Monday (NO) Moanings - July 4, 2016

Keep the Celebrations Coming

A grand long weekend of Canada Day celebrations yields its place to a grand long weekend of birthday festivities for our neighbour to the south. So no moaning this day. Instead let's encourage each other onward in the great adventure called democracy. However vexing, frustrating and beleaguered it may be, it surely beats the alternative.

"With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world." 

Desiderata - Max Ehrmann c. 1920

Celebrate!

In tribute to my American family and friends I offer this post originally written in 2013, with some amendments.

Mom in 1921

My mother was born in Massachusetts in 1921 and grew up in Connecticut. She loved her homeland all her life, treasured her US passport and never let it go - much to my father's chagrin. He wanted her to adopt Canada, and though she lived here from their wedding day in 1944 until the day she died in 2010 some 66 years later, she spent every one her 89 years as an American citizen.

Mom in 2004

Dementia took many things from my Mom but not her national identity and pride. In fact these
became the certainties in her day. She wore the Stars & Stripes over her heart. More than a few times during her years in long term care, the precious pin went missing and then there was hell to pay. Mom would get so upset that we soon learned to have a supply of pins in reserve, ready to 'sub in' for the lost one.


"Hey Mom I found it! Here's your flag."

Eyes filled with tears, "Please pin it on me, dear." Relief flooded her face. She looked so grateful, so profoundly happy and 'at home'.

The door of her room at the nursing home sported "Old Glory" too. Good thing that flag never went missing!








We made a big deal out of "The 4th" during the latter years; cup cakes festooned with red, white and blue, balloons and stories, lots of stories from Mom's childhood years. The staff at the home, God bless 'em, made the day special for her too. One staff member always called Mom, "Miss America" and sometimes "Miss New York.

Mom 1963 - Rockefeller Center, NYC

Mom may have been raised in Connecticut, but she was a New York City kind of gal, at times laying claim to apartments in the Empire State Building and Tower #1 of World Trade Center, and not only an operatic debut at Carnegie Hall but a tour with the Boston Pops. It is grand to live in one's dreams.

Mom - Christmas 1999

So a very Happy Birthday to my mother's homeland.
Thank you for being the land of her birth and worthy of her hopes and dreams all her life.

And yes, God Bless America.

See ya on the beach!

Mom 1957, The Beach at Breezy Point, NY

©2016 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - October 27, 2014

Homeward Bound










So here's the plan for today, head on down to San Francisco from Sacramento to spend a leisurely afternoon strolling the waterfront. This is not our first time in the Bay area, so the 'must see' tourist stops are not on the list, just some old favourites - the Exploratorium, Fisherman's Wharf including a good feed of dungeness crab and maybe even some clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, and perhaps a cable car ride. Then on to the airport for the red-eye home.












It's been a fabulous week of sunshine and warm temperatures, sites and celebrations, family reunions and love, the chart topper being my cousin's wedding.

It was a grand celebration and it was so much fun! Carol and Dick - we wish you every blessing and much happiness.

Of course there were also Napa Valley wineries to savour,

great food and drink to nosh and quaff,

and laid back old Sacramento to stroll.

Time and again though I found my heart drawn back home where the events of the week were far less pleasing. Much has been written about the attacks on our armed forces personnel and our parliament in Ottawa, and I have no desire to add even more words to the ocean of commentary. However, I am a soldier's mother and my heart aches for the families who have lost so much this week. I am proud and privileged to call Canada my home and native land, glorious and free.

Keep Calm and Carry On!

©2014 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - October 13, 2014

Thanksgiving Day

"...a day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."

So reads the decree enacted by Parliament in 1879. Though the date has moved around a little - at first it was November 6, then it was the 3rd Monday in October, but on January 31, 1957 the government proclaimed that National Thanksgiving be celebrated on the 2nd Monday of October - the feast remains a celebration of plenty.

Back when I was growing up, there was never any thought of celebrating on any other day than the officially decreed Monday. It mattered not a whit that folks had to be rough and ready for work the next morning, or that kids had to be up and out to school. Thanksgiving back then was a single day, a great day of family and food mind you complete with all the good china and silverware, and of course we ate in the dining room.







Saturday was spent grocery shopping and silver polishing, If we did a really good job on the silver for Thanksgiving, only a few touch ups would be needed for the Christmas feast! Sunday was for church, and maybe even a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum afterwards. In the afternoon, Mom made the pies.

On Thanksgiving Day, "the bird" - always at least a 22 pounder! - had to be stuffed and in the oven by 10am. My mother was in the kitchen by 8 in the morning and didn't leave it until supper was served at 6 and then she was back in there cleaning up until late. Honestly I don't know how she did it all. No microwave ovens, no automatic dishwasher, no convection oven, and one small fridge, with a 1 cubic foot freezer section. Yet it was always a feast of plenty including leftovers for turkey sandwiches, turkey stew, or pot pie during the week. And she loved every minute of it (well maybe not so much the clearing up, for which my Dad was conspicuous by his absence).

