Familiarization

I have lived in Victoria for almost five months. And it seems as if the move occurred just yesterday. I must admit I remember little of the ordeal; one day after another required some detail, some mundane task related to moving, that absolutely took priority over any time to myself.

Service shed across the road

The last tie to the Cariboo was broken, when we sold our home there within a couple of days of listing it. Again, I felt conflicting emotions...even as the climate attacked my body, I loved it there. I am so grateful for the opportunity I took years ago to live in that wild land of contrasts, where I learned so much. But...it is done.

And so. Now I go on.

Water everywhere...this feeds our little Stream

It is as if I have moved to a different dimension. As I write, the garden is filled with the greenery of rising Bulbs...oh! so many! It is a delight, one filled with surprises, since I am not familiar with this Garden. I greet each sprig of green with celebratory happiness...up North, Mother Earth will still be sleeping for a few months yet...and, on the Saanich peninsula, Spring is making her slow way there, by touching the land here with a fine brush first, as the consummate Artist she is.

There are Puddles everywhere on this morning's walk

Once again, I have Moss, a great companion for me from the Plant Kingdom, growing everywhere, in a glowing green that touches my heart and cracks it a bit, leaving lovely streaming green tendrils... 

It is one of the earliest of Plants to show new growth in the Spring and I have always considered Moss to be a true herald. I look out over the little garden shed roof, which is covered in Moss, from the porch and marvel at the tiny Worlds that inhabit each soft pillow of growth.

Cross fencing and Blackberries

All Winter long, Lucky and I go for our morning walks, only missing a few colder days. We do not beat any time clock, the two of us, since Lucky will insist on sniffing every Leaf, Log or 'suspicious Thing', in our path. But I don't mind. I take note of the changes each day, becoming a part of this place, knowing it.

Greening Fields and red Barns and White Fences

We greet the Horses from the training school. One, whose colouring is very similar to Lucky's, thereby establishing some sort of bond, gives a soft nicker each day when she sees us and wanders close to the electric fence. She places her nose as close as she can to the fence, her nostrils widening as she takes in our scent. She knows us now, too.

Many of the Bird species we had visiting our Bird feeder North of us have been here all Winter. Listening to the Bird song in the late afternoon takes me away to the late May days of recent years, when just this sound had my heart soaring. It still soars...it is just, joyfully, earlier in the year.

Horses next door waiting for breakfast

Speaking of soaring, Eagle has made his presence felt in many ways. I smile as I write this. 

At first, I was so entranced. Eagle would fly over at around the same time each morning and settle himself at the tip of one of the giant Firs growing right next to our home. I would watch him watching us and the surrounding World, until duties called when I'd leave him to it.

More Blackberries...closer to Home now

But then, I discovered the gifts he left behind. On the cobbled stones, the cars and even splashed against the gate were the amazing results of an Eagle's digestive system. They were all quite awesome renditions of abstract art...

I also discovered once all those splashes, a few indicating fur and tiny bones, dried...they hardened. It required some scrubbing to remove them from the gate and stones. And I imagine I can look forward to more of this exercise...just this morning I found a new 'painting'!

For those who are interested, I found a website wherein the author explains about Eagle's habits in this regard. You can find it here. I had no idea Eagles "shoot their poop", for one thing...No wonder the gate managed to be targeted!

The Camellia Bush, outside the fence, was filled with Blossoms. I had not seen so many on any Bush in years and each day, I would marvel anew...until the morning arrived when suddenly, there were hardly any. 

Deer and I have begun our association in a bad way...

It's all about who you know, I've been told. In my case, I know their larger cousins, the Mule Deer from the Cariboo very, very well...and I am not above calling for reinforcements. I warn off these tiny Island Deer, in my imagination, at any rate! 

The message will be received...and I will look forward to Camellia Blossoms next year. Ever the optimist!

Lucky begins to drag his feet...Home is just around the corner

By the little Stream, Frogs are beginning to croak and sing. I hope Water in the Stream-bed will continue to flow long enough for any  Eggs to hatch. What a treat that will be for the grandkids!

