Oct 31, 2019 - Halloween da I feel like I will be quitting everything next year - no more Womens' Institute, no more Hospice Board, maybe even no more bnb....maybe I will move to Ireland for a month in the summer - or in the fall. I need to shake things up. I am getting old and lazy and unmotivated and I don't think it is worth living like that. I am still healthy so I need to be exploring the world more. So....after a couple of months of feeling very heavy, dark, sad and depressed, I reached out to my doctor. He asked me lost of very good questions and put me on Wellbutrin.. I felt more energy after only a couple of days and I talked with Marcia Burton who said it seems that a lot of my troubles are indeed related to stress from Hospice and all the responsibilities I took on. Ah....I was thinking it was all in my head...I have taken on way too much.  First doing the office, then the chair (well co chair but I still did way more than Paul), then Genevieve left and I took...

I t's easy, living here, to almost forget that one lives in Canada. If one watches the news and weather reports at all, it's all wind and snow and ice all winter in the rest of Canada, while out here we are ooing and aahing over our little daffodils poking their heads up in February. In fact, it has been unseasonably warm during January and the first part of February. Well, guess what? We ARE part of Canada! We got a giant dump of snow, over several days, so much so that it came up to my thighs! And I am not short, people. No indeed. The dog seemed to think it was fun. She was hopping and jumping all through the yard and smiling to beat the band. The cat was not impressed and seemed to think it was my fault. He absolutely refuses to go outside at all. Cats are so opinionated. My friend's little dog, Maude, stayed with us for a few days of the snow and it was impossible for her to even get off the deck. Imagine a 6" tall dog and 24" of snow Yes. It could be ...

MARCH 2014 Spring is springing up in my yard - there are those little daffodils and violets and weeds and the garlic is up and we will soon have to cut the lawn again. The eagles are up every morning, calling to one another. Salt Spring Island is an amazing place. I went to something called the Gumboot Gala the other night for $20 and saw Bill Henderson (formerly of Chilliwack and the Collectors), Valdy, Derrick Milton (trumpet extraordinaire), and other amazing musicians and poets on the stage. It's a fundraiser for the local Folk Club, who brings in acts all winter long - also for the inexpensive ticket. Plus an amazing local dinner of organic foods for $20. It's an island event for sure. We all sang - Where have all the flowers gone? Bill Henderson wrote "island" words for This Land is Your Land. Shiloh told stories about the "old days" of the 70s and I learned a little bit about old local characters. The original recyclers were a couple of hippi...

So my idea sounded kind of delicious - spend a year diving more deeply into things you already do and already love. So far what has happened? I have already taken on a new challenge by joining the Hospice board. Yes, I was already a Hospice volunteer so technically perhaps this IS diving more deeply. We shall see. Being a board member is more about organizing and overseeing and making things happen, while a care-giving volunteer works directly with clients. So yes they are both needed and valuable but in different ways. I do have some admin skills I will bring to bear on this new(ish) endeavour.  And then there is the Women's Institute or WI. I am the VP in that group but will be needing to do more since there are some people suffering with severe illnesses, their own or a family member. We are all aging, after all. Incredibly, vitally alive and youthful, naturally, but aging nonetheless. Sigh. I do love that group of women, though, and I do love making those darn pies so I ...

This is my Depth Year. On Friday, Jan. 4, my friend Linda Wardroper died. She used medically assisted suicide and was apparently very comfortable and surrounded by family and close friends. I stopped by today to see her and Shannon told me the news. She also gave me a coat and a purse of Linda's because Linda wanted friends to get her things. Shannon appears to be doing quite well - organizing, sorting, taking care of business as it were. Practical woman. She said it is her way to keep moving while she processes. It made sense to me. So far this year I have had some good luck with getting a deal on a new iphone and a free ipad, and I am signed up for the Intensive Dietary Program to lose my extra weight and increase my health. But I have lost one friend and my friend, Sharon Hawke, is not doing so well. She is in a lot of pain and it feels like she may die also. I cannot imagine how Gene will cope if she does die. Will he have to move into some sort of care situation? I woul...

I heard a CBC Tapestry podcast the other day that got me thinking. The interviewee, a David Cain, was talking about going deeper, not longer, meaning rather than always picking up something new, how about using what is already in one's life and see what happens? I have my piano, cello, bodhran, accordion, tin whistles, paints, yoga, clays, kitchen, dog, yard, the groups I belong to - so much already. And yet somehow I am still called by novelty - new things, new people, new hobbies, new skills. I immediately liked the idea of going deeper. Imagine what I could learn if I kept doing what I am already doing? I might get better on my musical instruments. I would learn more about working with clay and maybe even find my own style and practice. I could get stronger in yoga and ease my body. My yard could get even more beautiful and perhaps more productive. Just think of how good my food will get spending more time in the kitchen. So I am going to try this. Nothing totally new this...