A Short Winter's Rest

I headed South of here for a few days of solitude and spa time. This was the view outside my room. It was so lovely, but oh, so very cold! I took a lovely walk through the trail along the lake, but I didn't stay out for long.

Here is a picture of the place where I stayed.



And here are a few pictures along the lake....





After a cold walk outside on the trail, I spent some time in the tub with the fire blazing. aaaaaaahhhhhh..........



I spent a day at the spa being massaged and pampered and covered in mud (that was interesting and new for me - for some reason I was expecting it to be more grainy than it was). The whole day was delicious and left me relaxed like a cooked noodle. Totally wonderful.

I had an interesting border crossing on the way there. The fellow checked out my passport and asked the usual questions, but simply could not conceive of my traveling alone, with no intention of meeting friends at my destination, to simply BE. I tried a few times to explain what I would be doing during my time in the US of A, but he just didn't get it.

Actual conversation:

Border Guy: So you're alone. And you're not meeting anyone there, correct?
Me: That's right.
BG: So why are you visiting the United States?
Me: To relax. I'm going to a spa.
BG: By yourself.
Me: Yes sir.
BG: Are you carrying any firearms, tobacco or alcohol?
Me: No sir.
BG: Any food?
Me: Just a bit of chocolate sir.
BG: Nothing else?
Me: No sir.
BG: Could you open the hatch please ma'am?

At which point he opened everything in the car. My suitcase, the glove box, the bag with the cheesy entertainment magazines and chocolate - everything.

Eventually he kind of shrugged, handed me my passport and said I could leave. I've never had such a thorough search, including those that I've had upon *returning* from the US.

I hope he sends his significant other (if he has one) on a spa weekend.

My return check-in to get back into Canada went very quickly, likely due to the fact that I was sneezing and oozing icky goo from my nose (I managed to wake up Wednesday with a dandy cold). I think the woman at the border was happy to see me drive away with all my germs.

Being alone for three days = pure heaven. I set my own schedule, did what I wanted when I wanted to do it (I'm talking about more than your average nappage here). It was delightful.

When I came home, I worked on my photo organizing project. I managed to get all of our photos from 1987 to 1995 in photo boxes, minus cat pictures. Cat pictures will require a separate box. Yes, there are that many, why do you ask? :)

It was a good week.

BE 2.0 Re-Entry

No, I was not on an Apollo mission, but the word "re-entry" has been on my mind all day. I returned home late (very late) last evening and have had considerable difficulty trying to convince my body that the clock on the wall is actually correct. This could be another long night. It is SO bizarre to feel tired and yet so unable to sleep. Clearly I don't get out much...

Anywho, I was away for a week in Scottsdale AZ hearing about the "Daughters of Miriam" - women prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. Our excellent key note speaker was the Rev. Dr. Wilda Gafney, the book's author and an Episcopal priest and Associate Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

She rocked. She had a great sense of humour and now stands as the only woman I know with feet smaller than my own.

I spent the first night in Arizona with dear friends in Mesa - THANK YOU!!!!! (you know who you are :)) We had a lovely lunch, shopped a bit and enjoyed a quiet evening - exactly what I needed after a busy Lenten/Easter season. Be warned however - your place is so great that I may just show up on your doorstep next winter and I'll be like a bad rash you can't get rid of. Just sayin'....

******************

Thanks also to the organizers of BE 2.0 - I know it is a huge task and was mostly done via email. Thank you to my RevGal buddies, y'all are a great bunch to hang out with and learn from, despite my lack of knitting prowess. (Did you notice how well I used "y'all"? And I only caught myself saying "eh" a few times, so it was a banner year for me. I was dropping "eh"s all over the place at the past two Festival of Homies.)

A special thanks to those of you who hung around the campfire on the last evening despite reports of snakes and spiders. As we sang, talked and laughed, I felt the Spirit dancing her way through the night and all the way up to the stars. And truthfully, I really never did locate the Little Dipper. Astronomy - not so much my thing. Still - it was a beautiful night and all of the stars were incredible, especially those of the RevGal variety!



*************************

But I digress...

Here are a few shots of the retreat center where we stayed:





As the only Canadian in the group, I felt it was something of a sovereign duty to be the ONLY one to go for a swim in the lovely pool. It was refreshing, but hardly cold.



One afternoon, we had a bit of free time and headed into Old Scottsdale.



I learned about Geocaching from a few experts in our group. Fascinating and quite possibly addictive. I'm thinking that a BE in Canada could involve some very interesting International Geocaching...



Naturally, one must stop for lunch and refreshments. We ate at a place where I had my first experience of ACTUAL guacamole, made right at the table. Deeeeelish.



**************************

Yes, we actually did our study time too. At times, my brain was fighting against the tide of information coming our way. It was all good and interesting material, but my poor wee brain at times felt the overload of the season. I know that I did the best I could do and brought home much to share with our congregation. I know that we all did. This group of old friends and new friends are now and evermore shall be the official membership of BE 2.0.

And the people said in one voice: Amen!



(Tomorrow I'll post the pics from the Grand Canyon and Sedona - they are incredibly beautiful)

When life throws you lemons...

...get a massage.



No. Really. It's one of Pillar's best ideas ever.

I'll post the snow pictures later, but we've been hit with an April blizzard - a big one. So today is this year's first Snow Day for me. Once again our early morning breakfast meeting was cancelled; thankfully, because the roads are really quite bad. I've been watching the snow plow working on the parking lot at the senior center across the street, and this is heavy, heavy snow.

It reminds me of the year that our city made the national news when no less than 12 people lost fingers or thumbs as they tried to remove this kind of heavy snow from their snowblowers. (Yes, I know there is NOTHING funny about losing a finger, but really, can you imagine being the 12th person to get to the Emergency room that night? Just sayin...)

Anywho, I worked at home this morning and then Pillar the Brilliant wondered whether my massage therapist (who works in the building across the street where the plowing was happening) might have a few cancellations today because of the snow. I called. She had just hung up the phone, having spoken with a client who was snowed in. So, I walked across the street and had a bonus pre-Easter massage I had not counted on.

Brilliant. It's no wonder I keep that guy around.