Thursday, August 06, 2015

West Coast Waves to Alberta Prairies..and Back Again

Reflections of Mexico and Guatemala in West Vancouver, BC


Here's a little recap of the last two weeks. It's not really super creative or witty. But it IS what happened. Ready...Set...GO! :

We enjoyed an evening ferry ride and arrived in Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver. We headed to Tanner's aunt's home for a lovely visit. We also visited a cousin and his wife who are expecting a wee one soon. We then headed east and visited a couple of friends on their new organic farm in the interior farm land of Chase, British Columbia. What a stunning farm with a riverfront view! We enjoyed two river swims and picked our veggie supper from the pretty garden. They showed us the straw bale and cob house that is almost completed. So great to reconnect with awesome friends doing awesome things!

Inside peek at the straw bale "truth" window and some crafty cob moulding. Beautiful!

After that visit we met up with some more special friends in the mountains outside of Invermere, BC. They had their trailer parked and their two kids were bouncing on the trampoline. We pitched our tent and watched some amazing storms. We swam with the little ones and picked fruits and veggies at the community permaculture garden that they have helped to build over the last few summers. It's so wonderful watching kids be excited about growing and harvesting their own food.



We crossed through the Rockies into Alberta. We met a good friend for lunch and spent the night with our sister-in-law in Calgary. 

The next day we drove north of the city for one hour to the town of Olds. I spent 5 sweet years there from 2008-2013 and it was so much fun to catch up with our friends and their families! We camped out in a small camper for a whole week on the property of some of our favorite friends there, who we sometimes refer to as our long lost aunt and uncle. When we arrived at their place, the Love Farm, some of my favorite musicians were packing up after a house concert the night before. They unpacked their accordion and bass and a couple of fiddles and serenaded us before they drove away to their next show. So special. Thanks OQO (and Ed!). 


I spent many hours discussing the topic of Fair Trade products and standards with long lost Auntie Bev. She and I and a small group started up the Fair Trade Olds committee.  We began in 2008 and guided the Town of Olds to become the first Fair Trade Town in Alberta. It was a wonderful time and we learned so much. Bev is still going strong and continuing to spread the word about the importance of knowing who and where your luxury products are coming from. Coffee or tea drinker? Do you use sugar or indulge in chocolate? These are a few of the many products shipped to us from less-developed countries. These countries are often lacking enough fair labor laws and regulations. You can expand your world consciousness by asking for Fair Trade versions of these items and more. Read more about Fair Trade here.

In the trunk of our Jetta we brought along a large Rubbermaid tote full of mittens and sweaters and wintery items to consign at a very special women's clothing boutique. It is called reFind clothing & decor and it was a co-creation with my former partner, back in 2010. My eyes welled up as I entered that beautiful shop and saw that the floor plan had changed to expand the space. There were other tweaks that made it more lovely than ever.  I felt so proud of how she was evolving and growing up without me. Yippee!


One World Wellness hosted two cacao ceremonies in Olds. The first was a group of men and women. One friend brought along his singing bowls and a huge gong to add to the magic. It was pretty spectacular. During the ceremony an awesome thunderstorm watered the landscape. We ended the ceremony outside in the sunshine with singing and gonging. Beautiful. 

Funkiest spatula in our cacao yet!

The second ceremony was a women's circle at a local yoga center called Blissful Energy. And blissful it was. We were a circle of women of all ages. One woman traveled several hours to join us. We laughed, we cried and we collectively vibrated higher with the energy of the cacao medicine! We are looking forward to another ceremony there soon. Thank you special people!


I took a trip one evening with my sweet friend and she took me to meet a woman nearby who makes unique jewelry. I enjoyed chatting with them both and left with a few special handmade items with beautiful memories embedded. We then drove into the full moon rising and pink sun setting. We arrived at her friend's artistic retreat home. It was overflowing with gorgeous artwork. Mostly earthy, whimsical animal paintings. She also showed us her collections of other crafty things and insisted that we both take home a one-of-a-kind up-cycled bag. I chose one with rainbow ponies. Why not? I already know what it will get used for...someday soon. Stay tuned.

Roadside FREE sign. (Mirrored medicine cabinet included.) Note the forest in reflection. A little mixed multi-message from Mother Nature. 

On my last day in Olds, I treated myself to my first haircut in a year. I went to visit my sweet friend/ talented hairstylist. We had a great visit and I was so happy that she could fit me in. My hair is happy too. I had been trimming it myself for a whole year and it was time for professional intervention. Thanks Amy!

My last stop that evening was a women's book circle that a dear friend organized. The topic of discussion was something like "what would say if you could go back and tell your 20-something self about how to live life better?". I really enjoyed the variety of answers that the group shared. Things like telling yourself to have more fun, travel more, don't be so self-conscious, don't worry about what others think of you or your choices, take chances, laugh more, don't try to be so perfect, pursue your passions and be original. Wow. I can relate to most of those reflecting back on my 20's! Luckily, I have reevaluated my life in the first few years of my 30's. My 33rd year will be coming to an end in a month and I feel better than ever about my life choices. I feel like I can scratch out most of that list up there. Wee! Feels so good to be free of a lot of that self-limiting stuff. Try it for yourself. Once we let go of all of those fears, we open new doors that will lead us to new great experiences and adventures! We discover our gifts and wisdom and make leaps and climb mountains. This will inspire changes in our world as a whole. Like a domino effect, but in reverse. Imagine that!

The Love Mailbox that I passed a few times and then remembered to snap a shot. Love it.

In the words of Nahko Bear: "Be of service. Be a sensible person. Use your words and don't be nervous. You can do this, you've got purpose. FIND YOUR MEDICINE AND USE IT!" - from the song "Manifesto". He is my current favorite musician. Check him out. 

Ps. If you feel called to donate to our One World Wellness Indiegogo campaign, here it is. 
If not, we would really like to know why our readers aren't interested in supporting the positive change that is so needed right now. $10? That's two lattes. $20? You can't event get a date at the movies for that. $50? That's a nice supper out. Every bit helps to get us to our next stop where we are leaving a trail of higher consciousness every step of the way.

Please click here either way and watch out little trailer. Thank you! Xo

No comments:

Post a Comment