Weekend Moments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 19:09 yesterday we went from spring to summer. It's summer solstice and does it ever feel like.  Does anyone else feel like the wicked witch of the west melting to nothing but shoes?  Well that's how I feel sticky, and hot and loving it.

Yesterday I scraped the White House's siding from it's old flaking paint.  In the hours it took to do this a lot of thoughts drifted through my head.  Here is a little glimpse of them. In psychology it is said that the first born relates more to their father and the second more to their mother.  In my family this rings true.  Growing up I always felt like I was more like my father.  We share a love for the outdoors and adventure.  We also love making things.  On his lot in Corbeil he built the house him and my mother live in, the barn garage and a log cabin. And pulling from a memory here I remember my father paying $200 for the wood from an old barn to build that barn garage.  I helped him take the old barn apart,  stack the wood in his yellow ford and bring it home.   So this all to say that while bits of paint flew around me, I thought of my father and how much of a hard worker he was.   I say was because as life sometimes has it he now walks with a walker and cannot do the things he use to love to do.  And yet he still finds a way to go to the gym everyday, to go hunting and fishing with the boys.  While yesterdays sun was beating down me and the heat tugged at my skin my thoughts drifted towards my father and my love for him.  Thanks dad for all that you have taught. 

I must put an aside here that I also see my mother in me and that she is also a beautiful person with a great generous heart.  It took motherhood to understand her more.  I think that some of you can relate to that. 

Another train of thought was present and that is one of gratitude. I feel so blessed to have this dream come true.  At times it feels so unreal and yet it is my reality.  May you give yourself permission to dream and build on those dreams.  :)

New Life for Hockey Posters

Remember the 1972 Canada vs Russia hockey posters and cards?  The ones that were left behind by the previous owners of the White House?  Well we tried to find buyers for them but found out that they are  reprints and worth nothing.  We even tried to give them to charity and failed.  So today we bundled all 1000 of them and set them on the curb with a FREE sign on them.  We hoped  that someone driving by would want them.   

 They looked kind of sad sitting on the edge of the road. I really had doubts that someone was going to stop by and whisk them all away. 

Happy Ending...

A few hours after our job of dumping the dusty posters to the curb I returned to the White House to get something I had forgotten and lord and behold there was a couple loading their car up with the posters!!! I could not believe it.  We had met the couple earlier that day while floating in the kayaks.  They were out for a swim.   They told us that they are getting married on August 11th here on Lac St.Atoine.  They plan on saying their I do`s on a floating dock in the middle of the lake.  How romantic!

What does this have to do with the posters? Well they plan on giving them out at their wedding.   The groom comes from a hockey family and their guests will appreciate the posters that mark part of Canadian Hockey history.  Woohoo!  Things always work out, don't they?

Scouts Canada has been serving Canadian youth for over 100 years.  Owen is a Beaver and this past weekend swam up to cubs.  The ceremony was held around a camp fire at Opemikon camp near Perth, Ontario.   We stayed for two nights, slept on bunkbeds in a cute little green cabin.  Zoe being a girl guide which is a sister organization to Scouts was invited to be in on the fun and fun it was.   

We were new to this Beaver group since scheduling technicalities prevented him from continuing with his previous group.   It was wonderful because we arrived on Friday night with knowing practically nobody and left on Sunday feeling like part of the gang.  I love how children can step right into a group of strangers and within a couple of hours be playing as though they were old friends. 

I love Scouts Canada.  What do I love about it?  Well it brings families and community together. It teaches leadership, friendship, caring for others and a love for the outdoors.  On Saturday morning we went for a hike in the woods.  We climbed over rocks, climbed steep hills and followed the winding path to the look out which overlooked  Christie Lake.  Parents and children walked side by side or in single file and our leader educated us on the ecology of our surroundings and how to care for it. "Leave no trace that we were here".  A message of respect for nature was translated and I enjoyed it as much as the kids.  On our hike back to camp we met up with a group of cubs hiking in the woods.  They explained to us that another group was following them and would be guided by the arrows and X's they had left on the trail. How fun! So on our way back we noted the arrows drawn on the path and the X's made with sticks.  The children guessed as to their meaning and they had very good insight, as children always do. 

