Gratitude

Thanks go out to my readers for recent uplifting comments.

I feel inspired to carry on and start posting again.

It feels wonderful to know

that although we don't talk face to face

(well, thankfully sometimes some of us do)

you are in my corner

and I am in yours.

Some of us have been posting and 

commenting in the same family

of blogs for 8-10 years!

I think that's amazing and

I just want to say...

"I love you guys"!

This is a remark some of my family members,

including me, 

make when we've tippled one too many 

scotches :)

we get sappy and teary

but in a good way.

😁

Signs of Spring!!

The Ospreys are back!

Green - my favourite colour!

Leaves of an early spring wildflower - Trout Lily

The deer are loving the fresh new grass!

I don't like the smell of skunk cabbage
but I do love the colour and
the spirals!

Snowdrops

The wild snowdrops are much more vibrant than my domesticated ones.

Spring also brings out ladies who lunch :)
I was fortunate to meet three school friends in Hamilton
for a nice long catching up lunch.
I love these ladies!!!
Next time I need to wear heels!

All in a Woman's Day .....

We had a gorgeous day to march for International Women's Day! Here I am in Victoria Park with my friend Jules prior to the march. There were a number of speakers telling their stories - it was quite emotional. One woman who spoke is currently engaged in a sexual harassment case against the principal of the school she used to teach at. A fierce woman spoke out about her murdered best friend and how the police were extremely slow to respond due to the line of work she was engaged in. It was a complete travesty and just another of the endless horrific incidents in which women's rights are neglected, ignored trampled on and discriminated against!! It sickens me to my core...

SHAME!!!

As my father used to say....

there, but for the grace of God, go I...

Here we are taking over the streets of downtown London - a great turnout!!  My sign relates to the number of years I worked for The Royal Bank of Canada beside men doing the same jobs for more (much more) money than I earned. That's just the way it was and we lived with it.

NO MORE!!

Unfortunately I got a parking ticket, how ironic! They get it from you one way or another! I am disputing it so we'll see what happens.  And even more unfortunately when I got home Kazi looked like she was on her death bed. After 5 hours in emerg it seems you can get the flu more than once because of the various strains this year. Oh joy! So another round of chicken broth, jello and popsicles. I am washing my hands so much I'm running out of hand lotion! Too bad the Olympics didn't last a couple more weeks...as it is she's watching every episode of "Friends" for about the 3rd time :) I'm keeping my distance...her symptoms are even worse this time around!

I sincerely hope y'all are feeling healthy!!

Thursday - the Non-Existent Day

Well, not totally non-existent...but close! Thursday (yes, I'm still catching up!) began with a nice hike from Gibbons Park in London up to the University and back making various expeditions on side trails along the way. The flooding of the Thames hasn't been too severe this year so while we encountered some muddy spots none of the trails were flooded. I'm still having some pain in the backs of my legs so am trying to remember to do lots of hamstring stretches. Is there a muscle that hasn't hurt in my body the last couple of months??? (said in my best Chandler Bing voice - we've been binge-watching Friends lately!)

 It was a really mild day and I was in my shirt sleeves before too long. After the hike we went for coffee but my head was aching and I was feeling tired so I trekked on home. I caught up on (see, it's a theme, a boring theme but a theme nonetheless!) two days of newspapers and had some homemade ratatouille for lunch. I must have added too much hot sauce though as I ended up with heartburn AND a headache - not a good combination. So I stretched out on the sofa, kitten tucked cozily behind my legs, and listened to a book on my iPad while dozing off and on until 9:30pm!!

Good grief! At that point I got up and went to bed!

And that was Thursday...

On Friday there was no hike so a friend and I walked at the BMO centre which has an indoor track. I made up for my couch potato status the previous day by also going for a 2 hour bike ride (yes, another nice mild and sunny day) and then I finished raking and cleaning up the back patio.

