All posts in Adventure and Me

He Takes Me Dancing

by admin on March 12, 2011 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Foodie Like Me, My Romance with 3 Comments
Our night out at an Irish family social and Ceili Dance!

(The musicians of the evening. They played for hours! The flute based Irish music was much more genteel then the bagpipe tunes at the Scottish event we attended last.)

There are advantages to having a mix of heritages in ones back ground. I am most definitely from all of the members of the United Kingdom so I had little hesitation joining in at the Irish social put on this passed Friday in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

I have to share with you Garnet and my impressions of the evening as it was a real adventure. We didn’t know a single person there. Joining in with an obviously cultural and community event was a bit nerve racking at first. The Irish are a warm people though and it didn’t take long for people to pick up conversations with us. I actually was recognized by one lady who had attended the Robbie Burns dinner as well and she was very happy to chat with me as she wasn’t a regular part of this community either.

(At one point in the evening a group of youngsters joined the band on stage to help with the celebration. It was priceless how into it the little ones where!)

What did we do? Well we found a seat with strangers and chatted with those around us. Got a beer and some Irish treats. The room was a buzz with live Irish music and the hum of conversation was almost a roar as the big hall filled to bursting, so in a way, Garnet and I had plenty of privacy to just enjoy one anothers conversation.

I was very eager to partake in the treats and beer prepared. We tried an Irish beer that was very fruity and light, thank goodness, no Guinness for this girl. It was very very frothy, not carbonated like the beers I am used to. My man has a humor all his own and explained straight faced to me ‘they like it frothy so they can get more out of their beer. They drink it up and then, while the froth is still on the beard, they shave and wring the beer back out of the collection of facial hair, back into the mug to enjoy.’ Oh dear… I laughed so hard… Guess that is why I married him, I like his jokes…

Got a plate full of Irish treats and had fun deciding what we thought of them. The potato bread was, potato-y and flat. The sausage roll was mellow in taste. The raisins scones, while mild as well, where slightly sweet and very fluffy so I enjoyed a few of them. Garnet teased that he figured out what the secret ingredient to authentic Irish cooking was… ‘nothing’ and the Irish girl in me chuckled, it is alright, at least it wasn’t so lingering on the pallet like the Scottish haggis.

(Before the music had even began, the dance floor was filled with prancing children.)

Garnet knew very well we where there mostly to try Ceili dancing (think Victorian community dancing in lines to Celtic music). It was so much fun and so much exercise! We all lined up and where given instructions then had to work as a whole group on the floor, moving down a line together with our partner and another new couple every few minutes. It involved sharing couples with strangers and I had to laugh when Garnet realised we where going to be holding hands with people we didn’t know at all. He gets so German at times like these!

One older woman we where dancing with took note of the contrast between my man (a Mr.Darcy when it comes to dance if you know what I mean) and my enthusiasm toward the whole event. She smiled and said to him (before bouncing away) ‘You aren’t much of a dancer are you?’ He just nodded to confirm. ‘Oh and you came for your wife, YOU DEAR THING!’

Garnet found his own way to enjoy the dancing as well and when ever we bounced into the little nine year old girls who had taught the dance (they are definitely professional Celtic dancers) he would point out errors in their dancing ‘Oh I don’t think you are doing that right.’ I smiled and rolled my eyes to help the girls understand he is only teasing and this made him grin for the first time since getting on the dance floor.

We had a grand new experience and finished the date off with coffee at a favorite cafe down the street, it always has live music on Fridays. There was a roots group playing to the stoic coffee loving patrons of the cafe and it was such a contrast from the lively and warm Irish celebration we had left.

TTFN

My Artistic Side (eleven)

by admin on February 9, 2011 in Adventure and Me, Better Check Out Links, Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful), My Romance with 5 Comments

I listened to a speaker a while back and had used her idea to encourage a friend of mine to see herself as an artist and to enjoy her art, to engage her artistic side fearlessly… So easy to be generous to others in that way! The concept was we have all been taught to doubt our artistic side, to compare it and thus hide it… believing it never adds up too art. She believed it was healthy for EVERYONE to explore and enjoy their artistic side, to call it art and express it because that is part of being us.

(The producer.)

Garnet would never say it but I think he is finding me a bit on the ridiculous side. He is being very patient with me this time round, as I take my time warming up to the idea of being involved in music again. I don’t want to go for the mainstream feel so here is what I decided to do to get my feet wet again… hymns… we are going to work on the hymns I learned last year and started with one I know really really well to just get me going.

