Music and Meditation

My dear friend, Chris Madsen has his own music studio in his home as he is a musician, and a writer of his own songs which he records.  Chris has several great CDs out.  I really love listening to him play his guitar.  He recently decided he wanted to have a Sanctuary in his home, a place for our Spiritual Group to go to meditate, a quiet place specifically dedicated.  He decided to make move all of his musical equipment and recording equipment down to a room in his basement and make his Music Studio into our Sanctuary.  He moved his classic Vox Amps, guitars, drums, all his various other instruments and recording equipment down the stairs into his new Music Room that he had created for this purpose.  He then set up a wonderful space with lots of electric candles, many cushions of all sizes for sitting on and leaning against, and one of his guitars so he can play us into and/or out of meditations.  It is so awesome!!!

Saving Recipes

There are many things I want to keep that I find on the internet, so most of the time I just Bookmark the web page and hope I remember to go back to it some other day.  However, the last while I have been looking for Vegan recipes that are easy and straight forward for me to make since I am really not very versed in cooking skills.  I have found some that I really like, and am not sure they will be there when I go back again. For example, some that are seasonal recipes on web sites of magazines.  In order to make sure I save them, I have been doing a copy/paste to put this onto my computer, using MSWord to save them. This is working well enough, though it is time consuming and I would like to figure out a better way of doing it.  Perhaps some kind of Web To Print type idea so I can just print them out without all the extraneous stuff that is on most websites. I wouldn't want their heading or their menus of links to other things, just the recipe itself.  This way I would make a cookbook in a binder... or two... three.... okay, so maybe storing them on the computer is better  as it would take up less space in my home.  However, I still think it would be handy to be able to print web site 'stuff' for many other things.

Cleaning My Home

In my last post, I said I am working at cleaning out all the old "stuff" from my home, working at making it a place to be proud to have company visit me again like it once was.  I have been doing things like going through what I have stored in my back rooms, giving much of it away over Freecycle or taking lots to thrift shops where I donate it and they sell it, using the proceeds for good causes.

Recently I discovered a local buy, sell, trade, give site on Facebook and am sad to say I have been buying way too much off of there.  It is a great site, and what I have bought is all good, all things I will use, yet my mission is not to buy more, but to get rid of more.  I plan to sell lots of things through this site, I just have to start digging things out, taking photos of what I want to sell, and posting the photos, description and asking price on the site.  Some of the things I know I have that need to go include, but are not limited to: drinking glasses I bought at a gas station decades ago, trimmed with 24K gold, never used and taking up space in my cupboards.  I am not sure what to ask for these collector glasses, what they might be worth.... winter jackets for women that no longer fit me as put away in a back closet.... jeans that are now too large for me must go.... a surround sound system with speakers that still work great though the volume level is not working right.... lots of ornaments and collectables.  I know there are many other things as well. Now to make the time to do the work!!!

Hang My TV

Today I saw a term on the internet that I didn't know the meaning of.  It said, "flat mounts for your home".

"What in the world is that?" was my response.  "Is it something for setting up a mobile home, or for leveling an RV?"

Now, I don't always feel the need to find the meaning of every word or phrase or term I see or hear, but there are days I do feel that need.  I guess this was one of those days, because I decided to check it out.  It turns out that I am glad I did as it is something I actually have been wanting to learn more about.  I have a 51" flat screen TV that I have sitting on a small table, taking up room in my over stuffed living room, so I have been thinking I would like to get, or at least look into getting, one of those things you use to hang the TV on the wall.  Well, this is one of those things.  Now I know, now I get to learn more about how to do it, what to use, and what it all will cost me. Good thing I followed my instincts to check this out.

I am grateful for the internet and for the information I find on here.
I am grateful I am learning to follow my instincts.

2013 Is Coming

Here we are with Christmas behind us once again.... until next year. And with Christmas over, we are about to cross from 2012 to 2013 with nothing but the barest moment between them.  One second it is this year and the next second it is that. Such a smooth transition that you can't not even feel it.... not even if you try. The slip of a second.... like the blink of an eye.  Yes, the year is so close to over and the new year will begin.  Having come from a time in the 1900s this 2013 seems most strange.  Most odd that we would be here and I only barely past the middle of the years I likely will spend here.  Yet, here I sit reminiscing and 'waxing poetic' while friends are out having a good time celebrating the last Saturday night of 2012.  I hope all have a good time wherever they are and wherever they may live... I just hope that by morning none of them need the services of a top San Diego law firm, not to mention of a hospital or morgue.  I wish people all over the globe Peace, Love, Perfect Health, Prosperity and all in all, Joy.

