A boot plan

At this “high expectations”  month of  December I am practicing cultivating connections with KINDNESS then LOVE then BOUNDARIES.

it’s hard to not be a people pleaser BECAUSE it is Christmas 🎄.   I can please people if I implement my personal boundaries.  

For example I boot out what does not fit or feel correct for me.

I plan and prepare what I want and grind in firmly with my boots.

It is now easier to be kind and please.  

day after Mother's Day

I celebrate the 'day after celebrations'.  Mothers Day, Christmas, Valentines are huge impactful guilt felt celebrations.  I care about Moms and the sacred Christmas time.  Valentines is just sooooo creative and so red and heart shaped and jewellery giving and eating in romantic restaurant celebration.  If you are not in love or in a relationship or don't have a friend, or a Mom or family then those celebrations need to celebrate the love to the homeless, to the mental health facilities and poverty in YMCA centres. 

 I just don't get why I have expectations for this day.  Like some amazing prize is going to be delivered to my door and I will open up this prize, because it is in a beautifully wrapped box or a gorgeous basket covered in gold cellophane...I mean my imagination runs wild.

I know I am a Mother and I have had wonderful things done for me and gifts given to me.  Does it have to happen every year on a certain date?

Hallmark did a wonderful job getting in on this day.  It's bigger than Christmas and I celebrate the day after Christmas too!  Those days after  'THE DAY" celebrations are great.  Pressure off, it's over, expectations gone.  I celebrate the survival because I work mentally hard to process the ridiculous

expectations.  I believe in the "work" to get that perception turned into gratitude and simplicity of the

event.  

If Mother's Day and Christmas were not celebrated and so globally franchised the day would be sweeter, more subtle, more surprising.  I mean family can think of surprising one with a gift or special work done and a baking treat without the hoopla!  like that word btw because my mom used to say it all the time.  Just go and surprise someone, just because.  Keep the originality of anytime is a good time to share gifts. 

Let's forget the global nation and everything we now know about around the world horrors, and the more we love, the better we are, I AGREE.   Specifying a specific date on a certain type of status or gender and celebrate that symbol of mother, father, dad, mom, grandma....and so on then it gets really complicated and overwhelming.   It's the specified date, the actual day that we are INFORMED and flashed everywhere to do something for whom ever you feel pressure to do something for on that specific date. 

I left the house this morning after 9 am and drove my car to a place where I could be myself again.  Peace and quiet to think and refresh, get a new grasp, and find my soul.   

Until next year at this time...

lessons + celebrate

This is a blog to document lessons I have been aware of

and celebrations and energy therapy and horse relations, etc.

Read if you want:

(shoulder tendonitis prevention)

foods for my inflammation

gifts of the type 3 (energy profiling)

woman with Carol Tuttle and her Healing Centre

now here is a chart system for

planting your garden with the appropriate

companion (hubby's the gardener)

A hornets nest appeared unnoticed on our corral fence
for a long time ..until we did notice it this fall.

this is the first quote that we accepted in September

and are still waiting for them to come and paint!

I am waiting on our second painter's quote that I

had done 2 weeks ago!

this Christmas I came upon a lovely

desert for large crowds

here is the Trifle ingredients I made for Christmas Day

I had to pick up a Trifle bowl at Superstore

my other one didn't make it here in 2014 (could not locate it)

Christmas tree I purchased is huge and I enjoyed that

it was tall and perfect with so many lights on it.

Christmas is HUGE for me and the tree is VERY IMPORTANT!

We all enjoyed the extravagance that enriched our living room

with vibrancy and uplifting beauty.

Tom bought fireworks to celebrate his success with his youtube channel

Tommy's Puppet Lab of over 200,000 subscribers.

even this horse that manifested into being owned by us is
HUGE  for me and VERY IMPORTANT to my balance and energy
Just when I get her in my control with the riding techniques,
she goes and has a bad day or she doesn't like being around other horses
in the arena, you know, just like humans, it is a process to maintain balance.

Enjoy the last 3 days of 2018!

Highlight that holiday

Christmas 2017 

just writing down the highlights of last Christmas.  I know it was six weeks ago but it takes

awhile for me to absorb everthing we did and who we saw and the gifts received and the food

we made and ate...yada yada

Good moments Christmas 2017

• swim ladies gift exchange and luncheon

• our tree from superstore was healthy and easy to decorate 

• Hash brown casserole 

• Christmas Eve at Langenburg hall

• Toms stuffed peppers supper

• Snickerdoodle cookies

• Watching Wonder Woman New Year’s Eve with family

• Tommy's puppet lab youtube channel hit 80,000 subscribers Dec 31

• My gift to folks Dec 23 of angel and red pointsetta led ornaments

• Brian liked his presents no returns his Silk scarf and black and white shirt and wall folding saddle rack

•  my awesome Amercian West purse

• Tom got a set of pyjamas and slippers and a samsonite suitcase

I am achieving this hairstyle now and colouring my own hair!

don't I look great?

packin' - stylin'

Hey All!

