Road Trip!

This sad little scribbled crumpled up piece of paper has been guiding my every waking moment for the past three days:

pre-road trip to-do list

It's my pre-trip to-do list. The items with the X's didn't make the final cut (as if I'd have the time to bulk freeze corn and strawberries).

Tomorrow morning I fill up the travel mug, load up the car and head east to the land of the moose, my Acadian roots and the salty sea air. I'm heading home to New Brunswick.

It's my first solo trip there in a few years, the last time I drove on my own was during my sabbatical in 2006. It's a 12-hour trip one-way split over two days.

D.'s making me two CDs for the occasion: one full of sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs disco tunes and another with surprise road trip tunes of his choosing. They'll come in handy during the two hours spent crossing central New Brunswick through the mountains and the woods where radio signals just don't make it through.

I look forward to what's waiting for me on the other side of those mountains though - family, the sea, and Mom's chocolate chip cookies. What more could a girl ask for.

~~~

Note: I'll be celebrating my beloved Fête des Acadiens on Acadian soil on Monday, but rest assured that next week's Productivity Prompt post will be up as planned. I may even have a few more goodies for you here later in the week so keep visiting!

Gratitude - The Antidote to a Heavy Heart

 

this Buddha helps make a tiny corner of my yard feel peaceful

Because my heart feels a little heavy these days, a gratitude list to help lift my spirits... because there's always something to be grateful for.

  • sunshine and blue skies
  • D. and Cassie
  • corn on the cob + butter + salt
  • my books and home library nook
  • my local library
  • my art supplies
  • Arrested Development
  • L., and J., and J. and K., and A., and A., and J.... I could go on
  • Mud Lake, a nature lover's haven right here in the city
  • Hawk, Kingfisher and Osprey encountered at Mud Lake last Saturday
  • my little Honda Civic
  • having enough money set aside to put new ball joints on my little Honda Civic
  • a mechanic I trust
  • the sound of the rain falling outside my window
  • an upcoming road trip to New Brunswick
  • a clean kitchen counter
  • July's trip to Prince Edward County
  • my happy shoes: pink ballerina flats embroidered with fuchsia and turquoise flowers
  • my backyard Buddha
  • fresh strawberries in August, two bags of them in the freezer for January
  • Morning Pages
  • possibility
  • silence
  • this space
  • you

With gratitude,

Steph

xo