Brimming with Possibility

My cup overfloweth, I feel a need to write.

My head and heart are swimming with ideas, fears, hope, anticipation, love, gratitude and dreams for the year to come. I haven't chosen a word, nor have I written down goals or intentions. I've simply been letting myself swim in possibility.

Nurturing connections, community and creative projects; experimenting with the Portfolio Project; Squam (oh yeah!); road trips, camping trips, solo trips; transitioning towards meaningful work; volunteering, hiking, being, showshoeing, praying, giving, reaching, dancing; cooking and sharing healthy meals; learning, healing, laughing, loving - not to mention a possible wedding come June (you betcha!). I am blessed with opportunity.

I'm enjoying this percolating of possibility and contemplation on how I will shape it into something specific. It's a pre-requisite to yearly goals and to-do lists - a Brainstorming phase if you wish. Of course being the productivity geek that I am, I know it won't be long before I pull out the coloured markers and mind-map my way to 2010. That's just part of the fun.

Possibility indeed. 2009. Bring it.

Grateful Saturday

I've many things to be grateful for today, but I thought I'd keep it focused on my Christmas trip home to New Brunswick. As I recounted my week to a colleague, he exclaimed, "It almost sounds idyllic!" In hindsight, I guess it almost was.

Here's my list:

• arriving to and from destination safe & sound
• Sis, Bro-in-Law and his mum arriving safe & sound
• witnessing a shooting star the morning of the Winter Solstice - feeling at one with All
• Mom's chocolate chip cookies, fricot (chicken & dumpling stew sans dumplings) and meat pies
• poutines râpées - a traditional Acadian Holiday treat
• Grenache caramel spread on my toasts EVERY morning
• crackling fires in the fireplace
• feeding the chickadees on my parents' deck
• communal crossword and jigsaw puzzles
• snowshoeing on Mom & Dad's 100-acre piece of land with D, and a bonus trek bushwhacking through the woods at our neighbouring National Park
• Holiday Inn, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, The Chronicles of Narnia
• spending the week in one house with six other people, sharing meals, stories and space without cramping each other's individual style
• listening to the scratchy sounds of Gene Autry, Rosemary Clooney and Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas on Dad's record player in the basement
• sharing and laughing with D during the car ride there & back, listening to CBC Radio
• stopping one last night at Château Vaudreuil on the way back, treating ourselves to a suite with a jacuzzi after 11 hours in a car

So many things for which to be grateful - and there are even more that didn't make it here 'cause the list is already long! I am, and continue to be blessed.

A New Year

Squam love note from Jen Lemen

Happy 2009. Peace, Joy and Love to you.

Winter Solstice Morning

I just had to write.

I'm at a lovely inn about two thirds of the way home and decided to trek outside in the cold to see if I could catch a glimpse of the sunrise. It's a crisp -30 degrees Celsius (a random conversion site gives me -22F).

Standing alone in the parking lot, I was too early for the sunrise but was greeted by silence, a dim glow to the East, a crescent moon high in the sky and get this ... a shooting star.

How freakin' cool is that.

Happy Solstice Morning.

Merry Merry

pole dancing Santa

It's five am and we're just about ready to leave for New Brunswick to spend Christmas at Mom & Dad's. It's special this year 'cause not only are we going, but so are Sis, Bro-in-Law and his Mom.

So now that we've packed our jingtinglers and stuffed our flimfongers, it's time to grab our hoohoobers and head out the door (with many apologies to Dr. Seuss)!

Sending you love, warmth and peace, wishing you a Merry Merry Christmas ...

Steph
xox

A Tale of Two Trees

Boy & girl meet and fall in love. {swoon}

Boy & girl decide to move in together. {yay}

Boy & girl celebrate first Christmas together in new home, bringing holiday treasures and traditions together. {aaawwww}

Boy and girl decorate first "joint" tree. Boy likes Star Wars & the Simpson clan. Girl likes winter fairies and porcelain birds. {eep!}

Girl puts up a second Christmas tree in the dining room. {aaahhh...}

Saturday Gratefuls

I have so many things for which I am grateful this week. Here are a few ...

• my cozy home, slowly but surely getting decked out for the Holidays
• camping out on the sofabed in the living room last night with D and Cassie, falling asleep by the glow and sound of a crackling fire in the fireplace
• not one, but two Christmas/Winter trees!
• an evening of jazz presented by Ottawa's Impressions in Jazz Orchestra, inspired by a famous 1938 Benny Goodman concert at Carnegie Hall - I was so giddy when they performed Sing, Sing, Sing I thought I was going to burst!
• winning my very first blog giveaway at Wonderings and Wanderings (merci Jeanine!)
• dinner with a dear friend spent gabbing, giggling and pondering modern-day questions & quandaries
• a few good book finds at St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store
• tickets to tomorrow's reading of A Christmas Carol by local CBC personalities - set in a church and combined with a Christmas singalong it's a beautiful way to welcome the Holiday season

Blessed am I.

