The end of 2016

Its coming up to the time of year again where I look back at all last years NY resolutions fails and make some more. So I took a look back  here at the 2016 New years resolutions way back in January

OK so I was chilled back then in planning, except to stay fit and get the interior of the house painted.
Well... I continued on that fitness plan well into the summer and it served me well. Since then I have been not so great but I am aware all the time of what I am eating and now I have new healthy plans (coming up in this years NY resolutions posts)
The interior of the house also was painted but frankly I had little to do with it... it looks great though.
Saving for vacations didnt go that well, we seem to be completely unable to do this.

So for this year, as January 1st fast approaches.....

1. From hereon in (actually yesterday, December 28th) I am returning to the 21 day fix plan until my feet touch down in the State of Florida. I want to love my holiday photos, and fit into my shorts.
2. Grow in my new job, as a leader and technically. I am proud of my career so just improving myself cannot be a bad thing.
3. Continue my new foray into being less judgemental, critical and harsh. I have two sides of my personality ( I likely have more but these two stand out the most) where I am supportive, kind hearted and non judgemental. My other side is sarcastic, critical and sometimes cruel. That other side when it rears its ugly head leaves me feeling mortified. That character side needs to LEAVE.
4. Return to drawing. I used to be good at it. I wonder if I can still do it.
5. Improve my riding and enter all the shows this summer.
6. Keep being present in my family's life. I am enjoying being so present, this is a gift that I treasure.
7. Save money! (For Gods sake Natasha!)

Happy New Year and good bye fast leaving 2016. Its been a tough year for celebrity deaths but for me personally, I have no complaints.

A December pre Christmas update

I have been a little AWOL lately, so much good and some not so great going on that I have found it hard to write it up here, so anyway, heres an update.

The not so great
I have had a hard hard time getting over Misty. Its not my first rodeo in the losing animals dept but for some reason this hit hard. We still miss her and thats it really.

Riding for the season is pretty much over, the dark dark nights kick in at 5pm, its been freezing (minus 34 last Friday!) and ice is afoot everywhere.


The much good
I started a new job in October. I had some soul seaching moments about even attempting a job hunt initially as I liked the learning so much in my old one BUT and this is key, every time I said yes to them I said no to my family and my peace of mind. The requirement for working in my free time and the associated anxiety was only growing so I made the tough decision to call it a day. It was tough because I didnt relish being a new girl anywhere again and I was worried about making a bad choice.
BUT it was an easy decision really as I needed to be with my fast growing children more than spend all day at work, and all weekend, and (too often) all night.
It was a surprisingly fast turn-around on finding a new role (1 week) and after 4 weeks of notice period I started here in my new place. I am getting through the new girl yucky bit and finding my way. I adore the organization and the content of the job. My piece of mind and my free time are back. BIG Win!


We adopted a kitten that the girls named Oreo from a local rescue. Shes another "special needs" pet (we have three now, yay us) in that shes suffering still from Upper Respitory infection. So, she has a constant cold and yesterday added a sinus infection to her misery so now shes finally on antibiotics and I hope shes on the mend. If this carries on we will be buying shares in the vets!

Ace is doing well in his winter vacation. Hes fluffy and even the big minus temps we have been seeing dont seem to phase him in the slightest.

The whole house is a Christmas grotto (again). I am sure it was almost 5 minutes ago that it was last Christmas! We have three days left till the big day. We are almost ready.

Still feeling a little sore over our loss but coming to terms with it. I still cant walk the dogs comfortably round the spot where she was, or where I think she was.
We decided that we would get another cat and because it took our dogs awhile to get used to Misty we didnt want to much water to pass under the bridge.
We did some searching at a local cat rescue and came across a young cat who had been abandoned. She had had four kittens and been trapped by the rescue when they were around 9 weeks old. So no one knows if she was abandoned and then fell pregnant, was abandoned as she was pregnant or abandoned with her babies.
Nevertheless she lived rough for a while and was skinny and timid but happy to be caught by the live trap set by the rescue.

So we decided to give her a home and she arrived and promptly hid under the bed only coming out for food. We knew her babies were waiting to be adopted out and figured it would be beneficial to her to be with one of her babies and therefore also adopted her daughter who adores her.

