Heading South

If you live in North America, have you look at the highway lately? The snowbird migration has started!

I hear the call... “Richard get out of the North now while you can, leave the snow banks to others... go NOW, don't look back.”

I have been getting things in order to get out of here. The house is full of goods that will be coming with me. I don't know where in the car it would all fit, will see!

This move down South is starting today. First leg is to get to my daughter home in Gatineau and get more stuff... hopefully it's less than the size of a glove compartment. I'll sleep there and tomorrow very very early, the journey begin.

Usually when I drive down to Florida, I get up around 4 AM and have breakfast on the road. The first night, I stop in Harrisburg (Pennsylvania). The second day should end in North Carolina and then, at last, Florida.

I can't wait to be back in shorts, tshirt and sandals. 

 

Snow Day

Outside the white stuff is coming down. I might be alone in this group but I love the sight!

Sadly I will be running away to Florida soon. I will be missing the hundreds of inches of this cold white beautiful substance.

In the last week, I have been working harder than when I was getting paid. Living in this Pine fill lands, I have been busy, picking up needles, raking, and more picking up. It seems as soon I'm done with one end, I have to start all over again. I'm not complaining, I enjoy this a lot. I even do my neighbors' lot. I borrowed a golf cart from the front office complete with an attach trailer and did load after load of picking up. I almost done the whole campground, just because I had so much fun.

I don't do it to get thank you as no one will ever know of my benevolent. For my whole life I have been working in the background, I don't really enjoy be in the spotlight, I rather do my thing and let the one enjoying basking in the light get it.

This is one thing I have a bit of difficulty with blogging, I have to stand (sometime too naked) in front of the limelight. Small price to paid :-)

Lately I post not as frequently. There is just not much going on right now. If I was to describe my days it would go like: Got up, put my socks on, eat 3 meals, watch some TV, remove my socks, back to bed... It seem all days are cut and paste from the previous days!

That's it for today. I'm posting a picture fresh of this morning.

About 5 minutes ago it was sunny now it's back with snow...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful.
And since we've got no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Fall Back to Hardship

Already the first week of October over with. The condition at home will be drastically change starting Monday.

I don't know if you know that about me but in Canada I live in a trailer in a camping. Soon winter will be upon us, so the camping turn off the water so that the water lines doesn't freeze.

The trailer is built for 4 seasons, heat is not a problem but not having water is. Luckily the lake is just a few feet away, not so luckily the lake freeze solid in winter (around December). This is not a big deal as by the end of October, I'll migration down South to Florida for the winter like so many other snowbirds.

But in the meantime, I have to find alternate way of wetness. The lake will provide plenty of water for the toilet, I just need to fill the buckets. Now that this problem has been flush, I need drinkable water. There is a building at the entrance of the campground where I can fill Gerry can and as a bonus in the building there is showers.

The only problem left, there is no water heater in my home. So if I need hot water (like to do the dishes), I just boil water on the stove.

I don't find it to be a hardship at all, I enjoy going a little minimalist. When I get back to a place where all you have to do to get water is to turn a tab, I appreciate this little luxury more.

Last Last Last Party

Yesterday I was doing some works in my car to get it ready for what-ever-reason-guy-do-whatever to the car.

In my hands I had some cleaner, dirty clothes and my goal of cleaning the car inside out. But my mind was not following all the wiping, my mind was thinking about having a last party.

I went around and asked all seven people left in the whole place to come for a last season fire.

Every one showed up, and what I like more about them... they showed up bringing food, beer, wine and even one of my best friend (now) bought some woods.

So the fire pit was burning wood faster than a speeding snowbird, the food was delicious and plentiful, the colors in the tree were perfect and we all had a good time (I think).

This was priceless!

On an unrelated subject, a few months ago, I read “The Martian”. This was the best book I read in a long long time. It's science fiction but with a great deal of humor. I just notice, the movie is coming out, I highly suggest to read the book first, I haven't seen the movie but I'm pretty sure it won't be as entertaining as the book was. End of non-paid commercial.

