It has been a few years since I have done any serious Christmas shopping. We have pretty much dropped exchanging gifts between adults and have been giving cash to/for the kids. I didn’t expect to change this new normal, but I placed an order through Amazon the other day and couldn’t resist the perfect little gift set that I found for our barely three year old grandson, Cason. It arrived late yesterday, so today I am celebrating the joy of Christmas shopping. 🎁
Cason and Dad (son Dan)all dressed up for Dan and Amanda’s wedding reception this past summer.Before the official wedding reception photos…. Son Dan was in the house scrubbing an abundance of blue marker off of Cason when we arrived. Within minutes of that cleanup, Cason had poured grape pop all over his shirt and gotten a splinter in his foot.The perfect gift for a little boy with a huge yard to explore, energy to burn, and the imagination to find his way into and through all kinds of trouble!
I haven’t had so much fun shopping for a long time. I might have to get out to some brick and mortar stores around town to see what else I have been missing out on in recent years.
I hope everyone is enjoying these early days of December. Our weather is holding but there are colder temps and snow in the forecast so I had better go run the errands that I need to get done this morning.
Grandson Dom had a long and trying week, waiting for his Mom and new brother to come home from the hospital. After days of shifting between Dad and school and other grandparents, he spent the last twenty-two hours of his ‘days in waiting’ with us. For the most part he did very well, under the circumstances. He did have a moment shortly after I tucked him into bed on Thursday night. He called out to me and when I went into his room he told me that he wanted his Dad to come for him and he burst into tears – which upset him all the more. I sat down beside him and told him it was fine to shed a few tears, and considering the week that he had been through, it was probably a good idea. I convinced him to lay down, have a bit of a cry and to call me when he felt better and I would come back and open his door. He had his little cry, called me when he was done, had a good night sleep and woke ready to have a good day with us until his Dad came to pick him up.
This little episode inspired me to share some “words of wisdom” on crying – for anyone feeling the urge and especially for Dom – who probably has a few more adjustment to work his way through in the coming days.
“Sometimes things get so messed up, crying is the only thing you can do.” – Joe Connelly
“Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
“Tearless grief bleeds inwardly.” – Christian Nevell Bovee
“Crying is never a sign of weakness. From the time we are born, it has always been a sign that we are alive.” Unknown
“Crying is cleansing. There is a reason for tears, happiness or sadness.” – Dionne Warwick
“Laugh til you weep. Weep til there’s nothing left but to laugh at your weeping. In the end, it’s all one.” – Frederick Buechner
“People cry not because they are weak. It’s because they’ve been strong for too long.” – Johnny Dep
“There are people who laugh to show their fine teeth; and there are those who cry to show their good hearts.” – Joseph Roux
That’s it for today, folks. Take care and have a great day!💞
The news story for the day in Saskatchewan is the arrival of our first snow of the season. It is more of a preview than the BIG event, but it is definite sign that winter will not be passing us by.
First snow of the season 😲
I also have a bit of family news to share today. With Dom’s regular grandparent sitters unavailable this week, I was called up for active duty. It is not that big of a deal. Dom gets out of school at 3:22 and his Dad (son Mark) is here to pick him up before 5:00. There is barely time for a snack and a cartoon.
The challenge of this arrangement is that Dom attends school across the city from where we live. That means driving some distance to pick him up, and obviously the same distance to get back here. And… Dan is working this week. The driving is on me.
I do not love driving. Typically, I will do anything to avoid getting behind the wheel. But… this is for Dom. So I have been driving across the city and back. There is construction and trains and rain, and today there is the added joy of snow. If Dan was available he would no doubt be driving me across the city and back every day and I would be relieved and grateful and stressed out thinking about ever having to do this if he were not available.
But… Dan is not available this week, so it is on me. The rediculous thing is – I can drive. I have driven thousands and thousands of miles, much of it in hideous weather, through and around construction, and in vehicles far less reliable than our Jeep. When I do get behind the wheel, it all comes back. It is like riding a bike. (If I could ride a bike.) The thing is, I can drive, and when forced to do it I manage it rather competently. Then I am super pumped that I did it and I feel secure knowing that I am capable of doing it.
When I avoid anything it makes me feel nervous and insecure. When I actually meet my fears head on I become FEARLESS! Life is so complicated. 😂
Dan is resting for work tonight. Dom is here for a few hours so I have been trying to quietly entertain him. Dom is six so quiet isn’t that natural for him. I made his favourite for lunch (leftover pierogies with sausage). He ate them while watching cartoons. The good news is he ate all of his lunch and managed to do it without stabbing himself with his fork. 👏 (I know, Grandma should make him eat at the kitchen table but Grandma’s a bit of a rebel).
Blue eyed Dom💞
After lunch we went up to the playhouse for a while but the wasps were pretty bad up there today. We came back in to play with Playdoh and marbles. The marbles were not quiet. For the record, they were not my idea. We are back to watching another cartoon. In a bit, we will head out to pick some peppers for Erin. That should be a fun bit of entertainment.
