And its over !!!

Yes, I made it through the holiday they call Christmas. I smiled, I laughed and I stayed as positive as I could through the whole day. You are welcome!

Friday night I started a new tradition of doing a radio show over on Amherst Island. And what a delight it was to join my friend Erin Merry and her niece Emily Merry for our first " Merry - Christmas " show. We both brought some tunes and even played some requests. I had not been in the studio for a few months, so it was nice to have some of my old listeners back:) It felt good, which actually made me smile. Things were starting to change.

I never left the house on Saturday. My day was spent cleaning and baking. In between, there were visits with a couple of close friends...tea and sweets were had and hugs were exchanged. They knew what a hard time I was having, and they were there for support. Many thanks to them for understanding and not lecturing:)

Sunday commenced with exchanging gifts with my hubby and having a delicious breakfast consisting of bacon and Irish Creme Pancakes:) I got a beautiful book on the history of Lennox and Addington County, which I am having a hard time putting down. The afternoon and evening were spent at my cousins house for Christmas dinner. It was a blast to connect with many of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins that I only see a few times a year.

The absolute BEST day of the holiday had to be Monday - Boxing Day. We traveled to Toronto to visit with our son and his 'zoo' :) Upon arrival, we were greeted with Bryce holding onto a little chiwawa named Nu Nu....he said "Merry Christmas ... here is your gift!" and held her out to us. I barked NO WAY, and he started laughing. He went onto explain that he was dog sitting for the girl who lives downstairs. Whew...

Dorrie (our oldest grand dog) was so excited to see us, but couldn't keep her snout out of the gift bag with her gift(s) in it:) Jacob (the black great dane) was all over me when he realized I had treats. We had a great afternoon visiting and exchanging gifts. Bryce's freezer is now full of a month's worth of baking...hope he enjoys all that sweetness!

After being trapped in the automated parking lot (long story) we 'escaped' to Yonge Dundas Square for some sight-seeing and lunch at Milestones. It was lovely - and the view was captivating. The mass of people down below made us realize how lucky we were to live in our small Village that only has that many people in it on July 1st:)

We stopped to take pictures at the rink at Ryerson University. It was so great to hug my little boy again. He has been gone from under our roof for over 10 years, but never far from our hearts. We can't wait till he comes down for a Summer visit with the Grand Dogs:)

After yesterday, I feel like I have the ability to embrace the New Year and all the joy and goodness it will bring to us all.

Thank You for allowing me to vent as well as be unique in my distaste for the end-of-December holiday season.

Count Down to the day after Christmas !!

Every year, people look forward to this thing they call Christmas. Personally, I could do without it. People have been jamming the whole "try and remember all the good times you had"! Bahhh Shall I just blurt it all out here so I can point everyone to my blog to read.

Shall I clarify:

When I was 5, being an only child, I acted badly and my father boxed up all my presents and gave them away to a charity. I remember looking out my bedroom window and seeing all my toys in a big box on the front doorstep.

When I was 24, my father, who had been missing for over a year, arrived on my doorstep. Ten minutes later he walked away from me and I never saw him again, till he was on his deathbed.

When I was 26, my mother re-married. We were forced to share our xmas meals with another family. They made sure we knew that we were intruders.

When I was 42 my mother passed away. 13 days before xmas. Her husband wasn't even there....we couldn't find him. It was just my brother and I and reverend Andrew in the room with her. Two days after the funeral I had the joyous task of wrapping all of our families xmas gifts that she had purchased a month earlier. A year later, her 2nd husband re-married, sold his house he shared with her and confiscated her belongings. Many of them were things that my parents had saved for years to purchase.

Now, please tell me where I can find any type of JOY when it comes to December 25th? The only thing I look forward to is the day after...

Three hours of baking ...

And I believe I still have more to do, but that can wait till next weekend!

Let me talk about the rewarding experience I had, working for the United Way. This is not the first time I have had the good fortunate to work for this agency. In 2009 I was awarded the position of "Loaned Representative" from my employer, Assurant Solutions. They pay my wages, as well as any additional gas I spend in running errands, deliver packages or attending functions. It is normally a one-time-only position, but for some reason, they decided I should return for a second term. I was giddy when I was told. In fact I had tears in my eyes when I was informed I was the successful candidate for the 2011 campaign.

