Turbulance training, supergirl, and the need for love sanctuaries

After nine months of non-stop travel I am back in lovely New Brunswick and enjoying creating a happy sanctuary of love and highly vibrating spaces, as well as getting back to a healthy routine of exercise that will help my back feel great again. This is composed of turbulence training, yoga, skipping and boxing. The boxing is more for Debbie however, as she enjoys getting her angst out in that way. Even her mom helped out while she was visiting! I just love the pictures and laughed myself half to death at the scene of her mom in pink slippers and night dress doing her best to hold on to the heavy weight bag. lol.

Debbie has successfully purchased her first home and it is within walking distance of beautiful trails, woods and various nature spots.

We've converted the basement apartment into a fully functional kitchen for many yummy baked goods to share, the main room is a healing centre with massage/acupuncture/tx table, meeting area, sitting with your tea area and a mini boutique store area as well. There is also a large guest room that is being used on a frequent basis. lol. We have many friends and family who enjoy visiting...

I am very pleased to have both a gorgeous happy green room again and a lovely dedicated library for wonderful books to share.

Crutches? Perhaps, but a lovely, natural environment helps me feel really good. Plus, I like to be creative and make things "my own" as well as help others` find pleasing ways to express themselves too.

Here are some of the highlights from my first week back:

Snail time: the thing I love about the East Coast is the pace of life... slow and relaxed...
just right for down times in between crazy travel schedules.

Debbie likes her ladybug and it likes her.

Dear reader, you must view this in larger format and enjoy the explanations. Ha!
Debbie`s mom helping her `get it out!`

Part of my daily training routine; skipping like a boxer.
And let me just say... it`s not as easy as it looks. Took me about a solid week
to finally get the different variations down, learn to not get my rope tangled, not to mention
the cardiovascular improvements needed to keep going for 30 minutes.

I love this SuperGirl shirt and CAPE combo!
I got one for Debbie and another one for my friend Denise.
They both needed one for different reasons.
I found this at Geek Sheek here in town. What a great shop.
Check it out if you`re in Fredericton.

Debbie enjoying her `costume.`
She even wore it to school... of course all the guys
thought she was the coolest thing ever.
(Not that they didn`t already think that though... lol)

More fun superhero buttons!

Putting on the first coat of paint.
This turned out to be a very rich and happy green by the time I finished painting.
I`m completely pleased with my little green room radiating love and healing vibes.

...tools of the trade...

Looks like grass growing doesn`t it?

I've written mantras up around all the doors embedding further positive light focused energy in to the house.





My poor, poor computer. He is on his last legs... after my MacBook was stolen, I had just enough money
to purchase this little guy. Unfortunately he simply does not have enough "juice" to handle the enormous
amounts of processing I put him through. I have about an hour max of work before he shuts down. I
then have to put him in the fridge to cool off. No, I'm not kidding. We now have a space in the fridge
for my computer to cool off in between work loads.

One of the trails I go through in my morning walks. Lovely isn't it?



Iai do, alpacas, knitting, yellow peppers and acupuncture in New Brunswick

Good news! The ministry of health - NB gov. got back to me and gave me the go ahead to practice acupuncture. Isn't that just superb?  I almost can't believe it. I love this province. I finally got my full drivers licence as well.  Have I told you how much I am loving living here? lol  Now to go for the motorcycle licence finally... and eventually learn to ride a horse.  I've already located a farm and trainer so things are coming together.

I've also found a fantastic dojo where they teach the same style of iai-do as I had been studying previously. I LOVE the classes. So grounding and soothing for me. God I missed my sword.  I am so happy.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be getting back into "the swing of things." Ha! Yes, that was a deliberate play on words people! lol.  I hadn't realized how much I missed the training, and how powerful a tool it is for me... helping me stay grounded and balanced.

Turns out I still remember how to crotchet, and I've begun an earnest attempt to learn how to knit patterns. I spent some time at a local farm that specializes in spinning and processing yarn. Learned quite a bit about the alpacas, goats, sheep and cashmere rabbits. I also had a chance to try my hand at spinning. Not easy to get it even... but very interesting to learn more about the entire process.

Here is a small handful of some of the alpaca wool. Very, very soft.

To view more photos of this workshop, click here.

I haven't crotcheted since I was about 10.

There is definitely something to be said for muscle memory.

Shireen showed me how to use a cable needle. I've been unstoppable since! Ha!

Here is a simple cable scarf I made for my mom to go with the hat I made earlier.

