Woo Hoo I Got Mine Too !

Now I am happy that I wasn't able to read this story on Val's blog before she got it published...

I went to the post office today, expecting a parcel from my Mum and Dad for Beth's birthday, and this is what was waiting for me!

Life has been crazy and unpredictable lately, so I am looking forward to taking the time to escape into my dear friend's newly-published story.

Thank you, Val!

Now all I need to do is discover a way for the author to sign my copy...

Moving On

We have put our house up for sale.

Regardless of how much I love our place, it really is just a building and I can continue to make our home in a new house.

Presently I am looking at properties around town, as there are several lots for sale.
I'd love to build a house that we can help design on my new piece of land.
Imagine - a fireplace in my own bedroom!

I am going to use this as an opportunity to move ahead toward new horizons...

Bobby and Me

My eleven year old son, Bobby, broke his arm the other evening.

Apparently he fell off a zip line, landing on his left arm and breaking the humerus.

It was a clean break, so needed no setting, and Bobby will be fine.

He and his younger sister, Jenny, are spending a two week stretch with their Dad and I was taking some me time - as directed.

After work that day, I went on a rigourous hike and then, after we returned home, had dinner on the deck of a local food and beverage establishment.

My mobile phone was in the car, so I was incommunicado for most of the day.

I am going to make this a wee bit about me right now, because I feel very guilty about not being there...

I miss my kids terribly.

This is the longest I have been away from them - they have been my raison d'etre for the past seventeen years.

Beth has been staying with me, because it is more convenient for her to go to work from here.

I enjoy her company very much, but it's not the same without her brother and sister here, too.

That is something that I will have to adapt to.

There is a certain connection between Bobby and me that I cherish.

He is such a gentle soul with an inquiring mind, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a witty-beyond-his-years sense of humour.

I know his arm will heal, but my mothering instinct is strong and I want to be with Bobby so I can help him get better - I can't simply bury that feeling.

...there I was, doing something for me, and this happened.

It does shake my faith a bit.

There is rarely any time I am not available for my kids - but I wasn't that evening.

I know they are well-loved and cared for with their Dad - of that I have no doubt at all, but I do ache for them when they are not here.

I hope the feelings of guilt will soon pass - life is too short.

Tap Water

I live in a rural area where the regional district is responsible (we trust) for drawing our drinking water from the lake, adding the correct chemicals in the correct amounts and in the correct order before distributing it to the residents who are on town water.
There is now a dilema developing regarding this practice - our tourist population is growing far more rapidly for what our rudimentary water filtration system is prepared.

Currently, we are on a boil water alert...
Translated, that means that any water we use must be brought to boiling tempurature and kept there for at least ten minutes before consumption.
...nothing worse than drinking hot water.
Apparently the turbidity of the water is too high.
Tubidity being a degree of cloudiness in water caused by suspended solids - in this case, due mostly to increased motor boat traffic.

So what do I drink in the stead of tap water?
Wine?
No... but I have the perfect solution!

There is a magic place where a simple hose protrudes from the ground bearing fresh, sweet spring water.
People have been collecting and drinking water from this boundless spring for more than one hundred years.
The mineral content is high (but not too high as to interfere with the taste) and the water is crystal clear.
It is a mere ten-minute scenic drive from my house, up a high mountain road that eventually leads past a gypsum mine then deep into the back country.

All I have to do is load up my water jugs and head for the hills!

The above photo is of the actual hose leading out of the ground and the bottom one is of my van loaded and ready to head home.

I do drink tap water - water tapped from the ground!

... and I have not given up drinking wine.

Just a little something to take my mind off the heat of the day...

Ghosts in the Room

No hats in the corner

No coats on the floor

No warm fire burning

They've blown through the door

And it feels like they're still here

Their laughter filling the air

I wish they had stayed now

Instead of going away

I wish I had frozen

Long enough to say...

Congratulations !

Beth, you did it!

You have graduated from high school with great marks...

and a year early, no less!

I am very proud of you.

Love

Mum

Oh Crap !

Maybe Val will feel better when she reads this.

It was Christmas of 2003 and my Mum and Dad were visiting us for the Holidays.
On Boxing Day we took a fresh-air-day trip to the ski hill, so the kids could try out their new ski equipment/clothes and show Grandma and Grandpa their "stuff".

