where i live - manitoba, canada

mission: MUSE - "where i live"

by guest muse kim

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, one of the three prairie provinces in Canada and home to 1.2 million people.

Our landscapes are mostly flat, but beautiful, and nearly 40% of our province is covered in lush forests. These forests are home to many animals, including deer, fox, bear and moose. Manitoba is known as the land of 100,000 lakes and we also have twenty beaches to visit. Summertime is mostly hot and my family and I gravitate towards the water throughout the summer holidays.

We cottage a short distance from the city in Petersfield, Manitoba, and enjoy water front views there as well.

We are fortunate enough to have four different seasons to enjoy, but we could definitely do with a few less winter months. I would not want to be without snow at Christmas time, but our windchills can get "frosty" at times, to put it mildly!

Right now we are enjoying a longer than normal autumn season. Even the Canadian Geese have postponed their annual migratory flight to enjoy the fall temperatures just a little longer.

We are seeing gorgeous fall colors and our symbolic Maple leaves are glowing a bright yellow.

Our province is home to many summer festivals and we enjoy all sorts of musical, cultural and outdoor entertainment year round. Corn mazes in autumn, skating rinks in winter and endless places to see and things to do in the spring and summer months!!

I have travelled to many wonderful and scenic places, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I'm definitely a proud Canadian!!
Thanks for reading my story.

Kim MacKay of Kim/Jaren/Brooklyn.

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We would love to see where you live.  If you would like to join in, send an email to mortalmuses [at] yahoo.com.

where i live - germany

mission: MUSE - "where i live"

by guest muse kim

Where do I live?  For many years I had a ready reply.  "I live on a ranch on the Colorado prairie surrounded by buffalo grass, cattle, and blue sky."  It was an answer I had not foreseen changing a year ago. What a difference a year makes. We now live in a tiny village, perched on a peak in southern Germany, surrounded by lush pastures, dense forests, and more cattle. You could say we traded one sleepy cow town for another.

My husband is a retired military officer and for twenty years we roamed the world following his assignments.  All the while I had one goal, to settle down on a farm like the one my grandparents had.  In 2003 that dream came true when we bought 72 acres in the middle of absolutely nowhere in rural Colorado.  It was a mixed blessing. We learned so much and had such wonderful times there.  Still, as the years passed we knew that was not the only adventure we wanted to have for the rest of our lives.  My husband was offered a position in Germany last fall, which we accepted on a lark.  Within a few months we were winging our way across the ocean, with our seven youngest children in tow!

The house we found here was all we dared to hope for.  It is the last house in a little bitty farming village and backs up directly to the pastures and forest beyond. The village is reached by a series of narrow, winding roads which amble their way through dark stretches of woods straight from the Grimm brothers.  Miles of bike and foot paths connect us to neighboring towns.

There is an undeniable dignity and grace about this place. Things move slowly here and there is a noticeable hush over all.  We walk daily, we nod at one another, and exchange warm "Guten Tag!" greetings when we meet our neighbors.  Ancient peeling, stucco abodes stand tall and strong under their tile roofs alongside the occasional contemporary newcomers. Somehow both work. Lace trimmed windows sport bright boxes of geraniums all summer and doorways are swept clean, straight out through the cobblestone drives.

We are just a few hours' drive to Paris, Amsterdam, and Zurich.  Yet no matter where we roam it is so very good to come home and look out over miles of treetops. We expect to be here for the next several years after which I could not venture a guess what fate has in store for us. It really doesn't matter because in the end home is where we all are together. Each new place is full of adventure and contributes another chapter in the story life is writing for us. This one has been a page-turner and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

Thank you for visiting "where i live." 

Kim Fry

please visit us at: http://www.starryskyranch.typepad.com/ and http://www.starryskyphotography.com/

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We would love to see where you live. 
If you would like to join in, send an email to mortalmuses [at] yahoo.com.

what inspires you? - the inspiration studio

mission: MUSE - "what inspires you?"

by guest muse kim klassen

of the inspiration studio and kim klassen cafe

Inspiration...usually surrounds me ...it seems easily available, in fact it’s somewhat endless. I am blessed with a wonderful sunny studio space.... full of art supplies and pretty things. Wide open spaces to walk and reflect.  I have a family and home I love.  There’s the whole online world of endless inspiration! I truly have so much to be thankful for.  As an artist and photographer i am constantly inspired by one thing or another. 

When Tammy asked me to write about inspiration it seemed like a no brainer.  I mean, there’s the Inspiration Studio, full to the brim with inspirational contributors. There’s the Café with all kinds of amazing people popping in and sharing their love and encouragement. But as easy as I thought it would be...it just wasn’t.

Basically, it’s been one of those weeks.  For no particular reason...you know the kind... When a funk just hits you and won’t go away.  I have felt rather uninspired and really quite blah.  Not enough so that I stopped creating.....but not my usual over ignited, crazy inspired self.  So I have been going through the motions sort of speak. 

But, there has been one place this week where I have felt myself...where all was right again.  That was out on the trail with Ben and his ‘cousin’ Sophie... breathing in the cool, crisp air...soaking up nature, and watching the 2 of them play.  Their tails wagging... pure JOY! The funk would lift, and once again, all was right in the world.

So when I looked up the definition of Inspiration I smiled to myself:

Inspiration: definition: the drawing of breath.

And I thought... Yes, the drawing of breath...that is exactly what happens when I leave my work and escape to the trail....I really, truly... BREATHE.  ‘sigh’...such a beautiful thing.

I believe the trail, especially this week has been my saving grace.  If I didn’t have Ben here...wagging his tail, eagerly waiting for me to put on my shoes and coat... I would not have made it off this chair.  I would have said... not today...and just plugged away...grumble, grumble... 

Today I celebrate my pets...Ben and our sweet  Andy boy, before him...Sophie too...One of the best gifts life has given me.  And I celebrate breaks from routine and work...fresh air (even when it’s cold and miserable out)...  giving us a chance to regroup and carry on.

Kisses to you, sweet Andy in Heaven... I miss you.....

The simple love of our pets...such a beautiful thing. 

Here’s to fresh air, longs walks and our pets.... simple, pure and truly inspirational...

A favourite quote:  ‘may I be the kind of person my dog thinks I am’

xo kim klassen

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