Snippets of Sun

I love the big holidays as they are family time but perhaps my favourite personal day of the year is today. Anyone who follows the blog knows why! 

That golden orb comes up at 4;45 and doesn’t set till 21:30 (9:30 for all you non medical sort). I know, in my head, that the days start getting shorter now, but I like to live in denial that summer has only long days like today! 

I had a Facebook post from a couple of years ago lamenting the fact that on the summer Soltice it rained all day and we didn’t even get a sunset. We awoke this a.m. to open windows and rain at 4:05 so I wasn’t exactly hopeful for today but I did have a plan for a blog post if the weather did cooperate. 

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My plan was to have a picture for every hour that I saw the sun. Which is easy for the first hour so here is my am pics at home and my commuter pic (taken while sitting at the red light). It’s so much easier to get up when it’s light and bright out. 

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Then of course things go down hill for a few hours. The following picture is what’s left of our windows after they started building the Children’s Hospital. The dungeon became even darker and harder to handle. There are many of my colleagues who probably think I am stuck up because I leave the OR for my breaks. I will stay if the patient and the room require me to be close by but getting real life is very important to my psyche.  You can see why I chose to leave when you see our “view”. 

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Then it’s a couple of busy hours where time zips by. First break of the day — outside view away from the smokers but right by the gophers. Can’t seem to win! 

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The middle stretch of the day is insanely busy but finally it’s time for a lunch break in the Queen’s Garden. I wish it was still a secret treasure with crappy furniture as it’s always so busy but a late lunch allows for more quiet time. 

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Usually that just leaves a couple of hours until the professional day winds down and I get to enjoy the sunshine. But alas I am on call his summer soltise and you guessed it. Staying late so I grab a 5 minute sunshine break before the next stretch. 

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Three hours later a quick supper break of chili and cheese with a carrot muffin. Well at least it’s kind of decent food and didn’t come from a vending machine. 

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And then the long stretch at the end of the day when you are feeling a bit tired. But I just kept thinking, maybe   I will be out in time to see the sunset or even the never ending twilight. 

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Turns out that twilight is a lovely time to change your tire. Even stopped in the most scenic part of the road so the church was in the twilight. I have shit for luck when it comes to tires. Not sure if I hit something or if it was a blow out not that it matters. Fortunately I’m pretty handy with a tire iron and my road side assistance guy was like 3 km’s away so it wasn’t the worst flat I’ve ever had. Now that could be a blog post all on its own. 

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So that’s a wrap for today. I am thinking that next year on this day  perhaps would be a perfect time to finally take that trip to the Yukon. 

June Beauty

I’m very fond of January which isn’t a statement most people make but perhaps June is my favorite. I’m all about the sunlight and June just can’t be topped for that. It’s like the light goes on and on and on! I’m like a school age child and never want to go to bed because it is still light out. 

These next two are from a walk that we finished after 10 one evening this week. The moon has been stellar this week, the twilight lingers on and on and then the morning sun starts peeking out so early. 

The plus to all that sun is that everything is growing like crazy! We could certainly use some serious rain but even so it’s all very green except for the trees. They are just plain ugly. Fortunately the worst of the caterpillars seems to be over. 

But the flowers and plants are a looking worth a few photos. I’m not sure what a couple of them are but the colours and textures are wonderful! The last one has only been growing for a few months but we will enjoy watching this little beauty pop up. 

❤️❤️❤️

Bernie 

“When the dog swims”…

I’ve had a minor writers block and a serious lack of time to write. Today, while out walking, I was listing in my head, a few of my favourite things. So then

An Unexpected End

There are times were the ending makes up for the beginning and perhaps even the middle. 

Such was how our evening ended. We enjoyed our first bike ride together, returning as the sun was setting.  Glory be that the wind had totally died down so we sat by the fire for a couple of hours. We watched the twilight darken but even as I write at midnight it’s still a bit light. The joys of June. The stars and the moon are in full glory and if it wasn’t for the mosquitos it would be perfect. I’m more fond of ticks or caterpillars than those little biting devils.

The beginning of the day included 4 hours of financial data entering and ended with a small meltdown on my part. The weeding was way more fun than that and I’m not fond of pulling those suckers. We capped our afternoon off by spending over an hour hashing out details and options with our financial advisory. That always makes my head spin. 

So how wonderful that the windy day turned into a calm beautiful evening and we were lucky enough to be home to enjoy it. 

Have a good weekend everyone. I sincerely hope you can find some time to rejuvenate your soul as well.

Bernie 

Traveling Library Loan

I misplaced my phone. Again. Somehow my keys and phone never seem to be where my brain thinks they are. 

Although it seems random perhaps it’s not. I’ve felt lately that reading has been a missing element in my life. I’m meandering through the original Anne of Green Gables as we watched the new series on CBC. I so enjoy Lucy Maud Montgomery’s incredible talent with words but the chase of the story isn’t there as I’ve perhaps reread them half a dozen times. 

So on my much needed break from the dungeon I wandered upstairs to the library. In two seconds the visual of four women in an old car pulled me in. Once I read the title and skimmed the synapse of the story I was hooked. 

I laughed, I cried and I pondered. I’m not advocating a traveling funeral, as I have mine planned out for here at home, but the heart of the book is really about living life to the fullest. It’s about loss and pain but also about accepting the parts that make us us. 

Now the book is going travelling. I’m sending it along to a close friend who will be instructed whom to send it to and so on. Once it returns to me I’ll return it, well used, to the library. Reading enriches our lives as does friendship so this is a win win. 

 

Bernie  

Bloggers

Today I met up with a fellow blogger and it was wonderful. Now I actually know her in real life but feel a closer connection because of our shared blog readings. At this stage in her career I would be a distant memory, pleasant but faded. She would be one of a string of younger colleagues I help mentor along the way. 

But because we write we connect. I’ve never met her family which seems strange to her and I. She’s met my husband but he feels like he knows her better than two or three casual suppers calls for. 

It’s a connection that I’m thrilled to have. She challenges me to think globally and to reach out of my own easy space. Perhaps I provide her with a bit of easy nostalgic reading about life on the safer side. We hug lots which is kind of funny because she was so not on the hugging team! 
Today we hugged, talked, laughed and walked. Then we parted for a few months but she’ll be back because of what this photo shows. 

In the meantime we’ll both keep writing and reading; sharing both the inner and the outer shells. Lucky us to have this connection. Silly us to have forgotten, again, to take a picture while we were together. 

Bernie 

Chock Full

I usually plan my week to ensure that I have a couple of evenings free of commitments. Although most people probably don’t realize this I quite

Marvellous Mother’s Day

I’m a smidgeon late posting and reflecting on my first Mother’s Day as a grandmother.

Spring certainties

There are a couple of things that you can be certain of in spring. It will eventually become green, even if it feels too slow, and there will be mud. 

Arts and Crafts Time

The weather outside has been a bit frightful today so it seemed like a great day for project time.

We took it down a notch though and just did fun