Changes, I am no longer greeted by the sun.  The mornings are dark.  Instead of getting up to the birds singing and the sun rising at 5 am it is now 7 and the sun is just now coming along!   Guess it's time to share with those in Oz and Tass and let their spring begin.   The last ride up to the cottage gave hints,here and there the blazes of colour broke the sea of greens and stood out saying prepare,cold on the way.   I wonder what kind of a winter we will have here?   Last was record snow fall and was so delightful.  The summer has been record rainfall.  Almost too much!  The dock at the cottage is floating and where last year the concern was the marsh lands sitting high and dry now it is that the water is above normal levels by about two feet!   I see the beavers up there have taken extra sprigs.  These they use through the winter.  Clever beavers!  They set these sprigs,the young branches or trees into the mud near where they have made their lodge.  It is really very complicated but the beavers manage it all.  They are drawn to running water.  Here they cut mid size branches and criss cross them over the water run. I have watched this,high up on a bank I watched for hours as the male and female team tried for fit,weaved the branches in and grew the slight pile of sticks into a blockage for the water flow. I checked back the next day to see the denser and heavier structure and by the third day they changed strategy.  I wondered if it was a decision based on water flow or the hight of the water behind or if they just got tired!!!  The water was still pouring over and through but the depth behind had risen at least three feet.  Beavers are interesting animals.  Two top and bottom teeth like rabbits but they can fall huge trees by circling them and taking out the wood curl by curl of shaved wood untill they drop the tree. If they have not figured it out right the branches are sometimes taken or they move on to fall a smaller one.  The ones they can manage are dragged to the water and floated to their work site.  They have powerful jaws and they are short,low to the ground on powerful front and hind legs.  The feet are webbed and clawed and they seem to have remarkable use of their front paws using them almost as hands but use the teeth and mouth most for placing and directing the sticks for the dams.  These animals were once killed for the fur,of course once fashionable for hats and such but that demand is no longer there.  Their coats are amazing protecting them from the wet and cold of the northern lakes.  They are brown but just brown doesn't cover it,their coats are beautiful,thick and rich and reflect light to show amazing hues.  Their tails are a wonder.  They are used as rudders to direct them while swimming,a warning device as they slap the water or ground if upset and they use it to carry stuff!!   I have seen them frolick with their young babies riding their tails!!  They are a bit better than half the length of the animal and wide and flat.  They look like a thick piece of oval leather.  It is the tail that cups and holds the mud they add to the dam slapping it in place and strengthen and stopping the water flow through.  Sometimes I have come across the beavers on land scouting for new trees to take.  I have seen them near the shore and they are creatures of habit swimming home at the same dusky hour!  Well here I go on so guess it's time to get busy!   Haaa,haaa like a beaver!!!

Well May 17th was when Janice and Steve pulled up and we were not quite cute enough for Steve...he went off to bed...long,long trip and all the stress of the delays,no wonder!!!  He probably knew between the three of us edging in one word would have been impossible anyway!!!  We talked,and talked and it seemed like we needed to cram two weeks into one night!   Jess,Janice and I made it an early morning and it seemed I was up in no time waiting to see if Janice was really here and the whole thing was real!!!    I wondered!!!   When she came down I think I was in heaven!!!  She was home and I was just beyond delighted!!!  The three of us had a great time chatting and coffees and teasing Jess about this and that!  I remember Steve's awe of Jess' ablity to talk without breathing!  Ahhh...we were all just totally charmed by her and she had to leave far too soon!   Getting to know Steve was interesting!   I had a general feel for how this man would be but what a great pair they are!  Janice adores Steve and Steve treasures Janice so much!   I wanted to spend every waking minute with Janice and sometimes had to be told to go to bed as I,in senior fashion, was dozing off in mid sentence...figured I think I could make time stop as it was going by far too fast!   The biggest most wonderful delight was hugging Janice!   She was really here and it just felt so right.  I lurked around like some crazed stalker waiting for her to show in the mornings!!  Haaa,haaa to be attacked by huggy Marg!!  Poor Lady!  There is the difference... I am a morning person and poor Steve and Janice had to adjust to the opposite side of the world and the northern hemisphere too!!! Soooo.... I found I could launch my hug attacks when ever!!!  How great was that???  It was just the best thing to have Janice here,in the place were we just could be. I felt like a dome was holding her and I and keeping the vibes just circling.  That we were walking in a special moment,a special reason for being and a special bond.  

