ENOUGH SAID!

I was thinking about my Dad this morning as I walked home from the post office.  He's been on my mind so much as I relive memories of all the years he was here with us.

I was walking home looking at the trees, watching the birds, the sky, feeling the air around me, and I realized that it was my Father who taught me to appreciate the beauty and wonder of nature.

He always had his eyes to the sky, he loved birds and he loved to watch planes - and so do I.

But on this day, my eyes were focused on a bunch of noisy Blue Jay's who were taking advantage of the mild spring-like weather we are having, and going on and on in their chatter - and for some really strange reason it made me think of my Dad speaking "Pig Latin"!

Oh - he was a master at it!  He could carry on a conversation using Pig Latin, and never switch over to real English.  It drove me crazy , but it also made me laugh... and over years and years of listening to it... well he might as well have spoken English, because I could understand it so well that he wasn't fooling me anymore.

I asked him once why and when he learned to speak like that.

He said that he learned to speak it as a child.  It was a game that children played back in the days of his youth.  He learned from other kids, and he and his siblings used it to speak in a secret code so that his younger siblings  couldn't understand what the older ones were saying.

Pig Latin - actually has nothing to do with Latin at all.

It is simply the language you get by moving the first letter of a word to the end of the word and then adding a "ay" on the end.

Such as... pig is "igpay" in pig Latin.

When someone speaks an entire conversation using this form of language, it quickly becomes pretty confusing to listen to, because of all the "ay" sounds.

Thinking about it now, I realize that in order to covert common English to this language you have got to have a very quick and sharp mind to pull it off.

I can honestly say until this every moment, I never actually considered what a keen mind my Dad possessed.  I knew he was good at solving things, fixing things, making things, but switching, verbs, consonants, vowels and nouns around on the fly - requires a level of smarts that quite frankly I don't even have - and I have had much more education than he had.

So I leave you with this...

To my readers -

Avehay away Appyhay Appyhay Ayday!

and to Dad -

Ankhay ouyay orfay ivinggay emay osay uchmay.  Iway Ovelay Ouyay andway Issmay Ouyay!

ONE MORE TO SOLVE!

So what do you do when you are tired of rifling through paper?

You do a puzzle!

When I was a young teen, I lived beside the most amazing neighbour.  Over the years this woman would become the friend a young woman could turn to when they needed a Mother to talk to.   She would become the woman my son called Grandma, even thought she wasn't really, and she would become someone I missed so dearly when she passed away at 103 yrs of life.

My friend loved to do jigsaw puzzles.  She always had one on the go on her special puzzle table, and she had what she called "a system" to solving jigsaw puzzles.

She rarely tacked a puzzle under 2000 pieces, most were much larger than that.   I don't know where she bought her puzzles, but she had hundreds of them stored in the rafters of her garage, some very old, and I am sure very rare, which she would rotate by the year!  

I spent many evenings when I was a young teen, sitting with this 60's -something -year- old woman, doing jigsaw's.  My goodness -  the conversations you can have while doing a puzzle!  And I fell in love with solving Jigsaw's.

When we were in Dauphin last week, I wandered into the "Bargain store" which is really a dollar-type store.  I always stroll through the toy isles of any store I am in, just to see what's new in the doll world mostly, and so I did that here, and then stopped at a huge shelf of jigsaw puzzles.  I debated with myself for maybe a minute... and then I bought one.

1000 pieces... small compared to some I have done, but big enough to keep me going for a couple of days casual piecing.

I took it out of the box on Thursday evening, and finished it yesterday after breakfast.  Not bad, considering I only spent a hour or two each day on it over the weekend.

But now it's back to work I go.  I am 2 squares behind on my solstice challenge, and I have a few more projects I want to try and complete in the next few weeks.

Oh, I wish I had a stash of really big puzzles like my friend Iris did - puzzling is so good for the brain!

PILES AND PILES AND PILES!

