the inspired family

i feel very disconnected when i’m out and about all over town… or the valley really.

particularly disconnected, funnily enough, when i’m out and about all by myself.  this was just one of those days where, between yoga, coffee out with yoga friend and errands, I feel a little behind the eight ball on the home front.  laundry mounts.  school gets partially done.  i end up unwound and undone from a fantastic yoga class only to find my brains scattered and rattling about my brain when it comes to the practicalities of the day.  i suppose, in a good, kind of fun, “wow, mum, we have to be at piano in ten minutes, get your shit together” sort of way… i’m paraphrasing by the way.

the role of coffee in my life is beginning to concern me.  it, along with butter tarts and date squares is morphing into a kind of life-line.  most often it’s just my early, squirrelly morning jolt… but lately it’s been a mid-afternoon latte… jerry’s for mocha- go hard on the whip, will ya?!-  in the evening.  i am clearly enjoying some regular caffeination.

a visit from my friendly j.w. lady this afternoon.  i indulge just because… i’m eager to know what drives her to dedicate a life largely to rejection… curious to what’s feeding that degree of faith.  she’s nice company… british, well-travelled, smart and articulate- resembling very little of the j.w’s i’ve encountered in the past- and she never scolds when i haven’t done the required reading.  a little stimulating debate in the afternoon.  what can i say… it’s a small town!

yoga is the highlight today.  shoulders opened .  hips, too.  frog.  variations of tree.  variations of pigeon. savasana.

bank deposit.  homemade butter tart.  a blue dog mocha… with whip.

pizza night… jalapenos, goat cheese, mushrooms, fresh garlic. favourite meal of the week… until tomorrow.

anion pads.  friggin’ heaven in a sanitary pad!

or so it seems some days…

like dear honey pictured here, somedays i find it’s as though i’m actually waiting for something to happen.  not exactly proactive particularly on the heels of a night disturbed by dreams of blatant fiscal irresponsibility… and monkeys.  not exactly a good omen.

but the sense of restless waiting continues and I, like my dear dog, find myself in that waiting place… waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a yes or no or waiting for their hair to grow or… how ’bout just waiting for the ol’ lady to take me for a friggin’ walk!  or in the case of the ol’  lady, waiting for that nice nigerian prince to come through with 3.5 million pounds he promised her in that  email last week!  please, if there’s one thing that drives me crazy is a nigerian prince promising to deposit close to 10 million canadian dollars in my account and then jamming on me.  it’s a matter of integrity after all….

anywhooo… i digress.  dear honey’s waiting did actually pay off today…in a walk in spitting snow with mother nature working her darndest to make us a blizzard.

dogs do joy better than just about anyone.  it’s as though the beast levitates as i take those first promising steps down the stairs off the deck.  for a very sturdy lab-rottie cross, she’s remarkably nimble, the way she writhes with sheer glee in mid-air.  dogs do joy… enviably. i wish to leap while writhing when i’m joyful.  perhaps i might.

today, the simply note- rather than writhe- worthy…

fresh oatmeal cookie(s!) with my kick in the ass this morning.  dozy company at 5:15… the sounds of babar from the darkness beyond my office walls.

conversation with representatives of local developers… and the chance to not only hold my own, but call them out.

my joyful dog… and a neighbour home ’sick’ to share a walk in mother nature’s windy tantrum.

ham sandwich.  warm car and magazines for all, waiting for kids at piano lessons.  old mcdonald had a farm and jolly old saint nick.  a whiff of a first recital!

salt & vinegar chips.  coca-cola.  images ready for clients… ahead of schedule.

inquiries.  usually mean work.

pizza night: fresh chopped garlic, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, mushrooms, goat cheese and a touch of grated parmesan and extra-old cheddar… i laugh in the face of h1n1- heh heh.

the office.  30 rock.  the unofficial beginning of our weekend.  bed, beckoning… and a new book… of negroes.  everyone who’s read it has raved.  sometimes i just love a sure thing.

waiting… while doing.

dr. seuss.

it’s a summer, and soon to be autumn, that has passed for this 2009 and with all of the photos i’ve shot of the kids, not a one that could be considered a contender for this year’s all-important christmas card… until today.  under the promise of  warming up with hot chocolate and treats at our local coffee shop, i was able to drag the brood off to a favourite portrait location in hopes of a suitable kid portrait for the .