A Solstice Experiment

For the past few weeks I've been mulling over a creative project linked to the Winter Solstice - a countdown complete with quotes, prompts, questions and reflections. Truth be told, the idea of countdown to the Solstice has been percolating in this pretty little head of mine for the past three years; only now do I feel ready to experiment with the creation of a new blog: Solstice Reflections.

Now don't get me wrong, I am very much a Christmas person - Christmas decorations a plenty, Christmas books, Christmas CDs that stack up to about a foot. I love Christmas gatherings, A Charlie Brown Christmas and when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes that day it makes me weep.

I've come to realize though, that the Winter Solstice holds more spiritual significance for me. I feel a deep connection to the Divine through Mother Nature, her cycles and December's transition from darkness to light.

Although I will continue posting here at the Urban Living Experiment, I invite you to join me as I experiment with a journey of creative expression and spiritual reflection at Solstice Reflections - a December travel blog for the soul if you wish. :)

Hope to see you there.

Cocooning

I have many wonderful things to recount, special moments to re-savour and fun projects to start. There's apple sauce to be made, fall photos to be uploaded and words to piece together - but not tonight. Tonight I feel like cocooning. I feel like curling up with a stack of newly purchased magazines and a bowl of popcorn laden with melted butter.

So that's exactly what I'll do.

But before I go, I will leave you with a list of things for which I am grateful on this beautiful Thanksgiving weekend:

• sunshine, warmth and blue skies on a mid-October day
• a few days spent exploring the area with D - discovering new trails, stopping at our favourite cheese factory, playing with our cameras
• a stack of new magazines to savour
• the fresh, organic veggies we have delivered to our door every Friday
• my home
• the breathtaking oranges, yellows and reds that grace the landscape at this time of year
• my experience at Squam workshops - the women, the laughs, the connections, the support, the learning, the cabin, the sharing, the art, the space, the food, the giggles, the colour, the love, and so much more ...
• an amazing circle of friends and family
• Cassie and D

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Love Steph
xox

Happy Canada Day

Wave a flag, play hockey, plan a cross-country road trip ... it's Canada Day!

D. and I will most likely hop a bus downtown to join the thousands of people on and around Parliament Hill. It's a pretty big do - living in the nation's capital on Canada Day has its perks!

Have a good day eh?

Happy Happy Year

Happy New Year!

May 2008 bring you happiness, health, laughter, connection and love. May it bring you tiny wonders as each day goes by. May it bring you delights bigger than you ever could've imagined. May it bring you fun, adventure and discovery. May it bring you closeness, stillness and peace.

Blessings to you for a great year,

Steph
xo

A Year Past, A Year to Come

I thought I'd add my end-of-year reflections to the myriad of lists, accomplishments, losses, dreams and wishes out there in the blogosphere.

I enjoy reflecting on what's been, what is and what will be, but this year I'm finding it harder than usual. Nothing is jumping out at me like it did last year. However I do have many things for which I am grateful so after much reflection, here are my three lists of ten (list items are in no particular order):

10 things I learned in 2007

1. street parking in the Winter still sucks
2. going back to work after 11 months off is hard
3. if I'm afraid to cross a beaver dam or footbridge, there might be a place downstream I can cross with the help of a few makeshift walking sticks
4. if I'm really afraid to cross a beaver dam or footbridge, I can always crawl
5. I like unscheduled, free time; I hate to rush
6. mending a broken heart still takes time, but it gets better & better
7. there's a neat organization called Servas that focuses on building peace by facilitating international friendships via travel exchange
8. maybe I can be happy working within the public service
9. creativity is a big part of my life, without it I feel lost
10. I can make Mom's meatpies

10 things for which I am grateful in 2007

1. being off on sabbatical from January to April
2. a steady paycheck as of May
3. going back to work at a job I like, with people I like, for people I like
4. finding a house to share with D. and Cassie in 2008 that meets 99% of the criteria on our wish list
5. Grand Manan Island NB, cliff edge camping, the sun rising on the water and hearing whales blow beneath our campsite at night
6. having a local errand run, getting to know local businesses and business owners
7. hiking, hiking and hiking
8. my solo trip to Montreal
9. my Labour Day weekend road trip to Mom & Dad's with Sis, watching with bated breath as my car's odometer went from 99999 to 100000km, chatting for six hours straight, singing Endless Love at the top of our lungs
10. a loving, supportive circle of friends and family

10 things I intend to create and nurture in my life in 2008

1. fun and laughter
2. forgiveness (of myself and others)
3. art
4. order
5. financial security
6. community
7. health
8. shared home, comfort and beauty in my surroundings
9. connection to my source of Divine Energy
10. peace and love

What's on your list?

Post-Christmas Grinch

I've been in a funk for the past few days. I'm afraid I've become a post-Christmas Grinch but I remain hopeful, for this too shall pass. Even the Grinch's heart grew three sizes one day.