My Guitar Story

I've been trying to clean my home and downsize on all the 'stuff' I have and don't use.  This is a monumental job!!!  One day recently, I was in the back room that used to be the master bedroom and is now just a junk storage room, and on the wall I noticed the acoustic guitar my cousin Vern gave to me one time when Mom, Dad & I went to visit Vern and his family.  Seeing it reminded me that when I was around 13 - 14 years old I wanted a guitar and lessons, so or Christmas that year, I got the guitar, a nice little acoustic perfect for a first time player, and over the next year or so I took lessons from one of our neighbors that was a music teacher.  I wasn't very good at it, but I did like to play my guitar.  A few years later, I got married and my husband would not allow me to play the guitar, though he did play it himself.  Yes, he was better at it than I was, but he would have had to learn at some point too, and it was MY guitar.  However, he was my husband and his word was my command.  Needless to say, the marriage did not last a long time as I was not happy being someones property, someones slave, doing as I was ordered.

Some time after the marriage ended, I met and fell in love with a base guitar player and we decided to move in together.  He was helping me move my stuff in his car from where I lived about 45 minutes away from where we were to live.  Since the car and trunk were full and when we stopped to visit Mom she gave me something else to take, he took some things out of the trunk, putting them on the ground, and rearranged the things, putting them back into the trunk.  Unfortunately, somehow the guitar (which he had never heard me play) got left on the ground instead of being put back into the trunk of the car, and as we backed out of my parent's driveway, there was an awful crunching sound.  Yes, my guitar had been run over and it, along with its case, were totally destroyed!!!  Though it saddened me to loose my instrument, I still loved him, we still lived together, and after a few months he ended our relationship.

It was many years later when we visited cousin Vern and his wife Helen, and hearing the story he gave me an old guitar they had kicking around their home.  I had carpel tunnel problems at that time, so was not able to play it and just hung it on the wall of my bedroom, thinking that some day I would take it up again.  I never have and doubt that I ever will.  Maybe I will give it away on Freecycle... it might make someone a nice Christmas gift!!

Today I am remembering this and sharing this story with you because I was surfing the net as I often do, and I ended up looking at a  cool Fender Blacktop at Musicians friend. Of course, it brought this all back into my mind and I decided to share it.  I sometimes wonder, if my husband had allowed me to continue playing my guitar, would I still be playing one now? Would I have gotten good at playing? There is no way I will ever know the answers to these or other questions I could ask, like "if he had allowed me to play the guitar, would he have not been so strict and controlling and therefor would we still be married".  He passed away in June of 1999, so I would now be a widow... or maybe had he lived differently he might have lived longer.  These are all "what came first, the chicken or the egg" questions.

My Heart is Singing a Song of Joy

My home is such a mess and I found out yesterday I am getting company for the weekend. A very dear, long time friend is coming to visit.  I am so blessed that he comes to see, not my home, yet I so want him to see this place clean and tidy for once, not the horrid mess it has become.  His home is always clean and fairly much organized.

I am still very weak from being so sick the last while, and still have the Sinusitis & Bronchitis, though am starting to improve.  I saw my doctor yesterday and he can hear noise in my left lung so sent me to have chest x-rays done today.  I have another 5 days on the antibiotics and sure hope all is well by then as I don't want to have a second round of these drugs.

I am so tired after 2 busy days on top of the illness, all I want to do is go to sleep, yet I know I can't yet.  I have dishes soaking in the sink and a load of laundry washing which I will have to hang up as my dryer is not working. I have so much work to do before Mark gets here tomorrow and I know that there is no way I can do everything I want to have done.