How is it going?

the days are cold and

especially today Dec 29th!

 I am working on a hair style

that is a tad edgier than my norm

and packing for our holiday in another

week. 

I remember when Christmas was the most exciting 

time for me because my Mom really made it magical.

As an adult I still enjoy the lights and look forward

to a present or two under the tree but it is a quieter season for me now

and I like it like that.  

A few Christmas events building up  to the day is

good but I now just want to snuggle in with a good read

and watch the tree lights twinkle and visit quietly

with a friend or two.

This last week....

the parents are both still functioning okay in

a senior residence and also driving us crazy sometimes

with the medical appointments but we are presenting

our thoughts on that to them as best as we can

and praying this next year is quieter for having

flus' and hoping for keeping their medications stable.

I am very fortunate to have my brother and sister

in the city where my folks live.

They assist ALOT when they can and it is
like this:
  "It seems that one mother  can look after
 many children but now it takes all 3 of us and more to look after
one mother! (our father included)!

How about you?  

Keeping fit over the holidays?

Maintaining-no gain with the weight?

here is a great quote from Carol Tuttle

from Dressing Your Truth and Living Your Truth

lifestyle program

"When You Look Good And Feel Good, You Are More
Confident To Do Good, In A World That Needs Your Gifts!"

feel good Christmas decoration

yes, this brings me joy!

horses in the winter!

Our family skiied every year since the boys

were 3 and 5 years; we always had a ski vacation
in February and this village is quite
real to me, so much adventure on those slopes!

ski ski ski!

This little village is joy to me!

Merry and Happy Holiday and travel and visiting moments to you

all!

kirkville tradition

Keeping it real here at Kirkville.

This is a balsam fir.

We get ours from the Superstore, as they

have had the healthiest trees

thus far.

fa la la la...

✨✨✨

Christmas is coming fast!

my guilt list

okay

I am going to nip this in the bud

so to speak

The Guilt List

I feel guilty when.....

I don't bake enough

I don't have food prepared

for company in my freezer

When someone vents out loud I think it is my fault or somehow
I screwed up

I read too many books, am I lazy?

I should of hugged my boys more when they were little

Because, I am not much for hugging

When I don't have anything planned for the day, or several days

When I am not making friends

When I use money incorrectly 

When I do not have as much energy as other women seem to

When I cannot patch up the past and have to just live in the present

When my neck gets stiff and I once again have to slow down and relax

....and on and on it will go and it depends on the time of year

The Guilt Resolved List

in my senior retirement years I have resolved this.....

• My self-talk is positive

• My confidence is based on my Guilt List (above) - if no guilt ....I can move forward, plan some fun...et al

• Christmas comes around and I know I love buying a live tree and bringing it home and watching it thaw out to see what shape it will actually be.  Decorations are minimal.  I know once that tree is in the house the guilt about cooking, baking and performing traditional meals is always a work through process for me.  I don't feel guilty anymore because I know what I love that time of year.  Lights!  I speak my mind to my family about what I need this time of year and I know that it is appreciated - "Don't shrink, don't puff up, just stand my sacred ground!

my mother-in-law made a statement to me

many years ago when my boys were toddlers and I was really

not coping well.  She said "Donna, everything will pass in time". Sometimes

I remembered those words and sometimes I didn't.

• 
  

I know there is more guilt that crops up depending on

timely events and things misinterpreted among people

I trust myself and have a purpose in life to

be truthful to my nature and then things do fall into place

with guilt or no guilt.  We cannot get back to the past, even if I try I just can't get there!

Have you ever written down your guilt list?

flashlight walk

I can't seem to get the serious Christmas sentimentality

this year

I was going to post something about a time when...

instead tonight we went outside with our

flashlights

and walked and

took pictures

it was very dark

we had fun with flashlights

and it being so dark you could not see

we never gave it the chance for our eyes

to get used to the darkness

something different

on such a nice

night

trying to figure out the

better photo --with the flash on

or flash off and needing our flashlights

to see the camera settings

a big secret you may not know

about me is

I am very afraid of the dark

walking out into the night

by myself is scary

so this was a good way to make

the night time

not so scary

of course I had my partner

in crime who just came up last night

for Christmas

he is always game for some different fun

Peace and Goodwill to all this weekend!

new things in

Christmas is lit up here now

this is a live Fraser Fir tree

healthy green strong branches 

(it's a winner)

