Welcome to the first step of what I hope will be an entertaining and enlightening journey of discoveries – mostly for myself, but perhaps for you too. Allow me to introduce myself. I am currently a displaced West Coaster living and working in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. In October ’08, I married the most wonderful man in a beautiful ceremony on the beach in Mexico, and we are now in the process of living happily ever after, doting on a spoiled rotten boxer dog, taking life as it comes, and seeking peace and happiness.
I’ve slowly been morphing into a hippie over the last few years, and we are now both trying to practice mindfulness in our daily lives: we meditate (or try, in my case); we seek to understand ourselves and others; we compost; we have a vegetable garden, rain barrels, and a clothesline; I bike to work when it’s nice or take the bus when it’s not; we try to reduce our consumerism; etc., etc. I don’t know if that’s enough or not; I can’t compare myself to anyone but myself. However, I think we’ve both changed a lot over the last few years, based on a couple of great university classes, some inspiring like-minded (did I mention smart!?) friends, a little independent research, and the sense that if we don’t change our lifestyles, well…there’s going to be some karma coming ‘round…
So that’s what this space is about, for the most part: discoveries and ideas about the environment, peace, happiness and contentment, interactions with friends, family, and the rest of the world, and positive changes to impact our lives and others’. I’ll share what I learn, what I create, where we’ve been, and what we’ve seen, and I hope that you’ll enjoy it.
That said, I’ll give you a taste of the next entry. We’ve decided that the West Coast is going to allow us to practice more of the stuff that we love in life, like spending time outdoors, hiking, camping, and biking, and hopefully kayaking. While I didn’t realize it while I was living there, the mountains and the ocean are a part of me, and living in the Ottawa Valley, while pleasant in the summer (not so much in the winter!), doesn’t allow me to connect with the kind of nature that I grew up with.
So we’re selling our freshly renovated bungalow, packing up or selling all our worldly possessions, and moving back out to BC to spend time with family and take advantage of all there is to explore out there! The next entry will be a showcase of our dream home, which, while we’re sad to leave it, was really only a temporary shelter anyway. We hope to find someone who will enjoy it as much as we have, and who will appreciate all the special touches we’ve put in to it.
