Trials and tribulations......

There are times in one's life when bad things seem to happen all at once.....and it's happening to me. I know there are lots of people out there who have suffered worse, but I'm having a hard time keeping it together right now.
My dear friend in England is , at the moment, having to cope with the fact that her husband has terminal cancer in colon, liver and lungs. The fact that she is not well herself compounds the problem.....and he won't allow her to get help....at least at this point. As you might gather, I am feeling rather helpless and hopeless at finding the words to comfort her. I can only listen...and I know that's what she needs, but the thought that a very dear sweet man, whom I have only known for a relatively short time (half the time I've known her) is only with us for a short while longer is devastating to me....as is the thought that my friend has lost her soul mate.....they married late ...both 56 years old....and it doesn't seem fair that they shouldn't have more time together. I keep in touch...it's all I can do at this point.
The other thing that has happened is not necessarily bad (depending on how you look at it), but my dear 97 year old aunt is finally having to go into a care facility....by her own choice though....which is probably better than being forced to do so. Still.....I held out hope that she would be able to manage in her apartment for a while longer, but it seems she doesn't want to be alone at night any more.....too many times she has woken up and needed help and has called an ambulance to take her to hospital. She has heart problems, so it is not unexpected....but having been through this whole thing with my mother and watching other aging relatives, I can't help but worry that going into a care facility is the first step in the downward slide into dementia. However, my aunt is alert and quite "with it" and has many interests, so I can only hope that she will do well there. It just seems to me that once they are in the care home, the will to keep going subsides and all the "fight" goes out of them. My brother and I are making a flying trip down tomorrow to be with her during the move, so we will know more then on how she is doing. I may be making a mountain out of the proverbial mole hill. We shall see.
We were supposed to take our dog Chauncey to the groomers tomorrow, but had to change the date because of the trip to the coast. In doing so, I found out that our groomer (a lovely lady who adores the dogs) has been diagnosed with brain and lung cancer. My inital reaction...."What the h--- is going on." There is another lady who will do the job and she did mention the possiblity that our original groomer would be back.....I hope so....I hope that her cancer is treatable and goes into remission.....I expect we will find out more on Monday when we take Chauncey in.
Sigh.....
So there you have it....when I write it all down, it doesn't seem like much, but I find myself wandering around wondering what to do......so in the end...I sit and read to take myself away.
Probably not a bad thing in retrospect.....
Thanks for listening...
Slainte.

Informative twaddle......

So....I notice that this blog has been busy....well sort of.....well not much at all....BUT....
a lot of that lack of activity has been lack of me....it's one of those things that you think, in fact you KNOW you really should get down to it....but something else always comes along. I thank Elisabeth and Daphne for contributing.....keep it coming ladies!!

I have had two concert weekends in a period of a little over two weeks. These are not just playing a concert....they involve rehearsals as well. The rehearsals are each 2 1/2 hours with a 15 minute break and there is usually one in the afternoon and then another in the evening after an hour's supper break....starting at 4 and ending around 10. The concerts usually start at 8 and end around 10'ish....about 2 hours.
The first concert (the first of the season) involved 3 rehearsals and two concerts. The second weekend, 6 rehearsals and 2 concerts.... one in Kamloops on Saturday night and one in Salmon Arm this last Sunday afternoon. The September concert required less rehearsal as it was a pops concert and the orchestral music for that, as a rule, is somewhat less demanding. The second concert however, was the Brahm's Violin Concerto (with Andrew Wan, new co-concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony - 26 years old and amazing!!) and finished with Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Lots of work for all members of the orchestra in that program...thus the increase in rehearsals. They were both successful concerts and now we have the music to work on before the next concert weekend in November.

I tell you all this because, although I love playing and the challenge it presents to me my musical self and I, they are exhausting weekends.....and as I get older (even if I get lighter) it takes me a few days to gather my resources to tackle the everyday life in my world as I know it. This is compounded by the fact that I suffer from fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis and sleep little.
So there's my excuse for not posting.....I'm such a whiner aren't I???? I don't really think I am, but sometimes things just need to be said to lay a foundation to go on with.....you think???
Now I know that everyone that reads this, for the most part, knows all this about me....but...if by any chance we do expand our authorship of this blog and they read the archives....it will inform....

The other aspect of this is that I seem to be in a state of constant "catch up". I have a small notebook that I list things that I have to do....and I'm constantly adding to it and going over it and thinking......"Ah!! I haven't done that yet!!" I will forget things if I don't write them down.....and it's not names or things that I forget....it's things that I HAVE to do.....letters that must be written, emails that have to be sent, wash that has to be done (although I have laundry basket that reminds me of that!!) appointments that have to be kept and made.....ARRRGGH!!!!
......and then I lie in bed at night and go over it all in my head.....no wonder I don't sleep.

Anyways, that's enough blithering for now.....I have often thought of blog topics and now I have an index card in my purse that I will write them down in when I think of them.....and hopefully I'll be able to keep things moving around here !!!

We're off to Victoria on Thanksgiving weekend for me to attend a tea for my cousin's 80th birthday and for DH to pay a trip to the museum ....I think.....and also we will be staying with T&D and having a wee visit with them. We're then going to take a day to roam up island and sightsee and take the ferry across from Duke Point to Tsawwassen on Tuesday to avoid the holiday weekend rush.....after which we will rush home to dash into the polling station to make our X just before the door slams shut .

Take care ladies..
Slainte!!

Leap Of Faith

Hello everyone,

I'm back with bells on after a perfectly inspiring day. I received formal training as an Herbalist eighteen years ago but didn't do much about it except treat a few friends & family for minor ailments every now & again. On the other hand, it was that very same herbal medicine that has kept my kids out of the Drs. office for the past eighteen years as well.

Then one day about five years ago I enrolled in a cold-process soap making class. I enjoyed it so much that I enrolled in the advanced soapmaking class where I learned to make super-fatted soaps, swirl soaps, and how to scent soaps for use in aromatherapy. I love making soaps and have also done that for friends & family as gifts for the past five years. Thinking it might be fun to start up my own home-based soap business, I made a batch of hypo-allergenic handsoap, and a batch of dog flea & tick soap. Both are curing for a few more weeks, then I'll be able to sell them. I came up with the business name 'Shamrock Herbal Solutions'.

Today I attended a class on liquid soaps, and learned how to make all natural, chemical free liquid hand soap, shampoo, body wash, bubble bath, dish soap, pet shampoo & household cleaners. Now I've decided the time has come to expand my line to include all of the above. I'm very excited about all this and can't wait to fly at it. I'll be printing up business cards this coming week with my phone number and plan to post flyers around town. I'm also thinking of getting a Post Office box for mail-order so I don't have people coming to my house. If business is brisk I'll be putting up a web page. Hopefully that will happen before I hit the craft fairs for the Christmas season.

Does this seem a little off the wall after being a stay-at-home mom for the past 20 + years? Maybe it is. But the way I see is, I have the skills, I have people in my town to sell to, I have sourced all my materials, and this will allow me to work from home and still teach DD who is in her 12th year of home-schooling. My other DD is going in for natural candle making & aromatherapy so will be joining me in marketing our products soon. It's either do this, which is something we're all really excited about, or a dead-end part-time job for $9. per hour. Gee, what a tough choice! On the other hand, if I don't succeed, I can always fall back on the dead-end job. lol I just feel that the time has come for me to take this leap of faith.