He put it up on his myspace and I guess that is when I became ridiculous. I asked him to leave it up for my mom and dad cuz I knew they would love it and not judge but then when I heard he shared it with a couple friends I insisted it COME DOWN. It’s nerves okay! I didn’t used to have them when it came to singing but I also always did it live and that seemed different… recording and hearing your own voice is kind of unnerving, I don’t think I have ever really listened to a recording of myself before.Anyhow, this is a project for my man and me. I really do love him and love doing this with him so here is the link to our first version of ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’. I am putting this subject under the label of romance because I am blessed to have a husband who encourages me to enjoy my artistic side and under my adventures because getting back into music is just that, a big adventure for me. I haven’t always been thankful for the pull at my heart to engage in artistic expression… it was often a stress to me because of low self esteem. Today, lately, I am honestly very thankful for my artistic side, just as I have been very thankful for others artistic sides for years.

TTFN

My Northern Folk (Mom)

by admin on August 13, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Holiday Messages, People In My Heart with 1 Comment

Dad has always been a rock in my life. He is so strong and loving… My mother to was strong…I am so thankful for the feminine strength and love I always knew in my mother.

(I would not say she is shy but I felt like I had to sneak a lot of pictures of Mom. She was a big reason why our holiday was so lovely so I had to get some proof that she was there.)

Mom always works so hard to make us comfortable and yet is true to her self, her style, her life. You go to her house and you will know what being a northerner is all about. She has a beautifully kept yard, full of her flowers and her and Dad’s gardens. Many of our meals came straight from their garden. Potatoes and veggies barely emerged from the soil and where immediately cleaned, prepared and eaten (oh yum). They work so hard at mowing it all, keeping the trees from taking over and more. Her house is so homey. Warm and welcoming, it speaks the truth that real people live there. She is a meticulous house keeper and lovely cook. We had many a lovely and practical meal during our stay and there was pie, made with HER berries, to enjoy. The night we arrived we where given a piece with some tea and milk to help us relax after our long journey! What a perfect way to be welcomed!

I think more then ever I felt an appreciation for my Mom’s confident and content personality. She is a good example to me on how to be content where you are and with what you have. She works hard and enjoys her world a great deal. You can tell she loves so many things about her home. Her green house makes her beam with pride. Dad made it with mostly used stuff from around the acreage but that doesn’t matter to her at all! It is suited so well to her needs, made by her man and so it is wonderful. She could probably wander around her yard endlessly puttering and be totally happy. When her house needs work you can tell she enjoys fixing and working on it, and isn’t over come with jobs at hand. She loves her man, her home, her world, her Lord and I love that about her!

(We where together so much longer then our usual trips so the kids and their grand folks got to know one another so much better. Nanny loves to swim as much as I, so going to the beach day after day with her was perfect. We took turns watching on the kids while the other floated around in the beautiful water.)
(Thank you for baking with Little Woman, for letting her help you with the kitchen tasks. She really needs that and I am so glad you got to see so much of the real her, super chatty and all! So often when I look at my Little Woman I think of my mom!!)

Hats off to all you do and all the love you share through your good work ethic Mom. We appreciate you so much!

TTFN

My Northern Folk (Dad)

by admin on August 13, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Holiday Messages, People In My Heart with 1 Comment

Through years of my Mom’s wise instruction I learned to enjoy little things and grew in understanding about how important it is to find contentment in life. Apparently enjoying the little things came from my Dad as well. He is retired now so we got to spend much of the holiday goofing off with him, while Mom was a work. I enjoyed seeing how much fun he gained from doing the littlest things with the kids and I. He had a blast taking us out for McD’s (only my Dad could convince me to eat at THAT place, he he he). The day we drove all the way to town to get the perfect hot dog for a barbecue lunch topped off with many glasses of chocolate milk he was the instigator and we all loved it. Shopping with him was great fun. I love how Dad enjoys life and doesn’t have to take everything serious. After all, not everything is serious! He was totally game when I insisted we all try out the turquoise and pink chairs that I fell in love with at Canadian Tire and he never shys away from a joke or a goofy game with the kids. He is still the hilarious Dad I grew up with! When everyone was rolling their eyes at his latest punny joke I couldn’t help but roll with laughter! I ask you, how can you not laugh when a man is laughing so full of joy at his own joke?

A spur of the moment tea time, put on by Dad, was a pinnacle memory on our trip. Before I knew it Dad had made up a bunch of iddy bitty peanut butter and berry squares of toast, a big pot of tea and a sweetly set table for out tea. It was all followed up with creamsicle ice cream so you must know my kids gained new respect for their grandpa that afternoon.

Spot on Dad, spot on!

We love you so much and greatly appreciated this holiday and all the time we spent with you! You sure know how to make an ordinary day an extraordinary one!

