Well, that was the first and last time I was out on the water on my kayak for that season, due to the throbbing, pulsing pain in my right leg that happened if I remained in a seated position for too long. This pain had started the previous winter, making any road trip of more than 30 minutes duration very painful and making kayaking damn near impossible. A specialist figured it could be degenerative disc disease (Mom had this) and suggested an MRI. Then the pain slowly faded as inexplicably as it came on, although my right leg behaves a bit differently than my left leg, still. (The MRI is on hold, should the pain come back.)
Anywho… I signed up for a 2 hour self-rescue clinic this spring with the incredible Caroline Ross of Crosscurrents Kayak – with hopes of being able to get out on the water more soon and feeling the need for a rescue refresher first. Caroline’s tagline from her website is Up your skills. Up your confidence. Up your fun, and I’m thrilled to say she delivered on all three “ups”, for me!
I had 1 overarching goal for this session – to learn to use the stirrup I had purchased to get me back into my boat. I was thinking this would be easier than the heel hook re-entry, and result in less wear-and-tear (aka pretty terrific bruising) on my thighs. *Spoiler alert * – I did complete this goal and realized that I actually prefer the heel hook re-entry, and yes…I do have some pretty terrific bruising, once again. Hmmm, maybe I should learn how to roll???? 🤔
We were also instructed to try the scramble method of getting back into the kayak – this did not work for me, but I was more than happy to be able to use either the heel hook or stirrup to get myself back into my boat, with my trusty paddle float acting as an outrigger. I’m sorry I don’t have any photos or video of this to show you but there are plenty of videos on YouTube if you want to know what these self-rescues look like. And there are some photos on the post that I have linked, above.
The last exercise of the day was a balance challenge. We went out into deep water and were challenged to get out of the cockpit and onto our back decks and back into our seats again, without flipping our boats. And, if we did flip…Congratulations! You get to do another self-rescue! I did not think I would be successful but it’s amazing what you can do when you really don’t feel like doing yet another self-rescue 🤣.
Caroline was snapping pics and graciously shared them with me.
One leg out already and helping my wonky right leg out of the cockpit. Those “in the know” will notice that I did buy a crazy expensive drysuit like I mentioned in the linked post, above. (Hehehe, I also bought everything else on that shopping list.) Also – Note to Self – be sure the drysuit zippers are fully (and I mean absolutely fully) zipped closed before getting in the boat…AHEM! 😉Out of my seat and inching back onto the back deck of my kayak. Such concentration!Heading back towards the cockpit. Painfully and slowly (oh, my poor bruising thighs!), and with 100% focus. Back in my seat, and laughing and hooting with joy. OMG, I did it! I really did it!!!
The rush that comes with pushing yourself beyond what you think is physically possible is something that I haven’t felt in a long while and something I want to feel more of. I’ve missed this!
Many, many thanks to Caroline Ross for providing me with such excellent instruction and coaching, and for the opportunity to see what this old body is still capable of.
End of May 2025 – Hard to believe, I have been in my new home province for 5 years already! What better way to celebrate than with a long-dreamed-of trip to explore the north of the island. When Donna (Retirement Reflections) emailed me their itinerary for doing just that and asked me if I wanted to join her and Richard, there could only be one answer: Hell, yes!
No matter that the weather was projected to be cold and rainy. No matter that there was a huge power outage planned by BC Hydro for the entire north island on Sunday, from 8am to 7pm. No matter that I hadn’t perfected my car camping set up yet, nor had I ever taken my electric vehicle that far before. No matter that we would be without wifi or even cell coverage for a major portion of our stay. No matter!
