Purging and Cleaning

It's strange but it seems like my sister and I end up doing the clean-up/purge/cleanse thing at the same time. She now has a large claw foot bathtub in her front yard. I have 3 garbage bags by the back.

Today, we moved Tim into another bedroom. I just love doing that because the bedroom that he just vacated is now spiffy clean and absolutely clutter free. His "new" bedroom is the same. He was quite willing to dispose of some of his collection stuff which made this clutter-hater happy. In the end, we had 3 garbage bags for the trash and 2 bags for the thrift store.

I just realized that more than half of the bedrooms in this house are dust free and clean.

Dixie had a very busy day too. Tim's old bedroom is on the 3rd floor of this old house and she had to follow me every time I went up or down the stairs, which was often. She also had to sniff everything. EVERYTHING. Now and then she'd sneak something and race down the stairs to get away from me. Most often it's underwear. She prefers Kristen's but is also happy to grab Wes's too. Yuck. And they say dog's mouths are cleaner than human's. Not my dog's.

I'd love it if every room in this house could be clutter free and spiffy clean at the same time. Maybe some day but for now, I've got to take a break.

I just downloaded a new program (Google Earth) on my computer. It may have not been such a good idea b e c a u s e e v e r y t h i n g i s soooooooooooooooooooooooo slooooooooooow n o w.

Sometimes, life gets in the way of our plans

I got a phone call today from my aunt in Holland. Her name is Mies and she and I share the same birthday, although she was born 24 years before I was. It was wonderful to hear her voice and to talk to her.

Mies has travelled a fair bit and lived overseas for a while and as a result, her command of the english language is very good. When she and her husband were here visiting us, I loved going out with them because they seemed quintessentially British, even though they are Dutch. They are delightful people.

Unfortunately, Mies was the bearer of bad news. It seems that her sister, the aunt we were planning to visit in Northern England in a few weeks is not well. Not well at all.

So, we're going to have to change our plans. I am disappointed. One of the things I was looking forward to was having a pint in a neighbourhood pub. To see the Scottish highlands and the moors is also on my list of things I'd like to do one day. I would have loved to spend time with my aunt and uncle but of course, we never plan on illnesses and I know that she would like nothing better than to be feeling well enough to have us visit.

My travel agent (Wes) is on line right now, looking at other options. Perhaps we'll spend a few more days in Italy. We'd love to go to Venice, or spend some more time in Florence. I'm sure there's lots we can do.

My aunt will recover from this illness. It is serious but not life threatening and perhaps, another time we'll find ourselves in Northern England with her and her husband.

In the meantime, we will pray for a speedy recovery.

Who'd a Thought it...

If you would have told me a short 2 years ago that I would be cleaning up my own dog's diarrhea 3 mornings in a row, I would have told you that you were crazy.

Aaaaaaaah

Happy birthday to me....

My dear sister-in-law suggested that I need to write a better post so that she wouldn't have to leave a Happy Birthday wish on my last post (the Funeral one).

Here it is.

It was a wonderful day, with lots of wonderful people, wonderful food prepared by 2 of the best chefs in this city (my dear sisters) and wonderful gifts.

I'll post a bit more later because right now, I'm tired.

Thanks to all who made this a great day!

Playing All Day

I am playing the piano at a funeral tonight. I do not know the man who died but I do know his brother. While this is a sad occasion for the man's family and friends, I am not emotionally involved.

So, today, for much of the day, I am practising. This man was an Elvis fan so I will be playing a lot of Elvis's "religious" stuff. I am having a blast, playing old hymns.

While I was playing today, a thought occurred to me. What if I practised several hours every day and then offered my services to funeral homes around the city to provide live music? That would be a sweet job, I think. Playing piano happens to be one thing that I love and never tire of doing. And I love funerals. They are terribly sad occasions, there's no doubt about that. I know that even tonight, I'll have to keep my emotions in check because I know that I will be moved. I always am.

At a funeral there is no denial. People for once in their lives are real. There's no denying death. There's no denying the sorrow, the pain, and the emptiness caused by someone dying. We cry together. At a funeral we acknowlege that death sucks and we can finally admit that there's nothing we can do about it anymore. We surrender. Finally.

A funeral is a time where we slow down for a moment and take stock of our own lives. We wonder what people will say about us, when our time comes. Will we have made an impact? Will people miss us? How many people will show up? Have we changed the world, or at least, our corner of the world? And what about life after death? What will that look like?

I have been to lots of funerals and at every single one, whether the person was "religious" or not there is a sense that the deceased is "in a better place." Those of us who are still living find comfort in that fact. I always feel bad for the friends and family of the people who have specified they don't want a funeral. There is no opportunity to get together, to laugh and cry and remember the person who died. I think we all need that kind of closure.

Today, I'm going to do my best to help Joe and his family remember the best things about his brother. And I hope in some small way, the music that I play will bring a measure of peace and even serenity during a hard time.

Procrastination

The in-laws are coming for a little visit in a couple of weeks. My house is in need of a good cleaning so why am I posting twice in one hour?