Meanwhile, my cat, Mewsic, is trying to get me to let her curl up on my chest, to just hold her and love her while she naps.... and one of my birds, my male cockatiel, Tiki, has been making a lot of noise.  All my birds are usually quiet or make low volume sounds, but occasionally the 'tiel does make loud noise.  Oh well, he's not as bad as a couple male 'tiels I used to have.  They sounded like they were using those mackie loudspeakers that some of my musician friends use. When a musician turns up the loudspeaker to better share his/her music with an audience it sounds great, you can dance and enjoy the music to the fullest. However, when a bird squawks that loud in a small, enclosed area it is not nearly as nice. I know if I took Tiki and his buddy Friday the Parrotlet out of the cage to play on me they would be happy and quiet right down, though at this moment I just don't have to time or energy to play with any of my wonderful animals.

Guess I will get to bed early tonight and get a good sleep, then up early tomorrow morning, crank the stereo up and listen to some good, energizing music while I work at cleaning this house.... until I get the call from Mark that he's on his way over.  He lives in the Kootenay area of BC, I live in the Okanagan Valley, so it's a few hours drive to get here.  Tonight he is at his daughter's home in town, just minutes from my home. I'm excited to see him tomorrow, as I always am. My Heart is Singing a Song of Joy

Canadian Coins

Canada used to have paper bills for $1 and $2 amounts, then with plans to save money,  the powers that be decided to replace these bills with coins that last longer than bills.

First brought out was the gold colored 1 dollar coin, nicknamed the Loonie for the waterfowl emblazoned one one side of it. The other side has an image of Queen Elizabeth II, as do all Canadian coins. The Loonie was released to the public June 30, 1987.

Wow, it is so hard to believe it has already been 25 years!!

 The Canadian 2 dollar coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996. It is a bi-metal coin with the reverse side showing an image of a Polar Bear floating on an ice flow.

Recently I found I had a Toonie that was different than any I remember seeing before.  It has not just 1 Polar Bear, but 3 of them! A mother bear and 2 cubs.

I was very excited to find this coin and I set it aside in my wallet to save it.  I have a friend who is a coin collector so knows much about rare coins, uncirculated coins, valuable coins, etc., and if he does not have the information he has connections with people who can tell him what he needs to know.  One day I was talking to George at the funeral of a mutual friend of ours, and I took the opportunity to mention my coin to him.  He said it is a common coin, though I thought it would be a rare one.  I have kept my eyes open, checking all the Toonies I get, and yet have still not seen another one with the family on it.

Sadly, I lost my coin that I had planned to keep and to even turn into a necklace to wear around my neck each day. I hope I find my coin again, or another one like it.  I guess if that is meant to be, it will be.

Dare to Dream BIG!!

The last several days I've been staying home.  This is very unusual for me as I am most often everywhere but home. All summer long I am away every day and sometimes for days at a time, off riding my trike somewhere.  I totally love riding my trike (3 wheel motorcycle).  Now that the weather is too cold to ride, I am again driving my truck, which I also love.  However, oddly enough I am going through some kind of phase where I don't have any desire to go anywhere, I just want to stay home.  Mostly I sit in my chair watching TV and doing 'stuff' on my computer.  I play way too much Spider Solitaire and MahJong, as well as spend time on Facebook.  I also surf the net, reading recipes, health related articles, inspirational things, and various other web sites.  Some of the various other web sites are things of interest to my current life, and some are all about dreaming about my hopefully future life.  Some examples are looking at kitchens, cupboards or appliances; today, even though I don't have a basement in this home, I looked at flooring for basements;  I often look at web sites to do with trikes as I would love to upgrade mine or to get a new one built; and I plan to go to Arizona and/or New Mexico one day, during winter months.  My mother calls me a dreamer like it is a bad thing, yet I believe that you must dream in order to do anything important in life. My current trike was just a dream for many years before it became a reality, as was my 2008 Ford Ranger pick up truck. I say, Dare to Dream BIG!!

Carfirmations

I have a very dear friend that is a very talented musician and likes to record albums of the songs he writes. So far as I know, he has a recording studio in his own home.  I don't know what kind of equipment he uses for this, but he may have gotten some Sennheiser studio headphones at musicians friend.  I have some of his CDs which I greatly enjoy listening to, and currently in the CD player in my truck I have one of his CDs which is called Carfirmations. On this CD he plays his guitar while saying many different positive and inspirational affirmations; he also signs some of the songs he wrote himself.  The reason this CD is named Carfirmations is that it is meant to be listened to in your vehicle while you drive. Another friend recently gave me this CD which I treasure.

