Sunday, June 19, 2011

make way

New favourite garden flower is a hardy geranium called 'patricia' - a surprisingly large plant this year absolutely covered in long-blooming, dark pink flowers. The rest of the perennial garden is coming along... I think in a couple more years it could be glorious.

D's been working hard on the house whenever time allows - the small bedroom and hallway have been gutted (contents taken away by a dumpster we rented), and D's currently pulling up the old, scuffed parquet flooring. It's a slow, big job, but can already tell it's a worthwhile endeavour, good to get in before baby arrives.

There's also a load of gravel in the driveway (scored from D's work site for $50) and 4 cord of wood coming. Really have to watch the heavy lifting as it's tempting to get to work.

In other preggo news, grocery shopping has become more of a free for all than before, and it's kind of fun. One theme seems to be weird fake cheese eats (nacho cheese, kraft dinner, cheddar flavoured crackers). The nacho cheese and KD were thankfully one-timers, but sticking with the crackers. Am also super into honey nut cheerios. One day last week I ate some pickles chased with icecream and didn't realise till later how cliche I was being. Mmm.

I'm 32 this upcoming Wednesday which feels about right. Time is going quickly now. Funny to not be making time to slow time (meditation). Or physically/mentally prepping for things more... exercise, projects, reading, etc. We lost the internet for a couple days mid-reno and D and I both agreed it was kind of nice. I started reading a Charles De Lint novel mom lent me and it's a much nicer way to spend mental time than surfing the web. Speaking of which... think I'll see what happens next.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

jet fueled

The reality of solo-dom disappearing soon hits me almost everyday, and in rushes a profound tender admiration for the woman I was in my 20's. Lost yes, but exploring, free to investigate, stuck, then free again, unleashed into the world. There's so much to see.

The other day a breeze hit me and I was transported back to the entrance of the Zurich art museum. Sometimes it's Spain, and a particular set of stairs in Seville. Or a bench I sat on in Edinburgh. Pizza in a small cafe in Solerno, a cheese pie in Croatia. Sometimes the train station in Paris, or the bus stop in Toulouse. A dirty sidewalk of NYC, a park in Boston, a bike ride on the beach of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Even the red sands of PEI's national park and the cobblestone of Montreal's old town. A dart of fear hits me: will I travel so freely again?

It's made me want to count my aeroplan points and devise a plan. A pregnant lady adventuring (desperately?) into an unknown, for the sake of that rush of uncertainty, something or someone new, freedom. Spending time in the beauty and wonder of the world, away from chores and work and any kind of responsibility other than finding some good food to eat and a decent place to sleep.

Travelling anywhere in summer is expensive, hot, and touristy... by fall I'll be too huge for a plane to carry me. Plus money and time that should be spent on other things, in preparation. Perhaps when I'm 60, an art class in Florence. Till then, a family and the adventure that IT is. Perhaps a family that travels.