Comfort Foods

We arrived in our home-away-from-home yesterday afternoon.  We are spending the next 3 weeks in Moycullen, a small village just outside of Galway, Ireland.  Our fellow home exchangers are now fully ensconced in our house in Brackendale.  

Upon our arrival yesterday afternoon we saw a bottle of wine and a book sitting on the kitchen island, gifts from our new friends.  And not only that!  A pot of Irish stew was waiting in the fridge for our supper.  Comfort food.  We ate that delicious stew so fast it didn't stand a chance against our hungry gullets.

Such kindness.

I don't know about you, but when I am jet-lagged I want to eat heavy, greasy food.  Jet-lag feels like a hangover to me.  The cure?  A full Irish breakfast!

Bacon, sausages, white and black pudding, hash brown potatoes, fried egg with chips on top and a nice mug o' steaming hot tea! 

Hanging at Tony's Diner in downtown Moycullen.

We stumbled upon a Marks and Spencer in Galway.  Dear Lord above, I could scarcely believe our good fortune.  I have been craving their bread & butter pudding and clotted cream ever since we left England two summers ago.

Can't wait to tuck into this baby later on tonight!

I dream about clotted cream.

Since when did Weight Watchers get into the booze biz?

There is nothing Joe loves more than a weekly outdoor market.  Yay for Fridays!

We just HAD to stop at a roadside fruit stand to buy these beautiful strawberries.  The young fruit seller looked so cold and wet waiting for customers to stop.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

Who can pass up the chance to have one's photo taken as a leprechaun?  Not me!

Me and my 5€ polaroid photo on the streets of Galway.

Sláinte!

Rest In Peace, Dad

Floyd McQueen  1937

My dad died in January 2014.  A few days ago, my sisters and I buried his ashes at Porpoise Bay on the Sunshine Coast near Sechelt, B.C.

It was a day of mixed emotions.  I laughed (a lot) and cried (even more).  I laughed about the good memories.  I cried about the bad ones.  I cried for what could have been and never was.

Me and my dad.  1958

Our dad struggled being a father.  He loved us but it wasn't enough.  He was an alcoholic who spent almost every night of our childhood in a bar.  In later years, he told us he had been diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder.  BPD is a serious mental illness marked by unstable moods, behaviour and relationships.  No wonder he struggled in this world.

Floyd McQueen  1959

Try as we might (and believe me when I say we tried) it was near impossible to have a relationship with him.  And because we needed to protect our hearts from his harmful and destructive behaviour, my sisters and I were estranged from our dad towards the end of his life.

Christmas 1964

We were at his bedside when he died.  We were happy we were able to say good-bye.  All was forgiven during our 12 hour hospital vigil.

Way back in 1966, our dad found us a little slice of heaven on Porpoise Bay.  It was a big piece of oceanfront property where the McQueen clan frolicked for fourteen years.  I would say the summers we spent at Porpoise Bay were some of our happiest childhood memories.

We fished, we crabbed, we dug for clams.  We swam, we got covered in dirt, we sang every night around our campfire.  We were given the gift of unsupervised adventures on the wild, west coast.

And so we thought it a fitting place to lay our dad to rest.

Photo credit:  Chrissy McQueen

The property has been uninhabited now for 35 years.  It is overgrown with trees, brambles and the English Ivy one of my aunts planted in the late 60s.  My sisters and I easily found the site of our old homestead and chose a pretty place between two huge fir trees near the beach.  Chrissy had brought a spade and we took turns digging.

Photo Credit:  Mary McQueen

We placed the urn inside the hole along with some sprigs of my aunt's ivy and a little love note.  We thanked him for the traits he passed on to us.  Our intelligence, our creativity, our senses of humour, our love of nature, our ability to sing a decent tune.  

Photo Credit:  Chrissy McQueen

We tearily sang 'Country Roads' by John Denver, a popular song from our 'Top Ten Hit Parade' that we belted out each night around the fire.  We filled the hole, said our final good-byes and walked away down the beach.

Photo Credit: Chrissy McQueen

I pray our Dad has found some peace now.  He never felt loved or accepted here on Earth.  

We did love him.  Even when it was painful to do so.   

His brothers and sister loved him.  

His nieces and nephews loved him.  

His daughters loved him.

Rest In Peace, Dad.


Nancy, Mary and Chrissy
xoxoxo

Diner en Blanc Number Four

We enjoyed our fourth annual 'Diner en Blanc' last night with good friends and good food in a beautiful garden setting.  I'll let these 25 photos tell the story...

Thank you everyone, especially our hosts Dan and Colleen, for another spectacular 'Diner en Blanc'.  I'm already looking forward to next year!

My Three Yogis

I have not had many regrets in my life.  But one them?  Discovering yoga so late in the game.

Of course yoga has been around for thousands of years.  But growing up in Maillardville in the 60s and 70s?  I don't think any of us even knew what yoga was back then.  Seriously.

But thankfully I came to my senses about eight years ago when someone suggested I try yoga as another form of exercise when I was involved in my physiotherapist's '100 Day Challenge'.  I attended a variety of classes and liked them well enough, but the choir belted out the Hallelujah Chorus the night I went to my first restorative yoga class!  I leaned over and said to my friend, "I think have found my people."

And I've never looked back.

Christy Defranco of 'Bodyvine Yoga'

Meet Christy Defranco.  I have been practicing with her for eight years now.  She is a healer.  She is a nurturer.  Believe me when I say I feel like a 3 year old child when I am in her loving care.  I could weep when she tucks me in with a blanket during shavasana at the end of class.

Annie Martinello of 'The Yoga Studio'

Meet Annie Martinello.  Annie comes to MY CLASSROOM to do a restorative yoga class with the primary teachers at my school.  She, too, is a healer and a nurturer.  This woman transports me to God-Knows-Where every time I am with her.  I feel as if I'm floating far away listening to her soothing voice.

Kimberley Beck of 'Wai Jai Thai Massage'

Meet Kimberley Beck.  Not only is Kim a yoga instructor, she is also a Thai massage practitioner. Kim has an aura of love and peace around her.  She often pairs up with Christy to give 90 minute restorative classes with Thai massage mixed into it. And not only that!  She will bring her mats, blankets and pillows right to your doorstep for a Thai massage at home!  Trust me when I say it is a blissful experience.

Yoga at the summit of the Sea-to-Sky gondola on the summer solstice.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a yoga class to celebrate the longest day of the year.  It was magical.  Gazing out at Howe Sound while saluting the sun was breathtaking. And shavasana?  It was heavenly laying bundled up on my mat staring at the sky watching puffy white clouds sailed overhead.  I smiled about that experience for days.

To me, yoga is medicine.  It is a balm.  It feeds my soul and my spirit.  My dream is to go to a yoga class every single day of my life.  Hopefully I can make this dream a reality when I retire in two years.

I may have been late to the yoga party but I am going to make up for lost time.