Warm Temperatures and Sunny Days

Good morning,

It’s been a while since I posted a message. Life got in the way, and it seemed I had nothing new to say.

Yesterday it was a beautiful day here in Calgary, so I got in my car and drove to Canmore. I hadn’t been there in a while, so I enjoyed the drive. I am always amazed at how beautiful the mountains looked, capped in snow, when you reach the top of the hill and look down at the valley.

I had a very nice day, walking around town; did some shopping (of course), went to my favorite stores: the used book store – I came out with 8 new paperbacks and a lovely old book on Favorite Quotations. Then of course I had to stop at the Sugar Pine. I had a gift certificate, which made me shop in earnest! I bought some fabric, some paints, some ribbon, some thread. I had a lovely time, picking things just because I liked them, without really knowing what I was going to do with most of them. More for my stash! Yeah …

I left the bag in the car and went for a walk again along the main street. The sun was shining on the one side of the street, and it was quite warm. It was getting time for me to drive home again, as I thought that Ale was going to come home for dinner … so I got a coffee for the drive home, and headed back to the car.

I looked up at the mountains, so close, so majestic … there wasn’t a cloud in sight and the sky was bright blue against the white of the snow and the brown/gray of the Rocky Mountains. What an amazing sight! And I thought to myself how lucky I am to live in a place like this, to have the freedom to move around without constraints. And I realized how many moments we’ll miss in the busy days ahead, and how many are gone in the ones we left behind.

Life is fleeting. This was brought to mind this past week when I heard about the earthquake in Chile. After the initial shock, I tried to get a hold of my family over there. I talked to my sister Andrea on Sunday finally, and found out that both my nieces are fine, despite the fear and the shock, and that my aunt, cousins, second cousins, etc. are all in good health. No damage was done to their property for the most part. One of my nieces who lives on an 8th floor apartment lost quite a few things as they all fell on the floor and smashed, including TVs, vases, etc. But … in the aftermath, once the shock is over, you get around to thanking God that everybody is alright, and realize that the material things can be replaced, but life cannot. I can’t help but feel for all the people who lost loved ones and who are still dealing with the aftermath.

So today, I am going to be thankful for what I have, which despite it all, it’s pretty good, and I am going to lift my eyes to the sky and make a solemn promise to myself to focus on the positive, on all we have and all the possibilities ahead.

And now, I am going to get back to work and do something creative. So … to all of you out there, I wish you a sunny and warm day full of possibilities.

And, until I blog again, keep quilting.

Ana