Family Day Trip

Back on Saturday August 3rd, my parents, grandmother and I went on a little day trip. We took a route driving around Lake Nipissing. We visited Board's Bee Farm, two pottery places, antique shops and other such places. This post is essentially going to be a photo dump because my brain is exhausted from planning my Euro-trip, but at least it's something.



It was a really lovely day and I'm so glad we were about to go out and do this. Days like these make me glad I moved back home to be around my family. Time is precious, and all the more so with those we love. Cheers!

Solo Camping

I needed to recharge my batteries last weekend so I spent Saturday night out on a little solo camping trip. Camp grounds aren't my cup of tea, so I just found a little spot on public land by the shore of a lake and set myself up for a night. It was really nice, just me and nature. I swam and read in the sun and enjoyed a little evening fire. I hadn't been that relaxed and at ease in a long while.

It was so funny, the little fish in the lake would practically swarm me when I stood around in the shallows. They were really curious and would come check me out without fail no matter how many times I went back into the water.



As you can tell, I was more than a little taken with the view from my campsite. I really had the most gorgeous weather, although there were a lot of biting insects. My skin looks like a haphazard game of connect-the-dots. When I took the photo below, I just felt so happy and in my element - bugs not withstanding. I wish I could feel like that more often.

This weekend I'm heading to a festival where I'll be meeting up with my bestie Becky. We haven't seen each other since late April and I am so excited. It's going to be amazing dancing with her out in nature and just enjoying some lady time together. Fingers crossed the road trip goes well - I purchase a used vehicle last week and I'm still paranoid - and that we don't get rained out! Cheers!

Will Back the Sunshine

It was a gorgeous day yesterday and I spent it with family, hosting a yard sale in the morning and afternoon, then spending the evening at an aunt and uncle's having a few drinks and laughs. It really feels good to be here near them again. Unfortunately today it's cool and rainy again, so I'm posting this late-April outfit to try and will back the sunshine!

Sweater - Thrifted from Value Village

Tunic - Purchased from Mr. Idahos Vintage on Etsy

Jeggings - Hue

Moccasins - Sears

I'd been hoping to go do a little fishing today, but I'm not dedicated enough to go out in the rain. I'll wait for the weather to improve first! At least it's nice enough that the seeds in my garden have begun to sprout. Unfortunately the frost seems to have killed my green pepper plants, even though I'd covered them. I have slim hope that the roots survived and they'll grow up again, but we'll see.

I took these photos a few weeks back when it finally started warming up again and everything started growing in full force. Our spring has been odd this year; late and halting. At least the rain now is good for my garden. I hope you are all having a great weekend. Cheers!

Rainbow Garden

After all the rain we were having recently, I have absolutely no complaints about all this gorgeous sun! I've already got a bit of a tan and a sunburn haha... Things went from winter to summer and sort of skipped spring, which is a bit confusing, but I'm getting used to the heat.

Dress - Purchased from Siam2u on Etsy

Sandals - Fluevog

Necklaces - Thrifted from Value Village

With the help of my parents, I've made a lot of progress with my little garden. I'm kind of early, but the weather is so warm that there's really no fear of frost. I've got potatoes, green pepper plants and some strawberry bunches planted already. I'll be putting in so catnip seeds later today, both as a treat for my cat and as an added insect repellent along with the marigolds I planted around the edge.

I never thought gardening would be for me, but I've found it more fulfilling and enjoyable already than I ever thought possible. I really like digging around in the dirt, putting down little living green things, planting seeds that I nurture and tend to as they sprout. It's exciting!

The only thing I could wish for right now is that the lake were warm enough to swim in already! But there's still ice, floating to and fro depending on the direction of the wind. Not to mention all the rivers and creeks are so high and rushing into the lake with their cold water, it'll be a good long while before it warms up enough for comfortably swimming. Something to look forward to though. I hope you all have a good Saturday. Cheers!

Today before Yesterday

Because I really want to share today's photos and the ones from days prior can just wait. It was another lovely day today and I spent the afternoon cycling up and down my long driveway, fine-tuning the gears on my bicycle. My yellow sweater seems to have become one of my favourite items this spring, which makes me glad I decided to keep it. I just couldn't bare to part with its cheery yellowness.

Sweater - Thrifted from Value Village

T-shirt - No idea anymore

Skirt - Gift from Heather

Moccasins - Sears

The landscape is still pretty drab and brown, but the pussy willows will soon bud out into leaves and fresh green grass will sprout through last years dry dead stalks. Spring peepers and other frogs are already singing happily outside, and I'm seeing little spiders scurrying about. The world is warming!