I have been cleaning through paper.  Oh yes - I keep all those little cute poems, sayings, scribbles I see and like - have done for years!  I write my own on scraps as they come to mind as well - you just never know when you are writing what you are going to need or when you are going to need it!

When we moved from the city I emptied a bunch of file cabinets of paper into some computer paper boxes without going through them first.  We we arrived here, all those boxes ended up in the back of the spare bedroom closet.  Those were "for later", for a "winter" project - you know the kind I mean - projects that you know you really should tackle, but you really are not so keen to do.

I pretty much forgot about those boxes until last week.  I hauled my old laptop out of another storage place and all of a sudden I had the urge to play a early computer game that I used to play on my laptop called "Kings Quest".  The first place I went looking for the old game was the spare room closet!

Guess that was my first mistake!  I waded through all those boxes and didn't find the game - but I did find folders and folders of paper.  I hauled out one box, then another, then another, and pretty soon I had lugged most of them up to my office area and I was sorting papers.

I found such interesting stuff - like that little paper of my Mother's that I posted about a couple of weeks ago on her anniversary.

 I started organizing things in piles - you know, - like investment papers;  old resumes ( which by the way I gladly tossed); paper road maps... okay so that is kind of weird  - I tossed a couple,  but kept a few!

What really was an eye opener turned out to be the pile I called "writing".  In this pile was every story I had ever written, finished or not, every poem, thoughts I had jotted down just in case - little events I had heard about somewhere that were interesting... research I had done for novels, or research I had done because I was thinking about writing something -  4 completed manuscripts, one of which that has been published...

The writing pile is actually 3 piles each 18 " or higher, and it doesn't even include the 731 posts I have written here on my blog over the past eight years or so.  I was stunned, quite frankly!

It's true, I have been writing stories since I was in grade school.  There is always a story running through my head. it really doesn't take much to get one going... but I had no idea I had actually written that much down on paper... and yes - I am quite forgetting the files on the computer that have yet to be printed.

It kind of shook me up.  Made me a little ashamed of myself.  Here I have all this work and I have not really done much with it.

For me, the need is to write, much more than to be read.  Blogging has helped me remember to share, but I am not always convinced that anyone really gives a hoot about reading what I write.

I am going to test the waters a bit.  I have promised myself to get organized - organize the three piles and the 731 bog posts, and the stuff running around in my head needing to get out.

Guess we will see how that goes!

TWO VERY SPECIAL FINDS!

I haven't really been in much of a mood to do any crafts or handwork since I completed the third block to my solstice quilt.  I have thought about doing some knitting, but don't know what to knit... I have really wanted to do some stitching, but that requires me going through my trays and trays of floss looking for colours - and I don't feel like that... I had thought to do some spinning, but then changed my mind..

So I turned to the book case in the living room...

I have been finding lots of good books in my two favourite places... the recycle place here in town where the books are free and a little shop in St. Rose where books are .10 !

I have been stockpiling books since summer, for just the state of mind and inactivity I now find myself experiencing.

Last week I picked up a couple of real old books in the recycle place.

This one was published in 1903.

This is a story of a privileged 13 yr old girl living in London England, who gets sent away to boarding school when her father takes a prestigious  position in a far away county for 5 years.  She is a spirited girl, but when she arrives at the boarding school it doesn't take long for her to become a victim of bullying from a group of students.

It is really interesting to read about bullying as it was in the early 1900's.  In reality, it has not changed much over the years at all.

The second book I picked up is this one.  The cover needs a bit of repair, and there is no date on the book anywhere.

I did a bit of research on the author and the book.  Here's what I found...

Effie Adelaide Rowlands, was a British Novelist who wrote more than 250 six-penny (dime) novels in her career.

This novel, Splendid Love was published in 1911 and is a novel about WW1.  I have only read two chapters so far, but already I am hooked.

There is a most interesting article at the back of the book.  I have copied it here so you can read it.  I am quite sure the copyright, if even there is one on this volume is long expired.  I looked this up as well and this is what I found.

