Your work is to discover your
world and then with all your
heart give yourself to it.
Budda
I had arrived! I answered the calling and stood ready.
But first I had to clean , unpack and put up the Christmas tree for Sam.
One week until Christmas and I had so much to do.
We stayed with my inlaws for the first week while I went back and forth to our rental
to clean and clean and clean even more! Tired and stressed did not even come close to how
I was feeling....not to mention the culture shock was starting to set in...
Even though I was still in the same country it was a different world to me. Where was the snow?
Everything was green and not brown.
In a weeks time I managed to get our new abode liveable...still it was a bit difficult coming from
a beautiful brand new home to a dated 1960's tiny bungalow. But I was determined to make it
charming and homey. This is a great challenge for me ! I can do it ! You know how creative I am and how I love to decorate I said as my husband rolled his eyes hating the place the even more.
After coming to terms with the ancient washer and dryer in the bedroom/office/ laundry room that I was terrified to put my clothes in I was starting to get past the cries of change. That is until we made the trip to the grocery store...
I have to say proudly that in Ontario are grocery stores rock! And I love to go grocery shopping!
When I went to the grocery store I thought I was going to have a melt down! Pastas and other staples three times the price...and where's the beef??!
And then I lost it in Asile 5....." I started screaming $6 for Peanut Butter are they insane?!!
Change is not easy and the smallest things can really set you off. After a week of shopping at various grocery stores I discovered the Walmart Superstore!! Thank you Mr. Walmart you
saved my sanity. Now things where looking brighter...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Drive...
And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin
Our journey started on the 6th day of December. A perfect time of year for road travel. Freezing cold and constant threats of snowstorms! Hey I said I wanted some adventure in my life! We loaded up the truck with all our clothes and ten year old son Sam , two cats and one German Shepherd dog. This was gonna be fun!!
It took the whole day just to get to Sault Ste. Marie about ten hours. We hit two snowstorms I thought at one time this is it...we're finished. Thank goodness for the snow plow that night we just followed right behind him. I really loved the part that if we lost control and went over the guard rail we would be right in Lake Superior. It took us a total of three days to get out of Ontario. Lake Superior is such a huge lake it took two days to go around. The prairies are flat and I felt very calm . By the time we arrived at Brandon , Manitoba the temperature had gone down to -45! I kept saying " Why do people live here?" Every night everything we owned was frozen solid. Toothpaste, shampoo even the oranges were like coconuts. When morning came our truck had died and we had to call for a tow truck to jump it! That day we bought an extension cord to plug in the truck for that night.
Ray and Samuel pose in the freezing temps for a picture!
Our first hotel stop. Kachina finally clued in that if she didn't hid behind the toliet she could sleep in comfort with Sam. By the end of the trip she was a champ just enjoying herself like a queen on all the hotel beds!
Come out Kachina!! A bit stressed out from the first ten hours of being in a crate.
Pilot was awesome the whole journey. Just an amazing , intelligent dog. I think she liked the fact she had her own bed in the back seat of the truck beside Sam. No more dog crates in the back of the pick-up for her.
Acoya had to have been the worst hotel guest. We would arrive at the hotel so tired and hungry. By the time we all went to bed he would start to HOWL! It was 3am and I thought if he doesn't stop howling I will have to kill him (just kidding). I put him in the crate in the bathroom and turned on the fan. This drowned out the howling but the next night the new hotel had no fan! The howling began and then thank goodness I remembered what my cousin does to put her parrot to sleep. Every night they put a blanket over his cage. So I put Acoya in his crate and placed a blanket over it and like magic he went to sleep! It worked every night.
Beautiful Banff and was it cold!
Totally Canadian eh? Doesn't this look like one of those cheesy pics for a Tim Horton's ad? Maybe I should write a story about this road trip and send it in. I think we hit every Tim Horton's on the trip!
Only in green British Columbia will you find these roadside garbage disposals. So cool.
Me, Pilot and Sam pose in the Interior of British Columbia.
