A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST

It is fun to be away. Even for a couple of days-sightseeing, staying at a hotel, no housework, taking pictures. Nothing fancy but a change away from the normal! A vacation week brings opportunities to relax and just be! Reading a book or two! Eating slowly! Sipping wine! Having the grandchildren for an extended sleepover! Organizing areas of life! Oh the change from the normal-it does give a rest!

SUMMER DAY TRIPS 2013

Day trips to locations an hour or two from home make the summer fun. Packing a lunch or eating in a restaurant gives a chance to stop and enjoy the locale. On a vacation week when a longer trip is not planned the week becomes a daily adventure. In Ontario there are many small communities worth visiting for a few hours, a day or even an extended time. A favourite beach gives an opportunity for swimming or just going to the local pool cools us in a hot spell! Getting out is as good as a rest! Along with visits to farmers' markets for Adolph's blog, visits to wineries are a summer project for 2013. Trying wine from Ontario winemakers is enjoyable. Of course more bottles are bought than can be drunk in one sitting. So the enjoyment will spill over into the fall and winter months I am sure. Unless of course there are guests to share my finds! Where are you going for your summer fun? Day trips? A week's vacation? A trip to some exotic place? Barbecues in the backyard?

THE MORNING WALK

I like to walk early in the morning on days away from work- whether it is the weekend or a vacation. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are up at 6 a.m. and going to work. I am a morning person so am able to do projects that use my creativity with lots of energy. The exercise allows for calorie burning as we all know muscle burns more calories than fat! Hopefully, the walks will bring some creative ideas for my writing projects. What about you? Are you a morning person too?

PREVACATION EXCITEMENT

To be on the road, taking a plane, a train, a bus or to the beach, a cottage, a day or a couple of weeks, vacation bring the excitement of doing something different. Being away! Having a little adventure! Fun and a change! Working at a job you love is great but having a vacation to rejuvenate and find new energy is a wonderful thing! Planning and packing and deciding what to do is half the fun too! Do you have a summer adventure planned? Are you looking forward to your getaway?

NANA SAYS SUMMER FUN IS WELL UNDERWAY

Picnics, trips to the park, playing outside, swimming, soceer, baseball and sometimes just playing in the dirt. Children enjoying the summer. Adults can get in the mood and play along with the children or grandchildren. Two weekend sleepovers planned with Nana and Granpa trying to think of some fun things to do with the kids. Of course good eating is always one of them! Summer would not be summer without an ice cream cone or two. No boots or coats-well maybe rain boots as this year has been a season with lots of rain! How is your summer going? Do you feel like a kid again? I know this Nana does!

DO YOU CLEAN THE HOUSE FOR YOU OR GUESTS

Do you clean for yourself or to have your house so immaculate in case someone drops by? A work mate mentioned a relative that was so fussy that her house was always ready for guests. When I first married my husband, his Italian group was like that. People would drop in on someone! No phone call to ask if it was okay to drop by! I remember painting my first house and we were in a mess. An aunt decided to come visit. We had to stop dirty and all to serve some coffee. There was no awareness- oh you must be busy! I am sure we were some fodder for gossip that our house was a mess! If I invite someone for dinner, I super clean! In between I live in my house with some clutter here and there as I am in the midst of projects! I am the kind that tidies as I go. Clean up after myself! Some simple household routines for each day! It begs the question-why do we care what others think about our homes and how clean they may be? Do you care if you are guest ready? The old fashioned living room is a great idea! It remains clean and clutter free!

THE OCTAGON-MY FAVOURITE SHAPE

For some reason, I like the octagon shape. My living room table has that shape. There is even a restaurant in Thornhill called the Octagon due to the shape.

The building is interesting but I love the windows best.

Eight sides. It symbolizes spiritual regeneration. My symbols book tells me it is the intermediary between the square and the circle. Thus it is used for baptismal fonts. Shapes can shape our lives and our thinking. A circle can remind us life can be a circle or we just keep going around in circles.  A square has even sides or you can call someone the name. A triangle has someone or something at the top. People sometimes triangulate a problem! A rectangle can help us to plateau out!  So do you have a favourite shape? If so what would it be? Does a shape tells us anything about ourselves? Or is it just a shape?