Sherpa Dog ... in the Dehcho region

long time no update ... :)

2011-09-19T10:12:00.001-07:00

all smiles for having finally reached Glacier Lake, phew!

Hello my dear family & friends,

It's been quite awhile since my last post from the Bow Valley where I was tramping about the Canadian Rockies with my new partner Pam. It's been great having such a kindred spirit to connect with at home & out in the "wilds" & "not-so-wilds" wherever our feet have taken us. We've been enjoying our time together so much that last year we decided to head up to the "Great White North" together.

As many of you know, Pam got hired on as one of the new Heritage Presenters (aka Backcountry Interpreters) for Nahanni National Park Reserve up in the Northwest Territories and I was happy to join in on whatever adventures would come our way with such a move :)

It was unfortunate that I would no longer be available to offer Nature Reconnecting hikes & activities for Gaia Collaborative Medicine out of Canmore, but I was comfortable with trusting that opportunities would arise for me to offer my skills & energy to seek out some rewarding activities for me to get involved in as well.

I've been sharing more of my stories & pic's through my Facebook page, which has meant less time for keeping my blog up-to-date :( So, if you'd like to catch up on these stories & pic's since we left the Bow Valley, please check out my photos on Facebook if you are already plugged in to FB, or, you can visit my albums at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=526286844

Given Pam's long-standing connection with Parks Canada (~24 years of Summer seasonal work & ~7 years since she first got on with Winter seasonal work as a snowplough driver :) & the fact that this Nahanni postion was only for this past Summer, we are not yet certain of how things will unfold for us this Winter.

Pam & Teresa enjoying a sandbar stop along our paddle to Liidlii Kue (Fort Simpson) fr. the ferry landing 14 km upstream

There are a few prospects on the horizon that could enable both of us to be gainfully employed here in Liidlii Kue (Fort Simpson) for a longer period of time. I recently had an interview with the Arctic Energy Alliance http://www.aea.nt.ca ... to be posted in a new position they created for the community here as a Regional Energy Pathfinder. Pam is waiting for her interview with Parks for a Resource Conservation Technician position here for Nahanni NPR.

So, we'll see what shakes out for us. Pam has also been successful with the request to have her seasonal Winter position transferred to Jasper National Park fr. Lake Louise. So, if the Res. Con. position doesn't happen up here for Pam, she can at least have the opportunity to have a fresh start in Jasper driving the snowploughs again.

Little Miss Yukon ... the gorgeous Husky/German Shepherd that we've been helping take care of ... we also hope to work things out this Autumn so that Yukon can come live with us :)

I'll try to add more pic's into this post real soon, I've uploaded a few pic's for now, but in the meantime, hopefully the link to my Facebook albums will work for you.

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa ... & Pam (aka TiPi) ... & Yukon too

p.s. here's a bit more of the story behind the picture at the beginning of my blog ... I was very pleased the group I was with (as a "canoe-filler" for the 1st 11 days of a 22 day canoe/hiking trip), ... when we finally reached Glacier Lake. We were all absolutely knackered after the 7 and a half hour hike to get to this wonderful spot in Nahanni NPR before heading up the next day for another 7.5 hour hike to get to the Cirque of the Unclimbables, phew!
Quite reminiscent of my tramping adventures Down Unda with the heavy packs & all kings of bushwhacking. The big difference was the more forgiving soil/moss ground that we were hiking on in Nahanni vs. the hard granite underfoot pretty much everywhere I went in Australia (except for the beaches of course)!!!

Teresa's Summer of '09 (pt. 2)

2009-11-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

black wolf & 5 black pups along the Bow Valley Parkway ... what a treat to see these gorgeous black buddies bouncing along in the tall grasses! (20 July 2009)

Hello Dear Friends & Family,

Hoping all is well for each of you wherever you are these days, here's an update I've been meaning to share for quite awhile ... go figure, I had drafted this update last year & never finalized it so that I could post it on my blog until now ... still fun stories & some neat pic's to share nonetheless ... had trouble getting some of the remaining photos uploaded (with my limited highspeed Internet access), last year & even now, so I'll have to try to add those in the next time I am on a solid cyber connection ... ENJOY!!!

JULY 2009

How fortunate & blessed I've been this Summer, with the encounters I've had with my neighbours ... I had the great pleasure of spotting a black wolf two mornings in a row ... through the trees along the Bow Valley Parkway ... & totally loving being on alert for such wildlife viewing opportunities!!!

02 July 2009 - I got totally excited about this morning's encounter with another black wolf ... this one walked right across the Bow Valley Parkway as I came along in my car, our eyes met for a shared gaze after I stopped ... THEN, I found myself looking into the face of another gorgeous wolf, this one, a big grey wolf, stalking its way toward me on the road. Then the two wolves walked slowly along the roadside ditch before they moved into the pine forest nearby.

The more common Columbia ground squirrels, ravens, fresh mountain air have been quite marvelous as well :)

BEARS

we had front rows seats to the most spectacular encounter btwn. a wapiti (elk) & a grizzly bear ... out on the meadow in front of our staff cabin ...

... eventhough the bear initially scared off the wapiti when it clamoured across the road into the meadow, the wapiti returned & opted to continue eating grass for awhile longer before the disturbance from the many cars that had stopped along the road became too much of a threat for the wapiti to stay around the meadow.

We watched this great show for at least 15 or 20 minutes before the bear eventually did move on ... to get away from the many cars that were stopping & watching/taking pictures & as the daylight was fading.

A couple of the guys saw the bear about half an hour later in the campground beside our cabin!

WOLVES

here's one of my favourite pic's from this Summer ...

20 July - I was very honoured & excited to see another one of my black wolf neighbours ... this one was also close to the road as I returned back home to the cabin ... BUT this time, ... the black wolf I saw ... was accompanied by FIVE little pups, were truly a delight to see on my way home from only half a shift since I was not feeling very well that day :) :) :) The lovely little pack of wolves was absolutely gorgeous!!!

one of my black wolf neighbours from this Summer ... just up the Bow Valley Parkway from where I was living ... & the 5 new cubs that were added to the pack :)

25 July - I got out to Paradise Valley & the Giant Steps yesterday ... HOW GORGEOUS!!! Thanks for the recommend on this hike Kim Wallace :) I was able to join a few of the campers from our campground who needed a fourth hiker to comply with the 4 person minimum for this trail due to the bear activity in the area.

Saw a couple of marmots on the way down to the Giant Steps & even a nice little toad along the trail. The waterfall at the Giant Steps was absolutely awesome, can't wait to go back with other friends in the near future ...

(pic's fr. Trish)

Summer fun out at Island Lake not far from the cabin at Protection Mountain :)
(paddling with my driftwood paddle + Island Lake wide & zoom shots)

AUGUST 2009

I had to finally say "goodbye" to my trusty travelling companion ... my Canon Powershot camera ... it helped me capture many, many, many splendid critters & gorgeous places ... plus so many wonderful & dear friends, family, & their furry friends ... after ~18,000 pic's & a couple trips Down Unda ...
(young bear near BVP on the way to work)

07 August - here's one of my little buddies from the Bow Valley Parkway ... filling its belly with buffalo berries & not interested one bit that we were just on the other side of the road in my little car.

I am sure going to miss these gorgeous neighbours out near the cabin ... will just have to get out there often & rejuvenate my spirit :)

By far, the pic's I took that morning on the way work were the most fun I'd had with my new camera up to that point ... a few more bear (& wolf) pic's will follow in the next little while now that I am able to tap into a solid cyber link more readily ...

M-F & her boys out for a visit ... brunch, canoeing on Moraine Lake, hiking to Island Lake, cookout at the firepit by my cabin at Protection Mountain. Great food including banana boats for dessert YUM!

Lake O'Hara at the end of the month - Pam got us in on a cancellation at the Parks Canada "back country" campground. We took the shuttle bus 11 km to the campground & enjoyed tramping about the trails & taking in the totally gorgeous views from high over Lake O'Hara.

SEPTEMBER 2009

Pam & I enjoyed a GREAT week-end at Waterfowl Lakes ... got out on the Upper Lake in a canoe ... saw a moose in the water, saw an osprey overhead, & heard a couple of loons after one of them called us from the other side of the lake :)

Wrapped up my Parks job at the Lake Louise campground after the 1st week of September & enjoyed 3 great days of hiking in the Rockies with Pam, my new nature nut of a girlfriend :) ... totally gorgeous, sunny, blue sky days & the cold, clear, star-filled nights at the Little Yoho warden cabin :)

Now that I have wrapped up my campground attendant season with Parks Canada, I'll be getting into the swing of things with the healing folks at Gaia Collaborative Medicine ... this dynamic group of health & wellness practitioners in Canmore.

OCTOBER 2009

Enneagram workshop in Calgary this week-end with Eileen Head ... http://lifeequationsinc.com/ ... also, here's a link to do a free online Enneagram quiz ... http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp?discover ... which unconscious pattern/type do you resonate with?

NOVEMBER 2009

Victoria, British Columbia - Chilkowich clan gathering for my folks anniversary & my step-mother Cecilia's 60th birthday ... more on this & a few pic's in my next posting ... :)

I led my first Nature Reconnecting walk for a woman who brought along her lovely little dog ... this is the first such walk that I have offered through Gaia Collaborative Medicine ... all went well & the client/patient really appreciated the reconnecting time with nature and the activities we did along the way :)

Hope your 2009 was as blessed as mine has been with the spectacular wilderness experiences and reconnecting with family & friends!

Big hugs, Teresa

Teresa's Summer of '09 Adventures (pt.1)

2009-11-11T22:59:00.001-08:00

Cougar Creek hike with Judy Stevens (April 2009)

G'daye my dear Friends & Family,

It's been quite a Summer of great adventures up near Lake Louise for me & somehow, we are already into November & I've not updated my blog to share any of my stories or pictures with you.

I am sure I'll need a couple of postings to fit everything in, so I'll recap the amazing hiking fun & wildlife encounters that I enjoyed as each month unfolded + a few of the other great things I was able to do along the way ...

MAY

In early May, Katrina, my little sister on the east coast in Maryland, got married to her beau Ronnie. It was quite the family gathering ... filled with many smiles, hugs, heaps of pictures captured by everyone, great food, and much love amid the rainy weather on their big day.

Katrina & Ronnie ... the newlyweds

Here's a few pic's from the wedding of my east coast family + a few of us from the western part of Turtle Island ...

Ronnie & Katrina's special day (May 14, 2009)

my new brother-in-law Ronnie & my brother Andrew, one of the groomsmen

Mom & Doug & their little girl ... all grown up & ready for a special horse-drawn carriage ride

Katrina Rose ... the radiant one

Katrina & all her siblings along with Mom & Doug ... what a mob :)

Ronnie with Roo, Loo, & Boo
Tammie, Jeffrey, & the girls ... Alexis, Bailey, & Carissa

dancing time ... great fun for everyone!

Katrina & Ronnie, the happy couple on their sunshiney day :)

me & my Mom ... so glad I didn't have to wear pink!!!

In the middle of May, Alberta had the tremendous pleasure & honour to host my teacher Dr. Joanna Macy for the first time ever to lead a few workshops around our fair province. The one day workshop at the U of C engaged ~100 participants who gathered for Joanna's teachings.