Pelmanism is the system of scientifically training the mind invented by William Joseph Ennever. He is described in the "New Century Cyclopaedia of Names" Vol 2. as the "English journalist who originated the mnemonic training system known as Pelmanism."

Who would have thought that in 1911 this practice would have been popular!

Well this is just as interesting as I can get for one day... but seriously - both books are such rare finds, and to think I found them both right here my little rural town...

TIME FOR REFLECTION.

My father passed away on Friday Jan 13th around supper time.  After a month of struggle and suffering his life journey came to an end peacefully.

Our journey with Dad came to an end as well, and now years and years of memories will be all we have to keep him alive in our hearts and minds.

I am preparing a memorial post on his life which I hope to share with you soon.  He had quite the journey in his 96 yrs of life and I hope I can capture his life in a way so you can know the man who was my father.

I rejoice that his suffering has ended and I rejoice that he is once again reunited with my Mother.  He almost made it for their 75th wedding anniversary, but I am sure she will forgive him for being a day late.

I will be busy going through pictures and stories of Dad's life while I write his tribute, but luckily I have some drafts ready so I can continue to offer you some new material while I am busy working on a Memorial post... so please don't go away....

I will be back very very soon.

Stay safe, everyone...

THE WEDDING DAY!

75 yrs ago today a young bride wrote this remembrance on a piece of lined paper torn from a notebook.


"The Wedding Day"
January 12, 1942

We were married at 1:30 in the afternoon on January 12th 1942 at the United Church of Noranda.  Rev Moffat conducted the sermon.  Mrs. Hill played the wedding march.  Mr. Wilton G Armour was the best man and Miss Gladys McKeen as the bridesmaid dressed in a pink chiffon gown and pink turban hat and carried a bouquet of pink and white carnations.

Mr George Fischer "brother of the groom", gave the bride away, who was dressed in a blue chiffon gown with a blue chaple veil and carried a bouquet of white morning glory's with pink roses, with a pink silk handkerchief which was borrowed from a friend Margaret Guertin.

After the wedding the party left for the "Star Studio" where they had their pictures taken, and then to the home of Mr and Mrs O Guertin on Taseurro St. in Rouyn where a small reception was held.  Mrs. Guertin baked the wedding cake.

The wedding broke up after the bride and groom left around 8 o'clock for their little home on Lake Shore Road, Apt 88, Room 8.

"Wedding Gifts"

First one was from Father, Mr Charlie Fischer  $50.00

Pyrex dishes set, from groom to bride.

"From George A Fischer" and Wilton G Armour" a end table.

"From Margaret Guertin " a bread box.

"From Margaret Kjaldgard"  Pie plates and pictures.

"From Maxine Kjalgard" Glass dish.

"From Clara and Agnes Hanke" Table cloth and napkins.

"From Metta and Walter Preston" Pyrex dish and measuring spoons.

"From Lily and Irene in Winnipeg" 2 bath towels.

"From Mother and Dad" a trunk.

"From Annie and Fred Single and family" clock and table cloth.

"From Tonn's" Towels and spread.

"From Art and Hilda" Clock.


Wedding Cards.

First one from Uncle and Auntie Stark.

George A Fischer; Wilton Garnet Armour; Margaret Jim Maxine Kjalgard; Clara and Agnes Hanke; Uncle and Auntie Lauber; Margaret Guertin; Single's; Tonn's; Art and Hilda; Olga Mantey.


                                                                            . .  .


One of the two clocks sits on my fireplace mantle and gets wound once a week.  It chimes the time on the half and full hour, and has for 75 yrs.

The table Cloth and Napkin set are neatly folded in the linen drawer of my buffet in the dining room.
                                         
You see, my Mother wrote this 75 yrs ago.  I transcribed this exactly as it was written.

She talked of this day many times in the years I had with her before her death.  It was one of her favourite and cherished days ever - in her words - "Aside from the days you children were born, it was my favourite day, ever."