Even though I had completed the two week training course in 2009, I went through it again, as a few things had changed. They had added 4 different components of actual volunteer work. We spend half a day painting four different rooms at 2 different group homes. I cant paint if my life depended on it, but the people in charge thought my handy work was quite acceptable. We also spent an afternoon harvesting vegetables at one of the local community gardens. As soon as it was picked, it was delivered to those in need. An afternoon was also spent at the Food Bank. They were just ramping up for the Food Sharing Project. This is where each school in our county orders food for the many children who come in to school with empty stomachs and no lunch. The philosophy of this program is that children can only learn if they have some sort of nourishment. It still chokes me up to think of children going to school without eating breakfast and not having a lunch. Heartbreaking!

Another event we attended as part of our Loaned Rep training was the "Seeing is Believing Tour". This is where a group of employees from local businesses who support the United Way jump on a city bus and travel to four different United Way Funded Agencies. One of the stops was at "Lunch By George". I had been here before; two years prior. The first time effected me greatly. I blogged it as well as copying and sending to a few friends and acquaintances via facebook and email. Here is a clip of what I wrote: (August 20th, 2009)



....Next on the list was Lunches by George. A 'soup kitchen' type environment which started 10 years ago at St Georges Cathedral. There were 5 people there for 'lunch' when they first opened. Yesterday, there was over 40 clients there for a meal at 11am. Many tried to sit alone, as we were told that this was basically the only time they had by themselves, if they came from a shelter, or living on the street. (one of the men's shelters consists of 8 beds in a SINGLE room) There was one man sitting with his back turned to us and a big gold bible by his side. He sat with his head bowed, perhaps in prayer; more than likely trying to hide his shame. It was hard not to look around at the lineup for the kitchen window that was developing. I tried my hardest to pay attention to what the director of the program was saying, but my mind was elsewhere. How in the name of God could this be happening in the city of Kingston? My face flushed with the shame I was feeling. The biggest worry I had that day was getting my housework done before my husband and I spent our weekend boating on lake Ontario. What a spoiled person I have become. Cripes...at least I have a roof over my head...how could I be so petty?


So lets fast-forward to 2011. Once again we visited Lunch By George. There were 70+ people awaiting their meal. Many I recognized from my first visit. The bible man was there, but he looked different. He had on a nice pair of jeans and a button down shirt that seemed to instill some sort of magic. The bible man was sitting up straight, face up and smiling. The campaign slogan of the 2009 United Way Campaign was "Bring about some CHANGE" It had happened for him. Here I thought I would skim through my training, this time, without emotion. Not so much.

The fifteen weeks flew by and everyday was a new experience. This time around I was able to walk to a lot of the functions I had to attend. This meant I was able to park at the Ukranian Church lot with the rest of the Loaned Reps. Last time I had to take one the accessible parking spots at the United Way Office. I had a new knee installed the summer previous and I was proud to be able to walk along with my co-workers and not have to drive to an event that was only 10 blocks away.

Because I had been there before, I was developing solid friendships with many of the people who worked for United Way, as well as the other people who they shared building space with. This spilled over to the agencies we frequented. Most Wednesdays we walked up to the Boys & Girls club at the old Robert Meek School. They put on a $5.00 lunch and all proceeds were donated to the United Way. We got to know the people who cooked there, as well as the ones who worked in the Youth Diversion Program and The Music Lending Library. All good folk who I felt good about getting to know.

It felt like the time flew, and next thing you know we are preparing for the touchdown breakfast at the Ambassador. All of the Loaned Reps were not looking forward to returning to their old jobs...except for me. A new position had opened up in my department and upon my return, I would be involved in on-the-job training.

So in conclusion, I need to express my gratitude for the chance to give of myself and be part of an outstanding team of individuals who have and will make a CHANGE in our community. Once again, this is an experience I will carry with me forever.

It appears I have ignored you BloggyBlog

Yes, August was my last post. I have lived an entire LIFE since that time. If cat's have 9 lives; I just used up an entire one from mid-august to the beginning of December. While working a secondment with our Local United Way, I realized what it was like to live as the person I was born to be. I plan on blogging about it, when I get the time to elaborate.

