RAINING IN SASKATOON

Posted on June 9, 2014 by hafong

It’s raining again. I am sitting here watching the rain and listening to its beat on the deck roof. And wherever I go, Sheba has to go, of course. She is happily listening along with me.

Two doors down, I can hear the children of the daycare blissfully playing in the rain. Their laughter and chatter fill the air. It is as it should be – spring, rain, the greening of the earth and the laughter of children.

Thunder rumbles. The children are gone. The rain stops and the sun comes out amid the clouds. How strange and wondrous nature and the weather have been. And equally, so is life. Nothing can be taken for granted.

EVERY DAY HAS ITS CLOUD

Posted on June 8, 2014 by hafong

The clouds can get to me. Their shifting shadows feel ominous, giving me a sense of impending doom. It feels as if someone is walking on my grave. I’m waiting for the shoe to drop. It never has.

I’ve learned to live with this holding my breath, waiting for the shoe to drop – waiting to wake up from my free fall through space and hitting the ground. I never have. And so, I’m braver now. I have wings and I can almost fly. No heavy landing for me, thank you very much.

Still, the clouds can make my heart skip a beat at times. But that is okay. I flutter my wings a bit to calm it and carry on. There’s early bike rides with Sheba trotting by my side. She needs someone ahead to chase after or else she digs her heels in and say, No! We ride when the sun shines or not. I feel like a postman.

The sun is shining now. It has been playing hide and seek with the clouds all day. I am playing along with both of them. Whatever works! The rain has made the ground nice and soft to dig. It is a good opportunity to clean up my much neglected and overgrown perennial beds.

I’m hoping they will look better in a month or two. Digging and clearing is good therapy. I’m cleaning my inner space along with my outer space.

NO COMMENT

Posted on June 5, 2014 by hafong

Thursday, June 5, 2014
Are there any comment sections online that you refuse to read?

I’m sitting here with my glass of wine, my inkwell is dry. My fingers silent. Nothing much to say. It’s been this kind of day. Right now I don’t feel that strongly about anything. I would have to say no to the above question.

The day has been gloomy, cool and rainy. Not the kind that brings a smile to my face and a spring to my step. Not all days are equal. That is the truth and I have to accept it. Into life, some rain has to fall. But I do have my protective purple umbrella and my Wonder Woman suit. Zap! Kapow! KaBoom! I’m warding off bad energy.

Wish that my Wonder Woman act could come alive and save the world. But meanwhile out there….bad things are still happening. A 24 year old man in Moncton, New Brunswick has killed 3 RCMP officers and wounded 2 more. He is still out at large.

I am feeling all that and perhaps more – a sense of helplessness and perhaps hopelessness. How does things like this happen? And I have no answer or comment.

JUNE GLOW

Posted on June 1, 2014 by hafong

A new day of a new month – June. The morning was overcast and cool. It was not inviting. I did not bounce out of bed with glee. I lingered in the warmth of my bed, hesitating like a shy bride, putting off the inevitable.

The inevitable came, of course. I had to face the music. I thought it best that I be a sport and do it with gusto. Life deserved to be treated with respect. I grabbed Sheba and headed out for an early morning trot.

My attitude changed once we hit the great outdoors. The fresh air stirred my senses. The streets were fragrant with trees in bloom.

The playground was alive with children running under the water spraying dragon. The parents watched on the side benches.

Then there was the school yard full of golden dandelions. How beautiful they looked. I no longer thought of them as weeds. They were a hundred million miracles that I had blogged about. I am sure not everyone will agree with that!

I am so happy that I was able to get up, dress up and show up for June. I’m all aglow along with the cherry bush in its first blush of blossoms. And Sheba approves.

COME SATURDAY

Posted on May 31, 2014 by hafong

Today is one of those perfect, perfect Saturdays. I hear the Sandpipers song, Come Saturday Morning in my head.

“Come Saturday morning
I’m going away with my friend
We’ll Saturday-spend to the end of the day
Just I and my friend
We’ll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles
And then we’ll move on
But we’ll remember long after Saturday’s gone”

The song brings a picture of a happy sunny spring morning. And I am feeling mellow and happy. There is a spring to my step as Sheba and I started out on our walk.

The sun was shining, the air fresh and warm. The birds were singing their own melodies. In the park the children had ball practice. Sheba and I watched awhile and then we went on our way home.

The day has flown by. My peas and beans are finally coming up as well as the carrots. The potatoes are pushing their way out of the soil. As much as I love the birds in the yard, I do not want to share my garden goods with them yet.

I heard that shiny objects deter them. I hung a couple of shiny red bags along the fence where the peas are and strung some ribbons on the obelisk for the scarlet runners.

It looks a bit like a party, doesn’t it? I hope the birds don’t think and come!

