Back To School!

In

Hi folks!


By the colour of the landscape and the droop of the blooms, you can tell that summer in good ol' Saskatchewan is drawing to a close.

The sounds of swathers, combines, and trucks fill the air and their bulky masses crowd the roads as they move from field to field. It's a chaotic time for our farmers, we wish you a bountiful and quick harvest with minimal break downs and nothing but co-operative weather from here on out.

I say from here on out because last night's weather definitely threw a proverbial wrench in into the whole harvesting thing.  There was thunder and lightening like crazy, wind that shook our little camper to it's limits, and pounding rain to round it out. I don't think there was any hail, though. Thankfully.

Today, it's supposed to clear up and Mother Nature is supposed to behave herself again, at least for the next week, or so. Sometimes, I think she's menopausal.

Last week, I told you about my cousin losing her son to addiction. Her, her husband, and the rest of her family have now started a music scholarship in his memory and are trying to share his story as much as they can. They don't want to see another family have to go through this, and are willing to put themselves out there, to do it. Addiction is a sneaky seductress, and no one is immune to her charms. Be aware. Be present. Know your kids' friends, where they are, who they hang with. Know, that even if you do everything "right", your child is not immune. Please don't get caught up in the "my child wouldn't do that" syndrome. Your child is human, your child is a child, they are not immune.


On a happier note........


Our show in Luseland was just what the doctor ordered. A good time with some great people. Always a cure for what ails ya!

We found a young guy in the crowd with a great voice, singing songs written decades before he was born, and doing them real justice. I love it when that happens.

We also were able to sneak a visit in with my brother and his family. He and his "soon to be" missus, are in the throws of wedding planning, and I have to say, it's awesome to see him light up like he does whenever her name is mentioned.

It was another busy week at the shop, it couldn't be better. We are finding our groove with this business, I guess,  just like we have with everything else in life. You carve out what works for you and go with it.


We are getting to meet some great people from all over the place. This week, we had a young family from Australia come in to see us. They came over so he could fly a spray plane, and while he was doing that, his wife and daughter have taken it upon themselves to do some incredible sight seeing in the motorhome they purchased in Vancouver, when they landed. I'm ashamed to say they have seen more of Canada in the last month than I've seen in my entire life! It sounds like they've had a fabulous trip, so far, and are planning to see more as they make their way back to Vancouver for the trip home, only this time Dad gets to come too!

So, for the upcoming week.............


Hopefully I hear back from my printer. I am down to my last copy of "Lexi's Magic Clothes" and my last few of "A Crazy Day". I have a some trade shows, readings and the "Word on the Street" festival coming up, so I'm going to need some, for sure.

I'm excited to put on my "author" hat again. Hopefully it still fits.

Some copies of "Everyday Wishes For Your Extraordinary Life" have found new homes in the hands of some people celebrating their birthdays. I can't explain what an honour it is to have something I actually sat down and wrote be deemed worthy of a being a gift. I know some have been given for shower and wedding gifts, as well. It just thrills me in ways words can't do justice.

I know this may not sound like much, but on Saturday, one week from today, I'm going to go get my hair cut. It is sad that I'm this excited about it, I know, but I haven't had a chance to get it cut since March. That, my friends, is a loooong time for someone with entirely too much hair. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that I have a healthy, full, head of hair. I will likely die long before I will ever be bald, but, I kid you not, I will just as likely weigh measurably less when I come out of the salon, than I did going in. Cheers to those with skilled scissors!


Well folks, that about does it for me, this week. I am actually writing this from our camper, thanks to the help of some facebook friends that are much more tech savvy than I.  It's time to go and take up some trashy reading material, turn on some tunes, play some ladder golf, and maybe, later take in a movie with my honey.


Have a great Labour Day Weekend!


With "back to school" upon us, until next time I will leave you with this wish...........




May your first steps into kindergarten be exciting, happy, and full of anticipation.
May you find fast friends, confidence, and the bravery needed for full participation.

May your steps into the middle years be fun, confident and sure.
May you find true friends, for with them, the rough spots will be easier to endure

May you walk into high school, head held high, with courage and with strength.
May you keep clear of the inevitable drama, it will come from all directions, and at length.

