Spring in Victoria

April is finishing up and what a beauty of a month it was. The flowers have been blossoming out everywhere in such bright colours. From cherry blossoms to bush flowers, to stemmed tulips - there are flowers everywhere and the sun has finally begun to shine again, bringing with it warmer temperatures. You can smell spring and just a taste of summer now and then. We had 23C or so last week - boy did I know it! It wasn't long before I had to open up all the vents and windows to cool things down, which it did before too long. 

I have to replace the skylight in the kitchen though as I busted through the screen to get the lid down as it blew off the track in a pissing rainstorm and I couldn't frig around with it too much or I would be flooded. Now I know how to take it down without busting through...lol. Thanks to the gal at the RV place.  She also made it sound like the whole thing was simple as anything. So the bottom part was, for the most part. A few screws, no big deal until you lose one down the sink...or at least I thought I had. Damn. I had finally managed to get things lined up to do it - a ladder, a sunny day and a place to park and do it all. I can't fit the ladder in my RV so had to park near my friend's place to use it. I couldn't continue without replacing that damn screw as it would not be water-tight, and I did not have the nine million screws my father had collected over the years in glass baby food bottles...though many times I wished I could. He had a tool and hardware collection to be envied. So I had to drag the ladder back up the street to my friend's house and up into the back yard as I couldn't be sure just how long I would be. Pack up all the tools, tie down the damn lid again and off to Canadian Tire again, got some screws, back to my friend's house, get the ladder down and finally get up on the roof to see the top bit. It looks nothing like what I have. Someone has covered the entire flange in some sort of putty that has covered all of the screw heads as well. The temperature was rising and I was to pick up my friend in half an hour - needless to say, I did not tackle the roof flange. But I can at least open the lid if it's really hot and not worry about the bloody cat getting out. I can't keep it open for long though because the damn top still flies off the track, and so instead of taking the whole thing apart again, I left the inside flange off too, and just have the screen and lid. Sigh. So now I have to either commit to ripping out the top part from the roof where it's cemented on with pounds of putty, or find someone else to do it for me. Either way, it must be accomplished. I wish my dad was around. He would know what to do. 

No other real renovations happening at the moment though I am anxious to get started on the floors. They are a crappy old light laminate floor in terrible condition and I am replacing it with hardwood floors. Cannot wait. I also have a couple of cupboard doors left to paint too. I am thinking about making different curtains for my bedroom - maybe a backer for the summer to keep the sunlight out as it's hard to sleep in with the sun up so early. 

We are on the hunt for a new parking space. The property manager was by with a 30 day notice. Damn, just when I was settling in and looking forward to a nice summer here. But apparently people living in the apartment building are complaining about the lack of parking in the lot, so they want to cram it full of cars, including my 50 feet. So I have been online looking all day with no luck yet, but a few more to hear back from still. Otherwise we shall be roaming come June 1st. So I've decided not to whine about it and look at it as a new adventure - there are many places I can park overnight now that I am feeling a little more independent. I didn't want to leave the Fernwood area when I first began living in the RV, and then I moved down here, just on the edge. Now I'm just as happy to find other places to park and explore. I drive to Duncan every week for work and stay the night, sometimes two, and have come across a few places I may stay for a few nights at a time.

My job has been just amazing. I really enjoy what I'm doing and the people I'm working with. I look forward to going to work each day. I am still waiting to hear about an ongoing position, so should hear soon. It's a budget thing so I'm really hoping I'll get the year contract, so I'll have a little stability for awhile. If not, I have a few other ideas in mind. 

Nash has been out on his leash a handful of times. He really liked the beach, but was rather skittish here at our parking space. I think the traffic freaked him out. We'll have to just take a few strolls along the beach now and then as we are out and about looking for a place to park. 

April Sunshine

Well I survived the sogginess of winter and early spring of Victoria once again. Spring has been busting out all over! We travel to Duncan once a week and stay overnight most times. I work two days in Duncan and two days in Esquimalt.  The scenery is gorgeous on the way to Duncan and back as we trek up and over the Malahat (mountains). Everywhere I look there are trees and flowers in blossom. I friggin love it. This is just another reason I love living in Victoria. Not only do we have snow-free mild winters, we have super early spring. The cherry blossoms have been out for about a month or more, and the magnolias are out these past few weeks. Stunning! 

