the first cold gust that came over the mountain sucked the breathe right out of me and carried it away to the East.
I am no longer waiting for exciting new jobs.
I am settling down for a long winter - contenting myself with what is.

It sounds grey, like the snow-less days of now
but there are sunny moments.
Like taking a 3 year-old for her very first try at skating
Or making mini banana chocolate chip muffins with 2 toddlers and 2 preschoolers
Or drinking hot chocolate in front of a fire with friends on a cold night
Or sitting in a rocker and watching the first few flakes of snow pass by

preparing for fall

Autumn is approaching.
I eagerly await warm scarves
thick hearty squash soups
anne of green gables
crunchy leaves.

as the season draws to a close
i begin to suspect
that it is time to bring to a close
my job at the hospital of insufferable tension
and so
i am applying for a new job
which i think is beyond my qualifications
but for which i am rather exited.

as autumn approaches
i shall be holding my breath.

sixteen* of the summer's memorable moments

1. sitting on the grass watching the red wall of fire next door, waiting for the GO! for evacuation which never came and waking up a few hours later to have to call EMS and ALS (and subsequently realizing that Fid was right about me having inherent leadership skills)
2. the dorm duty nazi who busted down our door to tell us someone had puked
3. finding a new lake and laying on the dock all afternoon reading harry potter
4. a bleeding eyeball
5. diagnosing a friend better than a physician - and making her night by having a male nurse chat me up in front of her while waiting for the ER physician
6. having a girl who met me once 5 years ago remember my name
7. picking cherries from a tree house
8. having someone think the appearance of me in the extra noisy putt-putt wagon at 3am was a burgular
9. mabel lake nudity
10. driving 6hrs for sushi
11. being visited by an ice cream truck at a random, little-known forestry camp site
12. scaling wet mossy rock faces, dangling over rushing pools of water
13. jumping out of a garbage can at the end of the rainbow as a leprechaun
14. furtively hiding on a hill then running down it as a leprechaun, followed by a unicorn
15. having an unknown child follow me around the video store - perhaps a new career as the local Pied Piper?!
16. sneaking into someone's yard with someone else's dog and having a picnic

*numbers are for counting purposes, not for noting significance of events. This list is a partial list only; items on list must not be assumed to be the absolute record of summer events transpiring this calendar year.

full cool!

i had the good fortune to be invited to the Okanagan for the weekend. It was a little disappointing at first as it rained the first day. But the next morning the sun came out and it was fun fun fun! I learned a new game (i think its called rivel) and made some new friends. I think the best part was having a secret jam session in a tent one night with an old friend and a new friend! A close second would be the personal song request from an old friend as a goodbye present.

back in small town, the weather is a little drab. but the bugs are out in full force at the nature centre. Emma and i caught a baby damsel fly in the pond yesterday during our "mallard morning" class. she was so excited about it. it was the best!

from the mouth of a child

i've been spending a fair amount of time recently with a precocious 3 year-old named Emma. She is quite a force. Only most people dont know it because unless she's with me or her mom and dad, she's super super shy and quiet and wont play with others. But when i'm with her she drags me EVERYWHERE. and jumps on me til i fall over.
and she says the darndest things...

• but i like tummyaches. i want a tummyache. please can i have a tummyache?
• stop! i have a wedgie
• these pants give me a lot of wedgies!
• (said to her mom and myself as we were laughing in the car) you two, settle down!
• mommy you look frustrated
• when you die you go to heaven and get a new body with no more owies

resurfacing

things were rather dreary in this small town. bits of winter were lingering on. not the nice bits like freshly fallen snow. the ugly bits like mud and mud and ugly bare trees.

i laid low for awhile, hoping to catch Spring unawares but it was too sneaky for me. so i packed up the putt-putt wagon and headed to the Great Big City on the coast.
and there,
there i found spring.
i strolled along sidewalks with cherry blossom snow caressing my cheeks.

i hopped aboard a plane with Anastasia and went south to California for more sun. And lots of speed and bumps and rock 'n roll.
i learned about rollercoaster hangovers.
i learned that i'm seriously into adrenaline.
i learned that pinocchio and snow white are frightening.
i learned that i weigh 1600 tortillas.

The Great Big City on the coast was nice but i missed my little home in Small Town.
i packed up the putt-putt wagon and drove back home. and i found that i didn't need to leave to find Spring. Spring came to me. It was waiting for me at home! Ah, Spring.