In this dimension, we visited the family in Port Alberni for lunch last week. Next week, we'll go to the twin's birthday party.

In this paradigm, Milk is delivered once a week...in glass bottles. And there are farm stands up and down the road, selling everything and anything...even bags of aged Horse manure for the garden!

When we moved North, many of the conveniences which were a matter of course were no longer available. We grew accustomed to it...and so now, I am amazed at the quality and amount of service available here, in an urban setting.

Here, there are old friends to connect with, visits to arrange. Life is busy, in a different way...a more social way, perhaps, than in previous years. 

Mossy Maples across the street from Home

Over the past five months, pain from Fibromyalgia and Arthritis has greatly diminished. The extremes of pain, the knuckle-under kind, have disappeared, and in its place, a rather benign kind of pain has surfaced. Sounds strange, I know, but whatever it is, I am intensely grateful for it!

And this is how it is. Day by day, I know more and more about this latest transition in my life and understand more and more why it has occurred.

It's time, now, to rejoin the living. Time to play, time to find out who I am and what I want to manifest further in my life. I'm careful with my thoughts now; thoughts are creation and very quickly, too! 

Life is good.       

 

Slow Down and Enjoy...

The Stone fence is well fortified

How strange it is to live in an area where there is so much traffic. It is difficult to explain the road configurations where I live...there are four stop signs on the corner where our home is situated. If a driver is not paying attention, he might miss one of those stop signs...and then, if cars are coming from one of the other roads that intersects, two of which have no stop signs...there is more honking and vile language issuing forth than I have heard in a long time.

This fence is built behind the first Rock Garden, divided by a gravel walkway

Rain, a weather anomaly which residents here should certainly be accustomed to, makes the road, covered in Leaves and Needles from the Trees everywhere, slippery. One large white truck came barrelling down the main road and tried to make the rather sharp turn to one of the feeder routes, and ended up slamming against the Rock Garden outside of our Rock-fortified fence.

There are some mighty large Boulders making up that Rock Garden. And it was a mighty large crunch I heard when the truck hit the Rocks.

So it was with some trepidation that I wandered through the gate to have a look at what had just occurred. As I did, I saw the white truck back up from the Boulders, with quite a large, new dent in the side door, and take off very quickly, down the road. I imagine he was hoping no one had seen him, since he did not want to pay for any other damage than what he had inflicted upon his truck!

I went to see what the damage was to our Rock Garden. Three large Boulders had been displaced, but not badly. The main damage appeared to be on the truck, which came out the worse by far!

What amazes me the most about the intersection is that it has been as it is for years. There is nothing new, which might confuse drivers. The problem, as far as I can see, is that people drive far too fast on these small country roads. There are signs everywhere to slow down, take a wide turn around Horses and their riders, watch for Deer, children crossing...one would have to be blind not to see all those warning signs.

Golden Maple Leaves shine in the misty light of Dawn

There is even a sign that tells drivers to slow down and enjoy the many varied farms in the district. Slow down and enjoy...

I drive by that sign about once a week, as I drive to a pet store that has the treats Lucky can't seem to live without. And the part about slowing down and enjoying the sights, scenery and just life...well, that part has hit home with me. 

The slow down part, at least.

For the last few months, I have been going at top speed. I have ignored pain and all the rest of the goodies Fibro and Arthritis can give; sleep became elusive, and tiredness was just a part of every day.

I find I am out of energy now. I can't find any more. Most of the time, last week, I found myself sitting down often, staring into space.  

I don't have the time to do this! 

Apples from a grafted Tree in our backyard...three varieties!

There are still boxes to open, the family room still needs to be put together, doctors and dentists to find...and oh! things do have to be organized! This, on top of doing other activities I've promised myself...including writing more often, interaction on the web, visiting scores of places here in Victoria where I have not been for years, signing up for art courses, finding new plant nurseries to wander in...the list goes on and on.

Yet, I can find no inclination to do any of them.

I want someone to take my hand, open a box for me, unwrap the first innocuous item, and then tell me it goes on the third shelf in the left cupboard in the hall. My decision making is at an all-time low. 

