...a walk across the room to relax?

I'm not even sure I should be writing anything today.  I have the worst cold/flu ever and am stuck at home trying to be good to myself.  Drugs help a lot.  Every morning I wake up thinking today I'll feel a lot better than yesterday and then  realize I have a new symptom and actually feel worse than the day before.  Last night I told my husband "I sure feel useless this week" and he said "No, you need to rest and besides, you are still doing things".  I thought about that this morning.  In spite of how I've felt this week my laundry is done, including bedding, I've put food on the table, made his brown bag lunch every day much to his coworkers chagrin,  and even did a few errands including some office work.  I've kept up with what is necessary daily and yet there is this restlessness about me that I find hard to shake.  I'm talking about all that to my mind needs doing that I don't have the energy to do.  The old adage "Starve a fever, feed a cold" is the one thing I'm pretty good at.  Since I'm an all or nothing kind of girl and have BOTH,  I decided to focus on the later and just continue to eat well! .... or at least lots!

Prior to this weekend I spent two consecutive weeks completely focused on preparing material for a Retreat I was speaking at.  I would write or read for a few hours and then I thought I was doing something good for my body by going for a one hour walk.  Not just any walk.  Definitely not a leisurely walk.  Not this girl.  All or nothing!  Up the hill and down again times three and finding any paths that were not even terrain.  Often I would do that twice per day.  I realize now that those two weeks were hard enough on me without the rigorous  "over exercise" and by the time I was done my speaking engagement I knew I was completely exhausted.

I've always known I have a hard time relaxing at home.  During my years of full time plus on call work my husband would whisk me away to the big city when he realized I was in need of extra rest.  He could always tell before I was aware of my need.  (I KNOW!  What a guy!)  Whenever I think of REALLY relaxing I think of being somewhere other than at home.  Not very realistic I guess.  I can't always be going away to relax.  A nice long ride on my motorbike during the summer months is definitely one of my ways of relaxing.  But I do think I need to learn to relax better in my own home.  I think a good start would be to stop feeling guilty about not having done everything I think needs to be done and just enjoy my beautiful surroundings right where I am.  Live and relax in the moment.  See how good it is just to get this down in print to go back again and again to be reminded?!

Back to my ginger/lemon/honey tea and then another little nap :)

...across the room into my office/laundry room....

I'm so glad this freezing cold hasn't affected my brain so much that I couldn't have thought of cleaning out my office/laundry room this week. Who knew it would take a week of picking away at it to get it to the place where I know that if I open a door or drawer it will be neat, tidy and clean.

I also had no idea what a treasure of memories would be unearthed in all those binders and file folders. Just call me PackRat from now on! I absolutely must share some of my treasures with you.

Like a list of similies and metaphors emailed to me by a friend which included:

*Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

*She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

*The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for awhile.

Then there are the emails my little grandson dictated for me to send to some family members, like:

*Dear Papa, I wish you would let me go home but I can't go home yet at dark. But why? Because I'm a boy that's all I am. No, because I'm a bigger boy. That's why.

*Dear Uncle "L", I hope I miss you. Uncle "L", guess what I did. I skated with my class and that is why I miss you all day long.

....and then the response from Uncle "L".... "WOW! You can skate! I like that! You have to come and visit me soon because pretty soon you will be a Gretzky and then you won't have time to visit an old old cowboy uncle!"

Next I found the cookbook I made for a skit I did with a friend..."Emergency 911 KOOKING BOOK....meatless cooking with toe fu by famous french chefs Shee-Shee and Fee-Fee LaFlour. Some of the chapters are: French massage while cooking; Something could be in the oven; Afrodezzeeak cooking with oysters, peanut butter, all natural, in ze raw, it could be sushi or it could be someting else...ve vill let you figure dat out on your own! Oh my! We did have fun with that! LOL! That was our second book. The first one was called ""Celebrity Kooks...baking for dummies by Shee-Shee and Fee-Fee LaFlour.