Donna and Richard had arrived at Link River Municipal Campground near Port Alice the day before. When I arrived there was a delicious chili dinner waiting for me, at their camp kitchen. After a very comfortable and cozy night sleeping in the back of my car I helped Donna and Richard pack up their camp and we went to the Port Hardy RV Resort, to drop off my car for the next leg of the journey. On to Holberg in their vehicle, to stay the night in bunkies (the Scarlet Ibis’s Adventure Huts) at this island-famous pub. Very comfortable cabins, with a fridge, heat, and access to power. Until there was none, on Sunday morning! But first, off to Cape Scott Provincial Park and San Josef Bay!En route to Cape Scott and stopping at this famous landmark. Prepare for the unexpected? Hmmm…foreshadowing much?At first, the path to the ocean seemed flat and easy.There were some obstacles along the way, but nothing like what we unexpectedly had to deal with. Unfortunately no one thought to take pictures of the huge log that completely blocked part of the path – we were solely focused on how to get around/over it – but here is a similar sized log in Port Hardy, for comparison. Also unfortunately, where the log landed on the trail was where it dropped off completely on the one side and where there there was a steep incline on the other side. Also unfortunately, this log and the surrounding forest was covered in boot-sucking slippery mud, bark, slimy moss, roots, and branches – not clean and dry like the one I am posing with. However, we managed to get around the log – taking the low route on the way out and the high route on the way back. We had mud everywhere on our bodies as a result. I had packed 2 raincoats for this trip, thinking at the time that that was most certainly overkill. Be Prepared for the Unexpected, indeed! Ultimately I was very happy that I had the extra raincoat with me, so I could stuff the dirty one away in a garbage bag until I could wash it at home!!!But getting to San Josef Bay and seeing the famous sea stacks was absolutely worth it. Note: if you go, be mindful of the tides. It is best to go at low tide, or the sea stacks will be unreachable unless you want to swim!Here is Donna, next to a sea stack, for size reference.There were also some sea caves, that we took refuge from the rain and wind in, while stopping for a snack. Leaving our very temporary mark on San Josef Bay. Then back onto to the trail, back to navigating the log obstruction, and finally back to the adventure huts to spend the night. The power was cut right at 8am as promised, and we headed into Port Hardy where our final North Island night was booked at the Port Hardy RV Resort. During the outage, we went into town where the local Pride Society was putting on a “Power Outage Pancake Breakfast – 10am until we run out” outside, at the Thunderbird Mall. This bird decided my Hullavator made a nice perch while we were eating our delicious pancake breakfast in the parking lot. Thankfully, it didn’t poop. Also thankfully, the local Co-Op was operating on generator power so there was hot coffee/tea available!The next morning: cleaned up and back at Port Hardy RV Resort in front of one of our luxurious cabins. Happy to have the power back on too! (It came back on at 7:20pm.)Monday morning: Charging up for the drive home, in Port Hardy. Naturally, the rain finally stopped and the sun came out just in time for leaving this beautiful place!Beautiful shoreline walking in Port Hardy, while waiting for my car to fuel up. I also visited Cafe Guido while waiting – a great spot to grab a coffee/snack/sandwich, and peruse the attached book shop and craft/art gallery.
I learned quite a few things on this trip! I learned that I can sleep warmly and comfortably in my car. I also learned how to find and use fast-charging stations along the route. I liked that these stops allowed me to take breaks from driving to stretch my legs and enjoy the local scenery, a meal, and shopping at local businesses. On this trip I didn’t have to wait to access a fast charger either. I am sure that won’t always be the case, but this time was quite successful in that regard.
Despite the weather, the power outage, and all the other little imperfections on this trip, I had a wonderful time and I think Donna and Richard did too. I already knew that Donna, Richard and I had been very compatible travellers in the past, and it’s gratifying to know that we still are. We already have another trip planned, for the summer.
I am calling this trip a glowing success and a lovely celebration of this anniversary of mine. I’m pretty sure Donna will be writing about this trip too, on her blog. Be sure to check it out!
Dear Reader, if you feel that is has taken an inordinate amount of time to to get all of my thoughts down regarding my visit to Outer Shores Lodge, I’m with you! I have been sifting through hundreds of photos and so many incredible memories and struggling to figure out how to transfer them to Ye Olde Blogge such that a reader who has never been to this extraordinary place will feel the magic and, well…I am not that talented, I fear. And that has kept me pondering instead of writing. However, it is past time to put this one to bed so here is the final post about my 2024 stay at Outer Shores Lodge, imperfect though it will invariably be. So here are the last few things I want to write about.