Just a Visitor

Last week trip to Québec city made me realize that I had assume wrongly that one day I would move back to my birth place.

It is really strange... so far, every time I would go back home, I was home. I knew the places, had load of memories. I felt confident that one day, I would be coming back to live.

This time around, I felt like I was a visitor. I didn't belong there anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love the city, I think its a great place, it is just not my place anymore.

Since then, I have been questioning myself about where and why would I live somewhere the rest of my days.

1. My 2 daughters

It doesn't mater where they live and why, if they were in the same town, my furniture would be move there. Now they are a great distance apart so I live close to the one that didn't move away.

2. Town size

Millions of people are just not my thing. Just thinking about traffic, crowded stores and noise is enough to give me nightmare.

3. Lakes, rivers, parks, nature trail

Without being the perfect outdoor men, I do enjoyed scenery where cement and buildings are not the main sight.

4. Social life

This doesn't come close to be in the top priorities as most of my social life is done around a camp fire. But I do appreciate a good library, some shows, striptease club and the occasional museum.

What about you, what would be your perfect place to live?

The visitor (The bridges are: Pont de Québec and Pierre Laporte)

Fucklamode a boutique in Québec!

A new Day

Thanks to everyone that commented on yesterday post. Your words were heart warming, I felt more love in those words that what Richard as a child ever felt!

I wasn't done yesterday but the post was starting to be long so I cut it short. And from the comments I like to clarify something.

Every year when I get my annual checkup, my doctor ask me if there is any change in my family health. I always feel a little shame and guilt about having to explain to him that I haven't seen anyone for 20 years and I don't know. I know that I took the right decision to cut off my toxic relationship but I can't help myself to have some longing for a normal life. I guess to explain it another way, it's like if you lose your job because of event that were out of your control, when someone asked you what do you do, you feel a little shame that you are out of work.

I can assure you, I like myself, I'm proud of what I accomplished. The road could have been easier but even then I could have taken wrong turns.

I have a loving family, great friends and had a great job before retiring. If there was anything to change, I would not change a thing.

It's all about the choices we make. Natalie wrote yesterday: “Just feel sorry for anyone who had the chance to get to know you but missed out.” This is so true, my mom's choices belong to her, I'm not responsible. But from her choices she missed being part of her only 2 granddaughters' life.

When I took my health journey in February, I made all the right choices for myself. I took complete responsibility of where I was (health wise) and took action.

I decided to write the blog as a way of sharing the struggle to lose weight. I came quickly to a big problem: there was no struggle! I was focus and in pursuit like never before. There was no side road to cheat-ville. I was making only healthy choices, 100 % of the time.

What I'm saying is that you are in your own driver seat, it doesn't mater your background, it doesn't mater what happened, it's all about now what you are going to do. I think we all have many second chances, why not take one right now?

My thoughts are with the families of the ones that were killed in Oregon this week. I don't get it that someone would be so desperate to do such an act. My though are also with the shooter's family who must have so much conflicting feeling between shameness and sadness.

Neglected Child

Hum I have been thinking about this post for a while. It is far from my cheery positive posts but it is part of who I am today. We all have our own load of events in our suitcases so I am just opening a few pages from my Richard's book to all of you.

I was born in 1960. in Montmorency Québec. This is a small neighborhood most know for the fall. A railroad crossed the town and I live on one side. I can't tell if I was on the right side of the track or not as there was no right side! 

I used to walk there by myself and I was not even 5 years old

We lived in the middle home on the right unit of the last floor

 I have 3 brothers, one younger and two older. What is interesting, we are all 6 years apart!

I didn't know what my situation was until my adult life but I was a neglected child.

Across own home was the school. Back then, we didn't need to go to kindergarten as we were so more smarter than the kids today LOL 

It's no more a school, it has been convert to appartment

 I was so looking forward to starting school. My best buddy Michel who was younger by few months and I were both in the courtyard on the first day hoping to be in the same class. The school principal called the names and the child had to go to their teacher. Michel name was call. My name was never call...