May 7-9, 2009 - EcoConference on Professional Helping (U of C)

panel session with Karsten Hauer, , Dr. Joanna Macy, & Dr. David Orr

beeswax sculptures that Nicholas & I made during one of the workshops ... note how uncannily similar Nick's green "koru" (fern frond) with the whale fluke looks next to my jade necklace ... that's my purple red cedar/great blue heron beside Nicholas' jade fish hook pendant

Nick had no idea of the similarity until I showed him my pendant that was hiding under my kayak shirt!!!

Mishka Lysack (U of C Faculty of Social Work) & Joanna Macy at the U of C

May 9, 2009 - Joanna then shared her teachings up in Edmonton on the evening of the 9th, along with the amazing Jennifer Berezan and her beautiful music. ~300-350 people gathered for this wonderful evening of inspiration & song :)

Jennifer, Anne, & Joanna (May 15, 2009) along the Marsh Lake trail

Joanna, Anne, & Jennifer enjoying a gorgeous day in Banff National Park (May 15, 2009)

May 15-17, 2009 - "Leading for the Great Turning" workshop - with Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan (with Leanne Allison & Joel Kroeker on May 15th)

How very wonderful to have Joanna sharing her teachings with folks in Alberta and to have Jennifer Berezan & Joel Kroeker share their musical gifts was truly a terrific comination! The Friday evening event at the Banff Centre brought a crowd of over 300 people out, who received the whole evening with much interest and gratitude. The workshop that carried forward on Sat./Sun. with Joanna & Jennifer
included folks from around Alberta (30 of which received scholarships to attend through the "ECO Healing & Rediscovery in the Rockies" project I was doing in Canmore) & a few other from outside the province.

Julian Norris (Outward Bound Canada), Kerry Longprè (The Calgary Foundation), Julia Lynx (Loving the Land), Mike Lickers (Ghost River Rediscovery), & Joanna Macy ... acknowledging the support from TCF for the 30 bursaries offered through the ECO Healing & Rediscovery project that I coordinated

Joanna Macy, Leanne Allison, Jennifer Berezan, & Joel Kroeker ... "Leading for the Great Turning" finale singing "Praises for the World"

What a treat to have both Joel & Jennifer share their music during the week-end workshop ... nap time with Jennifer singing her River Lullaby was one of the highlights as was Joel's acapella version of Hallelujah that he dedicated to Joanna before he left earlier on the Sunday. Here's a link to the website for this event for you to hear some of their great music ... http://www.lovingtheland.com/JoannaMacyWorkshopMay2009.html ... also you can listen to clips of Jennifer's music at: http://www.edgeofwonder.com/music-merch/ & you can hear Hallelujah on Joel's myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/joelkroeker ... ENJOY!

JUNE

Here's one of my Facebook status updates from my trip down to Waterton with Margaret ...

"Teresa is grateful for the way things turned out after this evening's incredible encounter with a couple members of the charismatic mega-fauna in SW Alberta!!!"

TRANSLATION: I am truly grateful that Margaret & I were able to complete our evening hike last Monday (June 1st), when we first arrived into Waterton National Park ... we encountered a mama bear & her cub on the Wishbone Trail ... & upon finally seeing us, the mama bear decided we were a threat & she clamoured our way & "bluff charged" us 3 times ... huffing & snorting with teeth bared, ... before finally heading off into the trees!!!

(picture to be posted soon)
Margaret holding the big aspen tree trunk that helped her/us look bigger during our unforgettable bear encounter

I am very grateful to all my relations & the ancestors for helping us walk out from that trail fully intact & totally charged up with adrenaline, wonder, amazement, & GRATITUDE :) I continue to be totally amazed by overwhelming feelings of WONDER, AWE, RESPECT, & GRATITUDE for this mama bear and the close encounter we had with her!

(picture to be posted soon)
Margaret & I ... totally amazed & grateful for the experience we just had with our bear friends on the Wishbone trail in Waterton.

Nadia's U of A graduation - B.A. Linguistics

10 June - My youngest sister Nadia returned from her European adventures from Scotland to Greece in time to participate in her commencement ceremonies at the University of Alberta.
I was really happy to be there on her big day, to see her looking so grown up, very wise, and totally tanned!!!

Nadia hangin' out after all the pomp & circumstance was over :)

Nadia & the very proud parentals ... Cecilia & Tony

Nadia & Baba Rasko

Summer of '69 b-day party

I had a very wonderful time with a bunch of my family & friends in the river valley of Edmonton to celebrate my 40th b-day :) Ross brought party favours by sharing his Natural Dawn lip balm with everyone ... yummy lime & also mandarin! Maureen helped retrieve frisbees from trees, what a talent!

I had great fun with the little people who came along for the party too ...

(pic's to follow when I have my ext. hard drive with me & I am on the Internet)

Sonja & Violet ... Sophie, Tom, Evan, & Olivia ... Mary-Frances, Gerard, Alisdair, & Finley ... plus my folks & my Aunt's family ... & of course what's a party without a few hard-core "band geeks" ... so glad that Laurelie (in spirit) & Colleen were able to join in on the fun too!

13-14 June - great 2 days at the Pachamama Alliance AtD facilitator training ... even with the sleepy, early morning start on my birthday (add link to AtD stuff)

"Wild Rose Dreamers" - the name of our lovely little group of AtD Facilitators

Teresa's "Summer of '69" dress-up birthday party - potluck picnic with friends & family at Victoria Park (Edmonton)

2009-05-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hello my dear friends & family,

The wonderful month of June is coming up
... & on the 13th, ... you know what happens ...?
... I will be entering my 40th year!

Teresa's BIRTHDAY WISHES:

1. to wind down my 39th year, surrounded by dear friends & family & HEAPS of laughter, love, & yummy food

2. to have you join me & the wonderful mob who gather to help me celebrate my 40th birthday

3. sunshine & blue skies (well, at least no precipitation, tornadoes, or freezing temperatures!)

4. to hear a favourite story or see a memorable picture (or more than one) about an adventure or special moment that we've shared over the past 4 decades

5. to give everyone a chance to have some fun remembering the Summer of '69 ... come dressed as someone/something from 1969 or the '60's who has inspired you ... PEACE ... LOVE ... & RAINBOWS :)

6. to reconnect with as many of you as I can before I begin my next adventure ... with Parks Canada at the Lake Louise campground

WHEN: Sunday, June 7th

WHERE: Victoria Park - River Valley Road - 115 Street
(look for a little silver Honda Fit & likely a few signs)

WHO: all my lovely "peeps" & their families & canine friends too

WHAT WE'LL DO: potluck picnic in the park

THINGS TO BRING: your favourite potluck/picnic grub
... foods that you also may know are favourites of mine ...
... mmm potatoe salad ... fruit salad (organic strawberries, YUM) ... 7 layer salad?
...dill pickle chips ... deviled eggs
homemade anything ... that doesn't have mushrooms, olives, capers, or major garlic/onions (you know why!!!) ...
... home-canned pickles & pickled beets ...
corn on the cob YUM (not sure how that can work for a picnic but hey, it's my party!)
... hummus ... spinach dip ... white wine
raspberry anything ... banana bread (without walnuts)
... fair trade organic chocolate treats ... ICE CREAM :)

+ lawn chairs, plates, utensils ... beverages of your choice, etc.
games to play out in the park with kids & dogs & big kids like ME
(frisbee, soccer, baseball gear?)!

I am not wishing for any gifts, only your PRESENCE.
With that said, I know some of you may still beinclined to bring something.
Please know that I am trying not to collect more STUFF
... so please consider only consumables that are locally produced, eco-friendly, etc.

TIME: 2:30 p.m. into the evening
(until at least 8 p.m. or longer if it's nice out)

Here's the link to the Facebook event page I created for my party: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=526286844#/event.php?eid=82927484101&ref=mf

In true Teresa style ... I'm living on the edge & requesting lovely weather from the universe. At this point, I don't have a back-up plan ... perhaps gathering at somebody's house ... not sure whose though ... or perhaps a restaurant ...

If you are joining us later on, or if the weather looks less inviting, then give a call to my mobile: (403) 690-0504 or my folks - Tony & Ceclia at: (780) 998-7154 - to see how things are going & where we are ...

Looking forward to reconnecting with you on the 7th of JUNE :)