The benefit of the passage of so many years, in this case 75 years - can be profound, indeed.  We get to see patterns of timing that we would never see otherwise.

Such as...

42 years and 2 months after writing this note about her wedding day, the bride passed away very suddenly, leaving her groom and five children numb to the bone... to this very day.

42 years and 10 months after she wrote this, her only daughter (myself) becomes the daughter-in-law, of the very last name mentioned on her wedding day note.  Olga being a casual acquaintance that the bride would not hear from or see in over 35 yrs after the writing of this note.

75 years later, her groom lies in a hospital bed living his last days before he can finally join his bride again.

75 years later the bride and groom's daughter writes a blog with her heart heavy for the passage of time and the imminent loss of her father.

And then the words are shown in the most unlikely source that have the most profound comfort and healing affect on the blogger  - 75 yrs to the day later.

"It takes

Courage

to listen with our whole heart

to the tick of God's timing,

rather than march to the

beat of our fears."

annvoskamp.com

And suddenly - it all becomes so very clear!

A BEE STING!

Have you ever wondered how and why things just seem to fall into place sometimes?

I was on Face book one evening during the holidays, and came across a post by my cousin, Colleen where she said that she was entertaining that evening and had made a German Bee Sting cake for dessert.  She had pictures of her beautifully decorated festive holiday table, and then one of the cake.

I had never heard of this cake before - I was intrigued  - it looked amazing.

There was some conversation about the cake on her page, she saying that it was the first time she had ever made it, and the rest of us dying to know what it would taste like.

The next day, she posted that it was amazing.

Poof  - out of mind it went.

Not three days letter I received an email from a lady I follow by the name of Oma Gerhild.

I subscribed to Oma's website and her emails years ago when I was writing my novel "Winter Wheat."  Oma is a German woman who shares everything German with her readers.  She takes you on tours though  all the German states, shares her knowledge of the varied cultures within Germany and shares recipes from each region.  Her German recipes are out of this world, if you are in to that sort of cooking - and I really am.

I was raised on German cuisine, not fancy stuff, just everyday German-style cooking.  When I was a kid, I even heard the dishes referred to with the correct German names.

This time, Oma's online tour was of the German state of Saxony - where apparently the coffee-loving and cake- loving Saxon's live!

She listed the favourite foods of Lower Saxony...

Leipziger Allerlei (Leipzig mixed vegetables)

Ochsenschwanz (oxtails)  Mom made oxtail soup... I never could get past the name...

Pfefferkuchen ... this one I know from Mom... ( gingerbread)

Schwemmklosschen... I know this one as well ...(dumplings)

Eirschecke (lemony cheesecake)

Bienenstich... ("Bee Sting"Cake)

Okay - that's just weird.... really?

Bee Sting Cake... like my cousin Colleen made?

I scrolled down until I found the link to the recipe and the picture of the cake...

It looked just like Colleen's cake!

I knew it was a sign that I needed to download this recipe and try it....

I have downloaded it, and I will make it - it's not the sort of cake one makes for just any dessert though - so I am going to wait until I have some special company to make it for.

Here is the Bee Sting cake --

and here is the link for Oma's recipe for this yummy looking confection..

http://www.quick-german-recipes.com/bienenstich-recipe.html?utm_source=kaffeeklatsch&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=omas_kaffeeklatsch_saxony&utm_term=2017-01-10

If you are interested in some more recipes such as these, sign up for her newsletter.  I think you can get it from that link above.  She doesn't overload your inbox - you will only hear from her a few times a year - but when you do, it will be packed with really good things.

To sit at Oma's Kaffeeklatch table must be a very special thing indeed - especially if there is a warm Kirschenmichel waiting for you.

Talk about comfort food at it's best.  A bread pudding with cherries... you will find the recipe for this on her site as well... now this one I will make for everyday supper.

Happy Cooking Everyone!

A BLOCK A WEEK!