Then I walked over to the Wine Rack and bought a bottle of chilled Reisling, bought some socks, a tank top and some undies at Giant Tiger plus took advantage of their "special" - buy a bottle of Windex and get a free package of paper towels - and walked home where I made myself a lovely white wine spritzer and enjoyed the fruits of my labour out on the patio with the kittens.

I wrapped up the day by watching the last episode of "The Slap" on Netflix which I highly recommend. I'd read the book last year and thought it was good. Don't slap a kid, please, especially someone else's!! All hell will break lose, trust me! In fact, just don't slap anyone, including animals! Have a wine spritzer instead!

**Oh yes, speaking of kids...Kazi is in Austin,Texas this weekend! A company that she sells concert tickets for sent her to Texas to a music festival - all expenses paid. All she has to do is write a review of the festival. Cool eh? That would be her dream job if she could live on nothing. In other Kazi news she now has some furniture!! Woo hoo...we're getting close to independence - I can feel it! A friend of hers who worked for Target's head office before they closed it and all the Target stores here in Canada is moving back home to go back to school and gave Kazi some of her furniture.

I'm sure it's an omen of things to come!

One's Valentine's Day Plans

When one is single, like this one is, one must makes one's own Valentine's Day Plans...for one....

...unless one has awesome friends who are also single and looking for something to do on that one anti-singletons day of the year - VD DAY!!

Happily one has such awesome single friends who one just happen to also LOVE so all is not lost!! One plus one plus one will be gathering at one's place for some mouthwatering chinese food from one's favourite place to eat - Hong Pings!! One's girls are spending the night so that one plus one plus one can indulge oneselves in a couple bottles of wine plus lots and lots of chocolate!!

One plus one plus one will put one's new TV room into use and watch some movies - one is renting "The Judge" and "Boyhood" ironically:)

So much feasting and indulging will be had by one plus one plus one until we crash! I think one plus one plus one will have a tonne of fun!

Guess which one I am?

The Big Reveal

TA DA!! 
My friend Michelle helped me put together my new fireplace/TV Stand and we're still friends!!  It didn't take too long at all!  Lily and Luna helped by being cute!! and providing comic relief.

Getting into my work!

Michelle getting hammered!

Synchronized kittens!!

And finally.....it works!!

Hmmmmm...how can I get in there?

Just like the real thing baby!

All wired up and ready to go!

And the rest of the room?

I'm told the reading nook needs a footstool
and a little table for a wineglass! 

Not quite finished - the table on the left is going back upstairs
so still some "rearranging" left to do.

Two new swivel chairs and new storage ottomans.

New chairs, ottoman and futon cover/pillows.

Now that the room is sorted I've been back on my bike :)

One final pic of the cozy cuties!

View of reading nook seen from the TV room.

I'm taking a break now from redecorating until after Christmas. I've done NO baking and NO wrapping so need to get hopping! Time is running out!!

I'll be back soon with a list of goals for 2015: financial, redecorating, health/fitness and personal. There is much to look forward to!  Are you ready for Christmas??

Fighting the Slump

* Happy Thanksgiving to all of me American friends! I am thankful for each and every one of you!

Kazi and I are fighting the "slump" right now. Boo. Why does crap all seem to happen at once? Crap attracts more crap I guess.  You know all about my crap...I've been whining about it for almost a year. Yes, can you believe it? It's been almost a year since Voldemort left the scene of his crime. Has it gotten easier? Somewhat. But I feel a lot of the time like my feet are stuck in deep mud and it takes a lot of effort to take the next step. I feel LAZY but I know it's more of a depressed slump. It takes me a week to accomplish less than what I used to do in a day. But enough about me...

Last week Kazi got in a fender bender while she was leaving Chicago to drive back to London. I got a teary phone call and felt so helpless - I wanted to immediately rush to her aid but she was too far away. She wasn't hurt, thankfully, but she didn't know what to do! Eventually the friend who she had been visiting came to her aid and a police officer stopped, reports were made and the damage to her car was deemed minor enough that she  could continue her journey. Needless to say I was worried sick til she arrived home. The aftermath is still ongoing as we wait to for the car to get called in for repairs etc.