The Meals
Five star dining at every turn! Chef Jeanne Rankin, ably assisted by fellow staffers Sara and Abi stunned me at each meal – first with the beautifully set table, and then with the unbelievably delicious food and free-flowing wine. This is not what I had previously experienced from other lodges I have been to. Yes, I was expecting good, tasty food but not of this calibre! Out. Of. This. World.
At every meal we were treated to a beautifully set table.The evening’s menu was up on the screen in late afternoon, to get the taste buds salivating. At each meal, I thought nothing could possibly top that night’s menu, and at each subsequent meal I was delightfully proved wrong. I want to be able to add this trifle to my repertoire, and Chef Jeanne generously shared how she created it with me. I still have some rhubarb in the freezer too! I didn’t want to take pictures of every dish (for varying reasons) but I did take a shot of this dessert to send back to my daughter. Another example of a nightly dinner. On the admitting paperwork, guests were asked if they were going to the lodge for any special reason, and this particular meal was to celebrate those reasons.Celebration cake for my 65th and for a lovely couple of guests’ wedding anniversary! Photo kindly taken by Sara Ellison. The dining was always 5 star and we made sure to dress in our best flannel and fleece shirts for dinner 😉. The cake was astounding btw, and I don’t even like chocolate cake normally.
Our Last Evening and Wrap Up
The sun came out on our last afternoon and everyone naturally migrated to the front deck to bask there after the day’s activities.
Sara Ellison took this photo of us enjoying cocktail and appie hour on the deck on our last afternoon. She and Jon were staying in a cabin on the upper part of the property.Sea urchins were harvested so Scott could prepare uni for us to try, on the last night. It doesn’t get fresher than this, folks!Scott holding a sea urchin, while already prepped uni is awaiting the lodge guests. Photo by Sara Ellison.The last evening’s meal. It absolutely blew my mind. I didn’t think anything could top rack of lamb for me, but this meal certainly did.The wonderful staff of Outer Shores Lodge: our gracious host Scott, with Chef Jeanne, Sara, and Abi. Watching the sun go down on our last evening at the lodge.Cheers to an amazing stay, experiencing spectacular nature, and meeting so many vibrant and interesting people! I can’t wait for next year.
Scott, Jeanne, Sara and Abi – I can’t thank you enough for the magic that you do and I can only hope to experience it again next year.
To my fellow guests in this special moment in time – thank you for your open-heartedness, warm support, and all of the exhilarating, stimulating conversations I was privileged to be a part of. Extra special thanks to Sara and Jon, for being so giving of their vast knowledge and experience of the “Stars and Sea Stars”!
How indeed? Literally and figuratively. After all, I have never gone away on a experiential vacation like this alone before – I’ve always had a friend (or two) to join me. See here and here for my last one, with my friends Joanne and Judith.
It started with this book….no wait…it actually started waaaaay back in my ocean-deprived childhood in southern Ontario. When I would read picture books about exploring the tidal pools of the sea shore, and the gorgeous, strange (to me) sea life to be found in and around those waters. That led to me trying to replicate the experience in the many lakes and rivers in my home province. It wasn’t summer unless I was in the water somewhere, exploring the shoreline with my kiddie-version mask, snorkel and fins. Mom had presciently signed me (and later my sisters) into swim lessons as early as humanly possible, so she could rest easy while I disappeared into the water for hours on end, only to come back ashore when my stomach begged for food.
Now that I’ve gotten settled on Vancouver Island I’ve been thinking about how to explore the rich (and cold) ocean waters of my new home, safely and year-round. Snorkelling in Barbados is great fun, but what about the other 50-ish weeks of the year, hmmm?
As I was saying, earlier this year I came across this book one day at my local grocery store:
Can you hear the choir of angels singing? I can.
If you are at all interested in exploring the rich waters surrounding Vancouver Island without having to invest in uber-spendy scuba lessons and gear, this is THE BOOK you need. Sara covers gear, safety and destinations around the island in a way that is easy for even a relative beginner to this type of snorkelling like me to understand.
