken stew that she adored.
Everyday she defended us against delivery people, plastic bags, squirrels and rabbits. She was courageous and brave and always the first at the door to take on an imagined intruder.
We gardened together, and she learned to eat raspberries from the bush without getting attacked by thorns. She lay at our feet under the table at meals, she watched for us at the front window and was so happy to see us return. We made friends through her and we met  Angel and Toto and Nikki andTrevor and Charlie and Boo and Ben and Clover and Teddy and Jimmy and Lexi and their attendant humans.
I will miss you my dear sweet kind friend.
(Ginger passed away September 21, 2011 at 1:20 pm. She spent her last morning walking with Bryan and I along the Bow river and even took a drink and a little swim at her favourite place.

I will miss my girl. )

You Asked for it

I forgot to mention some things during my narration. We replaced the newell posts and the spindles and railings. We took the hardwwod down the stairs. A lot of the kitchen detail is still waiting for the finishing carpenter. But we hired a guy with only two hands and two feet. Damn, next time we do this we hire a guy with many appendages that we can work around the clock.
So we wait for the cove molding at the top and botton of the cupboards and the finishing of the pony wall by the back door. We will get the tiling finished now that I have decided what to do with the back splash.Bryan has ordered some led light strips for the top of the cabinets.
Then the painter comes back to do the floor molding and the walls where we changed our minds on the colour.

a beautiful hot summer day in September...I will try to remember this in the middle of winter.  

This is one of the heads in the new shower. They all have governors I think so that they don't blast off your skin. 

Then and Now

March 2011

August 2011...no more pantry but lots of custom shaker cabinets with soft closings and tons of drawers. The tile is not on yet but will get it up soon, maybe this week. I love my induction cook top and the new appliances. I didn't know that an oven could do so many things. Love my new faucet, it is intuitive. The granite is an exotic, a one of a kind and never will be another. Very gorgeous.

I don't have a new picture from this angle yet, but will soon.

We are not done  yet, I have to install the new tv, and organize all the millions of pieces of pottery that we had cupboards made to exhibit.

We got Hailed

Last night the skies opened up and dumped hail and heavy rain on us. I ran outside as it began, risking a pelting to cover up the tomato plant. I couldnt take the stinging pain so nothing else was saved. Surveying the damage this morning we found some trees nearly stripped bare.