Global warming?

Woke up twice this morning: first at 0415 to the Dawn Chorus running a bit late b/c of the heavy cloud cover which by 0430 had given over to heavy Wet Coast rain in the Interior: the best kind b/c we (unless one has a cherry orchard in which case, I apologize for what I am about to say) need it. Ground is dry, dry, dry and the scary season (three boxes of essential papers by the backdoor for the next three months "just-in-case") is about to begin.

I love the sound of rain on the skylight in the bathroom and on the plastic bags on the deck left from the vigourous planting accomplished by RealDaughter and DaughterOnLoan. I love this sound b/c I had cleaned out a major gutter two days ago and the skylight no longer leaks and I have the privilege of listening to it from the protection of a house. I love this sound b/c it sounds like rain on the 10 x 14 cabin at Gabriola that we built in summer weekends in 1976 holding up salvaged windows to figure out what we wanted to look at and then measuring from the floor and a corner and building the walls.

Himself was not too fussy about my measuring technique: Me: "it's 2' 5 and 3/4" and a bit" Him: "'a bit'? How much is a bit???" but we finished in the season and it has been "the cabin" ever since. The "sleeping house" (8 x 12, if you want to know b/c it's easier on the plywood when one is cutting everything by hand) was started when the children got too big for the tented utility trailer but there wasn't the same urgency and there was more time then - whole weeks instead of snatched weekends - so it is still not finished. It's sleepable - the roof is on but the windows aren't in so one gets the sound of rain intimately.

The second time I woke up was at 0930.

The rain had stopped, the clouds had lifted somewhat and, across the lake, there was SNOW on the hills.

??????????????

At least we aren't shovelling down here.

Yet.

Still breathing...

YIKES!!

The Jr Girl was SUPposed to be coming home on Thursday afternoon. Two sleeps. Lotsa time, right??

According to the answering machine, she is arriving tomorrow evening. At the airport.

Time to get the skates on and the vaccuuming done!

Not to mention acquiring groceries and gin.

Good thing The Boss didn't schedule me for anything before 2000h, however, the stuff I'm supposed to be doing at 2000h .........

Will be really glad to see her - let the chaos begin!!!!

Still breathing..... shallow and rapid but still.....

Proud Mamma

It's Fathers' Day; this post is for The Two Wonders who made Himself what he considered (but didn't often let them know if ever?) his best and most important job.

The Jr Girl: a quarter century of adventures beginning with a rapid fire entry, learning to swim before she could walk, dancing her way into and out of heartache, travelling, writing. People say she looks like her mother but it's her father's determination and grit I see all the way. After a double honours graduation and a year of editing and writing this magazine ("Meltdown", "Gender", and "Forests" are hers), she is interning with this one in August. Anyone got a spare room in TO??

The Jr Boy: shot into our lives even faster than his sister and has been trying to cover up for that ever since with a deceptively mellow exterior. Do not be fooled. This guy has his father's ability to sit in the weeds and watch and then make the exact right comment/move. He, too, has covered the experience curve pretty well: certificates held include his Pyrotechnics and his Red Seal Chef (both of which he used in the same 24 hours this week although not together) and his passport is well-stamped. I thought he looked like me until the day he sat on the bike in his gear, leaned forward on the handlebars and looked up at me. Almost took my breath away....


You are two delightful, smart, funny, aggravating, loving creatures: you did good work creating "Daddy" out of an already wonderful man.

He was so proud of you and loved you so very much.

Happy Fathers' Day.


Still breathing......

Dammit....

I had a perfectly good post about how the last month has been so hard and all the psychobabble explanations thereof but somehow, the Blogsterosaurus has et it.

It will probably show up some day when I am checking in at a fancyshmancy (who am I kidding???) hotel while the receptionist is downloading my reservation. I will look like such a whiner.

In other news: The Junior Boy and I are off to the wilds of northern Warshington to hang out with the Vincent gang. It will be good to see all and sundry even as it will also be difficult. I hope my expired passport will get me through the border - our neighbours to the south have some strange ideas about where trouble really comes from.

The Junior Girl is somewhere in Morocco but coming "home" at the end of the month for some Family Togetherness Time (aka: clearing out the basement and maybe painting Poppa's house) before heading to Toronto for a stint at "The Walrus". Anyone got any spare basement suites that they don't need and will rent for free????

The ongoing B-I-L saga: he missed the deadline to purchase the family home by one day. I warned him a year ago to not p*## me off but he seems to be a slow learner. Wonder what his (newly hired) lawyer thought when he got the letter from my solicitor that pointed out the deadline miss and also advised that his client owes the estate $56K + costs???

Last year, this time, many of you were reading emails from The Jr Boy and keeping us in your prayers. Last year, this time, I still expected The Sr Boy to wake up. Last year, this time, the die was already cast and we didn't know it.

Himself had left the building.

There were no more possibilities, no more conditional tenses.

Only new learnings, new realities.

Such silence, such appalling loneliness.




Will report on the Not-Mara Lake Rally next week.

Still breathing