Country Mouse

 By Maryanna Gabriel

I was raised in a city and I suppose I am used to it but this country mouse has had to shelter from the storm. Knitting relieves stress I find, and I am on my second scarf. Rather than listening to owls, I listen for the clatter of recycling boxes as they are lifted into trucks. There is a gardener at the vacation rental I am staying in who shows up with his mower at the same time every week, an unheard of event on Salt Spring where work and time is a more abstract concept. There seems to be a plethora of leaf blowers. One blows rather than rakes, vacuums rather than sweeps, and bags rather than burns. At least on this street. 

Then I found myself slowing the other day in Beacon Hill Park as I peered cautiously over the steering wheel. I am driving like I do on the island - as if a deer might leap in front of me. Suddenly, a deer did jump out! Good thing it was me and not some of the rage drivers I have encountered - the kind that lean on their horns if I don't hurl the car into oncoming traffic. So I knit. And feel better. In some ways, I am starting to get used to it all. Victoria is a beautiful city. And there is much I will miss. Not just the food but the physical beauty of the heritage buildings laced with Garry Oak set by mountains and sea. But today is my big day. 

I sign the papers. My new home on this big island awaits.

Rest - What An Odd Sensation

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Why is it so hard? The brilliant October sun. The beautiful beach nearby. Time. Today I walked and lay me down. This is Cordova Bay in the city of Victoria. Someone was getting married. Canada Geese were feeding by a stream flowing into the ocean. A woman was rocking her baby. 

And I. I actually relaxed. Wonderful. Thank you for this glorious day. 

Thanksgiving

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Screaming up the highway...

      T'is the season to be grateful. I confess I have been holding out on you. No more waxing prosaic about the charms of Victoria. I am moving to a coastal town on Vancouver Island with a grocery store on the corner of Fern and Pimrose. 

     Given the markets, I told myself it is important to wait but when I saw it, I went screaming up the highway and made a bid against a competing offer. I got it.

     So I am very grateful.

     I wonder what is going to happen next?

Emily Carr House

 By Maryanna Gabriel 

Something hurtful happened to me today so I knew I had to create a special adventure and make the day a good one. I have been wanting to visit Emily Carr's family home for a long time. I wandered past horses and wagons and heritage buildings into the stately yellow mansion that was hers. It helped me appreciate how traditional Emily's roots were and how remarkable it was that she painted ahead of her time in a way that renders her more enduring than most.

Besides, she followed her heart and to me this is always remarkable especially at a time when women's roles were severely defined. Her father came from England and made his fortune from the gold rush in California, not in the way one would think by staking a claim, but rather by following the miners and selling them groceries. He was able to build this beautiful home in the city of Victoria on Government Street. Unfortunately he caught tuberculosis, as did Emily's mother, and both died. The home had fallen into disrepair for some time but now it is slowly being restored. 

After this, I wandered down to a food truck for a delicious
oyster burger  above Fisherman's Wharf where many picturesque shops and houseboats bob side by side.
Tally ho.   

Mosi's

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Best coffee ever at Mosi's Bakery. 

Mosi's is a wonderful Italian bakery near the log house and I went there for coffee and their eggs benny. It was my day to tranfer to my next rental so breakfast out was in order. I am a little startled. I have gone from a log house with wonderful old wood floors to a pristine apartment where no ghost would dare to tread, let alone a speck of dust. Moving is always discombobulating. For one, I can't find my garlic clove. Anywhere. But I have settled in. For now anyways. 

In the midst of this, my publisher has announced he is changing the name of the book so it will have an ISBN from Pottersfield Press, and not Magic Cottage Creations, so I am feeling a bit dyslexic but there you have it. The title is now Walking the Camino: On Earth As It Is and if I try not to think about it all is well.