Posts By Laura Bachynski

0 Pressed-not Depressed

October 26, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO WHEN WE (USED TO)TRAVEL IS TO VISIT A CEMETERY.

I LOVE THE HISTORY. I LOVE THE FEEL OF THE LARGE TREES, BEAUTIFUL GROUNDS, AND PEACEFUL LOCATIONS. I LOVE THE ANCIENT STONES ; THEIR SHAPES, SIZES, AND STORIES.

AND I ESPECIALLY LOVE THESE PLACES IN THE AUTUMN. LAST YEAR WHILST ON TOUR WE VISITED A FEW GORGEOUS CEMETERIES ESPECIALLY IN EASTERN CANADA WHERE ONE HAS THE PLEASURE OF EXPERIENCING THOSE VIVID REDS.

LIKE MANY OF YOU I HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED THE FALL AND IT IS MY FAVOURITE OF ALL THE SEASONS. WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME HOW TO TAKE A FEW OF MY SPECIAL LEAVES AND PRESS THEM WITHIN THE PAGES OF A BOOK. MONTHS LATER I WOULD FIND THESE LARGE, RED OR YELLOW MAPLE OR OAK LEAVES DRIED OUT BUT PERFECTLY FLAT AND INTACT BETWEEN THE ‘LEAVES’ OF A PRECIOUS NOVEL .

AS I GREW OLDER AND I WAS BLESSED TO RECEIVE FLOWERS FROM MY BELOVED I WOULD TAKE AND DRY THEM IN MY BOOKS. AFTER WE HAD BEEN MARRIED SEVERAL YEARS I TOOK ALL OF THESE PRESSED MEMORIES , PLACED THEM ON A LACE BACKGROUND, AND FRAMED THEM WHERE THEY HUNG FOR MANY YEARS IN OUR BEDROOM.

NOW THAT I AM IN THE AUTUMN OF MY LIFE I CAN STILL APPRECIATE THE SPLENDOUR OF AUTUMN ALTHOUGH I CAN’T WALK AS FAR. I CAN CONJURE UP THE MEMORY OF FOLKS BURNING THEIR LEAVES AND THAT WONDERFUL (ALTHOUGH NOT ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY) AROMA AS I SKIPPED ALONG THE SIDEWALKS DURING DUSK ON A HALLOWE’EN EVENING WITH MY FRIENDS AND SIBLINGS.

I THINK OF THE WAY THE LEAVES SOUND AS THEY CRACKLE UNDER MY FEET AND I LOVINGLY REMEMBER THE JOY ON THE FACES OF MY OWN CHILDREN AS THEY JUMPED IN THE HUGE PILES OF LEAVES THAT WE’D JUST RAKED UP. HA HA.

PERHAPS IF YOU ARE BATTLING SADNESS DURING THIS PANDEMIC TIME ONE OF THE MOST UPLIFTING THINGS YOU CAN DO IS TO TAKE A WALK AND BREATHE IN THE SIGHTS AND SMELLS OF AUTUMN. REALLY LOOK AROUND AND SEE THE BEAUTY AROUND US .

AND MAYBE PICK UP A PRETTY LEAF OR TWO AND PRESS IT IN A BOOK FOR LATER. COVID : THIS TOO SHALL PASS . BUT WE CAN KEEP SOME OF OUR MEMORIES OF AUTUMN ALIVE DURING THIS LONG WINTER BY OPENING A GOOD BOOK ….AND FINDING A REMINDER OF BEAUTIFUL DAYS GONE PAST.

THESE MEMORIES ARE FOREVER PRESSED IN MY HEART.

2 Pumpkin Pie : Redemption!

October 25, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

FUNNY STORY…..

LEADING UP TO THANKSGIVING I THOUGHT I WOULD DO A FEW ‘ACTS OF KINDNESS’. I SAW THAT A WOMAN ON FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE WAS SELLING HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIES SO I DECIDED TO BUY SEVERAL TO SUPPORT HER. IT WAS SORT OF A ‘WIN’ ‘WIN’ ‘WIN’ AS I INTENDED TO GIVE SOME OF THE WHOLE PIES AWAY TO SINGLE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO HAVE A NICE THANKSGIVING DESSERT.

THEN I ALSO WOULD NOT HAVE TO BAKE A PIE FOR MY OWN DINNER. CLEVER!