Well I did get Jess' permission so I just have to tell you what fun it was this afternoon to see Francis over webcom!!!  I watched that sweet little face watch the computer screen and react to things he delighted in and things he didn't care so much for!!  All in the face,the little face that scowled and broke into laughter!!  It was a total delight!!!  I saw Mommy(lucky Lady!!) get small little bear hugs....so tight he tried to squeeze!!!  Jess got kisses and I caught kisses!!!  Lucky me!!! He showed me through the screen his calculator and I was just killing myself laughing with joy at Francis!  The little moptop is so adorable and he soooo loves his lucky Momma!!!  The blonde hair swings as he climbed to show Momma things and he has a flare for rearranging rooms!!!  Jess it was the greatest!!!!  I was in heaven watching that little boy !  He is so intent on things and he lights up when he smiles!!! I think he got that from Mom!!!  Thanks Sunshine!

Sooooo... I am so dying to talk about what it was like with Janice and Steve here...but Janice has writen about a beautiful wedding and I figure it is her trip of a life time...I should add to whatever and not take the lead so I will talk about fun here...and SEAN!!! Haaa,haaa!

We have had the most marvelous few days...how lucky are we?  Hubby picked up our new world travellers at the airport.  They had just came from Holland!   Their jet lag was showing in their faces but their excitement to share their adventures won out over tired!!  We got to see all the pictures and hear all the fun and adventure and to see them so happy was just the best! This is my eldest daughter and her guy,a big Sweet guy that I just adore!  His excitement was different as he was seeing his relatives and the place his Mother was born.  Life is different there and their experience was being embraced and seeing life through their eyes.  They had a wonderful time! They brought us goodies,I do love treats!!!

Youngest daughter had been home waiting to see her Sis!!  That was so great to have her here.  We held a big supper for her and her new guy trying to get to know him. She got her final marks while here and just could have not done better having a perfect 4.0!  Very proud of that as she had a lot to deal with having to move mid term due to crazy guy and getting very ill,so she overcame and onward and upward!!  She's on her way to Edmonton as a surprise trip for her from her friends! Wild!  The excitement in her voice last night when she got the news was beyond wonderful! Have the best time Sweety you so deserve this!

It was Hubby's birthday yesterday and WOW did we have a great time!  It started the night before with Eldest daughter and her guy taking us out to a movie!  What fun! Haven't gone to one for ages and this was late at night and so neat to do!  We are hitting the late summer weather with warm nights and it was so odd to be out after dark! LOL!! Geeesss I'm old! They battled their jet lag to keep awake through it all and they had already seen the movie birthday boy wanted to see. Meant alot to us that they did that for Hubby!  So the day of his birthday was to be just clean the cottage and a trip up to do that with eldest son which Hubby was looking forward to. But the day turned out to be full and wonderful and a beautiful source of memories!  Dear Daughter cooked a wonderful breakfast!  I was hanging back watching her and Son in law,they are fun and great together. Breakfast was so good!  When she was in Holland she cooked two of her Dad's dishes for a professional chef!!!  He asked for the recipe and so Hubby's dish was appreciated and carries on!!  Eldest son and Dad figured they stop at the fresh farm market on the way home and buy corn.  Daughter decided that we should do hamburgers and went off for fresh buns and I made fresh cherry pie and used the blueberries picked at the cottage for a blueberry pie!  Dil phoned son and decided to come in and bring Sean and a cake!!!  Yes!!!  I haven't seen the little guy and he has changed in those two weeks soooo much!  When they got here I played with Sean....oooohhhhh I admit I hogged him.....he is just sooo very Sweet to hold and cuddle!!!  His Mommy,Aunt and his big Grandma took him swimming!  Yes for Sean I got into a bathing suit!  He had such fun in the water!!!  I had such fun with him in the water!!! The meal was great,our corn roast outside!  Far too much to eat and such fun!   Today we do part two of the celebrations and go into our son's new home in Toronto to have an other meal!!  Now this boy can cook so I'll let you know what we have!!!  But everyone will be there and I can not wait!  Surprise is the broken perk???  Is now replaced with a very thoughtful gift of a new one!  The fresh coffee flows!!!

I was to use Janice's title and I was to post it when she did!  Sorry dear friend I have let you down... :(  ...didn't mean to but I have!  I have writen it but discarded, so many times! LOL!! I will write it now I have read yours! So free style here I come!!! Hope to heavens it won't read the way my little brain works !!!

                                                                               The Magical Meet

There was a connection to this beautiful Lady that lived half way round this big old world.  Her first comment in my blog shone for no reason other than I wanted to know her.  As I got to see who Janice was I realized that all my first feelings were confirmed and we continued on to get to know each other as much as one can in the limited mediums.   The first time Janice mentioned a meet I had this feeling....I knew it would happen and the excitement started then.  The efforts of Deb,Janice and Steve to put up the count-down clock was the icing on the cake!!  A story that you all could share in and I am sure we spoke of it often!!! LOL!  Who could not as Steve was making Janice's dream trip come true. I was so ,so lucky to join in that dream and be included. 

