Chris's Guitars

My dear friend Chris is a professional musician.  He writes his own music all the time, plays guitar and signs the songs he's written.  I truly love listening to him playing his guitars.  Yes, plural, more than one, several in fact. I've noticed that every one of Chris's guitars are the same, though I suspect they are all tuned differently for different songs he plays.  I don't know what kind of guitars they are, though am sure if Allen and Heath at Guitar Center were to see them, they would know right away what kind they are.  I know enough about guitars to be able to say they are acoustic, though not enough to tell you what brand they are. Whatever they are, I can tell you that they make extremely nice music when Chris Madsen plucks or strums those strings.  It is truly a blessing to sit quietly and listen.

My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am.
~Joan Jett~
 

An uncle of mine emigrated to Canada and couldn't take his guitar with him. 

When I found it in the attic, I'd found a friend for life.
~Sting~

Positive, Uplifting Thoughts

Here are some positive, uplifting thoughts that I would like to share. I found them all on Facebook and shared them with my friends on my Facebook page.  Now I am sharing them here with you too.  I hope you enjoy them and that they bring you some joy and new insights to life.

Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Positive Thoughts

Memories.....

Have you ever noticed how little things can trigger memories?  For example, a smell such as fresh hay drying in the field or of bread fresh from the oven.  For me, the hay reminds me of growing up on the farm as well as riding behind Marcelle on his motorcycle, a black Yamaha, though I forget the CCs it was. Those at least are the first two things that come to my mind, and there are others.  The smell of bread baking makes me think of my Mom and how she always baked so many things for us while we were growing up.  Between her 5 children we went through a lot of food, so growing her garden and baking went a long way to feeding us healthy food while keeping the costs down. Earlier, when I read the words "Les Paul guitar", my mind went back to a boyfriend I used to have... no... make that 2 boyfriends that I had over the years who played guitars in bands. So many evenings listening to the band play while I served drinks in the cabaret, or while I danced the night away.  I really loved those days when I was young, loved music and dancing, and had the world by the tail with a down hill pull. I wonder what ever happened to those boyfriends, hmmmmm.  Now an advertisement that is playing on the TV reminded me of when I had horses in my life and rode them a lot, along with friends.  That memory reminded me that while riding motorcycles with friends today I saw a horse that looked soooo much like Wonder. I would have loved to stop and call the horse over, call it Wonder and see if she/he came to the name, and if it is a mare, if it has the same spots that it so loves to have scratched. Could Wonder even still be alive after all these years since I last saw her? I mean, she was already up in years back then.  But this horse is a 'dead ringer' for Wonder.  I must call PatZ and see if she remembers how old Wonder would be now and if she would like to take a drive out to see this horse, to see if it is Wonder, and maybe take my great-niece Nicole who, from age 5-7 or 8, rode Wonder all over the ranges with us. Wow.... memories sure can lead one down an interesting lane of thought.  I am so very very grateful to remember these memories, and to have lived through the events that the memories reflect.  I am so grateful to have had horses in my life and the dear friends that shared my life on and off horses at that time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today, my sister Marcy turned 60!!  WOW, it is hard to believe, time really flies by so fast, seems like just yesterday we were still kids.  I hope you are having a fabulous birthday, M!! Wish I could celebrate it with you.

Today, my dear friend Brooks turned 48. Hard to believe... seems like just yesterday he was only 47.  LOL. Here's hoping your day has been awesome, M' Lord. I wish I could be there helping you celebrate!

A Great Friday

Yesterday my plans were to go to the chiropractor, then to the food bank to do my volunteer hours. I don't have a regular schedule for this, just drop over to the food bank whenever I have time to give. Well, when I came out of the chiropractor's office, I saw my buddy Phil having coffee out on the picnic table at Chevron, just across the street, so over there I went, got a tea and joined him.

When we were leaving, a car pulled up and it was my friend Lorraine whom I haven't seen since last summer. She had seen my trike so stopped to say Hi. As we were finishing a short visit, a guy on a Harley comes in, backs in beside my trike, right where Phil's Harley had been, and just sits on his bike. Lorraine leaves and this guy starts talking to me about my trike. That led to other topics of conversation. He lives in the town where I grew up, where Mom still lives as do some of the other family bits and pieces. He knows my sister Marcy, used to work with her husband Randy, knows many others I have known or have heard of over the years. He bought me another cup of tea, himself a coffee and cigar and we sat there chatting. Since I missed the time frame I'd have to be at the food bank, I decided to ride out to visit an elderly friend of mine, on Gerald's way home, so we rode out together. I decided to stop at a view area, a nice little park over looking Otter Lake. Gerald pulled in behind me "I was hoping you'd stop here!" So we sat there talking for some time too. Finally, we rode together to Armstrong, then he continued on. I had called Glen from the view area and had to kill a bit of time for him to get home, so treated myself to a ice cream cone at McDonalds then rode out to Glen's. Had a nice visit there. By the time I got back it was later than I had planned, so I didn't make it to the Spiritual Gathering I go to each Thursday evening. I phoned friends in Lillooet, planning to ride over there (about 5 hour ride as I have to stop every 100km to fuel up the trike's little gas tank), but there was no answer. SO... today I made it to the food bank. I am once again all caught up on my filing there, and I printed out some recipe labels that were needed for our food bank as well as the one in nearby Enderby. It was all in all a great Friday.

