In Search of...

Today I realized even further how we all strive for the same thing – the opportunity to belong, to feel part of the whole and to be who we are. We may not recognize it but this is our quest in life - a Search for Oneness.

A Full Day

Took off to Grande Prairie hospital early this morning to go visit a dear friend who had surgery yesterday. Thought I'd only be there for an hour but it was 3 hours later by the time I left.

So glad I went. Got to see her for myself. Got first hand information. Got to help out. Got to connect her with family via my phone. Got to leave her with a few things she appreciating having. Bingo! The 4 hour trip was well worth it. Time is irrelevant when it comes to people we love and those kind of things.

Got home this afternoon just in time for a visit with my daughter and my grandson who are here from High River. Now there's something else that makes a day special.

Evening was spent visiting another friend and offering a helping hand to shift some furniture around and reorganize a room.

And right now, just finished getting all my stuff ready for a long busy day at the office tomorrow.

A beautiful fulfilling day and my heart is filled with gratitude.

A Pumpkin Walk

No not an orange pumpkin. Pumpkin my shadow. I was gone for a week and she hasn't let me forget it since I'm back. She watches me like a hawk, starts hollering when she can't see me and is at my heels otherwise. She's quite the loving little creature although that's certainly not the reputation she's set up for herself. She's been called the "bitch" cat by many and most times rightfully so. But for me, she's  mush. And after I've been away for a while, she's double mush.

She asks me to take her for a walk every day now. If I do something once or twice with that cat, she figures it's routine from that point on. So off we went again tonight for our usual little stroll around the backside of my neighbor, along the railroad track, then back home. She poked her nose everywhere and sniffed at everything then she ate grass while I snapped some pics. I can never get enough of the beautiful sunsets around here. Just amazing. Fills my bucket!

All these pics were taken at 10:37 pm. Not too many hours of darkness around these here parts at this time of the year.

Deep in Thought

Sometimes there's just so many things swirling around in my head that there's just no way to make sense of it all. And sometimes the only thing to do is to wheel myself around this quiet little village, let the wind blow through my hair and immerse myself in whatever nature I can find - like a 10 pm sun making it's way down the skyline. And sometimes that makes it all better.

Big Day!

Nothing exciting but a big day working out in the yard(s).

Yes, there's an "s". I take care of our yard and of the neighbors yard. Actually, the neighbor has 3 lots and we have 2 so that would account as to why it took me 12 hours today to: prune the hedges, get on all fours to pull weeds, pass the rototiller, water all the shrubs, plants, trees and garden, mow the grass and do the weed eating around the perimeter.

It was the first day in I don't know how long where there was no wind! How pleasant it was to be out there working in the sunshine. Got too much of it though. I did put on the sunscreen and still burnt some. And then I missed some patches when I spread the sunscreen out. Those look pretty nasty. Hopefully it all turns brown after a few days.

Tomorrow it's back at the office for the rest of the week. That's ok. It will give my skin a chance to simmer down.

Here's the four of us on the ferry to Victoria to start our bike ride. I think that's the only picture with all four. Someone on the boat offered to take it for us.

BC Biking Trip and Pictures

Had a grand time! Would love to do a bike trip like that once a month. Don't know where I'd find the money to do it with but .....  I never say never.

Who knows what could happen to bring more of these type of adventures into my life. I'm always up for new experiences and challenges. Bring it on, I say!

This bike ride took the four of us, my sister, her friend, my partner's daughter and myself down the Lochside Trail from Swartz Bay to Victoria. It's a 35 km ride past beaches, farmland and wetlands, down country lanes and beside suburban backyards.

We spent our first night in a historic hotel in downtown Victoria and the next day we rode 55km down the Galloping Goose Trail. What a beautiful ride that was. We were surrounded on both sides by forest, we cycled past ferns, shasta daisies, foxgloves and blackberry bushes. By late afternoon we arrived in the town of Sooke where we spent the next two nights.

The following day we cycled up to the Sooke Potholes Regional Park where there is a series of deep, polished rock pools and potholes that were naturally carved into the bedrock of the Sooke River. There were some young locals gathered at the potholes braving dipping in and out of the cool clear water.

All together, we cycled for 200 km. there and back to the ferry terminal and we were blessed with the best kind of cycling weather we could have asked for. Not too hot and not too cold.

Also did a bit of touring and relaxing by the sea. Walked the ocean boardwalk in Sooke, and spent an evening watching what I assume was mama and papa seal keeping an eye on their two pups frolocking in the sea. What a show they put on for us splashing around, diving up and down and poking their heads in and out of the water.

Of course the trip would not have been complete without a shell and rock and rock collecting time. Can never go to the ocean without fitting that in too. Can't wait for my next biking adventure!

