Erin's Journals

Just a thought… Let’s have an adventure – just not too big of one. [Rob and me whenever we set out to do something the least bit unusual]

Yes, that’s what we say every time. On the yurt trip I took with Leslie, as we were leaving her house to head to our campsite, I said those words, and she asked, “why not?” Well, today’s journal explains “why not.”

On Thursday after Rob’s hockey, we finished loading the car and headed north on Vancouver Island for a two-hour drive to Nanaimo. From there we caught one of the frequent hybrid electric ferries that makes the 25-minute ride to Gabriola Island.

A place that is 57 sq. kilometres in size, Gabriola boasts a population of 4,000-4,500 people which, of course, balloons during the warmer months. It’s popular with artists and retirees, and is easy to get around. But I haven’t even told you the magical part of my birthday weekend.

On a lark, I booked a small pet-friendly cabin with two queen beds: a rustic-looking spot with zero reviews on VRBO. I’ve never done that; in all of the places we’ve reserved we were at least able to read about what to expect. But larking as we were, we booked. And this is what we found: a house with Rob’s initial on it!

What blew us away, apart from all of the firewood and cosy surroundings, was the spread of goodies they left for us. There was this tray on the table…

…and even in the fridge they had eggs, cheese, bacon and more.

A bag of Kicking Horse coffee awaited us, our favourite blend but one we didn’t think we’d need…until we did. More in a moment.

Rob surprised me with a short ferry trip back to Nanaimo and dinner reservations.

Coincidentally, my ticket predicted what I’d order that night!

We had just a lovely evening and returned home to the cake Rob had brought with us. Cake, adventure and romance? Sign me up! And then we hit a bit of a bump.

At about 5 am on Saturday, we awoke to silence. Our white noise on Google had stopped and Rob’s hearing aids started squealing in pain in his charger. Yes, the power was off. We went back to sleep, ready to face the challenges that morning would bring.

Five hours later (yes, five) we consulted the detailed binder on what to do in this case. Power outages are frequent during the fall and winter months on the Gulf Islands and while our number one (and, er, number two) concerns were how to get the toilet to work – and they’d left jugs of water for such a possibility – it was my yurt experience that taught us how to make coffee on a barbecue. Of COURSE our hosts had left a french press coffee maker; combined with hot water from the grill and the Kicking Horse they’d so generously left, we had a delicious few pots of good, strong coffee.

The power returned at about 1 pm, in time for us to watch the Jays beat the Rays, after which we went for a long walk towards several of the harbours and boat moorings nearby. Another highlight was seeing deer come to nosh on the apples I’d left on the lawn from nearby trees. Heavenly!

Yesterday we made our way home, unpacked the car and watched the Blue Jays in 30 on the PVR. We settled in for another week, this one including yet another ferry ride: we’re going to Pender Island today to see if we can’t find a little cottage in the woods of our own. Never mind that our house sale hasn’t yet closed – we’ll figure it all out later!

I hope you have a wonderful week. Tomorrow we’ll celebrate afar as our granddaughter turns six (and fête her for real in a few weeks when we’re there), and just settle into fall, whatever it brings.

I won’t stop hoping things will get better; I won’t stop seeking happiness both within me and outside of me. Just as I dedicated myself to walking at least 6.000 steps a day last Christmas, this week I’m making meditation more of a must-do. And if I say it here, I’m more likely to keep it up – so thank you!

Just a thought… A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye. [Author Unknown]

As a new season arrives this morning, I’m awash in memories of the summer that was: from the events to the moments, the changes seismic and small. As we get set for the time of year blessed with colours and crispness, come with me as we look in the rearview mirror for a few minutes together, won’t you?

We began summer with a good-bye to my father. Dad lived a full and mostly healthy 92 years and he had the passing most of us would hope for: peacefully and in the care of good people, and in the hearts of his daughters. We know he and Mom are dancing together again and we feel gratitude for having had him as our dad, and Mom’s forever partner. How he’d love what the Jays are doing these days, keeping us joyfully anxious right down to the wire!

In addition to marking six years since rehab, my summer was splashed with plenty of travel (another addiction), including my first yurt experience, shared with my sister Leslie (and my enVy pillow) in Sicamous, BC. It’s honestly my happy place, where I go when I want the fondest memories.