Water Gun Fight

That afternoon was the well awaited water gun fight.  Zoe and Owen were stoked as Jay bought them their very first real water gun.  In fact the whole camp awaited the fun battle of getting soaked.  I cannot express how joyous it was.  The laughter ringing through the trees, small legs running with delight and parents getting into the action.

 Bird Houses

With hammer and nails we crafted our very own bird house.  I helped both Zoe and Owen build theirs and it's interesting how both approached the project differently.  Zoe helped me by passing the nails and hold pieces in place while Owen wanted to do the project by himself with minimal assistance.  We worked together as a team and it was beam building.  In fact the whole weekend was a team building weekend. Although Zoe was older then the Beavers she played with them and had a little entourage of admiring girls.  I noticed that as the weekend wore on Zoe and Owen played together with less bickering.  Discipline was barely needed as they seemed to listen and know what was expected of them.  You might remember my post back in 2010 entitlied "Hold Onto Your Kids".  Well this past weekend reminded me exactly  of the importance of parents involvement in children's lives.  Not only parents and their children but adults from the community coming together and supporting, upholding the space for children in the community to feel safe as they discover themselves in this crazy world.  Together we can create a good base  and hold the space for them to thrive and grow into healthy individuals and as adults be great peers for the young in their lives. 

Scout Canada is a volunteer based organization.  They depend on people like us to give of ourselves and share our gifts for a better world.  Often we hear about what's wrong with the world well I believe that there is loads of good that surrounds us and that scouts Canada is one of those good things.  In fact in September I plan on becoming a Cub leader!

The Guruganesha band have come and gone and oh! What fun we had.  Tuesday night was the concert and we rocked to mantra and it was ever so uplifting.   There is something about coming together with a group of 200 people to chant.  Together we create a vibration and uplift one another.  As our hearts open to the vibration we connect and we go deep within the layers of our being.

The GuruGanesha Band has the magic it takes to whisk a crowd into transcendental  bliss.  They bring the vibrations of mantra and express it with rhythms of rock, ballads, gospel and more which carries you to states of boundlessness.  I love watching GuruGanesha play his guitar.  It is so obvious that picking and strumming those strings is where he finds joy.  It speaks in the way his lips curl into a smile, the way his eyes close and his body moves to the beat.  In fact the whole band shares in his passion and it emanates and vibrates through the room, the audience co-creates the experience and it just magic.  All this might sound corny, new agey or weird to some of you but there is a truth to these words that unless experienced are incomprehensible to the intellectual mind.  It must be experienced through the heart.


While Zoe had other commitments to Girl Guides, my little Owen came with Jay and I.  I couldn't help glancing over at him as he chanted along and clapped happily to the beats of mantra.  Kundalini mantras are a big part of my life.  Those are the vibrations that can be heard emanating from my ipod at any given time in my home.  At night in those special bedtime moments my children are lulled to sleep with this heart opening music.  So Owen was familiar with the music but never had been to a live concert.  I was tickled pink to share his first concert with him.  My glances also had me chuckling as just that day he lost one of his top front teeth and he looked so cute singing with a big gaping smile.

The Power of Mantra with GuruGanesha

1000 day meditation
I was ever so blessed to share Wednesday night with 4 of the band members and Tara Cartland the owner of Rama Lotus.  We were up at Jay`s place on the lake in the woods.   We shared a beautiful meal and enjoyed one each others company. I got a guitar lesson from the base player and as the night was coming to a close, had my numerology done by Sat Kartar who is also a guitar player.  With the numbers from my birthday he was able to tell  me some of my personality characteristics.  He started by saying that I am a very positive person but it is something that I have to work at. He is right of course.  At times I do find my mind swimming in negativity and once I am aware of it I shift gears towards the positive.