The desert of British Columbia ...Osoyoos. A very Spanish themed town. Very lovely.
Ray egging me on as I was gripping the truck door in fear going over this steep mountain. I would say this was the worst part of the trip. I think it was great that there is no guard rails so if you slip see ya! But they did have these run offs up the side of the mountain. Yeah that was reassuring to me! Never want to do this again!
It was even a bit intense for Pilot here too!
These were the mountains we were going down!
Six days later we made it all in one piece to Duncan!! yay! It was really a beautiful, incredible drive and yes I would do it again...well I will have to think about going down that mountain again! Great memories for me and my family!
Life begins when you stop pleasing others and just please yourself...
Our journey started on the 6th day of December. A perfect time of year for road travel. Freezing cold and constant threats of snowstorms! Hey I said I wanted some adventure in my life! We loaded up the truck with all our clothes and ten year old son Sam , two cats and one German Shepherd dog. This was gonna be fun!!
It took the whole day just to get to Sault Ste. Marie about ten hours. We hit two snowstorms I thought at one time this is it...we're finished. Thank goodness for the snow plow that night we just followed right behind him. I really loved the part that if we lost control and went over the guard rail we would be right in Lake Superior. It took us a total of three days to get out of Ontario. Lake Superior is such a huge lake it took two days to go around. The prairies are flat and I felt very calm . By the time we arrived at Brandon , Manitoba the temperature had gone down to -45! I kept saying " Why do people live here?" Every night everything we owned was frozen solid. Toothpaste, shampoo even the oranges were like coconuts. When morning came our truck had died and we had to call for a tow truck to jump it! That day we bought an extension cord to plug in the truck for that night. 
Ray and Samuel pose in the freezing temps for a picture!
Our first hotel stop. Kachina finally clued in that if she didn't hid behind the toliet she could sleep in comfort with Sam. By the end of the trip she was a champ just enjoying herself like a queen on all the hotel beds!
Come out Kachina!! A bit stressed out from the first ten hours of being in a crate.
Pilot was awesome the whole journey. Just an amazing , intelligent dog. I think she liked the fact she had her own bed in the back seat of the truck beside Sam. No more dog crates in the back of the pick-up for her.
Acoya had to have been the worst hotel guest. We would arrive at the hotel so tired and hungry. By the time we all went to bed he would start to HOWL! It was 3am and I thought if he doesn't stop howling I will have to kill him (just kidding). I put him in the crate in the bathroom and turned on the fan. This drowned out the howling but the next night the new hotel had no fan! The howling began and then thank goodness I remembered what my cousin does to put her parrot to sleep. Every night they put a blanket over his cage. So I put Acoya in his crate and placed a blanket over it and like magic he went to sleep! It worked every night.
Beautiful Banff and was it cold!
Totally Canadian eh? Doesn't this look like one of those cheesy pics for a Tim Horton's ad? Maybe I should write a story about this road trip and send it in. I think we hit every Tim Horton's on the trip!
Only in green British Columbia will you find these roadside garbage disposals. So cool.
Me, Pilot and Sam pose in the Interior of British Columbia.
The desert of British Columbia ...Osoyoos. A very Spanish themed town. Very lovely.
Ray egging me on as I was gripping the truck door in fear going over this steep mountain. I would say this was the worst part of the trip. I think it was great that there is no guard rails so if you slip see ya! But they did have these run offs up the side of the mountain. Yeah that was reassuring to me! Never want to do this again!
It was even a bit intense for Pilot here too!
These were the mountains we were going down!
Six days later we made it all in one piece to Duncan!! yay! It was really a beautiful, incredible drive and yes I would do it again...well I will have to think about going down that mountain again! Great memories for me and my family!
Life begins when you stop pleasing others and just please yourself...
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The beginning ...
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt . Saying good-bye to family...
"All you need to do is begin living your life as if it were important.
All you need to do is take your life seriously.
To create it intentionally.
To actively make your life into the life you wish it to be.
