Happiness is...

• a smart and funny child who makes me smile (she calls me "lady")
• my newish blog title :) (thank you my friends!)
• planting new trees on the old homestead (1 maple and 2 beech)
• discovering that previously planted trees are still alive!! (4 out of 5 maples, a red oak, an eastern pine, many many spruce seedlings)
• having a sister email me several times a day with positive advice and encouragement
• having a good friend spend 3 weeks with me to get me over a tough spell
• marigolds
• gathering enough dead wood for several more campfires
• a cold beer (or two) after mowing lawn around my forest during 30+ humid weather...ahhhhh!
• wandering around Victoria by the Sea with no time restraints; walking out onto the ocean floor when the tide is out!
• RAW FOOD - tonight's dinner is zucchini spaghetti with alfredo sauce made from cashews :)
• buying my very own adjustable wrench!!
• planting kale and lettuce seeds in July - why not?
• time for reading novels (not exactly classic literature if you know what I mean)
• icecream (toffee almond twist - a flavour I can only get on the island - I made it THREE WEEKS before I caved!!
• YOU and YOU and YOU and YOU!! My blogging friends - the best friends in the world!!
• loving myself, believing that I am worthy
• meeting relatives for the first time!! My second cousin Dawn and cousin-in-law Cindy
• travelling to Halifax for the first time - what an amazing city! I love your galleries and museums and especially your thrift/vintage clothing stores!!
• siblings who care
• crows for their entertainment value
• a strong wind that helps keep me cool in this scorching weather AND prevents mosquitoes and flies from landing on me :) :)  now THAT'S happiness!!
• high speed internet which I DON'T have, but wish I did; it took about 15 minutes to upload the following 5 photos - good thing I didn't try for more! 

                                     The tide is out!

                                    I want a turquoise house (in Victoria by the Sea!!)

                                Chocolate should be on the list - it makes me really really really happy!

                                  PEI scenery - the layers and layers in a landscape.

                              Trees, especially the largest tree in PEI!!!     Julie is a tree-hugger but this one was                                                        way too big for her though she tried!  

                                  Ain't she a beaut!?!          

Friday Folderol

folderol - Trivial or nonsensical fuss, nonsense, or a useless trifle.


Feel free to pass on by this post. It is mere folderol! 


Top Ten Thoughts on My Mind Today (TTToMMT):

1. I'm thinking about buying Michael a chainsaw for Father's Day. Copp's Buildall has electric ones on sale for $99.99! Hmmmm, might need an awfully long cord though to reach into our little forest!?!
2. Giant Tiger has my brand of hair clippers on sale. Currently Michael and I share my old one. When he discovered he could achieve the same effect as his barber did with the clippers for FREE instead of $30 + tip every couple of weeks he was CONVERTED!  By doing our own hair we've saved thousands of $$$$$!
3. It's GIRL'S NIGHT tonight!!  What should I take to drink??? I'm leaning towards a bottle of rasberry Sourpuss and 7UP, a drink I was introduced to at the Albert and Crown in Alberton last summer. A nice tart summery drink - YUM!
4. As it's my bestie's birthday today (mine 2 weeks ago and my other friend's in a couple of weeks) I've decided to offer them a beach day next week as a gift (neither of them own a car). SO.MUCH.FUN!
5. Don't look don't look DON'T LOOK!  Oh crap, I looked....I'm going to have to do some weeding today on my back patio. Lots of little weedy plants are growing up between the concrete patio stones.....
6. The Euro Cup starts today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go England!!!!!!!!!!!!! (note to self: find and install St. George Cross flags on the car)
7. What should I eat for breakfast? My choices are: Vector cereal on vanilla yogurt, sour dough rye toast with PB, oatmeal, eggs and chicken bacon. 
8. Three weeks tomorrow morning I'll be headed east to PEI!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. Twenty-two years ago this week I graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours degree in Visual Arts. I was seven months pregnant and Kazi kicked up a storm all day long; soon she will be receiving her own degree from the same university. Momma's so proud!
10. Visited with one brother yesterday and the other one this afternoon - I love my bro's!

