Thanksgiving Weekends

Sitting outside with the dogs on a 'crisp' fall afternoon.

Yellow and orange leaves that lay around the yard dance in little circles as the breeze that rushes through kissing my cheeks sings it's song of shorter days and cooler nights.

I feel very much alive surrounded by my wonderful fur kids who each come to me to give little wet kisses on my chin and rub themselves against my legs looking for a cuddle, sharing their love.  I smell the air which reminds me of pumpkin pies and childhood visions of being  buried in piles of dry brittle leaves.
I also feel that scratchy sore throat feeling of the onset of a cold.

*sigh*

I hate colds.  Was really hoping to avoid one.  I rarely get them.

As I sit here I think to myself, "that's okay this fresh air will do it wonders" when, Whomp! I am struck with an incredibly clear memory of a Thanksgiving weekend 37 years ago.

Grade 6 and Mr. Thompson standing over my desk telling me that he did not agree that I should be allowed to go camping as I was too sick with a cold to do anything but lay around cuddled under a blanket.  He was so believing of this that he wrote a note home to my mother.
Sorry Mr. Thompson but I had been looking forward to this weekend which consisted of just me and my Nana and Grandad in their little blue and white trailer.

It was my alone time with them and I was so excited to be going.
It was glorious.  So much so that my memories are so very vivid.

Camping amongst the falling leaves of yellows, oranges and reds and the cold crisp air very much like today.  Wearing a big woolly sweater and rubber boots as I played in the surrounding woods.  Sitting around the fire with sing songs.
A gather of my grandparents friends as we pot luck a turkey dinner. Picnic tables lined up in one long row covered in checkered plastic table coverings.  Blue melamine dishes.

Forgetting about my cold.

Feeling warm and loved and special.

I miss my grandparents deeply.
What I wouldn't give to be transported back to this time even for just 1 day.

I suppose I have been.
It is what I am most thankful for right now.

Thankful for the memories that I have been left with.  Memories that I hold close to my heart

Dog Kisses

I sit outside with my dogs everyday.

It is the first thing I do when I get home from work.. head out and let the furry kids out of their runs so that they may stretch their legs and have a play amongst each other.
It is also the time that they get their loves from their human mom.

Penny loves having her cheeks rubbed and under her collar.
Rocky enjoys his butt scratched under his big curly tail, he also likes to rub himself all over me just about pushing me over.
Hubba.... well, Hubba will take anything, he just likes to be touched... ALL the time.
Elly loves a good belly rub and enjoys her face being stroked.
Rigby IF he ever sits still likes getting his backside scratched.

It is my one time in the day that I un-wind.  If anything negative is happening it all dissolves with just one kiss from my fur babies and stays that way the entire time I'm hanging out with them.

Yesterday was no exception.

The air was laced with a hint of the winter we have been deprived of this year.  The tip of it's icy teeth gently brushing my cheeks.
Purple and reds in the sky seemed to intertwine in amongst the dark bare branches of our trees as the sun crept away to end another day.

I sat at the empty fire pit, my elbows resting on my knees chin in my hands, reflecting on the many gatherings that have been had in this very spot.
Sadness takes hold as I picture the kids in their younger days roasting marshmallows and singing camp songs.  Or as teenagers with their friends, a circle of invincibility that the adults could not penetrate.
Christmas Eves with the family as we sing songs and are wrapped in a cloak of warmth and security knowing we will always be there for each other.

I feel sad.  Missing my kids.

A wet nose and warm tongue pull me out of my thoughts and the sadness flutters to the ground.

A dog knows when a kiss or hug is needed.
How can anyone live without a dog?

or two?

or three?

or four?

or five?

The Nose Knows

Or rather the nose remembers

I have this memory that came flooding back to me as I was drifting off to sleep last night... and I find I have this urge to write about it.. not that I'll forget it, but I just felt a need to share.

There was this crawl space at my grandparents house when I was growing up that I absolutely loved to go into.  For those who know me now will be in wonderment and wonder wonderingly how someone with a phobia of small dark places could find this memory a happy one.  

I know eh?  That and it was probably filled with wolf spiders as well....

It was dark, yet not dark as naked light bulbs lit my way.
The ceiling was so very low and even as a kid I had to keep my head down and my knees slightly bent.

The room felt like it went on forever.. it was very large and full of 'stuff' - boxes upon boxes of treasures.

Stored Christmas decorations and other items that were too priceless to throw away yet not loved enough to have out on display. 

However it is the smell that I remember so vividly.  Clay - potters clay. 
There were bags of it in a box. A craft once learned but now forgotten and packed into a box for future creative endeavors only to be found by a grandchild.
The smell still sits in the back of my nose and if ever I am lucky enough for the opportunity to catch a whiff of that scent I am immediately transported back to the special place in a time so long ago now.

I remember once playing in that space with some Barbie dolls.. I'm not sure if I found them there or if I had brought them in myself... but I could play for hours and not be disturbed by the grown ups.
A place that they called dark and dingy but one I found quite magical with a wonderful smell.

The house was sold years ago, but I can still walk through it in my mind as though I was only there last week.  Much has changed about it.... the trees have matured, the swimming pool out back is gone and even the colour is different. No matter, the memories that I take with me will never change.
I bet that crawl space is still there and hasn't changed though.. I wonder if it still smells of clay?

I think I need to find myself a quiet special space once again....  in fact all 'grown ups' should have a magical place they can escape to from time to time.

  

This pic was taken many, many years ago.. that is me as a baby being held by my grandmother.. Nana Betty.

and this is the house now... years later.

Remember

Lest we Forget
I will never forget.

My grandad fought in the war for our freedom.

I think of you everyday grandad... but today the most.

Thanks for the Memories

I sit here.... suppose to be doing paper work (sigh, it will never leave will it?)
I sit here... remembering...... the past 6 years.

I've had so many special people enter my life 'because' of these last six years.  I have made friends all from a cup of coffee... special friends.
Good friends who I am hoping to know throughout the rest of my days.

I feel blessed, so much, more than anyone can imagine.  And it brings a lump to my throat... I feel by walking out that door that I will be leaving you all, and I now understand what you all mean when you say "it won't be the same"
Mugs will always be the same, but we will miss each other.
We shall meet at another place, another time, and maybe it will be Mugs for a coffee with me at the table instead of behind the counter or pehaps at my new job, wherever that may be.

For now memories are what we have, Good Times and we will never forget each other... names may be forgotten, but the memories will not.

Music has been an important part of my life, and I am so glad that I was able to share that part of me through Mugs.... and for all of you that have come out to enjoy and give a big part of yourself I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I also hope that you will all continue this great evening of entertainment... as I plan to attend as many as possible.. but from the comfort of the seat as a customer.

I've not only been given the gift of music... but have been given pictures drawn for me from young children, a special bean from a special friend (no not drugs), dog bones to share with my babies, flowers, and plants from your very own gardens, decor that added that special touch, your hard work and sweat when we renovated, your patience while we closed when we renovated, and most importantly, I was given the gift of friendship.

Thank you everyone for the most wonderful six years I could have ever imagined... but it is time for me to leave now....  I wont be far.... promise