So Nash and I have been travelling around a bit, and we often take a drive to the ocean and hang out for the day. Esquimalt Lagoon is a favorite. Sailboats and other sea traffic here and there, birds all around, people and dogs walking up and down the beach. Nash has tons to watch. I had him out on the leash for a few minutes too. He loves being out but is a bit headstrong about wanting to go wherever he wants to. But then a motorbike roars by and he's over it. TAKE ME BACK INSIDE PLEASE!!! He is such a fun kitty, and so personable. He loves to hang out, no matter who is around. I'm trying to get him used to hanging out in the courtyard (heh heh) with me on the leash but he is still getting used to being outside, so it will take time and patience. 

I've been trying to sort out the year's travel plans. I really wanted to spend the next winter in Costa Rica, but now that I have my dream job, I feel like I can't walk away from it. The issue is my contract is up next month, and they want to extend but they don't know about the funding yet, so I don't want to spend too much money yet until I know if I have an ongoing position. So then I began thinking about spending just a few weeks with my friends there, but it's quite a distance to travel for just a week or two and expensive if I'm not driving Gertie down. Scratch that then. From there I began considering booking an all inclusive to Mexico for a week, which I've never done but am so ready for an easy travel trip, and Mexico is easy on the culture shock, particularily compared to China. That's where I'm at now, but we kind of all have to book together if we want to stay in the same hotel so I really need to nail that down. It might be that I just go down with a few friends and then have a big party here in Victoria or on the island somewhere this summer. It's my 50th so I feel Iike I want to do something special. 

Which brings me to the next bit of news - I got a new tattoo today! I've been pondering ever since my last tattoo, which was the lizard one on my left wrist that I had done in Byron Bay at Shark Tattoos. This time I went for a dandelion. My dad and brother were both in the military for more than 20 years, so I grew up on a military base. My dad continued with Transport Canada on military bases so when I left home, they were living in Labrador. As a military brat aka base brat, we often talk about there is no place to call home and our friends are everywhere. So over time we have unofficially adopted the seeding dandelion as a symbol of how we feel - my home is nowhere, my friends are everywhere. I've set up house in so many places. I have tried to keep in touch with a few close friends in most of those places. I'd been looking for a way to recognize just how much that brat life influenced who I am today, and where I've come from. It may seem like a rootless existence to some, but for me, I feel like I have a huge network of people I can count on and together we stretch around the world. I may not have college besties that I went to kindergarten with, but these people collectively hold my life history. I belong to a couple of Facebook groups for military brats and we talk often about the life we lived on the bases, and we have so many shared experiences from life on the base, and knew we were different than other places in some ways. We made friends fast, because we knew our parents could ship out again within a month, a year, maybe two, who knew? So the tattoo - the dandelion is throwing petals to my maple leaf (existing tattoo). On it reads "the nomad life". I just love it. Dave at Tattoo Zoo in Victoria did it for me. Across the street from the tattoo studio was the Canadian Forces Recruitment office. Coincidence? Fate. And Dave did exactly what I wanted and more. Thanks, man. 

I've got some music shows coming up. The Who in Vancouver next month. Meatloaf here in Victoria in June, and Dave Matthews Band in September at the Gorge. I saw Blue Rodeo earlier this year. I want to see about packing a couple more in, so we shall see. 

Marching Into Spring

I'm over the rain. The consolation is that the flowers are in bloom everywhere. I'll take it. Next winter I want to be somewhere else - California maybe, or Mexico. Just drive Gertie until it's sunny. I have to say though, hanging out in Gertie in the rain is rather cozy. Nash and I just curl up and watch movies, or I read, or play on my iPad, and sometimes I sew, but it's harder to see on a grey rainy day. I prefer to sew by natural light when I can. 

So I have settled into the new job. I spend one night a week in Duncan, working Monday and Tuesday up there. Then I take Wednesday as my day off, and then work Thursday and Friday in Esquimalt. I can choose to work a day at home too, but at this point, I'm much more productive at the offices as that's where the files are, the photo copier, printer, etc. And I like working with other people - keeps the loneliness down some. 