In the summer (I think), I came across a Facebook page in my online travels, called Snorkellers of BC and immediately signed up. I’d been living vicariously through enjoying seeing what people were posting about locations and their underwater finds. I’d done a few snorkels with the grandkids at local beaches and a river by this point, but none of the locations from the book as my garden chores (amongst other things) were keeping me ashore. Note to self: design Garden 2025 to be better able to withstand my absences!
Then I saw a fabulous post – loaded with stunning underwater pictures of marine life – from someone who was staying at a place called Outer Shores Lodge, in Bamfield. I googled Outer Shores Lodge so fast I didn’t even register that the poster was THE Sara Ellison until much, much later. And that is when I came across the description of the upcoming Stars and Sea Stars featured lodge stay, and I was hooked! Snorkelling AND learning about the night sky?!? Yes, please!
After a few email conversations with the lodge’s very personable owner and host, Scott Wallace, I was booked. And counting the days until my departure in early October. I had decided that this trip was going to be my 65th birthday gift to myself – after all, it is kind of a momentous birthday, isn’t it? 😉
The drive from Port Alberni to Bamfield was pretty spectacular, and I only came across a couple of other vehicles on my journey along this newly-paved logging access road. I felt like I had it almost entirely to myself. No cell service, and my GPS had no idea this road existed… but it was well-marked and the day was fine so I wasn’t worried. Only a short couple of weeks later during an atmospheric river event, 2 people lost their lives on this road when they were swept (in their vehicles) into the then-raging Sarita River – a sombre reminder to respect the weather because Mother Nature ultimately rules, especially on the remote areas of this land.
View of the Alberni Inlet from the Bamfield Road.
After a relaxing 90 minute drive (3 hrs in total from my house), I arrived in East Bamfield and brought my luggage and gear to the dock, as instructed. Here I met most of the other guests (aka my new best friends!) for this stay, as we awaited Scott’s arrival with the Zodiac, to take us to the lodge. You might notice in these posts that I tried to take pictures that didn’t include my fellow guests whenever possible as I didn’t want to encroach on anyone’s right to privacy or make people feel otherwise uncomfortable and I wanted to use the photos for my blog later, natch!
Bamfield Map, at the dock. The lodge is located at the the tip and left side of Aguilar Point.Captain Scott pointing out West Bamfield as we head to the West Bamfield dock and then the short walk to Outer Shores Lodge.My first view of my home for the next 4 nights.
I was paired with a very lovely lady from Chemainus as my roomie for our stay. Our room was large and consisted of 2 parts. Upon entering the room, there were twin beds in a little nook directly across from our bathroom.
Dark and cozy sleeping nook. The beds and bedding were top quality.Well-appointed with heavenly-smelling soap, shampoo and conditioner from Saltspring Island Soap Company. Plenty of hot water too!
A step up from the sleeping nook led to this amazing area of our room!
My roomie decided she wanted to sleep in one of the bunks (Can you blame her? They are magical!), and I decided to take over the twin bed area.This was the view from our room.
I’ll end this post here. Stay tuned for the next one(s)! I promise they will be much less wordy and much more visual as I show you some of the wonders of the lodge and area.
A blogger friend of mine (and yours too, probably) – Kate – is undergoing the hellexcruciating paindistress pleasure of a bathroom renovation at the moment. This is reminding me that I have promised and so far failed to deliver on my own recent renovation experience, also a bathroom.
This was a whirlwind of a renovation, with most of the work being completed by contractors within the space of ONE WEEK in May.
Don’t hate me. This has never happened to me before and will likely never happen again.
It helped that two contractors (drywall, tiling) live a few houses away from me and could pop over in the evenings or on the weekend for an hour here and there, while still pursuing more lucrative and involved day jobs than my wee bath. And that my favourite plumber had openings on his schedule.