Hubby has been planning- building - cutting - and flooring and putting

up wallboard for our tiny little upstairs bathroom

it's been hard work because of the small space

and Brian is 6' 2" 

The medicine cabinet is to be constructed yet, by hubby.  The

 vanity he built from scratch using Maple wood with natural stain finish;

the floor and wallboards installed by him as well

(I was there for supervision and to keep the loud strange words

from steaming up this little bathroom.  I had it under peaceful control)

the sink is a square bowl and the faucet tap is open at the top

and water flows openly into the bowl.  I have always wanted one of

those - it's cool!

the "before" picture

(the walls had lino glued on every inch of this

bathroom and poorly done at that)

He really worked had at this

reno and did a great job!

show and tell

first decoration out tonight

it's peaceful

it is called a Schwibbogen (German Christmas display)

intricately carved by a local German resident here in this fair

city of mine.

I am looking forward to our tree {search-load-unload-thaw
haul in- needles falling on floor- cursing- nice-smelling tree!}

I will also need help this year in decorating...

the last doctor's appt stated

that I have developed a Frozen Shoulder

so I am busy doing physio exercises

and lifting my right arm up cannot be done yet

it's going to take time and rest and especially exercises
I am no longer in pain
but in pain only when I do too much and try to
raise up the stiff shoulder

so tree decorating will be a partnership this year

nothing profound here (just show and tell);

just starting to feel the season's spirit!

my Christmas walk

just across the road and a short 5 minute walk from our house is our community pasture;

I do enjoy walking through after the cattle have been moved out by late fall.

Soft frost and pure white makes it very Christmas-sy and bright!

 we picked Saskatoon berries from this bush tree in July and looks like we missed some!

what's our tradition Mom?

My son Graham was 10 when he came home from school one afternoon and asked... "What is our family Christmas tradition mom?"  He was looking at me intently awaiting a brilliant response to something he knew we didn't really have.  Actually it was a word we didn't use at christmas time in our house.  So  I knew that at school they must of been telling stories about Christmas with family. I thought hard for a few minutes, which in itself said to me and my son that we didn't necessarily have a Christmas tradition. "How about that  we are always with family and travel at Christmas time so we can be together"?  That didn't seem to appease Graham very much.  He was still looking at me, hoping for a TRADITION story  to take back to school the next day.

I sat down with him and discussed openly that traditions aren't always as well noted in some families as others might.  You and your brother have a Ukrainian grandmother whose family came from the Ukraine and a English grandmother who was an English war bride and married a soldier from Saskatchewan. Brian is Irish/English and I am Ukrainian/English.  We celebrated none of those cultures.   I  ended meekly with the so-called tradition of... "well we always put up a real (live) tree and decorate it and we travel to visit our grandparents each year. " But, (says my eager son), what's our tradition?"

 

Christmas in Prince Albert 1989:  Graham and Tom were 3 and 5 when we entered  the Red River Forest to cut down our own tree. I had packed donuts and some hot chocolate for a treat after we got the tree picked and loaded in the truck.  The tree was picked and cut down but the boys were more interested in the donuts and hot chocolate and then the fighting started over the donuts so it was not a peaceful venture into the woods!  

{Red River Forest Prince Albert)

So now it is 2015 and that moment of truth is now hitting home because I have been reading about childhood memories and the joys that are portrayed in a well versed magazine article or pictures of togetherness around the world and even with my co-workers and neighbours who seem to have some kind of tradition.  Tradition means to me a culture that is practiced by ones own family on certain holidays every year.  { a way of thinking, behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time. : the stories, beliefs ...}

So here it is! Our family tradition!   A real live tree is brought into our house, and placed in a tree stand as the needles share themselves generously about the house even before we have put a light or piece of garland on it.  Water, yes it needs water, so the sugar-water is poured into the tree stand and more needles fall into my hair.  The vacuum and broom is always at the ready for more needle "bunnies" to pick up.  I give up after a couple of days and just keep all the needles pushed under the tree skirt until after the 25th of December when, the reckoning happens, and the tree and its fir needles are thrown outside. 

I don't ever want to give up this Kirk family tradition!

Merry Christmas!

(in memory of Christmas past )

Christmas in all its' Glory

My sis, dad, niece, brother-in law all toured the Old Government House last night and decorated a huge gingerbread cookie then walked through the rooms of the historical Lt. Governor's house in Regina.  There were carollers in the hallways singing for us and dressed in their 1900's outfits.  Beautiful trees decorated throughout,

horse drawn wagon rides for families!

what a lovely evening it was.

colour

i am an eclectic decorator and my art is very diverse too

this cut glass is the most beautiful I have seen.  It is arranged randomly with

colours that I love best.  The deep rich dynamic colors of gold brown orange salmon-pink purple

colour makes me feel understood and grounded and happy!

a close up of a vase  (love)  

Cards and Candles and Comments

Another Christmas day is over and the card sharks were busy playing round the

table as usual.  Tom was the winner this Christmas.  A very favourite pasttime for Grampa and his grandson.  Rummy is the game and a bit of crib too!

