Post-Vacation Blahs

morning sun at Cap-des-Rosiers
(across the road from our motel)

It seems my trip to the East coast has left me in a tender space. After a week that brought soul-filling moments of peace and contentment I've slipped into a space of envy and dissatisfaction. It happened after last year's vacation too.

Maybe it's Mother Nature's doing, she brings me back to my core and sometimes she invites me to stay a while and entertain Life's Big Questions. Or maybe it's just my disgruntled reaction to a return to work and schedules vs. the freedom of a summer road trip.

Whatever it is, my intuition is telling me to scale back to my list of proven Basics and that means a little less time at the computer and a little more time taking care of myself and my home.

My intuition's pretty smart that way, I think I'll listen to it and see what comes.

See you soon.
xo

Belle Gaspésie

view from lookout on the way up to Mont Saint-Alban's
observation tower - Forillon National Park, QC

I'm back from my trip to the East coast and easing into post-vacation activities like work, chores and even writing here. I still marvel at the scenery taken in during our five days in Quebec's beautiful Gaspésie.

I'll be back with a trip report and a few favourite photos soon. In the meantime I thought I'd share the one above, taken on a climb up Mont Saint-Alban in Canada's Forillon National Park. It still takes my breath away.

Belle Gaspésie, I am smitten.

A Catch-up Post

[Warning: It’s long.]

~ D. and I were asked if we’d consider moving out of the house we’re renting two months earlier than planned, for June 1^st. We will, and after agonizing over the “Do we buy or do we rent again?” question for weeks we decided on renting. So now we search. Knowing that I’ll be moving in less than four months but not knowing where has me discombobulated. Home is an important piece of my foundation and when it’s threatened I get agitated. I would be a sucky nomad.

~ My sweetie gave me a copy of Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book, Committed, A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, for Valentine’s Day. He’s a keeper, non? It does beg the question though if he thinks I'm a skeptic when it comes to marriage; maybe last year’s post-proposal cold sweats in the middle of the night gave it away. Yet here I am trusting, risking and loving, seeing where this nuptial ride will take me – where it will take us. I can't wait to delve into the book.

~ My return to work after two months off isn’t going as well as I hoped it would. After five weeks back I am snippy, intolerant, impatient, and feel just about how I felt before I left last October to rest. Surely there’s a lesson to learn here. In the meantime I don’t know how to deal with it; it’s leaving me exhausted and drained.

~ Last week I enjoyed dinner with a dear friend of mine. Afterward we popped over to a favourite new age bookstore I used to frequent, but hadn’t in a long time (you know the kind: tarot cards, incense, etc.), Maybe it was the incense, maybe it was the crystal bowls chakra chants or maybe it was seeing calendars by fellow Squammette Liz (so cool!), but for the first time in months I felt a few moments of inner peace. It was bliss.

~ D. and I enjoyed an amazing weekend at a luxury château in the woods. Posh yet not pretentious it was balm for the soul. Sipping chocolate-sprinkled hot chocolate beside a three-storey six-sided fireplace is definitely the way to go. Before reaching our woodland destination we caught an exhibit by J.W. Waterhouse at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The highlights: watching D. – who is much more familiar with Waterhouse’s work than I am – scurry from one painting to another saying “Come see this one! And this one!”, and seeing the original version of the Waterhouse reproduction on display in our guest room.

~ On this morning's commute to the office someone behind me honked, gesturing for me to hurry up. Without even blinking I look straight at him in my rear view mirror, broke into a wide grin and waved vigorously. It cracked me up. The guy behind me not so much. [grin]

~ The registration for Squam Art Workshops opened last week. After attending two years in a row I’m not sure if I’m going this year, but I highly recommend it! I have a soft spot for the fall session m’self. Not only is the focus on visual arts appealing, but New Hampshire in September is divine.

~ January 25th quietly marked my four year blogging anniversary. I started an Urban Living Experiment when I moved to a sweet apartment in a 1920s walk-up after separating from my then husband; when I started the blog I had no clue where it would lead me. Truth is, today I feel I'm at a blogging standstill and that my writing's gone stale. I have plenty of ideas including a fun (OK, what I think would be a fun) snail mail social networking experiment and I’ve had draft posts in the wings since September. I bought a URL and have a partially revamped blog waiting to come out. There’s just no juice to make it happen. I’m not ready to give up though so I carry on, one post at a time.

Catch-up complete. Till the next post…

Signing off...

lanterns at Havenwood cabin - Squam 2008

... for a week of play in the woods of New Hampshire (that's two weeks playing in the woods in less than a month - lucky me!).

See you on the flip side!

Ready for a Vacation

What a week this has been! Full, full, full of goodness. I...

• ran three times
• painted Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
• worked almost six hours on my Outside the Job Box course
• went to my last sunrise yoga class
• worked a busy week at the office
• wrote a few blog posts
• picked up most of my supplies for Squam Art Workshops in September
• picked up an escape novel and two new Teach Yourself books for my upcoming week off (Film Studies and Sudoku)
  
• picked up frames and ordered custom-cut mats for my paintings in preparation for a potential exhibit at my hair salon in September
• returned two out of the four frames 'cause they didn't work with the paintings and picked up a 16x20 pane of glass 'cause I cracked the glass on one of the brand new frames I'd just picked up
• perfectly timed several loads of pre-vacation laundry so we had enough space to hang everything to dry in rotation after the dryer crapped out on Tuesday
• planned, prepped & packed almost everything for our week at the cottage

I haven't been on a cottage vacation since childhood; I look forward to it! I feel like I'm bringing a lot of stuff to do though, you know, just in case. Does anyone else do that?

After all, if I bring too many options from home, when do I get the chance to just be, or play cards, or sit by the fire, or go canoeing, or hiking, or swimming, or lounge in the sun and do sweet nothing?

Hm. Maybe I need to rethink my strategy.

Either way I'll be living by a lake for a week in a cottage with D. surrounded by trees, loons and stars. Sweet vacation, I am ready. As for you my dear friends, I'll catch you on the flip side.