I do recognize this feeling, though. In one way or another, I've gone through them before...after divorce, after Katrina's death, and after moving to a completely different part of the province. All very stressful times, some worse than others, of course, where one must get through the Storm using every last bit of energy one can find. 

There is a small creek somewhere under the Leaves!

And then, the clean-up begins...

But before the clean-up, before the rebuilding of self or home, there is a time where the heart and mind catch up with each other. Heart tells Mind to settle down, open up and receive the love pouring in from every corner, smile, laugh and dance.

Mind tells Heart there are things to be done. Laughing and dancing in joyful abandonment are not appropriate at this time...damn it, finish what has been begun... 

Most of the time, since all this began with our move, Mind calls the shots. Keeping my Mind on the work to be done was all I did for the last few months. Very little time was spent in feeling Heartful.

I was mostly Mindful. 

Heart, very recently, has begun to demand equal time. Time to miss our old home and friends left behind in the Cariboo, time to miss the first Snow and Cold there ( yes, even this!), time to mourn a little. Time to feel gleeful, as well, to have found a place to land that is uncanny in its familiarity. Time for spiritual practices, time to talk to the Trees and Shrubs that grow here with such abandonment, time to go visit the Beach.

The Horse Farm, seen through the back fence, on an early showery Morning

Heart, left to its own devices, would say Begone! to all the niggling, mundane things left to do, whereas Mind would say those other fanciful things will be there when the practical work is done.

Last week, I was balancing the two, along with resting my Body, which aches a little more than it did when I first arrived.

I have no schedule, really. I can do as I like. When the family room becomes too much of an irritant, I will do it...I will feel like it then. And I have decided that every day I will do something to feed my Heart's requirements. Remembering Balance is what I needed.

And today, outside with Lucky, I heard two cyclists riding by.   (There are many cyclists here. I see groups of them riding every day. The winding, narrow Tree-lined roads are perfect for them.) 

Super place for small children to play on their bikes!

One said to the leader...I have no energy at all...

And the other said...Yeah. I'm not doing the whole route today...

I'd guess that's me. I don't think I'm going to do the whole route today.

I'm going to try the first part of the title to this post...the slowing down part today.

And tomorrow...I'll begin to enjoy.              

A New Home

Our New Home

Sometimes, when Lucky and I go for our Morning walk or when Graham and I go for a leisurely drive...I want to pinch myself. I must surely be dreaming a lovely, lucid dream...

The decision made, the employment accepted...those two things spun my life around for a few months. I'm so glad, now, I had that time, yet the period before we moved seemed never-ending.

Somewhere amongst all the decluttering, the garage sales, finishing bathroom renovations,  placing our home on the market, finding renters when it did not sell in our two week allotted time period for a sale...somewhere during that time we took a trip to the City of Victoria to find a home to rent.

One of the stained glass windows and wood ceiling

Oh, my! What we had considered reasonable rent turned out to give us very old, non-updated, rather unsafe homes. In one place, we were advised not to turn on one appliance with another...

We had given ourselves two days to find a home. Graham was still very busy wrapping up work at his previous employment, so our time was at a minimum. No longer hopeful our home in the Cariboo would sell before Winter, we decided to find a larger home than we at first anticipated, since we would not be buying a home elsewhere for awhile. 

At the end of the first full day of looking, trying to find addresses in a very busy City ( I don't recall Victoria being so large, and busy and vibrant, when last I often visited fifteen years ago! It has grown enormously...) we were both discouraged, tired and hungry...not a great combination.

A lovely cozy nook, where I'll while away rainy afternoons

At that point, my lowest, I think, I didn't care if I ever left the Cariboo. My home there had been updated to the nth degree; why was I trying to go backwards? Ah, me...

We considered paying higher rent. And we considered looking at another rental list...one we had not tried. The consideration about paying more rent did not bother me a great deal, but it was certainly bothersome for Graham.

Had we not had that day of looking at lower priced rentals, he would not have so easily accepted paying more. As tiring as that day was, it had its purpose.

Graham looked at another list, with a higher rent in mind, and almost instantly found our present home.

