Miracles on Bond Street.

Two miracles to report on Bond St this morning.

The first is Miss Jellydog... last night WE WENT FOR A WALK. Yes, the dog who has been sleeping for the past 3 weeks got up and went for a walk... then ate all her food without me needing to use the rabbit to taunt her (her food guarding instinct is so strong, she's only been eating when she thinks the rabbit is going to steal her dinner).  THEN, she started playing with a stuffed animal, and when she'd had enough of that, she chewed on a bone and begged to get on the couch. She hasn't played in weeks. She's barely acknowledged I exist for weeks.
I've nearly put her down on 4 different occasions since Christmas. She's had good days that have stopped me- days where she'd get up and go outside and sniff around a bit.. and bad days where I'd clear my calendar for the next morning's trip to the vet after carrying her outside to do her business and lifting her back into her bed.
Last night I even had to chase her out of the rabbit's litter box twice!

The second miracle is that Basement floor... it actually looks clean. It's the first time I've wished I did a before and after picture... the first time I didn't go into the basement and sigh because I was overwhelmed. The floor is dry after yesterday's washing, and now it's filled with all sorts of stories... splashes of paint, circles from cans, patches of rust, weird scratches and pock marks.

I love this old house.

red nose, red faced.

A weekend debrief is in motion... half written. It's a long one, and I've cut a ton...

but, quick recap:: early morning start, clowning adventures, hot water sipping with the Pagepage peeps, dinner at my favourite, (sopa azteca, with a guest appearance of sweet Chief Julio!) with my favourites. more snow than snowmageddon. shoveling. knitting. breakfasting with the rats. knitting. superb owl dinner with the rats (in deference to the super bowl, and a nod to wilw's tweet). oh, and more shoveling.


just one of those normal weekends... ya know?

Brunch. 2nd breakfast

I hosted "family brunch" this morning.... I first started to blog this morning before breakfast, but decided that the "it's about to happen" story wasn't as lovely as the "it just happened" story.




While I didn't have any blood family relatives over, I had the next best thing with some of the favourites joining in the pot luck meal. Brunch as a pot luck is likely the best thing ever. You can bring anything and it'll fit. Eggs and jube jubes? why not? Sausages and pie? sure! go ahead! Crumpets and fruit and hashbrowns and cheese balanced the meal out just perfectly.








Much laughter happened at the table, and conversation ranged from festival frustration and celebration, to faith, babies, jobs and literature.

"I brought you a book, you said you needed ideas for things to read"... Bob hands me a ragged coverless binding of pages. Dog eared doesn't even cover it. "It's ok if that one gets beat up a little, I've got another copy at home. But you have to read this one before I lend you the next one."

Once our stomachs were filled, we moved to the living room... instruments were tuned... more laughter... Two ukes, guitar, mando, and an autoharp... a request- Rolling Stone, and then "Fat Bottomed Girls"... A rockabilly Sunday.

bright white

The snow is blinding today.
After a week of clouds, the sun glares off of every surface.
It's painful and beautiful.
Minus 22 degrees Celsius ... wind warning of -40.
*shudder*

Last night I was headed to Hugh's Room to attend the 9th annual Lightfoot Tribute concert...
I haven't been to one since... the 4th? Maybe it was the 3rd?
Either way, I was really really looking forward to it- An evening of great music, then time spent with some of my favourite people... A night in the city.

By the time I left my house yesterday, it has been snowing softly for about an hour... just an inch of snow sat on the ground, I gave the driveway and sidewalks a quick swipe, then set off across town to the highway... By the time I got on the onramp though, I'd decided it wasn't worth it. The storm had picked up.... I'm no stranger to snowstorm driving. I'm willing to push through a little blizzard to get where I'm going... but as I pushed through the drift of snow on the on ramp, and struggled with the poorest of poor visability... I knew my day to turn around had come.
The 401 was down to a single lane- the others covered in snow... and I went through an actual snowbank to get off the highway when I reached the Port Town.

The family home is still there*, so I pulled up to the house to make some calls to let people know the change of plans. (I called from my cell in the driveway) In the time it took to make two quick calls and send two text messages, I had to get back out of the car and wipe the snow off.

Joy in the evening? Yup, After I turned back: Had a great dinner with friends, read a sweet little book, visited with an old friend while shoveling, felt pretty (as I got myself all sassed up for the show).


*I may have snuck in the house and discovered a lonely Kala low G solid body Tenor, which I may or may not have rescued .... Don't worry dad, I'll return it when you get home in May.

Peace Joy and Love

I'm sitting on the couch a little teary eyed.
I just got off the phone with a friend who just told me about some sad news in her life... That's not the reason for the tears. She said that she looks to me as an example of happiness.
And she wants to get together to talk about what it means to be happy.
So, I'm touched.
And scared.
It feels really big.

In high school and university I spent time doing a study on joy. I took a course through a church, went to bible studies, I met with two other girls... and that is what we lived.... finding joy.

What did I learn?

Two things.

That joy is a choice: In everything, I can choose to find joy. I may not always be happy, but there will always be something to find joy in.

And that when you love, it's easier to find peace in things, simpler to find the joy.



-found joy today in: my leftover homemade hamburger for lunch, in the memories of canning day- brought by the homemade ketchup. Watching the snow fall from the comfort of my couch. The knowledge that I am learning and making music. The colour of my favourite kitchen chair. The way my computer always thinks I've spelled "colour" and "favourite" wrong. The expectation in waiting for this evening's concert, and the people that I'll get to see. Making a coffee date with a friend.