WE DELIVERED THE PIES TO A COUPLE OF FRIENDS AND I MENTIONED THAT I PURCHASED THE HOMEMADE PIES BUT THEY WERE GIFTED WITH LOVE. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.

THANKSGIVING MONDAY TERRY MADE A CLASSIC, YUMMY THANKSGIVING TURKEY DINNER AND WE ENJOYED THE COMPANY OF THE 2 COUPLES IN OUR ‘BUBBLE’.

DESSERT TIME CAME AROUND AND I WENT TO CUT INTO THE PUMPKIN PIE(MY FAVOURITE!) AND I NOTICED THAT IT WAS KIND OF WET. WEIRD. I BROUGHT MY PIECE OF PIE TO THE TABLE AFTER THE GUESTS HAD SERVED THEMSELVES (OF EITHER THE PIE OR THE CHERRY CHEESECAKE THAT MY SISTER BROUGHT) AND TOOK A BIG BITE. OH MAN. IT TOOK EVERYTHING I HAD NOT TO SPIT IT OUT ONTO MY SISTER’S FACE ACROSS FROM ME. EEEEWWWW! IT WAS BAR NONE THE WORST TASTING PIE I HAVE EVER TASTED. AND THE CRUST WAS UNCOOKED. (WE ALSO PURCHASED PIES FOR OUR GUESTS THAT NIGHT WHO AFTER A GOOD LAUGH DECIDED MAYBE NOT TO TAKE THEIR’S HOME. (THOSE 2 PIE CRUSTS WERE BURNT).

YOU CAN IMAGINE THE THOUGHTS THAT IMMEDIATELY ROLLED AROUND IN MY HEAD…. “I GAVE THESE AWAY!” “DON’T EAT IT!” “I HAVE TO CALL MY FRIENDS AND APOLOGIZE” .

WELL, WE ALL HAD A GOOD LAUGH ABOUT IT AND I’M STILL HAPPY WE SUPPORTED THAT WOMAN. BUT TODAY I COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE SO I BAKED MY OWN PUMPKIN PIES. I’LL PUT ONE AWAY FOR CHRISTMAS AND THE OTHER WILL BE SHARED WITH OUR ‘BUBBLE’ . THIS TIME I HOPE FOR A BETTER RESPONSE….FROM ALL OF US! HA HA.

AS I WAS BAKING EARLY THIS MORNING I WAS THINKING ABOUT FINDING TIME TODAY TO ‘GET IN’ MY PRAYERS.

HERE IS SOMETHING YOU MIGHT ENJOY……

Have you ever noticed how in the scriptures men are always going up into the mountains to commune with the Lord?

Yet in the scriptures we hardly ever
hear of women going to the mountains.
But we know why — right?

Because the women were too busy
keeping life going;
they couldn’t abandon babies,
meals,
homes,
fires,
gardens,
and a thousand responsibilities to make the climb into the mountains!

I was talking to a friend the other day,
saying that as modern woman
I feel like I’m never “free” enough
from my responsibilities,
never in a quiet enough,
or holy enough spot
to have the type of communion
I want with God.

Her response floored me,
“That is why God comes to women.
Men have to climb the mountain to meet God, but God comes to women where ever they are.”

I have been pondering on her words for weeks and have searched my scriptures
to see that what she said is true.
God does in deed come to women
where they are,
when they are doing their ordinary,
everyday work.

He meets them at the wells
where they draw water for their families,
in their homes,
in their kitchens,
in their gardens.

He comes to them
as they sit beside sickbeds,
as they give birth,
care for the elderly,
and perform necessary mourning and burial rites.

Even at the empty tomb,
Mary was the first to witness Christ’s resurrection,
She was there because she was doing the womanly chore of properly preparing Christ’s body for burial.

In these seemingly mundane
and ordinary tasks,
these women of the scriptures found themselves face to face with divinity.

So if — like me — you ever start to bemoan the fact that you don’t have as much time to spend in the mountains with God as you would like. Remember, God comes to women. He knows where we are and the burdens we carry. He sees us, and if we open our eyes and our hearts we will see Him, even in the most ordinary places and in the most ordinary things.

He lives. And he’s using a time such as this to speak to women around the world.

(Original : Heather F.)

2 The Friend Who Cares

October 24, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT MY BEST FRIENDS? IF ONE GOOD THING HAS COME OUT OF COVID IT IS THE ABILITY TO “ZOOM” EVERY WEEK WITH MY ‘BESTIES’.

