summer bliss

I sat down to my computer for a few minutes thinking that it would be nice to visit a few folks out in the blogosphere. And after visiting the extremely talented Charles, I popped over to Lana's (his lovely bride).

She had the most peaceful video of the rain that had fallen on her little part of heaven on earth (heaven on earth always includes one's love, doesn't it *winks at Lana*). Just as I was leaving a comment, the skies opened up and... you guessed it: RAIN!

It's odd, as the clouds that came with the migraine left me... rain clouds rinsed everything clean here around our house.

It was lovely and refreshing! The only thing that could have made it better was if my Honey had been holding me under that rain. Tendrils of hair sticking to my cheeks, water landing and tethering on my eyelashes, gentle drops cooling my skin, soft slow kisses and a tender embrace... and a giggle or two. The promise of shared passion.

When you were a child, did you ever run out into a summer rain in your bathing suit to play? It was one of my favourite things to do. Still is...


"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."
- Langston Hughes

shhhhhhhhh!

You know...

Sometimes you see something and decide: "If I had to see this, everyone else does too."

My daughter laughed more at my reaction to this than to the actual video. I say she just likes laughing AT ME! pfffffffffffffffft!

"Smile, and the world will smile with you. Laugh and they'll all think your on drugs."
- unknown

Wordless Wednesday - lolsharkdog

openness

We miss out when we choose not to take a second look.

I wanted to share this song with you. It’s absolutely beautiful and makes me smile. The melody captured my heart the very first time I heard it what seems like so long ago now, and it brought me back to a time where men and women touched when they danced, and would gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes. I close my eyes and see a couple gliding, graceful, in harmony, in love. It prompted me to find out what the words as sung so beautifully by the late Ibrahim Ferrer, meant.

I’m glad I did.

So many people don’t care to make the effort of getting to the meaning, never understanding fully what is conveyed by words and things that are foreign to us. But when we do, we may discover the emotions underlying the words are universal. They’re often foreign in a very superficial way.

How it was.
I can’t tell you how it was.
Nor can I explain what happened,
but I fell in love with you.

A light that lit up my whole being.
Your laugh, like a spring,
filled my life with unease.

Was it your eyes, or your mouth?
Your lips or your voice?
Maybe it was the impatience
of waiting so long for you.
More, I can’t say, I can’t say how it was
nor can I explain what happened
but I fell in love with you.

It’s so easy to keep from peeling the layers. I mean, it can be tedious work to try and get to the core of something or someone. Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable. There can be unpleasant layers, ones that are not compatible with whom we believe we are or the even way we normally view and categorize the world. Sadly, very few people are actually willing to look deeper. And they miss out. But that is their choice to make. That makes me sad, but I know enough that although I can voice that sadness, it may mean nothing to those I cry for.

It’s fascinating really how random words you come across will often resonate so deeply when they can be linked to a situation you are thrust into.

“We don't always get to choose what we love.”
-Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

And something for me to look forward to as I grow older... Maybe I’ll even be able to live it now rather than later.

« I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find - at the age of fifty, say - that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about...It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you. »
Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976), An Autobiography, 1977

In Memoriam - The Class Clown

In Loving Memory

George Carlin

May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

Thank you for the laughter, for making me think, for speaking up...

I'm going to miss you, motherfucker.

"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.""

-George Carlin

Legal briefs?

My plans for the day have changed. I woke up to rainy weather and have had to scratch plans to do some yard work. So, I sat down to my computer with a cup of Java intent on catching up on some news... and I stumbled on a report that just screams out “Make fun of this” if you don’t throw up first.

From the “Are You Kidding Me?” files:

If I say the words "thong injury", what immediately comes to mind? (After a good measure of giggling, that is).

An aggravated case of haemorrhoids? A case of massive embarrassment and subsequent need for therapy should you put it on backwards and wear it to a lingerie party?

Had you come up with eye injury? I didn’t think so.

Add thongs to the list of things your mother said will poke your eye out...

Who knew your mother was right when she said that kind of stuff would make you go blind?!

Let’s imagine the “Consumer Protection Warning Label and Instructions for Use” information that will now be required for “decorative thongs”:

CAUTION. Keep product away from morons and slime ball solicitors. If you try to squeeze into a small size just to make you feel better about yourself thus straining the garment beyond it’s tested elasticity in an attempt to defy the laws of physics, you will be made fun of by countless individuals on the world wide web.