When we arrived I opened the door to my (locked) locker and I noticed that my two pairs of newly-acquired skis weren't there (I was sure that was where I put them...).
Beth had been to the hill the day before and I asked her (calmly) if she'd moved them to the other locker (we had two, side-by-side).
She told me that she hadn't opened my locker, as her equipment was in the other one with our personal lock on it.
So I checked the other locker - no skis there...
I (somewhat less calmly) checked around the corner, along the aisles, above the lockers, below the ceiling, under the benches...
Then (on the edge of non-calmnity) I noticed my helmet and goggles were absent, as well.

I was aghast (non-calmity instantly replaced by panic) when the realisation slowly sank in.

They were gone.
Not there.
No where to be seen or found.
Disappeared.
A giant black hole in the depths of my locker...

It was then that I came to my senses, lifted my head, and noticed a bit of a buzz going on in the room.
After a moment, Martin, head of security (why was he here?) noticed and approached me (never a good thing, no matter how nice Martin is), and asked if I had had anything stolen.
Oh-oh...

By this time I was in tears and I told him, between sobs...
Yes, I thought so-maybe-but-I'm-not-too-sure-oh-I-hope-not...
HAVE YOU SEEN MY SKIS ???
...as I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook all three hundred pounds of him (in my head).

Martin (calmly) recorded all the required information - again between sobs (mine - not his).
Luckily I am an anal enough personality to make certain all the serial numbers were written down and secured safely in my wallet (how sad is that?).

Eventually, I learned that it was an inside job and one (or more) of the transient staff had acquired/STOLEN the lock combinations of the resort-issued locks.
Being the thoughtful thieves they were, they had waited until at least after Christmas, when all the new equipment had been happily tried out and stored for the next day of fun.
They had, in the dark of night, ripped through the locker room in one fell swoop, all the while opening the locks (no doubt, crowing with delight) then re-locking all the doors before loading up their loot and hot-footing/driving it outta there.
By morning all the stolen articles would have been hundreds of miles away.

It was devastating.
It was a violation.
My pride and joy.
Stolen.
Blatantly - without thought or care.

It did work out in the end, though.
Panorama Mountain Village was very apologetic, gracious and accomodating.
I was also quite fortunate that my home-owner's insurance covered the loss.
The resort said that, if I purchased my replacement pairs of skis at the resort's retail outlet, they would pay my five hundred dollar deductible for me.
They also told me that I could rent skis at no charge from the rental shop until my new skis arrived.

Fortunately, and thankfully, all the practical areas were covered.
I now only had to recover from the loss and the emotions that go along with the sense of being violated and taken advantage of.

As well as deal with the inconvenience of being an obsess...er...avid skier with no skis.
At the beginning of the season, no less.

On the up side - I received brand new skis - and renewed regard for the ski resort that I hold so dear.

Off the wall ...

Hope

The wind rose

Black clouds poured overhead from the south

Dark rainfall threated the horizon.

Calmly

It bloomed from the boil of the ether.

High above

Over white-capped loch it unveiled itself.

Faint at first

Then blossoming to a full spectrum of glowing colour.

Framing the mountains

Charging the atmosphere

Echoed by its twin.

Suspended.

A blaze of hues upon the tempestuous matte of land and sky

Followed at length by rain.

It flickered

Faded

Then quietly vanished.

Exquisite beauty

Wrapped securely and cradled gently to the breast of memory.

Ooops!

Sorry, I didn't mean to lock you all out - I was playing with my settings.

Come back!

...think I'll stick to playing with my toys from now on.

Tnu R

This is our new six-week old kitty, Tnu R.

She was the runt of the litter - therefore her name.

Tnu is a funny wee thing, who makes more noise in the house than our old dog ever did...

Naked boating 2 ...

Balance

It looks like another clear, hot day in the mountains!

The sun is creeping over the crest of the Rockies to the east, and its rays are beginning to filter through the trees brightening up my kitchen.
Due to a long, cold spring, there is still a fair amount of snow resting upon the peaks and lying in the folds of the valleys.

I mentioned in a previous post, the car dealership I have been working for these past thirteen years is closing its doors...
As a result, I am starting a new business of my own and I already have two clients!
The nature of my business is Bookkeeping/Recreation where I will take on doing the books for individuals or businesses as well as teaching skiing - and, conceivably, horseback riding.

With a bit of time and dedication, the opportunities appear endless.

This evening, after work, I am going mountain biking for the first time this season.
I would have been out earlier, but I have been rather preoccupied and haven't had the time - nor maybe the inclination.

I am creating a new equilibrium in my life and I hope I am taking steps in the right direction...

I certainly don't want to fall off my bike.