WE NOW LIVE IN FOUR DIFFERENT CITIES IN CANADA : EDMONTON, CALGARY, TECUMSEH, AND WATERLOO BUT WE HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER SINCE HIGH SCHOOL.

DO YOU HAVE A BEST FRIEND?

ROSEMARY PASSED THE FOLLOWING ON TO US AND I THINK IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT HOW TO BE A FRIEND….

The Friend Who Cares By Henry Nouwen

When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not-knowing, not-curing, not-healing, and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares.

I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE THESE CARING FRIENDS IN MY LIFE.

0 Living Water

October 23, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

Woman At The Well

DID YOU KNOW THAT ALTHOUGH 70 PERCENT OF THE WORLD IS COVERED BY WATER, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF IT IS DRINKABLE BY HUMANS?

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE STORIES IS ABOUT THE SAMARITAN WOMAN WHO MET JESUS AT A WELL. IT IS SAID THAT ‘NO RESPECTABLE RABBI WOULD SET FOOT IN SAMARIA’. BUT JESUS WAS TIRED AND SAT DOWN AT ‘JACOB’S WELL’ FOR A REST. READING ON….

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

HE SAID THAT THOSE WHO DRINK OF IT “WILL NEVER THIRST” . JESUS MEANT THAT HE WAS THE LIVING WATER AND THAT THOSE WHO RECEIVE HIM WILL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. HE ALSO SAID THAT THE LIVING WATER THAT REFRESHES US SHOULD BE USED TO REFRESH OTHERS TOO.

WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FLY TO A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY RIGHT NOW TO BUILD A WELL FOR THE THIRSTY. BUT LET’S REFRESH OTHERS WITH OUR KIND SPIRITS AND OUR WORDS OF LOVE.

LET’S BE ‘LIVING WATER’ FOR OUR FAMILY, OUR FRIENDS, AND THOSE WE MEET AT WORK OR ON THE STREETS. PEOPLE ARE THIRSTY FOR GOODNESS RIGHT NOW. ‘WATER’ WE WAITING FOR?

3 Moved by the Journey

October 22, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

I HAVE HAD A TENDENCY TO FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF LATELY.

THESE LAST COUPLE MONTHS HAVE BEEN PAINFUL AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF COVID. GOING OFF MEDICATION FOR ARTHRITIS HAS BEEN A BITTER PILL TO SWALLOW (TO USE A MEDICAL ANALOGY) WHILE WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT STOMACH ISSUES.

BUT TODAY I AM FEELING SO VERY GRATEFUL FOR ALL I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COME THROUGH PHYSICALLY. HOW BLESSED AM I?

I HAD MY FIRST HIP OPERATION WHEN I WAS TWO (HIP DYSPLASIA) AND NOTHING REALLY HELD ME BACK AFTER THAT. I LEARNED TO WALK. I BECAME A DANCER AND PERFORMED IN MANY MUSICALS AND THEATRE, TELEVISION AND MOVIE PRODUCTIONS. I TOOK JAZZ, BALLET AND TAP IN UNIVERSITY AND BALLROOM DANCING LATER IN LIFE WITH TERRY TOO.

I SPENT 7 YEARS IN A WHEELCHAIR WHEN MY ARTHRITIS GOT REALLY BAD BUT TERRY (AND MY CHILDREN AND FRIENDS) JOINED TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE LITTLE ONES LEARNED TO CARE FOR THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER AND THAT WE STILL DID MANY FUN THINGS AS A FAMILY. (THE PHOTO ABOVE IS OF THE CHILDREN AND I IN DRUMHELLER, ALBERTA).

AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE HAD DIFFERENT OPERATIONS TO IMPROVE MOBILITY (BOTH HIPS REPLACED AND REBUILDING MY LEFT FOOT AND ANKLE FOR A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES) I AM THRILLED THAT AFTER WALKING WITH A CANE FOR OVER 35 YEARS I AM FINALLY FINALLY CANE FREE!

OUR ‘SPIRITLINE’ TOUR ACROSS CANADA …LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME…WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MY LIFE.

SO COVID OR NO, I CAN WALK AND TODAY I AM REMEMBERING THIS SIMPLE BLESSING.

PEACE FRIENDS.

0 No Bones About It

October 21, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

HALLOWE’EN IS MY FAVOURITE DAY OF THE YEAR. I KNOW. WEIRD. BUT IT IS.

I’M GLAD THAT I DROVE AROUND BEFORE THE SNOW FELL TO TAKE A FEW SHOTS OF THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL ‘SKELLIES’ AROUND OUR TOWN.