When the date was set I was so excited. I let Hubby in on the news,I had mentioned it before in a casual way but when it was reality I was so,so excited.  Excited is an over used word but I was!!  Heart pounding and looking so forward and just ready to roll those months forward...if I could have figured out a way.  I fussed with the house,set up the room as we moved beds around and I was ready and waiting...waiting....waiting!!!  LOL!

Jess arrived and she was Sunshine. Jess is a bundle of force. This sweet young lady was soooo funny!  I saw that one little look as she stepped out of her car....lord what awaits me????  I was so delighted to see her!  She was shorter than I had thought her to be but I knew those eyes!  You just want to hug her!! She is adorable.  So Jess and I were getting aquainted and I had sent dog to his bed. But alas the worst happened and it broke my heart ,beast snuck up and grapped Jess' elbow when I was handing her a photo. So he was banished and I thought myself so stupid for not locking him in. He had never nipped ever,never had a dog ever that did and he had never left his bed when told to go there ever.  So the worst had happened and I gave first aid to Jess' poor elbow and although upset she was so gracious about it all. I was totally heartbroken,I couldn't believe he had done this to this beautiful Lady.

So with dog locked away we chatted and Jess found Hubby ....interesting?  He teased her about the French thing...he bugged her but unfortunately they found common ground in coffee and smokes!! Needless to say Jess' stay was too short. We only had her with us for a couple of days and that was too short. It was sad to see her go,both Dan and I felt one of our own was leaving. If Jess had felt any reservation about staying with these strangers it was gone with the first hug,she is a wonderful person to hug!  Jess commits totally and is ...Jess,Sunshine! Straight forward and a total delight. Miss you Jess!

Meeting Janice was coming home. Jess,Janice and Steve pulled up and when they got out of the car you could see how tired and stressed they were.  Long trip,tons of delays,late at night.....but what a great moment!  I think of it often.  Here was the Lady that I knew.  To get my arms around her was just heaven.  I was so very happy. This wasn't a person I was meeting for the first time. This wasn't a person from the other side of the world that I didn't know,this was Janice who I had waited for so long to reunite with to invite home to hug and never let go. I miss you Janice.

I'm tired!!  Still not recovered and we had to do a run up to the cottage. I worked hard but after a few hours I was like in slow motion and getting slower. Moving furniture and vacumming,windows,beds.cleaning the stove and half of the frig,hubby came in and finished it...thank heavens!!   Just tire easily.  Came to mind the comment and offer Tracy made...to be a different age!  I would jump at the chance!  Interesting, don't you think???  Tracy generously offered her age which I thought was excellent but I have thought about it and I think I would like to return to an age when I had my parents around. I would dearly love to tell them how very much I appreciated the people they were. I would love to return to the age where I was into and doing everything but that was before my kiddies so I can't miss that.  Hummmm...I know in my mind you are to be happy in the stage you are and place you are ..that is maturity but I tend to head for the fanciful anyway so what is your perfect age?? What year was THE BEST!!!!!!  I dream to be in a place where I can do whatever and dance the night away without a care!  Maturity may seem good but to be responsible has it's draw backs! LOL!!  Why can not maturity of thought come about when the body is young enough to enjoy it all???  I think back to my teen years and what seemed reasonable then I can't believe!!  Nothing was impossilbe,you could do it all and not miss a step. I think of the pure fun and delight in life it's self before all the worry and pressures of bills and payments and being tied down to responsblity.   The sweetness of this day is like youth, we are headed for our beautiful fall here and the fresh warm days are maturing in themselves.  The clear bright light is filtering and softening into fall. The colours are just trying now to become fall colours,you see the brilliant reds and oranges in the trees here and there,soon they will be in beautiful fall shades.  Nature provides a soft transition from spring to summer to fall,maybe it's a good thing that I love winter!!!  So I would love to hear what is your perfect age but why??? What age would you pick?