Walking the day after a major wind storm

As if that wasn't enough Kazi's boyfriend  ex-boyfriend has decided he doesn't want to work things out. She is looking at the breakup as an opportunity to do some things she has put off while in the relationship. Stuff like moving to Toronto or going back to Australia to work or travel.  She'll take some time to figure things out - I won't let her jump into something too quickly or she'll likely regret it. (EEK - I'm freaking out about Luna and Lily moving to Toronto!!!)

What's cuter than cuddly kittens?

 Awwww, lookit - Luna has her arm around Lily :)

Lily looks how I feel!

 I do lots of stuff to keep myself busy and the depression at bay but movement isn't always progress. The hiking is good though, I know that much is true:) But life seems like a mystery to me. I'm used to having a plan to follow - get up, go to work etc etc.  I'm not quite sure what my plan should be now and that's ok. Hopefully the answers will come. I'm doing a bit of yoga and meditation and the vibes from that are positive, like the hiking. (maybe the plan is to NOT have a plan - scary!)

The big news is that a date has been set for the installation of my new basement flooring. It's costing almost twice as much as I had hoped but I'm biting the bullet on that one. It's gotta get done. I've been working v e r y  s l o w l y  down there filling in nail holes in the walls and sanding. Today I'll wash the walls and I'll be ready to paint next week. Then when the floors are done I can start the process of UNPACKING the bins of stuff I was going to take to PEI and start making this place look like a home again. That will give me a more settled feeling I think. Getting my house in order will give me the peace of mind to pursue other things...at least that's the hope.

Yesterday there was a fresh dusting of snow on our hike through Gibbons Park and up through the university. Two friends came with me but I ended up walking and talking with someone I hadn't talked to before. Peggy must be in her late 70's - she and her husband Ian joined the hiking club 17 years ago! So they've been retired for awhile. She is a bloody marvel! They hike Tuesdays and Thursdays, swim Mondays and Wednesdays, skate on Fridays, go to language classes, travel, are deeply interested in history and art and are just full of passion for life. Very inspiring. Talking to Peggy made me see that a person can be vital, energetic and full of life no matter what age they are. It was a real eye-opener.

Lots of trees were down due to the major windstorm we had earlier in the week. We had to make a few detours.

 It's good to have friends. It's a balancing act for me though - after being with friends I always need time to myself. A lot of people don't understand that.

University College - where I used to go for my English Lit classes years ago! I have hikes planned for Saturday and Sunday - being outside brings me peace. Well I'd better get going - my laptop charging cord isn't working so I'm using Kazi's - good thing we have the same computers! I'm going to see if I can find a cheap one on e-Bay!

Lucky Crap Indeed

Thanks Sonya Ann for putting a whole new twist onto the letters CL - which previously stood for "Crofters Lane" and now stand for "Crabapple Landing". Trust Sonya Ann for coming up with the idea of switching the letters around LC, instead of CL, (duh, why didn't I think of that?) with her offering of "Lucky Crap" for starters :) :) :) I lol'd myself right out of my chair and onto the floor!! I'm still laughing and that feels simply wonderful!

So...here goes...

(ahhhhh, look at my sweet Kazi around age 12 - pre-blond hair and extensions and makeup days:)

Yesterday's list of "Lucky Crap" includes but is not limited to the following:

