Friday, May 30, 2008

flowers, babies, and loud guitars

a busy evening subway west to runnemede station, above which i picked up a pink impatien and walked, observing manicured gardens while mentally flipping through newly acquired perennial guidebook. hugged two great friends, shared food, and held children! mb a favorite kindred and her children just jewels. a little late for work this morning savoring the peace and joy of a 6mo old and an almost 2yr old trading places on my lap. agreed to come back for a june afternoon shared birthday celebration (me & the little one). i'll be 29!

now morning, back downtown, at the office. my neck hurts from a month's worth of mysterious strain... computer job? at 6pm i'll meet the boys for a short practice and then journey to hamilton for our rock show, promoting the fresh LP. will be totally fun.

my life is crazy and great but really looking forward to quieter times once settled on the farm. our bassist is having a baby in october so the band will be less busy as well. back to work.

p.s. lavender field

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

field of dreams

this will soon be my view, looking south from the house, across pasture. anxious to tend the grasses and flowers, plant things, walk it. dreaming of a field of lavender, garlic planting in the fall, poppies...

Monday, May 26, 2008

aging gracefully

peaceful morning wind through the crack i've opened in the patio door. warm and moist with summer but still holding the threat of cooling, the new uncertainty of spring. hung out with the plants on the back porch most of yesterday. all seem to be enjoying their promotions to larger pots. jp and her friend made a fire pit in the backyard so i was steeped with a soft pine smoke for most of the afternoon while d brought me things like beer and salsa and songs on the guitar. there was also an impromptu pose for a portrait and a little sunburn on the back of my neck.

watching the squirrels chase each other through the branches of the tree at the back. which reminds me, since yesterday, i've become particularly fond of the 'lone pine' series of books they be sellin' at the home hardwares. highly recommended by mama, i bought perennials for ontario and also got tree & shrub gardening for ontario. so soon i will be able to identify more things as well as make choices (out of so many) as to what goes where on the new farm (eeeeeee!!)

closing is july 11th. till then i will be immersed in the pages of window, door & floor brochures collected on my first home depot excursion. it's a whole new world...

Saturday, May 17, 2008

long weekend

a five hour journey highlighted yellow in the map book, spanning 9 pages of shapely roads, taking thursday afternoon till evening. successfully avoiding highways to enjoy the country roads on a sunny spring day. east of orillia, along 45, is particularly beautiful, with seriously scenic ups and downs. i giggle passing norland (officially kawartha lakes) as the tragically hip song "bobcaygeon" plays on the radio. near kinmount, d calls and we talk about nice things as i cruise forward. after a brief lost cell signal, a stop in irondale for a bathroom break and heck, a snickers bar (this week is celebratory after all), the signal fades back and cousin b calls to arrange a catch-up brunch for monday. ring mom and dad to tell them it'll be another hour and a half as bancroft is still about 40km away. all in all, a good trip, and here i am.

after several sun salutations and simultaneous daydreams about yoga teacher training (in lindsay?) and a private practice studio (on the new farm?), i get up to make a salad in preparation for dins with the family. it's been early nights, early mornings, breakfast with eggs from the neighbour's hens, the ottawa citizen, coffee, checking out dad's garden, collecting perennials from a local plant sale & gerber's nursery with mom, and chats with the brothers when they swing by. bought dad two blueberry plants for his birthday (shhh, it's tomorrow. they're hidden behind the maple beside the driveway). apparently, in order to get berries, you need two different kinds for pollination. learn something horticulturally new every day.

these two paragraphs refer to thursday and today respectively. i am skipping friday because friday was insaneeeee! major stress and fright surrounding the big deal but by the end of the day, after a few bottles of beer with pops on the screen porch, i could take a big breath and know all was well. emails, faxes, phone calls, appointments... all such stuff now in order. PHEW!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

to be or not to be

my stomach is in knots!!! the offer is being presented as i type and a decision will be made in a couple of hours hopefully. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.


UPDATE: I GOT IT!!!!

Monday, May 12, 2008

offer

it's been awhile and there is a lot to say. i could pick anything and go on at length: prose, peril, and passion. but for now i just wanted to document the anxiety i'm feeling about an offer i've put in for a 65 acre farm yesterday. it is a great house with lots of potential and such beautiful land with 20 acres of pasture and 45 acres of cedar and pine grove. i could go on but it would not be healthy until i know, tomorrow evening, if it's been accepted. because i am not the only offer - some dude drove by the property sunday and also put in an offer, without even seeing the house! so i'm scared he's a rich developer guy, poised to take my dream away from me. of course, there are always others. must keep my head about me. but my offer is solid, so now it's up to the universe... it is the best i can do.

i've been away from home since thurs morning's bus ride into the city. look forward to the return trip, finally, tomorrow at 8am.

that's it for now friends. must get back to the last hours of office work. there will be more soon, when in quieter times.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

learning

this owning-a-house thing is proving to be a wealth of new information! will start collecting little tips to look back on... i imagine there will come a day where i will reread this history and think "i can't believe i didn't know that!"

-thick paint rollers are better for wood panelling
-weeding takes longer than you'd think
-clothesline tighteners are genius
-keep candles and flash lights in specific places
-incense helps get rid of the smell of previous inhabitants and makes it yours
-listening to the radio makes you feel more involved with the world and less alone
-catnip will make your cat go off the hook
-living rooms are better without a tv
-free provincial long-distance is nice
-crickets are very loud
-door knobs come in different sizes
-black-eyed susans are way too expensive in pots and the seed is cheap
-having sheds is great
-shelves and shelves (vs. boxes and boxes) of books make you want to read
-roofs, windows, chimney inserts, water softeners, and firewood are all expensive but worth it
-a sewing machine can be exciting

Friday, May 02, 2008

the pleasantries of grey

cell phone snap of georgian bay on a grey afternoon. but water, at the right angle, can reflect small amounts of light and so as i looked in, i felt brighter. this was a couple of days ago. the day after, new boots, and a hike with jp and her cousin (and per the dog of course) through the bush. it was full of trilliums and wild leeks. trilliums are our provincial wildflower so it feels proudly canadian to be hiking through a forest of saluting white blooms.

today and yesterday in the city again. it is grey here too and feels more insular than usual, but in a calm way, like the thick air is a blanket. got some stuff from noah's health food store - things tricky or impossible to find up north: vegan cream cheese, rice lasagna noodles, veg patte, jojoba oil, natural deodorant, and so on.

here i shall segue into a little blurb about my adventures in personal hygiene. feel free to skip it. last january i made a resolution to phase out enviro/self harming products full of chemicals - from home cleaning products to face washes and shampoos. a little more pricey, but felt better and greener. still couldn't understand a lot of the ingredients listed tho. then this january i switched to no 'poo (worst name) which is the term folks have been using for not using shampoo or conditioner. my hair was greasy and dull for the first month-ish of detox, but has been noticeably happier since. less oily, more body, less fuss, love it. every other week or so i wash my hair with a sprink of baking soda in water, and rinse with chai tea mixed with a little apple cider vinegar. apparently your head prefers to be acidic so the last step is essential. anyway, as a result of this success, i find myself shying away from a lot of products in general. my moisturizer has been used up so i've switched to plain jojoba oil. coconut oil replaces shaving creme and i think i'll try to concoct my own cleansers, scrubs and such. totally easy and cheap and why i've not thought to do it till now surprises me. think i'm entering a witchy phase of reading about essential oils, mixing herbs and eye of noot in the blender, riding a broom, etc.