Cattitude and Gratitude

My mom just adored music. She always had the record player or radio going when I was growing up. Her tastes were so eclectic from Handel’s Water Music to Mireille Mathieu to the Beatles. She loved it all.  She loved her Scottish heritage so much and gave us an appreciation for it, too. I often remember the house swelling with the sound of Cape Breton fiddle music or bagpipes. Once back in the 1970’s, my mom heard a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace on the radio. It featured the lone piper along with the full pipe band.   My mom was so taken by it, she rushed home and phoned the radio station to know the name of it as she wanted to buy the record. To this day, I can’t hear Amazing Grace without thinking of her. It is especially poignant now that she’s gone and I dedicate this music to her memory.  Here is a recording of Amazing Grace with the lone piper accompanied with a pipe band. Hard to listen to without shedding a few tears for the recent loss of...

The other day I saw this robin in the tree and was struck by how unusual it was to see a robin on November 21st. Being a migratory bird, he should have left by now but we have had an unusually mild November for a change. Mr. Robin, are you still here? Shouldn’t you be on your way? I didn’t think you were around all year Did you decide to stay? Just a word of warning, In case you didn’t know, Soon it will be freezing With lots and lots of snow, The chickadees and jays can tell you They know about winter’s cold, How it chills you through and through You must be feeling bold, Freezing rain is coming down Ice pellets sure do sting, Finally you’re leaving town See you again next spring! I am writing something every day for the Yeah Write NoMo Challenge for November. http://yeahwrite.me/november-2015/

I never could understand that Black Friday madness. It has even become popular here in Canada and we had Thanksgiving last month.  As I grow older, things become even less important to me. Too many things just clutter up the place and bog me down. I’m too messy and disorganized to have too much stuff. It all overwhelms me. Who needs all this stuff anyhow? It’s consumerism at it’s finest. We’ve been so brainwashed to think this is the way to be happy. Buy, buy, buy and then buy some more. Always on the quest for something newer, shinier, or more fancy. Don’t bother fixing your old one. Throw it out and get something new. I love Christmas time for the beauty of the season with the joy of Christ’s birth as well as the lights, the decorations and especially the music which I take part in with great enthusiasm.  The gift giving part I could easily do without. It can be a very stress ridden time of year feeling obligated to spend too much on gifts for peop...

I like sitting high up on my perch It’s higher than a steeple on a church, I can see for miles up here Especially when the sky is clear, Humans are a funny bunch I like to watch them eat their lunch, I watch and wait til the time is right I spread my wings and then take flight, I swoop right down before their eyes And give them all a big surprise, They drop their burgers and their wine And bingo, now their lunch is mine! I am writing something every day for the Yeah Write NoMo Challenge for November. http://yeahwrite.me/november-2015/

As an introvert, I find I prefer writing as my medium for communicating as it allows me to pause and collect my thoughts. I can delete and rewrite things that are unclear or sound stupid.  Thank goodness for email and Facebook. They have given me another outlet for communication which I can embrace. Also I’m more of a visual person so that’s another part of the appeal. I’ve never enjoyed the phone as it often makes me feel tense and put on the spot, the same way I feel if confronted with a large group of talkative, extroverted people. Plus once it’s out there, it’s out there. You can’t retract the words.   I often resist phoning people unless there is no other option. I much prefer to shoot off an email or a Facebook message.   “I’m not a phone person,” I would always proclaim to my mom again and again each time she called.  I know the phone was my mom’s favourite way to keep in touch with friends and family, especially these past few years w...