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I spent this last weekend visiting my family. It is always nice to go home for a few days. The pace changes and everything slows down. My mom cooks special foods for me and my lovely sister makes me a surprise vegan birthday cake.

I stand next to one sister or the other, doing dishes, and we chat. I have long talks with my dad about his dogs he is training or the latest things he has been into.

My mom and I talk flowers and she almost always sends me home with a couple of new plants for my flower beds. I sometimes can give her a few tips from things I have learned from reading one gardening book or another but usually she teaches me a thing or two.

I take naps and they watch my doggy and sneak him extra snacks and he adores them more than anything. Telling Merlin that we are going to PeePaws house puts him in a frenzy.

The photo above is my dad with my sister’s dog, Maggie. They are looking for squirrels. Dad and Maggie are partners in crime. She helps him do the chores and then they snuggle up for a nap. If he is gone for a day, she pouts. I love their relationship.

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Tonight I attended my first yoga class in some time. For several months now I have been dealing with a sore lower back and it didn’t seem to be getting better. I have been going to a chiropractor the entire time, at least twice a week and sometimes more, and it would feel somewhat better but then would start hurting again. I finally went for an x-ray and discovered that I have a touch of arthritis in my spine. I’m happy to know this because I was afraid it was a pulled muscle that I may be hurting more by doing things like yoga and now I know that is not the case. As a matter of fact, yoga is suggested for what I have and now I am free to do it. I’m glad because I missed it a lot.

I have been doing yoga for a couple of years now. Actually, this month makes exactly two years. I contribute it with many positive changes in my life. I’m learning how to better listen to my body, to become more mindful and live in the moment, to deal with stress better and to just breath.

Something interesting happened while I was on the mat tonight though that I don’t often experience. I got very emotional, as in tears streaming down my face emotional. Tracy, our fabulous teacher tonight, put together a nice flow that included some om chanting and wonderful breathing. She also had us ask some questions of ourselves like “what do you want?” and “what is my purpose?” as we worked through the poses. I was so connected and aware of myself that at one point I looked down a my feet and suddenly realized how much they looked like my Grandma Shepherd’s feet. She passed away many years ago and yet, for a minute, I remembered what she smelled like and what her hands felt like. It was beautiful and amazing.

I felt completely connected to myself, my family, the women in my family and the process of carrying on after them. I felt love, gratitude and strength. It is nice to be reminded that when we look inside and take care of ourself, we often find the things that connect us all.

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Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
- Pema Chodron

A few days ago I happened upon the quote above and it jumped off the page and made me pause. I quickly stored it away in my little book of quotes I love. And then today, Sharon read the exact same quote after yoga and I was all in awe of how sometimes the universe delivers up little magic moments like these. I left yoga thinking more about these words and how relevant they are right now with the horrible suffering in Haiti. It is so important for us to realize that we are all tied together through our humanity and, when one suffers, we all suffer.

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December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

I am an introvert and peace and quiet is a must for me. Occasionally I have to pull the shades and walk around in my own little world. I can go an entire weekend without talking to another human. I have been doing this my whole life. It is how I energize myself.

Therefore, I was having a hard time pulling out one moment that stood out more than others. There was that great yoga retreat in North Carolina led by my awesome yoga teacher Sharon that had several blissfully peaceful moments. There are the many walks in the woods that I have taken through the years with my camera. There is something peaceful about examining and breaking down your surroundings looking for a great composition.

And then it hit me, the moments I spent fishing with my dad when I was a little girl. Those morning rides up the lake were I would hum along with the boat motor. The early fog drifting around us as we glided across the water. The quiet lapping of the water when he cut off the motor and we started moving slowly along the bank and through the dead trees looking for the perfect spot. We sat in silence, trying not to scare the fish away, and then there would be a tiny splash behind us as a fish jumped out of the water. Sometimes we caught some and sometimes we didn’t. I don’t really remember that part as much as I can still feel the sun on my skin as it broke through the fog, the smell of the pine trees on the bank and the great happiness I felt in spending the day with my dear ol’ dad.

I wouldn’t take anything for those memories of the trips to the lake and the hours spent watching a float bobbing on the top of the water, waiting on the big trophy fish to bite and not being disappointed when it didn’t.

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I wanna have pride like my mother has,
And not like the kind in the bible that turns you bad.

~ from The Perfect Space by The Avett Brothers

The lyrics above really touched me at the concert the other night. I have always respected my mother and thought she could do no wrong but as I have gotten older I have started to understand her on a level more fitting a friend, someone I enjoy to talk to and share interests with. One such interest is gardening.

My momma is an amazing gardener. Her flower beds are huge and beautiful and a lot of our conversations turn to topics about the latest gardening magazine that we have picked up, the best way to get rids of pests organically, the best time to plant or dig our bulbs, etc. A large number of my flowers started in her garden which makes them even more special to me.

Today I was cleaning up flower beds and getting my garden ready for winter. This included picking hyacinth bean seeds for next year that were gifted to me last spring from her and  planting all the new plants she just sent me. Of course I had to call her once to get her suggestion on a good place to put them all.

I love her pride, the good kind that is wrapped up in her home and family. Ever since I have been out on my own, I have used her example as a benchmark to strive towards when it comes to having a home that feels good. I still haven’t mastered her grace and easy skill at it but I keep trying.

