Goodbye Dr. Livingstone

Last night when we went to feed him is supper, Paul and I found our little gerbil Dr. Livingstone has passed away. I am heartbroken yet again for another loss. Tiny as he was, he provided great entertainment for me as he was housed in a 20 gallon low boy aquarium on my computer desk.

Paul and Alex found him outside one evening three years ago, walking down the edge of someone's driveway. The caught him and brought him home to me, knowing I would love him and also that he wouldn't have survived a cold Canadian winter. Or worse, ended up some cat's dinner.

Gerbils are amazing pets. We bought play sand for him and gave him shredded paper. He made the rest of his bedding himself with toilet paper rolls, paper cup holders and whatever else we tossed in his home.

He is already sadly missed.

Thank you Dr. Livingstone, my little explorer, for the three years of companionship you gave to me.

4 Here or 2 Go Cafe

It's been a while since I posted on my blog. Paul, Alex and I have been very busy getting his cafe up and running. It's called Alex's 4 Here or 2 Go Cafe. I am pleased to say that the town of Colborne has been very supportive for him.

In time, Paul is going to work for Alex and give up his job at Home Depot. He has a terrible shift and doesn't like the commute. The cafe is within walking distance. It will be nice in winter knowing that both my guys aren't having to travel the highway in bad weather.

The Cafe serves soups, salads and sandwiches as well as baked goods, ice cream and other sweets. I am so very proud of Alex and the job he's doing!

Goodbye Sweet Dexter

Today I am sad. Q-Tip is being treated for an absess in his foot. I thought it wasn't healing and the vet suggested perhaps it was a mass and surgery would be the best option. She also told me the guinea pigs don't do well coming out of surgery and we might lose him while he was under. Feeling like I was trapped between a rock and a hard place, I opted for the surgery. I cuddled Q-Tip last night and gave him some extra love.

I took Q-Tip to the vet and went home to await a call which I believed would be bad news. When I got home, I noticed Dexter's breathing was very laboured. I called the vet and the reciptionist said to bring him in when I came to get Q-Tip as the vet saw noticed improvement in his foot and decided not to operate.

Michelle checked Dex over and told me he had pneumonia. She gave him a shot to try and releave his congestion and put him on meds. She also told me the GP's get this virus and usually pass within the next couple of months never really coming off the meds totally. I was happy to try anything but was sent him with my sickly Dexter knowing the next twenty-four hours were going to tell if he survived. He didn't. He passed about an hour after seeing the vet.

It always seems to work this way for me. When I'm so busy watching out of one thing, something else quietly slips out the back door. Dexter would have been lost without Q-Tip because he cried everytime I took Q out of the cage. Q-Tip doesn't seem to be grieving too much because Dex used to pick on him a bit. I on the other hand, am grieving deeply.

There has been so much loss in my life these past nine month. The size or genus of a creature has little bearing on how much I mourn. I miss my little Dex who gave me so much in the three short years I had of his four year life.

Goodbye Dexter, my sweetie boy.

Together for eternity

Today I interned my mother in with my father who has been waiting for her since July 21, 1986. I waited this long because I wanted to bring them together on their anniversary. It was a quiet little service with a immediate family in attendence. David Dean, a lone piper, played Amazing Grace at the graveside as my husband Paul offered her commital. She rests with my father, Harry Adolph Lemire and across from my brother, Harvey Joseph Rene Lemire, at Thornton Road Cemetery in Oshawa ON.

Special thanks to my Aunt Sally for hosting a luncheon at her house after the service. Thank to cousins, Sherry, Valerie, Susie, Heather and Aunt Barb for their contributions to the day.

Finishing up some UFO's

My mother died on January 2, 2008. In her wake she left several broken hearts and a closet full of unfinished projects. I know she had every intention of finishing them, just as I do mine. The idea of getting rid of them feels like discarding out hours of her life. I find myself clinging to what's left of her but I also know that I can't keep everything she ever started and didn't finish. So I'm going through some of the things deciding what to finish what to pack up and send out into the world and what to discard completely.