Here is the BEFORE: the old bathroom in all its beige 1990 glory:
The toilet is only a year old. It’s the freshest thing in here 😉. It’s surviving the renovation but will be removed temporarily for installation of the new tile floor. I’m also keeping the medicine cabinet over the bathroom vanity as it remains useful and inoffensive.Tired tub/shower unit. This wall (and the unit) are going buh-bye.This corner used to house a stacking washer/dryer unit. I have a second-hand corner cabinet for this space, to hide the plumbing hookups as well as provide storage. It got a refresh (from me) while the bathroom was undergoing renovations.
And here is a video of the glorious AFTER:
I am so happy with my refreshed bathroom space. It puts a big smile on my face when I pass by and catch a glimpse of the shower curtain and the plants and coloured glass hanging in front of the window. And an even bigger smile on my face when I am relaxing in my new, much deeper soaker tub. It’s the hippy-dippy bathroom of my dreams!
This is officially the last large renovation I am doing in my little cottage (she says, hopefully). And also hopefully: LAST RENOVATION EVER.
I don’t want to temp the renovation gods after this incredibly smooth, incredibly fast one!
Longtime readers may remember that I took a Basic Kayak Skills course almost a year ago. You can read about that, here. Even though I gained much in knowledge and confidence from that course I knew there was still much more I needed to learn, and further training was definitely going to be on the agenda.
After all, my aim as I am aging and adventuring is to “Be an inspiration, not a cautionary tale!” 😉 🤣
To that end it was a no-brainer to go back to Caroline Ross and her company CrossCurrents Kayak to grow my sea kayaking knowledge and skills.
Caroline Ross, owner of CrossCurrents Kayak – ready to school us in trip planning via a marine chart. Photo taken at Brickyard Beach Community Park in Nanoose.
After Basic, the next rung on the Paddle Canada ladder for skills certification is Sea Kayak Skills – Level 1. In this weekend-long course I practiced all the rescue skills and strokes learned in the first course plus I learned the basics on how to read a marine chart and navigation, where to find weather and tide information and what it means to paddlers, and even more rescue techniques and strokes (including the all-important self-rescue).
All photos from this point forward were taken by Caroline and generously shared to our group.
First day of practice and I am heading to my boat – At Westwood Lake in Nanaimo.Our group rafting up, including someone you may know on the far left – Jude of the North aka Dr. Sock Writes Here. As you can see, the weather was not ideal (or was it, since we were going to be wet anyways? 🤔). Rain, rain and more rain. Look at how comfortable Greg and Kirsten look in their matching drysuits…hmmmm.Practicing edging my boat.Practicing pivot turns.First of many planned capsizes of the day, while Jude looks on.Practicing a self-rescue using a paddle float.Beginning a heel hook re-entry. Thankfully Caroline stopped snapping at this point, leaving the graceless heaving of my carcass back onto my boat to your imagination 😉.
By close to the end of that day, I was a shivering, teeth-chattering mess. And I was starting to think that a dry-suit might not be that fuckingdamnprohibitively expensive after all.
Second day – Brickyard Beach, Nanoose Bay
Marine chart on deck for navigation, I am heading to Southey Island with our group, for a lunch stop. If I remind you of the Michelin Man, it is because I am wearing a merino t-shirt under a Farmer Jane wetsuit, topped with long-sleeve merino base layer and followed by a full wetsuit topped with a paddling jacket. I did not want a repeat of the previous day’s shivering!Practicing a contact tow rescue maneuver with Jude.Going in to rescue Greg.Securing mine and Greg’s paddle before he practices using a “stirrup” to get back in his boat.Securing Greg’s boat with my body while he works with stirrup (the yellow band) set up.
As you might have noticed, the weather was much more favourable on Day 2. Even though we were in the colder ocean, I stayed warmer due to all my layers and the rise in ambient temperature.
Once again, I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and confidence in such a short period of time. I also learned that I’m going to stop at Level 1 Certification. Level 2 involves building skills for activities that I don’t anticipate ever doing – such as choosing to kayak in rougher waters than I’d ever be comfortable in. Level 1 was plenty hard enough on my body and I have the bruises to prove it!