TTFN

Northern Snap Shots (PART ONE The Family Acerage)

by admin on August 11, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Holiday Messages, Little Things, People In My Heart with 3 Comments

In the land of lakes, trees and bedrock we spent our time following our noses. Everyone seems to go at a slower pace where my folks are from and it took an adjustment for me but it was exactly what I needed. This was a slow week of doing what ever we felt like at the time.The first morning there was a perfect illustration of how my week went. Baby Boy slept in and so I did as well. I awoke very late and realised the house was very quiet. In my pajamas I walked out to the kitchen and although I could hear chatter and giggles I could find no one around. I went to the big bay window in my parents living room and glancing out at the garden I saw a bit of white amidst Nanny’s berry bushes. Then I noticed some little blond heads and heard my Dad talking with Little Woman. All three of the oldest where out with their grandparents picking berries for their breakfast. They where still in their pjs. It was a quiet, fresh morning and I remember sighing and thinking ‘this will be a break after all’.

Some snap shots of my folks yard (mostly a reflection of all their hard work).

A farm built with sweat and love. Carved amidst the bedrock, wrestled out of the forest and settled with expectation (expectation of years of hard work and years of memories). A place for all of the children and grandchildren to go and relax, feel blessed and most of all feel that northern blood well up inside;) This is my first home!

TTFN

Patience and A Trip North

by admin on August 10, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Four Little Eggs In My Nest with 1 Comment
(Just me and my four babies on a big northern adventure!)

If parenting isn’t the perfect opportunity to learn more patience then I don’t know what is. I feel like I am always choosing to be patient or to wig out but every now and then there is a chance to step into an obvious opportunity to practice patience. It looks big and can either be a disaster or a victory. Heading north to my folks for a week with out my man was such an opportunity. Four kids, one mommy. Now I am no fool so I went at this challenge with some help. I had a plan and I wasn’t afraid to stack the odds more in my favor (as apposed to anarchy’s favor). My beast van (I call it that because it is large) was newly equipped with a DVD player. I had a cooler full of snacks and each child had a lap table to color on, books and a back pack of toys.

Even so… patience was required and I decided early on I was going to have to just pace myself, slow down and embrace kid speed. Good thing I was realistic! A six hour road trip turned into almost a nine hour one.

The kids found every reason possible, and invented some too I am sure, to pull the van over. We had potty breaks, snack breaks, emotional break downs… put a new movie in breaks, restart said movie breaks, I don’t like movie and have changed my mind breaks… On one such occasion my oldest was standing next to the van with me. This stop was hard for me, we had barely started driving after the last one and where only minutes from a city and could have stop some where nicer once there. She looked at me and with a big smile said ‘Traveling is exciting!’ Shucks, that makes it worth while! She is having a good time, they all are… so I should too… so I did.

We stopped a few times just to let the kids run. I invented some relay games and got them running so many laps they where more then happy to get back in the van. We ate our fill of cheese strings, peanuts, yogurt tubes and triple chocolate chip cookies. They watched and I listened to a couple movies and I even got to listen to some of my favorite road tunes: TFK, Toby Mac, Jill Barber and Mikey Bubbles (Guess who that is!? My man gave him that nickname) among others.It was all worth it. When we arrived at my parents acreage in the valley, surrounded by trees and bedrock I wasn’t even over whelmed. We where excited and in good spirits. All of us where thinking about beach days and lazy afternoons, fresh air and adventure.Everyone cautions you about asking for more patience but the fact is you are a happier person once you accept the gift it holds.

TTFN

Our Summer Project:)

by admin on July 15, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Four Little Eggs In My Nest with No comments
My four and I where looking for a summer adventure,
a project,
to keep us going during the week,
you know,
jumping out of bed with enthusiasm and not wasting a single summer day!

There are over 50 kiddy pools in our city, I believe. So we stuck to spray parks! Our summer project for 2010 is to explore and rate (just for fun) all the spray parks in the city. We have done 6 so far, not counting the large puddle we swam in at a small park near by. It has been a lot of fun!Each day we get up and I tell the kids we are going to explore another new park and they grab our beach bag and are ready to go in no time. We all look forward to the next park and are finding it a great way to familiarize ourselves with more of our city. It is a lovely way to get us talking; working out our likes and dislikes about parks, picking the next one, deciding when to revisit one.
We rate the play grounds as well and feel like we have found some real gems.Here’s to many more days packing the van with towels, drinks, snacks, the camera and four excited kids! Here’s to our summer adventures!

TTFN

Rock Climbing

by admin on July 1, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Better Check Out Blogs, Better Check Out Links, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Mama Heart Mushings with 1 Comment
I can’t decide if she faced a giant or not!

