Everything changes, nothing remains static. The Fall has settled in and reminds us of eternal changes. The holidays are just around the corner, and for me this year will be very different.

As I write this, I am listening to Christmas music playing in the background. My grand daughter and I baked cookies this morning. I started getting all reminiscent and misty eyed.

This year we will be in Florida for the holidays, My husband, and I, our daughter (only child and her family) and my son-in-law's family, will be enjoying the tropical weather (we hope). This will be the first Christmas that I have left my mother.

She lives in an old age home, where she is well cared for, and my sister will visit her on Christmas Day for a few hours, so she will not be alone in an institution on Christmas, but I am having a tough time, convincing myself that I am doing a good thing.

It isnot however, the first Christmas that my mother has left me. Several years ago she went out west to BC to visit my brother and his family for the holidays, that same year my sister went to Florida to be with her son and his family, and my daughter lived in Alberta and was working on Christmas Day. That was a tough one but you know it turned out to be one of the best ones. We had my niece and her family over, and my husband's sister and her husband dropped in, and a few single friends who had no family joined us.

So, I guess it will be OK if I want to travel to be with my little grand daughter on Christmas morning, she is only 2.5 years old and a joy to have around. It just wouldn't seem the same without her, so we are following them, at their request.

But the Christmas carols remind me of the many years my mother and Dad put on wonderful meals and filled out tree with gifts. Every Christmas Eve we had open house, and our neighbours would come in for a drink and dance or a laugh. It was wonderful! There would be eggnog, and tangerines, and chocolates!

Every year my uncle Fred would stagger in 3 sheets to the wind, and bend over to take a closer look at our tree... and topple right into it!

It was a tradition! Oh how I long for those days sometimes, but now Dad has been gone for 25 years, this Nov 26, and Mom has medium dimentia, and is losing her memory.

Nothing remains the same, and so we move on to build our own traditions with our children and love them as much as our parents did us, and enjoy them while we still have our lives and our minds in tact.

Thank God for the Blessings everyday! I do!

Happy Holidays and a Very Merry Christmas!

Well Hello again my friends! Wow what a busy few months I have had. Today I am nursing a toothache. I had two crowns put on and now I  have great pain! I went back to the dentist this afternoon and he ground it down and for awhile it did feel better but not right now! Yikes I gotta get some more advil!

Why didn't I take good care of my teeth when I was young? Sweet tooth is now collecting for having no willpower!

so between hot sweats yes I sweat now not just flashing anymore, and pain.. I have been forced to slow down and consume soft food. Yuck.

Tomorrow is Hallowe'en, there is a party at my daughter's house, I want to go as Menopausal Barbie, and my husband as Midlife-Crisis Ken! but with this pain, it may not happen. So are you into the all hallowed eve?

Cheers

Donna

 

 

Where did it go? What happened to my summer? Well, I think it finally arrived just two weeks before autumn. I am sitting outside for the first time working on my new laptop. We had so much rain this year, that this was pretty much impossible before this week. But  I guess mamma nature is making up for it or setting us up for a wicked winter, which is what some people are saying. Anyway, I am grateful for the sunshine, and warmth. I preserved tomatos today that grew in my own garden. my son-in-law helped me. he is a great cook. i also made some homemade soup. I am feeling pretty 'Suzy Homemaker' right now. But a little annoyed as hubby is off to the neighbours putting up a mail box. That was 3.5 hours ago. So much for our 3 pm lets relax and enjoy our pool time! Oh Oh here he comes now. Not bad just an hour late. Catch you later.

OK, so it has been about 2 months now since hubby and I started eating healthy, and making some major lifestyle changes. Whoda thunk that we would be walking for 20 minutes every morning, and swimming for 15 minutes after that? Then I head off to work, and he to his plans for that day, which currently consists of working in the garden, to destress himself, (he is off work under doctors orders until September); and cutting the grass (rider and some pushing). Not to mention that we take our blood pressure each morning before we do our exercise (and after we go to the bathroom!) that's what is says in the booklet. Any who, I have become a cook extraordinaire, after all these years of eating fast food, frozen pizzas, hot dogs and bacon and eggs every weekend! I actually like making up the recipes, buying the healthy food, and it actually tastes good. That is a surprise for me. Now you would think that after 2 mos of this lifestyle change that I would have lost some weight right? Well, OK I did lose about 9 LBs in 3 days, when I did the detox vegetabel soup thing. but since then nothing, NADA...yet hubby looks great! He has cut his alcohol intake in half, I have dropped chocolate completely, well OK not completely but more than in half! And I am stalled on the scale. This menopause thing is annoying! That midriff bulge just won't let up! We burn the candle at both ends, work hard, play hard, exercise hard, and still no change on the scale. But to be honest I do feel much better. My blood pressure was always lower than the normal for most, and it is down as low as 109 over 74, some days. His runs between 134 and 148 most days. Which is a lot lower than it was before 180 over 90. 

