Where I Am From

I came across a writing exercise this morning.  Called Where I am From, it directs your to fill in the blanks to create your own story about how you came to be you.  On a different day, I would probably complete it differently, and to that end I have downloaded the template and will revisit it again in the future. 

I added a few pictures and voila!


Where I Am From

I am from new shirts from Woodward’s dollar forty-nine day, from scotch mints tucked beneath the couch cushions.  Newborn kittens in the hayloft.

I am from the stucco and beam farmhouse with the sliding patio front door and wild pink flowered wallpaper in the kitchen.  From aromas as welcoming as stewing chicken or as repugnant as canning salmon.   Pipe smoke.

I am from music.   Mom singing in the kitchen, or the garden, or the barn.   Records.  Soundtracks from The King and I and My Fair Lady.  My piano. 

I am from paperwork and party lines and a home based business .  The dining room desk with it’s clutter.  Typing Dad’s correspondence on the clunky manual typewriter.  The mistakes never forgotten by the carbon copy.  The expectation that you would answer the telephone politely, in case it was a business call.  Take proper messages, written down. 

I am from the tall sweet grass in the field, where we would lay down and name the cloud shapes as they drifted past.  From the cool of the tree canopy at the back of our farm on hot summer days.  From the outdoor swimming pool where we trained most mornings at 6am. 

I am from overseas phone calls at Christmas and a family of giants.

From Edna and Jim and Jennifer.


I am from the bargain rack shoppers and the good night kisses.

I am from dogs and cattle and horses and chickens.  All with names, and personalities.  From parades around our side field where the parents would sit in their folding lawn chairs,  watching us kids circle the field, riding horses with flowers braided into manes and tails, towing dogs with painted toe nails and floral collars, pulling wagons with the littlest kids inside or maybe riding a bike with a playing card clothes-pegged to the spokes.

From “I will come up to tuck you in” and “you get as much out of something as you put into it”. 

I am from the bonnets and white gloves of Anglican Sunday School, the satin gowns and purple robes of Jobies.  From the pile of books on my bed borrowed from the book-mobile, where I discovered “The Religions of the World” which I read cover to cover while sick in bed.  I was about 11. 

I'm from pond skating in Port Arthur ON, by way of a red door in England near the train bridge and an apartment in Bombay with turkey’s on the balcony.  I am from spicy curries and rich beef stews made from our own animals that we raised and garden veggies that we produced.

I am from the ships engineer who was lost at sea; from the kind man who was illiterate but still tried to read to his eight children, substituting the words “apple cart” for any word he was unable to read; from the desperate young mother of four who died from infection from a self- induced abortion.

I am from home movies, flickering soundlessly in a dark basement, from letters from my grandfather to my father and from my father to me, from creased and bent black and white prints of my sister and me posing in the snow, and framed portraits of my parents through the years, side by side.

 

 

 

 

The Shell Cracks

It's no joke, this life transformation is hard slogging sometimes.

Even with the addition of Bogey into our life (love, love!) it is not always easy to stay positive when our life seems like a bit of a train wreck. We are virtually camping in our little factory during the week, and working our asses off each and every weekend at the country estate.  And progress is slow. 

Most days, I am weathering the storm.  I don't have to look very far to find folks in far worse circumstances than ours.  And ours is of our own making, so boo hoo to us.  And eventually it will all be done, and we will be moved in full time. 

I know I have neglected the blog. I guess I feel like my blog should be upbeat and full of positivity all the blooming time, when lately, I gotta say, I have been feeling anything but upbeat and positive.  But today, I can see some humour and a few things you might find interesting.  So here we go:

At the shop we sleep on a futon which is the size of a double bed.  It's extremely small for two people who exceed 6 feet in height with corresponding widths!  At first, it was one of my biggest beefs - `the bed in the shop is too small``  I would lament to anyone who would listen.  I now realize that when we get home to the big king sized bed that is soooo comfy-- it seems huge!   I am always freezing in it since my Chuckles is miles away on his side and I don`t benefit from the lovely heat he radiates that I have become very accustomed to during the week sleeping on the futon!  In order to cosy up to him, I squirm my way over towards the center of the bed - and encounter the hump created by the two box springs underneath the mattress!  Hmmm maybe we need to downsize back to queen size when we move in full time.

It`s astonishing how simply one can live.  During the week we have a microwave, an electric skillet, a toaster oven,  a slow cooker and a single burner propane stove (rarely used.)