The two remained super timid for a week and camped out under our bed. They have now started to come out and explore the whole house. Momma cat is named Miah and her daughter was named Oreo by the girls. Miah is very vocal and getting more cuddly by the day, Oreo is more timid but seems to enjoy cuddles more and more.

I dont know that I will ever get over Misty, she really was a once in a lifetime cat but its certainly nice to have these two in the house.

I got this photo of Ace the other day. I rather love it.

we lost Misty

Its been a heartbreaking few days. On Thursday night we lost our dear, sweet baby cat. She was out and we thought she stayed close to home. Clearly not as she was hit by a car.
In the seconds it took to take a call from our neighbours that she had been taken into the vet by a kind passerby my world, my happy world, changed.
She had been injured to the point that the vets believed euthansia was not only her best option, but the only one available. So that was that.

I feel devastated. She was so young, so unlucky in her short life, such a kind hearted warm little cat. We adored her as a whole family , even the dogs loved her.. they would check her over when she came in and lick her face.

She was so affectionate, even at 3am when I really didnt appreciate being woken so that she could put her head in my hands. Now, I would give anything for that.

So now, we are trying hard to get used to her absence and its very painful. I dont want to get used to this, I dont want for her to be decribed in the past tense. I dont want another day to go by since she passed away. I want her to be here, living with us, being loved by us.

This will be a hard road for a while and for anyone out there thinking well she was just a cat, there is no such thing when you are a much wanted, much loved family member. Our lives were better for her being in them.

Till we meet again Misty squirrel cat... you will be forever loved and missed.

A change of pace in the working world

Little update.
This week I started a new job. It was a tough decision in some ways because I did and still do support the project I was working on and got on with pretty much everyone on the team in a big way. BUT I needed more family time, needed more quality time at home and I couldnt get *this* out of my head:

I realised that my time at home, not working, or thinking about work in a stressy fashion was becoming less and less. So I decided to change that.

I accepted a role with a new company, worked 4 weeks notice which I am proud of as managed to get some handovers of my workload to my poor existing colleagues completed and wrote a ton of notes on processes and finally left last Friday.

Its now working day 4 in this new company and I am already feeling more like my old self. I am very happy.

An update of Fall so far

It feels like its been Fall forever, which is no bad thing as the season rocks. Warm/hot days, cooler nights, no bugs, sunshine, blue skies, red trees, pumpkin everything....

As per my previous post I have managed to achieve two items on the list, one of the items was achieved twice actually which makes me feel pretty darn good.

1. We took Lily to a real pumpkin patch. It was miles away, we drove there, picked said pumpkin under stormy skies on a warm day so it felt a little dramatic, in 5 minutes flat and then drove home. Lily was chuffed, Chloe it appears, feels too old for this now... (sad face)

2. I took Ace to two , yes two horse shows. We got a 6th in road hack at our first ever show together and then we went to Horses at Work for jumping where once I got over my tremendous nausea about jumping again, did ok. Its a start. I was beyond happy.

3. We have been to two family skates so far this year.

This is a short update as this laptop has lost its "E" key and its driving me nuts to use.

what I musnt forget to do/try/achieve

I get pretty ticked off with myself when I realise that I have rolled into a routine of going to work and coming home and then doing the same stuff (that I love) and STILL not trying out some of the things I keep meaning to do so I have decided to make a list and put it right here, I mean why not, its like a diary anyway.
So:
Places I want to take the girls:

1. Glow in the dark pitch and putt
2. The new aqua centre in Truro
3. Strawberry picking in U-pick (is it too late for that this year?)
4. Pumpkin picking at an actual real-life pumpkin patch (NOT Sobeys)

Other places I want to go, things I want to do:

1. The "Bloodfields" in Truro. This is definitely an adult Halloween event that I never manage to organize myself for despite seeing constant billboards for it all October.
2. Take part in a horse show on my horse. I need to do just do it. I love it but I have been loathe to part with the massive amounts of cash it seems to require. I need to just suck it up before the season is over and my chances are gone.
3. Ride Ace in the snow, ride all winter, keep riding.....