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

Posted on May 30, 2014 by hafong

I was so envious of Sheba this morning. There she was, asleep on the rug, not a care in the world, not a tense bone in her body – at perfect ease.

That’s the state I am seldom in. But I am improving. I’m reading Lissa Rankin’s book, Mind Over Medicine and becoming more aware of how I am living and my un-ease. It’s not all about doing the proper things like diet, exercise and genetics. There’s much more.

There’s our attitudes, moods and a thing call happiness that affects our health and our ability to heal ourselves. I did not know that I was living in a constant state of distress until I left the world of nursing – code Blues, stats, call bells and bedpan alley.

Now I know and it is the next morning.

I listened and heeded my body and went to bed instead of finishing this post last night. I needed sleep and knew if I stayed up, sleep might escape me. And I have slept well in the night and up early this morning. I drank my lemon water and did my qigong routines, guiding my body and mind into ease for the coming day.

The birds are singing, the sun is shining. Sheba is resting after our romp in the park. I will leave her sleeping self be. I could learn to relax myself watching her.

I sipped my tea, thinking of how I will weave my story for the Friday Fictioneers post. Life is good. I can relax. It is okay.

AFTER THE HEAT

Posted on May 25, 2014 by hafong

After a couple of days of heat, the clouds and the showers came. It was a welcomed relief for the garden and gardener. I took the opportunity to do a bit more planting in between raindrops. Two raspberry bushes went into a sunny corner, right in front of the cherry tomatoes. One will produce red fruits in midsummer and the other gold in autumn. I don’t imagine they will fruit this year but I can always hope.

I had really neglected my green thumb the last few years. It was really hard doing shift work and raising Sheba. Something had to give. Gardening was one of them. I used to spend endless happy hours starting seedlings and transplanting in the spring. And later, I moved things here and there, hauled gravel and created flower beds.

Somewhere, sometime, when I wasn’t paying attention, everything went to pots. And as a result, my yard became a mess – over run with ground-covers and weeds. The pots stood empty except for dirt and weeds. But now, my green thumb has returned. The flower bed and pots are lovingly filled again.

The ground-covers and weeds are still running wild. They will be tamed in good time.

ALL ON A SATURDAY MORNING

Posted on May 24, 2014 by hafong

I think summer has finally come. We are rejoicing in the sunshine and the warm. It’s a bit of a shock to the system to adjust from a single digit temperature to a sizzling 30 degrees overnight. Some of us take refuge in the shade.

We have our first bloom in the flower bed. And the last two raised beds are planted with peppers, tomatoes and celery. Now it’s time to sit back and see how they do.

THE ‘HOOD

Posted on May 23, 2014 by hafong

It is morning again, already! The sun is shining right in my eyes. I am tired. My fingers are stiff, the knuckles swollen and sore. Too much work in the garden yesterday.

I have lost my words for a few days. Once lost, it takes some work to coax them back. So I am limbering up these tired old fingers. I’m pecking away on the keyboard, one word at a time, one slow thought at a time.

Our raised beds are all built, lined and filled with topsoil – all four of them. Two of them are planted. Two more to go. They are looking quite handsome but I am sure some irate neighbour will find some fault even though it is on our property. Such is my neighbourhood. I am so envious of hearing others talk about their neighbours and a sense of community.

Not that my neighbours are such terrible people. But I have not felt a sense of community amid them for a long time. I hear their sad stories about their troubled teens, ugly husbands, messy divorces. I tolerate their shouting matches and loud music. They complain about my dog. Sometimes they make more noise than Sheba.

But I feel a change in the air. The ‘hood is changing. Or maybe it is I who is changing.

DEFYING DEFIANCE

Posted on May 23, 2014 by hafong

I’m fading fast. I’m losing momentum. My flag is sagging, hanging limp by my side. I’m talking about my zest, my oomph, my joie de vivre – my burning desire to be the best that I could be. I’m even losing some of my cantankerousness. I will be no more without that!

The thing not to do is give up those things that are working for me. But if do, I need to have the discipline to pick up where I left off and not start over from the beginning.

And that is precisely what I am doing. I am going against my grain. I’m ditching my usual ‘au contraire’ self. I am defying my defiance. It is not working for me.

So I heave a great big sigh. There, I am feeling better! I’ve done a lot. I’ve acknowledged much. Admitting my rebellious, contrary nature is a huge thing. I am a very stubborn person. The Chinese would say I have a very hard throat.

The phrase makes perfect sense. If you are stubborn like me, it is very hard to give in. When you do, it is difficult to say it. You’re almost choking out the words. I’m practicing to be more graceful and not choke on my words.

onethousandandtwo

Looking at Infinity

Tag Archives: life