One of the things I have always wanted to do is quilt.  I have made the odd block (odd being the operative word here) and have completed small quilting projects like my mug rugs, but I have never actually made a real quilt.   Well I did make 2 blue jean quilts for my brother and nephew a couple of years ago for Christmas, which were just cutting jeans apart and resewing them into the form of a blanket - but I don't really consider that real quilting.

I want to really quilt - you know cut pieces sew them together in a pattern, then put all those patterns together to make a full size quilt.

I have my Mother's old Elna sewing machine all warmed up from rug mug making, so what better time than now!

My cousin Debbie gave me a challenge - and scary as it is - I took it!

We both are doing the One Hundred Eighty-two Day Solstice Challenge, Hosted by Pat Sloan at
ilovetomakequilts.com

This is a 25 block quilt challenge that started on the Winter Solstice and will end on the Summer Solstice.

Every Wednesday, Pat ( the host of the challenge) emails us the pattern and directions for 1 block.  These are scrappy blocks so you can use whatever colours you want or have on hand.  Quilters are encouraged to share pictures on Pat's site of completed blocks as we go along.  Some of the quilters are doing such amazing things with their blocks... myself....  well for a beginner quilter, I guess I am doing okay.

My biggest challenge is my lack of enough co-ordinating fabrics to actually be able to complete the whole quilt - and more so the inability to rush to the fabric store to buy more material!

Here is what I have done so far.

                                                                     Block # 1

                                                               The Churndash

Block #2

Day into Night Star

Block # 3

Tide Pool

I am not happy with tide pool - but will leave it for now.  I am running out of the black daisy fabric, but I am not sure the yellow is the way to go - even though the daisies have yellow centers.

If you would like to join this challenge, just go to the link I have shared and sign up to get the blocks emailed to you.  

Pat has several more free quilt Block patterns on her site as well - so you can choose something different or even work on more than one quilt.

I am throwing out a Challenge to You....  If you have a sewing machine - dust it off, pick up some fabric and make a quilt.  You can give it as a gift - donate it to charity or a shelter, or proudly display it on your own bed when it is finished.  

What a perfect project to while away the long days of winter... one week at a time!

SAME SPACE - NEW ATTITUDE!

Now that the New Year has started I am anxious to get started on some brand new projects  - as well as continue to work on some old ones that are hiding in totes and bags.

To that end, I really needed to get back up into my attic studio to get my Mojo back.  Remember I had a wasp problem in the fall and had moved the entire contents of my studio and office down to the basement?

Well I made Gary go up and crawl through the three crawl spaces in the attic looking for wasp nests.  He did, and there were none.  I really didn't like working in the basement, even though I had a nice room dedicated to work in - I just found I couldn't drag myself down there much to work.  So a week before Christmas I decided I would start to get my studio ready to move back in.

I got out the paint I had picked up at the recycle place for nothing - 4 gallon cans of mostly girl colours... and I started painting the nook first so I could move all the dolls into their own area.  It turned out Shabby Chic Cute... here are some of the dolls set up in the room.

Someday I will yank that ugly carpet out of there, but that can wait...





















Then it was move on the main space.  I painted the south end wall (which used to be where my desk and office space were) pink like the doll room.  Now this is the sewing end of the studio.  The window faces south so the best light is here.



So this is my new sewing and quilting area.  

Moving down the space I decided to keep the space open by not having anything such as book shelves jutting into the room.  I tucked my desk and office area under the slopey roof, after I had painted this area with a soft mauve colour...

See how open it is now!

On the opposite wall behind me as I sit at my desk is my sitting/ reading/ daydreaming area...

Any my spinning area.

Here is the whole space... pretty much -  except for the North end wall which still has to be painted.

But I can show you the 

pretty view outside my north facing window...

I am so happy to be back up in my space where I feel so creative.  Already I have started some new projects... more about that next week.

It's almost the end of the first week of January.  Are you going to write your happiest moment of the week on a piece of paper and put it in your for jar for New Year's Day 2018?  I am - and although the week still has a day left - I already know what it's going to be about.

Have a lovely weekend everyone... see you next week!