My first attempt at lace. This is NOT T.V knitting. Actually, I don't even own a T.V.  Lace is for those who like complicated, time consuming projects that require 100% attention. In other words, a domestic masochist.

I've decided that since I now have a growing number of knitting supplies, I should endeavor to keep them neatly tucked away (and brilliantly categorized) all in one place. Thus, I decided to design and sew my own "knitting bag." It is made of fine Chinese silk broccade and is comprised of several pockets, large and small as well as little folds in which to place smaller items like a cable needle.  The ends fold in, which then allow you to "roll" it together. Voila! A lovely and practical knitting needle bag.

My daily walks out in the beautiful sunshine has been doing my spirit a lot of good, as has the fresh, fresh air.  Next week I teach my first private yoga class. All in all, a good week.

Gosh... there is nothing like lying in the grass, letting all your tensions seep out of your body and feel totally relaxed. Ahhhh... yesss... the earth is calling to me.

Ahhh.... good grounding tree qi.

All good Taoists should hang out near big fat old trees.

Interestingly, my body has been very attracted to yellow and orange foods. I've been eating yellow peppers EVERY single day! My family will never believe it because I have abhored peppers my entire life.  Until now...insane... I'm not pregnant so there should be no reason for such intense cravings. My vitamin content is fine... but yeah... yellow and orange. Must be working something out in my second and third chakras.

My daily dose these months!

My dad and Ernestine came to visit. It was a great visit... and tasty! We checked out Hopewell Rocks, the local areas and did a lot of baking and cooking. Coming off a two month cleanse was hard on my system with my dad cooking up a feast every day! Did I mention how tasty this trip was? lol.

My dad and I downtown.

My dad inspired me to start baking again. This is going to be blueberry ice cream. Technically not baking, true, but yummy nonetheless.

Hopewell Rocks in Moncton.

The community garden is coming along nicely. We are growing "monster beets." My favourite juice is beet/carrot/apple. Since Canada is undergoing a beet shortage, I decided to dedicate my entire plot to beets. I'm glad I did. They are beauties!  I even did a funny little video about how much I love this veggie combo. Honestly, it is THE best! Your liver will LOVE you for drinking this... that and Master Cleanse.

Debbie harvesting the bounty.

What did I tell you? Monster beets.

In my kitchen sink awaiting the juicer.

My favourite liver cleanse.

You have no idea how wonderful beet/carrot/apple juice is. Try it.

Here`s my `PSA` for both oganic community gardens, AND liver health.

Wheatgrass, draino and bike envy in New Brunswick

New Brunswick is not what one might expect.

I find it pretty amusing living here. I burst out in laughter often... I laughed out loud again while typing some of the stories below. This is just a small sampling... however, nearly every day something happens or someone does something that is so different or unexpected, yet totally delightful. I am surprised and amused on a fairly regular basis... I haven't literally burst out laughing full deep belly laughs till my eyes watered in years... and it happens a lot here. I am really learning to love this province. It's just so amusing! Utterly ridiculous and amusing. lol.

We got our wheatgrass kit in the mail and have started growing it. You'll see the photos on my multiply account. Our veggies have really started to grow too so I've repotted many in larger pots. Hence, we had to go out and get some topsoil and compost.

Now for those of you folk who are used to going to the nursery or mall or shop that sells plants, and grabbing a bag of soil... ha! Not here my friends! You get to "shovel your own!" I nearly burst out laughing in the store... I half expected to see chickens pecking the floor at that point.

Here are my two bags; one is topsoil the other manure.

I had looked everywhere for soil and compost, didn't find it so finally I went up to the cash and asked them where they kept it. The lady bent down and fumbled around for a bit, then got up and handed me the biggest shovel you ever saw! I WISH I had my camera! She then gave me two large, thick plastic bags and told me what route to take to the compost and soil pile "out back." .... I'll leave THAT description for another time. 

There were many hills, each at least 20 feet up in the air, of various natural fertilizer (dung...sheep, chicken etc.) about 5 types of compost piles, a couple of varieties of top soil and about 5 different types of mulches. Some gravel piles too. If I had known that I would be "shoveling my own" I would have brought a camera and came on a warmer day. It was below zero, snowing, very windy and everything was frozen. I had to hack away at the pits to get anything loose enough for me to put into the bag. Thank God I was wearing jeans and sneakers. And thankfully Debbie was there like a good friend holding the bags open for me to put the stuff into... but mostly just quietly and patiently waiting for me to regain some semblance of control after yet another fit of laughter got a hold of me....lol.... I kept hearing Denise's voice in my mind saying "this is ridiculous... this is ridiculous" and I found myself laughing out loud thinking how funny this was... it WAS ridiculous and that made it even funnier somehow. Can't wait to go back...with a camera next time!