I often tell people that I am a Redneck by Marriage. I tease my friends at work by doing great imitations of Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. I have to say, that I really enjoy the Blue Collar sense of humour. I think it is important to laugh at ourselves first, and then with everyone else. We often take ourselves and others too seriously.

So when I say I am a Redneck by marriage, I am not saying that I am small minded, or prejudiced which is how some people  interpret that term, but that I am married to a guy who is farm boy inside and out. He really has a red neck and T-shirt tan all the time. He collects, rebuilds and restores antique tractors (Cockshutt tractors) and he loves nothing more than working in the big garden (1/4 acre) and ploughing the land.

And you know what I really do think his tractor is sexy! Some thoughts occured to me the other morning, while showering. (i get my best insipiration while in or near water), about the different types of tractor collectors that are out there. We just came home from a weekend in Milton, ON, where hundreds of tractor enthusiasts attended the "All Colour Show". All colour show means that no particular brand of tractor is featured and all are invited to come.

Something unusual happened at this year's show, The International Cockshutt Club members held their annual summer meeting/show there, and so did the Allis Chalmers collectors. Due to some scheduling issues the Red and the Orange had to share the banquet hall on Friday evening. That was interesting!

Tractor people kind of like to stick to one colour. For example You are either a John Deere person or not. Very few, collectors actually collect more than one colour or brand. I call those folks Cross-Collectors(kind of like a cross dresser, if you know what i mean). You could feel the tension in the room from the time we finally entered after being held outside in the rain for 10 minutes waiting for them to open the door.

Then it was a huge scramble for seats. Because we were wearing Red shirts, every table we asked to sit at seemed to have Orange shirts and said Sorry these seats are all taken. Most of the Red Shirts were relegated to the second level seating, which was pretty far away from the guest speaker and head tables. After much scurrying around, and a change up of seating partners, we ended up inviting some orange shirts to sit with us. They were young couples who were a whole lot of fun, and we enjoyed meeting them. You see it is like life - although we think we are all so special, and believe in only one colour of tractor...we find out that our commonality is that we all love tractors, and that is what it is really all about!

Same goes for the crazy world we live in. If we just realized, take a step back and look at us from afar, you will see that even though we believe each of our races, religions, countries etc. are something special, we all really just want the same basic things. A warm place to sleep, food to eat, family to share it with and good friends, and the right to believe in any colour tractor we want without prejudiceing others for thier choices.

So we play this game out in many scenarios thorughout our lives. You know the little cliques and social clubs, or old boys clubs you find in most towns and cities. People treating others with less than them, or more than them like they are diseased.

Nuff said about that...Soap Box time! Back to tractor collectors. There are all kinds of them. Mini collectors, who pay big bucks to own peddle tractors that are replicas of the big ones, toy collectors who pay big bucks to buy miniature replicas of the big ones; lawn mower tractor racers, Antique tractor pullers, and the elite collectors who pretty up the big ones and don't want anyone to touch them.

Again society is reflected. The upper class collectors who look down their noses at the tractor pullers, and the memorabilia buffs who want one of everything that no one else has (big game of keeping up with the Joneses. And the novice collector who is so thrilled to show off his newly acquired and restored pride and joy! (have you seen the latest pictures of our baby?)

There is a song on the radio right now that says God is Great, Beer is Good and People are Crazy. Ain't it the truth?

Oh well, just some rambling thoughts from a Red Neck Woman by marriage!

 

Greetings friends! Well, I have much to tell you about our visit with gifted Spritual Advisor (medium) Sharon Quirt. Not what we expected at all- in fact a life changing event for my husband and I - No a life-saving event for him! Let me back up a bit, when Sharon came to our city for a Massage at my daughter's clinic, she wasn't sure why she was there, but gave my daughter a wonderful reading (see blog below)...but she also talked about my husband's blood pressure being very high ("through the roof"). She told my daughter to have him come to her and she could help heal him, otherwise he was heading for a heart attack or stroke. Well, the doctor had identified the same thing in him, a couple of months ago and put him on some pills. He hates pills and stopped taking them then the Dr. gave him new pills.  long story short- in less than a half hour, she told him he would have a major heart attack soon followed by a stroke that would leave him debiliated and premature death by age 57 if he did not make some major lifestyle changes soon. Then she said she had to come to our home, to do some work with our house and property, to clear a very negative energy there. This lady is a very popular medium who is booked way in advance, she rearranged her schedule to work with us! Our schedule just happend to be clear (no coincidence ) for her to come at 3:30 PM on the next day. She has removed the negative energy, and given him a new food plan guide, that involves quitting drinking beer. My husband has drank beer since he was 12 years old. He drinks a lot of beer everyday, but it has never caused us a problem, he only has it after work and on the weekends but he is addicted. She said he had 24 hours to decide if he wanted to live to be 87 which is his natural life span or die at 57, incapacatated, and possibly blind with diabetes and heart disease. As you can imagine, he said well there is only one choice and that is to live! I was so thankful he made the right choice. Now we are on a new food plan, fresh, green, healthy eating, and looking forward to a happy retirement. It will not be easy for him to quit, but I believe he can do it! So, we are moving into our new lifestyle and looking forward to that. Meanwhile, she is working on a detailed plan for him. My other freind Cajetan is coming Saturday to smudge my house to clear any left over negative energies. Sharon said that would be good to do again. And in August my friend Doreen South will be staying with us, and doing readings as well. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful gifted friends come into our lives.  Oh yes, and Sharon said my daughter is an Angel, who can heal, and did not have to come to this lifetime, as she has already mastered herself, but chose to come to help others! She picked us for parents and we think that is great!

