Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Full day fears



Today was Isla's first day of school. Last year she attended the USU campus preschool program, two half days per week, which has since been upgraded to a brand new facility this fall, while Isla has upgraded to two full days. Yesterday we stopped by the new building to have a quick look around and both Isla and I were most impressed with the play areas, learning tools and fantastic outdoor landscapes that have been built for the children.

We've decided that we would make good use of the free transit in Logan this semester, and Isla was most thrilled to catch a bus this morning to chauffeur us to her first day of school. I could tell she was slightly nervous about the new adventure, new building, new people, full day, but left her feeling that she'd settled in once she recognized a familiar teacher from last year. All her fears of being away from me all day seemed to have disappeared, when I checked in to see how she was doing midday. But my fears of her being totally exhausted and cranky at the end of a full day did come true. Growing up is hard to do, and sometimes hard to watch.






Sunday, August 29, 2010

Back in the U.S of A, eh!

It's never felt sooooo good to crawl back into my own bed. After an epic week of explaining to a concerned four year old why our plans keep changing, here we are afterall back in our Utah home for some much anticipated and needed down time. It was an unbelieveable summer, really. With so many great people and places to have crossed paths with. But four months of living out of duffle bags is certainly long enough to truly appreciate the place you call home, even if it is a temporary home.

We've returned home to such a welcoming, besides the unwelcome 'CHECK ENGINE' light, upon passing through the border crossing back into the United States, our first stop was in Helena where we were treated many times over by our friends Bobby and Crista. You may remember these two characters from some of the adventures from last year, but they have moved on from the Logan life and have settled in Helena, Montana to make pots and be merry amongst so many other clay enthusiasts.

Bobby and Crista fed us, gave us a place to lay our heads and kept us up until wee hours of the night talking. It was so great to see their digs, and catch a glimpse of their post USU life together. Congrats to you both, and many thanks again for the fantastic hospitality.

We pulled into the driveway of our little brick home in Logan late Friday night, and our terrific neighbors Kate and Mike had stocked our fridge with milk, fruit and homemade soup even! Since then we've been catching up with many of our neighbors and friends at the local Gardener's Market and around the block.

With just the weekend to get settled in before some serious schooling starts, we figured we better at least have a little fun and not just do laundry. So today Robin hit the canal with our pals Trevor, Donna and Perry for a little surfing.

Tomorrow is the start of a new school year, might as well catch some waves while you can.


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Death and Taxes

Nothing in life is certain, that's for sure. Especially day surgery! I've been bumped. I got the early morning call today that my surgery had to be postponed due to an unexpected number of emergency cases that had come in over the last week.

Apparently there are a fair few people out there with worse conditions than I, in fact they assured me that my detachment condition is fairly stable. Stable enough for me to hold off until the 13th anyways, and stable enough for me to return back to Utah with Robin for the time being.

I have to admit, this gypsy life is getting to me and with all the recent drama, I'm really in need of my own bed. Perhaps these next couple weeks will give me the extra time I need to both mentally and physically prepare for this next round of uncertainty.

Friday, August 20, 2010

One, Two, Buckle my....

Don't I wish it were my shoes that were about to be buckled! Next Wednesday I'll be headed into surgery for both of my eyes. The procedure is called a scleral buckle, and I won't go into much detail for the sake of any squeamish readers. If you do have a burning desire to know you can visit this link.

The good news is that my chronic retinal detachment was caught early, the treatment has a high success rate and if all goes well I should be back to normal by October. I've been reading up on the best and worst scenarios for recovery, which I'll remain in Canada for, until I get the go ahead from the doctors to return to Utah to meet up with Robin. In the meantime, I may have to dictate blog postings for the next little while to my mom, who is scooping me and the kids up after the surgery for a period of time while I recover.


After we'd been to see the specialist for the initial consult, and my surgery date was scheduled, we decided to spend this last week back in the Kootenays. Our plan is to do a lot of chillaxing with the kids, and maybe get to some of those projects we nearly finished before our hasty departure last week.


