the hallway clothesline (-:

This is a mish-mash of special photos and pictures that hang in our front hallway. I hung them up because each time I cast my gaze upon them, I ponder greatly the life that is mine, The beautiful people who surround me and the wondrous events that I have been blessed to experience..

In just one month, we will be leaving this home for a new one in Canada! It is a very fast-paced time; A mix of a million things to do in preparation for our move mixed with the desire to visit some of our favourite northern California places for the last time.  The emotions circulating are both excited and anxious, happy and sad. Bittersweet is the perfect term for all that is happening in this moment and soon to come.. When I first moved to Oakland four years ago, I was heartbroken to leave Ontario. With its magical white winters, rusty orange and chimney-smoke autumns, and lovely friends and towns-people I had come to love, it was hard for me to adjust to this odd place with its palm trees and cacti, rain during Christmas, and a subtle merging of seasons that are difficult to pinpoint. I can honestly say that now, four years later, I love California. I'm not a normal person apparently; Normal people WANT to come here when it's cold and blustery...It took me this long to truly appreciate the consistency of climate that allows me to know what to wear every day of the year pretty much, without ever having to go outside to check first. It also took me this long to understand that even though the seasons come and go with a subtlety I never knew in Ontario, if I pay attention to the natural world around me and also to my inner 'sight', all the same magical transformational events are still there (-: I no longer feel like the only Canadian amidsts a sea of Americans; We are all just people. I recognize and love the scents of eucalyptis trees and jasmine flowers the way I used to with fresh mint and chamomile from my garden in Canada. So now, as I look around at our half-packed apartment and eagerly await the coming re-unification of my whole family (There WILL be happy tears, Oh yes there will..) I do have a sadness at leaving this place that has become my home..But such joy and anticipation of newness and a fresh start (-:

Isabella made this picture of me ~ What she imagines I do all day while she is at school (-: I love it (-: Plus, the cute Totoro she drew for Jude before he was born..

ZZ"^__^"ZZ