Tag Archives: travel

Seasons of Our Lives

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July 19th and 19th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am still here consistently and persistently. I try to be like Patience and Fortitude, the two marble lion stuatues standing guard outside the New York City Public Library. They sit stalwartly through all the weather. I’m trying to do the same through all the heat and my moods.

Today is a much pleasanter day. There’s a cool breeze flowing through the windows. I did not get much done yesterday. No housework. Just barely managed to cut my hair and showered. The heat was the excuse. I didn’t feel guilty as I gave myself the day to do or not to do as I please. It was my home alone day. The guy went to see his sailing buddies off on their annual week long sail. He decided it was time to let it go though he had organized it over 10 years ago. If anyone wants to buy a sailboat, we have one for sale. It’s almost brand new. He spent a year building it. Sailed only a few times.

My friend and fellow blogger, Kebba, said that a life time is not that long. Even 90 years is really a blink of an eye. She is right. So when you recognize a time to let go of something, let it go. There are many seasons in our lives. Some are longer than others. And if something speaks to you, grab it – for however long it speaks to you. At the beginning of our lives together, it was bicycles for the guy. It was a matter of necessity as well as love. The garage became a repair and build workshop. The yard was full of old bikes and parts. I learned to ride a bike, though not well.

We’ve passed the seasons of bikes. We’ve still have a few idling in the bike shed. One of these days if I get brave…and it grabs me…

About To Do Lists

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Photo by Ivan S on Pexels.com

A hot July Saturday, the 11th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’m feeling lethargic, in the slow after dinner slump. The dishes are not yet done, sitting in the sink. I feel least like writing but here I am, tapping away. A few days ago, I started a to do list with just 4 items. One of the 4 is write a post for UBC. Another one is going for a walk. The list works for me, getting me unstuck. I get at least 4 things needing/wanting doing done.

I’ve already gone for my walk this morning. Before that, while it was still relatively cool, I boiled the bamboo leaves for 20 minutes to sanitize them for making sticky rice. I’m waiting for the leaves and water to cool before wiping them down. This method is very labour intensive. I’m breaking it down in daily steps so I can succeed. I love the aroma of the bamboo leaves. I smell it and think sticky rice. I think the process of making the sticky rice will be a good exercise for my brain. I will talk about the next steps tomorrow.

I can feel the heat coming through the sunroom windows even though the blinds are drawn. The house is at 25℃ with the central fan running. I am comfortable though feeling sleepy. Outside it is 29℃ with a 31℃ promised. No thunderstorms in the forecast and none materialized last night. I do not like hot summer days. They drain my energy and mood. They still remind me of childhood days in our small town. Everyone is on holiday and gone out of town. Everyone except the Chinese people with the cafes. It makes me feel as if I have no life.

Funny how feelings and impressions are hard to dispel even if they are erroneous. This time around, having a to do list grounds me. I’m anchored, feet to the ground, a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, a starting point, followed by….and so on and so forth.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

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Another beautiful sunny October morning for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. My thoughts are scattered and disjointed – sad and glad intermixed. It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. First of all I have to be happy that a woman won the Nobel Peace Prize and not Donald Trump. Indeed that is a very good reason to be happy and hopeful that the good will prevail.

Last year was our last Thanksgiving with our mother though I don’t think we all gathered together for a meal. There was much that happened last year. My nephew cooked and catered the meal to each of us. How wonderful was that, eh? This year we will be taking our father out for Chinese tomorrow evening. Then he has an invite from my brother’s mother-in-law for Easter Monday. As for ourselves, we have no plans for a ham or turkey. We can just relax and do whatever. I have never been one big for celebrations. Shame on me?

I do remember Thanksgiving of 2014. How could I forget? We flew to France on Thanksgiving day. There was a problem with my ticket but we didn’t know that till we were boarding at the airport. It was a holiday so our travel agency was closed. We had to buy another ticket right then and there at the airport from Air Canada. We got to Paris and saw it right after we stepped off the plane in the morning. Needless to say it was all a blur. I slept through most of it. The next day we were included in a birthday party. Everyone spoke in French. It was great in that I didn’t have to do any small talk since I have no French.

We got a refund for my faulty ticket from the travel agency after our return home. I can’t remember what was wrong with it. Some things are best forgotten. The French trip was full of drama. I was sick for a long time after we got back to Saskatoon. But there were some bright moments.

Home Alone

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I am in danger of falling off the wagon. I’ll try not to just sit and stare at my screen. I’ll just pretend I’m writing morning pages and just keep tapping, hoping to find words and ideas, hoping to make sense and a post for the 12th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’m home alone. The guy has gone for a week of sailing with his brother and other like minded guys. He started this sailing venture with another fellow. Then it morphed into a few more boats each time. It’s yearly thing now with ‘regulars’ for over 10 years. They call it the Elbow Run, sailing on Lake Diefenbaker. The village of Elbow is right on the lake. He gets t-shirts made every year with a different design and the logo The Elbow Run.

I do enjoy a short sailing trip but not exactly keen on sailing and not bathing for a week. So I look forward to my yearly week alone. Before, I had Sheba for company but I’ve been winging it by myself for 5 years now. I always thought I could be more free and get more done while he was away. It just dawned on me last year that it wasn’t so. It was an illusion. It was more work since I have to do it all by myself – the gardens, cooking, cleaning and everything else.

I still value this week alone. It’s good to know I can stand on my own two feet. It builds confidence and a backbone. I’m not truly all by myself. There’s time spent with friends and my father. We do our daily coffee. Today I helped him figure out how to work his toaster oven. Tomorrow he’s going to use it to bake some basa fillet for supper. It’s really a pleasure to watch him bounce back from grieving mom and blossom these last while. I feel blest to have this time with him.

I’m about done here. I am a wee bit tired and getting towards bedtime. It’s a day well spent. I baked 6 loaves of bread this morning. It was cool and there was no more bread left in the freezer.

My Ancestral Home

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I don’t have a bucket list. If I had one, a visit to my ancestral home in China would surely be on it. I have not seen it since leaving it at 6 years old. Though I have travelled to Asia and China a couple of times, I have not been anywheres near my village in Taishan county. It was my one great desire in my younger years. Now I do have the belief that sometimes you can never go home again.

The good thing about technology is that I am able to see how things have changed ‘back home’. My grandfather had built a new house for his family just before my father was born. It is two-storied and housed 2 families, my grandfather’s and his brother’s. It had 2 kitchens, one on each side of the house. It also had 2 bedrooms on the main floor, one on each side. I do not remember how many bedrooms upstairs. I will have to quizz my father on that.

After we left for Canada, the house was solely inhabited by my grandfather’s brother’s family and the house gradually fell into disrepair. It was not till recently, one of my cousins took an interest in retoring the house back into glory. It is 93 years old but was solidly built and of good material. This cousin felt a debt to my grandfather for the house as well as their livelihood. It was my grandfather who sent his hard earned money back to China for both the families. This is how the house looks today.

If I was to have one regret, it would be that we haven’t been back to our ancestral home. It would be wonderful if it is our family sitting in front of our house instead of my grandfather’s brother’s family. I have to give them credit for pooling their resources together to fix up our/their house. I am happy to see that they have placed a portrait of my grandparents in the upstairs hallway. You can see the doors to two bedrooms on either side. It’s a wonderful celebration of the house and our ancestors. I am sure they are proud.