Nash is growing into one handsome boy. He had his neuter the other day, it was time. The caterwauling had begun, so I managed to get him in before he began spraying and making it into the spring neuter/spay blitz from the Cat Rescue Society. They paid for the whole thing. I also had to get him treated for fleas and mites, and get his ears cleaned out. I paid for all of that. I hope he appreciates it! I couldn't believe he had fleas though, as he never scratched and I never saw any. Nonetheless, I still went straight to the laundromat and washed everything - clothes, bedding, couch blankets, pillowcases, etc and then swept and sprayed everything else. I think we got them. I just can't figure out where he got them, given he is an indoor cat...

Well, there isn't much other news to report...I'm working 4 days a week now, but no evenings or weekends anymore which I have to say, I do like, especially since I still get a weekday off too, so I usually do my shopping on Wednesday, when others are more likely to be at work or school. Duncan has a nice Wal-mart that I can park at so I will likely do all of my Wal-mart shopping there from now on. I parked there two nights too, but then got a note on my windshield, so I am looking for a better place to park. There must be tons, I just have to find them. One friend already told me I can park in the church parking lot next to her friend's house in Duncan. I'll check it out when I go back next week. I might try some of the nice campgrounds in the area once the weather clears but I don't see paying for a nice campground in the pissing rain. I might as well be in a parking lot. 

Dream Job For a Nomad

I am returning to social work with a new position and signed on the dotted line this morning to be the Adoptions Child Specific Recruiter for south Vancouver Island. 28 hours per week, with one day per week in Duncan, one day per week in Esquimalt, those are both at Ministry offices, and then one day a week at a local Aboriginal organization. I will be digging through mountains of files, looking for permanent homes for children in care that have been struggling to be matched with adoptive families. My job is not casework - these children already have their government case workers. I will be the one working away on the sidelines to push the paper along and find permanency. I think it will be quite rewarding work. The structure of the job is interesting to me. I work at three different offices three days per week, so using someone else's desk, or a meeting/board room, wherever I can squeeze in. Then I have a day that I can work from home and since home is mobile, I can park the RV anywhere and work away. I have most of what I need to set up a home office - printer, laminator, stapler, post it notes, ha ha. I think what I might do is have a rolling office kit in a small suitcase - all my papers and odds and ends I like to have at my desk, wherever it may be. We shall see how that works out. 

I'm heading over to the mainland tomorrow for two days of training. And I don't have to pack a damn thing. I love that. I am just driving over and taking the ferry. I have a friend from high school that lives in Port Moody and the office is a short distance from there in Burnaby. It will be nice to get away again as I have been having itchy feet...let's take this nomad on the road and try it out. My new employer is not sure what to think about the whole live in my RV thing. Honestly, I'm often unsure what I think about it! I think it will suit me best as no matter where I'm going, I can take my home with me, so I never have to pack or worry about what I left behind. (Or unpack!) Nash comes with me, and I can either eat out or cook my own food. My bed stays the same, and only the outside environment changes. As much as I enjoy travelling, I always struggled with travel sleeping arrangements - bed too hard, too soft, room too hot, too cold, noisy fans, noisy neighbors, intrusive housekeeping, snoring roomies, etc. Now little will change, and I really like that Nash is with me, so no cat sitting required, and both he and I get to spend time together. I think it will work for everyone. It's cheaper than a hotel to just pay for my ferry fares and gas, than all that and a hotel. My ferry fares are bit more, but nowhere near as much as a hotel in Burnaby - at least $150-200 per night. My ferry is only about $40 more because it is an RV. I have to pay by the foot for what is over 20 feet. 

I'm excited about the new role, and about returning to social work after a year away from it to regroup, and reacquaint myself with my country again. I will continue working at the Canadian Cancer Society as a telerecruiter until the end of February when the contract finishes, so for the last two weeks of Februrary, I shall be busy working both jobs. but I know it's only a short time and then I'll just have my new job and it will be more than enough wages to live on, and such a meaningful and interesting job. Yay me! I had wanted this type of job for many years and am glad to have this opportunity. 

