Organizing photos in my basement for a bit...

I am going to be in my basement the next few days going through my photo boxes getting organized for the next few posts of my electronic scrapbook.



My kitchen is really getting a makeover when it comes to paint but we are also getting the entryway, living room, dining room... a fresh coat of paint too. We have been here three years and not painted one room. We realized we were never going to do it ourselves so we are getting it professionally done. No radical changes outside the kitchen, I love the warm cafe au lait colour that runs throughout our house.

It is going to be done just in time for Jamie's big visit, all fresh and bright and beautiful.

Tomorrow though I will be in the basement hiding from the painters organizing my countless photographs to share with you soon. As a result, I probably won't be able to blog so don't worry about me, I'll be taking it easy downstairs stirring up my memories while life begins anew upstairs.

It is weird to be moving everything but not for a move. That is new for me. In the nine places we have lived, this is only the second time we have had a place painted and the first by professionals! Maybe this will help me feel more at home in my house?

Thank you stranger

Today seems to be the day for kudos. On my foodie blog I thank an appliance store and here I want to thank this gentleman for help cleaning up our neighbourhood. He even went into one of the ditches to get the worst of the crap out there. Which is not easy to do, I promise you! They are very deep and you can get hurt getting into them.



I saw this just yesterday in one of the ditches and yes, that is snow. Sigh... My husband saw a chester drawer walking home from from taking the car in to the shop...

It is nice to know I am not the only one who cares enough to do something. There is so much though that with each garbage bag I seem to hardly even make a dent. Seeing someone else do something gives me hope that we can make a difference. The dumping here is overwhelming, you really can't keep up with it but at least we are trying.

My Electronic Scrapbook: Exploring Vancouver, British Columbia - Spring 2001

Annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

And then spring was officially springing up in my neighbourhood. I had spent most of the winter either exploring these streets in my neighbourhood or going downtown looking for a doctor.


Downtown Vancouver skyline from Jericho Beach

Then spring came. The bus and garbage strikes were over long ago and it was time to go on my healing journey. I was able to get downtown and meet with potential doctors. Many of which I rejected, either not patient enough, too busy and one accused me of being on the influence of narcotics!

One of the harsh realities about Vancouver is the drug culture is everywhere. Still, this accusation nearly knocked me to the floor. No one is more anti-drugs than I am and I was incensed but nothing I said convinced her otherwise. It was mortifying.


This giant log that washed up onto Jericho Beach apparently eating downtown Vancouver was taller than me!

I finally found the best doctor I have ever had. She was intrigued by my situation. She knew all the best alternative health doctors and got me on my health odyssey. I tried everything, from special diets, supplements, acupuncture, massage therapy... you name it, I tried it and she supported me the whole way.



As a result I would be downtown quite a bit for my appointments carrying my camera with me, discovering Vancouver with my feet since we still did not have a car. Here you can see Stanley Park across the water from North Vancouver. I had never seen mountain suburbs before. I thought it was wild and I have no place greener than North Vancouver.



While we were downtown one day we decided to walk over to Stanley Park but it rained so hard there was no point in going for a walk. Here is a classic photo Reg took of me standing there unknowingly having a tree come out of my head. That is my husband, always joking around!



There is no more beautiful spring in this world than Vancouver's. The entire world turns to pink and soon the roads would be covered in petals.



And the sun finally returns! When that happens in Vancouver you still get the occasional daily sprinkle of rain at some point but most of the time you will have the most amazing sunshine for months and months.



We soon discovered that it would rain overnight but for the most part, the sun would shine for most of the day and nature would sing!



And so would the birds. Which I soon discovered are almost impossible subject to photograph but here is one that is kind of OK.

Every day I was outside exploring, exercising, seeking out healers and gurus. I put my heart in soul into healing my body but it was my heart and soul that were freed.

How quickly we adapt to freedom and take it for granted.

Today is the first day of the cherry blossom festival in Vancouver and I woke up to snow in Nova Scotia. We are getting our snow tires removed today too. Sigh...