An honourable mention goes out to Tom as well this year as his gifts were so fun and so appropriate for all of us

that his spirit of gift giving made it a very fun time around the tree!

 Also the Kirk family candelabra was lit while eating our dinner and kept the ambience of fancy dining.   (Love lighting candles at the table while dining)

Things said around the table and things said before the dinner and things

said after.....

My Dad was pretty spectacular on Christmas Day.  He said the most beautiful

heartfelt grace before we sat down.  He always speaks his grace so fast that we don't know what the prayer is.  On this holy day my hubby put him on the spot and asked him to say grace.  Well it was very slow and thoughtful and clear! (a moment for sure)

I also cooked a huge turkey and my dad carved the turkey very patiently as he does

every year.  It still amazes me that he can do that so well still at the age of 85.  We all love it

when he carves because no one else wants that job.!

 After supper and the Chinese gift exchange was done there was a quiet time in the room.  Well my mom said "oh please someone say something" (she cannot stand it when no one talks).  My niece Jaida, said "Your beautiful Grandma"..... well Gramma was taken aback for a moment and then said thank you.  I thought it was an angel that came out with that compliment.  (special)

These were my moments and I wanted to get them written somewhere to remember the day as I remembered to send an angel to each and everyone of my family joining us at my house.

Christmas time has challenges relationship-wise (if you know what I am saying) but because it is a time for peace and hugs and wishing season greetings I wished each one an angel to make the day calm and fun!

keep on lovin' and huggin!

10 things I like about Christmas

10.  buying gifts for my son.  He is spoiled I must admit.  Only child makes for too much love!

9.  playing my piano with the songs "Oh Holy Night" and "The War is Over (John Lennon) are my absolute favourites. This is the only time of year I really play the piano (unfortunately) and it is very relaxing if I get stressed out over the silly pressures of the season.

8. going to the community Christmas concert where the community orchestras and community choirs perform for the city and surrounding communities.

7. Watching the Women's Celtic Christmas special on TV on PBS

6.  walking into home decor specialty retail stores, The Plum Tree, Frozen Cactus, Kokopellis in SC and Yours Trulee in SC.  These places sure give me an uplift just walking through them and especially at Christmas time they do up the displays beautifully.

5. I do love making a hot punch like a Cranberry Log or Apple cider and have it on the stove for people to dip into.  This year I hope to have a hot drink from Jamie Olive'rs TV show with apple juice, ginger slices, orange slices, water and a splash of rum.  Very medicinal too!

4. picking out a tree.  A real tree.  This is a tradition in our family. Always a real tree.

3. Picking out the wrapping paper.  I don't particularly like to do the actual wrapping though.  I do like getting creative with the bows or name tags.

2. Deciding where the tree will be placed in the house as I change it sometimes.  It is upstairs this year in the living room in front of the big window.  Next year it could be in the basement or in a corner spot in the living room.

1.  LIGHTS! LIGHTS! very important to have lights outside somewhere.  If I could put lights around the deck each year I would (my hubby has to be encouraged and I have to have the plan in action for him to hook up on that project)

a little light

the tree that smelled bad and we dumped it ouside is

proving to be a lovely tree for drive-bys and it glows

with its own spirit of being "the light"

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, how lovely you 

are to me....

Scents and Spirit

We bought a Christmas Tree today and we put it in the tree stand and added water

but the smell got very bad and it was the tree.

We had to put it outside  I couldn't believe it!

It was a Noble fir

I went back and got another tree and no smell.

It is a lovely fir tree with a beautiful scent. (see below)

it was mentioned on FB from someone that this had happened to them and that the bad smell

on a real Christmas tree could be protestors who spray live trees

to make them smell bad and only when they are warm in your house

does it start to stink.  They want to discourage people from buying

live trees.  What next? !!!! 

keep the spirit!

crafty feelings

are you crafting and repainting for a perfect Christmas season?

or are you just enjoying the overwhelming feeling of

the giving of Christmas?

I go into my art room and start painting or glueing or writing

and then I remember how to enjoy this special time on the calendar year!

my little news is I will be working at our local flower store (All About Flowers) helping with the
busy season, delivering flowers, taking phone orders and whatever they need me for!  If it works out I can be there for the busy Valentines week and so on,  Sounds enjoyable to me.