Motorcycles and Music

The weather has been incredible this fall with temperatures in the area 28°C in September and well into the 20s in October.  I wish I had exact numbers to share here, but unfortunately I don't.  All I can say for sure is that it has been very warm and sunny most of this fall so far. It has truly been an incredible fall for riding motorcycles, and I have been doing a lot of this with my friends the last while. We have been taking full advantage of the time we have left before the weather turns cold & wet and for many before the insurance runs off their bikes. I had fully planned to be out riding again today, as I have been each day this week, yet I ended up staying home.  I got into doing things on the computer, Facebook and blogging, as well as watching some TV.  I guess I likely needed a 'day off' to relax and recharge.

I watched a couple programs I had previously recorded, then watched some live TV.  I was surfing through the channels and came across one with some really great music, so I stopped to listen for awhile. My favorite music is Country and Classic Rock, so I will choose one of those types of music most of the time, yet I also do enjoy other types as well, like Jazz and Blues, though I really can't stand Opera or Rap. Anyway, watching the TV and listening to this music channel, there was this guy that was really hot on the trumpet.  I think he said it was a Bach Stradivarius, or something like that.  Anyway, I wish I'd caught his name as he really is talented and would be great to listen to again.

Some of my friends have stereos on their motorcycles so they get to listen to music every time they ride. I just get to listen to my own thoughts and the roar of my trike, the wind in my ears as I fly down the roads. There are several changes/upgrades I would like to do to my trike and just one of these is to add music. The only thing that could make riding any more wonderful is to listen to music as I ride. Motorcycles and Music... what could be better than that?? Not much in my world!!

It's now 4:39pm and the temperature outside is 18°C, I'm thinking how great a ride would be, just bundle up a little and off I could go, into the wind.

A Day in My Life

A few weeks ago, I came out of the chiropractor's office, having just had a treatment, and noticed my pal Phil was across the street having coffee at the Chevron gas station where we like to meet and sit out on the picnic tables to visit while drinking coffee/tea. I had planned to go straight to the Food Bank and put in some volunteer hours, but hey, it was only noon and I didn't need to be there until 1:30pm, that gave me lots of time.  I stopped for tea with Phil.

When he was leaving, around 1pm, my friend Lorraine pulled in beside Phil's bike. She had seen my trike and stopped to say hi.  We hadn't seen each other for about a year and it was great to see her. We only had a short visit since she had somewhere to be, but while we were talking a red Harley back into the spot where Phil had just vacated with his red Harley. This guy just sits there on his bike while I say good-bye to Lorraine, then she pulls out and he starts talking to me. First it was about my trike, then it moved to other things, like where he was from and that I grew up there, who he and I both know in that area, etc. etc.  All his stuff was "I" this and "I" that as a single man would talk, no "we" as a married man would say.  I generally am attracted to taller, slimmer men than he was, but as we talked I really liked this man. He was one I felt I would like to get to know better.  He offered to buy me coffee and I said I had to go do my volunteer work then after awhile it was too late to go, so I said 'okay, you can buy me a tea.'  He did and got himself a coffee and one of those cao cigars, and we sat on the picnic table and talked more.  Finally we decided to leave there, him heading home and me heading to visit a friend.  We were both heading in the same direction so rode out together, stopping at a small park overlooking a very pretty yet small lake.  We again talked for quite some time before heading off again to our different destinations. 

Skip forward a couple weeks... I went to the Food Bank to put in more volunteer time and when I arrive 2 of the guys there tell me some guy was in the day before, on a red Harley, looking for me. They described him and it could only be this man I met that day. Since he had come looking for me, and since he had told me exactly where he lives, I decided to ride out to look him up the next time I was up visiting my mother.  I rang the door bell and a woman, his wife, answered!!  So much for "I" this and "I" that!! I asked if he lived there, yes it was the right place... I told her we had met at a gas station and I was going past so thought I'd stop and invite him to a club ride on Saturday.  All this was true, at least so far as it went. I did not want to upset her or get him in trouble, after all, nothing had happened anyway.  I've not seen him since.  I hope all is well between them and that I caused no trouble. He could have been more honest!!