SHALLA'S STORY!

Shalla is a thirty-something young wife and mother of two little girls.

I first heard about Shalla when my cousin's daughter contacted me a few months ago asking if I still repaired dolls.  She had a friend named Shalla who had two childhood dolls that needed repair, so Shalla could pass them down to her young daughters.

I said, "Yes, of course, have her contact me."

A couple of days later I received an email from Shalla with pictures of her dolls.  We discussed what needed to be done to restore the dolls, materials needed, cost, and all the things I would discuss with any client who needed a doll repaired.  She said she would send the dolls out to me with my cousin's daughter the next time Andrea was coming out to the country to see her parents.

Quite a few weeks went by before I actually saw the dolls. While I waited to receive the dolls to fix, I learned a bit more about Shalla's story.

Shalla has a rare form of cancer and is fighting for her life.  It was more than just a mother wanting to pass on her dolls to her children - she longed to pass on her childhood dolls to her daughters so they could love and cherish them, just like she had as a child. She was not only giving her dolls, but a huge part of herself, her memories and her love and she needed her special gift to go to her daughters in time for Christmas.

It struck an chord deep in my heart.  As a child I have known the love of a doll so special that it was cherished beyond what some might call realistic - just as Shalla has known.  I have had cancer.  I am in no way comparing my cancer journey to Shalla's but I do understand the devastation one feels when faced with cancer when you have a husband and a child.  I will never forget the feeling of desperation when I thought of the possibility of death.  I could withstand anything that happened to me along the way - that wasn't the problem.  What brought me to my lowest was the idea that I might leave my son without a mother and my husband without a wife.  It was unbearable to me to imagine it - and I know without asking that is is unbearable for Shalla as well.

The dolls arrived toward the end of November.  They were identical baby dolls, once much worse than the other.  They needed to be completely re-bodied, and my only worry was the that the old bodies were so worn that it would be difficult to use them to get a pattern for the new bodies.

I carefully removed the bodies of both dolls, and as you can see, I had a little bit to work with, but the fabric was paper thin and so torn, it was not an easy task.

The dolls got a spa treatment, and I proceeded to cut and sew new bodies and put them back together again.  They had no clothes and I still had some time, so I decided to make them some winter snow suits.

They turned out adorable.., I just knew Shalla would be pleased!

I mentioned to my cousins wife that I wished I had time to make a couple of quilts for the dolls.  Lucky for me she is a quilter, and got busy and started sewing two amazing little dolls quilts for these very special babies.

The dolls were ready to go back to Shalla - but then we had three blizzards in three weeks.  Country roads being what they are, the dolls didn't get any further than my spare bedroom and then Christmas was upon us.

I emailed Shalla and told her that her dolls would not make it back to her for Christmas.  If she was disappointed she didn't let on to me.  She asked how she could send payment.

I emailed her back and told her that there was no payment needed.  This was a pay-it-forward project from me to her.

Did I need money for this job?  

No!  

My payment was helping Shalla fulfill her desire to share these special dolls with her daughters.

A few days after Christmas the dolls finally were on their way to Shalla.  I actually had butterflies in my tummy, just thinking about the moment Shalla would give them to her girls.

I have never met Shalla - I have never spoken to her either, but today I received a small card in the mail from her that made me cry.

she wrote...

"Thank you for being part of my journey and showing such kindness to me and my family.  Sending some more gratitude to you for being a Beautiful Soul."

All my love,

Shalla.

In the end my payment, was much greater than the work required.

Please pray for this young woman and her family...

WE CALLED THEM ELDERLY - NOW WE CALL THEM FRIEND!

One of the most rewarding and satisfying experiences since moving to the country for Gary and myself, has been our renewed connection and work with the elderly folks who reside in our pretty little local nursing home.

It's not a large facility, but it is a thriving community of elderly people living in a warm loving and caring environment.