Just so you know, I have since inspected my lingerie drawer (wearing appropriate personal protection equipment) and can say with great certainty that my under things are safe... whether or not they may cause those who view me in them to suffer heart palpitations however has not been duly established. I’ll conduct extensive testing (I need a test group)and let you know.

I say her punishment for filing such a frivolous lawsuit and subjecting us to the mental image of her donning a thong should be that she has to wear granny underwear from this moment on. I should sue HER for mental anguish. Sheesh!

"There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot."
- Scott Adams

Sometimes...

You just have to wait and something good happens.

The week is finally over! And I managed to survive the monkeys!

My Chicklet is now officially on summer vacay. Yesterday evening, we attended the school's year end Family Party.
Apart from the cold (seriously, we lost 10 Celsius degrees in a week) it was lovely. I'll try and upload the video I took with my cell phone.

My heart is smiling despite some difficult past few days.

*fingers, toes and all manner of body parts are crossed for something good*

Enjoy the summer solstice my friends... May it bring a new season of love and new beginnings. Dance in the moonlight and let your troubles slip away.

"What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
~ by Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

What I did last weekend... (the tame version)

A lot of stuff has been happening in my little circle of friends lately and although some of it is good, there's too much of a disturbance in the force.

First the good stuff:

1- Happy Birthday to The Man with The Big Leather Couch! Enjoy your day. I know it would be far more special if Matt was there, but you know as well as I do that we always carry our children with us no matter where we go and what we do.
In your honor and in keeping with your weekend birthday extravaganza, have a little tuneage...

2- I met my friend Jo this weekend. YAY!!! My Honey (who was so sweet letting the girls gab and catch up and picked up the tab for it) and I drove into Toronto and picked her up in front of Union Station. We went to dinner and although the wait for our food had us wondering if they were actually hatching and raising the chicken for Honey's dinner, we had a lovely time. We then headed for the Beaches area of Toronto for a lovely walk on the boardwalk and some easy conversation. The weather was fantastic and no, I didn't stick my toes in the sand (I know Songbird... WTF! *giggle*).

3- And yeah.. I was home for the weekend. Bliss. Before meeting Jo, we took a romantic walk along the water on the western part of the boardwalk. There was a Paddle Festival (I can see you perking up there Vince, but no, not that kind of paddle *snicker*), the colours were amazing and all manner of people were milling about.



Now for the not-so-good stuff:

1-I wasn't around enough to help my friend, and that sucks. I kept getting cut off on the train, who knew cell phone reception sucks when you're zipping about on the rails.

2-I found out when I got home late last night that my friend Julie's father-in-law is having major health issues. *keeping fingers and toes crossed*

3-And my friend Travis is in a funk, which I can't fix, but would like to.

4- Oh... and I had to leave the bliss of my Honey's arms to come back to the daily grind as it exists now.

For Turnbaby... I love you my friend.

"Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow."

- Dorothy Thompson

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. "
- Theodore Roosevelt, From a speech given in Paris at the Sorbonne in 1910

wait, we're not in Kansas...

I've been through thunderstorms before but the one that hit us yesterday afternoon was a doozie.

I was talking to our shipping clerk about having the building's ventilation system checked out and addressing some issues in the area she's in when I looked up behind her and out through her window. I hadn't seen a sky that dark since the sun had set the night before and it was just after 1PM. A truck driver came in at that moment and had a look in his eyes akin to a small boy who has just learned a HUGE secret about the dread math teacher and can't wait to share it with someone. That's when he informed us that he had overhead the calls from first responders about possible tornadoes in an area which turns out is about 25 miles from our plant. And from the look of the sky I figured nothing good was coming our way. (I am now kicking myself for not talking pictures but my emergency coordinator duties got in the way)


After giving our plant security guard instructions on monitoring both our weather station and security cameras, I stood ready to launch the violent storm scenario of our emergency response plan and had our shipping crew take cover. The rains and winds started just as I hung up the phone with him and you couldn't go 5 feet without getting completely soaked.





Luckily, despite the howling winds and massive amounts of rain that fell on us, no one was hurt and we sustained absolutely no damage. PHEW!