WHEN OUR CHILDREN WERE LITTLE I THINK I CAN HONESTLY CLAIM THAT WE HAD THE BEST DECORATED HOUSE IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD. WE WENT ALL OUT WITH THE FULL HOMEMADE GRAVEYARD, GIANT SPIDERS AND COBWEB DRAWING DOWN FROM THE ROOF, FULL SIZE COFFIN, AND SO MUCH MORE.

I THINK MY LOVE OF THE DAY STARTED WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED WEARING COSTUMES. CANDY WAS FUN BUT NOT THE DRIVER. MY GOAL WAS TO WIN ‘BEST COSTUME’ EVERY YEAR ….AND IF THERE WAS A PARTY I USUALLY DID! IF THERE WASN’T AN EVENT IT DIDN’T MATTER BECAUSE I WOULD DRESS UP TO GIVE OUT CANDY TO THE CHILDREN AT THE DOOR.

THIS IS POSSIBLY WHY I ALSO BECAME AN ACTRESS. LOVE THOSE COSTUMES!!!!

ANYWAY, MY DAUGHTER, EMILY, JUST CALLED AND ASKED ME TO DRESS UP AS “MOIRA ROSE” (FROM SCHITT’S CREEK) AND HER DAD AS “JOHNNY ROSE”. SHE SAYS HALLOWE’EN IS ALSO HER FAVOURITE DAY AND SHE DOESN’T CARE IF IT’S COVID SHE JUST WANTS A PHOTO OF US DRESSED UP LIKE THIS…HA HA HA.

OUR GRANDSONS MIGHT ALSO CARRY THE ‘I LOVE HALLOWE’EN’ GENE . THEY ARE BIG TIME INTO CREATING COSTUMES AND FINDING PUMPKINS TO CARVE THESE DAYS. LOVE MY BOYS!

THIS YEAR WE ARE GOING TO HAVE OUR OWN GIANT SKELLIE HOLDING ONTO OUR BOWL OF TREATS ON THE PORCH. THE TRICK OR TREATERS WILL HAVE TO USE THE HONOUR SYSTEM TO TAKE ONLY ONE BAG OF CHIPS . DANG PANDEMIC.

I THINK IT IS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO WARM UP A BIT IN TIME FOR ‘THE BIG DAY’. NO BONES ABOUT IT….I’M ALREADY THINKING ABOUT MY COSTUME.

2 Snow! NO!

October 20, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

I SAW PHOTOS THIS MORNING OF THE GREEN GRASSES AND BEAUTIFUL COLOURS IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO WHERE A LOT OF MY FAMILY LIVES.

BUT,TRULY, UNLIKE OTHER YEARS I DON’T FEEL TOO UPSET WITH THIS EARLY SNOW BECAUSE WE MADE SUCH AN EFFORT TO GET OUT AND ENJOY OUR LOVELY AUTUMN HERE IN THE WEST.

IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK TO HAVE THE SNOWS HOLD OFF UNTIL AFTER HALLOWE’EN ? OR HOW ABOUT TILL AFTER …..DECEMBER 15TH? HA HA.

AH WELL, THIS INSIDE OF MY HOME HAS TOUCHES OF FALL FINERY IN ALMOST EVERY CORNER AND OUR AUTUMN PAINTINGS CHEER ME IN EVERY ROOM. I THINK I WILL HAVE A WARM ‘CUPPA’ AND SIT BY THE FIRE WITH A GOOD BOOK.

WE MUST LOOK FOR THE POSITIVE IN THIS TIME OF OVERWHELMING NEGATIVE. DON’T YOU AGREE?

PERHAPS A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTÉ ?

STAY WARM! YOU’VE GOT THIS!

0 Open Your Heart to the Poor

October 19, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

“WHEN YOU GIVE A LUNCH OR A DINNER, DON’T INVITE YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR BROTHERS, YOUR RELATIVES, OR YOUR RICH NEIGHBOURS, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT INVITE YOU BACK, AND YOU WOULD BE REPAID.ON THE CONTRARY, WHEN YOU HOST A BANQUET, INVITE THOSE WHO ARE POOR, MAIMED, LAME, OR BLIND. AND YOU WILL BE BLESSED, BECAUSE THEY CANNOT REPAY YOU.” (Luke 14-12-14 )

OBVIOUSLY WE ARE NOT INVITING THE STRANGER INTO OUR HOMES RIGHT NOW. COVID HAS MADE IT FEEL AS IF A ROCK IS WEIGHING DOWN UPON US OR THAT WE HAVE TO DODGE BOULDERS TO MAKE THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

I HAVE REALLY BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE POOR IN OUR CITY LATELY AS IT IS GETTING COLDER AND COLDER AND THE POWERS THAT BE JUST SHUT DOWN A CONTROVERSIAL ‘TENT CITY’ DUE TO INCREASED DRUG USE AND ABUSE. WHO WILL CARE FOR THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED?