My endeavours on a paddle board were not entirely successful, but next time I’ll choose less wavy waters. Like a kiddie pool or a bath tub. Still, it was ahhhhhh-some.

Boarding pass in hand, I enjoyed a quick baseball-filled trip to Ottawa to watch Colin’s come-from-behind team win a championship! A glorious night and a fun visit with him and Jane and their folks.

But the geographical highlight, and one that has me literally longing to return, was our drive in the EV (uneventful too, thankfully) to Alberta. From the cheapest motels to an upscale glamping experience that definitely did not deliver the vibes I enjoyed at the yurt (lesson learned!) the most peaceful moments were spent just breathing in the beauty. And there was so much to absorb.

Finally, as I told you last week, we’re still holding our breath, but Rob and I finally seem to have sold the beloved house that has been on the market for 16 months. We haven’t decided what to do with the furniture that is still in it, but we take with us the memories – joyful welcomes and tearful goodbyes – that came with our time there. It’s where I wrote Mourning Has Broken, and it’s where we began to grow our BC roots. Those roots are developing by the day and, although the winds blow us east for visits now and then, they continue to strengthen as we open yet another chapter in our post-Toronto lives.

I’m coming to peace with not being as active or in demand as I once was. It’s a tough journey, this one. I’m realizing that enriching and joyful part of my life is mostly coming to a close (except for podcasting sleep stories on Drift with Erin Davis and, of course, weekly episodes with my friend Lisa Brandt on Gracefully and Frankly).

I walk a lot each day, listen to favourite podcasts and stay in touch with people who care to come along, here and in social media. It’s not what I thought life was going to be at this soon-to-be age of 63 (this Friday), but then, when is life ever what we expect?

Have a lovely Autumnal equinox. May you find beauty and peace in the season ahead. We’ll be looking for the same things, you and I.

Just a thought… Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

In these waning days of summer, a few thoughts as we head into pumpkin-everything season.

First off, make your own pumpkin spice coffee at home and save hugely. If sugar is not your thing, stores like Winners and HomeSense carry syrups that are zero calorie. I just love them once in a while in my coffee, while the fruity ones are great paired with soda. Often on sale, they’re a lovely replacement for alcohol in the evening.

Speaking of alcohol, it was at a certain meeting that I attended on Thursday last week that I brought up the topic of “patience.” The lesson here is one that I’ve always had trouble learning; from waiting for Rob to propose for the second time (after he’d given me a ring three weeks after our first date and then gotten cold feet) to biding my time to get respect at the radio station I called home for most of my career. Both came the way I hoped, but not as fast as I’d have liked. I wish I could say LESSON LEARNED! Then wiped my hands and moved on to other tenets of peaceful living.

So it seems our house, which has been on the market since May of last year, has finally sold. After much backing-and-forthing, bending and capitulating, we’ve gotten well below what we’d hoped for, but about what I guess one can expect in such a slow market in our price range. There was one previous offer which was so low that we basically signed it back with a number that equalled an eye-roll. The old real estate saw is that “your first offer is most often your best” but we put that saying aside and went with our guts. The second offer wasn’t perfect, but we just can’t with the bridge financing, the ups and downs and the mental toll that having a place on the market takes.

And so, before I head off to Mexico for a few months in November, we will have said good-bye to what we (once again) thought was our “forever home.” Just as we thought with the house we built from the ground up in Jackson’s Point, just north of Toronto, we could have gone out with toe tags on. But as in the case of losing Lauren and having dreams up-ended, the emotional weight this time of not having our boisterous grandkids bounding about was too much to carry. So we did what we do: we left.

We found a condo perfect for us and moved into slowly-bustling Sidney-by-the-Sea. Except for them flying the US flag this summer, it’s been just perfect, and but for the timing on the house sale, a solid decision.

So now we move on – both literally and figuratively.

Have I learned my lesson about patience? I’d like to say I have. I’m coming to the realization that my media career is ending: the speaking demand – via video and in person – has dwindled to nothing (which I expected) and I’m digging deep to find a purpose in this new chapter in my life. A suggestion that I run for MP here was one Rob and I wisely eschewed (given that Elizabeth May was a shoo-in) and I haven’t another book in me, I don’t think.