Today is December 17th and the few Christmas pressies I need to purchase have been acquired. I'm ready. The worst season ever; the one I dread; the one that actually creates stress and anxiety in my world.

I feel the need to vent....I will be back:)

Yes I know...its *only* a cat

The story of Jethro:

It was a brutally cold -24C day, January 12th 2003 when this little ball of blonde fur was huddled on our doorstep. I opened the door to see this little shaking face staring up at me with those bright green eyes. It had been exactly one month to the day that my mother had passed away. Due to the fact that Mum always said she would come back as a cat, I took this first encounter as a sign.

To say our 7 year old cat Emmy was miffed was an understatement. All of a sudden she was sharing a home with this extremely famished, bundle of energy. We pondered taking ‘it’ to the Humane Society, as no one on our street knew where ’it’ came from. Someone mentioned that the teenager next door to us had brought it home from a party but his Mom wouldn’t let him keep it. Dealing with grief plus trying to maintain some sort of normalcy after loosing a parent, I didn’t think I would have time to train a kitten. After much convincing from the hubby, son and friends, I decided to keep the little scamp. After all, my Mom was a blonde too. So after naming *her* Mae (Mom’s middle name) I thought I better make a trip to our local vet to get her checked out. Our local Vet knew my Mom and was tearing up as I told the tale of how my Mom wanted to return as a feline. Everyone in our Village knew my mother as she was our local council representative in the newly formed Loyalist Township. The vet didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he informed us that we need to change this kitty’s name as she was a he !! Once we got him back home and he dove for the food, bowling over our other cat, we both looked at each other decided “Jethro” was his name. As in the man-child on the Beverly hillbillies who never stops eating. The name stuck.

As our cats were always indoors, they were quite excited when we moved to our lakefront house in June 2007 & Billy built them a huge glassed in deck! The original intention was for our viewing pleasure however I am convinced the cats thought it was their oversized playground.

Imagine my surprise when Jethro dragged a small field mouse up the stairs and deposited it at my feet early one morning. Number one, how did it get in the basement…and secondly, how the heck did he catch it? He had never been outside long enough to learn the ropes of catching wildlife? I captured the mouse and threw it over the deck. He was so upset that I wouldn’t allow him the pleasure of mauling it to death.

Billy ended up putting a cat door in our front aluminum door that leads to the deck. Just so that the cats could let themselves in and out when we were home. Unfortunately this great idea backfired when the big guy took a hankering to dragging in June Bugs, giant moths and dragonflies. Just because he felt he needed to show us his new friends. Once again he surprised me last summer when he brought in a baby bird. My only justification of this capture was that the bird flew into our bedroom window, bounced back and landed in his open mouth, as he was yawning.

Last summer we made a trip to Lowes in Belleville to find a chaise lounge for me. This ended up in the purchase of his and her lawn chairs. The ‘his and her’ was intended for Mr and Mrs Christmas, however, Jethro thought that we bought them for him. He happily held down a chair every day.

Since I was a young child I have always had a cat in my life. My mother loved cats and we always had a house full of them. Cats, like dogs give love unconditionally. They comfort you when you are sad and lift your spirits when they greet you at the door every night. Whenever I pulled in the driveway, Billy would shout “Mommy’s home” and he would always run to greet me.

This cat meant so much to me. When he fell asleep in my arms on Friday morning, I felt like I was loosing my mother all over again.

Billy built a casket for the big fellah. We buried him with his favourite brush and his stuffed dragonfly.

RIP Jethro. We will meet again on the Rainbow Bridge.

Living in a box

For some strange reason, today appears to be a time of self-reflection.

Recently I happened upon an occasion where I had to think outside the box. Yes, outside the walls of my desk!! Anyone who has worked in a call centre, knows exactly what I mean. For so many years my working hours have been spent in front of a monitor, or two. Always following protocol, abiding by call times and following a very strict schedule. In this environment, it is oftentimes hard to think any other way but what you have been conditioned to.

Considering that short of a 12 month stint at an Amherstview apartment complex in 1980, I have always lived at the same postal code. My address always been the same 6 digits: k0h1g0. In fact, Canadian postal codes weren't implemented till I was 11! (cripes, I am older than postal codes) I marred a man who grew up less than 2 miles from my childhood residence. Looking back, I am somewhat embarrassed to say I still spend every weekend with the people I have known since childhood. I did not roam far from home.

