Life Before Me.....

Hello again everyone! (waving)
I didn't plan on offering another blog entry this week but my marvelous mood
has made it so, along with encouragement from a few fine folks.
Not the first clue do I have on why my spirits have been soaring lately but
I'll not question it, instead I'm going to ride it like the wild wind that whips
through our cold climate.

When last I typed words here, it was mentioned that my Husband and I would
be going to archery and I was looking forward to out arrowing him.
A bit over confident I was apparently because he handed me my hide with
a hundred and thirty point difference in our scores.
Guess I'll need a pile more practice to beat him.
It was a fun time and we both enjoyed spending time together without the boys.
Yesterday was also a wonderful day, there were a few reasons for it.
One of my Mother's Sisters is home for a visit from "Out West" and though
I saw her last Sunday, I wanted to spend some more time with her.
As I sat enjoying my coffee and finished the morning clean up around here,
I called my Cousin up to see what her and my Aunt's plans for the day were.
Lucky for me, Auntie was planning on visiting with my Mother and I asked
if I could join her. After a little needling by yours truly, her Daughter decided
she would join us.
Her Daughter and Granddaughter moved here last year and I enjoy every
second I get to spend with either of them.
My Mother has a large family and I've never seen most of them as much as my
Fathers flock so it's always special when we do get together.

Walking into Mom's house is always the same, even though I may experience
different emotions when I step in.
Never has it been a place that doesn't have everything in precise, perfect position.
That's a good thing and yesterday it made me think more than it has before.
The aromatic coffee that just finished brewing smelled as heavenly as the air that
surrounded us.
My Mom, like my Sister and I, are what you might call "smell freaks", candles,
oils, wax cubes, incense, you name it and one of us burns it.
It's comforting for me to have small things like that in common with them.
We collected our coffees and sat down to hen it up for awhile.
Not sure if I've mentioned this before but the relationship with my Mom hasn't
always been a sweet one and lately we've struggled with stubbornness
both of us share.

Shortly after we all offered our thoughts, opinions and stories, hunger stabbed
me in the stomach, this happens every time I visit there.
The very same thing occurs whenever I visit Meme's house, as well.
Food always tastes better in certain places, maybe that's where the term
"comfort food", came from, who knows?
While heating some left over spaghetti Mom had in the fridge, I beamed listening
to the three of them speaking with smiles in their voices.
Man it makes me feel marvelous to see and hear people I love enjoying each
others company!
Something else I enjoy immensely is hearing others tell of times before I came to
be or when I was to young to remember.
One of my  favorite moments yesterday was hearing my Aunt speak a story
about her Daughter as a toddler.
She told us how at the tender age of two, her Daughter threw a fit and
"flew the coop."
It seems little Sammy didn't care to share her Mother's company any longer and
decided that Grandpa's house would be the perfect place to be.
With her little suitcase in hand, down the street she steamed to seek solace.

So I have one Cousin (mentioned in a previous blog) that tried to steal a suckie
at two and another that ran away from home at the same age, stories like these
make me smile and I cherish hearing them.
Listening to my Mother and her Sister speak of their lives while growing up was
also wonderful.
Although they didn't have the happiest of childhoods from what I've be told, they
did speak sweetly and seemed to enjoy sharing their stories with my Cousin and I.
Another fine moment was when I asked how my Mother liked the new towels she
was sporting in her bathroom, (a gift from my Sister at Christmas), she replied
saying she loves them and there is one specific towel in the set that she's
staked a claim on.
Quite proudly, in a peacock way, she told us how NO ONE! uses her towel,
not even her Husband.
It was then that my Cousin excused herself to the bathroom, boasting
how she would in fact use that talked about towel......hehehe.
Mom was okay with it and enjoyed her Niece's hard headed humor.

Visiting and enjoying time spent with them, served me swell in many ways.
Knowing how good my Sis and I had it when we were growing up and thinking
about how different it was for our Mom and Aunt, had me feeling even more
grateful than when I walked in.
Seeing the happiness all over my younger Cousins face when she beamed
about her Beau, was also a marvelous moment.
I hope that happiness settles there for the rest of her life!
Yup, I'm a hopeless sap but it's better than a sour sucking soul, I'd say.