My Electronic Scrapbook: Exploring Vancouver, British Columbia 2000-2001

Everywhere I seemed to walk there was some place interesting to explore. I tried to avoid trespassing which was hard to do, paths seem to wind around properties and then lead to mysterious bridges and places like this one. I had no idea where I was going or how to get back home but I didn't care. I wanted to see everything.



In November the sun disappears on the west coast and we were visited by fog on a regular basis. I love fog! I love dark and moody when it is not cold. I could comfortably travel through my neighbourhood on days like this and see each street transformed by the mist.



One day I walked north from our neighbourhood to Trout Lake. I had seen it on a map and as winter approached our world got so dark and wet but everything was still beautiful to me.



Just a half hour walk away there was a beautiful park where people would go to walk their dogs and just hang out. Here you can see the empty winter branches of willow trees drape over me, touching their own reflection on the lake.



Then one day some time before Christmas, it happened. It snowed! Yes, it does happen here and there on the west coast but thankfully it never lasts long.



This was our first Christmas together in Vancouver in 2000. Reg obviously did not want me to commemorate the occasion but I am glad I did. It is the best photo I have of our living space in Vancouver and the fact it captured the holiday anarchy is quite delightful. We had no money to go home for Christmas. It was the first Christmas we were completely on our own.



Spring comes to Vancouver in January. One day I decided to walk northwest from our apartment and ended up in Queen Elizabeth Park. The one month of what can loosely be called "winter" out west was over and life would be shooting forth any moment. If you click on the photo you will see a note outlining the downtown core of Vancouver. Yes, we were very far away from downtown but with parks like this one? I was fine with that.



It always amazed me that so many of the trees do not bother losing their leaves out west. Most of the time you do not get the display of colours in the autumn but the fact that winter is a few weeks versus half the year? I still say they are beautiful to look at.

We are officially in spring on the east coast today and it was just snowing outside my window. Sun and snow, how weird. It was -4C when I woke up this morning. Writing these posts is like a balm on a sore soul. I remember what life can be like. I remember when we were happy. I need to remember these things to hold on to hope that one day we will find that kind of joy again.

Wishcasting: How do you wish to sparkle?

Last weekend's super moon

Jamie asks us this week how we wish to sparkle? 

That is an easy one for me. I want to sparkle with vitality.

Physically, life has been hell for me lately. I have been in so much pain. I have been cold for six month. I have not gone for a walk since early November. My imprisonment is threatening my physical, spiritual and emotional health. It was -4C here this morning and again, I am stuck inside withering away. I have not been able to sleep. I am taking a lot of pain meds. I am losing myself in the past because I have little to no interest in my present.

I need spring to come. I need to thaw. I need to awaken my natural desire to thrive. I need pain relief. I need more than just mere survival.

I can't give any energy away today. Had another brutal night last night. Signing off but wanted to say thanks for the wishes and energy. I wish I could do more.

My Electronic Scrapbook: Exploring my new neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2000

So this was home in Vancouver. We could not believe it, we were in Vancouver! We were living in British Columbia. We had dreamed of this since the day we met. I had dreamed of it even longer. Ever since high school, I was drawn to BC. But I was not convinced that Vancouver was the place I wanted to be. I had to explore it first.



This was our street. Nothing fancy, covered in "Vancouver specials" (a style of house) and retail stores. I really wish I had taken photos of the Chinese markets and bakeries in our neighbourhood I spent so much time in but when it came to photography, all cared about back then was nature.



Reg convinced me that I should take my heavy camera out of my walks and make it a part of my exercise routine. I carried it in my backpack for moments like this. A stunning golf course that had a pathway around it for hikers like me. Right in an urban area you had a space like this, it was amazing! And note how pristine it is. I bumped into my first coyote on this path, convinced it was a wolf. Such a Vancouver newb! It was quite a beautiful and amazing moment. It only happened once but I looked for him every time.



When I had the strength I would go down to the bottom of our hill and walk along the Fraser River which was always covered in cedar logs. This explained the scent of cedar in the air when Reg got off the plane a year ago. I still think of Vancouver when I smell cedar. Across the water was Richmond which we walked to once over a bridge that moved from the heavy traffic of the cars. I saw Mount Baker for the first time from that bridge, convinced it had to be a painting in the sky, it was so spooky and beautiful.