Hugs 'n' Bugs & heaps of love,

Teresa

p.s. I've also got plans to do a camping celebration (big birthday celebration part 2) sometime over the Summer, out near the staff cabin I'll be living in south of Lake Louise ... stay tuned ... ;)

~~~

(403) 678-2397 (Canmore until the end of May)
(403) 690-0504 (mobile)
(831) 440-8678 (SkypeIn phone #)
tchilkowich@gmail.com

Teresa's new fuel efficient, long-distance transporter ... "silver fox"

2009-04-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Teresa's little "silver fox" ... even got #13 on the plate!
... the new set of wheels I just acquired to help me get around this Summer

Hello my dear friends & family,

It's been about 2.5 years of carfree living for me since I headed Down Unda at the end of 2006 but alas, turns out I will need a vehicle to travel a greater distance than I can do in a manageable timeframe with my bike for this Summer. So, I just recently got this little FIT in anticipation of the new work starting in June, which will require me to travel 17 km from the wonderful staff cabin I'll be sharing with two other Parks staff, to the campground I'll be working at. (More details on my Summer work once I get the paperwork in place ... I don't want to share any more details until things are sorted out with a signed contract.)

I knew I would have to unfortunately end my dedicated carfree status sometime in the near future & since I lined up this car just yesterday, my carfree status has now changed. Of course, I will continue to be doing as much as I can on foot, with my bike, & sharing rides as much as possible. This purchase also contributes to s

The excellent part about my new little Honda Fit, is that it is very fuel efficient (5.8 - 7.3 L/100 km or 49 - 39 mpg), & it has HEAPS of cargo space ... so camping & taking my bike to & fro when I need it will be NO PROBLEM! I can even lay down in the back when the seats are down flat ... which will be handy if I am ever stuck for a place to sleep!

Teresa's little "silver fox" ... a zippy little 2007 Honda Fit - Sport model

I've decided on "silver fox" as the name for my new little auto ... the French translation is not so exciting "renard argenté" ... but the Italian "volpe d'argento" ... & the Spanish "zorro plateado" are pretty fun!

Good thing I won't be doing much city driving with this car ... cause I would likely run the risk of speeding at times because of how peppy this little Sport model is :) I'll also be able to more comfortably pass other cars on the highway with this little car ... even with my car loaded with camping gear! Something that was a bit of a challenge for my little Aubergine, the Civic hatchback I used to have :)

here's where I am living in Canmore (my room, living room, & bathroom are on the same level as the 2 windows on the main floor to the right of the front steps)
... with my new to me, long-distance transporter ... my bike & heaps more can FIT into this spunky little car! See the mountains in the background :)

Next week I will be reconnecting with my family for my younger sister Katrina's wedding to her fiancé Ronnie. I will be seeing almost all of my siblings there ... all except Nadia, my youngest sister, who is in Scotland right now, enjoying her latest adventures with a friend she made when she was in Germany in 2007. She'll return from that trip on the day of her convocation from the U of A, with her Linguistics degree. What a whiz she is! I'll also get to reconnect with Margaret for a few of the days while I am out there too, YIPPEE! :)

Then, the day after I return fr. D.C., I'll be participating in the EcoConference on Professional Helping at the U of C that Joanna Macy & David Orr will be keynotes for ... Joanna will also be offering the full day pre-conference workshop on the 7th :) http://ucalgary.ca/oikos/ecoconference
I will also be promoting the big workshop event with Joanna & Jennifer in Banff the following week-end at this conference & the evening talk in Edmonton on May 10th.

On the 10th, I will hop up to Edmonton for Joanna & Jennifer Berezan's evening talk that St. Stephen's College is hosting http://www.ualberta.ca/ST.STEPHENS/news/index.html#theplanetourselves
It will be GREAT to share in this splendid evening with my Edmonton-based friends & maybe even my folks, we'll see ...

Then, back to the Bow Valley to keep promoting the big event at the Banff Centre for May 15-17 with Dr. Macy & Jennifer Berezan ... YIPPEE!! http://www.lovingtheland.com

here's the GREAT poster that Julia Lynx has created to promote this awesome event ... how very exciting to know that Joanna & Jennifer will be coming to Alberta very soon :)

It's so wonderful that Dr. Macy will be here to share her teachings around Alberta & that Jennifer Berezan is joining Joanna to share her amazing music! If you are anywhere near Alberta, I hope you can make it for any one of these great events.

Wishing everyone a splendid start to Spring in the northern hemisphere & a pleasant transition into Autumn down in the southern hemisphere. It's so great to hear the ducks, robins, & geese who have returned & to see the dozen swans near Lac des Arcs on my way home yesterday!

It was also wonderful to see the red winged blackbirds in the wetlands & all the hawks on the fence posts on my quick trip up & back to Edmonton on Wednesday for my friend Colleen's Gido's funeral ... he was a sweet & funny centarian of 101 years. May he rest in peace. I know Colleen's family will miss Gido dearly. Big hugs to your family Colleen & your Gido & Babo too!

That's all for my update for now. More snow is in the forecast overnight tonight, so I may wake up to 10-15 cm of snow, maybe more?! How wonderful will it be when Spring is here to stay! In the meantime, I'll enjoy the peaceful, serene, snowy landscapes when they reappear & disappear as frequently as they do these days!

Hugs 'n' Bugs,

Teresa

p.s. my new address & phone number at my new place in Canmore are:

1106 - 14 Street
Canmore, Alberta T1W 1V7

(403) 678-2397 (until the end of May)
(403) 690-0504 (mobile)
(831) 440-8678 (SkypeIn phone number)

"Leading for the Great Turning" - week-end workshop with Dr. Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan in Banff (May 15-17, 2009)

2009-02-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Berezan & Joanna Macy at the Wisdom & Action conference - Berkeley, California (Sept. 2003)

Hello again my friends!

I've been letting many of you know of the plans I was discussing with Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan while I was working with Ghost River Rediscovery last year. Well, it turns out that given my persisting jobless state & no grant funding coming through earlier on, I had to pass along the coordination of this May workshop to someone in a better position to move these plans forward more readily.

This event is now being coordinated by a woman named Julia Lynx in Canmore, who is also on staff at the Banff Centre. As well, Julia is a doula (birthing assistant) who is now using her event coordinating expertise to help in the final stages of bringing to life the plans that we've been making with the Banff Centre for Performing Arts to host these two amazingly gifted teachers. Julia has recently passed along a weblink with details on the workshop & an on-line registration process.

"Leading for the Great Turning" is the title for this week-end workshop (May 15-17, 2009) & you can find more details & register at: http://www.lovingtheland.com

I hope you can make it, especially since it's Dr. Macy's first ever trip to Alberta to share her teachings (she was here one time before but only on holidays many years ago). Plus, earlier in May 2009, Joanna will have celebrated her 80th birthday and also because Jennifer Berezan is accompanying Joanna to share her evocative and powerful music. Jennifer's voice & music are totally amazing!

You can learn more about Dr. Macy's "Work that Reconnects" at:
http://www.joannamacy.net

As well, you can find out more about Jennifer's gift of music and her unique, spiritually musical approach to teaching at: http://www.edgeofwonder.com

This is very much a ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY for folks here in Alberta!"Leading for the Great Turning" with Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan (May 15-17, 2009)

Related to this & to my own quest to share my unique gifts, I am relocating out to Canmore, Alberta for the next few months to launch the project I had been applying for funding on last year while I was still with Ghost River Rediscovery. Turns out The Calgary Foundation approved half the funding we requested & I've decided to move forward with launching the "ECO Healing & Rediscovery in the Rockies" workshop/day hike series while I continue to sort out where I will pursue my Summer seasonal outdoor work this year.

Soooooooo, TERESA'S ON THE MOVE AGAIN ...
but also heading to a comfortable spot to call "home" for awhile ...

Since I proposed to deliver this project out in the Canmore/Banff region, I will be moving out that way in the next day or two. I will offer a mix of workshops that share Dr. Macy's "Work that Reconnects" as well as the Rediscovery activities that I added to my facilitation "tool box" last year with GRR. The folks at the Canmore Community Cooperative Workshop http://www.canmorecoop.ca will be one of the main sponsoring hosts for this work & as I get things rolling in Canmore at THE COOP, I also hope to be offering activities through the Banff Volunteer Centre &/or the Banff Library and maybe even the Banff Centre, we'll see. With half the funds, there's less time to do all that I had originally proposed ...
"ECO Healing & Rediscovery in the Rockies" workshop series at the THE COOP

http://www.canmorecoop.ca/programming/workshops/314-eco-healing-a-rediscovery-in-the-rockies.html

At this point in my journey, there's heaps keeping the energy flowing, building, and recharging amid my more precarious "speck" riding state (Horton Hears a Who reference :) My family & friends (the many kind Horton's in my life) have been offering up their generosity through their love, hugs, & kindness, their comfie beds & delicious food, and their camaraderie & support.

The fragility of life on this little speck hits me every now & then, so I am doing my best to remember to BREATHE DEEPLY, ... GET OUT IN NATURE, ... and BE GENTLE with MYSELF. It's also been great to reach out to many of you splendid & beautiful beings over the phone & cyberwaves along the way. I know I am in need of connecting with a few of you in the very near future to seek your guidance and support.

I look forward to reconnecting with any & all of you along the way as you come across my BLOG postings or other notices that may inspire you to connect with me :)

For anyone in or near Alberta, it will be GREAT to reconnect with you in person out in Canmore while I am living in the Rockies over the next few months! Especially if you can make it for Joanna & Jennifer's week-end workshop of transformational teachings!

Sending all of you great big hugs & heaps of love,

Teresa & Sherpa Dog

p.s. here are my contact details for reaching me in the Rockies ... I've just relocated to a much better housing arrangement here in Canmore & am very pleased to share my new address with you:

Teresa L. Chilkowich
1106 - 14 Street
Canmore, Alberta
T1W 1V7

(403) 678-2397 (landline in Canmore)
(831) 440-8678 (SkypeIn phone number)
(403) 690-0504 (mobile phone)

spiralwonder@peacemail.com

Skype & Facebook are other options as well :)

the quest for Teresa's place in the world continues in 2009 ...

2009-02-28T08:47:00.001-08:00

smaller falls in Great Falls National Park near Washington D.C. (January 2009)

Hello my dear friends & family,

Over the past 5 months, I've been on the rollercoaster ride that job searching often is ... experiencing the HIGHS of exploring new possibilities and getting excited about postings that call out to me and breathing through the LOWS of different options falling by the wayside. In particular the Activities Assistant position on Vancouver Island that some of you know about, that I thought I was heading toward last Nov./Dec. ... the plug was pulled on this in the 11th hour as I was waiting for the contract they said would be sent in a couple of days. Such was the impact of the big "economic downturn" on non-profit organizations relying on their endowment funds!

Many have been the opportunities for practicing PATIENCE, NON-ATTACHMENT, and COMPASSION for myself and others.

stillness & beauty of the frozen C & O Canal near Great Falls

After making as much peace as I could with myself & the situation that revealed I was not going to be working for Pearson College or on the west coast (at least at this time), I kept pushing on with my job search. A few weeks into the new year, I found myself gearing up to return to the Great White North for a few job interviews for outdoor, seasonal positions with the Alberta government. So, I prepared to return to Edmonton from my "sojourn" of a couple months out in the Washington D.C. area that was possible through the generosity and kindness that Margaret & my family on the east coast graciously shared with me in my "no-fixed-address," job-seeking, gypsy state-of-being.

sunset over the Capitol Building almost ready for Barack Obama's inauguration (January 15, 2009)

So, a few hours after watching Barack Hussein Obama be sworn in as the 44th president of the U.S. (on t.v. - we had no desire to wade through the sea of people that we knew were coming out for this historical event, especially the crowds in the Metro stations), I had to bid "adieu" to my sweet Margaret, & then board an airplane bound for Canada.

Turns out I was able to land quite softly into a house-sitting opportunity for my friend Munira, thanks for the connect on this Mary-Frances :) Munira's generosity & plans to travel around Argentina for a little over 3 weeks made this all possible. I've even been able to hang out here at Munira's cozy little house since she's returned. I was very grateful for the ability to settle into a space of my own for a while as I prepared for at least one job interview per week over the next 4 weeks.

ASIDE: this gentler landing was back to snow and Canadian Winter temperatures that dipped down to -25C for about 4 days shortly after I returned!!! I was away for the month long cold spell of -20 to -30C temp's but have endured a couple more that have appeared since I've been back.

West Virginia sunset (November 2008)

As a result of this recent & most welcome interview activity, I am now contemplating a few job offers & hoping for a few others to be coming in soon ...

Of the two offers I am contemplating, one is with the Alberta government, as a "Guardian," helping recreational users on public lands understand ways they can enjoy their activities while still playing lightly on the land and water http://www.srd.alberta.ca/aboutus/careers/guardian.aspx
(I've actually turned down this offer in light of the other prospects on the horizon)