one would think that as a professional i’d have a glut of possibilities. not so.  if anything, this gang can be less amenable out of sheer boredom with having a lens in their faces!  in fact, i have more food chewing, nose-picking, just plain bad attitude shots than any parent- even photographer parent- deserves!

but, despite having to be bribed, everybody totally got into it and mission was accomplished, adding to a pretty durned great day…

energetic practice- hot, sweaty, long… head to knees- yeah, ba-byyy!!

vanilla soy latte, hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and checkers.

less breeze, more sun.

fun with ol’ bessy and my minions- doesn’t get much better for a mid-november afternoon.

a happy client from the weekend… and a subsequent happy referral from happy client booked for next weekend- whooot!

time alone with baby girl… tutus… little girl’s size 11 dance slippers.

the big head of a honey beast resting in my lap asking for loves.

a pinch of time to sneak off for parent/teacher interview… with hubby. ahem.

two boys old enough to be trusted to clean the kitchen alone… and slightly fewer bowls used than yesterday- progress?

another one opens. yes…  little doors. some even tiny, alice in wonderland doors, curiouser and curiouser, but doors nonetheless.

and open they do…

with fresh inspiration. ideas.  hope.  to be followed closely, and with haste, by inspired action… after all, what is it the gurus say these days, “the universe loves speed!”

well, we’re working under that principle… as we make sure to appreciate the happy, little, occurences that dot our days, keeping us buoyed and moving forward.

a steady flow of fun ideas…  the talents and abilities to see that they evolve beyond mere conversation…

frosty pink lip gloss on sweet, bee-stung, five-year-old lips… voluntary hugs from my boys.

mid-day snow and afternoons, warm and clear… the blue skies of mid-autumn, fluffy clouds, early sunsets, long shadows.  bessy.  lightroom.  wordpress.  android.

a mid-week day of rest and having nowhere to be… an afternoon snooze.  schedules working themselves out.  $100 in the lotto… wtf?!  hello goat cheese and propane for the bbq!

an early pizza night.

eager for more doors… big and small.

Doorknob: D’ooooh!
Alice: Oh! I beg your pardon…
Doorknob: Quite all right, but you did give me quite a turn.
Alice: You see, I was chasing this…
Doorknob: Rather good, what? Doorknob? Turn? Since one good turn deserves another, what can I do for you?

one moment you think you’ve got everything by the proverbial tail, and the next, well… you don’t.

i couldn’t help but laugh over dishes tonight as i considered either, 1. we’re incredibly daring and adventurous, throwing caution and conformity to the wind in this grand experiment…; or 2.  we’re so out to lunch naive it’s positively frigging scary.

but then i stared around my kitchen, the bestest time of day kitchen: dimly lit and freshly cleaned with the reassuring hum of the dishwasher; and rested in knowing that all really is well with our world… regardless whether ours was one of daring adventure or dumb-ass naivete!

with each lemon-scented breath, it all mattered less and less.  because today was just another pretty darn good day, ebbs and all:

as always a good shot of  kick ass tops the days little wonders.  my cookie… kid smell, fresh from sleep, especially when it comes with morning hugs.

another butt-early morning… the best.  my space heater.  my tidy little office, warmed up to sweat lodge proportions.  my laptop… with sirius radio.

mountain sunrise welcomed with yoga. yoga. yoga!!

finishing school module units.  whoot!  a gas fireplace in the schoolroom.  school actually being done in the schoolroom… with little prodding!  funny spelling mistakes.

my urbane and genteel husband’s excitement with today’s accomplishment… his first deer  (honestly, it’s like we’re stepping back in time… considering killing one of the neighbouring wild turkeys for american thanksgiving… erk.)

my honey.  taking time to walk my honey.  her unadultrated  joy the moment we started for the door.

my beanie toque.  tomato soup and crackers.

warm, sunny november afternoons.  stroll with camera on warm, sunny november afternoons.  the lake.

booking a gig for the weekend… that actually works with our swim meet schedule.

health.  a team.  many, many cans in the pantry… oh, and the promise of fresh venison, of course!