Oh Canada

I oddly still feel like I am catching up from being in Canada. My email inbox certainly has not gotten completely cleaned out. It was a great trip and probably my favorite work trip of the series I have done this year. The people in Ontario were so friendly, the training went very well and I loved the hotel we stayed at. Of course seeing Niagara Falls was amazing. The sheer power of the water was amazing to see and I am glad I did.

Today was a delightfully sunny day. It was an utterly chaotic day at work (aren't they all) but it had some great high points. Seeing people I really enjoy and getting presents is always fun! I did get dragged into some on going drama that makes me feel like I am in a bad relationship. After dealing with a friend's bad relationship I certainly do not need a bad work relationship. I am in the middle (which oddly seems to happen often lately) and the work one is a he said-she said and I am providing IT proof of who was doing work or not. It gets to the point that you have to wonder how much effort are you going to continue to give if the person you are trying to help lies to you. Thoroughly icky but I am trying to keep myself above it. The aforementioned gift did indeed help.

Easter Sunday

My orchids seems to all be very happy right now. I've got three in bloom and two ready to go. It's really nice and the one in the photo above has definitely cheered up my bedroom.

Last week was grueling. Too many hours worked, too many stressful conversations and I was wiped by the time Friday hit. I was happy to leave work early and take the afternoon to myself. The weather was absolutely beautiful and that continued through the whole weekend. It was the perfect antidote to all the rain.

I had a completely unexpected conversation with my Mom on Saturday that took me off guard. I was fortunate to be heading out Saturday evening to see a dear friend and attend a private harp concert she was putting on. It proved to be a time of unexpected grace and comfort. It's always a nice reminder to hear from people that share your experiences. It makes the world seem a bit smaller. I left the evening feeling more at peace than I have been in a long time. It's amazing what the power of community and sound can do for you.

Aftermath

It's been such amazing weather here. I do not mean amazing in a good way. The sheer amount of rain has been unprecedented. We have become adept at detours because a road is blocked by water. Weather forecasts, instead of bringing advisories about snow totals, are chock full of rivers and when they will crest. Trees just knocked over, potholes and chunks missing out of the roads, puddles in the middle of lawns as there is nowhere for the water to go. My parents have gained a lake in their yard complete with ducks who are enjoying the new place to land. As my friend pointed out it does indeed seem to be raining ducks because they are everywhere. I did see a Great Blue heron at swollen brook on my walk this evening. At least the birds seem happy about all this water.

It was indeed a welcome respite to attend the Boston Flower show last weekend. After is was cancelled last year (thanks a lot MassHort for screwing that up), the show resumed in a new location. My usual partner, my Mom, was felled by a nasty stomach flu so I was on my own. I missed having her with me.



The flowers were beautiful and it just smelled like Spring. I did get too close to a cactus that left a few tiny, fine as hair spikes in my hand that took a lot of time with tweezers to remove. The animals made out of flowers were clever and the large aviary had doves, parakeets, pheasants and comically cute Bobwhite quails.



It does indeed feel like a hard won Spring. Winter was not too brutal here this year but it still took it's toll. It seems that more than just me is ready to put the last month behind and have a fresh start.