The other is with Frost Valley YMCA, located in the Catskill Mountains (2.5 hours north of NY City). I would be leading adventure teen trips and possibly also coordinating their Counsellor in Training program for 16 year olds. Here is a link for FV YMCA & the Forstmann Castle where I could be living this summer in the shared staff accommodations that are in part of this building http://www.frostvalley.org/lodging/inn_style.htm

swirling tides of the Pacific Ocean welcome a gorgeous Assateague Island sunrise (December 2008)
morning beach walks with the rising sun inviting us to keep exloring :)

Even more exciting than this, I am doing my best to generate some really good positive energy for the prospect of working with Northern Edge Algonquin aka "The Edge" http://www.northernedgealgonquin.com to help offer their adult retreats & canoe/kayak trips and perhaps even some of the deep ecology work I am so passionate about.

Please feel free to meditate or think happy thoughts on this option to help generate more positive energy into the mix to help me move toward life at "The Edge" for this Summer and even longer.

.... another iron I have in the fire is an application with Outward Bound Canada for the courses they offer in the Rockies, where I could be helping with their mountaineering and youth asset building courses or possibly even the position they recently posted for a Recreation Instructor at the Banff Centre http://www.outwardbound.ca

I have a much greater preference for The Edge because of their overall philosophy that resonates so much for me. Their operating mantra is "Rediscover Ourselves, Empower Each Other, Restore Our Connection with the Earth" ... the founders & staff at The Edge also uphold values that are important to me such as seeking out local, organic foods as much as possible, and a mindfulness about the impact of operations on the planet. The Co-Operating Partnership arrangement among staff is also a most welcome operational relationship http://www.algonquincanada.com/blog/about/

I'll need to respond to the offers that have come my way before St. Patrick's Day & am persevering in my contact on the hottest irons I have in the fire now so that I can make decisions that factors these possible opportunities in as well.

the pastels of sunrise over the Pacific Ocean from the beach of Assateague Island (December 2008)

I am eager, yet patiently waiting, to see what will unfold for me in my quest to share my gifts and skills with others and in ways that benefit the natural world and all beings.

I'll be in touch as this clarity for my path forward is revealed ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs & heaps of love,

Teresa

Teresa's 2008 Highlights & New Year's Wishes ...

2009-01-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

amazing french toast & fresh berries ... brekkie in Santa Cruz (January 2008)

Happy New Year Dear Ones!

Thought I'd jot down some of my reflections on this past year of 2008 ... & send out a few wishes to you for the new year ahead ... so here goes ...

2008

JANUARY - reconnecting with friends & family & rekindling loving long-distance connections

my dear friends Claudette & Kristin & their amazing daughter Isabel aka "little Tigger"

Margaret & me reconnecting in Santa Cruz, California

T's North American train trek from Edmonton to Santa Cruz, ... through Colorado & Utah

Utah's big skies & red rocks covered over with snow, how gorgeous!

... & as far as Lincoln, Nebraska
refurbished locomotive where I finally switched from rail to air after another couple hours delay sitting here in Lincoln, Nebraska

... en route to D.C. where I got to reconnect with Margaret this time on the east coast & with my east family that includes my three nieces Carissa "Roo," Bailey "Boo," & Alexis "Lexie Loo," & my sister Tammie & her husband Jeff & my Mom, Doug, ... and Katrina, & Ronnie ... plus the 5 dogs (3 of them puppies, one in each of these 3 households!)

Roo, Boo, & Loo finishing up breakfast before heading to school (January 2008)

Chuchi "Auntie" Teresa with her 3 special "bugs"

my sister Katrina & her beau (now fiance) Ronnie (January 2008)

"Bear" Katrina & Ronnie puppy (January 2008)

Margaret & me enjoying our sunset/full moon walk near the Jefferson Memorial (January 2008)
Jefferson Memorial under a full moon reflecting in the nearby Tidal Basin

my sister Tammie & me out on a little hike with her dogs

Tammie with "Inky" & their new puppy "Obie"

sunset along the Potomac River where Margaret walks regularly not too far from her house

... & beyond to Syracuse

my NY Seed Mates Cindy & Rebekah (who had her lovely little baby later on in the Spring), & me near Ithaca, in "upstate" New York

... then landing into Cow Town for -35 Celsius temperatures to search for housing

FEBRUARY - next chapter in T's outdoor education adventures begins, this time with Ghost River Rediscovery plus facing the reality of returning to an office environment

MARCH - still surviving Winter temp's again after my year Down Unda

APRIL - amid my grand plans to get some "work that Reconnects" activities going outside ... the big blizzard conditions led to the postponement of my Earth Day dayhike at the Cross Cons'n Area ... but I did manage to finally get out to try ice climbing with one of my OBA mates, Teddy the following week-end ... how AWESOME!

Teddy showing me how it's done, thanks heaps mate!!!

ice climbing at "The Grotto" with my OBA mate Teddy ...
getting higher & higher up this ice waterfall ... :)

Bow River valley not far from "The Grotto" (April 26, 2008)

MAY - rescheduled day hike at the Cross on Mother's Day

Mother's Day hike out at the Cross Conservation Area (SW of Calgary)

... fabulous May long week-end in Waterton with my girlfriend Margaret
two terrific tramping mates enjoying the tracks out in Waterton National Park (May long week-end)
the splendour of Waterton Lakes National Park in May 2008

half way along one of our longer hikes in Waterton, it was a pleasant surprise to come across my dharma friend Liz & her beau Tom!

...& Rediscovery Leadership training & Bronze Medallion recertification at Pearson College, what a splendid group, thanks Mike, Serena, Mutang, & Thom!

Mutang, my Bronze Medallion swim instructor & me (May - June 2008)
enjoying the Rediscovery fun & celebrations at Pearson College with Mutang's adorable little guy :)

JUNE - birthday fun with family & friends ...

enjoying a great dinner at The Lingnan with family & friends in Edmonton for my birthday (June 13, 2008)

How splendid to reconnect with my California friends again in Santa Cruz ... Margaret, Kristin, Claudette, & Isabel, ... sorry we missed each other this time Cheryl Gleb, & Aidan.

Kristin, Karly cat, Margaret, Claudette, & me ... Isabel the photographer
Isabel & her best friend Gabriel eagerly looking forward to the decadent
chocolate/raspberry b-day cake, YUM!

Reconnecting with my sweetie ...

Margaret & me enjoying our beach hike out at Greyhound Rock north of Santa Cruz

... & one of my Aussie Seed Mates kt on the CA coast ...

having fun at the beach with my Seed Mate kt while we were both in Santa Cruz :)
Margaret & her sister-in-law & "Jake" the great dog

... plus new friends made at the NVC Retreat near Santa Cruz, CA ... thanks Kristin & Jean I hope I can make it again in 2009!

my splendid new friends from the NVC Santa Cruz Retreat (June 2008)

tramping about under the coastal redwood canopy at the Quaker Centre near Santa Cruz during the NVC Retreat

JULY - participating in the Rediscovery Wilderness Guide Training camp (finally meets Kim W. :) & teaching the Stnd. 1st Aid session too,
... participating in my 1st sweat lodge & having a great solo overlooking the Ghost River valley
... challenges in office mode return/continue.
... PATIENCE is a must!

AUGUST - Glacier N.P. camping trip & an amazing hike up to the Asulkan hut with my sweetie amid predominantly sunny skies along with a scary thunder & lightning show in the final 40 minutes of the climb!
... 2 amazing sweat lodges & my splendid 2 day solo during the Wolf Dreamers Rediscovery adult camp

SEPTEMBER - "no go" for funding on Letters of Interest I sent out to help me continue on with GRR except for one Foundation who did invite a full proposal ... dealing with the hoop jumping challenges of seeking funding has been quite a "shoe on the other foot" experience, yet one that I had not intended to seek out
... ironically, T's final day with GRR was the day after I got this news

OCTOBER - half-day deep ecology workshop at the U of C, job interview (via. Skype) with an outdoor education organization out on Vanc. Isl. ... movie & a speaker session at the Canmore Co-Op ... we watched Earth, Spirit, Action www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6jCpChUxOw & The Awakening Universe www.awakeninguniverse.com/ (related clip at http://awakeningthedreamer.org/ )
... wrote up & sent in funding proposal to The Calgary Foundation for "Rediscovery in the Rockies" project ... packing up my "Wombat Warren" basement suite in Calgary & shuffled my particles back into storage up Edmonton way

NOVEMBER - interview for TCF funding process went well, I "breathed life" into the proposal with this in-person meeting ... thanks to my Aunt Evelyn & Uncle Jerrold for their generous hospitality for extra week down in Cow Town after I moved out
... Barack Obama wins the U.S. election, AWESOME!!
... gypsy mode in full swing as I bounce about staying with a few different friends in Edmonton ... thanks heaps to Laurelie, Jill & Ethan, Sophie & Tom, & my family near Edm. :)
... reconnecting with my sweetie & some of my family near Washington D.C. while continuing the job search in cyberspace
... job interview for an exciting outdoor education position just outside of Victoria
... snowshoeing in deep, fresh snow in West Virginia over the U.S. Thanksgiving break with my sweetie

DECEMBER - regrouping after the BIG blow when the Pearson opportunity fell through :(
... oh, the ups & downs of seeking gainful employment ... what a test & work-out for the ego & the tender heart that sometimes arises along the journey!

This month, I also had to bid "farewell" to my sweet cat You-Jean ... she was definitely the best "depot find" that I ever brought home from my recycling depot attendant days!!!
my faithful feline friend "You-Jean" who had to leave us after 16+ years of companionship while sharing her loud purring and peaceful ways with me & my best bud Laurelie & Y-J's best bud Lucky ... we'll miss you little girl ... xoxo

... Dr. David Swann wins the Alberta Liberal Leadership race, congratulations David :)
meeting up with Seed Mate Rob and OBA mate Ruth in D.C., how fun!

my OBA Mate Ruth who now lives in D.C. teaching kindergarten at one of OB's Expeditionary Learning Schools, what a cool assignment :)

... reconnecting with my Seed Mate Rob for a few visits was a real treat as well! Thanks for the great hikes & tour of D.C. Rob :)

my Seed Mate Rob & me at Great Fall N. P. near D.C.

amazing light near sunset along the Billy Goat trail at Great Falls N.P. near D.C. (Dec. 2008)
Great Falls N. P. near D.C.

... news that the TCF funding proposal was approved BUT for only half the amount ... & trying to figure out how things might look with only half the funds.

It was really nice to be able to connect with my east coast family on a number of occasions while I was in the D.C. area ... Alexis is now 10 & the twins are 7!

bear hugs for everyone ... me & my little nieces Roo, Boo, & Loo and my sister Tammie & brother-in-law Jeff

my Mom's X-mas baking, very yummy!

.. one week of sunset & sunrise walks along the beaches & around the marshes at the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island with my sweetie ... how splendid to see the wild ponies and the little deer/elk plus ALL the shore birds ... great blue herons, egrets, geese, ducks, owls, tree swallows, etc.
... scramble/hike along the billy goat trail at Great Falls N.P. with Margaret before a mighty fine NY's eve. dinner, thanks sweet M !!!

Teresa's wishes for 2009 ...

* a wish to embrace the comings & goings in my life, especially given the gypsy-like nature of my ways & my current state of flux (as well as the global transitions that affect us wherever we may be) ... so that I can more readily feel as if I am "Always Coming Home"

* a wish to seek out "my place in this world" & to find employment that feeds my being & my body & the same for others who are on similar quests,

* a wish to ride the winds of change as gracefully as I can,

* a wish to continue learning new ways to navigate these winds by understanding & communicating my needs & the needs of others along the way.

I am ever grateful for the abundance of GENEROSITY and LOVE in my life that is enabling me to keep moving through this latest transition. The generous welcomes & hospitality of my sweet Margaret & my family here on the east coast.

I am also truly grateful for the abundance of beautiful people & beings in my life and for my ability to explore the bounty of amazing places, critters, and ecosystems that invite me to seek out new adventures & feed my "shutter happy" ways! Especially for the little people & faithful companions with whom I love to reconnect with as well!

Most of all, I am sending heartfelt wishes to each & every one of you,

... to my family & friends around Canada & the U.S., to my Seed Mates, the great mob at OBA, the Rediscovery clan here in Canada, my NVC giraffe friends fr. the Santa Cruz Retreat, and to ALL the people and other beings with whom we share this planet, ...

"Earth Blessing" written by Jack Manno, Cindy's partner and published by the Syracuse Cultural Workers which is an amazing grassroots organization that prints & sells items for peace & justice http://syracuseculturalworkers.com/ or http://syracuseculturalworkers.com/poster-earth-blessing
(you can click on this picture to make it bigger so you can read it)

My wishes for ALL of you are captured in this "Earth Blessing" ... wishes for a truly happy, healthy, peaceful, and fun-filled year that finds you doing things that make your heart sing and your body & spirit rejoice.

Hugs 'n' Bugs & heaps of peace & love,

Teresa

aka "Sparkles in the Sun & Plays like the Wind (or "Spirals in the Wind")"

Teresa's east coast adventures

2008-12-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

SNOWSHOEING ... what a fun way to get out in the fresh snow of West Virginia (November 27, 2008)

Hello Everyone,

Thought you might like to see some pic's & hear a few stories from my time over here in Maryland where I am visiting my splendid friend Margaret and my family that live out this way ... Mom, Doug and Biskit & Misha ... Katrina, Ronnie, and Bear ... Tammie & Jeff and Roo, Boo, & Loo and Inky & Obie.

As you can see from the picture above, I enjoyed our hop out to the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia with Margaret for the U.S. Thanksgiving break. We had fun snowshoeing for a couple of days in the ~20 cm of fresh, fluffy snow :)

... what a splendid & peaceful way to enjoy such amazing wintry landscapes!

