Greetings to old and new friends...missed you...how are you?

Hello...great to hear from you and to hear what has been going on with you. Your raised bed project sounds creatively satisfying. I love your phrase...personality not imperfection...good one! . Good for you with your compost piles. We compost too...sometimes more successfully than others. The great thing about our town is that they have set up compost piles near the dump...our village takes a lot of compost material there and then we can go back and take compost back to our garden. Hopefully when you start adding compost to your baked clay soil it will amend the soil to a more workable blend. David and I added sand and compost to our clay beds and it has helped immensely. I am sure you find the open sky where you are what is striking here...no city lights to detract from the expansive beauty of a night sky. We love to sit around the fire and chat until the early morning and watch the shooting stars. Your weekend plans with your sister sounds great and if the weather warms up we will be doing another burn with our gal-pal as well. So I'll be thinking of you looking at the same sky we'll be...lovely thought. Like minded others from Mylot sharing a similar vibe...as we already are. Your kitty story is so enchanting and I also believe she made her way home! We have animals that we absolutely 'Know" are the same ones we had before in a new physical form. Good to hear further confirmation...always love to hear examples like yours. I know you will continue to enjoy your garden...we sure love ours as well. Every rock, plant and addition in our sacred space has significance for us and we feel blessed to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor and have Nature give back with such beauty and abundance. I have included a photo of one section of the yard. There is a lot more to it we have a variety of beds, a vegetable patch and a herb wheel made from recycled bricked. You can see a little portion of it in the middle right hand side of the photo. I would love to see any of your garden if you have any. Warmest regards, Raia

Love the photo! Thanks for adding it. Your concept for raised beds is really kewl...what a great way to recycle and reuse and create beds that will not deteriorate the way wood does. You have done a great job there and it is fun to see what fellow gardeners are doing...and this is really unique...just like you!I have included a photo of our herb wheel...it needs some cement to hold the bricks in place and we'll be doing that this year. It would be great fun to see the beds in full bloom...especially with the clover between them. The fact that your brother is a pack rat and allowing you to complete your project in such an economical way...and de-clutter their place is a win-win for sure. Your scarecrow sounds cute...I do hope you will make a discussion out of it and include photos as future phases of your grand design unfolds. Good sharing and thanks for coming back with more news. If you ever head up to South Central Canada and want to join us around our campfire you would be most welcome. The guest room awaits!All the best... Raia

This is the only way I could see to post my second picture that I told you about, the one I took today.

You will be among the first to see the unveiling! Take good care and we will keep in touch. Raia

I know the feeling...whenever I think of you we re-connect again. Gives me those 'angel walks' of shivering confirmation as I write this. They are always a 'sign' that what has just been said is being confirmed 'energetically.' I know you will grasp that 'blabber' although many would not. That is why I treasure the connection we have. Good to know you and your beloved are doing good and that you are continuing with your writing. You have a flair for it and express yourself well and I am sure you will continue to gain greater success in the field. Be sure and let me know when you do set your blog up and I will be there to comment and support your ventures. Our web designer continues to work on the site and we are not pushing the launch date. We'd rather keep tweaking it until we like it than put it up for the sake of having it there. I will let you know when it is up and your feedback would be most welcome. Our friend has settled in nicely to her new life here and David and I enjoy having her around. Hope you enjoy your new job and have fun with it. Take care and big huggers to you! Raia

I can't wait to see it. Please let me know!! :)