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I have to say, the trip was amazing. Living like a nomad for a month and going where we wanted was amazing. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to do this and I have decided it won’t be my last journey like this. There is so much to see out there people!

So to wrap up the final week….

First, I loved Portland. It made the list as one of my favorite cities I have visited to date. I loved the music scene, the vintage stores, the crafty/artsy people, the breweries and Powell’s book store! I could live here easily and so wanted to bring some of it home with me.

Second, Yellowstone was crazy cool. I love how wild and beautiful it is. I like that is bubbly and hot and unpredictable. While driving through the park late at night, we stopped, turned off the car and looked up at the stars and it felt like we were alone in the world. It was dark and wild and you could even see the milky way. Thinking about it now gives me chills. Amazing. Oh and the colors……. Mother Nature, you saucy wench!

Finally, our last stop was Fort Collins, CO. This area isn’t new to us. John spent three months here a few years ago working at the Shambhala Mountain Center and I had visited and drove back with him when he came home. It was a great way to wrap up the vacation. We took our time exploring downtown Fort Collins and eating in the great restaurants, shopping in the interesting little shops and making a pit stop at the New Belgium Brewery to taste some of their great brew and bring back a growler for ourselves. We also spent the afternoon before we left checking out the grounds at the Shambhala Mountain Center, sitting and meditating in the Great Stupa, and eating a wonderful lunch on the grounds there. It is a great place to relax, reflect and recharge and that is just what we needed before our final push home.

So now we are back in the “real” world but boy did I bring some ideas and excitement from the trip home with me. There is nothing like taking yourself out of your regular routine and environment and throwing yourself into others to make you see things differently. I have a new appreciation for my home, Lexington and Kentucky in general. It is nice to be looking at it with fresh eyes.

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The trip through the Yukon on the way back from Alaska was even prettier than the first trip through, if that is possible. We had barely entered back into Canada when a moose walked up out of a lake and stood majestically glowing in the morning sun right by the side of the road. That pretty much summed up the rest of our Yukon experience from there. We saw amazing snowed-capped mountains above the most colorful fall foliage I have ever seen.

After passing through Whitehorse and heading toward Watson Lake, the setting sun hit the rainy clouds perfectly and we saw the most beautiful rainbow ever! It was huge and marvelous and arched across the road, like a huge gate welcoming us into the land of milk and honey. How can this site not make you deliriously happy??

We were rather worried about taking the Stewart-Cassiar because we had heard that it was rough in some places and gas stations were always a concern as well but we also heard it was a beautiful drive with the ability to see wildlife and other wonderful scenery. We decided to take the chance and I’m glad we did. Not only did we see three black bears along different parts of the road, we also saw beautiful lakes, mountains and more. I actually preferred parts of it to the historic Alaska Highway and it turns out that there were more gas stations on this road compared to the alternate route.

Prince George was just a place to sleep before we headed on to Vancouver and I didn’t see anything there that I would have wanted to stay for anyway. It was pretty much a medium size town with lots of hotels and places to eat but I didn’t see much more.

Our next stop, Vancouver, was home for three nights and we really enjoyed it. It is such a neat, diverse town with so many things to see and do. We started downtown in the Gastown, Chinatown and Stanley Park area the first day.

My favorite part was Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. If you haven’t got the theme yet, I like critters and there were plenty to view there. We met friendly ducks, swans and, the coolest of all, raccoon at the park. They would just walk up and say hello. It was a little unnerving at first.

I had visited the aquarium several years ago when I got to spend an afternoon in Vancouver and I remembered that I loved it then and it didn’t disappointment me again this time. It is one of my favorite aquariums.

The second day in Vancouver, we started out eating breakfast at a neat little diner called The Templeton that has a lot of vegetarian alternatives. It has not always been easy finding vegetarians choices that are great on this trip, especially since the places we have visited have been big on seafood, caribou sausage and other meaty fares. The Templeton’s interior design has been preserved and much of the furnishings/soda fountain booths, stools, and jukeboxes at tables are original, since at least the 50′s.

Next we hopped on the great Canada line train and headed to the Punjabi Market area also known as “Little India”. Here we found great Indian shops with everything from Saris and silk materials to stores with trinkets and other goodies from India. We had a wonderful Indian lunch at a place called Best Quality Sweet & Restaurant that was recommended to up by one of the other shop owners. We ended the lunch with some Masala Chai… Yum! We walked until we had blisters on our feet but it was worth it.

The next morning we left Vancouver and drove to Seattle were we spent a few hours at the Public Market, checked out the Andrew Wyeth and other great exhibits at the Seattle Art Museum, visited the Space Needle and wrapped it up with some dinner downtown before we found a cheap little room on the outskirts of town. We definitely want to come back for another visit when we have more time. It seems like a great place. As a side note, I saw Kate Hudson shopping at the Public Market.

Yesterday we stopped in the Mount Rainier National Park on the way to Portland and did a small day hike near Paradise and the visitor center. I have some photos for the day but have not had time to download and process them yet so those will come later. One of the coolest things we saw on the hike was a mother deer and her baby walked into a clearing just a few yards from us and stood eating and then looked at us and slowly made their way across the path and up through the mountain on the other side. It was so peaceful and lovely. It made my day.

We are now in Portland and are finishing some laundry in the hotel before we head downtown to see what this city is all about. We have today here and then we leave tomorrow and head toward Idaho and then on to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

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