Drumming

Something I often do with my Spiritual Friends is get together for drumming.  We have several different kinds of drums between us as well as things like maracas and a few other things, and Chris often brings his guitar too.  No one brings big drum sets like the Pulse Drums, all are smaller type drums that we can carry easily.  We sometimes meet at a friend's home and often at the local park so other people can come and join in with us, using some of the extra instruments that are brought along for that purpose.  I think they likely got together at the park today, though since I wasn't feeling well I stayed home all day and just now remembered the Sunday Drumming.  I won't make it there next week as I am going away for the weekend, but I am sure I will make it there for the following Sunday.

More Animal Love

Animal Love

Facebook Friends

As I 'flip through the internet', reading bits and pieces there, I am reminded of dear friends I have on Facebook. For example, reading "carpet cleaners Durham NC" makes me think of Mary & Frank who live in NC, and when I think of them I am reminded of Brooks and his sister Kelly in SC... they are currently both visiting Denise in Myrtle Beach!! They met on Facebook and became good friends, now have met in 'real life' and are having a really great and fun time getting to know each other better.  I am so thrilled for them all and am sure that a life long connection has been made. I hope that one day I too will be blessed by meeting some of my Facebook Friends in person.

A Good Day Planned

Dan and I have been friends for around 11 years now. For the last 5 months he has been working in a different province as there is no work for him in our home province.  We do talk often on MSN though that is just not the same as seeing a friend in person.  He is currently home for a funeral so I saw him on Sunday for awhile and expect him to be here any time now for another visit today.  It's good to see him in person and I look forward to when construction picks up in BC so he can come back  home to work as I know he really wants to do.

Though there is much cloud in the sky, the sun is brightly shining through.  My stove went out at some point during the night as I didn't put another bag of pellets into it.  It is warm enough in here that I won't relight the stove until later this evening.  I love it when I get to go without the stove on, it means warm weather. I am going to have something to eat then out I go to work in my yard for awhile.

Watch Out For Bikers!!!

When you are out and about in your car or truck

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

watch out for my friends and I as we ride our motorcycles!!

We want to live and to love our families and friends for as long as possible!!

THANK YOU!!

More of Life's Ups and Downs

I told you about a man friend of mine in my previous post: Life's Ups and Downs. Well, as time progresses, I am feeling more and more like he is not the right man for me. In fact, it is starting to feel like he may not even be such a good friend. For some time now, we have been friends, seeing each other every weekend when he was working, then when he went off work due to back back issues, we started seeing more and more of each other. Every day he phones and or we get together, usually me going to his home to watch movies or meeting downtown for coffee & tea. Lately he's even come to my home a few times, though that's not something he does often. He so often says how bored he is and sometimes when we part he says something about if he's bored he'll call tomorrow. The other day I was fed up with this "if I'm bored" he'll call or we'll get together, like if he has anything better to do I won't hear from him. So I got assertive and told him if he wants to call to share something, call... or if he wants to call to talk to a friend, do it... etc... but if he is going to call just because he's bored and has nothing better to do, then don't bother. The next day he didn't call all day until about 6pm. Still, I hear from him every day. Today he bought some blank DVDs and came out as I had told him I had downloaded a bunch of movies and would burn him some. He was obviously antsy and wanting to get his movies and get out of here, go home and watch them. I ran into issues burning and told him it will take a day or two to get it done, so he left. I'm feeling like it's maybe time to cut him loose... or even to kick him to the curb. This makes me sad as I do care a lot about this man, but I care more about me!!

Life's Ups and Downs

All my life I have felt like, while my sister's life is on a Merry-Go-Round, mine is on a great big old Roller Coaster. All the wild ups and downs that I have experienced, wow. Wome have been so awesome and exciting, then of course they were followed by the fast trip down to bummed out. Mostly these involved men, the wild excitement of love followed by the pain of the end of the relationships. Finally I just quit taking the chances, just quit going out with guys. Oh, I still have lots of men friends, but they are just that... friends, not love relationships. Life is good.

Lately it seems like my life is something of a yo-yo and maybe I need to go hang out at yoyoplay.com for yoyos,lol. One of my friends might, just might, be becoming more. He said he doesn't want a relationship and I said good, I don't either. We have been just friends. And I have 'more than friendly' feelings starting to raise their heads... sigh. Twice now when he was drunk, no he doesn't get that way all the time, but when he did, he talked about me becoming his ol' lady. Biker talk for girlfriend. The first time, when he was sober he claimed to not remember, the second time he said he had just been joking, just having fun. So each time the ups, then the downs of the yo-yo. Today he was sober when he told me he's getting tired of being on his own, something about when we get older we start to want companionship. I am trying not to read something into this than there really is, but I can't help but think "maybe, just maybe". He's not "perfect", not quite everything I want, everything I had on "my list", yet I like him a lot. I feel safer with him than I do with most men, more comfortable, and I trust him more than I have trusted anyone in a very long time. Somehow, even though he isn't all I had in mind, something about this just feels really right.

