Piano Tuner Or Stalker

Where do you draw the line when you notice that your piano tuner appears to be paying way too much attention to your "piano"? You have had your piano tuned and that should have been that for at least six months yet your tune meister continues to telephone you with suspicious regularity, (like a run on metronome!!) strongly suggesting that he return to your home in order to determine if your "piano" is as it should be. He actually tries to sell you on the need for further tuning; his persitent calls and persuasive telephone messages have left you feeling rather annoyed and defensive to the point that you are on the verge of issuing a terse "tune off" even though you are not usually aggressive or rude when responding to those who are. This piano tuner seems to have overstepped a professional divide that should never be crossed and now it is up to you to make sure that harmony is restored. At least there is no monetary cost involved!!

Suit Of Armour

Now that you have arrived at your new posting, it would seem that you have come unsuitably attired. In all your careful preparation you have neglected to dress for the job you have and you find yourself in dire need of a stylist to make the transition go a bit smoother and to keep you safe at the same time. No easy feat unless of course you can find the perfect clothing advisor who well understands the demands of the job and can see the whole picture, not to mention someone who has your best interest at heart. It seems to me that the suggestion of protective gear made in jest is in fact probably the way to go. Your 'special needs' dictate a full outfit that will include a head device sporting hearing filters that will allow you to let in only those sound bites that you feel comfortable with so in this way although you will see line-ups of the disgruntled you will not have to deal with the words (complaints!!). The jettison levers guarantee you a more peaceful entry in this the New Year, because when used properly their jet powers afford you the luxury of dispensing with no fewer than 300 complainers at a time which you must admit is new techmology at its best. With your custom-made"suit of armour" you can march into 'battle' with increased confidence and no fears!

All Day Breakfast in The Sun

What are the odds that you will find perfection on a small patch of pavement in front of a bakery situated in a remote corner of a mostly full suburban parking lot? If you are a skeptic, let me assure you that you will indeed succeed if you seek. The perfect all day breakfast is readily available at this unlikely site and while you may assume that many parked and moving cars will cancel out the possibility of any ambience, you would be wrong in your assumption. Seating at small outdoor tables affords you the opportunity to feast in the sunshine and feast you do, on a breakfast that is not only yummy, but healthy to boot. If you are lucky enough to be breaking bread with a sparkling conversationalist, you will easily block out the sometimes raucous conversations of the nearby diners and you might even think you are at a cozy outdoor cafe in a way cooler geographic location far away from where you actually are . You will linger over your coffee and have no inclination to clockwatch so it will come as a great surprise to realize that you have spent more than two hours en plein air over breakfast!

Picnic At The Beach

I have always loved picnics. When we were little Mom used to take care of loading up the basket with our favourite sandwiches, fruit, cookies, and homemade lemonade. We'd stake out the perfect picnic table and race off to the huge park with many many swings and a super long slide, and when we were finally too hot to race around it was off to the lake to cool off. We were not great eaters but picnic food is special isn't it? I remember that we were so happy when called to lunch and none of rushed back to play until we were totally finished eating. There was something magical about a day at the beach with Mom and Dad. As a mom I wanted to recreate those picnics for my children and I found that I was the one trying to include everyones favourite foods, omit their dislikes and basically think of everything, which is exactly what moms do but I had not seen my mom planning and/or preparing so it was a revelation to find out just how much effort goes into the simple picnic. Now that the kids are grown I assumed that my picnic days were behind me. I never expected to have anyone prepare a picnic for me, and that is why I was so surprised when upon our arrival at the lake, my friend removed a rather large cooler from the back of his car. We found the perfect picnic table and when the cooler was opened I found picnic fare unlike any I'd ever had before. No homemade drinks but a perfectly chilled bottle of wine, no sandwiches but crusty baquettes with any number of possible bread toppers, an amazing dessert, etc. etc. Not surprisingly, I still love picnics and not even a bit of rain can change that.

New/Old

After years of only cursory contact, I have recently begun to see (again) someone whom I knew well eons ago and I am amazed at how easy it was to rekindle a past friendship. What has proved even more remarkable is that although essentially ours is an old friendship, what we have now is both new and familiar as opposed to old and stale. We never run out of things to discuss and it seems perfectly natural that today after a rather lengthy hiatus we manage to speak to or see each other often simply because we have both made a choice to find a place for"us" which is something that for one reason or another we stopped doing some 13 years ago. We are clearly not the same people we were then, but I like to think that today, we are the truest versions of ourselves. We are more patient, we listen better, we can be totally honest without fear of repercussion or judgement, we are kinder, we can laugh at way more things, and we are grateful for this second chance.

The Baby's Room

Tucked away in a bright cozy corner room on the second level of the house is the green and orange haven created for Baby N. by his parents and family. The oval white crib on wheels waits quietly for its very special passenger who will certainly develop an early love of travel as he is wheeled between Mom'n Dad's room and the nursery. He will never see the excited anticipation in the faces of his parents but those of us who have seen it, will tell him. When he arrives, he will take his rightful place within the family and he will know from day one, how loved he is. The care and joy that went into the planning of his room will be as obvious to him as it is to us. This baby's room is perfect! It is beautiful, ready and waits only for him in order to truly come to life.

Go Home!

Although it has often been said that you 'can never go home again' I think that it is in fact quite possible to do. Perhaps you are not too thrilled about revisiting places from your past because of the memories you know will resurface and this is probably due to the fact that you believe on some intellectual level, that these are better left tucked away in the recesses of your mind. I find it interesting that the very memories we try to keep at bay are often the ones we need to revisit so we probably should be brave and take those trips back to wherever. We will hopefully be able to see 'home' through 'new' eyes thus lessening the potential power of any unhappy or painful past recollections and strengthening the original love that used to draw us back with such a magnetic force. While it is true that we will miss seeing certain people, we need never let that 'missing' altar the way we feel about 'home'. Remember that 'everything old is new again' so when we have the good fortune to re-meet those with whom we had lost touch, we come to the realization that these new/old relationships are the perfect antidote to the reluctance that sometimes precedes a visit to the past. If you are really lucky, you will manage to create new, strong and happy memories that will keep you coming back to your special place with a lighter heart.