Saturday 25 May 2013

Reconciled Differences


This is my dishwasher by the way... in case you think I'm hugging the countertop...that would just be weird

Holy Batcicles Batman!  12 degrees Celsius feels really really cold the day after having a humid ex of 29 degrees Celsius (I clarify Celsius for all you Yankees out there so you don't think I'm literally an icicle).  What the heck is Mother Nature trying to do to me?  Kill me?  Or just keep me huddled under a blanket?

On a more positive note, I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to hear that my dishwasher and I have made up.  It was a long, hard road, but we're finally back on the same page as to what our roles should be in this relationship.  I dirty the dishes, and Mr. Dishwasher cleans them.  That is that.  There was a bit of a hiccup, when, after waiting what seemed like a bajillion years for the new parts to come in, they were found to be DEFECTIVE!!!  Yes, you heard me right.  I hand-washed dishes for over a month, listened to my sons whine and complain like rusty wheels when I made them wash the dishes, only to have the frustrated service guy have to tell me that the new parts don't work.


Seems about what I would expect by now.  But, all is good.  They sent new parts...that work...and they are now installed and I am happy again.  Hallelujah!


 We will, however, have to wait and see if they last more than a few months.  That would be a wonder of technology to celebrate!

Stay tuned.

Friday 24 May 2013

Goodbye Newman

 *Sigh*  I hate saying Goodbye.  That's such a silly thing to say, isn't it?  I mean, does anyone ever love to say Goodbye?  I mean sure, there have been people we've been quite glad to see go, but the actual process is still awkward and uncomfortable - for me, anyway.

And this doesn't just apply to people.  I always find it difficult to let go when it comes to my creations.  Maybe that's because I tend to create things that I like, things that I would be delighted to keep hanging around my house, sitting on my shelves, so I can point at them and say:  "I remember you.  You're awesome.".  Okay, I'm also a bit of a hoarder, and I would LOVE to have a house filled with all kinds of funky, weird things.  Kind of like this:
My husband, on the other hand, imagines our house to be more like this:
How we ever came together and survived, I'll never know (shows you what true love can accomplish!)

The point is, I have a hard time getting rid of my stuff, so the other day, when I got a notification from Etsy that my doll, Newman, had sold, I experienced a twang of sadness.  Of course, I always get excited when something sells, mostly because I'm so happy that someone else likes something that I create enough to want to purchase it.  Plus it justifies my weirdness.  But I do feel a bit verklempt.

But as you know, every cloud has a silver lining (and a puffy, chewy, marshmallow core) and when I opened up the Etsy receipt, I realized who had loved Newman so much as to give him a cozy new home.  It was a very dear old friend of mine.  My best friend from growing up, in fact!  I had moved around quite a bit and we had lost touch over the years.  Truth is, I had not seen or spoken to her in about 12 years!  She had included a lovely note to me, telling me she was happy to see I was doing something that I enjoyed and made me happy.  I just about fell out of my chair, and it may be silly, but the tears started to flow.  I was overjoyed and overwhelmed that this person had found me and reestablished contact.  Since then, we've gotten back in touch, caught up a bit with what's been going on in our lives (Holy Crap does a lot ever happen over the span of a decade!), and plan to meet up the next time I'm in town, which should be very soon.  I'm so excited!

So not all goodbyes are bad.  As I carefully packaged Newman up, I explained to him that he was going to the lovely  home of someone I treasure and I was sure she would take the best care of him (and maybe even let him eat Nutter Butters late at night).


Hopefully this post will encourage you to reach out to someone you may have lost touch with.  You never know what's been going on in their lives and how wonderful it will make them feel to know that you cared enough to seek them out.  Have a great Friday!

...and goodbye Newman :)

Stay tuned.


Tuesday 7 May 2013

Do Something Awesome Today

 
I came across this great Art Print made by Poh Koon while browsing Etsy this morning and it just seemed to strike a chord with me today.  I'm trying to improve on some things in my life and I think that sometimes we can get overwhelmed with the messages to "Seize the Day" or to "Make Today Ridiculously Amazing" and such like that.  Often we start out with the best of intentions but as the day goes on, things will...well...go not so amazing.  Bad things happen.  We make mistakes.  Other people around us will make mistakes.  The oatmeal will boil over and create a burnt, crazy-glue-like crust all over the stove that is impossible to remove with anything short of atomic weaponry.  If we're focused on trying to make the day the best and greatest it's ever been, then we could most likely get discouraged and even give up on the day.  