Shortly after we moved here Gary started leading a Worship Service once a month in the nursing home.  It started out as his thing to do for our community and quickly became and activity that we both are working at.  He does the service and I play the hymns for the service.  After the service we stay for tea and goodies and visiting, and so over the past year we have come to know and love the residents of this little home.

Last spring Gary and the young pastor at the Gospel Church here in town, started a weekly spiritual care program called "Nurturing the Spirit".  It is a casual round table 30 minute discussion centered around a topic or a theme.  Gary presents the topic (such as siblings) and asks a few leading questions, but the object is to engage the residents to carry the conversation forward.  At first these group sessions were not well attended, but now they are bulging at the seams.

This particular 30 minutes of their daily life has come to be one of their most treasured activities.

They have covered a lot of topics, some that were easy, some not so - but in every case the residents and Gary himself took away something very important from the meeting... they have formed a connection with their lives that perhaps they had forgotten or denied for a long time - but more importantly, they have formed a greater connection with each other.

During the month of December, there was a terrible flu that swept through the nursing home.  It necessitated that extra activities were cancelled as was regular visiting hours in the home.  We lost several of our beloved elderly friends to this flu, and Christmas was not at all what it should have been for the residents living there.

Next week Gary will be starting back leading his group in "Nurturing the Spirit", and for the first time he has invited me to be a guest at their session.

The topic next week is music, and I am delighted to participate in their discussion about the joy that music brings to our lives.

The residents all know I play the piano, but they have no idea that I also play several other instruments as well, so I plan to take some of my other instruments with me, and see what fun we can have.

This is one of those activities that brings serious happiness to others, as well as to my husband and myself.  Just an hour spent making others happy has instant benefit to my own heart and mind.

We all have talents we can share with others.  Even if it's just sitting quietly and visiting, or reading with them, or even colouring a page in an adult colouring book...it means something to someone more than we can even imagine.

It's just one small way of giving back to the generation that raised us...it's a really good thing!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

My wish for this new year reflects all the disappointments of the last year.  I wish for PEACE AND ACCEPTANCE, in our world.  Images of Aleppo come to mind when I think of this wish.  We can all help make this world a better place, even if it is only starting in our own communities by being accepting of those not like ourselves, and bringing peace and comfort however we can to those who truly need it.  There are people living in our own communities who need this gift, just as much as the citizens of cities far beyond our scope of imagination.

I wish for Health for everyone.  This past year saw too many of my family, close friends and acquaintances who fell victim to cancer, depression, and other health challenges too many to mention here.  We all know the Health challenges that face us all these days.  We have to make Health and Healthy living a priority in our lives.  Little changes can make great differences in our Health and well being.

I wish for Happiness for everyone.  Happiness has become something that at times is so false.  Many pretend at happiness based on things like wealth, lifestyle, nice houses, nicer cars, vacations... as nice and wonderful as all these things are - none produce true happiness.  I believe happiness is produced by the things we do, not the things we have.   The cyber world we live in often dictates what should make us happy - many times creating even more unhappiness.  Happiness happens when we disconnect from the cyber world and social media for a time and spend time in "real time" life, with those we love, with those we can help, with those we can be ourselves with.  Disconnect a bit and build real relationships with the people around you... your family, your friends, your neighbours, your community.

Each New Year brings new opportunities to turn our lives a few degrees in a different direction.  Some struggle with change, but I believe some of the best things in life, come when you make a change.  So I also wish that those who are looking to make a positive change in some aspect of their life, have the courage and faith to do it.

Take an empty glass jar, a pad of paper and a pencil.  Set all items where they will be easily available.  At the end of every week, take a piece of paper and write what was best about that week.  Fold it up and put it in the jar and put the lid on.

Do this each week for the entire 2017 year!

One year from today, open that jar and read all the notes you have saved over 2017.  Won't it be grand to read all the good things that happened in your life all year - instead of focusing on all that went wrong.

That's my last wish for this New Year....

That we all focus more on the Good Things, and let the Bad things go...


Happy New Year Everyone  - Let's make it a good one together!