Relationships

I am a single woman who has lived on my own for many years, most of my adult life in fact. I was married at 17 years old and left that unhappy life just 3 years, 3 months and 5 days later. The divorce was on the grounds of mental cruelty. Over the years I had different boy friends, including a musician, another musician who eventually became a tattoo artist, a laborer at the glass plant, and a few others that I need not mention here or anywhere. Finally, in 1988 a friendship I had with a floor layer advanced to more and we decided to live together. This relationship lasted just 22 months and would have been less if it didn't take so much time to extract myself from the abusive, controlling situation without having it go violent. The next man I became involved with was a cowboy, manager of a ranch, my dream come true and the love of my life. This relationship only lasted a matter of months until his grown daughter caused us to have a nasty argument and with us both having been badly hurt too many times it was enough to split us up. I still think of him often, all these years later.  It took a long time for me to let another man into my life, this one was something of a bush man, could even be called a tailored sportsman, and he was very persistent in convincing me to try again. There was a lot of good, and a lot of bad in this relationship that lasted around a year. Sometimes he would come to my home and mow my yard or shovel the snow off the driveway, depending on time of year of course, while I still slept. He even did the lions share of the work of building a huge tire retaining wall in my yard.  We loved going to the bush together, panning for gold, hiking, just driving... and he loved my animals too, especially my dog. Unfortunately, he had anger issues that I could not handle.  Having had abusive relationships before I could not chance being in yet another one, so we broke up.  Yes, I still miss him too and wonder where/how he is now.

I had only dated a few times in the last 20 years or so.  Mostly I am very happy and content to be single, on my own, free, safe... yet at the same time a part of me does want a boyfriend.  I'm not sure I want to live together, or to marry, though maybe someday.  For now I would just want to date and get to know each other, to grow into a relationship together. I think a man who rides a motorcycle would be great, motorcycle and horses even better... and this is just one item on a list of 'must haves' for my potential mate.

Fire Fox Issues.... or is it my Computer??

I have had a problem with Fire Fox on my other laptop and when it has happened, my friend Dan has always fixed it by doing a complete cleaning of my computer then putting programs back in.  I am now having this exact same problem with Fire Fox on my new laptop.  I don't have a clue how to reformat hard drive, and Dan had to move to Alberta for work nearly a year ago, so I guess I am just stuck with this FF problem. I can still use this as my browser of choice, but it is most annoying to have it working like this.  The tabs at the top can't be seen except when I move my mouse up to the top of the page, then it moves down to show the tabs, but moves back again as soon as I move the mouse. Also, the bar on the bottom of my page with the clock etc. on it disappears and I have to close FF to see that again.  Another thing, all of my bookmarks go away and I can no longer access them!! Most annoying!!  I have found a way around this though. If I open a second tab, then pull it away so it make a second window, then the second window does work the way Fire Fox is supposed to work. I can handle having 2 windows open to have the program work as it was meant to do.

I Am A Poet

Something else I have read about on the internet, something I picked randomly to read about is... roland workstations.  I am not a musician, but I do have friends that are.  Some just play for the fun of playing music and singing, while others are actually professional musicians and even music teachers. I think it would be so cool to be able to sing and to play a musical instrument, but that apparently is not to be a skill I have in this life time.  I do write poetry at times, though, and have had some of my poems published in a local magazine called Saddle Up.  I also wrote a poem that I showed to the minister of the spiritual centre I went to at that time, and to his wife.  She is a pianist and felt very inspired by the poem I wrote, so she wrote music to go with it.  I no longer go to that centre, nor do I communicate with the minister and his wife, but I do still have 'our song', the sheet music Hannah photo copied for me. It is a very positive, spiritual poem and song.

Learning New Things

As you will know, if you read my blogs very much, I often read things on the internet to learn different things, to learn about things I have no knowledge about.  This can be a good thing to do as there are times when this kind of knowledge can come in handy.  I just follow various links to get me to this kind 'new information'.  Some of it I find very interesting and get right into reading the information, and other things I tend to just skip through as it's not something that piques my interest.  I was just reading to see what a sieve shaker is. I know that many people will find this kind of thing not only interesting, but also very useful to them and/or their business.  However, I don't see any use for this equipment in my life at this current time. Hmmmm... I wonder what I'll find to read about next.  Any day I learn something new it's a good day.

