This has been a rather interesting year.
Last January, while living in our apartment in Vancouver, I set a goal of creating something every day. I thought I was talking about making jewelry, working on new mixed-media pieces and trying new recipes.
I didn’t know that what I was really talking about was something completely different; like an entirely new existence.
It started in February. We went to Puerto Escondido for three weeks. That tropical change of scenery produced a new plan.
On our return from Mexico, we went right out and bought a second-hand tiny trailer and by March we had completely upended our lives. We decided that we would downsize by leasing out our apartment for a year and traveling in a less-than-100-sq-ft trailer for the next five or six months.
When people asked why, I channelled what had been my Dad’s answer to most things, “Why not?”
April 30th we hit the road.
Somewhere during that trip of 37,000 kilometres, we answered a Craigslist ad and ended up renting, sight unseen, a small cottage in Roberts Creek, British Columbia for our return in the fall.
October 15th we wrapped up our road trip and moved into our cottage.
We have been in our new forest home for just over two months. We like it there a lot. I’ve managed to create a tiny studio out of the laundry/guest room, Kevin has an archery range set up between the trees and our former city life already seems like a long-ago chapter of our lives.
Though the lease is officially up at the end of June 2017, it’s possible we might be able to rent this place again on September 15th. When either of us brings up what we’ll do next, we take turns saying let’s look at things again in the Spring…
But meanwhile, just like that, it’s almost the end of 2016; a year that has gone by way too fast.
I’m writing this from our vacation rental at Panorama Resort. We’ve just come in from snowshoeing. The snow continues to fall and the Christmas lights are starting to glow as the last of the day fades from the sky. I’m going to make myself a hot chocolate with a little salt and chili powder and enjoy the snowy silence.
For the new year, I think I’m going to carry on with the overall goal of creating something new every day. It doesn’t have to be big. It can be as simple as a new recipe or a workshop on how to make cheese.
Then again, it can be as big as a completely new way of being in the world.
Because hey…why not?
I think that’s it Catherine. After all the lazing about and extra goodies, it’s refreshing to start anew and the act of creating and cleaning is exactly that.
And yes, we have been so appreciative of all this snow. It’s beautiful here, and as gorgeous as it is in our cottage on the Coast, it very rarely snows.
We wanted a white Christmas and we are certainly enjoying one. Happy New Year!
I always find that. After Christmas I have the urge to create something – knitting a scarf, creating a new meal, cleaning cupboards. It is a new year, a new beginning, new hopes and new aspirations.
You mentioned that the snow is falling – how very lucky you are. Here we haven’t had real snow since 2010. I remember when living in France, twice a year we would go skiing. I love the snow, the virignal snow; walking on it, sliding on it, magic!