Well stomach pains stab at me yet again so I'm going to go silence it.
I'll leave these lines with some pictures from our visit and a song that always
brings my Aunt to mind.
Thanks for reading what's in the mind grounds and may this day do right by, you,
me and our family tree's.
P.S Please take notice of my own grown nails, I am so proud of this small achievement.

Colder Weather.....

That's what we are feeling right now and it's not just colder, it's fifteen below
freezing with no warmth in sight!
Now is the time of year I start really looking forward to the Summer sun.
My mind wanders to less fortunate souls that have no choice but to seek shelter
at the mission or anywhere else they can to keep from catching their death in
this crippling cold.
I pray that my loved ones along with myself, will never know what that's like.

Life around here lately has been pretty good and I have only minor complaints that
I'm trying hard to keep hidden because I really shouldn't ever whine about anything.
Archery is going well and I'm hoping to arrow up with my Hubby Bub tonight.
Our youngest still counts down sleeps until "skate time", it's super seeing him enjoy
it so much and I'm thankful for all the help and support we've been given, it's had
him in hockey mode since the start.
I'm also looking forward to a few things in the near future.
A trip to my Cousin's in Toronto with other adults in the family is something I'm
excited about. We will be preparing for our Cousin's upcoming wedding in May.
They have asked me to join them and I'm honored indeed.
We also have a trip in March planned that will include hunting for my
pack-of-penises.
I can't wait to cook, clean and play games with them while sitting around
the wood stove.
In further distance is the hopes of a vacation with my Husbands side of
the family, it's a long trip but one I always enjoy taking.
The passing years and time in between visits is sad to think about and I long
to see our branches bundle together, once again.
He has a very large family and our Son's continually ask about them.
I wish we could see them more often but I'll be good and grateful if we can
just get there and spend a week with them.

As you may remember, a Dear friend and family member who has been very
ill for years, is still fighting for her life.
Since Christmas, she has been in sweeter spirits and I can't express how happy
that makes me.
We've seen each other since then and have kept in touch on the phone as well
as in cyberspace.
She is planning many exciting things for this year and I'm hopeful she will achieve
all that she has set out to succeed in.
I gain strength and sweetness from her, like I do from many others in my life.
Seeing how others struggle has always helped me silence my own sorrows.
Maybe that's why I enjoy going to the nursing home so much.
You want to see souls who suffer and have not much left in life?, then visit any
nursing home and it will surround you the second you walk in.

I was also looking forward to a much needed "girls night out" but our plans fell
through and we are all trying to nail down a date in February.
It's a very hard thing to do when everyone has such busy lives but it's nice to
know that our children's schedules are the reason for it.
I love knowing that my friends and family put their kids first.
Today I don't have much in the way of plans, archery, like I mentioned before
and a visit with Meme later today but aside from that, not to mucking futch. :)
I'm warm at the moment and hope to remain that way, grateful and feeling pretty
fine in this day.
I hope you all are too!
I'm gonna leave these lines, quite possibly my shortest blog ever and grab another
coffee and curl up with either a book or a movie.
I'll lay down a song of the same title found above and a couple of pictures.
Thanks for reading what's in the mind grounds and until I post again, stay safe,
snugly and smiley!  :)

Everything Will Be Alright.....