May you walk into college with an open mind, hopeful heart, and the beginnings of your true sense of self.
May you thrive in the knowledge that your education is about so much more than you will get from any text book on any shelf.


Until next time!

www.margyreidbooks.com

The Tragic Seduction of Addiction

Hi,


So, this is the time of year when the "back to school" rush begins. Time for note books, and backpacks, pens, pencils, erasers, loose leaf and binders.

My grandson, Ethan, begins Kindergarten in a couple of weeks, the first step in his academic career. Brave and excited, eager and confident, I wish I could say the same for his Mom. She is having a bit of anxiety about the whole thing, as most of us did, or do, when sending our little ones out to experience their first taste of real independence.

What will "the world" do to our poor babies?


It kind of boils down to this. They will have good days, and bad days. There will be others who treat them well, there will be others who won't. They will get along famously with some, and some they won't.

This is where, as mothers, we have to take a deep breath and realize, not everyone in the world will be as madly in love with our children as we are, and that's ok. Not everyone will think all of their little idiosyncrasies are adorable, or laugh at their every joke. They won't be the best in their class in every subject, they will probably struggle with a few things, as time goes on, and that's ok.

This is where we start giving them the tools to deal with "life." This is where we teach them how to like themselves, even if not everyone else does. This is where we begin with what matters in earnest. This is where we take what we've been teaching them thus far, and do more. This is where we teach them that it's ok if you're not "the best" as long as you did your best. This is where we help them to find their unique talents, their way of learning, their own way to see the world, and teach them that that is ok.

Having a strong arsenal of tools is what every child needs, as they grow up and begin to build their life.


This week was filled with life.

 A customer came in, a recent widower, and was telling us how camping just isn't as fun anymore. How he might not want to do it anymore, might want to sell his camper. The sadness that lives in his eyes tells the tale of a life spent well together. The good times that he is trying to recapture with a vital part missing. 

I found out I am going to be a Great Auntie again! My niece and her hubby are expecting their first baby! It was so exciting to see the joy spreading across Facebook like a wildfire!

We found out another little nephew is going to be dealing with some pretty significant health issues, for which there doesn't seem to be a single easy path for help.

And today, I found out that one of my cousins lost a child to the terrible disease of addiction. I can't even wrap my head around the kind of grief that would grip your soul at a time like this.  Here was a boy, bright and talented. He was good in school, and was excited about the start of his senior year in high school. He struggled with addiction for a couple of years and lost the war.


The evil seduction of addiction took hold of his angelic soul and hung on, hard. What probably started as what was perceived as harmless experimentation, ended in a tragedy that will ripple beyond anything we can know. We will never know what could have been. We will never know the man this boy would have become. The things he would have been capable of, the mark he would have made on this world. All we can know is the imprint his heart made in the short time he had on this earth, hold on to the love he left behind, and tell his story to try and keep it from repeating.


So tonight, it will be time to try and set this sadness aside, and do our show in Luseland.

Making other people happy definitely helps lift ones own spirits, for sure.  


Until next time, with loved ones in mind, I'll leave you with this wish..........



May the angels greet his soul even before it takes flight.
May they hold him close, with all of their might.

May he be finally free of the weights that dragged on his soul.
May he be enveloped by the peace that was robbed him by this foe.

May you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other, and continue to breathe, 
May you fight beyond the grip of this grief, continue, live, in time the shock may ease.

May you lean heavily on those who love you, we are strong, feel it, even through the miles that divide.
May you know we are there for every sadness felt, every tear cried.


Until next time.........

Smoke In The Wind

Hi!



You know, peace of mind can sometimes be an elusive thing. Smoke in the wind. With all that happens in the life of any given person during any given week,  it's really not a mystery as to why we tend to be less than peaceful.

What, with family members' sad news, worrying news,  good news, great news, and fantastic news mixed in with friends struggling with news of their own, news we get from radio, tv, and every other form that has the ability to penetrate our senses, work, kids, husbands, wives, I think the mystery lies more in the fact that we stay sane.


The very things we thrive on; sharing in the lives of family and friends, being part of a community, being in a relationship, can also be the things that have the ability to steal our peace.

Thankfully, and overwhelmingly it's completely worth every restless night, every tearful call, every hug, every squeal of delight, every all night gab session, every minute spent just listening.

