Enjoying the Day

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

It's a beautiful day.... quite autumn-y with its unexpected mix of warm sunshine and a tangy bite in the air.  We went out for breakfast this morning and enjoyed the happy clatter and chatter of the cafe.  Sis-in-law flies home to Victoria this afternoon -- how quickly our visit went.

In the midst of celebrations and cheery conversations, I started a new book from the library by Elizabeth Bard, Lunch in Paris, A Love Story, with Recipes.  We're totally enjoying this 'memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs -- one with her new Beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.'   Food and romance -- it makes a delicious combination.

Now I best be off............ hope your day is beautiful!

Friday Fun

2010  by Brenda Colleen Leyland

Off visiting family.

Laughed my way through the humorous posting of a fellow blogger entitled From One Old Bag to Another -- all about his lunch bag experience.  Thought you'd enjoy too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Part 2. My Keys To Leaving On Time

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

 

What fun it was to get your feedback about my posting We're Leaving At One O'Clock.  I found it very interesting that most who left a thoughtful comment seemed to belong to the clan of Being Early-On Time. 

As I mentioned in my previous posting, Rick and I follow 'different' clocks in our lives. He's not only on time, but early for events (or he would be if he could hurry his wife).  And me?  I admit, ever since I can remember, I've been a member of the Barely On Time-Running Late clan.  Fortunately for me, Rick's a very patient man. But still I've been working on not trying his patience too often.  In my view, being late is not a beautiful way to live -- it's not honoring to others.

Over the years, I've worked at it, and I discovered three keys that work for me, for us.  (Interesting note, these keys work in many other situations that come up.)

One key is BEING CLEAR that we both understand the same thing when we say 'Let's leave at one o'clock.'  So we confirm that that means we're out the door and actually backing the car out at one o'clock, not gathering my stuff, doing last minute checks, restocking tissue for my purse....

My personal key is to actually PLAN that it will take me 15-20 minutes longer than I think it will.  That has really helped me.  So if  we need to leave at one o'clock, in my mind I consciously say that I need to be ready by quarter till (which usually translates into being ready to leave on time).

HUMOR also helps a great deal from getting touchy.  We purposely find ways to keep things light.  One way is to ask Rick how much of the garage he got 'painted' while he waited.  It 's a  way of acknowledging I know I'm running late and keeping him waiting... and he has a chance to respond in kind... as he is a man who likes to tease.  (BTW, he's 'painted' the garage several times over the course of our marriage -- ha ha).

I'm hoping that one day I'll be a fully adopted member of the Early-On Time family.  In the meantime, we try to synchronize our clocks and keep in step.  Together. Two hearts.  One rhythm.

Now, we're off to meet friends for coffee.  On time! 

We're Leaving At One O'Clock

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

I've got a question for you today............

When you are planning an outing somewhere with your hubby (or whoever) and you decide a time when you are leaving, say one o'clock, does that mean you are in the car backing out of your driveway at one o'clock?  

Does it mean you're still putting on your coat and shoes, shutting off the lights, looking for your keys? 

Or does it mean at one o'clock you're still gathering the stuff you need to take, brushing your teeth, taking a last drink of water, looking for kleenex for your purse, checking your e-mail, making sure the iron's off, etc.?

What is your understanding of "We're leaving at one o'clock"?

I'd love to hear your thoughts about it..... we don't have time to share mine at present..... sister-in-law is coming this morning and we have to leave for the airport at 10:45 am.... aka as we're in the car backing it out of the garage at that time.

I've always realized that Hubby and I have 'different' clocks by which we run our lives...............  but I think I've uncovered a key to understanding it............stay tuned for more.

Wishing you timely and happy moments today!

 

Monday Morning Greys

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland 

Aha.... you probably think I'm feeling abit 'grey' this Monday morning.  And waking up to yet another overcast, dull dawn, I have to admit the thought did cross my mind to just pull the covers back over my head.

But one of my favorite affirmations sprang unbidden to mind, "I choose to wake up with vitality and good humour."  Funny how it works just saying it.

So I hop out of bed, make a pot of coffee, and decide to enjoy my day as if the skies were blue and the sun was shining.  As my sister-in-law arrives tomorrow, I'm busy getting things ready around here.  Over the weekend, I finished painting the bathroom with a new coat of paint -- a spa-like aqua.  It feels so fresh and clean.  The pansy theme I had previously in that room (which I loved for years) didn't fit anymore, so we had to shop for new pictures, don't you know!  That's been fun.  (I tried taking some photos to show you, but the color didn't show up well -- will have to try out some different settings).

Wanting to add some color to my posting, I found the picture of what my evening scented stocks looked like this summer.  They were my 'gift from heaven' as a huge patch self-seeded and unexpectedly filled a corner in the garden.  I had planned to buy some seedlings, but didn't get around to it.  So, as I said, they were my gift from heaven.  Evening scented stocks aren't much to look at during the daytime, but when they open their tiny blossoms and let the evening breezes catch their scent, they more than make up for their reason for being!

Recently I've had a hankering to re-read the Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber.  I read the first two last week and today, I look forward to starting "Susannah's Garden".  I just went to Debbie's website and she has a set of video clips in which she shares about her writings.  I'm always interested to learn how authors get started, what inspires them, what makes them write, etc.  You might find that interesting as well.


On that note, I best be off........... lots to do................ here's wishing you a joy-filled day!

 

 

Remember Orange Kitten?

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

Orange Kitten came to visit one day last summer and I always meant to post this little video of her playing in my liatris plants.  My liatris plants are about the same size this summer... but we haven't spotted Orange Kitten in the neighborhood for a long while.  We sure miss her and wonder about her.

She's so full of energy and life, it's a real joy to be in her space (even if Miss Kitty thinks she's an intruder).  

Hope you enjoy Orange Kitten Plays in the Liatris! (NB it takes a few seconds to load).

No Longer Hinting

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

THEY SAID -- 'they' being the weather forecasters -- cool air was coming in.  And sure enough, this morning we woke to a misty, foggy day.  Made me think I was at the coast in British Columbia.  Air thick with moisture not quite rain and  a crispness that made me think of new crops of apples baked with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Further notes of fall included the sighting of the neighbor's yard towering with sunflowers 'as high as an elephant's eye'.  I enjoy the soft pastels of spring and the brighter shades of summer, but there is something I especially love about the bold oranges, yellows and bronzes of autumn.

So when I saw pots of fall chrysanthemums for sale at the local market, I knew I had to bring some home to fill now empty patches in the summer garden.

Here's to foggy days and bronzy blooms!  Wishing you a beautiful one..............

A Monday that Feels Like Summer Again

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland 

Whew......... After the cool and rainy weekend, it really felt like fall was settling in for good.  But trust good ole Alberta weather -- the pendulum has swung back and on this sunny afternoon it feels like summer again.  We're glad for it.

A long time friend came for a visit today.  Although we don't see each other often, we're writing buddies and we connect several times a week on Facebook to join writing forces.  It was great to see her face sitting across my dining table as we shared lentil soup and crusty buns, topped off with a tray of  fruit we dipped in warm chocolate fudge sauce.  As we yum-yumed our way through the chocolate (I mean the fruit),  we shared our ideas for writing and creating a more professional online presence.  By the time she  hopped in her car to head home several hours later, both our minds were swirling with all manner of grand business ideas.

In the midst of all this -- we had stepped out into the garden -- we had to rescue a little bird who'd gotten his head stuck inside one of our feeders.  I wondered why he didn't move when we came past, and then realized that, with all the rain we've had over the past few days, the bird seed had clumped together. So, when the little feathered fellow reached in for a seed, somehow the  hardened clump lodged down and his head got caught between.

You should have seen how quickly he whisked off when he was free.  I wonder if he'll ever come back here.  We were SO thankful we saw him in time. 'Specially after we saw his little eyes blinking at us.  (A lesson learned... keep an eye on the feeders after it rains.)

Anyways, a happy ending!  And now the day comes to that place where hungry fellows start lurking in the kitchen wondering when supper's coming.  So we best be off!  Wishing you happy endings too!

    

Simply Sunday....

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

Someone once said, "The one who walks through a countryside sees much more than the one who runs."


It's my hope that you will have the opportunity to walk more leisurely through the hours of your day and enjoy the beauty being offered as a gift.


I wish you peace today...that sense of tranquility and wholeness...where there is nothing missing, nothing broken.

 

A Slight Shift

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

You wake up and there it is......... the shift in the season.  Barely there, but you feel it.

I know many of you have been experiencing intense heat this summer, so I know you'll be looking forward to cooler days.  But I must admit, here in northerly Alberta, for all the nice days we've had, some of us are still waiting for 'real' summer.

By that, I mean, just a  few of those hotter 'dog-days' of summer, where you feel the sun belting out the heat and you  hunt for cool spots in which to languish over iced mocca's.  And  yes, even to hear people gently complaining about how they just couldn't sleep last night cause it's way too hot.

Of course that could still happen -- we've had some really hot Augusts in years past.  I remember the time when my girlfriend and I went to Trinidad to visit her family one August.  By the end of the three weeks, I was so ready to come back to cooler Alberta, only to find it was as hot here as there.  That felt odd!  

Since it's cooler and a little rainy this morning, it might call for an extra cup of steaming coffee.  Maybe even head over to Cafe Haven and let them create one of their famous lattes for me.

Oops... except the service guy is coming this morning to add some new stuff to our Internet service.  With three of us in the house each actively using the web, it seems we need to ramp up our usage allotment.  Guess no Cafe Haven today.

On that note, we're off to enjoy another day.  We've got writing projects on the go, a painting job in  one of my bathrooms (changing the color scheme), and preparations in the works for company coming in a few days.

So I wish you a productive day, whatever you are up to!

 

  

 

Johnny Jump Ups

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty

out-values all the utilities of the world.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 
My johnny-jump-ups (aka as violas) have been jumping up in my garden this summer in the most interesting places.  They seem to love nestling ' betwixt and beween' slate stepping stones and sidewalk crevices, surprising you some morning out of the blue.  Perhaps you could call that 'catching glimpses of heaven in unexpected places'.

I found this wonderful Emerson quote at Bella's The Art of Living Beautifully where she so creatively shares her love of all things beautiful.  Thanks, Bella, for the inspiration!

Joyfully,

Clamoring To Become Visible

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

Dear Friends,

We're stuck for words today.  So many of them swirling about in my mind I didn't know which ones to choose.

And so, to quote Vladimir Nabakov, 'the pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.'

When they become visible, I'll post them!

In The Cool

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

We were out in the garden weeding earlier, but as the sun warmed the air, it suddenly felt  more comfy to hide away inside a cool blind-drawn house...sipping iced lemonade.

Ahhhhh.... a perfect time for a little light reading.  Here's what caught my imagination:

"You can't get spoiled if you do your own ironing"

~ Meryl Streep

"If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will be equally incapable of enjoying my dessert. With the fork in my hand, I will be thinking about what to do next, and the texture and flavor of the dessert, together with the pleasure of eating it, will be lost.  I will always be dragged into the future, never able to live in the present moment." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Jenny Walton's Packing for a Woman's Journey

Nancy Lindemeyer

"And so Jenny Walton is the daughter I never had.  Her stories, as you will read here, are not exactly autobiographical.  It was never my intention to write my life's story.  Jenny writes from reflected memory; she writes to see the way best to go; she writes of growing as a woman and of the power of love.  Her hand is often guided by her grandmother's, but not by hers alone, because in that trunk that Jenny packs and unpacks so carefully are the affection and goodwill of many kindred souls.  Those who teach us to love, those who carry their lamps ahead of us, are the heroes and heroines in our lives."
           

Victoria Classics Rooms of Bliss

A Timeless Collection of Romantic Interiors

2010--Special Edition

"You may concentrate on appearance all through the rest of your house,

but in the bedroom comfort should be supreme."

~ Dorothy Draper

Wishing you grace-filled moments!

 

Flying Time

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

Just read someone discussing how quickly the year is flying by (at about speed up x 3).  I know the feeling, and yet sometimes I wonder why we express such surprise about it.  Why do we lament and think it's a bad thing?  Is it?  Would we prefer our days to crawl by at turtle pace?  Would that be more acceptable?

Perhaps we focus on it flying by because something on the inside reminds us that our days are indeed numbered and we'd like to slow that journey a little.  Perhaps we fret that our days are spilled out on things that matter not in the end.  Perhaps we hope for the time we'll be better organized and ready to meet each day with the confidence we're doing it right.

In my own search for beauty in every area of life, I've been thinking I'd like to hold my days more lightly and  to quit fretting about how fast they seem to be passing.  If they are, indeed, flying by at warp speed, it seems a pity to waste even a moment of it being anxious in any way, wouldn't you think?



Wishing you grace and beauty for the journey............

 

A Slow Start

2010 by Brenda Colleen Leyland

We are kinda moving slow today after the long weekend activities. Laundry is spinning in washer and dryer,  the vacuum is laying in a heap waiting for me to drive it around the middle of each room (because, well, we are NOT doing corners and under furniture today).

Plus, the book I started reading last evening -- after we got back from a wonderful weekend at my sister's -- is looking reproachful that I dared put it down in the middle of a good part!  (book is titled Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos, 2008)..... Don't you just love that line-up of boots on the front cover?

There's a languidness in the air today -- maybe that's why I feel that way myself.  It's pleasantly cool but still quite summery in feeling, even though I heard the shriek of bluejays earlier (to me that sound is a harbinger of the next season).

Birds have been twittering and cheeping in the garden all day, but there's a noticeable decrease in what had felt like traffic in a hectic airport over the last few weeks, as parents of several species introduced their fledgings to the best feeders in town.  The to-ing and fro-ing provided great entertainment. Some young would totter to the feeders themselves, while others nestled on a branch waiting with ready beaks for momma to bring them 'take away'.

Hmmmm....guess I better go do something with that vacuum hose.  Here's wishing you grace for whatever you're up to today!