Hi Polly...thanks for your on-going interest and for dropping by whenever you see that I am here...I appreciate that so much! Good to know valued friends do not write me off when I am away for awhile. You can trust I will always come back as soon as I have a little breathing space because I value the connections I have with special on-line friends here. I think about you and your skinny boyfriend and always smile. You have such a positive, caring, compassionate way that comes through in all your dialogs...with me or others. It is a pleasure to know you are out there...and people like you make my world feel a little brighter when all we hear is the negativity on the news. I tune that out and remind myself that in this world...and in Mylot Land there are countless people who really do care and are doing their best to make the world a better place in large and small ways every day. It is good to know you and your family are doing well and enjoying the warmer weather. It has been a cool Spring here...but everything is greening up and the garden is beginning to flourish again and it provides a feeling of rebirth. Gas prices are going to affect a lot of people's travel plans this year from what I have been reading here. With our pal being close she, David and I have decided to share the gas and take a few mini-vacations and become tourists in our own area here. Our backyard oasis is a little piece of heaven for us and we spend a lot of time out there...lying in the hammock, watching nature, sitting around the fire and having friends over to share food and fun. I included a photo of it. So like you and yours we feel thankful for the good in life and are really enjoying ourselves. The greatest gift is that David's health has returned and we are loving working together and developing our businesses. I will drop by your site when I am here so we can keep in touch and share the outworking of our summer fun...short as the season is. Good hearing from you and catching up...hugs to you my special gal-pal. Raia

Oh my sweet friend...your gentle, strong spirit always fills my computer screen with your essence whenever you drop by...and thank you for doing so again. I miss you and other special friends while I am away...but I do think of my friends here with the same affection I feel for other special people in my life. Your ability to enjoy life's simple abundance is such a testimony to your spiritual essence and I respect that about you more than words can say. You always face the 'bleakness' in life with such dignity, grace and acceptance. Your approach to facing life's challenges is a living testimony to the prayer of serenity. You accept the things that cannot be changed with courage...and you change what you can...as you can...and have always struck me as having the wisdom to know the difference. Once again I hear all of the above in your sharing here. Spring is a magnificent time of year and I love the sense of rebirth it always brings. Being out in the garden and seeing the bountiful return of perennials...gathering the volunteers and gifting them to friends and neighbors is always a reminder of how spirit provides for us. I have included a photo of one of the many butterflies I have throughout our home as a reminder that I uphold and honor you my friend because you continually are like our beloved butterflies...moving through your transitions and finding ways to fly free...however brief that may feel...that is my hope for you...as the photo shows. It is good to hear that your hubby found some work. I hope life is more gentle with you and yours...you have already overcome so many challenges. Good to be back in touch...I miss you too and I am sending you warm, caring hugs and energetic support of love and light. Raia

Hi again... I notice you made your 2,000th post...good for you. It took me forever to reach mine and will take equally as long to top the 3,0000 mark at the rate I am going these days. Sorry to hear you went through a rough patch and I hope things are improving. We have had really chilly weather in Manitoba this Spring and I am reluctant to plant any annuals until it warms up a little more. We plant seeds in our veggie garden but that will have to wait for another week or so...no point in trying the ground is still cold and damp. With the high cost of fuel David and I and our friend have decided to take a few mini-vacations and become tourists in our own area. We can split on gas...get out and have some fun on a more reduced budget. We have a pool right across the street from our home...and there is a lake about 15 minutes from here...so we can swim and take the canoe out for nature days. The Pembina Valley is very scenic with rolling hills and plenty to do. So our summer will be relaxing and hopefully allow me to spend a little more time here chatting with good pals like you. I have included a photo of some owls from my collection...hope you like it. Raia

Opps..posted without the photo...here it is. Cheers, Raia

Hi again my other owl loving friend. I posted a photo from my collection of many owls and there is one above as well. Thanks for your warm welcome back. Whenever I've been away for awhile I post a catch-up chat discussion so I can let others know what I've been doing and hear about friends' lives as well. Someone else from the UK mentioned that the weather has been cold and rainy...but I guess the UK is like Vancouver and the drizzle comes with the country. It has been a rather cold Spring here...but a little warmer today and sunny. We haven't planted any annuals yet...hopefully sometime within the week. They always add a lovely burst of color amidst the many perennials we have in our beds. Four years old...and starting school...children grow up so fast and the first day of school is a milestone for many. Is he looking forward to it...and how is his mother doing with the idea? I know some have a push-pull about letting their little ones go...because it is just the beginning of many more years of schooling to come. Hope your dog continues to feel better....it is always a concern when our furry family members are under the weather. I hope you continue to enjoy your garden and I know I will. We can give each other updates as we go. More discussions to follow...and I'll drop by and say hi on your site as well. Warm regards, Raia

