my day.....

It is my birthday today and I always take time to reflect on my life and the year that has just passed. It is interesting to sit back and think about all that has happened and maybe also those things that have not happened. This year has been a good one for me. Things have really come to a place where I am feeling both physically and emotionally the best I have in a long time. This year is also the first birthday that I will be celebrating as a 'nana' with my little grandson Brody. This is amazing and it has been a joy to say the least. I can't imagine life without him now.

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and before we know it time passes very quickly. It is another reminder that I must live inside of each moment and revel in it so that it can be lived to its ultimate fullest. No one else will do that for me, so it must be something that I remain cognizant of. I truly do not feel like I have celebrated 55 birthdays in my lifetime. I guess I can say I just don't feel my age. Life continues to challenge me, but the wisdom that I have gained over all these years is allowing me to make the best decisions ever. Life this year will be just right............. smoother, simpler, satisfying and slower. I look forward to each moment.

This morning I headed out to the curb and was placing some recycling into the bins for pickup when I heard the sweet sounds overhead from a flock of birds. I looked up to see what this might be and I am expecting to see a flock of geese but instead I see a huge flock to beautiful white swans! I was shocked. I have never seen a sight like this before. It was the coolest thing ever! I then was heading to London this morning with my daughter and as we drove along Wellington Rd. there were 2 more swans flying overhead.

It occurred to me that just yesterday when I chose my Animal Spirit card, that the card I had chosen was the 'swan' card. It all made sense then......there are no coincidences in life. They are signs.....lovely signs.

My first robin ......

Well, this was the morning for me to see my first robin! It was exciting to see this ultimate sign of Spring right here in my own backyard. Spring has not officially arrived, but there are signs of it coming forth all around me. The rains have melted much of the snow that has been piled high for months and now the grass is peeking through in many places. Today a blue sky is overhead and a slight breeze is drying the ground that is heavy with all the rain of late.

I looked outside early this morning and it almost felt like the world around me was being 'bared' by the melting of the snow. The snow has been like a warm, cocooning blanket that has kept us cosy for all these months and now I feel a sense of vulnerability almost. I don't really know how to explain it. It was still just last week that we had a big blanket of snow fall and cover everything and now it has changed so quickly. Spring is a time of 'rebirth' for so many things and maybe that is where I get this sense of vulnerability. It's like starting over.....you just never know what might unfold. A time for new beginnings and a time to walk down new paths. So the robin sang its song this morning and was heralding the new season that will be upon us in a few days. Trees will be bursting forth with fresh, new foliage and my fall-planted tulips will bloom for the first time ever!

The days where we get that 'Spring' feeling and see the changes around us are few. I want to take it all in and appreciate it while it is here because it will soon be over. After those few days Spring will be here with us and it will be old news again.

I'm going to live in the moment and enjoy it right now........Happy "Robin sighting" day to you too !

my early morning tea time......

It's early yet and my favorite time of day is upon me. I love this time when the world around me is waking anew. It is sometimes still dark depending on the time of year, and it most often is quiet. Each new day is like a new beginning. It allows us to maybe reflect back on our yesterdays and choose something different if that's what is needed. Each day begins with a new sparkle and we can allow that sparkle to shine all day or possibly dull it. I must for myself let the sparkle continue to shine. I have had my years of 'dullness' and they were my lessons in life. I still might have some moments that don't shine as brightly, but I am able to learn from them and then continue to move forward. The popular saying that goes "life is too short" is something we need to stop just saying and really put meaning to. Our lives will be over before we know it and each new day needs to be lived fully. We cannot go back into our day once the sun sets on it. It is our history at that point. I need to make mine a history that I will look back fondly on and not feel regretful about.

So here I sit with my morning tea (this morning it's Milk Thistle) and I will allow my day to unfold quietly and with a new sparkle.

May your day unfold well also.

Letting go.....

I won't expand too greatly on this but today my life was involved in letting go. It has been coming to me since November and has been on my mind off and on since that time. It's not easy though. What I knew to be familiar was becoming unfamiliar and yet it was hard to release any of that. I wanted to grasp on to it and have it remain in my life the way it had been before. I wanted things to stay the same. If things remained the same then I would be OK and nothing needed to change. But as time moves on things do change. I guess for me it all happened as it was supposed to. I know I did cling to it for a long time. But it had to change so that life could move forward. I wanted to protect myself and stay safe. It was not about me though. It was about life moving forward .......it was about everyone seeing the truth.....particularly me. It is in this act of letting go that I can truly move forward now. I don't regret my recent journey of learning the lessons of how to let go. It was important for me to discover even though it was a tough one. Alas............glad that one is done.

March is my favorite month .......

Seriously, I have been blogging about all the rain of the last 3 days and this morning I wake up to a winter wonderland! There is a snowfall warning for the day and it all reminds me of just how full of personality the month of March is. You just never know what is going to happen with the weather this month! It was lucky for us that we drove to Toronto yesterday because I'm sure we would have put our trip off if we had awoken to this amount of snow.

March is for me the signaling that Spring is but around the corner! The 1st of March puts me in the mood for Spring. A warm day in November is nothing like a warm day in March. A change in the weather is the sign that good things are coming. Robins make their return and actually a friend of mine has already seen one on his farm. Miss March, as I will call her can be so ever changing with her weather delights. You can expect anything in March be it snow, rain, sleet, sunshine or an ice storm. Amazing! She will always keep you guessing.

Apparently the snow is going to continue for the day so I will look out my window and admire the beauty that has fallen from the sky. I have a big list of things to accomplish today so I had best begin.

The picture is of a large bush in my backyard. It's so beautiful with the snow on its branches. Keep warm everyone and enjoy the beauty of the snow.

A rainy day in the big city.....

Wow...today was another rainy, rainy day and yet I managed to enjoy it by heading to the big city and doing some shopping. I must admit that I could probably shop each and every day so this was not a difficult task for me. I really enjoy buying things for my home and so Williams & Sonoma and the Pottery Barn were perfect choices. I spent my money wisely and bought a few things. I now need to get my bread baking skills dusted off because I got a baguette pan that I am so excited to use! If my first attempts work out I will post pics for sure!

I also got a great ceramic lantern for out on the deck in the summer. I love, love my yard and the deck area and this will look great at night with a candle in it. It will cast an awesome light! Oh....I really do hope that the weather starts to get warmer so that I can think about putting all the deck things out again for the summer. Great times will be spent there again this year.

Ok...so I need to sign off because I have a hundred things to do tomorrow. I need to bake a cheesecake for dessert and I think a raspberry coulis to go with it would be nice. Yummy!!.....oh and so many more things....

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