October 31.... ahhhhh .. a perfect day...

That my dear peeps, is the sound and sigh of one contented Princess. Today my friend and I went to Rawdon to the Bain des Sources Spa. Embedded inside Laurentian mountains - this spa has hot and cold pools/tubs, a eucalyptus steam room, the cold pools are actual mountain streams, a dry sauna, an awesome place to eat with a big fireplace, a fireplace outside, and the whole in the most beautiful country side setting possible. They have added a new building  - which is massage central.. and this has been my third massage there and they have some of the best masseuses ever.

And to have this day with my dear friend Christiane.. made it a double, nay, triple pleasure. Sometimes... you just gotta take some care of yourself. And like I tweeted today - when you take care of yourself you are not being selfish.. what you are doing is helping the universe provide. I stand by that :).

And then... to come home and hear Honey had a great time playing! Music! And he'll be doing it again! Oh Joy!

Some days.. are perfect.

October 22 .. Finally....

Hi there. So while I have indeed been neglectful - I would also like to say that I have had a dickens of a time getting on to Blogger. What's up with that? For three nights in a row now I have not been able to access the blog. Those are my excuses for now.

Alrighty - gratitude - it's there. There is lots good happening. Since I last wrote....  Honey and I are doing wonderful (even if the last two days has found me crabby). Even better, our weekly torture session this week, as we euphemistically call it, got cancelled! Now there's two happy people. Again, I have to say, couple therapy works when you do the work, it works when you let it work, and it works when you suffer yourself through the process. As a professional in the business, I have a whole new respect for my clients. Man is it hard work - to allow yourself to be that vulnerable, to trust that much, to share that openly. It is hard. But it is soooooo worth it.

One of the highlights in the past week has been the reintroduction of music into the home, into the soul of a man. And while I am suffering somewhat from the exclusion - I'll deal with it. I'm a big girl. I'll niggle my way back in... in the mean time, you play, piano man. You allow yourself whatever room you need. Grow. It's good for what ails you.

There's nothing quite like getting lost in our art is there. I remember those days - the smell of clay, I even like the smell of oil paints, toxic as they can be. Time I dug all that stuff out.... me too I need some fun.

August 13 ... Sir Paul...

I had the privilege to see Sir Paul McCartney last night. This is as close as I ever got to the Beatles thing. Actually it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable to be there and hear Let it Be, Hey Jude, The Long and Winding Road, Blackbird for God's sake... I have never cried at a concert but last night I did and I can't even tell you from where that sprang. Music, as Oliver Saks and many others have written, reaches into primordial space with in us. It ties itself to emotional memories, and can evoke them.. in some way I'm kind of thinking that's what happened last night.

Then there is the energy factor - I am ashamed to say that a 68 year old man far out lasted me, and most of the people in the audience. At one point I thought, finish already, I'm exhausted! And he just kept on going. Paul McCartney has to be one of the most generous musicians I have been lucky to see. Yes the tickets were expensive but for a change, they were worth every penny - and he made sure of it. He was engaging with the audience, calling up a lucky Jessica to get her arm "signed" so that she could get a tattoo, and another young lady got her dress signed. He read the signs held up by people in the audience - and responded to them. He shared tidbits - and I'm sure he does this all the time, and I'm sure its part of the script and show - but he makes it feel very personal. Maybe thats the emotional leverage his music gives him... you're hooked from the first note... when you first start singing, you're in your living room (in my case it was the basement) listening to those records that you played over and over and over again. See, I'm tearing up all over again...

Then there is the group phenomenon. Holy shit can 18,000 people make a lot of noise! There was no doubt that Sir Paul felt the love last night. From the second he stepped out - actually it was a few seconds before he did, there was such a surge of cheering and screaming - the papers this morning dubbed it The Roar.. no kidding. Throbbing, pulsing, LOUD, loving, you could feel it... and the singing .... we were one voice joining with Paul.. again.. like in the basements of our youth... belting out the words to songs we will surely remember when our dementia sets in. That's not as crazy as you might think.

I'm grateful to have shared a history last night. I'm grateful that back in 1960 something, when my parents bought their stereo console, and were given 75 free records as part of the deal, they got the Beatles Hard Days Night album... without that I would have grown up with Heinte and Elvis Presley only ... and let me tell you THAT is something to be grateful for.

February 23 ... the smarts

So here I am... February 23, I have been blogging for 53 days now!

At the moment I am deep into concentrating on this database project I have returned to, using Access. I love challenging myself to learn new things. I love coming up against my stubborn streak - I have a huge manual on my lap (thank you Honey) .. yet I will still "waste" tons of time "trying" different things before "giving up", reading the book, and doing it right! But it's fun!!

I am really grateful for how smart I am. I was well into my twenties before I understood that. Sadly, up until then I was always told the contrary. Europeans have a terrible and grating way of using the word "idiot" - "eejut" ... when that is what you are called, you grow up thinking a certain way about yourself. Well I can tell you all, that is one thing I have certainly overcome! I love how smart I am, love using my brain, am a learning junkie.. and all because to me it's fun. It's fun to solve problems, it's fun to learn something new... my last official class was neuropsychobiology ... (I think) .. fascinating!!! And I love that about my profession, that it is an actual requirement that I continue learning. Yay me!

Ok .. back to understanding how to create relationships between database tables... yikes!

I am grateful, I feel grateful.... how about you? What are you grateful for today?

Oh big PS... Clapton and Beck were terrific!!! My favourites were Moon River (believe it or not!!) and Puccini's Nessun Dorma (believe it or not - crazy!!!).

February 22... in case I don't get back in time...

I don't plan on missing a single day of being grateful and sharing it with you...

So I just got home, am real grateful that my dinner is ready cause I gotta eat fast...

Running out the door to go see Eric Clapton tonight!!! On the floor!!! Close to the man himself!!

Hell ya I'm grateful!!!!

If I get back early enough... I'll write again...

Otherwise, please note, my gratitude is here... sincere... and real!

February 6 ... good Saturdays...

Yum, yum, yum. I love these kinds of Saturdays.... got up at nine!!! Can you imagine, not only do I not suffer from insomnia, but I am getting up at nine, delish! Had a perfect Mooka coffee, two of them actually. Honey and I went for a great walk on the mountain. It's brilliantly beautiful today, blue skies, not too terribly frigid, and just lovely. We came home and had a nice lunch. Then we went shopping at HMV. Honey got a number of gift cards for his birthday (big Thank you shout out!!) and we went and cashed in. What a treat!

Week-ends are nice for what you don't have to think about - don't you think? You can let go of work worries, bill worries, even couple worries. You can chill, relax, make like those things are not there. And now we'll indulge in some music and nice times, gentleness... are we getting old? Geez, are we? I don't think so... ah, who cares.. with the week we had, we can be gentle and relaxed! I say so!

I'm watching Honey unwrap the CD's :-) .. he looks like he's having fun. Kid in a candy store...

I'm grateful. Are you?