I look to my Gracefully and Frankly podcast partner Lisa Brandt for inspiration: while continuing her voicing and editing work, she’s about to self-publish the third in a fiction trilogy (find out more at the same website). She is doing morning news from her home studio for two FM radio stations in Ontario, and keeps her other hours filled with crafting, creating and coming up with new ideas for our G&F merchandising.

I’m grateful Rob and I will be spending three nights with her and Derek in October and hope some of her magic rubs off on me. After all, whenever I’m with her she gets a new voice job, so, Lisa: I’m counting on you to return the favour!

Have a lovely week and enjoy these days of changing colours, gentle temperatures and red hot baseball. We sure are.

Just a thought… Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So… get on your way! [Dr. Seuss]

It’s hard to imagine that we booked this trip only a few days before taking it, and now it’s almost over. Enjoy this short video as I sit with Dottie and Livi in front of Mount Kidd in gorgeous Kananaskis, which of course garnered the world’s attention earlier this year as host to the G7 Summit. I cannot imagine a more scenic backdrop for their leaders’ photo, or for mine for that matter, and I hope you enjoy it.

We head back on the ferry to Vancouver Island tomorrow night, and this Thursday on Episode 143 of Gracefully and Frankly I’ll tell Lisa some more tales from the road!

Grab a mug of whatever makes you smile this Monday, and enjoy the sights in my video.

Just a thought… We’ll be in the mountains, getting lost and feeling found. [John Muir]

Today for so many, it’s back to…everything. Here, it’s back to us.

As September gets rolling and Rob’s hockey calendar soon fills up (even at 71, a goalie’s work is never done) I felt a sense of panic that we hadn’t gone away together this summer to see more of the beauty that surrounds us.

Yes, I had my travels: to Kelowna in June to visit with Dad, and then back there to central BC to spend time with sister Leslie in a yurt. Last week I returned from a brief trip to Ottawa where I was asked to spend time with the kids while their folks went away; Colin’s championship baseball game (which his team won after barely squeaking into the playoffs) changed all the plans and everyone stayed home. I ended up feeling more in the way than of use, but I soaked in every minute with the little ones that I possibly could. And thanks again to Porter, it was a seamless trip.

Oh, and I have an INCREDIBLE small world story to tell you on this Thursday’s Gracefully and Frankly episode – it’ll be Ep. 142. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts (or just Google how to listen) and you won’t miss it. And, of course, it’s free.

With summer in its waning weeks, Rob and I got busy booking a last-minute road trip and it begins today! Please do drop by my Facebook page for pics and updates. Today we are on the 8 am ferry to the mainland, then go on to Kelowna and stay overnight at little sister Leslie’s house.

Tomorrow we drive past where we yurted (if that’s a word) in Sicamous and on to Revelstoke, on the BC/Alberta border. We’re booked into a cabin there – Rob, Dot, Livi and me – for two nights of resting and exploring the mountains and the area, and then we’ll be heading to Kananaskis, the gorgeous area that is east of Canmore and nestled in some of the most picturesque places on Earth. You can BET I’ll be filling my phone with shots, and sharing some with you, too.

We’ll hit Revelstoke again on our way back to the ferry next week, and stay another night there before one night in Merritt and back home by ferry on Tuesday evening. I’m looking forward to reconnecting in different locales with Rob, who I sensed wasn’t quite ready for the tenting experience. But next year, for sure – and right here on the island!

So, my friend, after a gently-paced summer with picture perfect weather here in Sidney, BC (and stressing over a house that still hasn’t sold…sigh) we are setting our maps for EV chargers, and heading to the province of my birth, Alberta. Ideologically (i.e. book bannings and paying for vaccines) I don’t recognize it anymore, but my heart yearns for the Rockies and the splendid sights around which I spent my summers with my rural Albertan grandparents.

I won’t be taking Dad’s ashes or headstone yet; 2025 is not yet engraved on it, so it’ll mean another road trip back to Alberta. I’m grateful to have a reason to look forward to one. May your week be good, and a special “coffee mugs up” to former teachers, bus drivers and all educational employees (plus crossing guards!) who are breathing a grateful sigh today to be sleeping in as I do every single day.