I Want to Explore the Woods

In a poem (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening) Robert Frost wrote:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep

Of course everyone interprets the written word to have a different meaning & this verse from a poem by Robert Frost has, I am sure, been analyzed by millions & interpreted by as many more. If I look at his words & compare the promises he writes about to the promises we feel compelled to make & label 'resolutions' on the first day of every New Year it illustrates (on one hand) why I don't make any grand promises (resolutions). It tells me that if I did I wouldn't be able to stop to explore the woods (lovely, dark and deep). I would miss the beauty waiting there in the woods. I would miss the sounds; chirping of the birds; croaking of the frogs. I would miss the sweet smells of the wild blossoms. I would miss the peace & serenity found there. I would miss exploring this whole new world.

So.........in my words:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

and I have no promises to keep

Though I have miles to go before I sleep

I cherish beauty in these woods so deep

Beauty or Beast

She stared back at me from the shiny reflection hanging on the wall. There was a smile (or was it a smile); a frown (or could that have been a grin); to know for sure she would have to look deep inside for the answer; the reflection just wasn't going to give her the answer she wanted or needed.
This was the very place with two sides to everything. What is considered evil on one side may be judged good on the other. What is true here, could be lies there. The future might even come before the past.

As the blank page yearns and even demands attention there is another which commands input and examination.

The mirror.

How often have you looked into the mirror to find something other than the truth looking back at you.......something other than what really is. Depending on what we look for & how the reflection is received we may find anything from a white dress in black to a floor-length robe hanging above the knees with even some vivid evidence of the bright smile on a frowning face.

I would like to look into the mirror just to examine images of this past year; to see what it is I saw in 2009; to see what it is I have yet to see in 2010. Keeping those thoughts in mind, perhaps my looks into the mirror will take on a whole new reflection!

Don't just clean this mirror every week; look deep into the amazing sheet of sparkle everyone hangs on their wall....see what you saw....see what you have yet to see!

My Elephant Thoughts

Is it better to train elephants to work or train them to perform?

It seems unfair to make them work at tasks which are very hard & strenuous; it seems unfair to make them perform tasks just for the entertainment of others. In some ways it might be better for them to work rather than have to do tricks like a puppet. Performing by making them do foolish things just for the enjoyment of others seems rather disrespectuful to the elephant, however does the elephant consider its actions foolish?

So which should it to be?

Truth is it really doesn't matter what the elephant does, work or perform, as long as this huge grand animal is happy doing what it is doing & isn't forced to do anything against its will then it's all good.

So says the book called "MODOC" by Ralph Helfer (a true story & a heart warming read).

When I think about that, it seems true of most animals & we humans......as long as there is happiness surrounding the task then why subject the performance to the scrutiny of those judgemental others who think they should decide what is best for everyone.

On with the elephant...........a fascinating animal......they cry, play, laugh & have incredible memories. They have greeting ceremonies, they grieve & are very sensative. For the trainer, touching is one of the most important things they can do for their elephant. Who would think such a large powerful animal would have such gentle ways? I think there is a great deal I could learn from an elephant. I also think those that kill for the ivory should be severely punished.

Can You Imagine

Now I say, can you imagine having a birthday three days after Christmas? I have been asked that question countless times. She tells of never getting a birthday cake (maybe a yukky (her words) Christmas cake decorated in some fashion), getting birthday presents wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper, never having a birthday party.........all the things near & dear to the heart of a beautiful little girl. All the while this was happening (sadly I admit being a party to this) I was off working to help earn a living & doing all the things I thought a working mom needed to do. What I wasn't doing was baking a marvelous birthday cake for my wonderful little girl, wrapping her gifts in pretty pink paper with a matching bow, having all her friends over for the biggest bash on the block, serving amazing punch, roasting marshmallows, playing games & just generally giving her a fun Birthday.

I regret not taking the time to give her 'Birthdays to Remember'. I wish I could turn back the clock & do it over but we all know that isn't ever to be in any situation. Those days can't be recovered; they are gone.

Today is December 28 and my daughter's birthday. Tammy, I wish you health, good fortune, happiness and good cheer for today and the whole year and I especially want to tell you how much you are loved......today and forever!

Ella Came to Dinner

Mocha had a guest for Christmas this year! Ella came to dinner. They got along well, played a little, ate a little, barked a WHOLE lot & generally had a pretty good day. Pictured here with their Christmas teddy bears.

I again ate my way through Christmas......I feel like the Good Year Blimp.......will never figure out why I do this to myself with food. Oh well. I'm glad it's over; maybe I can get back to eating like I should....??