I HAVE JUST COMPLETED A NEW SONG CALLED “OPEN THE DOOR TO THE POOR”.(I HOPE TO ADD THIS TO MY NEW ALBUM) . I KEEP THINKING, “HOW CAN WE HELP OTHERS? “

IT IS COMMON TO SEE PEOPLE MEASURING SUCCESS BY ‘SIZE’ : THE BIGGEST HOUSE. THE BIGGEST JOB. THE LOUDEST…VOICE.

AND SOME FOLKS THINK THEIR SMALL WAYS OF SERVING GO UNNOTICED AND THEY’RE DISCOURAGED. THEY MIGHT FEEL INSIGNIFICANT IN THE LARGER SCALE OF THINGS.

BUT WE ARE NOT CALLED TO FIND FULFILLMENT IN HOW MUCH WE DO OR HOW MANY PEOPLE HELP US OR EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT. WE ARE JUST CALLED TO DO ….SOMETHING. SOMEONE DOES KNOW OUR HEARTS AND EVEN THE LITTLEST OF KINDNESSES CAN MAKE A GREAT DIFFERENCE IN THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THOSE NEAREST TO US, THOSE WE PASS ON THE STREET, AND EVEN FARTHER AFIELD THAN WE COULD IMAGINE.

HERE IS AN IMAGINARY SCENARIO :

YOU PASS AN ELDERLY ,DOWNHEARTED WOMAN ON THE STREET. NO ONE ‘SEES’ HER ANYMORE AND SHE IS LONELY. WHEN YOU PASS BY YOU GIVE HER A BEAUTIFUL SMILE AND REALLY LOOK INTO HER EYES. EVEN THOUGH SHE ONLY SEES YOUR EYES (ABOVE THE PANDEMIC MASK) SHE FEELS ‘SEEN’ AND UPLIFTED. SHE WALKS A LITTLE TALLER NOW AND DROPS A FAIR AMOUNT OF MONEY INTO THE CUP OF A STREET PERSON WHO HAD NO MEANS OF GETTING A MEAL OR A WARM ROOM FOR THE NIGHT. THAT PERSON GIVES THEIR BLANKET TO ANOTHER FELLOW BEGGING ON THE STREET NEARBY BEFORE HE (THE FIRST MAN) RUSHES OFF TO ENJOY A BREAKFAST SANDWICH SOMEWHERE. THE BLANKET SAVES THE SECOND MAN’S LIFE THAT NIGHT AS IT TURNS MUCH COLDER AND HE NOW HAS A WAY TO PROTECT HIMSELF FROM THE BITTER WIND. THIS RIPPLE EFFECT CAN CONTINUE ON AND ON AND ON IN WAVES OF GOODNESS AND CHARITY .

(I THINK WE CAN ALL IMAGINE THE OPPOSITE SCENARIO OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN WHEN WE ACT WITH NEGATIVITY.)

LET’S BREAK THROUGH THIS BOULDER OF SADNESS THAT THREATENS TO CRUSH US IN THIS SEEMINGLY NEVER ENDING PANDEMIC AND REACH OUT TO SOMEONE NEAR US TODAY IN A SMALL ACT OF KINDNESS. JUST LIKE IN THE CHORUS OF THE SONG, “ALL THAT IS HIDDEN”….

Chorus::
All that is hidden will be made clear.
All that is dark now will be revealed.
What you have heard in the dark
proclaim in the light;
What you hear in whispers
proclaim from the housetops.

If you would honour me, honour the least of these:

If you would speak of me, live all your life in me.

If you would rise with me, rise through your destiny …

LET’S TAKE THE CHALLENGE AND OPEN OUR HEARTS TO THE POOR!

0 Family Painting Afternoon

October 18, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

YESTERDAY, I HAD A LOVELY TIME PAINTING ALL AFTERNOON WITH TERRY AND OUR DAUGHTER, EMILY.