"Blue sky scenes" from the trails.

My wonderful mom drove all the way from Toronto to visit me, spend Easter weekend and a few days with me AND very kindly HAUL all my books here. THANK YOU Anyu!! You are amazing!

This isn't even the half of it...

I had made an Easter basket and filled it with brightly painted eggs and a little Easter bag surprise for her to keep her going on her trip back. We walked about 7-10k every day at least once, usually twice... she went out on her own too. Except for one day it rained pretty consistently.. but that didn't stop us. We also went to St. John to pick up more book shelves and other necessities. On the way we stopped to see the Reversing Falls which was interesting. Two diverging currents flowing into each other. You would not want to fall into that part of the ocean I can tell you.

One of the trails we walked daily.

Crossing one of the bridges on the St. John river.

In front of the Reversing Falls in St. John.

When we returned she doled out the instructions; "Yvette, build the shelves, put the books away, clean up and then clean some more. I'm going out for a walk, have it done by the time I get back." "Yes mom." lol. You don't mess with the moms.

Building yet another shelf... sheesh... I seem to be spending a lot of time in this position lately - with hammer and screwdriver in hand. 

I did a little acupuncture for her while she was here as she managed to pull her right shoulder. That was good. It was healing pretty well by the time she left.


Being the efficient and fabulous mom that she is, she promptly got to work fixing all the mechanical issues we had in the house. The very day that she was to arrive, our bathroom sink clogged up. I mean, seriously clogged... we couldn't get any water to drain at all. We thought we had tried everything. Debbie even went out to grab some draino and we tried to manually clear out the pipes. Well, my mom came in, took one look, asked for the plunger and got to work. Within a few minutes she not only got it to work but to do so PERFECTLY. In fact, it ran better than before! I'm not surprised but definitely grateful. She then fixed the leak in the kitchen sink and a few other things.. but I'll stop there... you get the idea. Our house now runs even more smoothly and is more energy efficient since her visit. lol.

My mom fixing the leaky sinks in the house. 

Best of all though, it was really, really good to see her. We had a lot of good laughs, talked over family stuff, made some decisions about other things and made plans for her to visit in the fall during the Blues and Jazz Festival. Already looking forward to it.

Senan would be happy to see the bike mechanics tool he gave me all those years ago making yet another appearance. I've made several adjustments on the bike to make it more comfy for me. I love that little blue multi-use tool set. I still remember that one week I had 12 (TWELVE!!!) flat tires. Three times during which I got caught in one of Toronto's famous summer torrential downpours. All three happened while riding over the Viaduct. One of those times was on my way to work. I showed up looking like a drowned rat, completely and utterly soaked with not just rain, but mud too, luckily, my boss, being the awesome guy that he is stuck my clothes in the laundry and lent me clean, dry, comfy ones to wear while mine dried.

This is a GREAT tool to have in your knapsack. Keep it with you at ALL times when riding around.

Speaking of bikes, I had a bit of an "awkward" moment the other night. I had my brand new amazing bike in my bedroom and was sitting in the living room on my computer looking at other bikes. I was apparently looking very excited because my roomate asked what it was I was looking at. When I told her she said I was just like the stereotype of the guy who had a wonderful girlfriend waiting in the bedroom while he was out here on his computer looking at other girls. So... I guess I was guilty of "bike porn." I could see her point... and for a moment I actually did feel a bit badly. 

But not for long!!

Man oh man... that Norco Heart is soooo damn hot!!! You've got to see it! Any hotter and she'd be a motorcycle. I`ve got total bike envy... which started when Denise let me ride her bike once.... (this is all your fault Denise) - it's a DREAM bike.. wow... it's very nice.. what can I say.

So when I saw the Norco in the shop I spun right around and couldn't help but look her up and down. OMG that bike is hot! I had SUCH bike envy you wouldn't believe it. It's unusual for me because I don't normally feel attached to physical objects, but I will admit that in this case, I was hooked. I wanted one. I wanted one badly. Perhaps I'll buy one as a "guest bike" for when friends and family visit. Yeah.... a guest bike.... riiiighhttt. lol

Unfortunately though, it's not practical at all. It's a total vanity bike. I'll have to get gears on it and tires with treads. Otherwise it's pretty useless on the roads here. In the meantime, I really do like my Norco Vermont. It's a hybrid that rides smoothly both on and off trails. Still.... it's a good thing the Vermont is not the jealous type.... lol

"Green scenes" from the trails.