The Quilt From Hell

So I began this quilt last summer after visiting my sister who graciously allowed me to pillage her fabric stash as she had finished up her projects and hadn't quilted in years. I knew I was looking to stick with an ocean beach themed RV design, and mostly with blues and greens, so I was tickled to find the fabric that I did in her stash to make a quilt. I hadn't bought the RV at that point and was living in the Karma van. I had planned on buying an RV with a Queen size bed in the back, so I started making a quilt for that size bed. I didn't have a pattern, as I don't usually for quilts unless it's a piecework quilt. This is just really a blanket. I wasn't planning to do any fancy hand-quilting, as I knew my hands were in no shape to even consider that. I did not have any bedding when I returned from Australia other than a couple of lap quilts, one made by my sis. 

As the temperatures dropped, I felt the need to make some quilts, as I planned to make most of my own things in the RV. The nights got colder and I was too stubborn to buy blanket, so I ended up putting the half finished quilt on the bed at nights to keep warm, and hoped I hadn't left any pins in it. I had added the layers without trimming them, so the quilt was big, bulky and the layers shifted all over the place. The quilt was so damn big and it took up half the bed chamber with it's sprawling layers. I tripped and snarled myself up in the bedclothes so damn many times, and fell on the floor, or into the wall, trying to get out of it. 

I didn't have anywhere to really spread it out to get the layers sorted and pinned, and then machine quilted. So I tried to make a few quilting lines in the Karma van. That did not go well. Between the needles breaking, the thread breaking, the bobbin becoming tangled again and again, that before long I gave it up after swearing, stomping around, and screaming to the sky. My hands would not cooperate to rip out any mistakes or snagged thread, and I kept dropping things. I cried, I screamed, I cursed. Every few weeks I would haul this damn quilt out again and again to try and work on it and it never ended well. Then I bought the RV and it was too big anyhow, massive for a single bed. So then I had to decide what to remove from the quilt, and trimmed all the yellow off - I hate yellow anyway. But again, with no place to stretch my quilt out to properly pin it, the layers kept bunching up as I was using a variety of fabrics with their own level of stretch and shift. 

I used a flannellete sheet for the fill, and cotton sheeting, and a piece of a hospital sheet I think, from where my sister lives. There is also a piece of a sheet my mother gave me from the sheets she had for my dad's sick bed. We had searched and found the softest of cottons for my dad to be comfortable, and one of them had torn so was not of any use as a sheet any longer. Now it is part of this quilt. I also have added a piece of dip dyed aqua blue eyelet to the back of it, just for a surprise. 

I finally gave up on machine quilting it and bought some ribbon to tie it instead. Even that was a friggin chore as I still couldn't spread it out to work on it so did a little then gave up in disgust as the layers shifted and bunched again. But by that time my daughter was arriving for Christmas and I needed to use the quilt as it was cold and I didn't have any other quilts made either. So she used the unfinished quilt, but at least I had trimmed the excess off by then and it was not the burden it was, but still UNFINISHED! 

This past long weekend I had the use of a friend's big living room while I house/cat sat for them and hunkered down, finished tying it, then pinned the bloody hem, and dragged it back down to the camper to sew it. It is now complete. It looks okay, and turned out well enough, but is not my best sewing by any stretch of the imagination. At least I didn't burn it. I had threatened to many many times as I sat in my camper and cried about my useless hands, and the damn quilt that I couldn't manage to finish. I have added some photos here, but sorry, I did not take the quilt back into the house after I sewed it to take a photo and I can't get a good photo of it in the camper. Nash gave it a good smelling as I had it on the floor of the living room that had a rug on it, and two resident kitties. He knew I had cheated on him with other cats. 

RV Life - Trials and Triumphs

I've been living the tiny home/RV life for nearly 7 months now, counting my summer in Karma, and then moving into Gertie in September. There are trials and there are tribulations...as long as the tribulations are in the lead, it's all good.