Well I'm here to say, it's OK.  Today can still be a great day, if you just focus on doing something, anything, awesome today. 

Maybe your awesome is creating something that makes you smile, or helping that person with put their groceries in their car, or washing the kitchen floor, or baking cookies for your kids (I know mine think this is pretty awesome!), or maybe baking cookies for your neighbours kids.  Perhaps your awesome is avoiding doing something, like biting your nails or losing your temper when someone rubs you the wrong way (like when your toddler flushes a light-bulb down the toilet and you have to take the toilet off for the tenth time to get it out and avoid yet another $200 charge from the plumber - seriously, if anyone out there needs a toilet installed, I'm your man).

It doesn't have to be something big, it should just be something that you can look back on the day and say "Hey.  I did that.  And that was pretty awesome."

And the great thing is, you certainly don't have to limit yourself to just one awesome thing.  Maybe you can do more, but the point is, as long as you've done one awesome thing, you can reflect on your day with a smile (even if the rest of the day was filled with dirty diapers, screaming co-workers, or burnt oatmeal).

So that's it for today.  Feel free to share your awesome thing and inspire others!

Monday 6 May 2013

Dandy Flowers

What is it they say?  "Out of the mouth of babes" or something like that?  Ever since I had my first child, I've often thought I should write down the things they say that make me smile or laugh because, in their sheer innocence, they've often come out with some real gems.  Yesterday was no exception. 

With the weather being so freaking Gorgeous over the past week, we've been doing quite a bit of work in the garden, getting it cleaned up, planting and such.  Out of the blue, my six-year-old blurts out "You know what we should get mom?"  Me:  "What?"  He:  "A Sunflower plant". 

Well, happy to oblige in giving him something that he wants that isn't a toy or video game and will help beautify our backyard, I stopped in to purchase one at the cute, little, florist shop near my house (they happened to have a display of them that I noticed as I walked by on my way to get groceries...probably more milk...we always need more darn milk...I'm thinking of buying a cow).  So there they were, the miniature kind, in these cute, little, bucket pots (which I, of course did not purchase for the extra 8 bucks!  Hey, he didn't want a pot, he wanted the plant, right?), and I thought, Perfect!  He's going to be so happy.  So, I get home, and tell him I got him a surprise, which of course results in him hopping up and down like a kangaroo on a fruit-loop high, squealing "What?  What?  What?  What?!!!!"  So I carefully extract this beautiful, bright and sunny plant from it's bag and hand it to him.  Instantly he stops bouncing and looks at it inquisitively.  "Wow, it's a really big one!" he says.  So, I kind of chuckle and tell him that it's actually only a small one, usually they're much bigger but I didn't think we had room for a big one (not to mention I can never get a big one to grow past a few feet high without it dying, breaking, or being eaten by a rabbit).  "Oh" he says "I was talking about the other kind of sunflower.  You know the little ones that I like to pick for you."

The kid meant dandelions.  He actually wanted me to buy a dandelion plant.  "Yeah, Dandyflowers.  I meant a Dandyflower plant so I can pick them for you." he says. 

"In that case, you're in luck."  I tell him. "We don't have to buy a dandyflower plant, they grow wild.  In fact, if you want to pick some, there's a bunch out on the neighbour's front lawn - you'll be doing them a favour (and me as well since I didn't want them to go to seed and take up residence in my lawn and garden).

So with that, he happily bounded outside to pick me a lovely bouquet of dandelions, which we put in a little espresso cup on the table.

He still likes the sunflower tho, and it will make a lovely addition to the garden.
I can see how he'd be confused, they're both such gorgeous shades of sunny yellow!  I love it.

Additionally, I came up with a use for my old fountain that is pretty much broken:
I'm filling it with the old shell collection that my mom had given me years ago that I didn't really know what to do with anymore, and found objects.  I need more tho as it's only partly filled.  But moving day is coming up here in Montreal, and if any of you don't know what that means, it means that over the next month or so, people will be cleaning out their stuff and throwing away things they don't want to pack.  This results in Huge piles of interesting things on the street, waiting to be picked up by the garbage trucks.  It's wonderful for finding old treasures.  I once saw a really great photo on Deviantart that showed an unused fountain filled with these old, worn, porcelain baby doll heads.  It was awesome!  But my husband says that's too creepy.  *sigh*  Maybe I can sneak a few in there and he won't notice...

Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed my cheerful little story, and that it brought a smile to your face, as it did mine.

Stay tuned...