Many times I am tempted to start writing about the unique bond I have with these people. It would take ages to organize, and I am unsure if anyone would be interested in reading about our lives, besides ourselves. Keep that thought for the mental bucket list I guess.

Getting back to the original subject of this blog, thinking outside of the box. Why do I find this so hard? My father’s family have constantly steered from the norm by creating jobs that suited their personalities. My great-grandfather, on my fathers side was a gardener. He was paid for working in the gardens at Casa Loma. How sweet is that? His son, my Grandfather Les Beazer lived at Casa Loma with his family between 1941-1948. They had the good fortune of becoming the care-takers there. Imagine growing up in a castle in the middle of the city of Toronto in the 1940’s? My grandparents later started up a flower stall at the St Lawrence Market in Toronto. My father and my aunt Bella also followed into the flower-peddler path of life. They were paid for doing what they loved. Life has changed.

And I digress …

Being a child of the 60’s, I was raised in the catholic school system and spent my teen aged years being educated in the fine art of politics. That last sentence makes it sound so much more refined than it was. My parents both believed in volunteering all their free time to work for local candidates in both federal and provincial elections. Both spent years as councilors of the local municipal government of the Village of Bath. I followed along. Abiding by the rules of the almighty Roman Catholic Church, rubbing elbows with the Premier of Ontario and local members of parliament on many social occasions, my life fit into the ‘box’ that my parents created.

Fast forward: I go to college, get a job in my field & get married all in less than two years. The child comes one year & one month after marriage. (for those counting) Then we buy our first house. Still following the life path expected of me. My friends do the same. We work, we raise our children, we exist in the community our parents have helped create for us. Many of us join volunteer organizations and carry on the *good* things our parents have shown us to be worthy of our extra time.

Now at the age of 51 I have been asked to think outside the box that I have lived in. Why do I find this so tough? Is it that I am afraid to veer of the path I believe that I was destined to follow? Is it possible for me to be anything more than a mother/wife/phone-answerer?

Time will tell.

A new job for this old cat !!!

Yes, that's right...I am off to a new job on August 22nd.

Well, its not really a 'new' job, I have worked there before. Two years ago, I was chosen by my employer to work as a Loaned Representative for the 2009 local United Way campaign. Those 14 weeks flew but my memories of the experience remain with me always. Imagine my surprise when I was chosen to do the same thing this year?

I was raised in an environment where caring for others came naturally. It was not taught, it was inherited. My last tour with the United Way made me feel like I was finally in my realm, like I belonged there. It was a very sad day when I left but going back will be a blast.


No doubt this old blog will be used to bore and perhaps educate the few readers I have on the fine art of philanthropy.

I believe that out of all the jobs I have had in my 35+ years of working, *this* is the one where I am best utilized. Just eight more working days and I will be back with the organization I love.

Holidays Part 2

Just scrolling back in my blog, I have noted that I mentioned sitting back and relaxing on this version of my summer holidays. So far, I would classify that last sentence as EPIC FAIL. The sleeping last night was not good, as we have no AC and we fought over the fans. So I was up at 5 and out the door at 6 to swim. Due to the price of gas, whenever I am near the city, I feel the need to pick up supplies. So groceries was the second thing on the list today. After handing over $110 of my hard earned money for 5 bags of groceries, it was home again home again jiggidy jog. Now I sit, wondering what to do next? Do I prep for my radio show tonight? Do I prep for my radio show on Wednesday morning? Do I get off my butt and clean the house? Maybe I will find a penny and flip it...heads: Do nothing tails: clean

Last week just flew by. Billy and I made sure we stayed busy busy. Unfortunately we are running away from memories. Memories of a tabby cat we brought home from the horse barn, where our son once rode. We named her Emmy, after the fair town of Emerald, Amherst Island. At that time in our lives, we spent a large part of our summers at our friends cottage in Emerald. It was like the place that time forgot. We loved the fact that we could look across the water and see our house. It felt like we were escaping all of life's problems, running away to our Emerald City.