Water - because the water reservoir is not particularily large, nor is the tiny hot water tank, I have not been showering in the RV. Instead I've been washing up by sink and showering at friend's houses, however now that I am no longer curbside camping on Empress, that option is much more bothersome. So this week I washed my hair in the sink with water warmed on the stove. Not too bad...haven't done a sink hair wash since the 80's in Grand Bruit when the water froze up each winter. Next I may try a bath if I can figure out how to use the hot water tank. The water reservoir has a funny taste so I don't drink my water from there unless it's been boiled, so I have been filling up a 10l water container at my friend's houses for drinking water as Victoria has very good tasting water, so why pay money for what I can get for free? Then I moved off the block - will get to that shortly. So now I have been filing a 1.5l water bottle at work and bringing it home each night, but that is not really enough water and I have not found an outdoor tap at the building I park by now. I think I might just get 2-3 of those 10l containers of water on payday and then refill them at a friends house or work once a week.

Parking - I had finally had enough of the parking enforcement folks ticketing me. I went 3.5 months without a single ticket, and then bam, one ever few days, and they tell me they are complaint driven which is utter bullshit. The bylaw simply says that a motor home cannot be parked on a residential street after 10pm and before 6am. I got a ticket at 10pm, right on the nose, and one at 10:10pm, and 10:12pm, and 10:30pm. Someone is simply being an asshole. I don't know why either as I was not taking up a lot of space, nor was I blocking anyone. I parked in front of three different buildings that each had their own parking lot and were not private residences. The huge garbage trucks had no issue getting by as they roared past, so someone just didn't want me parked there. So last week I was forced to seek a more stable parking space. I had emailed about this one in December with no response so when I saw it was still on kijiji, I phoned the guy and within an hour or so, I had signed a rental agreement for a parking stall next to an apartment building on Pandora Avenue, right on a bunch of major bus routes, including one to my work. It is a bit tricky to get out of as I must either back in or out, and haven't attempted that just yet, but next week for sure. Some guy keeps parking behind me so I let him a little note last night asking him not to block me in as it I have rented all 50 feet of it. The space is also a bit of a slanted one, so when I am parked front in first, the front end is tipped down and to the left. I couldn't sleep in the living room anymore despite stuffing several pillows and blankets under the mattress to level things out. I moved back into the bunk room which had really dried out by this point so was fine to return to. The pros are that thearea is fairly quiet to sleep in, and WAY less sirens all night long, no more parking tickets, and far less drama on the new block.

Propane - Most of what I use daily is propane fuelled - my fridge, stove, and heater all run on propane I stopped using the furnace as it sucked the juice out of the battery like nobody's business. Now the battery only has to run the LED lights and the water pump. The LED lights barely draw a charge, as I swapped out the old-fashioned energy suckers that came with the camper. The propane stove is wonderful to cook on, and the oven albeit small, is very functional and easy to bake in. The fridge is plenty big enough for what I need, however is not a frost free model, so I must soon defrost it or give up the freezer...The propane heater works like a champ, much more efficient than the furnace and I keep two vents in the roof open at all times to allow oxygen levels to remain safe. The heater has an oxygen sensor too and I have a carbon monoxide detector as well. Initially I was nervous about the propane heater but have grown more comfortable with it over the past weeks. I would still like to be able to stick the tank in an outside compartment but I couldn't drill through the box where the generator was with the drill bits I borrowed. So for now, the new tank is under my bed. The vent is over my bed. I'll be fine. The pro is - propane is super cheap. The con is - I have to drive the RV to fill both the on-board tank and the portable tank.. 

Power - well, basically the rest of my power is sourced from my solar charged battery bank. I have two deep cycle marine batteries that are charged through a controller connected to two solar panels I have mounted on the roof. The power is then sent to an inverter that converts the stored energy into a voltage I can use. My inverter has three plug-ins, and a USB charge port. We are in the rainy season of Victoria, so my solar is not able to charge the batteries to full, so I am limited with that power for now. I am able to squeeze out 3-4 hours per day of television time - my tv is LED so low power draw. Or I can use the power to charge my phone or iPad, or to power my sewing machine. I just can't charge all of those things at the same time as it draws too much. I also don't charge my laptop with the inverter yet as it is a huge draw and sucks the battery dry in less than an hour. My solution had been to charge my stuff at friend's houses, but now that I'm off the block, that is a royal pain in the ass. Now I take my stuff to work and plug it all in there. So the pro is - no power bill/free renewable energy, the con is - there isn't enough this time of year.

