Wednesday, September 16, 2009

My Summer Loss...


It was in early August that our dear pet Chelsea took ill. She was a 'senior' pet as they referred to her at the vet's office, but that did not make the thought of her leaving us any easier. We took her for treatment of her kidney disease and she spent three days at the vet's office before she passed away on a Sunday morning in early August. I was astounded at the huge level of loss that I experienced along with my family. I felt such a huge loss...it was almost indescribable. My heart truly was broken. To understand that she would no longer be greeting me at the door each day was very sad for me. So many things we do are directly related to our pets and there being around us. We had her with us for 16 years and to have her move on in her life journey was difficult for us. She will no longer sit in the window looking into the back yard. She will no longer be found lounging in curious places around the house. She will no longer peek her nose through my bedroom door and burst in after hearing the alarm go off. All of those things and more that we will no longer be able to experience.


It took me several weeks to be able to speak of her passing without becoming sorrowful. I wept easily and it was filled with huge sadness. Some people understood...and some did not. Those with pets as family members readily knew how i felt and were very supportive.


I will never forget this beautiful stray cat that came into our lives so many, many years ago. She imprinted our hearts with love. I am tearing up even now. I miss her dearly.


I love you dear Chelsea. I know you are now watching over us.


Looking forward......

It seems that I am away from here for great lengths of time and it is always time to catch up. The summer has moved along and now fall is certainly in the air. I must admit that I am feeling a very strong need to 'nest' lately. The coolness of the air for me translates into being 'cosy' and 'cocooning'. Almost what bears must feel like when the hibernation urge descends on them? I am longing for comfort foods such as soups and stews and I even can envision a snow storm outside while I remain all snuggled up inside. It fascinates me as to how these things come out in us simply due to the weather we experience. Our instincts are so amazing! I by no means and looking forward to paying the heating bill or shoveling the snow, but I have come to understand that it is all a trade-off.

The snow will have a new significance for me this year and it will be interesting to see how that plays out for me. I will explain that in another blog soon.

So here it is only September and yet my gardener speaks of winter clean up and I am beginning to order my books for the Christmas season for the book shop. Our lives are continuous cycles of time. Round and round we go and hopefully we enjoy all of it. It surprises me to be looking forward to winter. I have never truly done that. So this will be new for me. But there is much that is new lately. And it is all good.

Until next time..........

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Falling In Love All Over Again......

I saw something recently that resonated with me in a very special way....It is almost hard to describe. I saw an ad for an artist and a picture of his work was in the ad. The picture immediately mesmerized me and I knew I needed to see it in its real state. So as we were driving home from a Sunday afternoon jaunt, I mentioned that we should stop into the artists studio. We arrived and noticed a couple inside that we knew and we all stood chatting for a few minutes, but my eyes were darting around the room to find my art piece. And as I spotted it I broke away from the conversation and went to look more closely. Oh my....it was then that I knew I needed to have it. I fell in love with it immediately! Like a connection between a mother and child.....a kind of love that is so very honest and pure. It spoke to me like nothing has in a long, long time. We were able to bring this print home with us that day. I am able to look at it now each and every day and feel the love and peace that it brings me. The piece is entitled "Silence".....a perfect word to describe it. Thank you Darren for sharing your amazing talent! Blessings to you.........

Namaste......

Robing Grindley art works.....

Oracles Book Shop has a visitor who stops in from time to time to say "hello" and now is artwork is being presented in the shop! Robin Grindley is a local artist who has agreed to share his craft with us all here! Read all about Robin and his artwork on his blog. You can find his link under 'my favs'. So drop in to see his 4 fabulous works that are currently displayed at the book shop.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

My Peaceful Garden






After speaking of my garden I should share some photos.....here goes.....One of my favorite poems is the one by St. Francis so it was appropriate to have him watch over my garden. I love his presence there.

My shasta daisies were smiling brightly on this particular sunny morning that this pic was taken.....


Each corner of the garden offers something special and new perrenials are being planted to bring in new colors and add to the beauty.



All in all, it has become my sacred place. My place to sit and enjoy or to spend time pulling weeds or trimming plants. I can have my breakfast out in the garden before heading to the book shop or sit and read after a long day too. All things that soothe my soul and make me whole.
And Chelsea our precious cat enjoys it too! There is still lots that I would like to do and it will come. For now the garden has been reborn and it has gifted me with many hours of peace and joy.
Wow...over a month since writing. Lots is going on in my life and the most treasured aspect is my own slowing down. That might be hard to understand given my schedule with three jobs and such but I have been taking a serious look at my life and how it does need to slow down. I have had numerous indicators that pertain to various aspects of mind, body and spirit that suggest greatly that slowing down now is still a choice, but left unattended it will become something that will be exerted upon me. So as each indicator made its presence known and was taken into account I have done some rearranging of sorts and looked at what is important and what is not. Priorities become very clear when messages are received and looking back it is so interesting that this only becomes clear now. But better late than never as the saying goes. One of my priorities was to give myself more time. Time to 'be'....time to 'live'......this for me is now present in life with the gift of my garden. My garden though had become overgrown and had been neglected due to my busy life. As I looked out at it I would be even more stressed thinking about how I so wanted to enjoy it, but had no time to make it beautiful again. I then came across someone who would bring my garden back to its beauty. She has worked her gardening magic and created a sacred space again. I am now able to putter in the garden when I choose to or just sit and enjoy its beauty at my leisurel. I can truly say that I have spent more time out there this year than the last 5 years put together. So my gardener Sherri is my garden "angel" and she blesses not only my garden, but myself as well.