In my household, today is a day to kick back, relax, enjoy and Clean Up - our family celebration was yesterday. As always, it too was a feast of plenty, perhaps even a feast of  "too much". I worked too much, I made too much, and we all ate too much. Yet it was also a cornucopia of good conversation, great laughs, and the best company.

And I loved every minute of it - but maybe not so much the clearing up. Even though my love, along with the rest of the family are very present and helpful there remains one thing conspicuous by its absence today - enthusiasm. I'm beat.

But I am also humbly thankful on this day for my family, my friends, our health and prosperity. I am truly grateful "for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."

Happy Thanksgiving!

©2014 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - October 9, 2014

An Embarrassment of Riches...

Thanksgiving Weekend stands on the doorstep bidding me come, enjoy, celebrate, and give thanks for the harvest.

   






For both the early pioneers and the indigenous tribes, this time of year in North America was one both deepest gratitude and fervent hope. Come wind, come weather the land had yielded her best and barns were full. But would the bounty be enough to sustain life through a winter of unknowns?

I have not known such a tenuous life, none of my family have. Sure we've had our struggles, our lean times, but we've always been able to gather together at Thanksgiving amid an abundance of food, laughter and love - an embarrassment of riches.

I am as humbled as I am grateful for this bounty. I've companioned others whose lives been flipped upside down by a sudden reversal of fortune and I'm now of great enough age to be keenly aware that good living does not grant any immunity from calamity down the road. A winter of unknowns may give warning but never asks permission to visit, let alone stay a while.

Yet today the sun is shining, the world just outside my door is decked out in Autumn splendour, and the cup of my life is overflowing with good things. So I accept the invitation to enjoy, celebrate and give thanks for the harvest. 

My heart is full of "Thanks Giving."

©2014 April Hoeller

A Prayer of Gratitude

"We are grateful for eyes that see and ponder, for taste buds that know the sensuous pleasures of eating and drinking, for hands that hold and touch and feel, for ears that can delight in music and the voice of a friend, for a nose that can smell the aroma of newly mown grass or delicious food, and can also breathe the air that gives us life. 

We are grateful for the treasure of loved ones whose hearts of openness and acceptance have encouraged us to be who we are. We are  grateful for their faithfulness, for standing by us when our weaknesses stood out glaringly, for being there when we were most in need and for delighting with us in our good days and our joyful seasons.  

We are grateful for the eyes of faith, for believing in the presence of God, giving us hope in our darkest days, encouraging us to listen to our spirit’s hunger, and reminding us to trust in the blessings of God’s presence in our most empty days. 

We are grateful for the ongoing process of becoming who we are, for the seasons within, for the great adventure of life that challenges and comforts us at one and the same time. 

We are grateful for the messengers of God - people, events, written or spoke words - that came to us at just the right time and helped us to grow.  

We are grateful for God calling us to work with our gifts, grateful that we can be of service and use our talents in a responsible and just way. 

We are grateful that we have the basic necessities of life, that we have the means and the ability to hear the cries of the poor and to respond with our abundance."

©1992 Joyce Rupp: May I have this Dance?  p. 151

Thursday???, or Thereabouts... July 4, 2014

Caught up in the Rapture

So what happened to Thursday? Did it spiral down some drain hole? Did it get smashed by a Wimbledon backhand? Was it headed out of the week by a World Cup striker? Actually it just slipped right past my radar, caught up in the rapture between two great national birthdays, Canada Day and US Independence Day.

Today's post falls into the "or Thereabouts" category. And in tribute to my American family and friends I offer this post from a year ago, with some alterations:

Our big sister to the south celebrates her 238th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Sis!

Mom, January 2004

My mother was born in Massachusetts in 1921 and grew up in Connecticut. She loved her homeland all her life, treasured her US passport and never let it go - much to my father's chagrin. He wanted her to adopt Canada, and though she lived here from their wedding day in 1944 until the day she died in 2010 some 66 years later, she spent every one of those years as an American citizen.
Dementia took many things from my Mom but not her national identity and pride. In fact these became the certainties in her day. She wore the Stars & Stripes over her heart. More than a few times during her years in long term care, the precious pin went missing and then there was hell to pay. Mom would get so upset that we soon learned to have a few spare pins in reserve, ready to 'sub in' for the lost one.

"Hey Mom I found it! Here's your flag."
Eyes filled with tears, "Please pin it on me, dear." Relief flooded her face. She looked so grateful, so profoundly happy and 'at home'. The door of her room at the nursing home sported "Old Glory" too. Fortunately that flag never went missing!

Mom, August 1963

We made a big deal out of "The 4th" during the latter years; cup cakes festooned with red, white and blue,
balloons and stories, lots of stories from Mom's childhood years. The staff at the home, God bless 'em, made the day special for her too. One staff member always called Mom, "Miss America" and sometimes "Miss New York. Mom may have been raised in Connecticut, but she was a New York City kind of gal, at times laying claim to apartments in the Empire State Building and Tower #1 of World Trade Center, and an operatic debut at Carnegie Hall. It is grand to live in one's dreams.



So a very Happy Birthday to my mother's homeland. Thank you for being the land of her birth and worthy of her hopes and dreams all her life.