Of course I kept all the knock knock jokes I used to tell my grandbabies. They loved them. "Knock knock", "Who's there?" "Jewel", "Jewel who?" "Jewel know who when you open the door". They always begged for more and I made sure to memorize some for meal time laughs :)

I came across a heart wrenching letter from a young family member struggling with some very difficult issues and trying to find her way through, and the most lovely poems, songs and letters from my daughters, a letter from a special old auntie, and so much more. Imagine my surprise at finding four sets of markers of every colour under the sun and reams of paper for the grandkids to use when they visit when I thought all that I had was in my kitchen junk drawer!

Shredders are miraculous machines. I don't know what I would have done without ours. Three large garbage bags of shredded paper is already stuffed into the recycling container and I could probably fill another two or three. I'm still hoarding, I know that. Next time around I will do as my grandson does and I will perhaps work up the courage to "face my fears" of shredding something I think I may want to read ten years down the road. Oh well, I've made a start and my office has experienced a much needed purge!

Having said that, I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping those wonderful memories and allowing them space in our homes. All these precious pieces of paper warmed my heart and put a smile on my face as they reminded me of all the beautiful people God has placed in my life. I am SO BLESSED!

..across the room to get back to the basics...

After spending some time at my daughter's house recently looking after her family while she was away I came home to make some changes in my laundry room. She does her laundry in her basement in a room that is home to the washer, dryer, furnace and a whole lot of "stuff"! Doesn't seem like a place you would want to spend much time? Every time I went to add another load to the washer I wondered what it was about that room that was so pleasant! I think the answer is that first of all I enjoyed being in her surroundings and thinking about her as I did some of the work she normally does while looking after three children at the same time managing everything else on her agenda. Secondly, there's a window above the appliances letting in natural light...always a good thing. Then there was that clothesline that is actually somewhat in the way and yet so handy (can you tell I don't have one of those!). I used it all the time! I do think that what was most unique and what beckoned me all the time (other than trying to keep a handle on all that laundry!) was the tray on her dryer that housed a quart jar of home made laundry detergent, spray 'n wash, and a container of vinegar! I think I did some laundry almost every day! It smelled so good...so fresh and lemony!

When I came home I kept thinking about that tray and today I created my own tray. I liked the fact that my daughter used whatever containers she had around the house and I wanted to do the same thing. These are all items I already had that were not being used other than those lovely glamour gloves you see in the picture!

I also used a quart jar for my detergent, an old oil and vinegar set for my liquid Oxyclean to add to my white's, and Vinegar for rinsing. The blue spray bottle is my Spray 'n Wash and the tray was one I had in the junk cupboard in the basement!

Making your own laundry detergent, using vinegar as a rinse agent and having everything on a tray at your fingertips will find you wishing it was laundry day!! Oh, and the glamour gloves just BEG to be used!!

Thanks darling daughter of mine for the inspiration!!

Guess what I'm doing right now?!

..across the room for a disposition to show kindness....

I looked up the word "Grace" on my Thesaurus today and this is what I read....a disposition to show kindness.

This reminded me of a story a friend of mine related to me this week about her experience in the coffee shop drive through line up. She uses these few minutes in the line up to apply her make up and she did so this particular morning as well. I guess she didn't see the car ahead of her pull away and didn't proceed forward immediately, apparently causing the woman in the car behind her great anxiety. She became so anxious in fact that she shouted at my friend "It's not going to do you any good anyway!" My immediate response to her story was outrage that any woman could say something like that to another woman, and then outrage that someone as nice as my friend would have to endure that kind of rude behavior! If anyone oozes grace, it would have to be this friend.

It made me think and wonder what I would have done. Said. I thought about all the drivers that day that I regarded as nuisances on the road by driving too slow, too fast, in my way, not driving they way I felt they should drive and I thought about my reaction to them and the thoughts I entertained about them. It was not good. I'm afraid most of the time my disposition to show kindness is limited to people who are nice to me. I'm afraid that way too often I make assumptions about people's motives that I have no business making. After all, these people are total strangers to me. How could I possibly presume to know their motives.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately which reminded me of a saying that has been popular for many years and has appeared on keychains, clothes, mugs and a whole host of gadgets. Often only the first letter of each word is used.....WWJD....meaning "What Would Jesus Do"? I don't own anything with those letters or words but it has been on my mind lately and the last two weeks I've tried to remind myself when I get irritated or impatient with people to consider WWJD? It's been a real eye opener for me and a way of helping me reconsider before I make up my mind about total strangers.