I also made a choice to open the book shop at 10am and give myself an extra hour each morning. It has also been a blessing. It was a great way to find an hour in the day that I could claim as my own. What I do in that hour still needs a bit of fine tuning, but I am working on it.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Graduation Day!




Last Wednesday we drove to Orillia for Brianne's graduation from Laurentian University! On the way up we drove through Stratford and saw the swans by the Avon River. Here they are on the banks. We then continued on and spent the day with Brianne and Kevin for the graduation. The ceremony was small and personal which I think made it all the better. I was very, very proud of Brianne and did of course have a tear in my eye. She's not done school though! Starts again in July at Lakehead and yet the campus is in Orillia so she and Kevin don't need to move. We enjoyed dinner at a local Italian restaurant and then headed home back to St.Thomas. A great day for sure!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Work to do now....

My 20 lbs of asparagus awaits me at home! Organic asparagus...the best ever! Some of it will head to the freezer whole and some will be pureed and ready for soup. I am going to be loving every minute of it this winter when I will be able to taste the freshness of each bite and each spoonful. The soup recipe is taken from the website of the farm that I bought it at and it is soooo....good! You should try it! here is the link : http://www.mazakfarms.ca/pb/wp_4c2d64ee/wp_4c2d64ee.html .......you will surely love it!

Just wanted to share that with all of you....cuz it just needs to be shared....

Bye for now!

A wonderul day for me...

Oh it was so nice to go the market this morning and find such wonderful goods! I came home with a basket of fresh organic foods and so much more! A great sense of belonging to a community of folks who respect and honor local foods and products. Everyone coming together and making it all work. I love it!

Home with all my goodies and then off to the book shop. Oracles is the setting for artist Robin Baratta this weekend as she exhibits her art and also shares her craft instore by working on her current piece. She is passionate not only about art, but the message it brings and the current message is "the environment" and the impact we are having on it. The St.Thomas & Elgin Artist's Tour is at various locations around town this weekend. I hope people check it out.

I called to set aside my asparagus order and tonight will put it down for winter. Oh, that is going to be SO awesome when the cold winds are blowing and the snow is flying! We will be having a lovely bowl of creamy asparagus soup to warm us up! I can't wait!

Today is good. A gift each day is....some just look different than others, but each one a gift. We don't always see it though. I will work on that ......

Hoping your day is a great one!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

First Market Day of the Season...

Long anticipated over the long winter was the first day of the market on Horton St. I was pleased to see so many cars lining the streets and would have been OK with having to search long and hard for a parking spot. That would have been fine. It would have said that people were finding it important to head to the market on this even overcast spring morning. I was greeted by familiar faces and pleased to see them again after a long winter break. They have become my 'good friends' at the market. People that I can rely on to be there and help me to bring healthy choices into my life in more ways than just nutritionally. The sense of 'community' is so special. Our being connected to others and having common interests broadens our sense of family. I like it. Its that simple for me. I like what the market brings to me in many ways. I hope that other people feel the same. So every Saturday that I can, I will be at the market with my basket and my $20. I fill my basket with so many great things and take them home to prepare wonderful meals. But I also take home many other memories that are not set upon a table, but are kept lovingly in my 'being'...... of the community that we create when we share so much each Saturday morning. I hope to see you there.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

It's Almost Market Time!!


With the springtime comes one of the best things ever for me! The local Horton St. Market will soon be up and running again with so many wonderful things. It is set to open on May 9th, which is Mother's Day weekend btw, and will run until Oct. 31st. But lets not even think about October! Let's think about all the great local product we will have available to us so very soon. The spring planting season will bring lots of different plants to market and be will be able to get our gardens started whether it be flowers or vegetables or both! And on and on it will go all summer with an array of fruits, vegetables and so much more.


Check out the Horton St. Market's own blog at http://www.hortonfarmersmarket.blogspot.com/

as written by Tricia Herbert, Market Manager. The blog will keep you updated on all the goings' on for the Market during the summer months.


As you may well can tell......I can't wait!! I love to go and take my basket and come home with it filled to the brim with wonderful produce!


See you there soon!

The Balance of It All.....




Oh goodness, I have not been keeping up with my blog! Things have been busy and time flies! But here I am again ready to tell you about all that is going on. I am excited that Oracles Book Shop is officially over the 6 month mark and it feels great! Not a huge milestone, but certainly a milestone. I am still learning so much and getting lots of things better organized. Some things I found worked better in different ways and so I made changes. And that's great! Change is good, right?




The stressors and changes in my life have also caused me to look at how I take care of myself. That is another learning curve. I thought I was doing a pretty good job and then things were starting to crumble. I listened more intimately to my body and soul and stopped trying to "do it all" at any cost. The 'cost' I came to understand would be too great. So now, a more concerted effort is in place. It's not perfect yet, but it's coming.




So as it stands, Oracles continues to grow.....and so do I! All good things!




We will talk again soon!




Mags