that time i actually left the island...for another island...

for years
i have been saying
i am going to go back
to cabot trail.

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when we were kids
cabot trail was the family vacation
for many years…
4 kids (sometimes more)
2 adults (sometimes more)
jammed in the back of a van
with no windows
and no seatbelts
(sounds more like an abduction, i know
but i like to flair on the side of the dramatic…heehee).

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this year, i did it
with the help of my brother and his sweet girlfriend
who let me tag along
with two of the teenage kids
and it was so much fun…
(plus i had my own window AND a seatbelt!)

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we had to do a pretty quick trip
but it was so fall and pretty and
was also a great time to spend some concentrated
time with family.

i can’t wait to go again.

(also…one more thing off my 50-in-50 list!)

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the 50 before 50 shift....

So.
A long time ago,
I talked about the 50 before 50 list.

And I did a few things off of it…
some of them on purpose,
some totally by happy accident.

And then I woke up one morning
and realized
I turn 50
NEXT WEEK.

Like.
NEXT week.
Like.
TUESDAY.

So
unless
I get a tattoo
and go skydiving
over the weekend
while camping
alone
and with someone else
in Cabot trail
and stop off to give blood
on my way to
play badminton
and somehow
get someone to drive me
in a racecar or on the back of
motorcycle
to paintball after we have done
the zipline
that must be right next
to the rollercoaster…
then maybe I will have hit
my goal weight
from all that activity
and i can celebrate
by baking an effing apple pie
SERIOUSLY WHO MADE THIS LIST.

Heeheehee.

So I have decided to switch it to
the 50 - IN - 50 list.
(I’m old. I can change things to suit myself….
it’s my prerogative, Bobby)

And I am all fired up again
to get things DONE this time.

Feel free to join in the fun…
:)

I am going to see if I can pin the list
to the top of my page…you know,
for accountability…
and my frazzled memory.

50 before 50

i am not gonna lie.
i kinda had a tough weekend…
i don’t usually
feel sorry
for myself
but
this weekend,
well…
the furnace acting up is one thing…
but the furnace
acting up after i just replaced
the stupid oil tank…
and the issue with the furnace
added to the roof leaking
and the downed trees that i still need to move
plus the side door
i need to replace…

well.

the furnace acting up
was just the straw that
might have temporarily broke me.

but….
the good news is…
i feel better now.

first of all, we have a great furnace guy.
he came as soon as he could
and he is coming back tomorrow
and hopefully, we will be all fixed up again
when he leaves.

and today
i wanted to do farm day in the city
but just didn’t have it in me…i was sad and worried and well,
just feeling kinda “i-give-up”-y so
19 spent the day with me…
i had apple picking on my 50 before 50 list
so he totally humored me
(even though I know he definitely had other things
he could have been doing)…and said let’s go.

he reached all the tall apples for me
and made me laugh…
we drove down dirt roads,
took photos of cows,
stopped in to see my parents,
and then went out for supper
(five dollar fill-ups at KFC for all!)

and
by the end of the day
i felt far less “i give up” ish
and much more
grateful
for the things in my life
that really matter.
(and…i can cross apple picking
off my 50 before 50 list!)

♥

50 before 50....

the weekend dorian
hit PEI
with hurricane force wild winds
and pounding, pouring rain,
i turned 49.

my age has never really bothered me too much.
i have always rounded up by 5 years
because
a) i’m bad at math
b) when i hit the “big” years, it doesn’t even matter to me…
i’m like “meh…i’ve been 50 for five years now”

and, if i am going to be painfully, brutally honest
this past year (or more) has been a little rough.
i could focus on all the ways things are not
where i thought they would be when i hit 50

OR

i can say whatever…and make myself a list…
cause
i love a good list. :)

so i have LESS than one year to do the things on this list…
cause
i also work better under pressure.

THE 50 BEFORE 50 LIST

1. Get a new tattoo

2. Go skydiving (tandem is ok)

3. Visit a province/place I have never been (not on PEI!)

4. Go camping alone

5. Go camping with someone else

6. Cabot Trail

7. Drive in

8. Give blood

9. Go on a road trip

10. Finish the Bernadine story

11. Build a robot

12. Knit a robot

13. Go sledding

14. Try rockclimbing

15. Get a passport

16. Watch all Game of Thrones

17. Go apple picking

18. Go on a train

19. Go to a football game

20. Play badminton

21. Have a sleepover with friends

22. Plant a garden

23. Try kickboxing or karate or judo or something that could give me a belt

24. Climb a tree

25. See a live band

26. Bake an apple pie

27. Start and finish a puzzle

28. Carve a pumpkin

29. Have a bonfire

30. Drive someplace really dark and look at stars

31. Ride on a motorcycle OR in a racecar

32. Paintball

33. Photowalk with other people

34. Hit goal weight

35. Treego

36. Zipline

37. Rollercoaster

38. Drive some kind of heavy machinery

39. Learn to drive standard

40. Learn to drywall

41. Make a calendar

42. Pop up shop

43. Fill my Etsy shop

44. Aerial yoga

45. Kayak

46. Watch the sunrise

47. Make meat pies

48. Hold a baby goat

49. See fireworks

50. Make a snowman