A Month of Thanksgiving - November 13, 2012

My prescription for a more satisfying meal – SLOW DOWN! Turn off the TV, turn on some music – something low and sensual - then open a bottle of wine. Talk, laugh, listen, and connect. It’s a secret recipe the Europeans have down to an art,

and one that most of us make excuses not to have time for anymore. 

 

In a world of more and faster, we forget to indulge in one of life’s greatest pleasures: sharing food and wine, laughter and conversation with family and friends. 

 

TODAY I AM THANKFUL FOR wine because it encourages a return to a slower pace. Cheers!

 

 

A Month of Thanksgiving - November 9, 2012

 

I love being with and married to Barry! It has been SO great to find that one special person I want to annoy for the rest of my life. We agreed when we first met that his job would be to make me laugh and my job would be to annoy him . . . so far that plan has worked out wonderfully! 

TODAY I AM THANKFUL FOR my best friend, my partner in crime and the person I know I can annoy for the rest of my life - BARRY!

A Month of Thanksgiving - November 1, 2012

 

Sometimes it is easy to give thanks. Other times it takes a conscious effort. My dear friend Helen shared a wonderful idea today that I am going to try to replicate - giving thanks every day this month for one thing. Making November a month of Thanksgiving not just a day. 

 I love her idea and this gentle reminder. 

TODAY I AM THANKFUL FOR: Dear friends near and far who know who I am, understand where I have been, accept what I have become, and still gently allow me to grow.

Photo source

Chuck's Place!

I grew up in a family where everybody was a storyteller, but nobody wrote. It was that kind of Celtic, storytelling tradition: everybody would have a story to be shared at the local watering hole - a gathering place where folks relaxed at the end of a long hard day over a pint with good friends.

Chuck's Place is one of those places - where stories and spirits both flow freely. This is a quintessential old-time northwoods bar with mounted hunting trophies and a pool table with a slight lean that sits in the middle of the floor, surrounded by old tables. A dart board hangs on the wall, next to a big screen TV that continually broadcasts sporting events. Signed dollar bills adorn the walls - testimonials to those that have stopped by to enjoy the commaradrie and great food.

And while the end of the week might mean heading to the Northwood for Fish Fry Friday - the start of the week can only mean one thing. Time to take a break and head to Chuck's Place!

Monday nights on Drummond Island translate to “let’s meet for tacos.” You just put in a long, bone-tiring start to the work week and tomorrow will bring nothing but more of the same. Nothing lifts your spirits like walking into Chuck's and seeing the tables filled with friends and neighbors. The weight of the day's toll rolls off your shoulders. For a wee bit of time you can forget that Tuesday is just around the corner.

John Hillaby once wrote; "Few things are more pleasant than a village graced with a good church, a good priest and a good pub.”  He was surely writing about Chuck's!

Breathe . . .

Breathe deeply. Enjoy every nuance of this new season we deserve.

Spring is in its infancy, my friends. Time to roust and look for a place where the sun shines on your face. Work yourself out of that indentation on the couch that's been deepening since November.

The time for moaning about five months of weary weather is finished. Cheer now the seven glorious months ahead!

The blooms of spring that speak to the coming warmth of summer. We are sure to get another visit or two of weather deemed distasteful, but the persistence of this past Michigan winter will most assuredly give way to a refreshing new season.

We have been beaten by the clouds, the sleet, the downright miserable weather. The fruits of our labor? The glory of spring!

No more internet Sudoku or Scrabble; log off of Facebook and Farmville. You can leave those virtual worlds behind until next winter. Time to enjoy friends you can reach out and touch. Time for real people. Real gardens.

Getting through the isolation of winter is no small task for some of us. A daffodil breaking through the wood chips in my yard parallels what spring means for many Michiganders. The rusty color of the wood chips makes me smile. The flower has made it through to Spring's doorstep.

Television gives way to bike rides.

As inviting as the fireplace has been, it pales in comparison to the fire pit out back that will warm us for the next seven months.

Boy, does a s'more sound good! Soon I will be making them with my grandchildren 'round a bonfire on Drummond. They'll eat. We'll laugh. And the days will get longer.

Green grass. Fresh smells. Wide smiles.

Sometimes I think I make too much of the change of seasons. But there never really is too much.

It is time to breathe the deep breath of Spring!

Smile, breathe and go slowly.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Taking Time . . .

There is time – and that is often the hardest thing for me to acknowledge.

There is time today.

When I think I just have to vacuum up those dust elephants under the bed – there is time today instead to call and listen to the old stories my father has to tell one more time. To hear him recite the details of the history and traditions of our family and to come to understand where I fit on the family tree.

There is time today.

When I rush home done in after a doctor’s appointment – there is time instead to swing by the florist’s and pick the freshest, brightest bouquet of flowers for the dinner table.

There is time today.

And when I am so exhausted at the end of the day I want to just let Chloe’ out the back door to romp on her own – there is time instead to walk the short distance from our home to Angel Field where she can run full tilt up and down the hills “herding” robins. There is time for me to cheer her on and to catch her enthusiasm. To saunter across the lacrosse field, to sit on the bleachers and read a good book while the sun sets and to watch while she sniffs out and marks every corner.

There is time today.

When I think it would be faster to just do it myself, there is still enough time in the day to let my grandchildren enjoy working with me on the task at hand so they can feel useful and so I can remember just how vital they are and how much I have to learn from them.

There is time today.

And there is time to get to know those whose lives have touched mine and left such a print of friendship that I will never be the same. Those who may not be aware that just meeting them shaped my life much more than they will ever know.

Glenn Lahti’s name is on that list of friends I am indebted to. One of those I prefer not to forget because in some way he had a part in shaping things I do. His comments on the ditties I wrote for the Drummond Island Digest not only forced me to re-think what I had written, but also caused me to reflect on my perspective concerning the issue at hand. He was a great one for asking “Why Candis?” Glenn loved stirring the pot! More importantly he knew about taking time.

Unfortunately, I am often too worried about returning on time, finishing on time, running out of time that I forget it is time to take time.

Time to walk slower – to match my gait to the leisurely pace of those whose path crosses mine. To enjoy the sunlight, the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees, the sight of my puppy running head long into the next new adventure and the laughter of my grandchildren as they discover something for the very first time.

When it appears there is no more time, that I have only a few days and then only a few hours, and finally only a few minutes – I need to remember there is still time.

There is always enough time if I remember that the time is now.

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”  - Will Rogers

Rock Men . . .

If you don't know what an inukshuk is your not from the Great White North - or haven't travel extensively on the back roads of Drummond Island recently.

An inukshuk (or inuksuk, plural inuksuit) is a statue, made of few stones, resembling a cross-like figure - human like, with two separate legs. They have been erected by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America, from Alaska to Greenland. 
They represent safety, hope and friendship.

These days, they are erected by fans, tourist, artist and traveler. There is even an Inukshuk Landed Canadian Mission to Mars in the planning stages. Thanks to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games they are now recoginized worldwide.

A powerful symbol of home and life's journey.

May you all find your way home safely this week, on the road or in your heart, and give thanks for life's many blessings.