Finished is better than perfect

~Anonymous

Most of her Cross Stitch I'm going to get rid of. I've got tons of plastic canvas and plastic canvas patterns that I'm going to get rid of as well. I don't do plastic canvas myself.

One of the things I've decided to finish is an Afghan. There was just one more row to complete it. I've finished the blocks now I just have to sew them onto the afghan.

Clearing out my mother's UFOs has given me a lot to think about regarding my own. I have two sons and neither one of them are going to want to finish my projects. Most of them were lovingly started with the intention of being finished. Some of them found their way to the finish line but most are still in boxes. I read once on the Internet about a way to make yourself finish those unfinished projects. You are allowed to start a new project only if you finish and old one first and then you must also finish the new project that you're starting. Before you can start another new project again, you must finish an old one. I've been trying this and it is working fairly well.

Robins at Elena House

We have a pair of robins nesting on our front porch. They are such devoted parents. They never seem to tire of their commitment and who work together

I finally got to see the babies. There are four of them. Mother and Father take turns bringing back mouths full of chewed worms, white grubs the occassional beetle. The babies pop up their fuzzy little heads and cry, "Me, me, me, me!!!! I cannot use my front door at the moment but it's worth it, having a front row seat to one of nature's vignettes.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops — at all...

~ E. Dickinson

Apple Blossom Tyme Festival

What a fun time we had this weekend here in Colborne at Apple Blossom Tyme Festival . For such a small community, the event is quite large.

There were pie eating contests, baby contests, an art and quilt show one of the churches in which I displayed nine quilts. There was an antique show at the curling centre and an antique car show downtown. Magic Doug entertained children on centre stage.

There were dog contests for the longest tail, longest ears, pet owner look alike and bobbing for wieners.

There were several performers including a Kobbler Jay, a fabulous juggler who walked around on stilts for most of the day. He was delightful and is especially wonderful with children.


I tackled one of my fears this weekend. It was the fear of the Ferris Wheel. I actually when on it which Alex. So I admit it was only a three story wheel but from the top it looked pretty high to me. I promised myself that I would tackle some of my fears for a New Years resolution and I'm proud to say that I'm still at it.

F.E.A.R.

False

Expectations

Appearing

Real

The street was filled with venders. One of which was a henna artist and Paul, Alex and I all got henna tattos. Mine is a pretty little design on my forearm, Paul's is a celtic knot on the inside of his forearm and Alex got a big spider draped across his hand. These tatoos should last for about 4 weeks if properly cared for.

Those who fear life are already three parts dead.

~Bertrand Russell

49 and loving it.

I was checking through some of my favourite blogs and found this birthday giveaway at The T-Cozy. What better way to celebrate a birthday than to give rather than focusing on receiving

I love it when I read about someone embracing their age and looking forward to each new decade. I used to play my birthdays down. That was partly because I lost my brother due to illness when he was just twenty-nine. I felt guilty about getting older when he couldn’t. Now that I am in the middle of my life, I embrace my age. Canada and the United States are very concerned with body image. It is actually a sad thing that women judge their value on how they look rather than instead of what’s inside. What a great feeling to be able to leave all that feminine insecurity behind and wrap my arms around life. Let someone else worry about the size of their @ss. I’m too busy looking forward to notice what’s behind me.

This is my before picture. I'm letting my grey hair come in.

The worse that will happen is that I won't like it and I'll go back to colouring it again. If I do go back to colouring I will use Henna dye. It isn't permanent and doesn't have side effects. It coats each hair strand rather than penetrating it. If you stop using it, it will eventually wash out completely

The best thing is that I will love not having to bother with it anymore and spend more time just feeling great than wondering how to part my hair so my roots won't show. If more women would accept their going grey, the more acceptable it would become. Look at how beautiful Helen Mirren was when featured in More magazine or Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. There is beauty in every age and once we realize it, we will be able to face each day putting our best face forward.

If you decide to go grey, don't let your whole appearance follow. The absence of hair colour requires the presence of colour in other areas to keep you from looking washed out. Check out these tips for looking grey and gorgeous!

As I was going down the stair,

I met a man who wasn't there.

He wasn't there again today.

Oh how I wish he'd stay away.