Who knows, I may just develop a disposition to show kindness like my friend, smile, wave and pay for the lady's coffee just like she did!

...across the room for contemplation & revelation!

Thanks to an amazing quality cold I brought with me on my Christmas travels I have been worming my way into the New Year inch by inch rather than the usual frantic

start! It seems time has stood still for me. The clock has almost stopped in my achey little world. Since it would not be kind to spread this around I choose to keep my pluggy drippy puffy nose and face in the shelter of my own four walls for the duration. It's not all bad though. For the few minutes every day that my head feels clear there is time for introspection, review and reading. I've even taken time to complete yet another 'get to know you better' form that some friends send occasionally. The questions are rather mindless, requiring little or no thought at all, and so it was with this most recent form.

HOWEVER (you knew this was coming, didn't you?!). After I sent the form back to my friend I thought about my answers and realized something rather interesting about myself. Considering the Type A, rather opinionated, passionate person I am, I found my answers to be quite passive. Not what I would have expected of me! It made me wonder what's happened to me!

OK, I do have a bad cold and the only thing I feel really passionate about is getting rid of it. I have little energy or ambition these days. Still, I don't think I would change any of my answers next week or in a month.

I don't have a favourite brand of clothing and I have no place in particular I can think of to retire to when we retire. There is no day on the calendar I am looking forward to more than today and I don't like one season more than the next....I like all four. I can't choose between chocolate and vanilla; hugs or kisses; salty or sweet because I like both and I don't have a favourite day of the week. Out of the sixty questions I just didn't seem to have a lot of favourites or must have's of any one thing. My first thought was "what is wrong with me!" But as I reviewed the questions in my mind I came to the conclusion that I have finally evolved into a more content person than I used to be! And extremely blessed! This year I honestly could not come up with a single idea to help my husband with his Christmas shopping. I don't need anything. It's not that I have everything. Last year I made a conscious effort to curb my spending and I wonder if that constant reminder that I don't need to buy everything I like each time I went shopping is finally making a difference. (Coughing intermission!) All year I came across things I could use but did not have to have and therefore did not need to buy. It was a great exercise for me and I love the outcome!

There are other aspects to contentment and I may just need to do another segment next time.

....across the room to say THANK YOU....

CHRISTMAS! What a celebration! Everybody wants to be in on the festivities and many who don't even believe in the real reason for this celebration get completely absorbed in the giving and receiving of this special season. Personally I am amazed at the way the people of our city get involved to make sure everyone has a special Christmas by donating food and gifts to be distributed by various organizations.

Most of my gifts have been sent by now and I have been the recipient of a few gifts myself by now. That brings me to the reason for this post. Some months ago we sent a wedding gift because we had not been able to attend the wedding. It was a gift of money. A month or so later I realized we had not heard from these people by way of a telephone call or a thank you note. Since we had just received a call from a charitable organization we had donated to six months ago to inform us they received the cheque just that day I began to wonder if our gift had been received by this couple. I contacted them to find out that they did not receive it. A few days later a very tired looking envelope ended up in our mail box. It looked like someone had used it as a coaster for their coffee cup! In fact it looked so bad I had to buy a new card to send the gift again. That is one reason we need to send thank you notes but not the main reason. I don't know how many gifts I have sent by now and never received a thank you of any kind. I'm left to wonder whether the gift was ever received and I can't help but wonder if it was even appreciated. The gift I received yesterday was a good reminder of how much time a friend will invest in finding something really special, wrapping it in pretty paper and sending it to my house. A gift of money is someone saying "I want to give you something you would really like, so here is some money so that you can choose it for yourself". Whether it is a gift of money or a gift chosen by someone I think it deserves to be acknowledged. There is no substitute for a hand written note (everyone loves mail!) but a telephone call is a great way of thanking your family and friends as well!