A Matching Pair

When getting ready to clean the other day I got out the rubber gloves (rather more plain than these), remembered a day when I first moved to Surrey, we were unpacking our things, trying to join together two households (not an easy task) when George mused "Hmm wonder why I kept this; one glove by itself isn't much good". Well that's true I'm thinking, when it comes to rubber gloves & cleaning you really do need a matching pair; at least a pair. Without comment though, I carried on unpacking then found occasion to utter the same comment......"Hmm wonder why I kept this; one glove by itself isn't much good". I looked at George's one glove; I looked at my one glove; He had saved a left hand glove; I, a right; smiling I held up a matching pair...(a message given us....?)

Christmas

These pictures don't depict what Christmas is but seem to be what Christmas has become. There is a longing in my heart to get off this wild, crazy merry-go-round of buying, buying, buying with the excuse 'it's Christmas'. I love the spirit of giving (any time) but have come to resent that we have fallen into a pattern & certain expectation surrounding Christmas. I'm sure that I may sound rather like a scrooge but this particular holiday is getting out of hand. I can't change it for everyone but I could change it for me.......

I long for a Christmas day with 'family', nice dinner, a few games, lots of laughs & just being together without all the added craziness.......a feeling of just being & letting be.

I Am Grateful For.......

Thanks Twilla (pictured right with Gracie), you inspired me to think about the things in my life I am grateful for so here goes...........with my top 10 (for today).

I am grateful for:........(not necessarily in order of importance)

My very best friend and partner George......(He is loving, kind, gentle, generous, understanding......the list is extensive).

A warm home, my place to feel safe from the world.

My family........They don't always agree with me, absent of question (which of course I generally expect) but support most of my choices.

Having had what little time was allotted me to share in the short life a beautiful daughter Carla.

Having Aaron come to University in BC........it's great to have him close.

Mocha, my loyal 'doggie' friend & companion.......Mocha was chosen & intended to be with me I'm sure.

My friends & being able to share with them by writing my Newsletter.

Having had two very special brothers who took such good care of me when I was growing up....I learned so much from them.

Being able to enjoy life in good health.

Finally understanding (though not always able to hold on to) that I can sit back & enjoy the ride, knowing my life has a course & even though I can help to navigate I can't steer.

Precious Times

Every day we have precious times.

Because life gets in the way & I sometimes forget, I have to remind myself often to grab these moments, put them inside my heart & hold on tight. These precious times pass but the memories stored away will last forever. We got a chance to store more memories last night. Aaron & Katie came for dinner & we exchanged Christmas gifts (Aaron will be away in Hawaii & Katie at her home for Christmas this year). We are always happy when they get spare time in their busy schedules & share some of it with us. I love you guys....thanks for making more special memories with us.

This time of year usually brings some sadness for me as I remember a daughter no longer with us. It's difficult to remember (always) that her purpose here was done & she had to move on but I have many precious times shared with her over the years to remember.......I just need to bring them out from inside my heart & I do that, often.

I hope you will remember to grab the precious times, put them inside your heart & hold on tight. Let not one pass without savouring & saving it.

How Would You Respond?

Tammy Napier wrote: "I was laying outside looking up at the stars and one winked at me".......how would you respond to this?

Well Tammy, I would say this:

It had to be that the stars knew there was a beautiful woman watching them. They knew she was beautiful not only because they could see her but because of all the wonderful things she did. She sang her very own songs that she wrote herself.......song always touches people's hearts. She was an artist who could work with her hands to create more beauty. She was a mom who was devoted to her children. She was a grandma even more devoted to her grandchildren. She never gave up; always pushed ahead; upward & onward to get over the next hurdle. Those stars knew her from the time she was a little girl & tried very hard to sprinkle their magic on her life (sometimes unsuccessful) because they knew she needed love & caring. She never looked up at them when she was little though; she waited until now to see the twinkle.

Those stars are watching over a beautiful woman & sprinkling their love on her.

That's how I would respond.............

Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven

Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

More Missing Pieces

I have many fond memories of our trip as I try to fill in more missing pieces. George had to go back to work on Nov 25 so luckily he got a couple days to recouperate before that. Since we got back there has been a couple doctors appointments, a dentist appointment, a hair appointment, a grooming for Mocha as well as trip to the Vet for shots. Somewhere in there we had a bit of Christmas shopping to do & some house cleaning. The Christmas spirit so far has escaped me; not sure why but this year Christmas doesn't have the same feel; I'm actually looking forward to it being over.

We have had a covering of snow (Dec 14 & 15) then on the 16th the rain came & took it all away. I don't miss driving in the winter snow but there is something nice about a 'white Christmas'.........(Albertan at heart).

So I think I have (more or less) filled in all the missing pieces. It's now Dec 17 with a week to go til Christmas. Aaron & Katie are coming over today; I'm looking forward to that (always nice to have them visit). I wish my other family was closer so I could see them more often; I miss them.