It's a no-brainer kind of trade.


In case you hadn't already guessed, it's been one of those kind of weeks. And I'm very certain I wasn't the only one who had one of those weeks.

One of those weeks where the information, both good and bad is coming so fast and furious at some point you're pretty sure your brain is going to simply melt from the overload.  One of those weeks where, just for a break, you pop online and all you seem to find is more information, this time it seems to be geared toward everything you either have no talent for (crafts),  no time for (baking), or can't afford (lovely holidays in far off lands).

One of those weeks. But, I'm going to be grateful. I'm going to be grateful because these "pull your hair out" kind of weeks always make the "not pull your hair out" kind of weeks, that much sweeter.


So, for the upcoming week....

We will be starting the week off with a road trip to do a service call tomorrow. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, perfect for a summer drive.

Gratefully, the shop is staying very busy, so it will be a week that involves an air conditioner, an awning, some ordering, fielding phone calls, fixing a cargo trailer and taking care of several more trailers that have been booked in for service.

Next weekend we will be doing a karaoke show at the Royal George in Luseland. It ought to be a pretty fun show, the people are awesome.


Well folks, that about does it for another week. Until next time, I'll leave you with this wish.......




May you find peaceful moments in an otherwise hectic day.
May you find the ability to hold on to them, don't let them get away.

May any news that comes your way carry not even a whisper of  negative spin.
May you find the positive in every situation, not matter what, make it a win.

May your days be filled with hammocks, frothy umbrella drinks, and the sun gently kissing your face.
May peace of mind find you there, refreshing your soul, recharging your spirit, resetting your space.





Until next time, please feel free to check out my website, as it is up and running again.

Little Boy Grins On Not So Little Boy Faces!

Hi!

 

 

 

Okay we are going to open this week's ramblings with a little quiz. One of the photos above was taken during our little get away weekend and the other two were taken this evening as we were doing a service call. I'll leave it up to you to guess which ones belong where.

 

Well folks, it's been another nutty week! Lots of people needed a hand to get on their holidays, I committed to taking part in the Harvest Festival(more about that later), had a "Wishes" fan show up at the shop to buy a copy for her good friend's birthday gift,(always a thrill!), had my website go down (again), and got to see the eyes of a 50+ gentleman light up like the sky during a prairie sunset on two separate occasions.

 

One gentleman came through with his son and grandson, on their way to a tractor pull in Alberta. A tractor pull in which Grandpa is the one participating and Son and Grandson are the helpers, I might add. Yep, they came through with not a light working on the flatbed they use to haul their something, something, John Deere, shiny, something boosted, green, something wired open, pretty little tractor. After Randy took a look, he discovered the home of some unwanted pets living where the wiring for the lights should have been. So after a few laughs, fishing wire through small openings, and a few choice words for some mice, they were on their way to make it to the competition on time! Lit up like a Christmas tree!

 

 

Gentleman number two, came to pick up his trailer today, after we'd had it for well over a week. One of the reasons it took so long was because of the choruses of "could you just have a quick look" that were coming in quite a bit in the last while, which is what we love to see, but that, combined with the fact that his "simple" fridge replacement also turned into a complete tear down and rebuild of most of his kitchen cabinets. You see, this cowboy (not being sarcastic, he is a REAL cowboy) had modified his horse trailer to include living quarters. In doing so, had installed a fridge. All went swimmingly well until said fridge died. Now, because it was an older fridge, that exact model was discontinued, and the replacement model was a bit bigger. Now, because everything in this trailer is custom, the wiggle room usually available to accommodate for such things was not available with this one. This results in a small job turning into a big job, that takes a while. The owner had been in a few days ago, when everything looked like a complete mess, and left looking a bit apprehensive. He was downright giggly when he left with his trailer in tow this morning, lit right up!

 

 

The cherry on the top of the week had to be this evening. We went on a service call after closing the shop at 5 and drove South for about an hour to a Provincial park. There, we met up with Faye, a lady we had had several conversations with over the course of the last couple of weeks. She and her husband own a brand new trailer, and the control panel that is basically the command center that turns everything on and off, opens and closes slides, runs the electric awning, monitors tanks etc., quit working. We made some calls, and discovered that there was a manufacturing glitch that was about a minute away from a recall. We suggested she call her dealer, get permission for us to fix it, and we'd be more than happy to do so. After an hour and a half of electrical surgery, we left some very happy people.