Tomorrow will be another gorgeous and warm day, and now that my bicycle is all in order, I'll probably go for a nice little ride. I'm also hoping to go pick up a little loveseat a friend of mine is giving me, so I'll finally have a proper couch in my living room. I hope you all had a lovely Saturday. Cheers!

Bright Shiny Winter

I had some free time between shifts at the restaurant today, so I took a walk down to Dow's Lake. I'm glad I did, it's so lovely out, and supposed to be so all weekend. Spring is well on its way! It's still nippy enough to wear my super fluffy earmuffs though, and that makes me happy.

I have to be getting ready for the second half of today's split-shifts though, so I hope you are all having a good Friday and that you have a lovely weekend too. Cheers!

Ignorance May Be Bliss

But existing in blissful ignorance isn't living, it's just ignorance. I'm seeing so many people who choose to deny life as it is, to live their lives with their heads in the sand. Sometimes their form of ignorance is religion, when for others it's substance abuse, or losing themselves in the bubble-world of a relationship. And I can honestly see the appeal there, in something that promises to make all the scary things go away - or at least seem that way. But pretending the storm on the horizon isn't there isn't going to stop the rain.

It just seems so weak resorting to that kind of behavior. A coward's way out. It's especially disappointing to see people who's opinions I used to value existing like that, now that I'm more aware of such things. I'm not a deep thinker, I'm not a genius and I know that. I'm a pretty simple person. But it just seems so stupid to live like that. To ignore the obvious and keep riding that speeding train toward the broken bridge up ahead. Hiding in a church, inside a chemical high, in the arms of a lover, that's not the way to go.



While I can understand that change is frightening, the reality is that it's inevitable. Things are going to change sooner or later, whether you want them to or not. I just think it's better to be the catalyst for that change, to be in control, rather than simply duck down and let things go and just be along for the ride. The later might be easier now but it's going to be a lot more difficult dealing with the fallout in the future. My hatches are going to be battened down when that storm hits, I will be ready to face it and get through it.

I've been plowing along through life alone these last few years, and while it's been difficult and confusing and frightening, I've never gone so far as to just ignore the reality of life's struggles as my actual lifestyle. It's one thing to take the time to enjoy a little escape, let your mind free itself from worries and stress, and another entirely to live in that world of oblivion everyday and call it reality.

I think the worst thing about all of this is how so many of those people with their heads in the sand are quick to try and pull you down with them. As if their "reality" is the only one that can possibly be true and you're a fool not to live that way. But I don't need the comfort of a fictitious god figure or the numbing properties of a substance to get through this life. I still have so much to learn, but I know that much at least.

I'm going to face this life and all it can throw at me head on, with confidence in myself. Because the feelings of safety and confidence brought forth through religions and substances and dependent-relationships are not going to cut it. I've been standing on my own two feet this long, I'm not about to get down on my knees and jam my head in the sand with the rest of them. I'm better than that. And I think they are too, if they just made the effort and faced life as it is and not how they wish it were. 



So while I am still filled with a lot of fears and doubts about my future, I'm okay with that. I understand that it's just a part of life, and that it will also reward me with feelings of joy and comfort and safety when I work towards those things as goals. Nobody has any say in how my life will turn out but me, and I'm not about to throw that away for some outward source of temporary false comfort. You can live with your rose-tinted glasses on but the world isn't all pink. I like it in every shade, even the darker ones, because it makes the high points all the better. I'm going to try my best not to dwell on others' mistakes - or my own - but to learn from them and move on to grow and progress, as awkward and uncomfortable as that can be. Because I am alive. I am awake. And I'm not letting that go.

Love All The Trees

Earlier this month I went for a walk through the Arboretum by Dow's Lake to take some photos of the changing trees. I was still a bit early in the season to really catch the trees in their full splendor, but it was a lovely sight nonetheless. And as much as I dislike winter, there's nothing like a crisp fall afternoon with the sun shining down!

Neck warmer - Gift from Anne

Jacket - Thrifted from Value Village

Jeggings - Fancy Sox

Moccassins - Sears, Hush Puppies

I didn't feel like carting my tripod with me all the way there so that explains why my outfit photos are still being taken on my boring old terrace. At least the maple tree behind me is sort of starting to change over! I've had this jacket a little over a year now, and I'm still so happy to have thrifted it. It's perfect for the nippier days and the cooler nights.

I'm going to head out for a little evening stroll with my good friend Tina soon - it's great now that she's living nearby again - to enjoy another lovely clear night. There's barely a breeze and the sky is void of clouds so the moon - even less than full - is shining its light down on everything. The yellow and orange leaves look so otherworldly in their moon-glow. I hope you're all having a lovely week so far! Cheers!