Whew...thanks for the update. Our pets truly are our 'fur-babies' as Pyewacket calls them and when they are ill it is of real concern. Your garden sounds lovely...every gardener has their unique ways of using their yards as the canvas for their artistry. Hope yours flourishes this year. We finally put some annuals and veggies in...but it was chilly last night and again this evening so we are covering them with sheets to assure their safety. Yes, mothers sometimes have very mixed feelings when their little ones begin to take flight. I am sure it will be fine...but sometimes it can be hard to let go. Good hearing back from you...I am almost caught up here and hope to drop by friends' sites in the next day or two...depending on whether I post more discussions and how many responses I have here. Takes time to respond to every response...especially with my often lengthy replies. I enjoy our connection...thanks for dropping back. Raia

Hi Perspectives my dog is better now and am glad that it wasn't serious. My daughter is actually looking forward to her son going to school but I think it will hit her when he actually does start especially as it is only a few months away now-my garden in the front is looking lovely but really does need mowing at the moment thing is its difficult to know from day to day when its best to do it I have lots of roses and fushias in the front along with some rosemary garlic chives and sage so most of them are quite hardy plants will just have to keep an eye now when it will be the best time to mow the grass!! you friend littleowl

Hello my good friend...what a delight to hear from you again. I have thought about you and all you and your family have moved through this past year. Good to know that you have been MIA because of grad and not some other problem. In regard to the low energy days...I would imagine you and your body are still adapting to the changes it went through. Low energy is a signal that you may need to take some 'me-time' until your batteries are re-charged. One cannot run on empty. You have such an open, generous heart I am sure you give a lot more than you allow yourself to receive. Please take care of yourself...a lot of people love and care about you...and I am one of them. Big, warm hugs to you too dear one and thanks for dropping by. Raia

Oh how sweet you are. Thank you so much for your wonderfully warm welcome back I really appreciate knowing I was missed. Sounds like you have a very child-filled life right now. Your friend is fortunate to have someone like you to care for her children. How is your child doing with sharing you? Sometimes that can be a bit of an adjustment. Looking for housing can be both exciting and frustrating. I hope you find the perfect place for you and your family in the right price range. Let me know how you make out. Will you be living in the same city and area you are currently in? Moves are unsettling...but also provide a fresh start. I know that from personal experience because David and I moved around a lot when we were first married. Something nomadic about us then...but now now. We are loving where we are and really blooming where we are planted. Your visit with your mum and Aunty sounds great. I am sure you will have lots of catching up to do. With your visitors and baby-sitting, plans for a move...goodness what a whirlwind of activity you are in. Hope you are taking some nurture time for yourself! Good to be back and catching up on news with you. I am less busy right now and will drop by your site once I am caught up here. Take care...and best regards, Raia

Ah Annie...you are so sweet. Your loving, honoring words and appreciation for the bond David and I share is very touching...thank you. We do feel very blessed by what we call our Sacred Partnership. Our bond helps us grow our souls and make life sweeter. We have faced a lot of daunting challenges in the coming onto 18 years we have been together...but our difficult transitions always add to our empathy and understanding of others in both our personal and professional lives. So in the overall view it truly is...all good. I value the on-line friendship we have developed in the past year Annie and honestly do think of you and others when I am away With the depth and breadth of what we share one cannot help but feel a close kinship to special Cyber friends here in Mylot land. Now that things are less hectic I do hope to be here more. Summer is less busy for us because there are less workshops to present. With the biggest part of the garden being done it will just be maintenance in the months ahead. The web designer has most of the content for the site and articles for my two columns are in. So my first stop was Mylot...and when I saw you here I was tickled to have a chance to hear how things are going with you and yours. The price of gas is increasingly alarming. It appears that there is no ceiling to how high the cost of it will go and what impact that will have on all our lives. David and I are just starting to come back from the financial impact of his health challenges and like you we are planning a few mini-vacations rather than a longer more distant one at this point. We live in the Pembina Valley in Southwestern Manitoba and there are so many beautiful places to hike, swim, photograph that life here always feels like a constant vacation. The quiet, simple life we lead is another blessing and we do not miss the hustle and bustle of big city life at all. Now that our special gal-pal is only 4 doors down from us it is even better. So I will do my best not to be missing in action for so long. The lovely messages and encouraging words about being missed is meaningful to me. Thanks for that...and I know my thoughts, well wishes and big hugs are being sent right back to you. Raia