Bike locks are another matter entirely. If you want one... forget it. A decent one, anyhow. Can you believe no one sells proper bike locks here? I even looked at the motorcycle dealership but they didn't have anything that worked for a bicycle. No Kryptonites, no OnGuards, none of the usual steel cable etc. Just the usual Canadian tire 5 - 10$ locks. Even at the bike shop! I couldn't believe they didn't carry proper locks. I inquired and they said their locks were very good. I told them they weren't. My roomate Debbie got one of their locks and that very day it was snapped off and her bike stolen. She didn't have that bike for even one day. That was really too bad... it was an excellent mountain bike with great Shimano parts, shocks.. the works. Even though it's possible to twist through Kryptonites, it's still better to have a proper U lock and heavy cable. Even in the Maritimes bikes get stolen folks. Don't let the pretty smiles fool you. I've heard some say that my "uber careful/cynicalToronto ways" aren't needed here... ha!.... I beg to differ. At times. At least when it comes to bikes.


Effie and Denise you will no doubt be happy to hear that here it is illegal to ride a bike without a helmet, which is forcing me to finally do it. It's the first time in my life where I actually have to do it. I got one. I use it. Though EVERY time I go out I promptly forget it because I'm so unaccustomed to it. Probably by the third week of my having to go back to the house to get it (yet again) I'll start remembering to put it on before I leave with the bike. Yeah... that would help. lol I've noticed that everyone, and I mean everyone without fail always has a helmet. No exceptions. It's probably a good thing, but I have to say I don't really like it and wouldn't wear one unless I was going to get fined for not having it on.

...sigh... bells are not mandatory here but helmets are... I know it's for my own good, but honestly, I don't like it. For the same reason I always sparred without a helmet... just don't like the feeling.

Debbie and I are saving up for a sauna. We are getting a two person dry sauna. It will go in to the kitchen. The wheatgrass is in the kitchen too.

Wow! This place is really turning into a mini ashram or wholistic retreat centre! lol. I love it! Life is ridiculous so why not make it do the things that most delight you? And friends, I am delighted by this place over and over.

Last week I decided to try an experiment. Been wearing a watch on my left wrist since I was 13. I NEVER took it off except for when I was in the dojo or yoga studio. Then put it on promptly right after the class. When I`m at the ashram I`ve tried several times in the past to get away without having it... but to no avail.. within a couple of hours I was desperately searching for my watch. I don't want to be a slave to `time.` 

So I figured I`d do a one week experiment now that I feel so different and find myself in different circumstances. I am pleased to say that my addiction to needing to know down to the second where `I stood` in terms of time and using it as a main reference point is pretty much gone.

By day three I was confident I could live without it. So I gave it to Debbie who will use the stopwatch on it to time her workouts. I love a life where I really don`t NEED to know what time it is, in fact, we really don`t need to know what day it is either because they are the same. Of course we generally do anyhow.. but Ì have to say it`s been nice to not feel shackled to any type of daytimer. 

The first two days I did notice the usual lifting of my arm and twisting of my wrist forward to see what time it was... but then realized it was just a habit... I didn`t actually need to know the time... so I made a concerted effort to break that habit. I`m done my one week and will continue to refrain from wearing a watch. FREEDOM!! - from yet one more thing... oh soooo good!

Now I am looking closely at other habits I have created, indulged in or slipped back into and will work on abolishing the one`s which no longer serve me. Lot`s of constant self reminders and being stringent.. but with good results.

I came across this solitary feather during my morning walk... still fresh with the morning dew. Really liked the visual of it against the rocky beach.

 Attila is hanging with our cousin Agi in Germany. Lucky him. She is awesome! He's spending the weekend in Amsterdam, then next he goes to London, and then to Sweden where my uncle has some cash jobs lined up for him. Nice. Check out his blog... it`s pretty funny in places... especially the reference to Silence of the Lambs. http://canadianemuaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/

That kid has quite the sense of humour. We must be related.

New Toronto Graffiti books are finally printed!!! FINALLY! So, they should be in stores again next week. I have a feeling they will be sold out again very soon. Luckily, the online version will be available in the coming weeks so people will be able to purchase the book via the internet too. That will be awesome.

http://www.torontograffiti.ca/

Now, I did promise my mom I`d do my level best to `fatten up` so I am off to buy more durian! Yum! Looooove LOVE durian.

Happy vibes and light from the ocean and forests of the East Coast.