I looked at the photos on display and knew, deep inside, it was ours, even before the call was made to view the home...

Partial view of the front of The Church House

It felt like home, you see, the photos showed a home so familiar to me I could have been going home to dinner rather than a first viewing. I had enjoyed many dreams previous to this home-finding trip; most of them involved a home much like this one. I'd dreamt of an old red gate with much Shrubbery surrounding it...I had been looking for that old gate for most of the day...

That first viewing left me in awe. The home is a renovated church...I believe it was built in 1916 and moved to its present location in the '70's. It was bought by its present owner around 1996. With pavement right up to its doors, our landlord had to break up all of it before he could begin building his vision.

And what a magical vision it was! So many different Woods make up the exterior and interior I spent many hours, after moving in, trying to identify each section. There are two lovely stained glass windows, one depicting a Sunrise, the other a Sunset. The entry and our loft bedroom are graced with dancing light each Morning when Sun is present.

The Teak Door...

We left the first viewing with Graham saying he wanted to sleep on it and me knowing full well I wouldn't sleep until the papers were signed...

But Graham loved the home just as much as I did and the next morning, papers were signed and the home was ours. When we arrived, we parked our car on the other side of the home...and there, right outside the car window was the 'red gate' that had appeared in my dreams.

It was hanging off its hinges when I first saw it, as it was in my dreams. It has been fixed since and is no longer a gate, but part of the fence, now that we've moved in. It is a red Cedar gate, very like the faded red gate surrounded by Shrubbery which I visited fairly often in dreamtime. 

The second visit cemented the idea of living here even more strongly. I wandered through on my own, loving the feel of this place, where people prayed and celebrated, where children learned ( for a time, the home was a Montessori school) and where music was a prevailing hobby.

...leads to the backyard deck...

Music is ingrained into all the Woodwork which is so prevalent in this home. The piano that was used remains here still, and once in awhile, I'll play Chopsticks. Sometimes, in the deep silence of Night, I imagine I hear children with their voices raised in song...

We went back to the Cariboo tired but satisfied with the home we had rented and ready to face the last hurdles before our move on September 25th.

Again, once our possessions arrived...the ones we decided not to sell at all our sales...I was so busy trying to find where I wanted to place everything I don't think I was aware of anything much the first few days.

I had made a decision, when our move from the Cariboo became real, not to use the computer other than email. It helped enormously...my focus went entirely to our move.

...and one of the back gates.

Although I was not distracted by the computer, I missed my cyber friends more than I can say. I so appreciated the emails I received giving me encouragement and will remember to return the favour if ever anybody else goes through a time like this.

We've even already had overnight visitors! How wonderful it is to live close to family and friends and how lovely it is to know that in a couple of hours I can be in Port Alberni, where my family lives. As a matter of fact, I will be travelling up Island on the weekend, just to look after Graydon, my grandson. Oh, joy!

It is Raining today...buckets of Rain, the kind of Rain which, when I lived on the Island, would have made me cancel appointments. I loved Rain then but not with the appreciation I feel now. After living in a semi-desert environment for five years, I am relishing each huge drop of Water that falls. I can feel its nourishment against my dry skin  and I know each and every Plant on this Peninsula is loving it after the long, warm dry spell we've enjoyed since moving here.

Depiction of Sunrise using Wood...so beautiful to look at in the early morning!

Lucky is one, however, who does not remember how he once loved Rain as he raced through the wet, muddy Puddles five years ago. And he certainly has no appreciation for this funny wet stuff. He is accustomed to Rain in the form of Snow...

I will, strangely enough,  truly miss the extremes of weather in the Cariboo. There is something large and grand in Nature's furious Storms there, where she will leave a silent, sparkling carpet of white, her fury spent; but assigning deep Cold throughout...

Three huge Trees guard our entryway

It was an unforgettable experience, and one I shall cherish. But it is time now, in my daughter's words, to experience the Urban, rather than the Country.

And if this is all a lucid dream? It seems to be a vibrant and welcome one, and if it is lucid, I guess I can choose to live it.

After all, I do believe it is one of the best dreams I've, so far in this life, experienced...