Thanks to this course, on my shopping list as if I didn’t already own enough gear is:
Ye Olde Sigil carved into a candle to remind me of my WOTY: Limber
Waaaaay back in January (late December, actually) I made Limber my word of the year, for 2022. My focus is on being limber not only in body, but in mind. I think most would agree that if we are not actively and continually working on our flexibility and strength (mental or physical), we will surely start losing it. And that has certainly been true for me, mostly in the physical sense…(but I do also worry about getting stuck in a mental rut).
So far this year, I have been sticking with my daily Qigong, and also am still working on my deep squat. In working on the latter I realized how weak and out of shape I was overall, despite being someone who gets “out there” regularly, and walks and hikes whenever possible. Walking is great exercise of course…but does very little for flexibility and strength overall. I was also dabbling with occasional and brief videos involving free weights, but without any real plan. Naturally, I wasn’t seeing much in terms of results or change.
Then I received an email in March from a fitness YouTuber I follow that changed up my Limber plans for this year. Jessica Smith was offering a digital download of a 3 month program called Lift & Shift she designed specifically to help women of any age improve strength, stamina, and functionality in all aspects of their lives. I checked it out, saw that it would help me reach my goals in a way I could never do on my own, and out came the credit card!
The program started March 28th so I had time to purchase the extra equipment needed to begin, in advance. I already had some weights, but I added a heavier set because I am delusional GOALS!
Dumbbells
I also got a bigger mat (yoga mat on steroids, basically), a step, a squishy ball, sliders, and a resistance band. The mat also came with a bonus pair of gloves, for lifting weights with.
At first I was skeptical of the gloves, but they are surprisingly comfortable for gripping weights, and are now a welcome addition to my routine.
So my living room looks like this now, most of the time:
Badass Anytime FitnessTM Home Gym set up. 😉
Before I started the program I gave myself a stern talking to. Self, I said, you are going to do this right thistime.You are going to listen to your body and stop before you injure yourself. You are going to take your time – it’s a marathon not a sprint – and slowly but surely you will make progress.
I knew it was going to be a very rough start, so I thought I should document how each workout went and how I felt during and afterwards, so I could have a record of the progress I was making.
Made a gym journal with some cute stick-on letters from the Dollar Tree.
OMG, the first few sessions were SO. DAMN. HUMBLING. Even though I thought I was mentally prepared, I was not prepared to feel physically ill partway through each workout video. Not only humbling, but discouraging! Starting this routine was way worse than I had imagined. Yet I persevered with the daily workouts even though I couldn’t come close to completing them, and the sick feeling went away as my stamina improved.
An early entry. First time I noted that I didn’t want to hurl partway through or after a session. 🙂Eventually I got strong enough to complete one of the longer workouts.
What I enjoy about this program is the variety of the workout videos and the calendar that tells you what video to perform, and in what order. There are lighter days (yoga-like stretching workouts), medium days (fine toning routines) and heavier days (lower/upper/core days, compound superset days and HIIRT). There are “rest” days each week where there are no scheduled workouts but you are encouraged to remain active and/or do a cardio session of your own choosing. So far the cardio session I choose is NO DAMN WAY as I need those days for my body to recover from all the abuse the challenges I am throwing at it. 😉 But I am getting stronger and my stamina is increasing, so that could change.
It is a 3 month calendar of exercises, and of course you can repeat it as often as you would like. As someone who wants to remain strong, flexible, and independent for as long as my body will allow it, I can see me incorporating this into my daily routine for life.
At the beginning of month 2 as of writing this post, I am starting to see some real results in my day to day activities and Lift & Shift is even helping me get closer to my deep squat goal:
Making progress on my deep squat goal. Could not have done this back in January. Photo taken pre-new haircut. Speaking of my hair cut…I LOVE MY NEW HAIR CUT. Wash and wear hair. Just let it air dry after my shower and then ran a brush through it. Did I mention how much I LOVE it?!? Of course, it wouldn’t be long before THIS happened:Used up the last bit of my Vibrant Magenta Overtone hair colour on my new, shorter hair. 🙂
As for working on being mentally Limber, I have my upcoming move to help me with that. How to make do with a smaller indoor space? How can I make the smaller space I will be inhabiting do everything I need it to do, and still look inviting and uncluttered? Planning, scheming and dreaming about all of this has indeed made me look at EVERYTHING I currently own with a very critical eye. I am suddenly aware of and questioning any assumptions I hold about what I really need, in order to be happy in my new space.