May you enjoy the gift of giving and receiving and let's all remember to say "THANKS"!

...across the room into the REAL world.....

As we were raising our daughters my husband and I agreed on some very important common sense approaches to cleanliness and nutrition for ourselves and our children. One was to limit the use of antibiotics if at all possible. Sometimes I felt judged by other people because their kids were taken to the clinic or even worse the local emergency department at the first sign of a sniffle or cough and mine had to suffer through it! Did you know that even if a child feels sick Monday or Tuesday and is looked after at home, by Friday everybody has just had it and they head to walk-in or the emergency department for their instant anti-biotic fix! Nobody is allowed to ruin the family's weekend by being sick! REALLY! You may quote me:) At our house hands had to be washed after bathroom use and before and after a meal. Fresh fruits and/or veggies were served at most meals (we had to have something crunchy to eat at most meals). Don't think for a moment that this was what really happened at our house every day. We were not the perfect family. I'm just saying this was our desire for ourselves and something we wanted to instill in our daughters. That's just a little introduction into what I really wanted to post today which is an excerpt from a book I'm reading. I totally agree with the following written by Danna Demetre in "Change your habits, change your life":

Experts are reporting that many allergies and immune-system diseases have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in the last thirty to forty years. Some studies confirm that more than half of the U.S. population has at least one allergy. Many researchers suspect the increase may be due to changes in modern living to include the "hygiene hypothesis," which blames growing up in increasingly sterile homes as the problem. Others have pointed to changes in diet, air pollution, and even the rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

Interestingly, the rise in allergies and immune-system diseases are only showing up in highly developed countries in Europe and North America. The illnesses have steadily increased in other countries as they have become more advanced.

This is what health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola says about this issue:

As society in general becomes more "sterile" it is causing real problems for your immune system, which is becoming increasingly unable to differentiate between real threats and harmless things like pollen and dust-bunnies.

Think about it: how many people do you know who carry a bottle of antibacterial hand sanitizer with them wherever they go? Meanwhile, you're exposed to antibiotics, in your food and by prescription, while most of the food supply is pasteurized or otherwise treated to remove both good and bad bacteria.

And this is the key: while everyone was busy killing all of those "germs" they didn't stop to think about what this would mean for the future generation. Children are now growing up without being exposed to the bacteria, viruses, and parasites that have existed throughout the world - even in developed countries like the U.S. - since the beginning of time.

To some extent, this is a good thing. but to children's immune systems, which are not being exposed to bacteria and viruses like they were in the past, it results in an excessive immune response against a routine thing, like a peanut, resulting in allergies and auto-immune diseases.

While "clean living" is certainly a good thing, we must be wise and not take this to an extreme. We also need to stop pressuring our doctors to write prescriptions for antibiotics every time we have a sniffle or a cough. They should not be giving in to these requests, but unfortunately sometimes they do, which results in increasingly resistant strains of bacteria and a much bigger problem for all of us. Don't feel you have to avoid every germ on the planet. Let your kids play in the dirt. Yes, we do need to wash our hands after using the restroom and when in contact with sick people. but that old "ten second" rule for food dropped on the floor not being contaminated is a good one to keep. Our bodies get strengthened by small doses of bacteria. Let's not be afraid to live in the "real" world and leave our hand santizer behind on occasion.

...across the room to keep a plant alive....

I'm really not much of a gardener but there are times I get lucky enough to grow some beautiful plants. This was one of my favourites this year. It was tucked away outside in the corner of our house in my favourite designer planter that I bought for a song. It looked healthy all summer and just kept filling that pot and growing down the sides until it almost touched the ground. Two days ago I decided to bring it inside and hopefully keep it alive and beautiful in my house but just in case I lose my green thumbs this winter I took a picture of it. I even bought a new pot (it IS used to the designer pot after all) and a stand so it can continue it's downward spurts throughout the winter months.