We ate all kinds of yummy food in between our explorations with the snowshoes where we had to be mindful to avoid areas that hunters might be lurking about! They are even allowed to hunt at the National Wildlife Refuge out there in the Canaan Valley!!!

More pic's from my time out here in my next post but I also wanted to share a few pic's from the fun I had with a few friends around Edmonton back in November ...

Mary-Frances & her boys with me out at my friend Maureen's near Tofield, AB (November 15, 2008)

Jilly-Peanut & Teresa-Bean :)

Maureen & her dog Abby exploring the beavers' newest exploits
... 25 poplar saplings since August!

Ethan (Peanut Jr.), Jill, & me

GOOD NEWS ... I have just set up a new phone line through Skype so that I can receive calls while I am away from Alberta ... I opted for a California area code since Skype is not set up to provide any Canadian phone numbers yet. Sooooo, the new number you can reach me at is: (831) 440-8678

I finally got to meet my Mom's new puppy & have enjoyed reconnecting with my family out this way ... I enjoyed a bunch of fun with my nieces Carissa (Roo) & Bailey (Boo) who are now 7 years young & Alexis (Schmookie Loo) who is now 9!!! ... the week-end of Doug's 60th birthday. More pic's & stories from that week-end (& all the wonderful food I have been enjoying with my family) in my next posting ... my younger sister Katrina's "puppy" Bear is quite HUGE now ... not the little guy I met back in January and my sister Tammie's new puppy Obie is heaps bigger than the beginning of the year too but likely half the size of Bear!

My Mom's new puppy is absolutely adorable & I've included a picture of her in this posting ...

Misha ... my Mom's adorable new puppy

It looks like I will be returning back to Edmonton just before or maybe just after Christmas and hope to do some more catching up with my family & friends over the upcoming holiday break.

I hope each of you are well & happy and enjoying an abundance of peace, love, gratitude, and compassion as Winter prepares to set in here in the northern hemisphere and as the Summer approaches "Down Unda."

Please know that I am sending my hugs & love to all of you dear ones wherever you are.

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa is on the move soon ... & eager to see where the wind will be taking me!

2008-10-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

the view from my solo spot overlooking the Ghost River Valley (August 23, 2008)

Hello my dear friends & family,

Alas, my contract with Ghost River Rediscovery has come to a close ...

This result was bound to happen since I had not been able to secure the funds I needed to continue forward in this new position. So, after carrying on an extra 2 months with GRR, waiting for responses to the letter of interest I had sent out, my 6 (+2) month contract has finally wound down. There's a small possibility of my hopping back into things with Ghost River Rediscovery that depends on one final proposal I am sending in next week. The results of this proposal won't likely be known until late December or early January, so I am heading full steam ahead in my job searching as well.

At any rate, I am at a fairly good place about the whole thing, knowing that I now have a chance to move toward a position that is more outdoor focused & less office-based. So I am now gearing up to hop onto my little "speck" ... we'll see which way I am meant to be carried by the wind ...

spectacular view from the Asulkan Valley hut in Glacier National Park (August 9, 2008)

All that said, I had my first job interview (via. webcam) last week. It's an exciting affirmation but I am trying to stay in the moment and just see what comes of it. I am supposed to hear back on this job sometime this week ...

This job searching thing can be quite a rollercoaster, so I know the importance of patience and being in the moment ... just the things I still need to keep working on along my journey, how convenient :) But any & all encouragement & reaching out from my family & friends will be very much appreciated :)

Indian paintbrush in full bloom (August 9, 2008)

Along with this recent change in my employment situation, I have decided to pack up my "Wombat Warren" (aka basement suite) & put my belongings back into temporary storage in my parent's garage (& the big items at a few friend's places). Once Halloween comes along, I will be on the move back up to Edmonton with my boxes & furniture packed into a small U-Haul truck. I'll be staying with a few different friends & have a chance to do some house-sitting around Edmonton. Undoubtedly, I will bounce around to connect with a few other folks out of town as I continue my job search.

In order to keep in touch with me, please note my NEW e-mail address: spiralwonder@peacemail.com
(I am no longer accessing my GRR e-mail address).

You can always check on my BLOG here at: www.sherpadoginoz.blogspot.com
... or you can also find me on Facebook to check on any updates I have added & to see where I have landed myself.

For October at least, you can still reach me on my mobile phone at: (403) 690-0504 (mobile) or you can connect with me through Skype, my Skype ID is: tchilkowich

I will add any new contact details to my BLOG here in the "contact" section once I have a more permanent address/phone number etc.

sparkling waters rushing over a gorgeous green rock along the Asulkan trail (August 9, 2008)

I look forward to seeing how things will unfold for me as this newest period of transition parallels the changing of the seasons. I am also looking forward to reconnecting with some of the wonderful people in my life who I haven't seen much of while I have been down in Cow Town :)

I wish you well in your own active lives & with all the GREAT work you are doing. It will be great to connect with you again sometime in the near future.

Be well,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa's Waterton, Rediscovery & Compassionate Communication adventures ... AWESOME!

2008-07-09T16:06:00.001-07:00

Teresa at Waterton Lakes National Park (May 16-19, 2008)

Hello my Dear Friends & Family,

It's been a loooooooong time since my last post ... & great to finally bust out of "office mode" ... so there's heaps to update you on ...

For the May long week-end, I went down to Waterton Lakes National Park in SW Alberta with Margaret. We had most splendid weather for our Waterton adventures & it was great to finally get a chance to explore this gorgeous & very diverse part of Alberta. I had never been down & am so pleased to finally be able to explore the grandeur of Waterton! It was great to reconnect with Margaret again as well & to enjoy an extended long week-end out on the trails of this glorious part of the Canadian Rockies :) We saw deer all over & even some bighorn sheep right in the Waterton townsite ... plus a bear cub near the road through my binoculars from our hike up above the townsite :)

gorgeous sunset over Upper Lake Waterton (May 2008)

I headed out to the west coast (west of Victoria) for the 12 day Rediscovery Leadership training & then back in Calgary for 5 days before I headed off to Santa Cruz, CA for a 6 day Summer Retreat immersed in Compassionate (Nonviolent) Communication (NVC) ... both of these were quite excellent & still much to soak in & review from all that was covered in this excellent courses.

For the Rediscovery International training ... our group was a fabulous mix of folks from First Nations & Metis communities in British Columbia (B.C.), 11 students from around the world who just finished their studies at Pearson College where our training was held, & 3 of our Ghost River Rediscovery staff plus our Ex. Director Mike, along with Serena one of the other leaders, & Thom Henley, co-founder of Rediscovery.

It was great to be back out at Pedder Bay, where Pearson College is located ... this is where my friends Laura & Christie live ... Laura teaches at Pearson & Christie teaches in Victoria. It was great to visit with them & to spend almost two weeks out in this special part of Canada's west coast.

me & Serena, our Canoe instructor at the Rediscovery International training ... Serena also helped Mike teach the Wilderness 1st Aid course during the 1st week

here I am "made up" to appear like I have a broken tibia (shin bone) & an amputated finger ... the 1st Aid students were assessed on how they dealt with myself or Lisa the other "patient" who they had to offer 1st Aid to

view across the Straight of Juan de Fuca & the Olympic mountains in Washington state

Teresa enjoying the Rediscovery outing to one of the beaches near Pearson College

some of our Rediscovery group enjoying a little time for reflection & immersing in the splendour of the west coast, as Megan plays her drum

neat sand & driftwood art made by some folks in our group while we learned more Rediscovery activities & others sang & played drums around the fire

playing the "Who's Who Hoot" Rediscovery game out at the soccer field ... the "mice" had to carefully crack open peanuts & eat them without being heard by the blindfolded "owls ... what GREAT FUN!!!

Patch & Saijai sharing some Thai dancing during one of our evening cultural sharing nights ... how very gentle & peaceful :)

Lucia, my very excellent paddling partner :)

"Food for Thought" activity ... 3 of our group of 27 dined on fine French cuisine while the rest of us were given a ration of cooked rice to eat & pitchers of treated water to drink ... plus a bonus of soya sauce to add to our rice

Patch & I peacefully accepting the meager bowl of rice & water to drink for our "Food for Thought" lunch

15 fortunate folks from our group that went out to visit Race Rocks where we saw some eagles, elephant seals, & harbour seals along the way ... we also went out further to see a big eagle nest in the trees & a rainbow on the return trip home to Pearson ... thanks heaps Chris & Erick :)

warming the drum head around the Rediscovery "Council Fire" ... one of our regular evening activities enjoyed by all ... thanks heaps to Charlie, Mike, Thom, Mutang, Serena & all our group for all the great songs, drumming, & sharing that we did in this special place everyone!!!

Darcy & Shaylene enjoying the canoe trip out to see the seals

new Spiritual Centre at Pearson College ... what a very special place

one of the many creative & lovely ways that folks in our group honoured their "Secret Friends" ... this special greeting was made for Charlie, the wonderful Elder who shared his west coast Indigenous teachings with us ... THANK YOU Charlie!!!

Teresa's 2nd jump into the COLD waters of Pedder Bay ... as part of canoe training & also our earlier Bronze Medallion certification

YES, I managed to successfully complete my Bronze Medallion REcertification ... many thanks to Mutang, our Life Saving instructor, what a treat to have Mutang teach us all that he shared ... YIPPEE!! :)

Darcy the "cougar" getting ready to pounce on Mica the white-tailed deer during "Deer Ears"

map of where our whole Rediscovery 2008 family hail from all over the world

Muji, Charlene, & Saijai trying to figure out the Native string game

our daily gathering place marked by coloured ribbons for the 4 directions plus Mother Earth & Father Sky in the middle

I'll share more pic's from the last few days of our Rediscovery training either later tonight or tomorrow ... gotta finally get outside for a walk & to get some more groceries now that I'll be back at my "Wombat Warren" here in Cow Town for awhile ...

I had the splendid pleasure to reconnect with some of my California mates ... Margaret, Kristin, Claudette, & Isabel, while I was in Santa Cruz, which was a very lovely treat indeed!! I've also gained a heap of new friends at the NVC Summer Retreat that I participated in

I also got to reconnect with my travelling Aussie Seed Mate kt ... FINALLY!!! She came down to Santa Cruz & we hung out during the day before I headed to the NVC retreat & the day before she headed off to San Luis Obispo the next day to visit with Linda Seeley. It was also most splendid to reconnect up with kt, who was on the west coast as part of her worldwide adventures. kt, I am sure you are having a great time on the east coast now kt & I look forward to seeing you up in Canada if you decide to return to Turtle Island (N. America) after you head over to Europe).

Cheryl, Gled, Aidan, Joan, & Linda, so sorry I missed catching up with this trip ... I trust you are well & I look forward to catching up with you hopefully later on this year or perhaps by next May (Joan & Linda) with the great activities I am planning with Joanna up this way!!!

Most recently, I just returned yesterday from my first full, Summer course with Ghost River Rediscovery ... I taught the Standard First Aid materials that make up the majority of the WIlderness First Aid course that folks were being certified for ... it went fairly well but I was quite nervous (big responsibility to teach things right so that people are fully prepared to do the things they need to do in a 1st aid situation) & feeling under prepared because there is SO MUCH material to cover.

All in all, I survived & I was in participant mode the rest of the time ... the highlight for me was my 24 hour solo at a spot that looked west over the whole Ghost River valley that is surrounded by the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies. Our camp is about 300m east of the Banff National Park boundary, not far from Lake Minnewanka). My solo spot was less than 100m from the park boundary & in one of the areas near our camp that could potentially have some activity of the bigger creatures ... "O zhin zha" - black bear & "Watanga" - grizzly bear. If any were nearby, they did not come through my little camp ... it was me & the big gusting winds, the wildflowers blooming around me, the butterflies, moths, ants, & spiders, & the little song birds that chirped their songs on occasion.

More pictures of the NVC Retreat & the Rediscovery Wilderness Guide Training to follow ... once I am reunited with my camera in August (or perhaps sooner, if I can figure out a way to get access to my pictures from afar. I unfortunately left it behind in Santa Cruz after the NVC Summer retreat ... the first time I've ever done that with my most important travelling gear!!! ... & once I get access to the pic's that folks took over the past 11 days out at the Ghost.

For any of you that may be interested in the work we are doing at Ghost River Rediscovery, we have a few positions for employment that are either just recently became available or will be in the Autumn. If you are having any itches to come my way, perhaps you may want to follow this up ... www.ghostriverrediscovery.com

I would LOVE to connect with any of you on Skype sometime soon ... my Skype ID is tchilkowich ... it would be great to see you, hear you laugh, & hear your stories of what you have been up to lately. Feel free to try me if you see I am on Skype or send me a note & we can set a time to connect.

Looking forward to talking with you soon & reconnecting on many levels.

Big hugs & heaps of love to all of you,

Teresa ... & SHERPA DOG!!