Christmas Gifts

How was your Christmas this year?? Did you spend time with friends? With family? Both? Neither? What kind of gifts did you get... if any? Did you get a computer, cell phone, other electronic gadget, make-up, eyelash growth products, chocolate, money? Any of the above? None of the above? All of the above? LOL, okay, so I'm playing with you, it's always fun to laugh with people.

I had a really great Christmas for different reasons which include, but are not limited to the following:
- My sister M and her husband R are in California and Arizona for about 6 months this winter. About 3 or 4 days before Christmas, I got an email from M saying that R had to be rushed to the hospital with a burst appendices and undergo surgery to save his life. All went well and Christmas day M emailed that he had gotten released from hospital that morning, they spent a quiet day at their RV and with friends they travel with.
- My older brother T and his wife A were up from the lower mainland and I got to see them Christmas Day. On top of that, they gave me a pair of Vintage Motorcycle Saddlebags!!! T thinks they are off a 1945 Harley Davidson, though isn't positive about the year. This really shows their love for me and their support of my riding my own motorcycle (trike).
- Spending time with my niece, T's daughter, Becky is always cause for joy, and this Christmas I got to do just that, as well as give her my first spinning wheel. I bought this wheel many years ago at a local auction and after a year I found someone to teach me how to spin wool on it. It is a Traditional style spinning wheel, hand made by Jorgen Almas, a man who lived in Enderby, the town where Becky grew up. On the bottom of this wheel is his name and that this wheel, this 153rd, was made in August '77. Becky was born in February '76. Eventually I moved up to a more modern style of wheel and didn't use this one anymore, though still kept it as it meant a lot to me. Now Becky was thrilled to receive it as she and her mother want to learn to spin and to weave.
- Mom gave me $100 to put towards something I'd like. She was thinking maybe an MP3 Player. My friend Dan just came home for a couple days, he's working away for awhile, and gave me an MP3 Player, lol. So I will likely spend that $100 on something for my trike as I plan to do lots of work on it before summer.
- Dinner at my nephew Denny's (eldest sister's son) with him and his family as well as Mom.
- The entire day with Mom. This is my 56th Christmas and it's the 55th one I've spent with Mom.
- Open House at my brother T's mother-in-law's home, lots of friends and family as well as great food. This month has been hard on the diet!!

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas!!

Blogging Goal

I used to do a LOT of blogging. I wrote many posts and visited many other people's blogs. I also participated in writing challenges as well as photographic challenges. I very much enjoyed all of that, though found eventually my life changed and I no longer had the time for all those countless hours each day to be spent on the computer. Since then, I have largely gotten away from blogging. I find that this is a sad thing, and I desire to do more blogging again. Oh, not as much as I once did as I still have much to do in my 'real' life, though still I do want to blog a bit more again than what I have been doing this last while. So, I set a goal to do at least a small blog post each day, on each of my 2 blogs... and some days to do even larger posts.

It's November 12!!

Today is November 12, 2o11 and with several Christmas ads already on TV, I have been thinking about gifts for people I care about.

I think I will be baking cookies to give to Phil... and to Ray, 2 friends of mine. Maybe I'll even give some cookies to another friend, Dan, though any time he's visiting if I offer him anything to eat he always refuses it. He loves candy so I could buy him a big bag of it, even though he is well able to buy them himself and always does. I think earrings for Joyce... not sure what I'll give to Cat as she's a new friend and I'm not yet sure what she'd like. Also there's Pat, Pauline and DJ to think about.

As for family... I gave a gift of homemade jam and Christmas motif Jam Knives all in a basket to my sister Marcy & husband Randy in October before they left to Arizona for the winter. My brother Terry & wife Alana will be up for a few days. I'm thinking of getting them some kind of dragonfly as when I was in their home in October I noticed a couple dragonfly ornaments, so I know they like this sort of thing. For Mom it's not easy to know what to give. Since she's 88 years of age, buying for her is a challenge... I guess since she's a great grandmother, it's sort of like needing grandma gift ideas, LOL. I bought Mom a nice rose broach that came with a story of the Christmas Rose. I think she'll really like that. I am thinking too that I will donate some money to the Food Bank in Mom's name and give her a copy of the receipt in a card. I've been thinking I could give one of my spinning wheels to my niece Rebecca as she just moved back to this area and into a new home. I know her mother spins, so think Becky might enjoy being able to spin too, or at least enjoy this beautiful, hand made traditional style spinning wheel as a decoration in her home. I'm not sure how many other family members will be around for Christmas. Apparently, Terry & his family will all be spending it at Alana's family's cabin in the woods. Mom doesn't want to go there as she feels it would be too hard on her to go on a rough road, even in my 4x4 and even though it's just a very short distance off the main road, so probably it will just be her and I for actual Christmas day since I can't go knowing Mom would be home alone on such a day. Someday all too soon I will be alone on Christmas day, for now I will enjoy each time I get to spend it with Mom before she 'moves on'.