There’s not a lot of anything else happening today. We got our Canadian Tire bill in the mail this morning. Years ago, when I was alone with my teenagers, I worked long hours to provide for us. At the end of the month, I would sit down to write cheques for our rent and for any bills I had to pay. I was always so happy, relieved, and grateful when I had the funds to cover all of our expenses, fill my gas tank, buy groceries, plus stash a few dollars away into savings. 😊
Fortunately, we never had a month when I came out of this exercise unhappy!
It has been many years now since I have had to wonder if my hard earned money would cover our regular expenses plus the miscellaneous costs or raising a family. Now, when I go to my bank account to transfer funds to cover bills, I know that our funds will be more than adequate. 😁
But twenty years later, I still get excited when we receive a bill and I open my bank app to pay it. I am so grateful and happy that we have the funds to cover every expense we incur. It just never gets old. 🤣🤣🤣
Another beautiful sunny day 🤗
Wishing all a great day! Take care and see you tomorrow. 💞
Every day is a day to be grateful for, but today was an extra special day for us. Son Mark and Grandson Dominic dropped by for a visit. 😁
We started our visit with brunch. Our power went out just as Dan was cooking the eggs and making the toast. Luckily, he was able to finish cooking outside on the barbecue and everything turned out perfectly delicious!
After lunch, Mark, Dom, Kat and I spent some time up in the playhouse. When Dom tired of the Playdough, we managed to watch a movie, play with Lego for a bit, and take a splash in the pool before it was time for them to head home.
Mark & KatDominic, happy to dig into the Playdoh.
After our company left, I still had enough energy to get things cleaned up and back in order around here. 👍
Unlike Kat, who obviously had no energy left after keeping up with Dom.
I hope you are enjoying a pleasant day! Take care and see you tomorrow 💞
At the end of the day the most important thing is that your family is safe, you have food to eat, and you are grateful for what you have.
We celebrated grandson Cason’s birthday this weekend. Chaos on two tiny feet but so much like his Dad was at that age. Happy, affectionate, independent and going strong morning to night. He is just too cute. 🎂
Kat and I took our usual walk this morning. The cold wind was doing a good job of blowing the leaves off of the trees.Dominic arrived to spend a few hours with Kat and I. After lunch, we will venture out to the playhouse for some Play-Doh creativity.I will try to finish my latest read later this afternoon. This is a great book. I just finished a chapter on the importance of walking for one’s mental and emotional health. I could not agree more.
Time to put together some lunch for Dom. I made an Apple Crisp yesterday, so at least desert is ready.
Dan was serving desert last night 🙄. I swear I peeled lots of apples for this. Either they really cooked down or I tossed Kat way more slices than I thought I had. 🤦
As summer winds down and Dan has returned to work, things are coming together.
Kat is grounded for a few days with a sore paw (seems to be a bit of a sprain). As long as she is limping, even a little bit, I think it is better for her to stay home and rest when I take my daily walk.
I miss Kat on my walks but it gives me a bit of freedom to pick up the pace and extend my walks. This morning I went 5.5 kilometers! YAY!
Dominic Danger
I had my five year old grandson Dominic for a few hours yesterday. His father (my son) wanted his middle name to be ‘Danger’ when he was born. There are days when that would have been so appropriate. Yesterday was one of the days! He was full of energy and bad ideas from the minute he arrived. Fortunately, I was able to channel most of that energy into creative and slightly messy activities.
One of many cedars in our yard.
I finally fertilized and soaked all of our cedars. That was a two or three day project but I am glad that it is done.
Grandkids Playhouse
I scrubbed the deck on the kids’ playhouse, wiped down the railing and polished the lites. I usually have that done much earlier in the season but it was one of those things that I just did not get around to. 🙄
I trimmed and mowed our lawn last evening after Dan went to work. I even got the grass clippings bag hauled to the back gate and into the trash bin! I was so proud of myself. 🤗
I also cleaned all the branches and debris off of our neighbours lawn, mowed it, and swept her driveway. Our neighbour lost her husband a few years ago and a couple of years later suffered a serious stroke. She is in a rehabilitation/longterm care centre. They took a lot of pride in their home and took such good care of it. I do not know why there is no one to maintain it or check up on it now. They both had family living around here. 🤷 We take turns with the neighbour on the other side of it doing what we can – making the lawn looked taken care of. We are just trying to make it look somewhat lived in until someone takes it over.
Hope everyone is having a great week! Take care out there💓
Now that I have my grandson every Wednesday, I am on the search for nearby playgrounds. The one we went to this Wednesday had an abundance of great equipment for him to enjoy. The only problem was that the walk was a bit much for Dom. On the way there he asked me twice if we were still in Regina and on the way back he asked if we were still in Canada. 🙄
I do not think the park I went to this morning even had a name but it was a relatively short walk with a few points of interest for Dom along the way.
I had to go under the overpass.Through some treesPast some picnic tablesBeside a splash pad – it has four jets like this.Basic monkey bars and swingsDom loves slides!Of course there is always a police car, complete with lights and sirens, on the adjacent Lewvan. Canada Post out delivering the mail.And a train heading over the underpass.
I think this walk is worth a shot with Dom. The worst he can do is clutch his heart, drop to his knees and tell me he is not going to make it. That is a whole other story. 🤦
Have a great day. I hope you our enjoying the same beautiful weather we have today!
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 