Furniture I Want

I spend a fair bit of time in my big old armchair, watching TV, doing things on my laptop computer and online, and of course cuddling with me cat, Mewsic.  This really is the only furniture I have to sit on in my living room right now.  Oh, I do have a love seat, but it has a bunch of 'stuff' on it right now and it is pretty ripped up, thanks to Mewsic.  She has a nice big scratching post, but still prefers to rip up my furniture.  I would like to get some nice new furniture, but if I do I will have to get leather or Naugahyde as Mewsic will rip apart any kind of fabric furniture yet doesn't like the leather/Naugahyde type material.  I want a couch or a couple of love seats, maybe a couple of bean bag chairs, and a new electric massaging, heated recliner to replace this old one I have now.  The day will come when I do get some of this new furniture.

I'm Home!!

Here I am, safe and sound at home with my laptop plugged in and the battery recharging. Earlier I was sitting outside on a table at one of the Tim Horton's coffee house/restaurants we have in our city. I drank tea while doing some blogging.  When my battery got too low, I had to shut down the laptop and head home on my trike. It sure has gotten a LOT cooler at night, just in the last 2 days or so. I am so grateful I took my hoodie along today as it really was a very cool ride home along the lake. It was a bit cool at Tim Horton's but not uncomfortable at all, though when riding you must add the wind chill factor in and it is much cooler than when just sitting.  I had to stop along the way to take off my helmet and put up the hood of the hoodie, then put the helmet back on. I will be zipping the longer ear/neck liner in for the evenings now, having it with me on the trike for whenever I need it. When I got home I checked the thermometer in my carport and it's just under 14 degrees Celsius and it is cooler closer to the lake I ride past.

Anyway, now I'm home in the warmth and comfort of my own home and back on the internet.  Since I didn't sleep much or well last night, I will not be on the computer long at all.  I think I will take a few minutes to look at some cheap T shirts online, then will go crawl into bed with my wonderful cat and see if I can have a better night than the last one.

Arts and/or Crafts

Over the years of my life, I've done many different crafty/artsy things.  There are so many things I've wanted to try doing and have taught myself many of them.  When I was into Ceramics, I gave lots of it as gifts and I kept several pieces for myself. I still have most of those pieces I kept. I taught myself how to crochet, again lots of gifts and lots of things for my home, and yes, I still have most of them. I also have a bag full  of beaded jewelry which I made in various styles, using little seed beads for all of it. I used to always be wearing bead bracelets on each arm, necklace, earrings, hair clips/wraps, 'Medicine Bag', etc. and usually I never wore the same ones two days in a row, or even 2 days in a week for that matter.  I had lots of them by the time I finally lost interest and went on to the next thing... and there were many.

In more recent years, I have not done as many arts/crafts as I once did.  In fact, I think the last thing was spinning wool, yes with a spinning wheel, including taking the raw wool and preparing it for the spinning. A lot of work, a labor of love for me.  The weaving I did sometimes used my hand spun wool, or sometimes other types of threads I purchased for the piece I was working on just then... these included scarves, table runners, a poncho, etc. etc.  After an upsetting event, I no longer had interest in these things so, though I still have all of my equipment for this work, they have just been collecting dust while I hope that someday I will again 'get the bug' and go back to doing this sort of thing.

Now.... I am working with aluminum!!! A friend is teaching my his 'skill' of turning ugly pieces of aluminum into beautiful, shiny things for my trike!!! I will be happy to share more of this with you soon... and to show some photos too.

Hydrating Our Bodies

I don't know about you, but I sure don't drink enough water.  I do try, and occasionally I do manage to drink 1/2 ounce of water for every pound of body weight which is what is healthy for us to drink.  Most times, however, I don't succeed and often I forget to drink any water at all. I find that the best thing for me to do is to put water into water bottles rather than using a glass.  This makes it more convenient for me to take along throughout the day wherever I go, as well as to keep track of how many ounces I drink. I came across as web site today with some nice options for carrying water along... water bottle camelbak.  They have not only have several different bottles, but also packs for carrying the bottles in if you are hiking or whatever. Things like this can help us to drink more water and keep our bodies properly hydrated. 

Speaking of drinking water, I am going to get a bottle of it for myself now.