Events I need to get my shit together for this year:

1. Table settings for Thanksgiving and Christmas, no point in Pinning on Pinterest like an obsessed person if I don't make an actual effort.
2. Dressing up like a pro for an adult Halloween party. We have been invited for one this year, I need to start planning like now.
3. Dressing the house for Christmas with more finesse than last year. Again, Pinterest is available, I am capable, I can do this. (cue metal bucket outside front door with beautifully placed greenery and delicate fairy lights)

Pretty arnt they! :-) Watch this space. I can feel creative mojo kicking back in. ( I need to get back to the dollar store)


Now it just needs to cool down and become Fall-like, right now the heat is so, well, hot that I have no desire at all to indulge in pumpkin spiced anything. All I have managed to achieve so far is to design (in my head) my planned Fall and winter wardrobe (aubergine, grey, silver - not all at once of course) and stay blonde. I took care of the blonde issue this morning by getting my highlights touched up.


With reference to "the list" above, if I hadn't arranged a trip to the Flicks today to watch "Sully" with Paul and Chloe (Lily isn't not interested so shes hanging out here with friends) that would also be on the list, we never go to the cinema, like ever... and I feel I am missing out. (Edit - its been too hot for months now to waste time inside in the cold and the dark watching a movie that's probably too loud for my senior ears)

This day at the end of August

Its a blogging kind of morning. I can really feel a freshness in the air this morning which is sad but welcome. Last year at this time I dreaded the seasonal change, dreaded the on-coming winter months, went round in a funk about it all for weeks. This year, not so much. I am excited for Fall, for the beautiful trees, for Aces fluffy coat, for Halloween, soups, pie, roast dinners and all things pumpkin.

I am excited for the first snow fall, for Christmas tree hunting, for decorating the house, for mince pies and Winter Carnival keurig cups. For our late winter trip down to Florida.

Shortly I am going to put out the first load of laundry from the pile I have to get through today, get dressed, walk the dogs, come back and make Sunday brunch and then get ready for this afternoons neighbourhood pot luck. Paul will vacuum the house as that's his thing and then clean up the kitchen no doubt after brunch. We have fallen into such routines of who does what in this house that its very comforting.

We have a new lodger on the property, hes a Groundhog who spends his time when not living under the woodpile, sunbathing on the lawn. Hes very cute and we are just trying to figure out if he can stay or if hes a hazard to our newly installed, cost an arm and a leg, drainage system. I do hope he can as apparently they like dandelions and I can use all the help I can get fighting those.

(Picture shows him sat on the palette in front of the logs, almost camouflaged)

This evening I have a riding lesson booked. So looking forward to it. I love Sundays.

Some photos below of some of August:

Ace in his fly ears

 

 

 Girls lunch at Boston Pizza

 Pool days

 Work on a Friday

 Dogs chilling

School supplies shopping

sounds

I have come to realize how intolerant of some noise I have become, always other peoples noises granted but I have to literally hang onto my temper sometimes. It includes the sounds of eating, cant bare it. The sounds of whistling, other people tapping into their keyboards when in a meeting, its so hard to tune that out.
The sounds of fans or water left on. The sound of the ceiling fan if its set on full speed, its loud and I can envisage it flying off and decapitating me or something similar. I cant sleep until the speed is changed.
The sound of some little dude with his killer exhaust that breaks the sound barrier in your ear drums as he revs his engine past you. Whats the point?

Other sounds I simply adore - the pool pump, crickets, the trees in the breeze. The rain drumming on the roof, windows, side of the house. The beagle down the road that joins in when the fire truck rushes past with its lights and sirens going. The long drawn out train whistle (even at 5am). The silence of the house when no one is here. The sound of the waves crashing on Martinique beach.
I think I will always need to live in a house that's surrounded by trees. I will always need a vacation rental home near the beach.

Staycation is coming up

This Friday at end of working day is the start of our 10 day "staycation". Its going to be a little different than planned as we have visitors arriving on Sunday to join us for a week of it but I am still hoping to be able to recharge my batteries.