I have always had a thing for boats and ships. I loved looking at them as they rested on the Fraser.



No matter how many times I walked along our neighbourhood, I never could get over the giant mountains of North Vancouver, hovering above everything in the sky. Which explains this photo, I mean, it was so amazing!



Then one night it happened. The sun began to set. I went out to watch it from my balcony. There was a mist on the Pacific Ocean. The light from the sunset revealed the islands to the west of us. They appeared like Avalon. Until then, I was oblivious to their existence. I had this yearning to continue going west. To get to those islands.

I had no idea that I would still be feeling that yearning ten years later.

My Electronic Scrapbook: Finding a home in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2000

Vicki from Accommodation Solution Services saved our butts. It was October fourth when we dropped anchor in Park Royal and it was not until days later we could meet up with her to figure out what to do. Vancouver is a seriously densely populated place and nothing seemed available until November. We told Vicki we wanted to be in the city, not out in the burbs. We wanted the Vancouver experience and did not have a car. What we wanted seemed impossible.

She gave us a tour of the city, took us to the fancy markets, drove through Granville Island, down Broadway... it was incredible to see the entire city like that in one fell swoop. There was so much for us to explore! I was tense though. I was scared our homeless situation was going to continue...



In no time Vicki came through for us! There was a brand new condo available in Vancouver South just a little above our price range so we took it. The balcony faced west and on a clear night you could see the islands on the horizon. Here is a little tour of our tiny apartment:



If you click on the photo above you can see all sorts of notes that I made on this photo pointing on my breadmaker, my old toaster... It was a tiny kitchen but had track lighting. Even back then I alway talked about having my own cooking show, it was so perfect for it. This was open concept so as I cooked I could talk to Reg while he was watching TV:



Our living space was very thin and not very long. We barely fit our stuff into this 800 square foot apartment but oh it was so nice to unpack!



We even had our first fireplace with mantle, super exciting. We felt so grown up!



Here is where my husband worked from home. For the first year he insisted on wearing "shorts to work" every day and he did, complete with Hawaiian T-shirts.

We also had two bathrooms and a small bedroom. Two bathrooms was like a dream! The condos are small in Vancouver but they are smart. If you are stuck in a small space together, you have to have two bathrooms if you want to stay sane.

There were a couple of issues though. Because the condo was brand new it had no electrical setup for computer or phone for three weeks. We had already gone a long time without communicating with our families and friends at all. All of a sudden we were in a community that did not speak English, there was a transit and garbage strike going at the same time so we stayed inside for weeks and weeks with just each other and old VHS tapes to watch.

I began to have this odd sensation where everything became surreal. I had no touchstone of our old life, no way of knowing what was real. I started to wonder if we really had had an accident on the highway and we were in some sort of odd reality. Were we really in Vancouver? Or was this a kind of purgatory? Nothing felt real. It was one of the most bizarre phases of my life. Thankfully the garbage and transit strike did not last forever and I could finally go outside and explore. And find my sanity!



We were coming up on Halloween and I noticed that there were so few people who celebrated. When I came across a place like this, I just had to take a photograph. This made me feel more at home but seriously, this was very, very rare.



What was more common were these offerings to dead Asian family members which I found absolutely fascinating! Even in Toronto I did not see this kind of ritual. I thought it was amazing but so totally new.

All through October we heard fireworks day and night in an attempts to scare away unwanted dead spirits. By Halloween that noise really started to annoy me, being a Halloween lover and all. It did not take long for me to realize I was not in Ottawa anymore.

Super Storm Moon Dreamboard

My dreamboard is a little early this month and very simple. I went through all my photos from mags and kept very few. All the images were outdated and no longer relevant. But this photo of a woman walking along the beach with a shawl around her shoulders reminded me of when I used to walk along the lagoon out west. The photo below is of my husband Reg when he was in New York City. The words, "Something beautiful is about to happen" gave me chills. That is what I have been waiting for. Everything here is so stagnant, stuck and, well, not very beautiful.