I am loving my new hair, my new workout routine, my upcoming move (challenges and all), and most of all my WOTY. I love how it serves as a touchstone of sorts for me as I journey through 2022. As change happens and opportunities and challenges come up in my life, I can judge them against my WOTY and that helps me to decide if/how it contributes to my big picture for this year, my Limber goal.
How about you? Got a Word of the Year? Doing good things with it? Do tell!
This month I am joining the 2022 WOTY Link Party, from my buddy Donna’s site…maybe I’ll see you there. 🙂
Having a word to guide me and align my thoughts, goals, and dreams for an entire year has been good for me, for a few years already now. (In fact, my 2020 WOTY was Alignment and it really helped me to remember to make decisions both big and small that aligned with my values in that critical first year of retirement). I find having a single word to focus on works better for me than a list of goals or dare-I-say-it: resolutions. So I was excited to learn of Donna and her circle of Australian bloggie friends coming up with a WOTY Link Party. I’m in! I may not post on this topic every month but for sure I am joining the party this month.
My 2022 Word of the Year is Limber.
Inside cover of my 2022 journal with WOTY and sigil. Doesn’t it look like a figure flexing and balancing? Creating a sigil or symbol for your word or goal is another mental trick to help embed it and keep it in the forefront of your noggin.
I created a sigil from the phrase “I am lean, limber and strong”. Spoiler alert: I am none of those things…currently. Our brains can’t tell reality from fantasy, apparently…so if you say it is so, your trusting little brain believes you! This explains a lot, really.OK, OK, I am not going there even though I feel a huge rant about anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers et al coming on.
A-hem. Anyways, if you want to make something a reality you are supposed to speak and think of it as already being a fact. Hence the phrase. Which I have distilled down to one word: LIMBER. And for me, it is just as important to be limber in mind as it is in body. Especially in these trying times of lockdowns, shutdowns, and cancelled plans in general.
One of the things I do to help me with my LIMBER attitude is a daily practice of Qigong. My massage therapist introduced me to this practice, and I fell in love with what is does for my body and mind. I follow a practitioner on YouTube and am now at the point that my body craves a session every morning.
I track my progress in my journal.
From my January habit tracking spread in my 2022 journal.
I am also incorporating strength workouts in my routine, as evidenced in the above photo. My living room has become my Badass Anytime Fitness franchise, and I am loving it. I’ve also decided that this year I want to be able to do a primal or resting squat at some point….you know the one where you squat as far down as you can, and yet your feet are planted entirely on the ground.
At this point I can’t do it without my heels coming up but I have hopes that I can work on my…uh…limberosity (is that a word? lol) enough to achieve this in due time.
Got my February habit tracker spread already set up and ready to go!
And I am already busy working on increasing my hip mobility (one of the manymobilities I need to work on if I want to achieve this squat…sigh):
Look at me being all mentally limber and learning how to insert a photo gallery into Ye Olde Blogge!
Happy 2022 and end of January, fellow Badassians! Stay strong. Stay flexible. Be LIMBER. Off to join the Link Party!
Last weekend I headed out to Tofino, to stay at Green Point Campground at Pacific Rim National Park. My friend and blogging buddy, Donna, had booked a site and let me know there was at least one other site available, and would I be interested in joining them? WOULD I???? In a hot minute, I had my site booked too. Then, in the most incredible coincidence imaginable, another friend and blogging buddy Erica/Erika let us know that she and her husband were staying there too. And their site turned out to be the one RIGHT BESIDE MINE. If we had tried to scheme and plan and pull this off, it would be next to impossible as this campsite is harder to get into than it was to score tickets to The Tragically Hip’s final show.