I plan to:

• Go to bed whenever I like, time needs to have no part of this Staycation.
• Visit beaches and lakes - especially Grand Lake.
• Hang around the pool
• Refinish the new freebie desk and also the table in the front room
• Watch my children enjoy their lives
• Spend time with our visitors
• Eat out a couple of times

August

What I love about August

•  The sense that summer is marching on, its been hot forever and ever by now
•  The darker mornings. When I walk the dogs at 6.30am it feels darker, it feels good, warm yet dark. Very different to the light bright mornings of July.
• Almost hankering for Fall. Odd I know, I love summer but, and this is obviously why I live here, I love the season changing.
• The river floats. The rivers and lakes are so warm that a river float is a joy.
• Talking of lakes, a day down by Grand Lake. When no ones around or at most very few people. I don't care for crowds anymore.
• Molson Canadian cider - pear or stonefruit. My new alcoholic "find" this year
• Evenings at the barn. As the sky darkens earlier I get the comforting, familiar, homey sense of horses getting ready for the night.
• The thought, the anticipation of everything pumpkin spice coming my way - mustn't wish it too soon, winters are too long here.
• The ceiling fans going at night when the windows are open and the crickets are humming in the trees

Summer - July in photos

Summer is marching on in a haze of hot and sticky nights and I of course adore it.
We have been to the beach - we went to Melmerby which is one of my favourites although frankly its hard to choose here, they are all beautiful. We swam in the sea its so shallow and calm there (oh and warm), hung out at the pool as its finally hit 80F, sat round the fire with spider weenies and smores - I discovered pear cider. Hung out at our friends cottage on the lake - that was an incredibly beautiful and restful weekend. We went to see a movie in the park, it was ET so I was beside myself, there's something incredible about watching a movie like that while the sky darkens around you and the breeze picks up in the trees.
I changed my front room into its summer "outfit" finally, I so love this house, theres just something about it. Although its not a ranch with a wrap around porch and it doesn't have a water view (two original items on my "must have" house shopping list) it feels good. Its in the best subdivision we could wish for. Its so wonderful in this house.


Below are some photos to get you caught up, in no particular order:

Our beach day - Paul and Chloe

Our beach day - moi

My summer living room. So glad it looks this way again,. Before I know it summer will be over

Alpine in the lake on the cottage weekend, he was in doggy heaven

Our typical Sunday morning walk. The dogs love this enormous puddle. I do too but right now there are many and I mean many deer flies around. I took out my phone to take this and about 10 landed on the screen. Ugh.

Lily at the beach, shes always collecting shells and stones that she simply has to keep.

Misty's usual spot on the couch, I think she approves of its summer look.

 Paul and Dukie at the cottage admiring the drop off the deck.

A trip on the boat to visit the neighbours for drinks.

The view of the living room I get from my favourite spot at the kitchen table. This house makes me very happy.

Coming back from our visit to the neighbours.

The view form the deck at the cottage - bliss

Currently...

• Behind in blogging two of the three trips I experienced in April and May
• Loving that its summer finally here in N.S
• Re-discovering life with a kitten - Misty arrived in May and shes a hit.
• Enjoying being on the pool deck and being able to look up at the trees in full leaf and the blue sky, hear the breeze rustling the leaves and the hum of the pool pump
• Planning all kinds of beach trips with the fam and my BFF (don't I sound about 10 years old)
• Loving the work that I am enjoying with Ace. I am back into jumping, hes just learning and so we are working together and its good, enjoyable work.
• Pumped that schools out for 10 weeks (yes 10! in your face 6 weeks of Brit summer time vacay that I used to think was endless), this means that there are no real bedtimes, no real mealtimes and no real morning stress - bring it!
• Watching in awe all that's going on in the UK post Brexit and midly amused after yesterdays football game, that I have zero interest in, by the social media phrase "only England could leave Europe twice in one week"
• Trying (albeit not that hard) not to get into arguments on FB about Brexit. I am really only interested to see where this goes, it doesn't really impact us (thank God)
• Disappointed by all the British smuggery and antagonistic posts all over said social media by those in the "Leave" contingent since the vote.
• Equally interested and a little nervous of what's going on in our Southern neighbour this year, who will be the new president???
• Booking our next big trip to Florida
• Looking into all the ways I can become an avid and successful airmiles collector, I had a convo with prob the best of the best of airmiles collectors and its practically a career
• Running a house-hold budget to curb over-spending (at Tim Hortons) and trying to get this bank account back on track.
• Hammering and chiselling and riding, being pretty active actually
• Enjoying every single moment of the weekend - Friday night joy and late night movie, Saturday days out, Sunday morning dog walk and ride and chores - its all good.
• Entering a whole new world of NS horse shows including barrel racing and English pleasure classes.