You know my dream. Help stir the cauldron of energy to help brew new and wonderful changes in ours lives and help us get back home out west. Thank you for your help and support.

My Electronic Scrapbook: Driving Through British Columbia

One thing you need to know about my story that I may not have shared until now is, I had never actually been to British Columbia before. What I knew of it was photos and stories from people who had made it to this fabled green province. My husband had been there once for a work trip and said the second he walked off the plane he smelled cedar trees. He fell in love immediately.

I did not know what to expect exactly at all. Rain, OK, rain, I knew there would be lots of rain and there was. But watching the clouds get caught in the mountains and live there indefinitely? No, I wasn't expecting that. I also wasn't used to all the signs along the highway with so many warnings stacked on top of each other I could not possibly read them all. The wild horned sheep at the side of the road, the baby bear trying to climb up the side of the cliff, the sudden drops along the highway that appeared to go on infinitely... It was overwhelming.


What was even more amazing was seeing where the trains go when they travel west, their journey must be unimaginably adventurous and special, areas only accessible by train track. But gone were the levelled roads of Alberta. We were in British Columbia now and the ups and downs were constant and my eyes could no longer look through a camera. I had to be a second set of eyes on the road to keep us safe and alive. We had no idea how long these climbs upwards and then sprees downward were going to last. It seemed endless. Just when you think you made it out, another mountain range would begin. My brain could still not process the vastness of what we were adventuring through.

It seemed infinite but, as unnerved by the roads as I was in our questionable Uhaul, I was in love. Never had I seen so much green. Even the water that was filled with glacial runoff was a bright green! I totally understood the farther we trekked into this impossible wilderness why people felt healing energy here.



We eventually had to make a decision. This drive had been pretty easy so far when it came to navigation. We had taken the Trans Canada Highway the entire way but at this point we had to decide whether or not to go into Golden or take a toll highway which would be easier terrain but we would miss the beautiful landscape. Being cheap and always preferring the scenic route, we went through Golden. Oh I had no idea what we were in for! At first it was fantastic. We were in Golden at golden hour and the mountain range was covered with sage brush that looked like it was going to burst into flames at any second.

Then, it dawned on us. It was going to be dark soon. We had no idea if there was a motel nearby. Reg drove along the winding scary roads as the sunlight started to disappear. Then, for the first time, I was scared. Big truck lights would suddenly blind us around an impossible turn in the dark. We did not know these roads. They were completely unpredictable and treacherous. Then, we found our refuge along the side of the highway.



The Quarter Circle J Motel in Spences Bridge saved us. My poor husband's nerves were a tad frazzled and in this country and western themed mirage we fell asleep for the night, exhausted but happy to be off the road.



Notice how the motel is right up against the mountain? We did not know it at the time we parked our Uhaul but we were sleeping at the bottom of a bowl of mountains.

After that stressful night, I was done sightseeing. I wanted to get to Vancouver right away. So we got up early and had an uneventful drive all the way to North Vancouver. We "dropped anchor" at Park Royal shopping mall. We were exhausted. We went into the mall to get some lunch and were shocked. This place was so rich! I mean, RICH. This was ten years ago and every kid was on their cell phone (unheard of at the time) and I freaked. We're not rich. What are we doing here? OMG, did we make a mistake???

We had more important things to do than me have a panic attack. We had to figure out what to do next. We did not have a forwarding address when we left. And, we were behind schedule. We were getting low on money and had no place to stay.

So what did we do? We camped under the Lions Gate Bridge. Yup, that's right. Sounds rough and tough but this place had a whirlpool and heated recreation room which was great but we needed a home. Now! We had been in contact with Vicki at Accommodation Solution Services before we left, wanting her help to find a place to live but with an unreliable cell phone in a camp ground, that just did not work.



We got a motel in North Vancouver at a spot where they used to film episodes of the X-Files. There was a Denny's and an Earl's Restaurant within walking distance.



Here is Reg filming the mountains of North Vancouver before we settle in to yet another motel. It was after October fourth and every apartment was full. We were going to need Vicki's help.

