refreshing, relaxing, relationship

Everyone needs refreshing.  I do.  You do.  We all do.

Last weekend my husband and I went away for the weekend, something we cannot remember doing - just the two of us, since ... well, we can't remember!  It was the most quiet and relaxing and private weekend we have ever spent.  Ever.

We rented a fully equipped cottage about three hours away from our home, and set out Friday afternoon, returning home Sunday afternoon.  Why did we do this?  A friend told me about it and insisted we go there, so as it was our anniversary on October 30 - our 33rd! - this seemed the time to do it.  Besides, we needed the time away.

What a pleasant vacation, although short.  Saturday morning we walked along the windy beach collecting seashells and discovering fascinating swirls in the sand.  In the afternoon we did some sight-seeing and shopping in lovely little shops in nearby communities - even did some Christmas shopping!  That evening we enjoyed a special, private dinner in a quaint little dining room of a privately owned cottage inn a few miles away from where we were staying.  Only by reservation can anyone dine there and the meals are uniquely created and served with elegance.  It was Hallowe'en and very amusing how the owners presented themselves to the trick or treaters - and special guests - coming to the door.  One of the ladies and the two men were in costume, one man being used to playing Santa Claus at Christmas.  It was so funny to hear the Grim Reaper forgetting who he was and saying 'ho ho ho' each time children came to the door.  :)

That weekend my husband and I found it was wonderful being alone with uninterrupted time to relax and talk or just be still, enjoying the quiet with no dog barking, no phone ringing, no meetings or errands to handle. It was quality time well-spent and much needed to unwind from daily stresses and pressures.  Would we do it again?  Yes! 

Home again and back to our 'normal' life ... but it does not feel as demanding now.  Perhaps we have learned a little about appreciation of life and each other.  Long overdue.  It is interesting and even surprising how we get to this place of not knowing how to relax, how to communicate well, how to even truly enjoy what is around us .. because of always being busy and distracted.  I think we will make more effort to stay 'connected' in our relationship now as we approach our retirement years.

Today I will load more items onto my website and tonight I will go to my sister's for our housegroup gathering.  But, you know what? -- the Lord is good and greatly to be praised no matter what is going on in one's life.  We must never lose that connection, our most important relationship.

So, where do you go to unwind?  What do you do to stay connected?

Thanks for reading, and  ... Blessings on your day.  :)

canoes and eagles

Today is the first full day of Autumn. How I hate to see Summer go!
Don't you love the outdoors? I don't consider myself to be an "outdoorsy person" but I do love this time of year. Well, actually I enjoy - in fact, favour - any season during which I will not freeze. The sunshine and flowers and singing birds rejuvenate me. I am always amazed at the beauty God created.

Do you canoe? On the weekend my husband and I made the long trip to Amherst - a three hour drive for us - which gave us many pleasant hours together - a rare event since he works in the city and I at home. Usually we only have parts of evenings and weekends together. It was a wonderful day. Our purpose was to purchase a canoe at Cumberland Canoes and Kayaks, which we did - a bright orange one. It was a longer drive home with that strapped on the top of our car, but we certainly could not get lost in the crowd. :) This canoe is very similarly made to the yellow one we lost in the cottage fire (caused by a neighbour's carelessness) two and a half years ago. Now we need to find time on a good weather day to enjoy a "test drive."

On another note -- have you ever watched the eagle as it floats on air currents? It is an amazing bird. I enjoy watching one or more nearly every day from my house or yard. There are many bald eagles around here, and one particularly large one that glides majestically on high.

One day a few weeks ago I was on one of my walks when I was dismayed to find an eagle corpse in the ditch. When I told my husband, he said that when he was driving out that way several days before he had seen one trying to lift off the road with a dead raccoon in its talons. When an eagle gets a grip like that it has a hard time letting go, so we don't know if another vehicle carelessly hit it, or if the eagle accidentally rose up under the power lines and got electrocuted. Either way, it was a sad find.

I got thinking about how people would probably like to have eagle feathers for crafting or something, but then there was something about it that didn't feel right. It seemed I had heard some legal aspect to that, so I did some research. It is illegal (with huge fines levied) to own any part of that honoured bird since it is very special to the First Nations people, so I contacted the Department of Natural Resources about it. I was told that there is a long waiting list of Mi'kmaq wanting even just a feather, and even that item has to be approved by their Band leader. Well, that got me excited! If I could bless some of these people through my find that would be fabulous, so later that day I went out and carefully gathered the remains. Not long after I placed another phone call a man from the department came out and collected the eagle from me. It would be handled appropriately and given to the right persons. That makes my heart feel glad. :)

Of course, this means you will not find eagle feathers on my website, but you will find authentic wild turkey feathers once I get them posted on there.

Thanks for reading, and Blessings on your day!