Happy 2013 everyone! (waving a noise maker)
I'll start off by typing about our New Years Eve.
After my Husband returned from work we headed over to our friends
house on the other side of town. It was cold and snow could still be
seen anywhere my eyes etched over.
Though I'm no fan of Winter, I do love having the white stuff around
during the week of Christmas.
Our friends were happy to see us and we exchanged hugs and gifts.
I was given a cool Charlie Brown mug with him and Sally on the front
with a caption saying "Happiness Is Sharing The Holidays"
My friends know me well and it was a perfect gift for me.
The gifts they received from me were mainly edible.
Perogies of course, along with, hanky panky's which consist of
a ground beef, sausage and cheese mixture that's served hot and toasty
on appetizer breads, a favorite of my Dear friend.
We couldn't stay late, Hubby Bub had to work in the morning.
Our visit may have not been a long one but we did look at old pictures
that included a couple with our Sons.
It took me back to "remember when" moments, shots of Aidn in his
car seat only weeks old along with photos of his older Brother and
our friends two children.
One of them is now eighteen....wow!
It always amazes me how much speed time gains with every passing year.
Midnight found us at home with Hubby Bub sleeping while Aidn and I
watched the ball drop at Midnight, our oldest was at my Sisters.
I'm so glad that I am never alone for the Holidays, don't think I would
do well at all with that.
I need a set of smackers to smooch when that clock strikes twelve
and a New Year begins.

So far the first eleven days of two-thousand-thirteen have been better than not.
A few sad slopes are always in my path but so are peaks and the pleasure
I get in reaching them.
I'll share with you my yesterday, it had all three in it.
The day started with me being in a very chipper mood for any given morning.
I asked our oldest Son if he would like egg in a nest for breakfast, he replied
with an excited yes!, then I called up to our youngest and he also wanted
what his Brother was having.
Aidn's egg waited on the table while he played with a screen in the living room.
I called him in to come and eat, more than once, he then nerved on telling
me "No!", not once but twice.
That's when I lost my lid, yet again.
I turned the water off to the dishes I was doing and darted to where he sat
on the sofa. "Do you really think you're not going to eat that egg I made for you?"
After being escorted to his seat I told him if he didn't eat it, I would feed it
to him and it wouldn't be all pleasant like it was when he was a wee one.
Though he complained with every bite, he did manage to eat it, leaving only
a mouthful of the harder center.
During our five minute frenzy, I was loud, demanding and even though he did
what he should have in the end, I felt awful when he walked out to school.
We were back to cool by then but I still struggled with sadness over not
finding a better way of dealing with our "engaging Aidn"
Another great mood I let get out of my grasp!
I started snowballing the sadness and found myself longing to be in
my Father's embrace once again.
After many emotional escapades and trying times, Papa Chaz was there to
comfort and console me.
He was never a "deep conversation" man but he didn't once fail in making
me feel better after he hugged me and spoke this sentence.
"You'll see, Ger, it will work out, everything will be alright"
That's all I ever need to get me back to the good I always want to feel.
Unfortunately he is no longer living.
I do believe the Big Guy works his wondrous ways through others
and I would be shown proof, yet again.
Instead of sucking on sadness while beating myself blue emotionally,
I decided a nap would serve me sweeter and hoped that I would have
a happy dream about my Father or something comforting.
While in a very deep sleep with a decent dream in play, the phone shook
me from the sound slumber I was in.
It was my Dear friend calling to see how I was and let me know how
her days have been.
We talked for a good long time and it was wonderful laughing and
learning more about this women who inspires me.
After we hung up I felt blessed and filled with the same fuzziness
I always got after Daddy would hug me and speak those wonderful words.
That was the first flame in relighting my inner candle.
The second and third would come shortly after.
We had to go see Meme last night and I wanted to have a look online
before we left.
The first comment I read was from another friend and simply stated,
in a shorter way, what my dearly departed Daddy worded to me.
At the nursing home with my Meme would be the final flame.
A nice comical conversation with everyone at her dinner table along
with seeing Meme have a very good day, did it!
There were many other reasons that helped me sport a smile
for the rest of the day, including the kisses I received from my
pack-of-penises and caring comments from others.
The three mentioned above had a hold on happy memories for me.
To those of you that had a hand in it, thank you!
You helped me!, I always notice and appreciate it.

Well that's wordy enough for me folks, so sayonara I'll say for now.
Thanks for reading what's in the Mind Grounds and may this day
be dandily for us all!
P.S We had a happier morning today. :)