Many thanks to all the emails and messages that have been coming in. I feel so grateful to be the recipient of so much support and love, both near and from far away. It helps, it truly, truly does.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Eye didn't see this coming!

Well our week's worth of hard work amounted to a beautiful couple of days spent hanging out on our deck , directing traffic coming in off the highway to partake in the Cultural tour. Besides the many friends and family that came round, we were thrilled to welcome new people up onto the deck to check out the pots and enjoy some refreshments. 

Many thanks to our friend Amanda who baked all the treats and goodies for the event, and a special thanks to our friend and valley neighbor Brenda for allowing us to come and pick from her gorgeous garden  - the flowers gave the display that extra touch. Thank you both! 

In fact, this weekend couldn't have come together without the help of so many. My mom especially, with her keeping our kids entertained and happy during our epic work days and the event itself. With the event under our belts, I was just in fact congratulating ourselves on how we had indeed (almost) pulled off the most crazy summer ever.  And as it happens, that's when every so often, life throws you a curveball........

I now find myself back in Calgary, after having driven here all night last night with Robin from the Kootenays to get here in time for an early morning appointment with a retina specialist. It has been discovered, quite unfortunately, that both my eyes have partial retina detachment. Apparently this is quite a serious medical condition, I am realizing, with all the fuss everybody is making about it and me. But without any symptoms, it has been a harder realization to make. 

So, what's next? A surgical booking, a wild sounding re-attachment procedure, some considerable healing and recuperation time, and some major changes to our lives for the time being. What I am most grateful for is the people and love that I find myself surrounded by, and knowing that in a year from now I'll be hopefully blogging about something else. 

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

No rest


We must surely be wicked.....as in, no rest for the wicked....since its been non stop work since we arrived back in the Kootenays. In contrast to the anticipated afternoons at the beach, sleep ins and bbq parties on backyard decks - we've been working ourselves from morning to night this last week. A result of last minute decisions to do some work on the house, while cleaning up the property and getting ready for our big studio show and sale this coming weekend. 

We're participating in the Columbia Basin Culture Tour again this year - a celebration of local art and culture where the community is invited 'behind the scenes' to tour artists' studios, museums, art galleries and other cultural venues throughout the Columbia Basin.  This year's event is taking place over two days, August 14 and 15, from 10a.m. - 5 p.m. both days. 
 
Besides our work projects, there has been some intermittent relaxation of course. I keep telling myself that it'll all be worth the effort this weekend when we have the chance to look around at our place and enjoy the fruits of our labour with our neighbors and friends over a glass of wine or two. 

So if you happen to be in the area, be sure to come on by and have a look at the work Robin created while down at Medalta, and be sure to check out the siding while you're here too:)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

On the road again

A few months back, as we were pulling out of Logan with our trailer in tow, I remember looking into the backseat of the Jeep at my kids propped out with books, toys and an extravagant snack bag, and feeling a tad anxious. Okay, a lot anxious. They had no idea at that point in time what the summer had in store for them, but I did. 

Now three months later, I am no longer anxious - just proud. My kids are incredible really!!! They have been the best little troopers these last few months, sleeping here, there and everywhere. Readily climbing back into their carseats upon instruction that yes, it's another travelling day. 

Well our Medicine Hat adventure came to a end this past weekend. We extended our stay an extra day, leaving room for another social gathering to hang with new friends and old and for Robin - another test firing. This one, unfortunately blew up on him, but he did get a sweet load out from the soda kiln and it nearly took us the entire extra day to sort, pack and load the pots into every available square inch of our vehicle. 

Luckily we only had to make the drive back to Calgary before unloading, resorting and repacking the trailer this time to head out to the Kootenays. The kids are now snuggled down in their beds with the promise that we'll stay put for two solid weeks (I know, can you imagine?) without having to spend more than 1/2 hour in the car per day.