And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches plus two.
- Dr. Seuss

Merry Christmas!

In a few minutes, D. and I will be heading out to spend a few days with his family for Christmas. I wish you all a marvelous Christmas full of laughter, rest, music, yummy treats, and most of all peace.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

Steph
xox

Saturday Greatness

What a great day this is turning out to be. I guess the peaceful energy set during last night's Solstice celebration carries on. So far I've ...

• enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of eggs, freshly brewed Costa Rican Cloudforest blend and toasts with Mom's apple jelly
• listened to Stuart MacLean's classic tale Dave Cooks a Turkey on CBC's Vinyl Cafe
• chatted and giggled with Mom and Sis over the phone
• found the perfect parking spot on my freshly cleaned street (hurray for the cleanup crew!)
• sipped more coffee at Bridgehead
• walked around my neighbourhood, taking in the winter scenery before tomorrow's rain
• rented the ultimate Christmas chick flick (and D., my Christmas gift to you ... I won't subject you to watching it with me!)

All that and it's only mid-afternoon. Saturdays are awesome.

Solstice Celebration

During the past few years I've come to realize that the Winter Solstice has more spiritual significance for me than Christmas day itself. I feel a deep, strong connection to the Divine each time I am awed by Mother Nature and her glory. This year, the December transition from darkness to light has me in a reflective mood. It's time to rest, time to listen, time to be.

So although the Solstice is officially tomorrow, December 22nd, I celebrate tonight by enjoying a healthy, wholesome dinner (much needed after this week's extravagances!), an evening of rest and reflection amidst the holiday rush, and maybe even a few sips of organic beer.

Happy Winter Solstice to you.

Oh Snowy Night

Although I was tempted to write about my phenomenal meatpie success (it was a meatpie miracle!), I've had a change of heart. This snowy night has me in an appreciative mood.

D., Cassie and I just came back from a stroll around the block and I'm not sure what I enjoyed the most. The muffled sound of snowy silence? Cassie's playful game of stick-my-muzzle-in-the-snow? Or the beauty of a suburban street covered in white, dotted with soft Christmas colours.

Hm. I choose all three.

Meatpie Madness

***Warning: this is a long one.***

This Christmas I finally took the plunge and tried to make my mother's meatpie - a traditional holiday treat. Armed with a hand-written recipe from Mom, two shiny new pie plates and about five pounds of meat, I set out into a world in which I should never have ventured without proper supervision.

I think what really hurt me - aside from the meat having cooked in way less time than I thought it would into a rubbery consistency that made me wince every time it squeaked against the sides of my stainless steel saucepan - was my lack of experience in the gravy department.

The instructions on the box of Bisto state: "Add one cup of cold water to drippings and start heating; Add 1 to 2 tbsps of Bisto depending on required thickness." I had no drippings, and what was in the pot really looked more like soup than anything else. Nonetheless I poured a cup of cold water into a jar and started mixing 'er up with Bisto until I stood staring at an extra cup of liquid that would be added to the pot - liquid I knew I'd have to thicken later. I poured said liquid into the pot. The soup turned browner, but not thicker. I tried it again. A little browner, but not thicker.

In a timely flash of insight, I remembered Mom's recipe calling for flour as a thickening agent in addition to Bisto. I poured a little less water than earlier into my jar, added a tablespoon of flour and stirred 'til there were no more lumps. I poured the concoction into the pot and detected slight thickening. My heartbeat quickened just a bit. My logic told me that if one tablespoon worked, TWO must be even better so I repeated the process doubling the amount of flour. I shook the jar to stir. When I no longer heard any liquid swishing in the jar, I opened it and found a blob of white paste slouched against its side. My logic really let me down.

After three times of pouring into my meat soup what looked a lot like the paste I used in kindergarten to glue macaroni to construction paper, I started to decipher something that looked remotely like Mom's meatpie mixture. At that point I decided to leave well enough alone and surrender to the meatpie gods, letting them take this madness of an experience wherever they saw fit.

The meat still simmers as I type and although I'm scraping a lot of it from the bottom of the saucepan, I'm happy to report that it is getting thicker.

Christmas Family Tree

bird with unknown ancestor

In 2003, with the help of an upside down tomato cage, faux greenery and a few favourite ornaments, I created a family Christmas tree on which I displayed pictures of ancestors - some known, some not.

I've always felt a strong connection to my roots and I enjoyed honouring them that year by giving them a prominent place in my home. I'd like to honour them again this year but I haven't decided how yet. Maybe I'll embed those same pictures into my Christmas tree or maybe I'll weave them amongst the branches of another faux garland.

Either way, I like the idea of having them be a part of my celebration.

'Tis The Season!

box o' goodies & cookies

I just picked up a box of Christmas goodies from Mom at the bus station, saw a couple walking on my street carrying a bundled Christmas tree - she at the helm, he carrying the trunk at the back - and have plans to get dolled up for a Winter Cocktail Party tomorrow night.

Let the festive season begin!