On the move

What a week it’s been! Things that are hard in life are meant to challenge us, help us grow. I believe that, but I’ve also struggled with the notion of it this week. Financially, things have been really tough and so here we go again – moving.

I do not like moving. I don’t like the emotional upheaval and intense logistics required to pull it all off. I do not enjoy the sorting and clearing out, the research and phone calls, and I balk at the cost. I have moved far more times than I care to count (although I have counted of course). The last time I moved – about 14 months ago – I said that it was going to be the last time for a long time, and I was quite smug about it. Confident. I was getting work that draws a lot of business from the US. That work wrapped up prematurely in the spring as the “troubled” US economy hit our industry with a thump. I managed to gimp through the summer, just barely.

Sometimes making things work means taking a good honest look at our reality and doing things that are really hard. Things that we don’t want or like, but make a choice to do in order to get things in order for the long term. So the house is going on the market, and I am embarking on an ambitious downsizing exercise. It’s not that I have an issue with getting rid of stuff per se; it’s the upset to my family and emotional center that really hurts.

There isn’t time to indulge in complaining, so I will get on with it all.

Live Inspired!

I’ve been finishing the final edits on the manuscript for Live Inspired! Create the Life of Your Dreams, and I am getting really excited. The designer is working on the cover and I am expecting a sneak peek any day now. Over the next little while, I’ll add some excerpts to the blog and that way you can have a preview and let me know what you think.

Ditch the TV

Are you a TV watcher? Every once in a while – usually this time of year when there is nothing on but re-runs of crap that I already avoided last year – I wonder why I continue bothering to watch TV. I know people who don’t, and certainly days and weeks fly by where I watch the news and little else. I am tempted to get rid of it, or save a few dollars by ditching cable at least. It’s a challenge, because cable is where my favourite channels are …but those channels are rife with old programs and re-runs too. As long as I don’t sit down in front of it I don’t get sucked in and then I get plenty of other things done; some writing and reading, things around the house and maybe a visit to the beach.

I think it’s time to ditch the TV.

It is a fine thing to vote

As if the American election wasn’t just enough politics in the news for me, the Canadians are at it too. Our federal election is in mid-October and then to top it off, the region where I live has a municipal election going on at exactly the same time. Now in addition to already full days I need to don my political science hat again.

I’d rather be gardening, really, but I think it’s very important to vote so never fear – I’ll be making my mark on the appointed days.

Calm After the Storm

We were very lucky last weekend around here. Hanna went up the Bay of Fundy and really socked it to areas of New Brunswick and western Nova Scotia, but here in my neighbourhood we were spared the worst of the rain and wind. There are several storms still on the weather horizon as it were. Ike slammed into Galveston Texas with abandon, but it will not make it up this far. We'll have to see what the rest of hurricane season has to offer; and in the meantime chop some more kindlin', stock up on dry goods and keep the batteries handy.

(This shot is of Hanna on the right
and Gustav on the left, from Reuters)

The Calm Before the Storm - Hanna Heads for Nova Scotia

I packed my grown daughters into the car today and we headed off to Lawrencetown Beach to see the pre-storm effects of Hanna, which is expected to hit here tomorrow. As we got out of the car and I reached for my purse and camera, I noticed that my purse wasn’t where I normally throw it and so, we hopped back in the car and headed back to the coffee shop where I had left it. Thank the Lord for good, kind honest people who handed it over to the staff for safekeeping. So purse safely retrieved, we head off again for the beach.

Surfers in their dry suits crowded the beach, looking for that perfect spot to strike out on their boards. I smiled at the young fellows with their crisply-gelled-sticking-up-in-all-the-right-places-until-it-gets-wet-hair. There were a couple of groups of brave picnickers picking the sand out of their lunches and enjoying the day. The air was sticky and warm at about 90% humidity, and the sky was a pale silver with a bank of fog lurking close by. (remember, there is a huge storm coming, so this is pre-storm weather), and once again back to the beach. The wind was blowing up nicely along the shore, and the surfers were out bobbing in the water waiting for the right wave. I soaked in the view and muted colours of it all and listened to the roar of the wind and the thumps of the big waves as they shuddered against the beach.

By the time Hanna reaches here tomorrow in mid-afternoon it’ll be downgraded (likely) to a post tropical storm with about 2 inches of rain falling here at home and 80 km (50 mph) winds.