My girl has many things she is too cautious about. I wonder if it is being the first born that will often make her very standoffish and mistrusting? She has many things that get her easily worked up and even afraid and so way back we started encouraging her to fan the flame of the areas in life she was brave about.

Like every little woman, she is braver then she thinks.

When she started standing up in class (randomly) and sharing songs and poems she had written we knew she had a spark of bravery and thankfully she is now in a fine arts school where she is encouraged in those areas.

When she was almost two she started climbing everything in sight. She could shimmy up her bunk bed no problem and started sleeping on the top at a very young age. She worked on the monkey bars, starting in kindergarten, so determinedly that she had callouses and raw patches on her hands and had to be forced to take a few days off of them to let the raw spots heal.Yesterday night was family adventure night. We had ice cream and burgers then watched Big Girl try something she has been dreaming about for a while, rock climbing! Lynn Hill has entered into conversation a lot lately. Check the link to her blog, she is a well known climber and my girl thinks she is pretty great. Well Big Girl got a little bit of a taste of Lynn’s world last night and she LIKED IT! It was wonderful to see her impressed with her own abilities and not holding back but getting up there.

(The other three sat at the bottom JUST MESMERIZED!
Baby Boy kept pointing and saying ‘Uh Oh!’)

TTFN

When In Winnipeg

by admin on June 2, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, People In My Heart with 1 Comment
A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.
~Douglas Pagels

My excuse to travel by train to Winnipeg was this beautiful woman in white! My long time friend, from college days, GOT MARRIED!

Oh such a classy wedding and perfectly her style. Lovely. Planned out but also fun and relaxing.

As I waited for her to be walked down the isle by her dad I wondered if I was going cry the whole way threw or burst with joy, I love weddings! Turned out to be a little of both wedding… I tried not to cry too much because everyone else seemed to be holding themselves together.

First year of college… after a few weeks in school I some how got up enough nerve to ask her, via email (I know, so lame) if she was a … Christian too. I can’t help but smile at how difficult the idea of making friends was for me back then. I must have come across as silly and was so worried about appearing so but she put up with me.

Second year of college… I was so desperate to find someone to stand up for me at my wedding that I asked her even though we certainly weren’t that close yet. Again she put up with me…

Years went by and I left that socially devastated person behind and determined to be available for my adventurous friend. I am SO thankful for how she keeps reappearing in my life. I know she is a blessing straight from God because often she has spoken into my life and been part of good changes in me threw her words.

A gem, someone who I know will not say good bye to me no matter how far away we physically are from one another.

No matter how much we both change we seem to just continue to gel and for this I am thankful!

Much love and CONGRATS to ‘the traveler and her man!
May you have many many years together, blessed with a deep content love!

TTFN

Winnipeg Adventure

by admin on June 1, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Life Keeps Changing with 1 Comment

I like Winnipeg!
Got a mini tour the night I arrived. A friend drove me to my girl friends apartment and on the way gave me a guided tour through many of the nice parts of the city. The forest in the middle of the city is so special! I was impressed! The Parliament buildings where beautiful and there where so many interesting neighborhoods to explore.

(It was very refreshing to walk everywhere.)

We mostly stayed in the down town area after that initial tour. That is where the train station was, the wedding and our hotel. All where near to the forks too so I got to explore them with my brothers family one of the mornings.

(Karla and I on the tower at the forks.)

So the tower was perhaps one of our adventures, although not a fav of mine. The tower was attached to a beautiful craft/ fresh goods kind of market. It was glass and that didn’t impress me. I didn’t need to see all the way down all the time. When we got to the top I was pretty sure smudgy pictures of the scenery, from the inside of the tower, where fine but my big brother managed to convince me to check out the ledge. He smirked and said ‘say fear of heights’ as he took this above picture of his wife and I.We walked to a mall, after the forks, and on the way it really started to rain. I had a blast running from over hang to over hang with my brother and his family. We would wait for the street light to change to walk and come bursting out again and run to beat the band across the street and straight to another over hang. Got totally wet anyhow:)

By the end of the trip I felt comfortable with the underground mall (the cities way of crossing many of the busy streets) and the sky ways, not really sure what they call them, that connect the buildings down town by going over streets. The last day there I even went and did a little shopping on my own, before the train departed. Found a few dresses and almost got carried away trying them on. Got two out of the bunch for a real good deal but almost missed the train in the process. I did not look cool running like a mad woman back to the hotel and then to the station. Sweaty and tired when I got there I was also thankful because I made it just in time. It was all good though, I knew I would have lots of down time on the train after all that.

(I was huffing and puffing when I took this picture of a government building on the way to the station.)

I would for sure enjoy going back!

TTFN

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →