Reflections: The first day of the rest of my life

 We just finished having a little reunion here at the coop.  Four out of the five kids were able to come home. 

DD#1, who blesses this blog with pertinent comments that keep me from exaggerating too much, arrived on the Canadian from out west. 

DGD#1 asked me privately why she couldn't go back on the train with her very favourite aunt.  ;^)

DS # 2 and his wife arrived from Seattle by car.  If the Rooster and I can ever get to the coast they'll be happy to 'ferry' us around.  :O   DS#3 and his gal had a short walk to meet us as they call Winnipeg home.

The Rooster and a couple of wee grand kiddies got the new Ikea island and stools put together 'just' before everyone arrived.

Lots of late night meetings and early morning planning sessions were the order of the day.  Laur's jams were dispersed somewhat fairly!   shhh!

A few work parties as well!

The 'art' department was responsible for decorations for the welcome party.  The grand kiddies and I made banners and a tree.  I actually impressed myself with that tree!!!  DD#2 had the kiddies make 'turkey' cookies for the fall theme and they were a big hit as well.  Sorry, nothing left but the crumbs!

 DD#2 likes coordinating family pictures.

Of course getting them all NICELY in the same picture is a bit of a challenge.

This family is all about gathering around a table and food.  With the right incentive some of them will play games.   Since favourite auntie sent it...

Of course, computer games add an whole 'nother dimension. 

We also had less formal dinners.  The weather was perfect for this day.

Our falls are pretty brief as far as colour goes, but the fall flowers and leaves have been especially intense this year.

 A last minute luncheon date for the sisters. Guess who babysat the grand kiddies???  ;^)
 Laura and Cari are a year apart and then followed Michael Charles, Christopher and then Steven.

Some last minute tips on traveling through life...

and we are back to our regular schedule of fall events and getting ready for the next season.

Two weeks of intense family time has surely shaken up the rut I somehow found myself in these past few months.  With a serious nudge from the Rooster I am flying the coop.  :O

I've always been a stay at home mum and homemaker.  Luved it!  I turned 65 this summer and instead of retiring (ha!) I have gotten a job.  I start tomorrow.    It'll be three days a week, not including meetings.   I do expect to still have time to reflect on my life through blogging. 

Ready or not,  it is time to spread those wings.  First one I shall dive bomb will be the Rooster!  ;^) 

late night thoughts

The first of the family visitors have arrived and I have been up way past my usual bed time.  Then because the routine is totally disrupted and will be for the next ten days I have time to stare at the ceiling and think.

Because blogging is all about sharing one's thoughts here are a couple of things I've been thinking about:

Lynn Krawczyk blogs over at Smudged Textiles and has a great post on pausing.

Seth Apter, a big blog promoter shared a link that gave me something to think about concerning the future of blogging.  Blogging, Now.

Regular blogging shall resume in October. That is after I catch up on my sleep and change from night owl to morning dove!

What if ...

I actually get everything together?

On the strength of a buyer's promise to purchase my old sewing cupboard I went ahead and got two new storage units, some wall shelving and a stool for the playroom. 

I did shuffle everything around to see if it all fits and while not ideal, it definitely feels roomier.

We are continuing to simplify and this was the Rooster's and his Sweet Pea's last walk out to bring the flock in.  They have been sold. 

Snow has fallen out west!  This gives a sense of urgency to the fall to-do list so the kitchen has been put on hold as we continue the yard clean up.  This might be good because when we were at Ikea to get my storage units the Rooster asked if I'd thought about an eating island in place of the kitchen table!!!  :O 

My Rooster is a keeper but he does have a tendency to put things all over the yard with lots of space around the whatever so he can 'get at it'!  :(  It makes my grass cutting very challenging.  He is conceding that it is a problem.  So he moved the pavers over to where we will be needing them. 

Now I have my own quirks but I couldn't resist asking him  when I passed how many red ones there were.  ;^)  He said he was just grabbing them.  Maybe so...

But when he restacked them...   LOL   We both like to accumulate a 'good deal' and then get creative and make something useful.  We are to go back in November to get another truckload and that should make a nice platform for our containers.  :)  The darn dogs have made gardening under the kitchen window impossible.

Good thing he is a sweet dog and a favourite with the grand daughters.  Sweet Pea prefers to go exploring with the grand son. 

It has been a challenging summer but I'm getting back into the swing of things.  All but one of our kids are arriving for a visit next week so that puts the hurry to a few of the projects.  The grand kiddies are planning a welcome party and we sent out homemade invitations last week.

There are a few more changes coming up but it looks like blogging should return with a bit more regularity next month.   Now what if...

An Artist Date

At the beginning of June and the end of August the artists in the Interlake area of Manitoba open their art studios for the Wave.  Maps and well marked little flags with a blue wave on them direct the public to displays of all kinds of art.  

The Rooster insisted we take Saturday and have a look around.

There was lots to learn.  We saw everything from large pieces of pottery down to very fine jewelry.

"Mad Hatters Tea pARTy" served up amazing art and fabulous tea samplings.  YUM!

Some studios offer classes and I can see us enrolled in something during our retiring days! 

We finished with a lovely dinner at a favourite restaurant.  The rest of the weekend was more of a 'work' party but we certainly had a great starting date!  :)