Back Home

We arrived in Seattle late Nov 21 to pouring down rain with a broken suitcase to claim at the baggage carousel.........hmmmmmm then had to pull the thing through the airport without its one wheel. American Airlines personnel told us "Sorry we don't pay for broken wheels" period; end of story; no ifs ands or buts. We took our broken suitcase, located our vehicle where Cecelia & Nick had parked it, loaded up & headed back home, arriving there in the very wee hours of Nov 22. A bit of sleep later & we were ready to pick up Mocha who was ecstatic to see us........she raced around like a 'crazy woman'.

We are back home & I can't believe it's now only a week before Christmas & I'm still having trouble getting back into life......good grief Grace get with it!....but there are still some missing pieces I have to fill in so I will continue to work on that if I can remember what they are.

The Sun Sets On Orlando

.....and the sun sets on Orlando........we had a wonderful vacation, were tired & ready to go home but at the same time I didn't want it to end.......but end it must!

We passed off our luggage to The Disney Resort to get it safely checked & to the airport, we boarded the Disney bus & headed out for our flight Nov 21.

What was left was to get ourselves home & back into life not on vacation..........that proved to be tough (the back into life part). Oh well the sun really did set on Orlando and there will be another vacation!

Much Needed Day Of Rest

Our last day in Orlando Nov 20 was a much needed day of rest......we chilled, read, rested, sat by the pool & watched these little gheckos flit about & produce this little red thing on their neck (quite fascinating). After we packed our bags ready for our return home we did more of the same stuff......of course we had to fit some 'food' in there which as you can imagine was a difficult task.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom was our last park to visit Nov 19.
Kilimanjaro Safaris (an open-air safari vehicle) took us through an African-style savannah which housed many free roaming animals from giraffes, rhinos, lions to aligators & more. Some were hard to spot but we got to see so many animals......it was great......pictures were hard to get because they didn't stop the vehicle so you got-what-you-got without a second chance in most cases but we just took the ride a second time. A 'river-rapids' ride got us sufficiently soaked.......George took it twice so he was still wet when we got back to our room that night. A full day at Animal Kingdom with a welcome day of rest to follow on Friday Nov 20 (our last day there).

Magic Kingdom

Nov 18, it was off to Magic Kingdom and (goes-without-saying) It's a Small World; (the same today as it was when I first saw it 20 years ago). Peter Pan's Flight I hadn't seen before but I found was rather disappointing. What we found with Disney is that so much remains the same & yet technology has moved by leaps and bounds......you would think Disney would be moving along as well......maybe that's why we found it had lost some of its magic for us (not sure). Tomorrowland was closed when we were there but there was Splash Mountain to give George his thrills & tend to his dry clothing. Anyway an enjoyable (tiring) day then back to our hotel.

During and/or at the end of visits to the different parks we took the sky train to Downtown Disney, visited the hotels along the way & meandered around the Downtown Disney site.

Hollywood Studios

Off to Hollywood Studios on Nov 17 to see all the Hollywood stunts as well as a chance to watch, cheer & vote at the popular American Idol Experience. There was the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster ride, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, (both which George especially enjoyed) & Fantasmic, the nighttime laser light show which was pretty impressive. This charming (not) picture is me & was taken on main street at Hollywood Sudios.

Epcot Centre

Early Monday Nov 16 we went to Epcot Centre for the day.

We were very (fortunate) & excited when we sat down for some lunch & learned that a shuttle was being launched that day & we should be able to see it from where we were seated.......we were able to see (but didn't capture in these photos) the fire shooting out from behind the shuttle......it was a pretty spectacular site and I can only imagine what it would have been like to actually BE THERE for the launch! Anyway, a highlight for the day at Epcot Centre.

There were many attractions to check out & of course rides (some only for the daring ie: George) so we filled our day & returned to the hotel for the evening. Maybe we are getting old (heaven forbid) but Disney is not as exciting & has lost some of its magic for us.

Another 'World-Of-Its-Own'.....

We picked up our rental car.........

((..An aside..I am really quite amazed that you can do almost everything now without any human contact at all...we had reserved a car so when we arrived at the rental agency we walked up to a little machine (much like the bank machines) input our information, it spit out a contract, instructions where to pick up the vehicle etc & we were OUTA THERE; just that quick..amazing but a bit scary too when you really think about it..........??..))

........at the rental agency, drove to Orlando (only one stop & no incidents) arriving at the airport where we dropped off the car early afternoon. From the airport we hopped on the Disney Bus to our hotel, checked in with a bit of time to rest before dinner. We stayed on the property at 'Pop Century Resort', one of Disney's hotels. Once on the property you can hop a Disney bus to any of the parks & return to your hotel the same way. The bus schedules are pretty regular so waiting is minimal. The one thing we found a bit troublesome without a vehicle was being restricted to Disney property. The only way to the 'outside' was by cab but we were busy enough without adding any other excursions. Had we been staying for longer than a week I suspect we would have liked to go off to see other things.