 Nicole and I on the ferry from Vancouver to Swartz Bay

 On our 1.5 hour ferry ride from Vancouver to Victoria where we will start our cycling self directed tour.

 And we're off!

 These two young ladies, 91 and 92 would you believe, were having a rest and a chat on the trail.

 One of the wooden bridges and trestles to cross over.

 A part of the paved trail.

 Couldn't resist a few minutes of meditation in this spot.

Nice hard packed trail.

 A snack attack on the bridge.

 Lunch at the Potholes and a little writing before getting on the trail again.

And here are the potholes.

 A long, long boardwalk in the ocean with a return path through the forest. As you can see the tide was going out when that photo was taken.

 Aren't these the prettiest wildflower you've ever seen? Foxgloves is their name.

I think someone had a clam party on the beach.

So Much Happening - So Much Left Unsaid.

Another book launch has come and gone! It's interesting how each one is different and each has it's own unique aspects. Intriguing. I'm learning. I'm growing. I'm experiencing.

The trip starts tomorrow. Yippee! First a drive to Vancouver. Then we take a 1.5 hour ride on a BC Ferry which drops us off 30 km from Victoria. From there we hop on our bikes and ride to Victoria, (along the sea shore mind you - tough eh), do some visiting and spend the night there at a historic hotel. Then in the next few days we make our way to Sooke. There's so much to see along the way I'm afraid it could take us forever to get there.

There's a mixture of emotions going through me tonight. Hopefully I can calm them down and they will let me get some sleep.

Trade Offs

An unusual day for me. A day of nothing and everything. This morning I debated whether to stay home and work on sanding the deck, mowing the grass at home and at the neighbors, washing windows, or escaping to go relax somewhere I wouldn't have to see the work that needs to be done. The decision....none of the above.

Instead I made a conscious choice to enjoy staying home and do only do things I want to do or say I'll do when I'm finished with the work, (which never happens anyway).

I ended up taking a nice long hot shower, reading, meditating, writing, answering emails, and doing a little web browsing. After that I lined up all my inside plants on the back deck and sprayed them with warm soapy water to get rid of spider mites that are curling up their leaves.

Sitting still int he backyard gave the neighbor the opportunity to come over for a chat. She came over with some fresh baked tea biscuits and lemon filled cupcakes. Hmm,hmm...so good!

Followed that with a bit more writing then put on my biking gear and went for a 20 km ride down the highway. Not so pleasant a ride today with all the campers, boats, trailers and motor homes speeding by me on the highway. I surely do miss those Kelowna biking trails but I certainly wouldn't trade in my sunrise and sunsets, that's for sure! There's always a trade off, isn't there?

Did I mention the card I picked from a life purpose oracle deck the other day?

Practicing For The Big Ride

I went for a bike ride today. Had to ride in the same direction as the wind otherwise  I would have basically been at a standstill - well, maybe not quite, but would have required more than I had in me that's for sure. 

Going with the wind I managed to ride the 13 km. from home to McLennan in 35 minutes. For a few moments here and there I was going 30km an hour. Not bad at all. The wind is good for something. Pushing me on my bike and keeping the bugs away.

Geez!

Enough with the wind already or I'm going to go back and hide in the mountains!

I Fell Off The Wagon

Today is June 3rd. My last entry here was May 5th. 

Yup! I fell off the wagon. Big time!

Busy at the job. Trips to Edmonton. Yard work. Planting the garden. Helping people out. Company staying over. Emails to answer. Committed to a daily practice. Blah, blah, blah. 

The bottom line is there's no excuse for staying away from writing, especially not when it's what one loves doing. None!

I'm dusting myself off and getting back on. 

At first I said I would commit to at least one sentence a day. Uh huh...... What happened to that? 

Here's how it goes. By the time I get my butt in the chair, it's 10 or 11 pm, or midnight, or some ungodly hour and I know if I start writing, the risk is I won't get any sleep at all. Why? Because I can't stop at one sentence. (Just like I'm doing now.) 

So instead of signing in and dropping a sentence or two, I end up not posting at all because I know that once I pick up the pen or sit at the keyboard, it's like eating popcorn. One bite and I'm a gonner!

These are for you Barbara. 

How I miss you. Your words. Our phone conversations. Our Skype visits.  Our exchange about books, paintings, nature, children, grief, addictions, and life in the real world. I miss your letters, your no bullshit way of saying it how it was and your many fearless ways of sharing from the deepest part of yourself. 

I know darn well if I could share these lilacs with you as I did so many times over Skype before - with you in New Orleans and myself on the prairies of Northern Alberta, it would warm your heart and once more bring tears to your eyes. 

Your voice echos in my ears. "Oh, you've made my day! They are so beautiful. I can smell them from here!"

And I would respond. "You are so very welcome. They are for you. With love."