 My mind did not retain all of the information from my reading but one thing did stand out and that was him saying that it is difficult for me to stick with something for an extended amount of time.  He is right of course.  I do tend shift directions a lot.  Motherhood has curbed that a little.  One thing that struck me was when he stated that it would be a great challenge for me to do a 1000 day meditation. Yes,  there is no typo I did say 1000 day meditation which translates to two years and 84 days.  What does that mean exactly. It simply means choosing one of the hundred kundalini yoga meditations that are available to us and doing it everyday for 1000 days.  In my head I am thinking you are right Sat Kartar that would be a great challenge for me.  Wouldn't it be for anybody?  I have done 40 day meditations and 120 but never even considered a 1000 day meditation until now.   It is that rebellious part of me that says: "If you tell me that I can't well I very damn well will!".  So now I am gearing up to committing to a meditation for a 1000days.   I will share with you the meditation very soon.  I will possibly even have a little video of it :)

Disgusting Work

Gutting is a disgusting job...
Gutting and giving The White House a new life is a lot of work.  Today we took down some walls and got rid of the 50 year old insulation.  The stench of mice urine and feces was atrocious.  With every armful of the stuff, dust particles flew into the air and the smell overwhelming,  it was not fun, not one little bit.  In fact it was the most disgusting thing that I have ever done.  And this is coming from someone who has changed a lot of dirty diapers.

I take my hat off to people who do this for a living.  It is the most toxic thing that I have ever worked with.  We wore protective gear such as face masks, gloves and glasses and still it seemed to have penetrated into our lungs, to have stuck to our clothes and to the inside of our nostrils, just gross!
 
 The room we were working in today has pigeons living in the ceiling. As we worked at removing the junk from the room we could hear the pigeons above our heads in distress.  They must be wondering who in the world is disturbing their home.  Unfortunately for them the ceiling will soon be coming down and so will their home.  Unfortunately for them and unfortunately for us as that will be another gross  disgusting job.

Stuff

There was lots of "stuff" left behind from the previous owners that need to be sorted, thrown out, donated and organized.  I cannot believe how much "stuff" there is.  Let's begin with floating devices.  Between the floating chair, water trampoline,  blow up whale, blow up boat, floating mattresses, we could have a party of 30 floating on the lake at the same time.  There are 4 dehumidifiers, boxes of odds and ends, and some bits and pieces that I do not know where it belongs.

 Do you remember the 1972 Russians vs Canada Hockey Game?  Where Paul Henderson shot the puck, scored against the USSR and Canada leaped for joy.   I was 2 years old and although I come from a huge hockey family, I am unfamiliar with this hockey event.  Do you remember it? This game is a strong childhood memory for Jay. He remembers being in grade 5, watching it in the school gym on a small black and white television.

Why am a reaching to the past?  Well the previous owners left behind hockey posters and hockey cards from that game.  There are about 1000 posters and 120 boxes of French Hockey Cards.  Do you know of anyone that would want them?

Picture of the posters and cards are soon to come.

He shoots he scores!

A little side story...

I pride myself for being born into  a Hockey family.  Hockey night in Canada was  a regular event in our household.  I have vivid memories of my dad and his friends leaning in towards the tv, barely breathing waiting for a potential goal.  When there was a goal the leaning men jumped off their seats with a: "He shoots, he scores!".  The echo of their joy rang through the house. Often on those hockey nights my father would ask me to make him popcorn.  He would say that I was the best popcorn maker and  I loved hearing those words.  

I can still remember our popcorn maker.  It was one of those Vintage Hamilton Beach Butter ups. You might of had one just like it as a kid with the big orange/ yellow see through lid. It made the best popcorn.

Speaking of Vintage we have made some great finds today. I can't wait to share those with you.

Stayed tuned for my next blog post.  I will write about hosting the Guruganesha band here at Jay's.  They are arriving tonight. We have 7 beds made and looking forward to having mantra singing gurus around.

Have a listen to the band.  They are highly uplifting.