Happy Victoria Day

Victoria Day

Long weekend in our neck of the woods. There will be a lot of grilling, boating and fishing going on...probably a lot of drinking too. The weather is unseasonably warm , supposed to go up to 33 Celsius today so i probably be lying low and walk the Dogs early.

They are back!!

I was waiting and waiting and here they are!!

Stepmothers

I had two .
My first Step mom was warm and caring Woman , she had 4 children with my Dad . When i was 18 i moved in with them and she never made me feel unwelcome . I could talk to her about a lot of things i couldn't talk to my mother and father about. When she was in her mid thirties she died of cancer after a year long painful battle. It left my father and my siblings (ranging in age from seven to twelve) devastated.She did not deserve this (nobody does) she helped so many people , looked after an elderly neighbor and was well liked on her Job as a nurse. A few years after this my Dad remarried again , she took my Dad with four children and she didn't always have an easy time of it. My Dad is a great guy and provider but a disciplinarian he is not. He was always happy to leave the raising and disciplining to my Mom and subsequently to my Step mom. I can't even imagine how hard it was for her to come into a new family and having to deal with all this. I didn't witness to much of it because shortly after they married we moved back to Canada. Today she is close to all us children and our children look at her as grandma. My Dad hit the jackpot with both of my Step mothers and so did we his children. You always hear about the evil Step Mom so this is a ode to Step Mothers
I love mine!!!

On the 12 of May 3 years ago i received a call from my sister in Germany that my mother is in a coma. I just spoke with my mom a few days before that, she had some breathing problems and wasn't feeling to good. The Dr was called to the house the night before i spoke with her and he wanted to admit her to the hospital  but my mother thought he was full of it and she was fine. In hindsight she should have gone but my mother was never good at looking after herself. She was a heavy smoker (she had asthma and allergies)and drank to much, although she did survive breast cancer and a not so stellar childhood . My grandfather was abusive and a drinker himself. My Mother had a quick temper and an even quicker hand , but in spite of all this (and much more) i know she loved us and we loved her. She just didn't have the tools to deal with a lot of things life handed her.
When i saw her lying there with all those tubes coming out of her and breathing with the aid off a machine all i wanted was for it to be over quickly. She was always terrified of suffocating and i knew she didn't want this.
My Sister spoke to her and held her hand whenever we went for a visit. They told us that she was effectively brain dead but one never knows and i like to think that she knew we where there. As for myself i think i was not there mentally, i just buried my Son a few weeks before that and i felt nothing, i think it was just to much for my brain to deal with .She final passed on the 23th and we where with her thank goodness.
There are still days that i find it hard to believe that she is gone. Some days you just want your Mother and even though ours wasn't an easy relationship i miss her dearly.

Happy Mothers Day

Have a great Day everybody if you are a

 Mom or not ♥

Nature is awesome

World's biggest beaver dam can be seen from space

This story has been floating around the net the last few days and i find it fascinating.

So now i have to fire up my Google Earth and see if i can find it!

Hem - Half Acre

I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is the land I grew in

Think of every town you've lived in
Every room you lay your head
And what is it that you remember

Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you

A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking

So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our hearts were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us

But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper
That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
my home

Oil

This breaks my heart

I don't have all the answers either but there has to be a better way!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/louisiana-oil-spill-2010_n_558287.html#s88719

Meine Omi

Today two years ago my beloved Grandmother past away peacefully at the age of 93.

She was a remarkable Woman!

Like so many Women of her generation she lived through war , hardships and in her case a pretty hard life with my Grandfather. She was my beacon and refuge as a young child, she always had apples and some candy for my sister and I. To this day golden delicious are my favorite apples. She was full of advise and she had a saying for everything, she was the best cook I've ever known, funny, warm hearted , strong and deeply religious. She was what people would call a firecracker, small, energetic and she rode her bike as long as i can remember

I still regret that i didn't call her more often as time went on but i hope she knows that most of my good childhood memories involve her and that i love her deeply.

I miss you Omi and thank you for always loving me unconditionally.

They're Baaaack

back to the whole Province smelling like bug-repellent :(