My home for 3 nightsHammock set up, with Erica and Chuck’s campsite in the background. Note kindly left on the picnic table by Erica, letting me know they were down on the beach. Tent interior. Due to the campsite’s BARE policy, all food had to be locked up in your vehicle or a food locker (provided every few campsites). I decided not to hook my car up to the tent, and instead use it as my food locker. So my memory foam bed ended up in the tent instead of the back of my car, due to space considerations. View from “indoors”
After meeting Donna and Richard at Tacofino for lunch, and setting up and settling in at camp, it was time to hit the beach!
We found Chuck and Erica!The sky, sand, and water combo was stunning.
The next day was a bit drizzly and Donna and I went into Ucluelet to check out the downtown and the Ucluelet Aquarium. Amazing place!
Mr. Giant Pacific Octopus put on quite the show for us.We also stopped at a delicious local bakery (Zoe’s, to fuel up for our next adventure), that had this sign posted outside. Cute Schitt’s Creek reference!And here’s why. Within seconds of us vacating this area, they descended upon it. Looking for crumbs.
Speaking of birds stealing your food: Donna, Richard and I had to defend ourselves from some very aggressive sparrows outside of Rhino Coffee, in Tofino. I had my doughnut in my hand ($4 for a doughnut??? But man, it was good!), turned my head for one second and felt something pulling at my treat. It was an asshole sparrow, grabbing a chunk of doughnut in midflight, and then retreating a few feet away to gobble it down enjoy it.
You can bet I kept my eye on these cheeky assholes Steller’s Jays, once back at the campsite.The evening ended over at Chuck and Erica’s for one of our delicious, communal camp meals.
The next day was spent beach walking and exploring.
Donna, the intrepid beach walking buddy.Remains of a tree, washed up on shore.There are always surfers to be found on Tofino beaches. Year round. Donna and I played around with taking simultaneous selfies. Like a simultaneous orgasm, but waaay less work. 😉We eventually met up with everybody else and went off to explore the rocks exposed by low tide.Nature is a talented gardener. Gorgeousness.
Ever since I was a little girl reading picture books, I have been captivated by the idea of walking the shore and exploring tidal pools in search of marine life. But in my land-locked former home, there was no opportunity…until this trip! At almost 62 years of age, I finally got to live my childhood dream.
Giant Green AnemoneRed sea stars and goose barnacles and clams and mussels (and probably a whole buncha other things too).
After returning to camp for another delicious communal meal (Chuck’s homecooked BBQ ribs were amazing!), it was back down to the beach for another sunset.
Filled with peace, gratitude and wonder in heart and soul…
Sadly the next day it was time to go home. It was another gorgeous day, and the drive home was filled with spectacular views, like this one.
Kennedy Lake reflection. What a beautiful island I live on!Colour me windblown, wind burnt, and completely happy with this adventure!
If you’ve been reading Ye Olde Blogge for a while, you may remember that I have been on a fruitless search for whale-sightings ever since Newfoundland. Either I was on the ocean and not seeing them, or I had tours booked that were cancelled at the last minute. It was kinda frustrating then, when the Thanksgiving Monday tour that had been booked with a company out of Duncan, B.C. was also cancelled at the last moment, due to not enough customers to warrant the excursion. Thanks to some quick-thinking by Donna of Retirement Reflections within moments she had us booked with Aboriginal Journeys, out of Campbell River. And thus the day was saved, in the most spectacular way, and the whale-sighting drought was over!
Let the pictures (and the videos) do the talkin’!
Captain Gary, of Aboriginal Journeys – our most affable and knowledgeable guide.The hopeful whale watchers – Donna, her husband Richard, and IIt was a beautiful afternoon to be out on the waterCommon muirs in the sunlightHarbour seals basking on the rocksCormorants
Captain Gary took us to a sea lion colonyYukon and his master helping Captain Gary scout us some whales!Two Humpback whales sighted! I was thrilled to hear “Thar she blows!” come over the marine radio. Yukon’s master had sighted some whales and we headed to where they were.
Pardon the unsteady camera but we WERE on a boat…the whales and sea lions were playing and feeding on herring together, Gary told us. We were lucky enough to witness a breaching whaleHumpback Whale waving goodbye, until next time!