Financial Uber Notes (FUN):

1. For Kazi's graduation I am doing the following: helped her pay for her new silk very expensive dress, putting together a memory album dating back to her time in daycare, buying her flowers and taking her out to lunch after with her boyfriend, her uncle, our neighbour who has been like a gramma to Kazi since she was 4, Michael and myself. Oh yes, and at her suggestion I'm letting her use the car next Tuesday to take some friends to Canada's Wonderland.
2. I have paid in full the cost of my new fridge and stove for PEI, and have paid off our new TV before incurring any interest charges. I just need the cheque from school to cover curriculum materials I purchased and my credit card will be back to ZERO! I love the feeling of a zero balance!
3. The one area I am struggling with this month is gas for the car. I (no WE) have used almost two week's worth of gas money in ONE WEEK and I don't get paid again until the 15th. My dear daughter said she would put gas in last night but she didn't so I'll have to remind her and she hates that! Oh well...
4. We are under in the food budget by $16 so I'll direct that to the gas fund. We are also under in electricity by $2 and natural gas by $2.  That ain't much but I'll take what I can get! It's better than being OVER budget!
5. The only misc item purchased so far this month is a journal (for me) and a memory album and extra page inserts for Kazi's gift. (and icecream-shhhhhhh!)  I am really trying to rein in my spending, so far so good.
6. From my next pay I will have $1200 to allot to savings. It will go into my PEI Maintenance Fund to help with costs that may occur while in PEI this summer like any small repair or rebuilding our fence.
7. Next months savings will rebuild my Christmas/Birthdays fund in full ($1500) and the rest will go towards rebuilding my TFSA. (I owe it close to $20,000 after paying off my line of credit - it will take me til at least the end of this year to repay that account!) 
8. I have no other EXTRA expenses this month to worry about - thank goodness!  May was a killer month! June looks to be "steady as she goes".  I noticed that Mr. Murphy is at B-Kat's house so the coast looks to be clear for the rest of us!

And that about sums things up. I have $$ in my wallet plus another $160 in my account for any misc items that may pop up. Like that chainsaw. The sale goes until the 17th so I have a while to think about it. If I can tighten the belt even more and save in some other areas (food), then maybe. 

So what do you think I really had for breakfast??

Getting a Grip on Life and Death

Families are interesting creatures aren't they? Whether large or small, traditional or otherwise, there are many many versions of the "nuclear" family. When I was young I naively thought my family was perfect. As I grew up, moved out and expanded my horizons I discovered that many families, including my own, have cracked foundations. My wise mother told me that most people like to give the impression that their's is a happy family but that we don't know what really goes on behind closed doors. 


While helping my niece and nephew yesterday to deal with the mess left behind after their father's recent death I learned a few important facts that I thought I'd pass along. While we can never be totally prepared for the death of a loved one or totally come to grips with our own mortality there are some things that we can do to make things easier for those that are left behind.  My niece and nephew have had to deal with so much fallout from their father's death that I don't think they've been able to fully grieve yet. 


So here are a few tips to help your loved ones cope in case of an unexpected loss:

• insure your debts so your loved ones aren't left holding the bag for money you owe, especially on large debts like lines of credit, mortgages, personal loans
• write down what you envision your "ideal" funeral reception would look like; do you want to be cremated, do you want your ashes dispersed somewhere? what kind of music do you want, do you want a service at all? who would you like to be there? Prepaying this expense is one of the kindest acts you can do for your loved ones.
• do you have certain possessions that you would like certain people to have; label these things or even better, give them NOW
• downsize and declutter - this one is HUGE! don't leave 50 or 100 years of accumulated  belongings behind for someone else to cope with - believe me, it's overwhelming!
• keep your home in good repair inside and out, including re-decorating, updates to appliances etc. Often this is the only asset left so leave it in sellable condition...keep it clean....oh please keep it clean! If you can't manage these things anymore then it's time to move to something smaller and easier to manage
• keep all of your important papers together in one spot and let those close to you know where that spot is! Give power of attorney to someone you trust, designate who you want your executor to be
• leave a will so there is no confusion about your wishes
• if you have assets that you know you will be leaving behind when you die, gift them while you are alive thereby (in Canada anyways) avoiding losing so much to probate fees. (Ex. my father sold his home before he died and gifted the money to me and my 4 siblings - we didn't lose a cent to probate and gifts of this sort do NOT have to be claimed on your income tax!)
• if your family doesn't live closeby, have an arrangement with a neighbour to check up on each other daily.  Illnesses caught early don't have to result in a premature death.
• Don't loan money out to anyone without consulting with family first, but if you decide you really want/need to then make the arrangements through a lawyer
• check out "investment opportunities" online - they could be scams
• just because you're getting older doesn't mean you are exempt from following a nutritional diet - malnutrition and poor diet are the causes of/or contributors to many illnesses
• stay in touch with your family and friends and keep them up-to-date on all aspects of your life, don't leave behind surprises!! If you are a friend or family member that has been left behind - please put any differences of opinion aside, take a break from old grudges and feuds and better yet, take this opportunity to mend fences with those members of your family you've had disagreements with...life is too short to carry such limiting and self-defeating judgments around with you.

Following these suggestions will ensure that your family and friends have the opportunity to do what they need to do: celebrate your life and grieve your loss secure in the knowledge that you really really cared for them.