Ohhhhhhh.....  Here I is....sort of!!   Heeee,heee trying like crazy to be here.  Or anywhere.  Several years ago my son (youngest) came in and cooked a beautiful meal just for me!!!  Well enough for everyone here but the reason was for me so I treasure that!  However....long sad story I had an anaphylactic reaction to the first bite.  Darn!!!  I am so good for providing entertainment.  So to quite the whole mouthy group down I agreed to get checked by an allergist because seeing I was breathing again what was the point of going to the hospital???  Again I provided interest for the specialist as I am allergic to soooo many things.  I have interesting and odd reactions and I get sick to death of the idiotic reasoning that I have come up against.  Why on earth would anyone waste a moment of this life being ill if you had a choice to be in the great outdoors enjoying the sun and trees and just being???? You can't have this reaction because the "BOOK" says this is not possible....well here I have a pen look what the book says now....woman not faking it...really...turning blue, twice my size and going down for the third time....try helping!!!!  I have swollen so my whole body is covered in little blue spots from vessels breaking,I have stopped breathing several times,I have had my tongue swell as well as my throat so you can't breath,the list goes on and on...! So this time I am so pissed at being in such horrific pain and Thursday I thought I wouldn't make it but here I am!!!  Heeee,heeeeee...back to bug you all!

I have written about intent a lot of times.  I feel the intent of your life is the direction it will take.  Do you intend to be a good person?  Do you intend to make a difference in this world?  Is your intent to raise your family with love and honour???  This is what I intended to do.  I will see through my childrens lives if I was pure in my intent.

The powers that be see everything.  They are there monitoring the vibes and ebbs and flows in our existence.  Think not?  I have been through so very much in my personal existence that I feel this to be true.  The vibes we send out are what we get back. Karma?  Maybe!  But if you dishonour your being,go against that gut feeling of right and wrong then that is what you choose for your life.  We choose...all the time,the right thing...the wrong thing.  So if you decide to gossip,to spread untruths you lower your intent.  Your intent then is to snipe, to hurt ,to injure.  If you think you have been wronged then you talk one on one with that person.  To do other wise is to try to ralley a group to intend mob pressure.  Why else would you not do the honourable thing and talk to the person???  That is the intent of all gossip.  If you think you can hide your intent GOOD LUCK!  The vibes of this world are all powerful. So think before you speak.  Think of what you want in this life...the life that passes in a flash.  What is your intent???

Janice has been hurt,this upsets me to no end.  This dishonours what she spends so very much of her limited energy on....trying to be there to support and help!!! Someone has tried to label her with something that this dear friend of mine could not be.  I have had the honour of having Janice with me,in my heart and at my home. I know her.  I expect an apology to be given to her.  You can look at this act as the start of good intent for your own life.

Today is Sunday here so here I am chatting about today.  I had the treat of heading back into the church were we went for the christening.  I was quite taken with the people..generally older,all nationalities and delightfully welcoming.  We experienced the same today.  Hubby drove us back and we thought we'd sit in to support DIL.  We found Son busy working the electronics as there was no leaflet to follow the service,it was to be on the big screen. It was a celebration of music and we had the delight of hearing DIL on the flute, guitar and in corus with her best friend who had driven 4 hours to come help out.  The single stain glass was beautiful against the glads and other flowers that had been brought in.  The kiddies learned how a band works together to get the sound. The rich full sound of organ,piano and signing covered the old wood pews and the air lifted the sounds high into the old rafters! It was delightful. The older voices trembled but they were there,the young voices trilled the words off a bit but they were there! I enjoyed it all and was even more thrilled with my hugs and thanks for coming Mom!!  Every time she calls me Mom I am so thrilled and honoured,she doesn't know how much that means to me. We found that her niece had just come into this world so I have to stop to welcome Clara to this wonder we call life!!  On the hurried highway coming back we passed a big flatbed truck carrying an old tip truck from the 30's. Beautiful lines,full generously round fenders,pointed nose in a grill that was so sleek and futuristic!!! A beautiful piece of art sat proudly on the old nose,I think it was a figure with wings,in silver as was the huge grill. Big oversized round headlights sat on the fenders curves.  The single door facing me said Kebbler and Sons and gave the location as Kingston. The massive dump on this truck was still there even though it was made of wood. It went out at an angle like a huge square cup awaiting it's load.  I thought that it was in remarkable condition for it's age.  Just here and there the paint had lifted,just here and there she needed some care.  She had to have been treasured,someone crafting the words on the door long time ago. Some man eyes moist with pride as he added his sons to his business.  I thought about the family,the work, the miles that old girl had covered. There she sat tired and off to her new home. I hope she would be loved.  I would love her,I would give her new seats,return her body to a shiny thing of pride and clean and restore her chrome to reflect the sun once again. Her engine gave heart to the company she supported and her body gave all to keep it going. There she was,off into the unknown.  I hope my  version of her story comes to be that she is returned to the piece of magnificent machinery she was.  We all are trucks on a flatbed,giving it our all and drifting into the unknown. Only in our lives we are  the driver of that truck carrying us and can choose where and how we drive the course of our lives. Thank heavens there is music to make life sweeter and richer. If I had her I drive her on sunny days with the radio on full!  I think she'd like that!