~~~

p.s. guess who was on my doorstep yesterday to greet me back from 11 days out in the mountains ...?

...

my little Sherpa Dog has returned back to me ... Noel (one of my dear Seed Mates from Australia) sent me a little parcel to reunite her with me ... Noel sensed that she's been missing me ... rightly so ... amid this very excellent connection & good fit for me here with Ghost River Rediscovery, I sure do wish I had more of my friends & family from up around Edmonton & my close friends & Seed Mates& their sweet heart connections closer in proximity to me here in Canada ...

do reconnect when you can, I'd love to hear from all of you & find out how you are these days :)

(403) 690-0504 (mobile)

424 - 6th Street N.E. (bsmt.)
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 3Y4

grateful to be riding my bike again & grateful for warmer weather!

2008-04-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

gorgeous Westcliff sunset before the "big storm" hit Santa Cruz, CA

Hello my dear friends & family,

It's been awhile since my last posting about the first half of my great train adventures ... been trying to continue my transition "back from Oz" in as gentle & peaceful a way possible. I haven't been as on top of these BLOG updates so much but now I finally have the chance to post another one. So far, my transitioning has been okay, although I really ache to be further removed from "all things urban" and more closely connected to tour beloved Earth, in its more natural state.

On that note, I am TRULY GRATEFUL that I have been able to be riding my bike to work for the past month! The warmer temperatures melted away the ice & snow from my bike route. Any snow that has more recently fallen hasn't stuck around longer than a day and my route has still been passable on my bike, no major icy patches to catch me 'off guard.' My bike is providing me with a certain amount of freedom by enabling me to ride in places where vehicles don't go and along less travelled streets. My bike rides are also giving me some of my much needed outside time, to enjoy the sunshine, blue skies & brief views of the Canadian Rockies (on clear days), bird calls & sightings, plus being out as Spring is arriving with all its many splendid signs of the Earth's new beginnings.

Two days ago, we had a MASSIVE dump of wet snow ... over the space of 4 - 10 or 11 a.m. ... much of which has melted away from the roads & sidewalks & is quickly seeping back into the soil but taking longer to do so if it has been undisturbed by passers by. Amazingly, this week-end looks like sunshine & 20 degree Celsius temperatures are in the forecast :) It will be great to get outside heaps over the next couple of days ...

I am planning to go exploring with my bike on Sunday by taking the train to the last stop at the south end of Calgary & then riding to the Cross Conservation Area where I am taking the groups that gather next week-end for the "EARTH DAY, Every Day" activities & hikes that I have planned :) www.ghostriverrediscovery.com/forms/11_EARTH_DAY.pdf

Here's a few more pic's from my time in California back in January ...

a very splendid waterfall near the school at Sebastopol, CA

Joan "red toed salamander" & me "banana slug"

another view of one of many monarch butterflies in Santa Cruz during their big migration

Over the week-end, I will add a few final stories from my great train adventures back in January ... plus a few pic's from a couple of trips out to the Rockies to enjoy the snow & ice plus the sunshine and some great hikes!

I have a home phone # finally, ... well, it's actually a mobile phone ... the number is: (403) 690-0504. Please give me a call, send me a note, or post a comment on my BLOG here to let me know "how you are going" (as they say Down Unda).

Be well & enjoy the coming of Spring here in the northern hemisphere ... & the coming of cooler temperatures "Down Unda."

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa's landing down in Cow Town & Teresa's train adventures (pt. 2)

2008-02-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

near Mount Shasta during the road trip part of my travels with my dear friend Antonia & her little red car

Hello Everyone,

It's been quite a "full on" ride this past month, winding down my big train trip over to the east coast & then bouncing back up to Calgary (Cow Town) to find a place to live & then get a good chunk of my stuff moved out of my folks' garage & from a few friends' places, who were so very kind to store my particles and/or use the big items for awhile.

As you know from my earlier note, I found a very comfortable basement suite to move into & it is working well so far. I get about 30 minutes of walking to get to the LRT (train) station & then from the LRT to work and another 30 minutes for my return home. My walks to work have often been highlighted by the spotting of snow shoe hares in a big field near the LRT station that I walk past to head to the office.

One morning I saw a total of 9 white, very large snow shoe hares!! The next day, I saw 8 of them resting in a few spots of the big field. On my way home, which I now call "goose time" instead of home time, ... the Canada geese have been greeting me & drawing my attention skyward, where I have enjoyed the splendid sights of the moon in full view (including last week's lunar eclipse!), as well as some fairly awesome sunsets over & behind the downtown skyscrapers.

I am finding myself feeling somewhat cramped & closed in at times, if I am hanging about inside for too long, especially if it is a small or very warm space. My twice daily walking routine is helping balance this a little but the smaller windows in the basement of my new "digs" are adding to this challenge at times.

In line with all things "new" ... I have given my BLOG a new look to spruce things up, I hope you like it :)

All in all, my transition back from Land of Oz has been immensely helped by the time I took to bounce about down south of the 49th parallel. Not only for the temporal (slower pace) side of things, but also the climate, & the reconnecting with such dear friends & the members of my family scattered further afield than Alberta.

Here's a few more pic's from my big train trek across the U.S. ... where winter travel conditions & snow storms caused significant delays and each station stop I made along the way provided new opportunities to reconnect with many splendid people & pets in my life. Thanks again to all of you that welcomed me so warmly and made my visits so absolutely enjoyable :) You are splendid!!

Winston, my sister Xenia's pride & joy

Antonia, me, & Joan when we met up briefly north of San Francisco

Joan looking out over the big "community" garden/farm near her lovely home in Sebastopol

Joan, Me, & Judith enjoying a sunny day at "the farm"

one of the many monarch butterflies in Santa Cruz ... heaps of them hanging in the trees!

Kristin & Gabriel enjoying some of the big storm winds that were building out along the coast ... we ended up with a power outage for 10 hours that day because of a fallen branch from a Sequoia tree.

big waves crashing ashore through the rock arch on "Dog Beach"

two terrific Tiggers having heaps of FUN!

Karly, the 18-20 year old kitty enjoying the warmth of the fireplace during the big storm

Kristin, Claudette, Isabel, & me in Santa Cruz

Visiting with my Dharma friends Cheryl, Gleb, & their son Aidan was also very splendid!!

Aidan posing as a shark after we put this awesome floor puzzle together

Aidan & I having heaps of fun :)

ARRRGH ... it's pirate Aidan decked out in his very excellent Halloween costume

it was great to reconnect with Cheryl in her new California home

Gleb & Cheryl in Palo Alto, CA

Thanks heaps for having my dear friends & family, it was great to reconnect with you again & see how you are!!!

More pic's & stories on my train trek in my next posting ... that's enough for this segment.

Be well & keep doing what you do to contribute your uniqueness to this world we call home!

Teresa

Teresa's 1st Ghost River Rediscovery course ... out near the Rockies

2008-02-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

Hello my dear friends & family,

How great is this picture & the inscription? ... it's the latest welcome page picture on the GRR website http://www.ghostriverrediscovery.org

This picture is apparently also on everyone's time sheets!!
(if you click on the picture you can make it bigger to help read/see it)

I just finished my first (short) course with Ghost River Rediscovery ... we were able to get the 5 "youth at risk" participants out snowshoeing & cross-country skiing, plus over the 3 days, we built a quinzhee (snow hut) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinzhee ... that would kick butt in stormy weather on any stormy Canadian Winter weather you might encounter with walls ~30cm thick!!

This course went well given some of the attitude & behavioural challenges that the 5, grade 10 guys posed at various times. Much was reinforced for me from my Outward Bound training that I will be even more fully embracing as I get in a more active roleout with future course. My main role with GRR will be with GRR in their Community Development & Specialized Training group, more on that as I undertake my first days with them in the coming week! At this point, I will be focused on developing, coordinating, & facilitating new workshops, courses, & training we can offer through GRR to help build traditional, community principles & skills fostered by Ghost River Rediscovery.

It was pretty darn great winding down my 1st day with Ghost River as we did our evening "talking stick" check in around the warmth of our Council Fire. Especially when I looked up into the night sky & saw the Big Dipper overhead!! It's been over a year since I've been able to see this wonderful celestial sentinel & friend :) ... (there was a little twinge of emptiness though as well, since the sky was not nearly as star filled as the jam packed southern hemisphere night sky & I was reminded that I am away from many dear friends who are sleeping under the Souther Cross & the more extensive stretch of the Milky Way!)

All in all, the wonder & gratitude I was feeling on this 1st night & throughout my 1st GRR course were quite splendid. How great it is to be on board for my own inner Rediscovery experiences as well as that with the staff & participants of Ghost River Rediscovery! A most excellent complement to my Outward Bound experiences with OBA last year ;)

It was great to jump into the fold for this short course with GRR out in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies so soon after my fairly intense moving week-end last week. Now I get a chance to settle into my home space a little more & unpack what I have brought down so far from Edmonton.

We're supposed to get another deep freeze starting today through the week-end. Into the low minus 20's for the temperature & mid minus 30's with the wind chill! YIKES! Very grateful I have such a cozy place to hide out in when I am not "out & about."