Thames River pathway

Reflection

Great Blue Heron

• a 90 minute walk along the Thames River (breaking in my hiking boots!!)
• a visit in my patio area by Charlie the chipmunk (perhaps he stowed away in my truck from PEI? I have many squirrels around here, rabbits and skunks but have never been befriended by a chipmunk before here in London so I was using my best friendly chipmunk speak so he can get used to my voice-I'll let you imagine the conversation :)
• I gave myself a haircut which along with a lovely indulgent pedicure (complete with massage chair!) and some facial waxing has put me back into peak form!!
• I made a really good batch of hummus in my beloved Vitamix and along with a few bottles of wine visited my friend Troy who has moved into a new little house near the river (Jules came too) so we sat in her back yard, enjoyed the sunshine and catching up on news - and there was PLENTY to share since I hadn't seen her since June!
• came home around 8pm and caught up on blog reading which was delightful as always and full of good laughs
• cuddled with my 20 year old cat and watched a couple episodes of "Rectify" on Netflix (I have to lift my senior citizen kitty up on the couch now as she is so arthritic she can no longer jump up and down - she nestled in behind my legs and we had a nice long cozy cuddle)
• read a few pages of "Wild" on my iPad in bed but was asleep in no time - it could take me quite a while to finish that book at this rate - but it's not like I have a deadline or anything!

And now to clear some space in my bedroom - I'm going to buy a new desk and bookshelf as I have more "Lucky Crap" than I have places to put it! I got rid of a lot of old furniture during renos so there is nowhere for all of my school crap to go nor all the stuff I brought home from PEI. If I can swing getting a trailer then there will be lots of stuff I can take there but I REALLY REALLY need a computer station/desk type area and I no longer own a desk! The horrors! I have one picked out but will wait til it's here in my room and set up before I share it with you.

Have a great day and I hope yours is filled with as much LUCKY CRAP as mine has been so far!

So anyways...

Hurrah! I now have what they call here "high speed internet"!! I beg to differ but it's better than what I had before which was just my cell phone. (Can't wait to see my next cell phone bill - NOT!!) Tonight it took a while before I was able to get online but eventually I did, so I should just stop being a whiner!

I've been wondering where to go next with my blog - that's the dilemma I'm currently facing. Now that I AM retired what's next? Things didn't exactly turn out the way I thought they were going to and I still don't know the answer to the Clash song's big question: "should I stay or should I go now?" I really don't know. Honest to God I change my mind about 10,000 times a day. I have had some really rough days here at Crofters Lane - I'm even wondering about changing its name to something else, but if I don't move here then why bother? I'm really overthinking things so am going to let it go for now and try not to think about it. The answers will come.

So, what I'm thinking about now is changing up my blog format, changing my direction to something like:

"Living Alone: Smash the Fear" (Sam - you were the inspiration for that one - at least your fridge is;)!!)

"The Single Life: Pros and Cons"

"The Joys and Sorrows of Life Alone"

"Finding Jane"

"After Retirement - What's Next?"

"Life after Teaching"

"Finding my Way Back"

And on it goes...I am open to suggestions...please! All that "alone" stuff isn't meant to just be morose but to explore the various challenges a woman, aged 58, retired, faces as she goes about her daily life. For instance, I am finding new ways of doing things since I don't have a strong man around. I have to be way more creative. Is that interesting? Do you have an opinion of what direction I should take? Please weigh in with your opinions - I find what you have to say immensely valuable!

In the meantime I'll be sharing photos from the last couple of weeks, and I have TONS! Hopefully you don't mind going back in time a wee bit while I catch up. I haven't done a proper post since I left Ontario 3 weeks ago.

Here's a start; I left London on June 29th, stopping in Barrie for a little jam session...

 Tammy - bass player extraordinaire!

Her talented partner Jay...

Steve and Nancy, the hosts of the evening...

And then entered a saxophone player...

and a tinkler of the ivories...

pretty magical! (Look ma, no hands!!)

Jan, belting one out!

Oh yes, I also play guitar...

On the road again...drove as far as I could that night and then slept in the back seat of my truck at a service centre - yes, indeedy!

There's so much to love about New Brunswick...the hills..

the streams...

the view around every curve...

the lupines were at their peak...

Dougie the Dodge handled beautifully - I was so proud!

I pushed myself and drove from 6am to 10pm...the sunset was brilliant...

and then I arrived at my destination - a sweet little house in rural New Brunswick - good friends, good food, awesome fur babies and a comfy bed. Sigh..... :)

To be continued...