Simple? Yes.
Easy? No."
Michael E. Gerber
I was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario one of the seven wonders of the world. My husband grew up in Duncan, British Columbia which is located on Vancouver Island. Even though my husband had been in Ontario for twenty years he was still a west coaster at heart.
The winters in Ontario are cold, snowy and long. I never could decide which was worse heavy snow coming down or the freezing rain that followed. By the time spring rolled around everything turns to slush and mud. Spring is nice for about a week then the switch is turned on and the humidity kicks in...and did I mention the BUGS!
We always knew once my husband retired we would move back to the island. I have learned that you can do all the planning you want but God's timing is not always our timing or the path we may have chosen.
Opportunities come up when you least expect them. Sometimes they come disguised as major life problems. But when they come they are always bearing gifts. I once read that to not take a risk is more of a risk than not taking one at all. That always stuck with me. As crazy as it seemed at the time my husband left his job early to start on a new business which would enable him to move back home. This mean't selling our home that we just built. Leaving good friends and family. Starting from scratch in all avenues of our life. Was I ready for this major life change? You bet I was. I wanted more adventure in my life and everyday before that I had been asking! So now life was giving us this chance and we took it! No looking back.
We sold our beautiful home in less than four months packed up all our belongings and my husband drove the moving truck 3,000 miles to our new temporary home. He flew back ten days later and we packed our truck and hitched the car. Our ten year old son Samuel was more than ready for the journey and to start a new life on Vancouver Island. We brought along our german shepherd dog Pilot, two cats Acoya and Kachina. Off we went across Canada in the middle of winter... it was a fantastic journey.
"All you need to do is begin living your life as if it were important.
All you need to do is take your life seriously.
To create it intentionally.
To actively make your life into the life you wish it to be.
Simple? Yes.
Easy? No."
Michael E. Gerber
I was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario one of the seven wonders of the world. My husband grew up in Duncan, British Columbia which is located on Vancouver Island. Even though my husband had been in Ontario for twenty years he was still a west coaster at heart.
The winters in Ontario are cold, snowy and long. I never could decide which was worse heavy snow coming down or the freezing rain that followed. By the time spring rolled around everything turns to slush and mud. Spring is nice for about a week then the switch is turned on and the humidity kicks in...and did I mention the BUGS!
We always knew once my husband retired we would move back to the island. I have learned that you can do all the planning you want but God's timing is not always our timing or the path we may have chosen.
Opportunities come up when you least expect them. Sometimes they come disguised as major life problems. But when they come they are always bearing gifts. I once read that to not take a risk is more of a risk than not taking one at all. That always stuck with me. As crazy as it seemed at the time my husband left his job early to start on a new business which would enable him to move back home. This mean't selling our home that we just built. Leaving good friends and family. Starting from scratch in all avenues of our life. Was I ready for this major life change? You bet I was. I wanted more adventure in my life and everyday before that I had been asking! So now life was giving us this chance and we took it! No looking back.
We sold our beautiful home in less than four months packed up all our belongings and my husband drove the moving truck 3,000 miles to our new temporary home. He flew back ten days later and we packed our truck and hitched the car. Our ten year old son Samuel was more than ready for the journey and to start a new life on Vancouver Island. We brought along our german shepherd dog Pilot, two cats Acoya and Kachina. Off we went across Canada in the middle of winter... it was a fantastic journey.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The journey starts...
" I believe it's true that the difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.
The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just
existing.
The difference between the two is living intentionally and living by accident."
Michael E. Gerber
That pretty much sums up the way I had always lived my life..."Passively"
Waiting Passively to see where life takes me next and I have to add being unhappy when I got there.
I decided at 43 years of age to start living fully and with intention. For the first time to start pleasing me and put me first. I also knew this was going to make huge waves and bring out the worst in those around me...
Welcome to the beginning of my new blog... Wading in the Sea... my new life on beautiful Vancouver Island. Finding me ...fulfilling the dream... strengthing my soul...
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