I USUALLY GET TO PAINT WITH A LOT OF FAMILY MEMBERS WHEN I GO HOME IN MAY (MUM, DAD, SISTERS MARY AND PAULA, AND EVEN OUR NEICE) BUT WHEN COVID CANCELLED ALL TRAVEL PLANS THAT WAS ANOTHER SMALL EVENT THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN.

EMILY DECIDED SHE WANTS TO DO AN OIL PAINTING FOR HER PARTNER’S MOTHER FOR CHRISTMAS SO SHE ASKED IF SHE COULD PAINT WITH US AND I WAS THRILLED AS I HAVE BEEN UNMOTIVATED TO PAINT WITH THIS HIGH PAIN LEVEL I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING. (STILL WORKING ON THAT.)

BUT THE IDEA OF PAINTING TOGETHER ON A COLD, DARK AUTUMN DAY JUST BROUGHT THE LIGHT BACK INTO THE HOUSE AND WE ARE BLESSED TO ACTUALLY HAVE AN ART STUDIO WITH ENOUGH ROOM FOR ALL OF US TO FIT COMFORTABLY TOO.

I PUT A LOG IN THE WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE, GOT EM SET UP AT THE WINDOW, AND TERRY AND I PAINTED AT OUR EASLES. TERRY’S PAINTING WILL TAKE A YEAR AT LEAST AS HE HAS CHOSEN THE MOST DETAILED,LARGE PAINTING AND HE DOESN’T OFTEN FEEL LIKE PAINTING…HA HA.

EMILY WORKED ALL AFTERNOON ON HER DRAWING OF MOUNTAIN ASH BERRY BRANCHES AND I KNOW IT WILL BE GORGEOUS WHEN SHE COMPLETES IT.

I AM ACTUALLY WORKING ON A FAIRLY LARGE CANVAS OF AN IMAGE OF….EMILY! IT WAS A PHOTO I TOOK OF HER YEARS AGO. SHE IS WEARING A DRESS THAT I WORE IN A HIGH SCHOOL PLAY (MISS JULIE) AND I THOUGHT I WOULD DO AN OIL PAINTING OF ‘WOMAN READING’.

IN ACTUALITY ,I WILL BE WORKING WITH ACRYLIC PAINT AND I WAS QUITE SPEEDY WITH THE GRIDS I MADE AND THE FINISHED ‘UNDERPAINTING’.

NOW I HAVE SEVERAL MORE FAMILY PAINTING DAYS TO LOOK FORWARD TO DURING THIS UPCOMING, LONG WINTER. THIS WILL BE A CHALLENGING TIME FOR THIS ‘SNOWBIRD’ BUT I’M ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR NEXT PAINTING DATE.

FIREPLACE PREPARED. MUSIC READY. TEA ON. LET’S PAINT!

0 Lifetime of Learning

October 17, 2020
by Laura Bachynski
· Blog

I asked a friend who has crossed 70 & is heading towards 80 what sort of changes he is feeling in himself? He sent me the following:

1 After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children and my friends, I have now started loving myself.

2 I have realized that I am not “Atlas”. The world does not rest on my shoulders.

3 I have stopped bargaining with vegetable & fruit vendors. A few pennies more is not going to break me, but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.

4 I leave my waitress a big tip. The extra money might bring a smile to her face. She is toiling much harder for a living than I am.

5 I stopped telling the elderly that they’ve already narrated that story many times. The story makes them walk down memory lane & relive their past.

6 I have learned not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. The onus of making everyone perfect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection.

7 I give compliments freely & generously. Compliments are a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me. And a small tip for the recipient of a compliment, never, NEVER turn it down, just say “Thank You.”

8 I have learned not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. Personality speaks louder than appearances.

9 I walk away from people who don’t value me. They might not know my worth, but I do.

10 I remain cool when someone plays dirty to outrun me in the rat race. I am not a rat & neither am I in any race.

11 I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. It’s my emotions that make me human.

12 I have learned that it’s better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. My ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships, I will never be alone.

13 I have learned to live each day as if it’s the last. After all, it might be the last.

14 I am doing what makes me happy. I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to myself. Happiness is a choice. You can be happy at any time, just choose to be!

15 I DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW WHO ASKED THIS QUESTION BUT I CAN RELATE TO MUCH OF IT AND I AGREE WITH ALL OF IT. (Perhaps we won’t need a lifetime to learn these lessons.)

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