Wistful thinking

Above: sunset, taken from the deck of the ferry.

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Hello, fellow travellers! (Ok, so maybe not everyone is travelling... but everyone is on some kind of journey, right? Whatever. I just like that phrase.)

I'm currently on a ferry, coming back from the island on my own, so what better time for a blog post? I spent the past couple days visiting my sister and her family. They are moving to a tropical island next week, so this is the last visit for a while... until next year, anyway. I believe they're going to be coming back to Canada for visits each summer.

It was nice to see them all, particularly my two little nieces, who are bigger every time I see them. They seem to adore their auntie, so we spent lots of time playing little games and stuff like that. My older niece and I had great fun making a one-word-story together... you know, where you write one word, and then the other person writes the next word, and you write the next, and so on. It was about a fairy princess (of course)! She's 6 years old, which seems to be a fun age as far as I can tell. She is the kindest little thing I've ever known. She takes such good care of her little sister, and is so generous with her toys and clothes; she'll gladly share everything. Reminds me of her mother! My younger niece is a little more mischievous... it's said (in my family) that she is more like I myself was when I was a child. Ha. A little bit unique and different...! She likes to wear two different shoes and two different socks when she goes out...

Anyway! I have never really been a kid person, but my nieces are different. Of course. I'm glad I was able to make this trip and spend some time with them (and my sister of course) before they leave.

So I guess the witch is out of the broom closet as far as the whole paganism thing goes... I didn't realize that Facebook would show my entire friend list that I had just attended a pagan group at the Unitarian Church. Haha! Oh well. I haven't had anyone freak out yet. My sister even mentioned something about it without sounding particularly perturbed, and she's Christian. I have a lovely, accepting family.

I didn't end up attending the Mabon potluck that the pagan group held last weekend, because as it turns out, it was the Fox's dad's birthday. I was still planning to attend the potluck instead, and made the food for it and everything, but then I suddenly decided that being there with the Fox's family was more important. So we have been eating a huge pile of roasted vegetables for a week. Oh well! It's always better to go with your instinct, I think, even if it's something that doesn't seem like a big deal. It might be a big deal in some hidden way.

So I didn't end up calling in the North. But I need to practice, I think, so I can get a little more comfortable with... well, talking to people, or talking in front of people, anyway. I don't like a lot of eyes on me, generally, but I feel that it's important to sort of get past that so I can be more confident. I want to be able to stand up for myself and my beliefs better, and confidently disagree with people instead of always being the nice, agreeable one.

Also because I want to be able to comfortably participate in these sorts of rituals and practices. I think there's a lot to be discovered there that I won't be able to learn unless I start being a little more... well, aggressive is the wrong word, but more bold, I suppose.

Ah... we're going through the "active pass" right now, as it's called. In other words, the narrow part of the crossing, when we're surrounded by forested gulf islands on either side. It's incredibly lovely. I hate to leave, actually. Back to reality, and back to the big city, which I am getting a bit tired of! Wish I was more embedded in nature. There are little (and not so little) houses and cabins dotting the rocky shores of the islands. Can I just have one of those?

Oh well. One day. The Fox and I do want to live over here somewhere. I just found out that Saltspring Island has a hospital... perhaps one could work there as a medical lab assistant when one has their certificate for doing so...

I'm hoping more and more that the college on the island will have a spot for me in their program before the one on the mainland does. Just because it'll be easier to find a job on the island if I've already done a practicum there. And it would give us a good excuse to get over there faster!

I know my mother will be sad to read that... but really, it has nothing to do with being farther away from family! Contrarily, that is the thing I will be sad to leave over here. But with the ridiculous real estate prices in our city (the most expensive in North America, or one of the most expensive, I've heard), it's just unattainable for a young middle-class couple to actually buy a house here. It's just insane. Plus, it's simply not the kind of place I want to live anymore. It's a nice enough place, but I'm not into city life anymore. I want to be somewhere more relaxed, more nature-centric, and there's nowhere more like that than the island. And as long as you don't live in Victoria, house prices are way more reasonable. You can actually find somewhere with a bit of acreage for less than a million dollars! That is impossible in the city we come from. I would love to eventually live in a house that has some woods around it, or something like that.

Anyway. Where was I? (I came to the ferry cafeteria to get some fries and kind of lost my train of thought...)

Well, I was all over the map, as usual. One of these days I'll make a post about one singular topic. But it is not this day.

Hoping to get back into the Artist's Way next week. I really want to get going on my art. I've actually been more active with my drawing and sketching lately, which is great. It feels good to be doing it. In part this is thanks to my art buddy, who is busy drawing every single day; it spurs me to do more. And if I ever want to have a body of work that I can start selling as prints, I got to get on it.

I think I've lost my concentration... and the ferry will be docking soon, so I'll just stop there.

Until next time, readers!