Musings on a Small Life

A happy and blessed Easter weekend to all. Comments are off. Have a peace-full weekend. 🙏

 Below, stuck in Bathurst, NB for 45 minutes while on the way to Halifax - March 16. As most of you know, I had booked the train to Halifax for April, this weekend in fact, to spend a week (my birthday and Easter) with Mom. I know she was so looking forward to having me there, and I also know she would have hung on if possible. But life had other plans. So, because there is no airline that flies out of my city anymore ("thanks," Air Canada, for pulling up stakes when COVID hit), I re-booked my train trip. (I would not have made it in time even if I had chosen to take the train or bus to Toronto to fly out from there, Mom passed so quickly.) I left here the afternoon of the 15th, took the train to Montreal, then had a layover of a couple of hours before boarding the Coast train east. Below is the so-called sleeper cabin with shower. Uh huh. Great fun if you're under ten years of age and tiny. Not so fun if you're a mature woman, with a mature woman's body. Narrow ...

Even though my heart isn't in it at the moment, I'm going to try to get back into regular Monday posting. Please be patient while I get back into regular visiting/commenting on your blogs. These pics are from April 1, 2008. It was a mucky, wet start to the month, but of course that didn't stop Nicki and Derry! (In case you need a reminder, or for anyone seeing this blog for the first time, angel Derry is the grey tabby, angel Nicki the brown tabby.) How my heart aches for my "baby" Derry! 💔 Take care, have a good week.

I got home late yesterday afternoon, after a relatively uneventful trip home from Halifax via train. (Tip of the day: Take a pass on a long haul Via Rail train journey, even if you have a "sleeper" cabin. Fly or drive if possible. More on that "fun" another time!) It was a very difficult two weeks, made even more challenging by all the toxic drama mostly courtesy of Mom's younger sister, Mom's best friend, and the dynamic with Mom's step-daughter (also executor the will). I will not get into it publicly, but some of you are aware of at least a few of the details. The appalling, disgusting behaviour boggled my mind, and frankly, most of my energy went into just trying to survive being there. I was sorry to leave Halifax, because I don't know if I'll ever be back, but I was desperately relieved to leave that toxic energy behind. I will write a post about the train trips and all the nature walks I took (my salvation, along with the company of anothe...

December 19, 1940 -  March 15, 2023 I don't know I'm going to live without you, Mom. Godspeed. ♥ Comments are off.

Just a quick note that I'm leaving for Halifax tomorrow, urgently. My aunt called me this morning. Mom's been admitted to hospital and is failing. I'm scared I won't make it in time, but that's out of my hands. My aunt is with her, as is her step-daughter and step-son-in-law. I spoke moments ago (it's 2:50 PM EDT) with my aunt and she put me on speaker phone (Mom didn't want a video call, didn't want me to see her full of wires and tubes), told her how much I love her and that I hope she can hang on till I get there, but that I understand if she can't. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I'll be back when I can. My mom, Judy, from about 5 years ago, the last time I was with her in person.

 Again from March 2008.  I had put that stool/ottoman in front of the screen door so the boys could look out the front. But Derry seemed to have more fun underneath it! I loved Derry's rotund little bottom. LOL. He was built short and chunky (like me)! Nicki's play time involved leaping from spot to spot, My living area is different now (furniture, decor, etc.), but I expect he was leaping from that cat tree to the other tree in front of the patio door (beside the red tent). Nicki seemed to be having a great time with the lower stair too. (BTW, that old version of "Jane Eyre" was so-so, IMO. I don't think I kept it.) Below, Nicki is comfy in one of the tunnels I had for them. I still have at least one more Memories post from March 2008--their first outdoor tussle of that new year, and maybe another post too.  :-)

  This is me, below, with math, doing a head tilt!