No phone number yet but I have hooked myself up with Skype, so if you are inclined to download it, we could talk through our 'puters for FREE :)

My NEW address is:

Teresa Chilkowich
424 - 6th Street N.E. (basement)
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 3Y4
CANADA

Skype ... tchilkowich
e-mail ... sherpadoginoz@care2com
iChats (webcam) ... sherpadoginoz@mac.com

Hope all is well for you & your work, play, etc. Looking forward to hearing how you are doing!

Take good care & stay warm or cool, depending on which hemisphere you are in :)

Love,

Teresa

p.s. more pic's from my this course & my big rail trip this week-end as I get a chance to post more here on my blog :)

Christmas & New Year's updates & some of Teresa's great train adventures

2008-01-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Teresa big rail adventure ... 1st stop, Jasper, Alberta

Happy New Year Dear Ones!

Well, I returned back to Canada long enough to get in about 12 days of reconnecting with family & friend before I "hit the trails/rails" a few days before Christmas ...

here's most of my Canadian family on my Dad's side

my younger sister Nadia, chillin' at Christmas

the "four musketeers" ... me, Brent, Nadia, Jamie

cousins close-up

our latest 4 musketeer picture ... belated b-day celebrations for all ... Nadia (21), Brent (18), Jamie (15), Teresa (30 something)

A. Evelyn & A. Carol Lynn

some of the Chilkowich clan at Christmas ... Dad, Jamie, Brent, Nadia, Cecilia, me, A. Evelyn (l-r)

my Baba & I enjoying catching up at her home in Vegreville, AB

my best bud Laurelie & I out at my Baba's

... that is, before I headed off with a North American Rail Pass, courtesy of VIA Rail & Amtrak to reconnect with other dear ones south of the border ...

Teresa waiting to board the VIA Rail train in Jasper

the Canadian Rockies east of Jasper ... what a winter wonderland!

splendid scenery we would not have seen in daylight, had we not been delayed 5 hours prior :)

... I've been enjoying my great train adventures & the splendid visits that have been coming along the way with family & friends in the west coast of the U.S. ... after a 5 hour delay arriving into Vancouver, then continuing on to Seattle to hang with my bro' for a couple of days before we met up at our oldest sister Xenia & my sister Nadia who was also visiting in Tacoma for the holidays

my bro' Andrew & his big cat "Mischief"

I then headed south with my good friend Antonia ... for a 2 day road trip from Tacoma to San Francisco ... where we met up briefly with our sweet friend Joan before Antonia carried on into San Fran (& then onto New Mexico) & I reconnected with Joan at her lovely home in Sebastopol north of SF. What a lovely time it was to get to know Joan's place, walk about the tall coastal redwood trees, visit the community farm up the hill ... made available to community residents by a local restaurant owner :)

Joan, Judith, & Lily the cat (in Sebastopol, CA)

I then hopped on the Amtrak train & a bus to get from Martinez in SF to San Jose & then on to Santa Cruz to reconnect with my dear sweet friends Kristin, Claudette, & their growing 9 year old girl Isabel & their lovely, ancient orange cat named Karly.

We experienced a big coastal rain storm a few days into my visit & ended up without electricity for ~10 hours ... how great to still be able to enjoy the warmth of the fire & food cooked on their gas stove :) We did go out during a respite in the storm to see the big waves out in the ocean from the Santa Cruz light house cliff side. Gabriel, Isabel's very good friend & "brother" joined us for this adventure. I did hope the monarch butterflies I saw the day I arrived up in the trees along West Cliff were able to hang on & stay protected amid the big storm!! Quite a few Coastal Cypress & Redwood trees were "downed" in the storm, causing the electrical challenges & a variety of roadway problems too.

All in all, the storm actually added to the coziness of our visit although I know for other folks, the challenges were longer lasting & more significantly felt. I also enjoyed a splendid visit over lunch with my dear friends Cheryl & Gleb (fr. our Edmonton Dharma group) and their sweet 5 year old boy Aidan. They hopped over for the afternoon from Palo Alto where they now live. I also managed to get out their way to spend a day & a night with them at their home near Stanford University before I hopped on the train going to the east coast. While in Santa Cruz, I also met up with my friend Margaret, who now lives on the east coast but was back "home" for the holidays ... we got in a beach walk & enjoyed a most splendid breakfast at/near Sea Bright Beach.

How truly blessed I am to have such a vast array of beautiful people in my life who are so welcoming and fun to reconnect with. To everyone here in North America, "Down Unda," & elsewhere in the world, I am totally grateful for all your warmth, hospitality, love, and caring & everything else you share with me during our visits. THANK YOU!!

... & now east coast ...

WELL, as is on par for rail travel in the winter, we had ~ 5 hour delay before getting into the winter wonderland of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California + another 1 hour delay waiting for a track to be switched, I & the rest of my Amtrak compadres were traveling fairly well ... especially since I had upgraded to a sleeper car just before dinner on the first of what was supposed to be 3 nights to get across the U.S. (but only 2 on this first train). Since my rail pass was only good for 30 days & I was already in the second half of that timeframe, when we hit into another significant delay in Lincoln, Nebraska, I decided to jump track & hop on a plane to get to D.C.

I will be heading to "upstate" New York to reconnect with Seed Mates in Syracuse & Ithaca after enjoying reconnecting with my family ... Mom & Doug, ... Katrina & Ronnie and there 4 month young puppy "Bear" ... and Tammie, Jeff, Roo, Boo, & Loo, and their faithful furry friend Inky and their 4 month young puppy "Obie" ... and my good friend Margaret near Washington D.C.

Thanks Katrina & Ronnie for having me over for a couple of nights at your new home ... & Tammie & Jeff, for the lovely visit & heaps of fun with you & the girls & your two little furry boys ... & Mom & Doug ... what tasty treats I get to enjoy when my Mom & Tammie get cooking up some of my favourites, THANKS HEAPS!! What a treat also to see how much my nieces have grown & to hear & see them reading, writing, & enjoying learning as they are. WE also had great fun reading my Aussie book "The Cassowary's Egg" & playing games like Boggle & Yahtzee and running around being goofy :)

I will add a few more pictures to this posting now that I have been able to add more since I originally posted this but the additional pic's will come in a few days ... sigh!

I'll be back in Alberta on the 27th but arriving into Cow Town for a few days to sort out housing for my impending move to Calgary to work with an organization called Ghost River Rediscovery ... more on this in my next posting as well ... I'll be back in Edmonton hopefully ~ 29th January ...

Be well dear ones & keep breathing deeply as you continue forward in this new year of 2008!

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

me & a gorgeous koala (fr. the tour of the Maru Wildlife Park near Melbourne :) ... the leaves & koala are real & alive, the tree the koala is on is a prop that swivels to help get the best angle of the koala!

SW coast of Australia ... absolutely SPECTACULAR!!

2007-12-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

very tall karri trees in Warren National Park

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

What can I say ... the SW coast of OZ is absolutely spectacular!!

marvelous moving water at Beedelup Falls

You can finally see my pic's from the November posting that was not showing the pic's I had added ...

Over the past week (Nov. 13-21, 2007), I have immensely enjoyed wandering along heaps of stunning beaches with aquamarine waters melding into deep sapphire blues while the waves perpetually crashed and rolled up against rocky & sandy shores

... & now you can have a look at some of the amazing pic's I got from my SW Aussie adventures back in November. Just scroll down to the November postings I have finally been able to reload the pic's that were not successfully embedded when I first created them ... as well, here's more pic;'s from that posting, I decided to split them out into a new note.

So much to see & explore ... what a TREAT!!

Mikey & Me ... "Happy Birthday Mikey"

Kate, Tanya, Erin, Fi, & Scott enjoying the end of season WW BBQ fun!

Jean-Michel & I ... two of the Canadian ROMEO's

Tanya aka "OBA's Dancing Queen" ... Mikey cheering her on in the back

OBA Rockettes ... Fi, Tanya, Mikey, Erin, & Jean-Michel ... Bustin' a Move!

Kate & I in the Team A kitchen

I'll post more pic's from the amazing SUNRISE that I woke to at the OBA Walpole base (yes, sunRISE in western Australia!!)... & the other great forests, beach walks, waterfalls in one of my next notes ... I'll add in the pic's of Scotty, Mike P., Constantine, & Kris & Rob ... the blogger set-up is giving me grief to add more pic's ... I'll also upload some good pic's onto my facebook page when I get a chance as well ...

In the meantime, I wanted to extend an extra special bouquet of hugs & love to everyone who made this trip to WA so extra special & full of all kinds of fun, great visits, & excellent food. I am ever grateful for your kindness! Among the lovely friends I wish to thank, is Sandra, what a lovely time we had together. Thank you, thank you dear Sandra, I am so grateful we were able to reconnect as we did both on my way down to the SW coast & when I returned back from these most splendid adventures!!

Sandra & her beauty-full native WA birthday bouquet ... "Happy Birthday to you too Sandra!"

lunch with Sandra & Janet ... sooooo glad we could at least meet up for lunch Janet :)

Janet & her happy dog with me ... "noses into the wind everyone"

Sandra & I on my last night in Bunbury ... (hidden fr. view is Bessy, Sandra's happy dog). I will miss you heaps my dear friend!!

I'll be in touch again after I have made my way back to Tharwa to my Outward Bound home away from home

... & more up-to-date, after I have landed further along my travels with my North American Rail pass, which has me currently in California, after ~5 days visiting with my dear friend Joan & her lovely friends Judith, Melody, & her daughter Tracey & grand-daugters, M, K, & T :) What a most splendid visit this was my dear friends! Thanks heaps for welcoming me as you did & sharing your kindness, energy, & great hugs :)

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be in & near Santa Cruz reconnecting with more dear, wonder-full friends before I hop on the Amtrak train for THRREE nights!! ... to head over to Maryland to visit with my family & a few friends en route back to Canada through Toronto & then all the way to Edmonton.

Big hugs & lots of love to all of you for a blessed new year in 2008!

Teresa

Teresa's Aotearoa & OBA adventures Down Unda almost over ... & Homeward Bound journey almost complete!

2007-12-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

sunset over the Indian Ocean fr. Monkey Rock, WA

Kia Ora my dear friends & family,

Amazing as it is, my time here in Aotearoa & "down unda" is about to wrap up ... only ~6 hours until my Air NZ flight is set to take off ...

Just a few more things to finalize in packing up my bags, then get showered, eat some lunch, & call my shuttle to take me & my gear to the airport.

Cheryl or Joan, if you happen to read my BLOG today (so sorry I haven't yet connected with you, things have been pretty full on with my travels about Aotearoa), ... I have a layover in San Francisco for 7 hours ... any chance you come by for a little visit??