 

Pictures of delicious meals prepared in our minimalistic weekday kitchen!

We have 3 full size plates, several small ones, a few mugs, a minimal amount of cutlery, and a three glass baking dishes of varying sizes, of which we use two often and one rarely.  We eat amazingly well, and I use the slow cooker most of all.  I make soups, pasta sauce, chili, and various other concoctions such as the one today which is cut up chicken breast, with rice, mushrooms, onions, red pepper, peas and carrots and a can of cream of celery soup and some broth thrown in along with two whole dried chili peppers.  Add a side salad, and there is enough for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.  We cook rice and pasta in the microwave.  Being campers no doubt helps, this is like deluxe camping I suppose!

Our clothing choices for the week are made in about 3 minutes flat at home once all the laundry is done.  Two pairs of jeans, three shirts, and a couple of sweaters or sweatshirts does it for me.  They all go in a plastic bin at work so I just pull off the top.  I`ve never been a fashion maven, but this is simplicity itself.  It`s brilliant really. 

It has also been great getting Bogey before we moved to the country full-time.  In the city it has been imperative to expose him to traffic, and teach him rules of engagement with people and other dogs.  At the country estate, he runs amok on the property and if we took him only there, he would never have learned to walk nicely on a leash, come when called, the various hand signals he now knows or manners around other people.  Not saying he`s perfect, by the way, but he is learning!

Since I blogged last, we have poured the concrete aprons on either side of the barn and last weekend we pulled the roof off, as we are changing out the roof for a trussed style with a steeper peak to accommodate a room upstairs.  (The man cave, as I understand it!)

When I arrived with Bogey at the country estate, there were two ducks absolutely sound asleep beside the pond.  I drove up, crunching across the gravel driveway, and they still had their heads tucked firmly under their wings.  I do mean SOUND ASLEEP.  They likely had been using our pond all week long with no interruptions, so they were not guarded at all.  When they finally woke up, shook their heads, and stared at me, it was with a `who the hell are you`expression on their faces.  All weekend long they managed to co-habitate with Bogey and the other dogs.  A couple of times a day we would hear them honking and see them fly off, then we`d know that Bogey had decided he felt like a swim.  But they would return when he was finished! 

 

The ducks at home on the pond, between Bogey`s swims

 

Easter weekend is traditionally our first camping trip of the season, and I was bummed out that we were home working (again) with no other plans for the weekend.  So it was a fantastic surprise when young son and his girlfriend showed up from the island.  Together with Chuckles and older son, and some friends who showed up to help we got that whole roof taken off and the mess cleaned up.  That was a big job and very satisfying to see it behind us!

 

 

 

 

Above and below, the roof comes off!

 

Roofing material off, lots of mess to cleanup!

 

Above the roofless barn viewed from inside

 and below, our friends daughter pitched in and worked hard at the cleanup

 

 

My son`s girlfriend mowed the lawn with the ride-on lawnmower, supervised by Bogey

We also had an impromptu bonfire and barbeque with the kids and their partners and dogs,  which was a lot of fun and stress free.  Another example of how simple life can be.  No planning, no stress, they just showed up, we pooled our food resources, lit the barbeque and had an amazing family Easter. 

 

Bogey couldn`t keep his eyes open any longer by Monday afternoon!

 

A friend posted on Facebook the other day a verse that seems appropriate to both the barn project as well as life in general:

 

For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone.  The shell cracks, its insides come out, and everything changes.  To someone who doesn`t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.  Cynthia Ocelli.

 

My garden is taking shape!  I now have lettuce, peas, onions, garlic, parsnips, beets and carrots on the go.  I have dug up two small beds so far, side by side, each one has been a lot of work.  Stripping off the grass and roots, then digging out 6-8 inches of clay below, adding in 6`8 inches of composted manure, all by hand, me and my wheelbarrow, with a little unwelcome help from Bogey.  He sees me digging and thinks it`s a fun game!

Although friends have a bobcat they offered to bring over so I could prep the whole garden area at once, I have decided keeping it small for this summer makes sense.  With only being there on weekends, and the water shut off to the barn until the reno is complete, it would be hard to weed and water a large garden this season, so small is manageable. 

That`s it for now, I am making a renewed commitment to the blogging, be it happy news or simple desperation, you are getting it all from this point forward!