Stay tuned for updates on our progress! Comments?

   The Ability to Think; To Reason; To Believe

These words came to my mind today, and I am simply pondering on them. Perhaps it is because I have been receiving Reiki treatments for the last few weeks. They are great sessions, Cheryl, is working on becoming a Reiki Master, and she has gifted me with helping her to master the skill. For those of you who don't know, Reiki is energy work, that is used for healing. Cheryl prepares herself to clear her mind and ask for the powers that be, (God, the Universe, Source) to work through her to the client. She gently places her hands on various locations from my head to my toes, and remains there focusing on a symbol that attracts the healing energies. Usually during our sessions I will see a vision. One time I saw a Nun, so I told her, and she said that is funny because I was told I have a Nun as a spirit guide. She said her name is Buehla and when she said that i got such a rush of energy and affirmation! WOW, we both felt it. Yesterday, while in treatment, I felt as though my eyes were wide open, even though I knew they were shut. Cheryl spoke up and said I feel I need to tell you that your third eye is almost completly open! We are definitely connecting during these sessions. In a couple of weeks, my husband and I will visit Sharon Quirt in Stoney Creek, she want to do some healing work with my husband, and I am going for a reading. She visited my daughter's clinic for a massage a few weeks ago, and told her many wonderful things are in store for her. She eliminated my daughter's fears one  after another! She knew so much! Amazing, I can't wait to see her. Also my other friend and spiritual advisor Doreen South will be back at our place in August. Let me know if your are interested in a reading! I have yet another friend with the gift of mediumship, that is Cajetan Ferro. He is a wonderful man, and remains connected to us with prayers and blessings. I wish them all great blessings upon them too! For the wonderful work they do! 

Woo Hoo! Journal of the Week! Thank You So Much! I had all but given up on this honour...see it pays to keep up your journal. Bravenet is the Best! I am in good company!

Menogramma, that's me! My lovely granddaughter Mackenzie was here for awhile on Saturday and again today, what fun we have together. Today we baked cookies, played on the swings outside, fed the ponies next door, run, run, and run some more! Who needs a weight loss program with a kid like that?

You can soon forget how tiring it is to run after a 2 yr old. Wow! Then she likes to play that I am the baby and she puts me to bed. WEll. that works great cause I get to lay down, but then she insists on covering me up. That doesnt work so well when I Hot Flash! Yikes, get those blankets off me! She scolds me and says put those blankets on! What we won't do for our grand kids!

Life is getting really busy now. I was feeling punky last Thursday, and stayed home from work with an upset tummy. You never know these days what it is, a virus, something you ate, stress...who me the lady who does motivational talks about being stressed out and how to  handle it! Yes I will admit it folks, I do get stressed out. Lots happening around me. My heritage project to build an industrial heritage centre here in my home Town of Brantford, ON is looking closer to a reality...waiting for funding, and approvals etc.. Have a big presentation to do in a week and a half. Love Light and Laughter how to get what your after! We are swamped at work with resume clients. This summer is already booking up with events, including a wedding, a pig roast and of course having Doreen South my spiritual/medium friend for a visit in August! Helping my daughter with the little one while she works so hard at her clinic The Grand Wellness Centre, and well,trying to fit in visits with mom, and a special potluck for the cousins on Wednesday night coming...ARRRRGGHH,... there isn't enough hours in a day!

But then again, would I have it any other way? Not likely. I enjoy being busy. I used to think when I was home a young mom, and feeling trapped..I just want to be one of those women who always has somewhere to go! Be Careful what you wish for!

So how's your summer looking?

Hey we are back on track! Whew! Thought I lost it all.

Welcome back to my Blog! I have just been home a week from a two week stint in Florida! And i want to go back now! We had great weather in the high 80's F. We swam, ate, drank, walked the beach, drank a little  bit more, and took a side trip down the Keys! Gorgeous. We visited the Dolphin Research Centre in Marathon or Grassy Key. AMAZING!! I did not swim with or touch one, but I got real close. I think they were looking at us as much as we were looking at them. I will add a link to my site later. You must check it out!

Good news - son in law will not need emergency heart surgery after all. Goes to show you the power of prayer and positive thinking!

Well, must go for now, but will be back later with more! Please leave your comments!

Cheers!