Ah...Williamjisir...what a lovely symbol of our friendship you gave me. Thank you...it is very meaningful. What I value about our Cyber-friendship is that we may be out of touch for awhile...but we always pick up the threads of our connection so easily. You can feel free to call me Raia if you are comfortable with that...because we are friends! I am glad you dropped by I was wondering if I would hear from you and I am happy to have an update. It is why I post these topics whenever I have been away for awhile...nice way of hearing what is going on in all our lives. You have obviously been able to keep your credits building on Mylot. I recall when I sent you the congratulatory kudos for reaching your 5,000th post..and now you are pushing onwards toward 8,000. Good work. You are such a wonderful contributor and a valued member of this community!Also great that you are feeling more relaxed after a job well done. I hope that this little breather will be a reminder that you need to take care of yourself in the midst of your busy, demanding schedule. Your students are fortunate to have a mentor and role model like yourself. We will keep in touch...and thanks again for your thoughtful friendship addition. David and I send you, your wife and family wishes for the best life has to offer. It is finally warmer here after a week of cold weather and lots of rain. The garden is looking good and I will be heading out there later. You have seen photos of all the snow we get here. I have included a photo of the lush, green hills as they look in the Spring. A friend of ours from China said that our terrain here reminded them of parts of their country. Having never been there I wouldn't know. Warmest regards, Raia

When I saw the number on your credits I wasn't sure if you were still active or not. Thanks for leaving my alert on so we could connect again. Thanks for responding and being open to keeping in touch as time allows. I always enjoyed our chats and still do!Sorry to hear about your challenges last year...David and I went through some rough times a couple years ago when he had some health challenges. Being self-employed that affected our finances as well. Thankfully he is doing great now and that is why we are enjoying working together and developing our businesses again. We do not plan to ever retire as long as we are healthy. Our 'work' is not that to us...we are what we do and our livelihood is immensely rewarding. After all we've transformed in our lives it is a blessing to be able to share our ideas with others. Being a part of facilitating another's changes is a gift that keeps on giving. The weather here has also been cold for this time of year as well. If you have a photo of your new puppy I'd love to see it. I am thinking of posting another pet discussion because they are so heartwarming and fun. We had to put our beloved dog Tasha down in January because the quality of her life had diminished. She was almost 16 and had a good life...but we miss her. So we are down to one dog named Cherokee...and 5 indoor cats. They are our 'kids' because David and I chose not to have a family and know it was the right decision for us at this level of our soul path. I have included a photo of Cherokee with one of our two ginger twin male cats when Tigger was a kitty. In regard to your pathway of discovery with Christianity...I am happy for you my friend. Christianity or any other organized religion is not a bone of contention for me as long as those who are involved with it do not use their religion as a way of diminishing the worth or free will of others or coming from a place of religious superiority. In my view we are all sparks from Source and there are many routes to enlightenment. I was raised in two Christian churches...Anglican and then United. A metaphysical religious organization called Unity also provided answers in my spiritual quest for truth. So if you are finding peace and serenity in the teaching I truly do rejoice for you. Within my spiritual beliefs love is the common thread in all the great religions and I hold fast to the idea that with enough love we could resolve all our human rights issues. So whether it comes from the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, Wicca, Kabbalah...if we aspire to know God and emulate the highest resonances of love and light...we will all be transformed and become more enlightened...no matter what doctrine we choose to follow. I look forward to hearing more about your soul path discoveries. It is my goal to always be able to discuss most anything as long as it is done with respectful dialog and an honoring of differences. It is all I can do to keep my own spiritual house in order without assuming that what I believe is superior to what another chooses. Our Creator gave us the right of free will...and I value that too much to ever diminish another's right to decide on their path. So...hope you know that I am happy that you are happy. From the sound of the past year it is time. Take care...and lets keep in touch more. Warmest regards, Raia