Cooking - I cook most days, and my kitchen is not too small to cook in, despite it's compact design. I've roasted chickens and potatoes, baked casseroles, cakes, cookies, and cooked all kinds of stuff on the burners. Gas cooking is so very fast compared to electric stove cooking. The pro is - there are a variety of supermarkets not far from me so I can pop out anytime to get what I need and I am not really limited with what I can cook. The con is - it doesn't take many dirty dishes to make the kitchen feel crowded. There is no room for a second person in the kitchen. Or a cat. 

Nashness - well, having a cat in a small space is always going to be a bit of a challenge for one main reason - cat litter. I keep the litter up front in the cab of the RV and have it curtained off, but honestly, sometimes after Nash drops a fresh one, I can hardly stand it in the RV at all. Thankfully that doesn't happen often. Nash also really enjoyed ripping down every single piece of plastic I shrunk around the windows for insulation. Cats can really be assholes. So the windows no longer have plastic on them, however the cold snap of winter is over (touch wood). Winter is very short and very mild in Victoria. It's why I am here. I did try to take Nash out to enjoy the weather but he only wanted to run under the RV. Coward...Nash seems to otherwise enjoy life in the RV. He is always happy to greet me with a chorus of mewling, and then loves when I play with him, at night. He cuddles in with me in bed for a good portion of going to sleep and waking up. Inbetween, he mostly spends his time at the foot of the bed. He is such a cuddle bunny so when I am stressed or anxious, I just need to hold him a few minutes and I can breathe again. So the pros are numerous, and the cons really are just the litter box. But really. Who doesn't gag when they change it?

Entertainment - well with limited charging power, I've had to adjust my entertainment means - so now I spend more time coloring, reading books, doing crossword puzzles, and taking photos while out walking. I also like to sew from time to time but not for long and no big projects until these hands are dealt with. I try to fit in one movie per night, power depending. Sometimes I'm up for a new on, and sometimes I just want an old favorite on. Pro - I am discovering I do not need electronics to entertain me all the time. Con - I really like my electronics...

Transportation - I have my bicycle but with all this rain, it isn't getting much use, but the rains will subside soon enough and I'll be on my bike more. In the meantime I usually take the bus to work and sometimes am lucky to get a ride home. I walk or bike to my friend's houses and to the closer shops. I can's carry any bags in my dysfunctional hands, so I try not to get too much at once, and use shoulder bags to carry what I do buy. The buses are pretty reliable, most of the time but at other's they are just late or don't come at all. I use bus tickets as you get one fare for free when you buy a sheet of them. It's $2.50/ride or $22.50/ten tickets. The bus passes are over $70 so not really worth it. My bicycle was catching so much attention on Empress Avenue that someone tried to steal it again, but couldn't get the chain lock cut as I bought a super duper one. They tried to lift it off over the signpost I had Locked it to, but failed and knocked just the chain off. So now it is chained to the back of my RV and I am hoping to find a bike rack to fit the RV and I will lock it right on the bitch. People really are jerks. Pros - biking is cheap. Con - stolen bike parts are not.

Internet - a real bitch to be honest. There are no affordable plans for mobile users. I really need to get something better than what I have. I just upped my plan from 5 G/month to 10 G/month as I use so much more now that I am not parked outside my friend's house using her wifi. I have found that the plaza across from where I work has free wifi (I'm here now) AND a Tim Horton's so I come here to play my games sometimes, surf the net, blog, etc. Othwerwise I am using my phone or my phone's hotspot so I can use my iPads or laptop. I'm paying $85/month for 10G. Ridiculous. The only pro is finding free wifi, and the con is the obvious price and inconvenience.

Storage - since I am not as much of a pack rat as I used to be, I have far less to drag around and I have tried to continue to scrutinize each piece I bring into the RV. There is plenty of storage and I have lots of space left over so must be doing something right. It still doesn't explain where two of my three grey hats went last year...one I lost in San Francisco at the airport, and no idea where the other two are. For the most part, my storage is also accessible but what is under the bed, not so much as you must lift the mattress off to access. So that's where I keep my big backpack, suitcases and snowshoes...neither of which I expect to use anytime soon. Pro - lots of space, not too much clutter. Con - losing something in a small space is a real pain in the ass.