.....anyway we were now at Disneyworld, another 'world-of-its-own' and ready to expolore the parks on Nov 16th.

Heading Back

......and we're heading back to Miami, to leave this 'world-of-its-own', enjoying our final day of the cruise at sea on Nov 14. It was a relaxing day as we looked forward to the next leg of our journey. The dining room staff entertained us again with singing at dinner that evening (as they had done on most evenings of the cruise). We left the ship very early Sunday Nov 15, grabbed a shuttle to pick up our rental car & headed out for Orlando & Disneyworld.

Last But Not Least

On Nov 13 we got to visit our last but not least port, Cozumel, Mexico. More sight seeing, more walking, more shopping, & more beautiful weather with lots of sunshine.

And Maybe We'll Move There.......

You can buy a house for $100,000...hmmm...so maybe we'll move there. It's a thought.......for the cold winter months here. Where you say...?... well Belize City, Belize.......our next port to visit on Nov. 12.

Without plans for any excursions we went ashore for more sight seeing, more wandering, more shopping, more beautiful weather & of course there were more beautiful girls for George to get his picture taken with. We talked with a local (clerk in the jewellery store) who was telling us about the area & the price of houses there. One could buy a huge property there for about the price of a lot here.........seriously maybe we should all move there......what do you think?......well not everyone because then there would be no room for us.

And It Rains........

Isla, Roatan, Honduras was our next port on Nov 11. We went ashore but it was pouring rain so we didn't do too much (actually the only day of rain or any kind of bad weather we had so we really couldn't complain). We visited the stores that were under the protection of a little veranda type area with a roof, took this picture (for which we were asked a tip) then returned to the ship.

Others who had signed up for whatever excursions were available carried on with their plans in spite of the rain but we had made no plans so went back on board, wandered around the ship and of course we ate (an activity which was relatively easy to do as well as abuse.........which we certainly did). Certainly one of the things we will long remember about a 'CRUISE' is the amount of good food available.

To Hell and Back

We can now say we've 'been to hell & back'.....this is George

overlooking 'HELL' in Grand Cayman (a pretty bleak looking sight & gives a feeling that perhaps this is what HELL might look like).

Nov 10 was our first port..........Grand Cayman. We didn't purchase any of the excursions from the ship or on shore. There were many to choose from but we had our hands full with getting ashore & doing a bit of sight seeing. George had injured his knee prior to going on vacation so walking & any other activities (ie: snorkling which he would have enjoyed) would have been most difficult for him. We had fun just meandering and shopping. We took a short little sight-seeing tour with one of the locals........went to the dolphin pools, saw the oldest house on the island, drove by the mayor's house, and of course went to see HELL. The weather was gorgeous (almost too hot for me).

Day At Sea

Sunday Nov 08 we boarded, departed from Miami, sailed all through the night with a full day at sea on Nov 09 (the next day).

First night was a 'get to know the ship' and 'come as you are' night in the dining room. The ship was gorgeous, the dining room & food was wonderful, & service was excellent.

OUR DINING PARTNERS: Donald & Cathy - and - Walley & Beverlynn

We were pretty tired that first day after being up since early Nov 07, travelling the whole night & having only a short nap after we boarded in the afternoon of Nov 08.......so we pretty much ate and 'hit the sack Jack'. In our room we found our bed turned down & sitting atop, a little 'towel animal' with chocolates. This scene (with a different little towel animal) greeted us each night.

We're Off

We're off.........out the door on Nov 07 & on our way to George's sister's place in Olympia, Washington, where we will leave our vehicle until we get back. We fly out of Seattle so they will drive us there & drop off our vehicle for us when we are returning.

First cruise ever for both of us......very exciting!

Trip to Cecelia & Nick's went without a hitch. We had dinner with them before our flight & we were off. American Airlines, let me tell you, doesn't hold a candle to Westjet. They were not available, not helpful, seated us 'apart' on the plane, just gave us a general 'un-cared-for' feeling. We had a small window in San Francisco to make our connection & found no help at all.....we just made it on time......phew!

The 07th was a very long day.......left Seattle at 8:15 pm; arrived in Miami at 7:30 am (with one connection). We couldn't get on the ship until around 1:00 pm so we occupied ourselves playing dice at Burger King with toothpicks holding our eyelids open. We boarded our ship 'Caranival Valor'.......had some lunch......a wee nap.......then up on deck to watch our departure and we were off..!