Hello...good to hear from you again. It has been awhile. Yes, there is plenty going on in life with David and I starting new marketing programs for the three businesses we partner in. Great to have him as a life...and business partner. We feel very fortunate to be able to spend time together, work from home, enjoy what we do...and not have to spend money on gas to do it! Bonus! Sounds as though you have a lot going on. I got into a bit of a free-for-all on a site that tied personal morals to eating meat and saying they love animals. Wow...did I open a can of worms! I usually steer clear of those kinds of hot buttons...but now I am in it...I will just walk through it until I am on the other side. When you mention June 8...what do you mean? Where do I take a look? On your site or someone else's? Let me know and I will. Right now I am back to playing catch up after being being on 3 reporting assignments I had for one of our local papers...have to meet those deadlines! Anyway, I plan to always come back to Mylot as time permits. I have a real fondness for you and many others here and sincerely miss not chatting. Enjoy your mini-vacations...and don't be a stranger either my friend. So long for now, Raia

Hi again... I am really enjoying chatting with you and others who dropped by to participate in my catch-up conversation. I post these whenever I've been away for awhile so that I can hear what is going on in my friends' lives...just like we do in within our physical friendships. Wow...your family dynamics have changed rather dramatically in a short time. Good to hear that it is all working out so well. I can appreciate why you are proud of your son James...he sounds very responsible and emotionally mature for a young man of his age. The fact that he is willing to take on so much shows you and your hubs did a great job in raising him. Having a travel consultant job sounds very interesting and will probably create some enjoyable and educational experiences for Jenna. Now that you and your hubs are able to have more 'connect time' it must be fun. David and I are life and business partners are enjoy each other's company immensely. We've been together coming onto 18 years and chose not to have children. It was the right decision for us...just as having and raising such great kids was right for you. May you and all your loved ones continue to enjoy the best life has to offer. Thank you for your warm, sincere wishes for us...I appreciate it! Hope to be around more and have other opportunities to chat. Best regards, Raia

Hello and thanks for dropping by. Good to touch in with new and old friends alike after being absent from Mylot for awhile. These chats are breezy and always feels like a sit down chat with special people in our lives. You mentioned renting...could do container pots to create a little green space on your balcony or deck? Thai is what I used to do when I was renting. I grew flowers and herbs on my balcony and even put lettuce in a pedestal pot so I could have a few fresh pickings for my salads. I have included a photo of our garden and it will give you and idea why as we've been working out there I have been missing in action here. As you can see by the size of the beds I had a lot of digging to do this Spring. The quack grass had taken over a lot of the beds and I had to dig and replant most everything. Oh well...part of being a responsible gardener! (smiles) Good to be back and hope to chat again soon. Warm regards, Raia

Hi Ambie Pam...what a lovely thing for you to say. I do life coaching by phone anywhere in North America...so if you ever need me...I am available. We will be launching our website sometime in the next month or two and we hope to be able to make what we do available to more people. We also do workshops and are willing to travel if someone wants to organize them. So many possibilities to explore. Anyway, from the sound of how you are CHOOSING to cope...you are your own life coach and doing a good job of it! Hearing about the challenges you've been facing this week...and the fact that you are choosing to count your blessings rather than focusing on the problems...couldn't have said it better myself. You are way beyond life coaching 101 my friend. Interesting my hubby's computer monitor conked in the past week as well. Strange synergy huh? Wonderful to hear that your parent's marriage give you a high standard to strive for. I waited a long time and went through a divorce before I found David...the love of my life. Having good role models can be a great way of setting your own intention out to the Universe in what you do and do not want in a partner. I sincerely hope your father's help improves soon...he does sound like a courageous person. Wonderful that he has a daughter who sees and validates his attributes. May you have many bountiful blessings. Great to be here and back in touch with good friends like you. Thanks for the update! Raia