Expenses - many folks are curious about this - what are my expenses for RV/tiny house living? Here is a very basic breakdown:

$100/month parking space rental

$108/month RV insurance

$25/month propane for fridge and stove

$20/month propane for heater

$30/month gasoline to drive to shop, explore, dump & pump

$10/month sani-dump fees

$120/month telephone/data

= $413/month 

Plus bus tickets, food, clothes, medication etc. Cheap enough living for me for now. I work 20 hours/week and have enough most of the time to cover these expenses. Now I just need a longer term job as my current one is another short contract for the campaign. Stay tuned!

2015 - What a year...

Now that 2016 has arrived, I can look back at 2015 to reflect. What a year it was. 2015 began for me in Melbourne where I was living. I had been off work for a couple of weeks by then due to acute stress disorder, so headed into the new year with a heavy heart and a desire to make significant changes in my life. The first step was to buy a ticket to go home to Canada - the rest would follow. Once I bought my ticket, I began to plot and plan what the next steps would be in my life. Some plans have fallen by the wayside, while others have been followed through to fruition. So here is a kind of monthly review...

January - March: Bit of a blur really. I was at home, on medication, seeing a therapist weekly for what had since developed into full-blown PTSD. I watched old movies and tv shows because I couldn't concentrate on new ones or follow a storyline. I knitted for hours and hours every day, and managed to awaken the carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands but yet I continued to knit. I didn't know what else to do with myself and knitting at least gave me something to do that could be accomplished, finished. I sent slippers, headbands, and mittens all over the world. I cuddled with Dundee often, and began selling off my things in preparation to return to Canada. They were hard months. I missed my family and friends back home, and my bestie in Australia moved to Perth in February with her partner. I felt pretty much alone as my co-workers forgot I existed and things turned ugly with my employer and the work cover folks as they tried their best to fuck me over. Not cool. 

April: Time was getting short before I would be heading home to Canada so the push was on to sell/pack/sort/throw out everything. As a result of selling my sewing machine, I met two amazing Muslim Indian ladies and we sewed, knitted, and talked the hours away about our cultures, our lives, and sewing. These ladies provided some very desperately sought friendship to fill the days, and we became good friends that still keep in touch. I learned a great deal from them about their culture and their lives, and am forever thankful for this. Towards the end of the month, I packed the last boxes and suitcases and moved out of my apartment and headed home, but not before my employer tried to screw me out of thousands of dollars - last pay check, vacation pay, reimbursement of medical expenses, etc. This happened on the day before I flew out. Assholes. I managed to find someone who would go to bat and help sort this mess out but it was impossible to have happen before I left Australia, so had to borrow money to leave. Ridiculous. I panicked because I was not at all ready to return to work. I also had to adopt Dundee out as I could not take him back to Canada - so expensive and I had no idea what was next. Sadly, little Dundee was struck by a car not a month later after the adoption. 

May-June: I spent these two months on the east coast with my mother and visited friends and family the for much of the time. I made several treks to Port Shoreham where my aunt lives, and to Cape Breton for family and friends. It was so good to see everyone and catch up after being away for 4 years. I also did a major closet and dresser cleaning for my mother, hours and hours and hours of sorting, throwing out, donating etc. I didn't get to finish it all and worked like a dog to the very last minute before my flight left. My mother appreciated it though and I felt good for having done this for her. I saw the Bay City Rollers in concert with my dear childhood friend G, and went for many walks, drives and time-outs. At the end of June, I took off to San Francisco to meet up with my soul sister, A. for The Grateful Dead's last show. It was amazing and San Francisco is always amazing and we had a wonderful time. 

