miracles

Driving to the grocery store in our little town gave me a quick view of the impact the last few nights of rain has had on the countryside. The corn, which was barely out of the ground, is now a foot and a half, or even two, feet high. A miracle. A small seed was planted into the ground a month ago and with only sun, a tiny bit of rain, and whatever nutrition it can get from the nutrient depleted soil, it is now a thriving plant. Think about it - everything we eat comes down to those three things. In a way it is like a small, slow, big bang.

Since the switch from Spring to Summer, we have had some glorious weather. Today, after bathing the dogs and other housekeeping chores, I have been relaxing on the swing. I've been in the pool. Last year and the year before, I wondered if we should just skip the pool. We weren't home often to enjoy it and Carm does spend a certain amount of time maintaining it. It is clear to me now what a mistake that would be. Summer is too short to not eek every last minute of enjoyment we can.

Slipping into the cool, blue water is heavenly.

"It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”
~Maud Hart Lovelace

our link to parardise

The dogs are all spiffed up with fresh haircuts and I'm wondering if I should get mine done as well. We all want to look our best for my sister's arrival. Actually, I don't think the dogs really cared but they will be cooler. Bella has a few more lumps on her, a sure sign of aging. Nothing alarming though, they all feel like fatty lipomas.

I sometimes wonder how I can get so little done in one day - yesterday was one of those days that I hardly moved. I did walk to the other end of the property to release a trapped chipmunk, and I did help Carm fix up the mailbox. Canada Post got us to move our box a few years ago and specified the height and distance from the road. It seems they want it a different height now. So we got some tools and a chunk of wood to make the necessary (?) adjustments. I wonder how long they'll be happy with this configuration… They are subtly putting on pressure to move to the post office in the village, but it is a few km away so it would mean driving there everyday to pickup mail. We'll hold out as long as we can.

"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.”
~Milan Kundera

Meals on the deck

I finally got a chance to reciprocate a meal with Trudie & Leo on Friday. I made pasta with a mushroom, tomato, sausage sauce, but put too much pasta in. Everyone had seconds so I guess it wasn't that bad. We had fun (perhaps a bit too much fun), on the back deck overlooking the fields. Fireflies came out the same time as the mosquitos so we didn't enjoy them for long, instead taking cover in the house.

Saturday we drove down to the Sol de Acapulco (gosh I wish this was easier to spell), for a schnitzel. It had been Alicia's birthday 2 nights earlier and we had hoped to celebrate with her, but of course the restaurant was busy, keeping her in the kitchen.

Sunday we drove into town to meet up at my parents place to go pick up my niece Shenna from the airport. At a grown-up 18 she has travelled 1/2 the world by herself, all the way from NZ. We were all happy to see her, but I might have been the only one that cried. I'm not sure what is wrong with me these days but the tears are closer to the surface than ever before. At times I am almost overcome with emotion with a sob choking me. It is embarrassing…

Mom, Erik & Juliette, and I went to meet her and as we stood at the bottom on the long escalator I watched for her. Faces were blurred by distance as they stepped onto the moving stairs and I wondered if I'd recognize her right away. I hadn't seen her for 3 years and she's grown from a young teenager to a young lady. A group of people started their descent. My hand was up in the air waving before I even knew it - of course I recognized her. Aunties do. Of course this was before I started tearing. Which aunties also do (at least this one does).

On Monday I spent the day with the family, culminating in Mom & Shenna coming out to our place for a swim and light supper on the deck. It was a beautiful day in more ways than one.

"Society is great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."  ~Anonymous Greek Proverb