I get around

Thursday, February 28, 2013





































yawn ... I know you must be getting a wee bit tired of the "things I saw on my morning walk in winter with Miss D  series ;-)

a brief guide to life

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe


from Zen Habits via Leaving Work Behind (100 blogs you need in your life) via Create As Folk with Laura Simms

I get around, I really do  ;-) 

excellent interview with Andrea Scher about the demon anxiety - makes me reconsider the idea of taking medication

d & p

Wednesday, February 27, 2013










































more scenes from my walks around this wintry village by the sea with my best friend Winnie Dixon

When I dare to be powerful,
to use my strength in the service of my vision,
then it becomes less and less important 
whether I am afraid.
Audre Lorde

I love this quote ...

February has been a difficult month. February has seemed the very opposite of "ease" - my one little word for 2013. Opposite feelings like tension, discomfort, worry, anxiety & fear have ruled the day - most days. Some days have been diamonds but more days have been  ... well, not diamonds & I'm always on the look out for those diamond days. Hey February ! ya know I've had way too many days when I let my fear (of practically everything) take over my life. I have, much of the time, the kind of low grade constant fear & panic that makes me not want to leave my bubble home (29 Black Street) ... ever. If I drive to the grocery store, Dread's driving shot gun with me, if I walk to the post office Panic's shadowing me the whole way there and back. But ... If I stop to ask myself Yo* Susan, what's up with the Dread & Panic. If I can remember to do the ol' worst case scenario Q&A you know asking myself what's the worst thing that might happen ? & how would you deal with it ? how would it make you feel ? I almost always instantly feel relieved ... because when the crunch is on, when the tough get going - no matter what might happen to me or around me - I know I am brave, I am courageous & I am strong. I'll get through most anything.
I'm not sure why I can't remember those things ? I'm not sure why I let myself continually get so stuck in the muck of D & P.

Funny thing though, the only time I'm out n' about and D & P never seem to bother me is when I'm out walking with my girl Winnie Dixon, interesting ... she's taking up my thoughts and just maybe ... they're afraid of dogs ;-)

** I've been watching too much Breaking Bad - it's soooooo good !

How about a little raucous & wonderful Mumford & Sons for these last days of February ?!

my third cup of coffee

Monday, February 25, 2013





































long shadows, blue blue sky, sweet Miss Dixon, a down filled coat, snow boots, fleece headband & mitts - our morning walk

March came in that winter like the meekest and mildest of lambs, bringing days that were crisp and golden and tingling, each followed by a frosty pink twilight which gradually lost itself in an elfland of moonshine.
Lucy Maude Montgomery

I absolutely love my early morning walk with Winnie - even when it's crisp & cold, even when the weather is a little nasty. I've learned (the hard way) you have to dress for winter and if you're dressed for the conditions a walk on a winter's morning with your very best friend & a camera in tow can be the most beautiful thing. Like medicine ... tonic for the early morning soul.

I always think of our walk as my third cup of coffee ... there's nothing like the crispness of winter air, the chill on my rosy cheeks and the scrunch underfoot as Winnie and do our morning route along the harbour to really wake me up. My first 2 cups of java as you know, I have while still tucked snug in bed, in my nest of down & flannel, while I plan my day and I write my morning pages in my journal - a cgerished daily ritual.

A gorgeous song heard on fav CBC1 radio show Q - Searching for Sugarman won last night's oscar for best documentary.

heros all around us

Friday, February 22, 2013





































Our morning walk, Winnie & I, along the boardwalk that hugs the harbour and then onto the Thinker's Lodge property

Yesterday morning I was getting dressed & running late when I noticed a lone firetruck race along Water Street in the direction we normally walk - it was around 7:30am. One fire truck is unusual, if there's a fire there's usually several firetrucks and as many firemen as can make it to the scene - it's a volunteer dept. made up of men from near & around our little village.

By mid-morning I'd found out that the racing firetruck was on it's way to rescue a dog that had fallen through the ice - a big, beautiful, goofy, handsome senior dog - Juicy (13 or 14 on his next birthday). Dr. McFarlane who walks his shepherd Molly along the same morning walking route Miss D and I take (only earlier) saw Juicy out on the ice, saw him break through and called 911. The fireman using an ice sled and dressed in a survival suit crept out onto the ice to haul the 100lb dog out of the frigid water. Apparently Juicy was clinging to the ice edge and thankfully had not been caught in the harbour's strong current. When the two, man and dog, reached land sweet ol' Juicy raised his head as if to say "thanks guys" but could not walk so the fireman then rushed Juicy to our local vet's office where the staff began their day a little earlier than usual treating a big, beautiful dog with hypothermia. I've heard that Juicy's OK - he'd been let outside very early that morning, before the sun was up, unattended. The lesson here to all of us is never leave your dog unattended. Period. Ever. Never assume a dog will stay in your yard because they have in the past & especially when they're a senior dog. They can suffer from dementia & senility just like humans do, they can become lost or disoriented. We have a fenced yard (4ft high) and I still check on Sam every few mins, he loves to just hang about with Bleet outside ... I don't know where I think he might escape to (or how), but I know I couldn't bear it if he wandered away and something terrible happened to him.

Thanks to the kindness & caring of heros all around us Juicy is still alive.
We love you Juicy !!

Animals and ice - it's been my biggest fear over the years, living so close to the water. I can remember after many particularly wicked snow storms (and before I'd had a chance to dig a trench on the inside of the fenced dog yard) the snow drifts would be so high in places Jake would leap over the fence, with Winnie Dixon behind him. Too many times I raced around this village in hot pursuit of my AWOL dogs, leashes in hand, madly crying & praying the whole time "please God don't let them go out onto the ice".  We've since moved the dog yard (or I should say Doug moved it) and it's new location is not only much more sensible but not nearly as exposed or susceptible to huge drifts of snow. My fear of open water and ice is also one of the reasons our dogs began wearing Martingale collars we buy ours from Etsy seller Mod Dog. Another time Winnie & were walking along the boardwalk beside the water/ice very early one winter morning and there was a fox in the park on our side of the harbour, when it saw us it shot out on the ice heading for the other side. Winnie wriggled out of her traditional collar and just by chance I grabbed her - otherwise in a blink she would've been on the ice too, chasing that fox for as long and as far as she could see it. Luckily I had a hold of Winnie, lucky for the fox the harbour ice was frozen solid.

It's beautiful, the ice in our harbour with that cold blue grey streak of open water ... beautiful & terrifying.

* Martingale collars were created originally for greyhounds and breeds who's heads are smaller than their necks - the collar hangs loose around the dogs neck and only tightens when the leash is pulled on. Genius.

a note : I'm afraid after nearly 6 years blogging the dastardly spam has found us & in a big way. Sadly I've decided to fend off this nasty foe by adding comment moderation to this blog ... so please leave comments, 'cause we LOVE them and be sure that I will post them as soon as I see that they aren't comments about yeast infections etc.. ;-) Susan


























































Winn & I have been totally smitten with Juicy (a Newf & Australian Shepherd cross) since we first met him the summer of 2010