July-August: I spent these months mostly in Victoria on Vancouver Island, with a short trek to Houston to visit my sister and go to camp with her where she was the medic on site. On the island, I moved back into the Karma van, and spent the time catching up with my friends here, and thinking about what to do next. We went camping at Englishman River Falls and Kennedy Lake, and traveled to Tofino. Karma drove like a champ most of the time but had developed an issue where if I stalled out, I could not start her back up again for anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Annoying as hell, particularly when  you are on a mountain pass...

September: After much hoop jumping and red tape, I was finally able to wrestle my pension money out of a private pension I had contributed to while at Children's Aid Society many years ago. My initial plans back in Australia were to buy a tiny home, or a school bus and convert to a tiny home. By the timeSeptember rolled around, I realized neither would work for me. The tiny houses cost a small fortune to move, and I would have nowhere to put it unless I bought or leased a land plot. They also are pretty tall and don't always fit under low overpasses or bridges. The school bus idea was nixed because of the state of my hands - I was in no shape to handle a conversion. I also didn't want to think about breakdowns in a vehicle that I cannot lift the tires to change a flat. So the RV seemed like the best option at this point, and when the cash finally came in, I was off to Nanaimo the next day with a friend to look at what I felt was the right one. I had been looking for months, years even and found exactly what I wanted. Two days later I owned Gertie and began my trek to Edmonton to see my daughter, finally! Initially I had planned on living and working in Edmonton, but thankfully after a discussion with my daughter who coudn't understand why I would choose Edmonton other than to be close to her, I decided to live in Victoria instead. I visited Edmonton for about 3 weeks before starting the track back home to Victoria. I wanted to get back before it snowed in that part of the Rockies. I visited some old friends along the way in Enderby, Kelowna, Port Moody, and Chilliwack. It was great to see everyone after my years away. I also camped in Drumheller for a couple of days on the way home and visited the Royal Tyrell Museum to see the dinosaurs. I adopted a new kitty, Nash who is the most charming little guy. 

October: Back to reality in Victoria - had to sell Karma as I didn't not need her anymore and I was afraid she might just up and die on my before I could sell her for some cash to live on. After successfully selling Karma, I began my job hunt in earnest. I had applied for a few over the summer but heard nothing back from them. The job hunt is very different now that I am not seeking to work as a social worker, and certainly never to work in child welfare in any capacity. I am over-qualified for many positions, or have no experience in a particular area to apply. 

November: Finally found a job as a telerecruiter, cold calling people to ask them to volunteer canvas for the Heart and Stroke Foundation in February. Easy money, part-time and hardly any paperwork. I also made the decision to take myself off the anxiety medication as it did not appear to be working for me AT ALL. It was pretty rough withdrawal but not as rough as it could have been. I feel so much better now and couldn't afford to pay $140/month for a med that was not working. 

December: Well, December was a busy month. I was working 5 days per week and my daughter was coming for Christmas. I had lots of preparations to get the RV ready for a live-aboard guest. I had completed several of the renos in September, such as painting the cabinets doors, and installing the solar panels. I still needed to redo the cushions, and build some shelves in my closets to contain the every growing clutter. I managed to finish up in time, and Gertie looked great. I bought a little live tree and decorated it, trimmed the inside of the RV with lights and decor, stocked my kitchen with lots of food, and shopped til I dropped. I had received a nice tax refund from Australia so it made for a less stressful Christmas. On the 23rd, my girl arrived and we had a wonderful week and a half in Victoria. I cooked turkey for a out 20 people and we socialised day and night with my friends. We strolled about the city, and drove around to see the sights. We hiked in the woods, and curled up with the kitty to read for our down time. (Well, use our electronic toys) It was a lovely way to wrap up the year, and on New Year's Day I saw my daughter off as she headed home to the frozen lands of Alberta while I continue to enjoy the above zero temps of Victoria winters. 

So there you have it, my year in review. It was a very rough year emotionally as I toiled endlessly it seemed with what to do with my life, and wondering if I would ever see any signs of recovery, frustrated with how long it was taking. I was extremely lucky to have the support of dear friends and family who have helped me in so many ways along the journey. I am looking forward to 2016 as I do recover, and refocus my energies to spending time doing things I enjoy instead of working at a job that pays lots of money, but exacts a terrible cost on your body and soul. I don't know for sure where the year will find me, but I'm sure it will be yet another adventure.