Itinerary

***extremely subject to change, but gives you a rough idea

June:
6-13 London (with Tom and Deb)
14-20 Bath, Stonehenge, York (didn't get to Hadrian's Wall)
21-28 St. Andrew's, Scotland (with Kate and John)
28-30 Ireland (start in Belfast at Ben Parson's house)

July:
1-11 Ireland (then pick up a car and head for Dublin and environs)
11-17 Arbroath, Scotland (housesitting near Kate and John)
18-25 Paris (pick up car as we leave and begin camping!)
26-27 Versailles
28 Germany (one night in Heidelberg)
29-31 Prague

August:
1-5 Prague
6-12 Vienna, Salzburg, Southern Germany
13-19 France (drive across from Geneva to Pyrenees)
23 Spain (Bilbao)
24-31 Morocco

September:
1-9 Spain (start drive up and around the Med)
10-16 Southern Spain
17-30 Italy (return car)

October:
1-14 Greece - Turkey (something´s gotta give)
13-24 Lusaka, Zambia (engineering mission for the Royal Poultry Company)
25-31 St. Andrew's (to visit the new Micah Wesley--born July 19)

November:
1-3 St. Andrew's
4-6 London

Home: Nov 6, 2006 -- ¿or earlier?... nope

"SUN'S UP"

Thoughts from May 29...

I did it. I packed my belongings, left the keys on the ledge, and slipped quietly out the door. I left Vancouver. Again. We've broken up many times. I always go back. Ours is a long, complex, love-hate sort of affair. But this time was different. I learned to see his good qualities and he allowed me some very good times. So this times was different. I felt sad leaving. My sadness was caught in my mouth, but he said nothing. Only offered up moody skies as if to say, "take me or leave me. I ain't changing."

Thoughts from May 30...

Thank you to Dad and Bex. The best of helpers, the sweetest cheesecake and memory makers. Thank you. We shuffled off the evidence of our consumer coil in order to see things in a new way, and they are the ones who bear the burden.

Thank you to our beautiful, generous friends offering up their "pad" for the brief few days until we fly. Without them though it is just a familiar house with a love-starved cat creeping around.


Thoughts from right now direct to you...

...to blog or not to blog...

I suppose this isn't a question for me anymore as I'm in the act right now. For those who've heard me rant on blogs, here is an explanation (and maybe a little for me). I still think blogs are strange. My mind opened to strangers. It's just so not me. But, during our goodbyes, tears have fallen--"six months is a long time"--(we are only going for five months). Many have also said, "I wish I could do that" (you can!) or "I'm a little jealous" (understandably). Vicarious living allowed here!

I am afraid, however, of creating either a painful philosophical posing or a bland daily log as many blogs seem so be. Copious amounts of words are storming through our over-stinulated heads each day. I loathe words that are a waste. More fodder for the burn pile. Not only this, but words in print make me extra wary. Socrates didn't write for a reason. Words take hold of people. They solidify. And we mistaken them for something real, something true forever. Words can be crafted like a lie, or Truth can use them. And the crafters behind words can change. Remember that.

sandra

scatter and frazzled

So we're getting closer and closer to moving out. It's getting harder to keep track and organized of everything that' s important. I find myself increasingly walking into a room and forgetting why I was heading there.
It's supposed to rain all weekend so that'll make moving fun.

T minus 13 days

Wow. It's getting harder to sleep. This is worse than Christmas. The
apartment looks like a refugee camp. I'm actually a little concerned
about fitting everything into the truck. Last night I put masking tape
on the floor and hung a string from the ceiling to mimic the size of
the box on the truck. Inside dimensions of 11' 4" x 6' 9" x 7' 1".
That's not as much room as I though it would be. I may have to ditch
all my sewing, crafting, collaging supplies along with my philosophy
books. Tonight I'm going to stack everything in the space and see how
close it'll be.
It's also getting hard to know how to respond to the endless inquiries
here at work about how many days left and am I looking forward to it
etc. I'm starting to feel like a broken record... oh well. 7 working
days left including this one.
Spent a beautiful weekend on Bowen Island. Check out the "Synod
Retreat" pics on the Flickr page. (link at the right).
Matt

Willie's Got the Right Idea

I can't wait to get on the road again.

T minus 23 days

Only 23 days to go, but the days are flying. So much to pack, so many
friends to have a last hurrah with. So many little details. Wrapping
up a life is far more than I thought it would be. Only 11 working days
left now. They're giving me a farewell pizza party... with Dr P.

Move date is May 28. We'll be packing the truck on the Sunday evening
around 5pm.

Right now, I'm looking forward to leaning back in my seat during
take-off because at that point it won't matter what was finished and
what wasn't.