I asked why and was told that my parent didn't register me. I had to go back home and get my mother to do so. I didn't start school that day, nor the next, I started a week after everyone else because I was “forgotten”.

Before Christmas, I was shipped to a school in Tadoussac, to this day I still not sure why. In early spring, I was bought back to my school in Montmorency but that didn't last long.

I was playing with Michel and I looked and people were removing furniture from my home. At the end of the day, we had moved to Beauport (about 5 miles), I had to changed school again. My father and my oldest brother didn't get the change of address notification... it seems!

For as long I can remember, no one ever got up with me in the morning. My mom and her boyfriend would sleep and get up in the afternoon. So I was cooking my own breakfast and lunch.

I don't know how often at night I would get awake from those 2 drunks fighting. I wished someone would have call child service.

I started working when I was 11, I was a caddy at the golf course. I also got a newspaper run, sold chips and peanut at the colisée, watch windows at the driving. Any thing I could do to earn some money, I was available. I remembered I was about 8 years old and had a little bit of money in the bank as I was collecting empty bottles. I need running shoes and my mom asked me to lend her my fund and she will pay me back... I'm still waiting, with the interest rate, it should be a great amount! Starting at 11, I was buying my own cloths and paying my own expenses. I never got one of those thing, you know a-l-l-o-w-a-n-c-e... I guess because of this, I'm really independent.

I was really bad at school. I didn't had a learning problem, I had an attendance problem. No one seems to care if I went or not so I didn't. So at 17, I didn't even passed all my course in grade 8 and decided that I was going no where so I joined a new family... the Canadian Armed Forces.

Moving forward to 1995... my mom never called, never send a Christmas card, I didn't care until I had my daughters. I was neglected but I didn't want the same thing to happen to my own child. Nothing change but I was giving them my love. One day the phone ring, it was my mom, she called because she wanted to borrow money. Still I send her enought to filled up her fridge but I thought that I would have a talk with her when I went back home. I tryied to talk to her and she told me that it was the past and she didn't want to talk about that. That was enough for me, I had enough of that one way relationship, so I stopped calling or going to visit her.

It has been over 20 years since I have no contact with my family. In the back of my mind, the whole time I blamed myself and as I was getting ready to write this post, I realized ONE thing, my mom never call either! So maybe I'm not that bad a son afterall.

After my father and mom split, I seen him 3 times. He was not part of my life too. My fondest memory of him: He showed me how to pee standing up, that's it, no words of wisdom nothing else, he showed me how to pee... what would I have if I had been a girl?

That's it maybe next time I'm going to talk about sexuality... it's a lot more up-beat! hahahaha

Videotron Center

Last week I went to Quebec city. It's about a 4.5 hours from my home. Because I am retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, I can booked cheap room on base. I reserved a room in Valcartier which is about half an hour from Quebec. At $35 per night for a room you can't go wrong. It was not the Holiday Inn but there was a fridge, TV and a toilet. There was a shower share by 8 rooms.

My main reason to go was to attend a hockey game in the bright new Videotron center and to say goodby to the colisée which will be destroy. 

 

I was not really going for the hockey, I don't even know any players in both team. But I am confident one day, the Nordiques will be back in the National Hockey League and they will play in this building.

I was born in Montmorency which is 15 minutes from Quebec city. Growing up as a teenager, I worked at the old Colisée de Québec. I had a very important job, I had to go up and down the stairs to sell chips and peanuts. One of the benefit of my job: I could watch all the games and all the shows for free. And of course I would get paid commission for the items I sold.

So the Nordiques and the Rempart (Junior major Hockey) were a big part of my life. Even when I moved away from Quebec, I kept watching my team. I was heart broken when the Nordiques moved to Colorado. It was so bad that I stopped completely watching hockey. I even boycott the companies that had rudely sold my team.

After over 10 years, living in Gatineau there was a Junior major Hockey team and I started to attended few games and was hooked back.

Now with the talk of a hockey team coming back to Quebec I'm so excited and now I've seen where they will play!