Domino effect

When you give a man a workshop / classroom for a decade or two

He will fill it with...projects. 

Many projects.

Some out of wood, some robotic, some electronic.

He will also use this classroom / workshop to house his collections

Star wars and lego collections  - to name but two.

So when the man trades the classroom/workshop for a desk job in a shared office ... one has a problem.

A space problem.  

There is a "man house" at home but when the man has more than one hobby...

Like carving and building and fly tying and kayaking... then one has a very full man house... before the collections and projects even arrive.

So

When you have a main house with a decreasing number of residents and a man house with a shocking increase in "inhabitants" then ... well.... you see where this is going....

The dominoes started falling on Saturday as the sheer volume of Allan's personal teaching materials that have to be moved became evident.  And as the space in the man house was surveyed it became clear - something had to go. 

So the fly tying station got bumped from the man house to the main house family room.  

Only the desk did not fit.  

So it got bumped to the backyard for donation.

The house was surveyed for other suitable options and the desk in the master bedroom got bumped downstairs to become the fly tying station.  

So the 1990's scrapbooking materials in the upstairs desk had to go.

And so by the end of the weekend the man house is slightly more ready to receive the contents of the classroom/workshop, the family room is now ready for the fisherman to tie flies AND watch TV AND chat to the wife who will not be scrapbooking. 

Apart from rearranging our house and the man house, overhauling workshop Al's wardrobe, figuring out dog duties as well as new work and workout schedules - the dominoes should stop falling soon enough, right? 

GAGOTT Day

I took the day off.

And how sweet it was - it sure has been a long stretch of full , full days. 

But I spent most of the day in front of the computer anyway. 

No, no,  don't panic... I didn't "work" on my day off but today was GAGOTT Day. 

Get A Grip On The Trip Day.

Allan and I set aside today to focus on getting 4 Adults across 3 continents, 3 destinations, and maaaany flights and having a spectacular time while doing it!

So we started with breakfast in the village - as one does.  Focus without bacon?  I don't think so!

And coffee - lots of coffee - of course!

And then we came home and sat on the sunny and warm patio and made lists and delegated research and thought through a bunch of logistics and supplies and connections etc...

Allan appropriately attired

And then we moved into our "office" and hit the computers. 

It was SO FUN!

I often do this part of trip planning on my own but it was great to have a partner in crime as we trolled our way through travel websites figuring out metro passes, wineries to dine at, beaches to surf, tours we might want to take, places not to miss and I even found our long ago booked hotel in Paris was having a sale and I got a better rate!  More croissants en cafe for moi! Allan spoke in a ridiculous french accent while reading websites and we poured over maps.  I "chatted" with some lovely ladies I went to high school with and made plans for a reunion in our home town (the reunion hostess lives 4 doors from Allan's sisters house where we are staying - CRAZY!).  We figured out how to wire money to SA to cover all the things my sister-in-law Wendy has booked for us (even a fly fishing excursion which just shows how much she loves that brother of hers!)  - for which we are so so grateful!

We ordered some gifts for family and friends and did a little travel retail ourselves - funny how that happens but yay I now have those dorky looking noise cancelling earphones for the plane (all in pursuit of some of the 44 hours we will be on planes to be ones spent sleeping!!!).

We didn't get it all done but we made a huge dent in the TO DO lists and we chatted and dreamed and laughed as we did it - with more coffee and possibly a wee bit of chocolate.

We were on such a roll we nearly missed the gym... but we managed to get out the door in time! Phew.  We are pre-burning calories for all the food we will be eating in August - that's how that works right?  

Such a great day off and I'll rest a little easier tonight feeling a little more on top of the #Byres4ontour2018 

Catching my breath

My happy place is where my people are around me

My happy days are busy ones

And boy oh boy have I had a lot of happy, happy days lately.

June was it's usual blur but for unusual reasons and when the first little person walks through the doors of Gardens Children's Centre tomorrow morning all that blur will have it's very happy and satisfied fulfillment. 

And apart from work, my personal life was very busy too and contained some pretty hard personal moments I had to dig deep to find the energy and grace to face and then keep on going.

Quite suddenly at 1pm today I found myself home...alone...and likely to be that way for the remainder of the day.

And I took a deep breath, put on a load of laundry and cracked open my laptop.  

I had a solid couple of hours to catch up on email correspondence, write a report, review my calendar, review a proposal I need to complete this week.  It felt so good to work away at the list in my head that has been popping into my late night thoughts.  Every now and then a brown lab would come over and rest his head on my thigh and look up at me with his big brown six year old eyes just to prove that when one has a dog one is never really alone.  I really do appreciate his presence in my life and in our home.

And as I flipped the laundry, made the bed with fresh, new linen, cleaned the bathroom, swept the hallway I felt my chest expanding, the air filling more and more of my lungs. 

I went to water my veggies,  trying to save my tomato bushes from the ravages of the windstorm last night, smelling the warm earth and the water and the plants, listening to the chatter but feeling pleasantly detached from it.  

After some groceries I came home and with only myself to feed, the sun warm on the patio and wind having died right down I sat down to dinner with just my thoughts and feelings.  No agenda, no conversation, no expectations, no obligations (and only a tiny bit of guilt for the lack of veggies on my plate).  The sun was shining through the hanging basket and leaned back in my chair and breathed deeply. 

Having missed the gym this morning I decided a long walk was in order and I took myself and my thought bubble to my beloved dyke - dappled sunlight warm on my skin, the tiny breeze cool and welcome, the smell of BBQ's, the odd Canada flag still flapping on a fence, flowers, dogs, voices, little puffs of dust as I walked along.

And so these hours come to an end as my boy is headed home from his day at the beach with friends - I am sure he'll be full of all the happenings and we'll chat until it's dark out.

And I will crawl into my fresh sheets tonight missing fisherman Al but feeling like I can do July.

My breath is caught, my head is up and my heart is ready.