And yes, God Bless America!

text and personal photos ©2014 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - June 9, 2014

A blast from the near past, almost a year ago yet as true now as it was then, and probably ever shall be.
Dust Bunnies and Fur balls still gather in the corners to plot their conquest but in my kitchen love, laughter and good food always have the upper hand, and I still adore my kitchen.

From July 29, 2013 (with a few minor alterations):

Carol Burnett - The Charwoman

Monday again! The day that, according to my schedule, is 'housework' day; the day The Maid in me comes out to restore cleanliness and good order; the day that, at its close, allows me to rightfully lay claim to a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." High fives all around!

This Maid is well schooled in all the tools and techniques of her trade. She has no shortage of buckets, brooms, rags and mops to go with her well chosen array of solvents and solutions, sprays and polishes. Most are 'Green' at least according to the label but a few are not so environmentally friendly - because sometimes a blowtorch just isn't practical! There is just one thing this poster maid from the 1950's lacks, one flaw in an otherwise perfect performance. Regularity. And not the kind remedied by bran. In point of fact, the woman cannot be trusted to show up on a regular basis and do her job!

Every Monday? Dream on! One Monday a month? Hmmm, not likely. One day, any day, once a month? Perhaps. How about a half day every four to six weeks? Deal! Or at least a tentative arrangement. Is it any wonder I have so few of those Good Housekeeping awards? Sometimes she does indeed arrive as agreed then spends the day drinking coffee and leafing through travel magazines. Can you believe it? The only warning of her arrival is the clattering of buckets, brooms and mops accompanied by a few expletives as she searches for potions not put back where they belong. If she were a smoker, there would be fag dangling from the corner of her mouth.

So imagine my surprise when this past Friday morning, the grumbling woman thumped into my kitchen, ordered a mug of coffee, then set to work. The dust bunnies gasped in horror, the fur balls scattered, the crumbs crumbled and the big drips hung on for dear life. The sugary bits burned into the stove top laughed, sure of their tenacity to outwit all the maid's solutions, but the giggles died the instant a razor blade scraper flashed in the sunshine. She brandished her weapon high, then one quick scrape here, another two or three there and not a trace was left, save for the maid's triumphant chortle. Then the chairs were wiped down and moved out; the lights turned up high for a full assault on the floor. There was nowhere to hide from this maid on a mission. The broom handled the first sweep, then the tractor beam of the vacuum sucked up the run-aways. A thorough mopping up completed the operation.

And then she was gone. As quickly as she had appeared, the Maid vanished into thin air, leaving behind a pile of dirty rags and a pristine kitchen. Mission accomplished. And it was a fine mission, well executed and successful, at least as far as the kitchen. Wonder when she'll be back to do the rest of the house? I'm thinking it won't be today, or any day this week for that matter. Next week? I'd best not hold my breath. In the mean time, already I notice that baby dust bunnies have emerged from god knows where and furry bits are beginning to gather in groups again. A few crumbs have even eased their way back onto the counters, but the stove top is still shiny.

I love my kitchen.
It is the place where so much of life happens.

Good things are made here.

Good things happen here.

Pristine has its time and place but most of the time I think my kitchen deserves a 'lived in' look, dust bunnies, fur balls and all.


"No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best."  (anon.)







©2014 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 6, 2014

A Treasure Box Day

Twenty-seven years ago today I awoke to labour pains. Our second baby was on the way. It was a cloudy and very warm day, +8C by noon (compare that with today's -18C, but it's sunny!). At 2:35pm all 9 lbs.7 oz. of her splashed into our lives sporting a head of spikey red hair.

I said "splashed" because my waters did not break but rather backed up behind the babe and she rode something of a tidal wave out of me. The crash as the waters hit the floor of the delivery room is one of most vivid memories of the day - that and the red hair. Oh, and maybe the fact that beside all the other newborns ours looked like a 3 month old. But I was sort of used to that. Our firstborn was 9-1/4 pounds.
We make 'em big it seems.

My love and I are so very proud of both our son and daughter. They have grown into responsible, intelligent and happy adults with lives and loves of their own.

My treasure box is overflowing with joy, love and gratitude. 

We are blessed. 

©2014 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - February 3, 2014

Gong Hei Fat Choi

© xiaoliangge - Fotolia.com

Saturday's Celebration Supper began with Crab Rangoon appetisers followed by
Shrimp & Pork Won Ton Soup,
Chicken & Vegetable Spring Rolls,
Pork & Chive Dumplings,
Shrimp & Scallops with Snow Peas,
Orange Crispy Beef, Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce,
Jasmine Rice,
2 dipping sauces - Peanut and Sweet Chili,
Yanjing Beer,
and ending with
Fresh Fruit,
Almond Cookies and Fortune Cookies.



Have a look:

From start to finish, from plan to palate, from cutting board to chopstick, this was one of the most satisfying meal celebrations I've ever undertaken. I loved every moment. Every dish rewarded taste buds all around the table. As wonderful as it was, as great a feast as it was, the final verdict was delivered in a fortune cookie:

The first four words say it all!

©2014 April Hoeller