My Electronic Scrapbook: Leaving Ontario

I took this photo as we were driving towards the sunset in Ignace in Northern Ontario. We had stopped at a gas station there to fill up and I got out of the car to stretch my legs. A bunch of crows flew over my head and across the sky, noisily and so fast. Then, their voices stopped. I heard a deep living silence that was totally new to me. There were so few people and yet even the air was alive. I have rarely encountered a place so magnetically awake, everything radiated. I swear, even the stones hummed.

We stayed at a cheesy 70s motel complete with orange shag carpeting and it made me laugh. We ran across the Trans Canada Highway to a diner for dinner. I was in love with this area and did not want to leave. I had always dreamed of living in a place like this but it was not meant to be.



The next morning we packed up and left. You can see all the plants I took with me in this photo, our tape deck and my old camera case, with tripod in the back seat. Reg looks particularly eager to leave. I have a feeling he did not appreciate the retro motel as much as I did. Cheapest hotel of our entire trip though!

OK, now, I feel bad about the next leg of our journey. Because we were days and days behind schedule, very little pulled me to the side of the road to take photos. I wanted to get going! We did stop at a restaurant in Manitoba right after finally leaving Ontario (that province is ridiculously big!) but I got all creeped out as soon as we got in there. Totally weird vibe and when I saw there were public showers in their back room, I told my husband we were not stopping anywhere else in Manitoba. I trust my bad feelings and we just put the pedal to the metal and drove right through. .

We almost got all the way through Saskatchewan too on the same day. I took a lot of video in Saskatchewan, that place is gorgeous in the fall. It was funny that Manitoba was so freakin' flat and here we were going through Saskatchewan, which is famous for being flat, but the wheat was so tall and golden, moving with the wind, it looked like rolling deserts. We found an over-priced motel and and went to sleep, that was a very long day!



The next day we drove past Calgary which I regret. It looked absolutely gorgeous, all golden and autumnal but I really wanted to make up for lost time. Once we got past Calgary everything again got totally flat and there was this long line of bumps in the horizon, far, far away from me. Literally, as far as you could see left and right, were what looked like little mountains. My brain could not compute this mass at all. I kept telling my husband is must be something else, which he thought was very funny. I guess I thought there would be a few mountains to drive through, not a lineup of THOUSANDS.

It took what felt like forever to finally make it to these little bumps that quickly turned into wild rocky mountains. We were exhausted and had a feeling we would not be finding a hotel anytime soon as we stopped at Dead Man's Flats RV park. What a spooky name in a place surrounded by mountains! I insisted this was the place to stay for the night.



This place had lots of... character. It was also the first time we camped since we left Ottawa and Reg had issues with the tent at first but did get it set up. We slept under the stars close to the highway under those dark spooky mountains.



Reg insisted that the morning sunlight was the most gorgeous he had ever seen. Unfortunately, I woke up with a flare in my left knee and could not move. I could barely get out of the tent with his help but I did manage to capture the last of the light in this photo.



Then we were off and the next stop was one I had been waiting for my whole life: Banff, Alberta. The entire time I studied English and Creative Writing I kept hearing about the writers workshops in Banff and dreamed of going one day. Breakfast would have to do!



These are my first food photos ever! I wish I could remember the name of this family restaurant we went to for our pancake breakfast. Some tourist complained to our waiter that they did not use fresh blueberries with the pancakes. She was obviously not from around here. Fresh blueberries in late September in the middle of the moutains???



It was a stunning breakfast that I appreciated and we made sure to smile at our waiter and roll our eyes at the stupid tourist which he appreciated. I would have loved to have spent days in Banff and might have done so if I could walk but the pain was unbearable. I hobbled to the Uhaul with Reg's help, threw my leg on his lap and we were off once again!

We did attempt to drive to the stunning Lake Louise just for a peak from the Uhaul but our moving van couldn't do it. The path was so steep that it was going to blow up, I swear! I started to panic at the noises it was making. After losing breaks outside of North Bay... it wasn't worth it. Reg managed to turn around which was not easy and we got back on the highway.



In just a few minutes, we crossed the border and were in our new home British Columbia. The second we did so, it started to rain. And I laughed. I laughed and laughed. It was a sign. We were home.