 

 

It's pretty fun being in a business where your soul purpose is to help people have fun.

 

Speaking of which, when we got home, I checked our messages, and it looks like we will be doing a show in Luseland in a couple of weeks. It was a blast last time, looking forward to it!

 

 

As for the upcoming week,

 

Tomorrow, I believe, I might just get my long awaited "Mother's Day bath of luxury". (better late than never!)

 

With any luck, this week will also involve bringing a few more little boy grins to some not so little boy faces.

 

Look at some crafty things on Pintrest and be a little sad that I have absolutely no aptitude for such things.

 

Do some laundry, clean a couple of bathrooms,  and scare some dust bunnies out of their comfy spots.(Not necessarily in that order)

 

 

Well folks, that about does it for this time around,

 

 

In honor of my eldest daughter turning 27 tomorrow, I will leave you with this wish......

 

 

 

 

May you, as you look in the mirror, see a reflection of courage, strength, and a beauty that lights from your soul.

May you celebrate everything you are, everything you've done, everything you, your ups, your downs, your whole.

 

May you understand where you stand is still only the tip of the iceberg of your capabilities, so many more talents lie beneath the surface.

May you trust they will show themselves as you need them, surprising you with their depth, their ideal purpose.

 

May you remember to be grateful, everyday, for all of the blessings in your life.

May you keep in mind, after the smoke clears, these blessings call you their daughter, their sister, their Mommy, their wife.

 

 

Until next time!

 

(top one is the get away!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Riverbanks, Rum - Yep, Some R&R!

Hi folks!


Here's a peek at where we are spending our Long Weekend! It's gorgeous and only 20 minutes from home!



I'm afraid I'm kinda jotting these ramblings on the fly a bit today, we stopped off at home to load equipment to go do a show tonight (I'll try and get some pics for next week), then dive right back in to our feet up, beverage in hand, beach walking weekend.


Our first night was pretty good. We weren't able to get out of the shop as early as we had hoped, so things were a bit rushed when we got home to pack up for camping. Yep, we forgot a few things in the flurry of activity. Ummm, things like lawn chairs, a hatchet for fire wood, oh, kindling is usually a good idea, lighter fluid, chemical for the toilet, you know the things that make camping enjoyable, in general.

Can you say ironic? Yep, own an RV accessories store, and help people everyday to get what they need for their trips.........yeah.


But, today we had a fine brunch of bacon and eggs, thanks to my honey, and are now getting ready to do our show. It ought to be pretty awesome, a small group of fun people always spells a good time.

Tomorrow, my friends, will include a ton of sitting on my butt, reading something brainless, partaking in a couple of rum based cocktails, and walking hand in hand with my best friend on a sandy, sunny riverbank. You might say I'm looking forward to it.

Life is good. It's not always easy, and things rarely go according to the plans we so carefully lay out. But, we usually end up in a better place because they didn't.

On the book front, well, slowly, but surely, I'm getting to a point where I think I will again be able to work on the next one. I'm looking forward to putting time into it again. And, if I'm being honest, even though I'm truly enjoying working at our shop, I miss it. I miss visiting those crazy places, only I can see, where the trickle of an idea can turn into a waterfall of a story if given half a chance. It's where anything is possible and silliness is King. It's where I like to go, and the longer I stay, the louder I can hear the muchkins giggle. People like to talk about getting into the "zone." This is my zone when I get to write for kids.

I hope to go back soon.

Well, folks that about does it for this week, time to go and sing for my supper! Lol



Until next time!


May you savor the laughter, soak in the relaxation, permit yourself to breathe.
May you allow the peace to hug you, leaving stress and negativity behind to seethe.

May the company of good people lift you when you're spirit has lost some shine.
May they, with their comfortable presence, leave you feeling divine.

May you find and visit your happy place, your inner peace, your place of personal zen.
May find it, own it, and visit it whenever you can.


Until next week, I'd love if you "liked" me on facebook. Just search margyreidbooks.com

Thanks for taking the time to read these ramblings. I am forever grateful for your support!