Last November after my sister passed away (why do we say it like that?! She has not "passed away"! She has just moved to a better spot and is waiting for us to join her! She is very much alive today!) a friend of mine gave me a Christmas Cactus which will bloom white flowers every year to remind me of my sister (not that I need a reminder!) who loved white flowers! Can you imagine the pressure I felt to keep this thing alive? I kill every plant that has ever been in my house. REALLY! The other day this friend was over and wanted to see the cactus. Thankfully half of it was still alive and even has buds on it. She took one look at it though and said "Oh, WHY did I give you a plant!" LOL. Now I REALLY have something to prove! Like, can't I at the very least grow cactus?!

hmmmm. I wonder if I could grow thistle? They always look so healthy and hardy in my flower gardens!

...across the room for hair cuts, telemarketers, and Costco....

*Two hair cuts ago I decided to try a new hair stylist (actually I try a new hairstylist all the time!). My theory about hair cuts has been "it'll grow out" and thankfully so far it always has. This hair cut was SO BAD and has unfortunately been captured on many pictures for everyone to see for years to come :(

I was so impressed when I met her because she looked at my hairline and took the time to peruse through a magazine with me. I showed her several very different hairstyles that I liked and she said she thought she knew what I wanted. We talked and I didn't pay much attention as she was cutting and when she was done styling I realized she had done EVERYTHING I asked her not to do! In fact, I think she took ideas from all the pictures I showed her and used a little of each on my head!! Now most hairstylists would say you should come back because it takes them some time to get used to your hair and you. I guess in this case it would have worked because I could have told her just to reverse what she did the last time! She SCARES me!

I realized today that she primed me for my cut today. I am hot flashing just thinking about sitting in the chair! This time I AM going back to the stylist I went to a few months ago. I like her and I will give her a chance to get to know my hair (I think she knows me after last time!)

I'll keep ya posted!!

*A friend gave me a book recently that I am thoroughly enjoying (I must remember to tell her!)

The other day as I was reading the author asked the question "why were you born and are you fulfilling the purpose of your creation?" Good question! Why am I here. Am I here just to fill in the time until the day I'm no longer here? God tells us in the Bible "...I am the Lord your God....you are precious in my sight....everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made." Check out Isa. 43

and then in Rev. "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

The author says that we are created for God's glory and pleasure. Our lives are to be lived in such a way as to reflect Him, to show the world the character of God, His love, His peace, His mercy, His gentleness. She says we are created to live for Him and accomplish His will. To miss this purpose is to miss fulfillment. It is to have existed rather than to have lived.

The book is "Lord, I want to know you" by Kay Arthur. Thanks Renita! I love the book!

*Even though we are only two in our house I cannot resist shopping at Costco. I especially love their produce section but unfortunately get carried away buying in bulk. Hence my diet this week has consisted of mostly nectarines, lots and lots of nectarines, and pears! The problem is that of the two of us I'm the one eating most of the fruit. My reasoning behind the bulk purchases is that even if I can't eat all of it before it rots, I'll have enjoyed every bite (their fruit is just THAT good!) and it's cheaper than having to throw out junky fruit from some of the other stores! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! After I finish this post I'll go eat another rather ripe pear!

*While I was typing the phone rang and when I realized it was a telemarketer I pressed "talk" and then almost immediately "end". Someone told me that if you answer their calls then they end up having to pay for it! I don't always do this but when I'm in "Hot Flush Mode" it somehow calms me down when I do that :) In fact these people have trained me to answer the phone, say hello, and if they don't respond IMMEDIATELY, hang up. The other day a friend called and since I hadn't checked the number on the display before I answered, and since the person didn't respond IMMEDIATELY, I hung up on her! She called again and said "I guess I'm too slow for you!" Speaking of "That Mode"....it has me crying about nearly everything these days. The other day my car left me stranded at Winners and I cried. I called my husband who asked me to stay put until he got there. When I saw his big truck on the street leading to Winners I cried again! Then I drove past his place of work and cried because I thought it was such a wonderful place to work and that he has devoted his life to this very wonderful and noble profession! See what all you youngsters have to look forward to? Oh Lord, please help me not to cry at the hair salon today! PLEASE?!