Unfortunately, others weren't so lucky and many houses and buildings throughout Quebec were damaged. Thousands are still without electricity this morning. And the violent 75MPH winds overturned 7 trucks on a bridge linking Montreal to it's south shore. Centennial trees were even knocked to the ground.





Man, I sure hope it wasn't because of my new red shoes...

“A thunderstorm is God's way of saying you spend too much time in front of the computer”

- author unknown

Satin and silk

Or... What I did during my first “summer” weekend – the blog report

First, I apologize for not being around much after Blogblast for Peace (which was WAY cool) but work was (and continues to be) a zoo last week, replete with “monkeys” (the crap flinging kind) and I’m sick and tired of it, but we need to eat, so… My google reader is filling up so I’ll try and get to as many as I can in the next few days. But between the Grand Poobah visit at work this week (which means a dinner Thursday night) and preparations for the upcoming weekend *insert huge grin here* my time and powers of concentration may be limited more so than usual.

So…on to the highlight of my weekend.

In the space of… um… overnight (how much of a timeframe that actually constitutes, I’m uncertain of and can’t be bothered to calculate, sorry) we went from nippy (to non Canadians) right straight to “you may as well pin your hair up it’ll never look good no matter how you try and get rid of the frizz” and I’m loving every minute of it (except the bad hair stuff). It was the weather equivalent of zero-to-sixty in a blink of an eye.

But the novelty of it all wore off quick and Chicklet just had to find an air-conditioned spot to cool off. I guess she needed to ease into the heat and humidity. Plus the swimming pool is still looking like the lagoon The Swamp Creature crawled out of; I really do need to get on that this week.

We quickly went through the list of possible places to frequent that would provide cool temps and, well… we picked The Mall (what? We’re girls!) Plus, I needed cards for Fathers Day, Chicklet needed a couple of summer outfits – that child grows like the weeds in my jungle, err, backyard, and I needed a present for my Honey.

Oh yeah, and I needed (yes, needed! don’t roll your eyes at me) a new pair of red peep toe slingbacks and some girly lacy and soft under things from La Senza for the upcoming weekend with Honey *grin*. I know, I could show up wearing the everyday stuff (which if you know me is still rocking) or nothing at all (*giggle*) and I’d get as much attention as I do with the “play stuff” but it really is about putting a little bit of extra effort once in a while and not taking your partner for granted. Besides, I enjoy it just as much. I’m a girly girl.
Silk and Satin…Cole Porter knew what he was writing about, babes! And Janice Paige sang it like she meant it.

Gentlemen, do you have a favorite item of lingerie? Ladies, what do you wear that makes you feel most sexy?

"I'm very definitely a woman and I enjoy it."
- Marilyn Monroe

Dona Nobis Pacem

My dear friend and kindred spirit Mimi has invested so much of her heart and soul in this day, in these globes she has been collecting. And I love her dearly. I must be worthy of my Queen and such a noble cause.

I thought long and hard about today. I thought: "I should post something profound and inspired and wordy". Thoughts that are torture to someone like me, the non-writer. Thoughts that cause anxiety. What if... I mean... There's the distinct possibility that I'll fall short of such a monumental task. We ARE talking about bringing peace to the world, people. THE WORLD! PEACE! MOI! With a POST! *whimper* Some words I write and send out into cyberspace are meant to reach others, set off a chain reaction and inspire PEACE. -This is the point at which I start to hyperventilate and desperately look for something to keep me busy that will give me an excuse to step away from the blinking cursor (curse... how appropriate...) and my total and utter brain freeze (I have brain freeze, writers have writers' block, I have brain freeze and I didn't even get to eat some ice cream - how unfair!).

How? How do I pull this off? Me!

Think Anndi...

OK

What it all comes down to is...

Love.

Her love for her Papa and his love for her, that's how this started. A love she then shared with us all, so very eloquently and generously.

Such small gestures can make a difference... and no one is too small to impact the world. Even a few words sent out into cyberspace. Setting off a chain of events. One small marble touching another after it is cast... Like in a child's game.

"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room."
- Anita Koddick

So... I thought I'd bring you someone else's words. These are WAY better than anything I could have come up with.

Mother Theresa said it best...

"What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family."

That's exactly it.

Home... Love... Family...

Peace!



Thank you, Mims... for everything.

Love you my friend!