The year was 1995. We had just lost our first cat * Tony * . I spotted him in the window at the pet shop in the Cataraqui Town Centre and felt compelled to bring him home. Home to our first apartment; we were newlyweds for a whole 2 weeks and I felt the need to surprise Billy with our first pet. Tony moved many times in the first 10 years of our marriage and always adapted well to his surroundings. At the ripe old age of 15, he couldn't out run a cement truck while crossing highway 33 (Bath Road) Bill called me at work that afternoon to give me the news. It was a sad day indeed. We buried Tony behind my favourite flower garden.

Our son Bryce started riding horses that same summer. Of course, spending so much time at the barn, he was bound to discover the nine new kittens in the hay loft. One thing led to another and we had 'replaced' Tony with another tabby. She was just 8 weeks old, when she arrived at our door under the premise that she was MY mothers day gift. She took a liking to Billy and they bonded instantly. Emmy became Bills cat, plain and simply. When our son left home to go to college in 1999, we were once again reduced to a family of three. There was a morning and evening ritual between Bill and Em, and rarely was it missed. As early as last year I mentioned "It is going to break your heart to put her to sleep..." Gruesome as it sounded, it was in the futile attempt to face reality. Yes, we inherited another cat 9 years ago, but Emmy was always our 'favourite' ... (Dont tell Jehtro that, please)

Last Saturday morning we grabbed the cat carrier out of the garage,bundled up our frail old girl and off to our 930 vet appointment we went. It was so unusual that Emmy barely made a whimper. Any other time she went to the vet, she yelped and howled to the top of her lungs. Once the vet evaluated her and gave us the news that she had a mass in her belly (probably a cancerous tumour), renal failure, dehydration (despite her love of our free flowing water container) and a high possibility of feline diabetes, we shuddered. The cost of the first step of treatment was over 1K and it would cause her undue stress, and probable pain. Our second option was Euthanasia. (Greek for 'Good Death') No pain, just peace in leaving this world in a painless fashion. Bill decided it was time to let her go. When the vet came back in and we told her of our decision, she had a tear in her eye. She went and prepared for the procedure as we said our last good byes to the old girl. They wrapped her in a fluffy yellow blanket and we watched as they put the needle in her. The we heard the vet say "Shes Gone..." I am unsure of how long we stayed in the room, petting her and telling her she was finally free of her pesky little brother Jethro.

Not a fantastic way to start last weekend, and we spend the next two days running away, trying to forget. Sunday night we crashed.

Now its a new weekend, Billy and I are on holidays together, and we plan on relaxing and enjoying each others company. Emmy is in kitty cat heaven and Jethro is still moping around the house, trying to find her.

Sorry for the downer post. I had to write about the experience to try and get it out of my system.

Radio Ga Ga

My *fun* job


It was kind of ironic how it happened. I had been posting on my Facebook and Twitter accounts about my bi-monthly radio show for quite some time now, never expecting that anyone besides my close friends and family were actually listening. How shocked/surprised I was to read that a long-time local DJ Jim Elyot was listening and even requesting tunes. To say I was honored was an understatement.

Seeing as the world is so small, I suddenly realized that this listener once worked with my sons’ Godfather, Greg Hunter, who has also been a local radio celebrity for over 30 years. When I suggested that the three of us do a radio show together, I never imagined that they would say yes.

Friday July 8th was the night we decided on. Greg met my husband and I at our local Legion at 5PM for dinner first. Then over to the island we went. Jim met us at the ferry as he rode his bike all the way from Kingston. The conversation immediately reverted back to the 70’s and some of the crazy things that happened at CKLC-AM, where they had once worked.

Jim was kind enough to bring the music, so all I did was put the two men in the production room with a microphone and my hand written advertisement for our sole sponsor and let them loose. I don’t think I had ever laughed so hard in all my life. To me, it was like time stood still, and I became that teenager with her portable radio, worshiping the local radio Gods.

Then the phone rang. It was one of their old co-workers, who had been reading Jim’s Tweets from the last week about the show. How shocked do you think *I* was to hear that it was Chris St Clair from the Weather Network! He loved the show and just wanted to call and talk to the boys.

The next day I received an email from Mr. St Clair relaying his compliments on my show. I was chuffed.

Thank You Jim & Greg (and Chris too) you certainly brightened my night.