I arrive with Air New Zealand flight #8 fr. Auckland, NZ on Dec. 10th at 10:45 a.m. & leave for Edmonton at 6:55 p.m. that evening on United Airlines flight #6502.

~~~

The second half of my adventures here in Aotearoa were most excellent!! The kayaking at Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) & tramping about Aoraki (Mount Cook) were definite highlights!! As was connecting with the OB Cobham folks at Anikiwa, New Zealand ... in the Marlbourough Sounds of the South Island.

I'll post pic's as I recover from my jet lag back in Alberta ... only time to post this brief update right now!

I've totally enjoyed the 10 days I've had over here back in Aotearoa (New Zealand). A great boost for me given how travel weary I was starting to get toward the end of my time in Oz.

Looking forward to chilling out & reconnecting with many of you back home ...

enjoying the peace & tranquility of Wilson Inlet at The Cove (November 2007)

... & to those of you here "Down Unda" ... thanks heaps for all your friendship, kindness, good humour, & all that I have learned from each & every one of you :) I will hold you close as I journey forward ... ROMEO"s & other OBA friends, Seed Mates (that includes you now too, Tathra), & other new friends made along the way ...

Also, a big "kia ora" to my kayaking buddies Sam, Wil, & the Iowa & Colorado mobs, tramping mate Paul, beading buddy Julia, & other kindred spirits whom I have enjoyed crossing paths with.

SUN RISE over Nornalup Inlet fr. the OBA WW base in Western Australia ... absolutely GORGEOUS!!

... "tomorrow", I will experience my first sunrise for 2007 back in the northern hemisphere ... & my journey will continue ...

Be well my dear ones,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. it's been great sharing my adventures "Down Unda" along the way with all of you & I look forward to adding on the missing updates to this travel journal, ... & keeping you posted as I transition back to the Great White North from my year here is Oz & Aotearoa :) Until then, happy holidays & do connect out my way, I'd love to hear from you in person ...

you can reach me through my family in Fort Saskatchewan 998-7154 or Laurelie in Edmonton 450-4227 ... they'll likely know where to track me down as I continue for a while longer in a nomadic existence sorting out where I'll live & work back in the Great White North, more on that soon, as I sort out a few remaining details ...

... of course, there is cyberspace too but I am keen to get back to the more personal reconnecting once I am back in your neck of the planet ;)

Teresa's Aotearoa adventures continue ... (+ a few farewell to friends in Oz pic's)

2007-12-05T01:49:00.000-08:00

Kia Ora Everyone!!

the most decorative house along Auckland's version of Candy Cane Lane ... on Franklin Road, near the hostel I stayed at my 1st couple of nights in Aotearoa

... very bizzare to see such X-mas decor with not trace of snow or cold weather ... as I walked about in my shorts among a couple hundred people on the 1st night the lights were lit (e. 1, 2007)

First & foremost ...

"Happy Birthday" KATRINA!!!! ... & Deanna too! ... also to Mary-Frances & Claudette!!

Sorry I haven't been able to give you a call, my travel mode is more full in high gear, so haven't had a chance to reach out until now ... hope both of you had a splendid day.

It was also lovely to reconnect with a few Dharma friends (Lizzie & Rebecca) up in Auckland before I headed to the South Island :)

Yesterday, I enjoyed a great day kayaking out at Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) yesterday under sunny, blue skies :)

Tonight, I am in Queenstown, which is set wonderfully on Lake Wakatipu (imagine Canmore spread out around the bottom curve of a very big lake & add a variety of British botanical gardens, bowling greens, but then add heaps of Aotearoa's charm).

What a treat it is to be travelling around New Zealand where the hillsides are so green & the sheep are so white & the landscpae sooooo incredibly beauty-full!! The drought that continues in Australia (into its 8th year at least) sure pales much of the places where I have been living in Oz, in comparison to the lush countrysides & rainforests of Aotearoa!

I head to Aoraki (pronounce Aorangi), also known as Mt. Cook, & if the weather forecast holds on with sunny skies & a high of 20 degrees Celsius, then I will have a chance to finally see Aotearoa's highest peak towering overhead. It was very overcast & rainy my first time to Aoraki but still managed to go hiking in the rain with Margaret :)

It is great to be visiting these very splendid places around Kiwi land but I am growing quite travel weary & am looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces & people :)

Here's a few pic's fr. my final days in Oz (& Canberra) reconnecting with a few Seed Mates & with Fumi & John & their daughter Julia :) ...

Marie at the National Botanical Gardens in Canberra

I had a very lovely visit with Marie, at the Botanical Gardens, where we heard a Tibet Buddhist monk share some teachings & then was joined by about 4 others & they shared some chanting, accompanied by a few long horns and cymbals.

John & Fumi outside their very lovely home in north Sydney

... thanks heaps for having me over again & for the lovely visit. I am so glad we were able to meet up again before I headed home & you headed for your trip to SE Asia.

Simon & I enjoying our much too brief visit on the bus back into Sydney from Maroubra Beach.

ALL the best to you Simon & your new fiance Viv as you get yourselves moved up & settled in to Newcastle! I'm sending you heaps of love to you & your family as well.

Noel & I, truly splendid Seed Mates :)

What a most splendid time it was to spend my last day in Sydney hanging out with you & Sherpa Dog ... do take care of her my friend & send her back my way when you find you don't need her by your side ... I'll miss you heaps my friends!!

a few of OBA's zany womyn

a few of OBA"s daring superheroes (each of them superhereos to me indeed!) ... M. Whiskey, Charlie Sierra, & M. Papa ... you look MAHVELLOUS!!;)

... here they are ready to join the new recruits for their 6:30 a.m. run to the Namadgi Visitor's Centre

Lastly, here's a few cutie pie pic's fr. my travels to Phillip Island SE of Melbourne (more Melbourne pic's sometime soon?? or after I have landed back in Canada ...)

Teresa feeding a baby wallaby ... sooooo CUTE!!

Lucy the baby wombat ... what a lovable ball of fun!

~~~

Nadia, it will be great to see you at the airport on the 10th, my flight arrives just before 11 p.m. (sorry it's soooo late). United Airlines flight San Francisco to Edmonton (I don't have the flight # handy but it's likely the only San Fran flight that evening.

Remember, I have my bike in a box & my big back pack, plust my carry on stuff. I'll call you to sort out the details for transporting me & my baggage away from the airport ... if anyone else is keen to meet me at the airport, it would be a great surprise to see you there too, perhaps give Nadia a call 998-7154, since you might be able to help us transport a few of my bigger items as well & of course, I do love surprises!

Baba, I hope you check on my BLOG sometime soon to see that I am not arriving today, Wednesday! 6 more sleeps, before I am back in the Great White North.

Glad I had a chance to bug into cyberspace with the free wireless at the backpacker hostel I am staying in tonight. Now it's time for me to get some sleep.

It was a most lovely bus ride from Piopiotahi to Queenstown but about 5 hours of driving ... with more in store for me tomorrow & the next day ... I visited with a new friend, Jana, from the Czech Republic on the bus. Such lovely people are often appearing & making my travels more interesting & fun ... thanks Sam for the fun day kayaking yesterday!!

Be well my friends & family & stay warm,

Teresa

Western Australia (pt.2) ... Geographe Bay to Denmark & Albany

2007-11-26T15:13:00.001-08:00

"Oscar" the 9 week young pug puppy, who joined in on the National "Walk against Warming" to raise awareness about the effects of Global Climate Change

Hello Dear Ones,

I have some very excellent news ... it's been 1 day short of 2 weeks since I received my new orthotics in the mail down in Denmark, Western Australia ... & over the past week (the past few days especially) I have been sensing things feeling better for my feet with these new inserts. I am not in the free & clear yet, but I am soooo very relieved to be experiencing the relief that has been arising so far :) :) :)

I have one more day here in Melbourne, after a two day excursion southeast of here to go see Phillip Island, famous for the adorable little blue penguins that come onto land every night after 4-5 days out fishing in the ocean ... & a day at Wilson's Promontory National Park ... the little blue penguins were absolutely adorable & Wilsons Promontory was very, very splendid!!

I would have liked at least a week there, not just one day ... we also saw some koalas, wombats, emus, kangaroos, wallabies, a variety of coolourful & songful parrots & sea birds. The closer encounters with the wonderful koalas & the other critters I listed were at the Maru Wildlife Centre, where we were able to walk among the roos & the wallabies, feed them some of their grain food ... some of which the very BOLD emu I was trying to take a picture of lunged forward to peck into my little bowl, scaring the BEANS out of me, which then caused me to let out a very funny scream, ... followed immediately by laughter of course!! We got to feed a baby wallaby & pet a baby wombat too.

When I was over feeding the little albino roo, the big male that I had fed nearby a few minutes earlier came over & proceeded to push his way in & push around the poor little white roo with some of his kangaroo boxing moves. well, the big guy for sure didn't get any more from me & I followed the little blind/low vision roo to where moved off to give him more food.

I even went along with purchasing the very commercially organized picture (that they take of every visitor that goes in to see the koala for all of 5-10 seconds) of me & an adorable koala in his photo perch tree, which swivels to help get the best photo! It was all quite funny since the koala really doesn't give two beans worth of a care that we are coming & going & that the staff are using a flash on their camera!!! Oh well, amid doing my bit to support the local economy of south Gippsland, the $$ from this photo will go to help plant trees that the folks at Maru need to feed the koalas they are caring for. I went along with this for you Auntie Carol Lynn, since I know you would have loved to be the one to get so close to a koala.

Even more GREAT NEWS ... I enjoyed the 7 km hike we did up to Mt. Bishop at WPNP, which involved going up & then coming down, not too steep a trail (with no pack on) ... & my feet/toes travelled quite well, with the exception of the last 15 minutes or so & then they seemed to recover shortly after (within a couple of hours). This feels like a great step forward in my recovery :) :) :) ... the new orthotics seem to be doing there very good work for me, thanks to Dr. Tom!! YIPPEE!!

I wound down my travels in the SW, difficult to leave such an amazingly gorgeous part of the country & such delightfully wonderful friends. Here's a quick update on my most splendid, amazing, spectacular adventures around SW Australia ...

dear, sweet Jarrod's birthday at Jo Vallentine's backyard in Perth, WA ... it was marvellous to reconnect with both of these splendid Seed Mates!!

Not long now until the big election Jo, then you can relax!! It was also most excellent to see Jarrod in action at one of his EPYC workshops ... I have added a link to Jarrod's EPYC webiste under my Aussie links, along with heaps of other excellent ones connected to my dear Seed Mates. I know there's more to add & I will get them on sometime soon ...

Phoebe, it was soooo great to hang out with you & Ilka, do let me know how you are doing :) It would have been great to have more time to muck about with you for sure! Thanks heaps also for enabling me to do my SW roadtrip with your little purple car. It was great to go where I wanted & to do so in a very fuel efficient way. Looks like I have to share my other Perth pic's with you in my next posting, looks like I can't add more as I go back through to finalize this note ...

near Point Piquet on Geographe Bay ... absloutely GORGEOUS!!!

deep blues of the Indian Ocean at Cape Leeuwin

how cool is this??? I really enjoyed my time out on the rocks at the base of the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse :)

I also really enjoyed my visits with Margaret Whittle in Denmark, WA, the place where we had our Seeds for the Future intensive with Joanna Macy almost 3 years ago now at The Cove!! I joined Margaret for a bit of fun with the nice older children she was taking care of in the evenings & the Saturday I was visiting ... Samuel joined us for a field trip out to Albany to see the Albany Fair ever so briefly, but even more fun was the stop at Lowlands Beach on the way ... what a most spectacular WILD beach!!

Sam enjoying our intertidal beach hopping fun!!

Basil Schur & I at the Albany Wind Farm

The Wind Farm, which is quite amazing, is right alongside a most spectacular section of coastline of the Southern Ocean ... & the start or end of the Bibbulmun Track ... that runs all the way up to Perth.

Teresa in awe of the Southern Ocean coast!

majestic wind turbine in the sky

Basil was involved with the planning of the Wind Farm as one of the Community representatives. Basil has been involved with heaps of other very excellent & important community, environment projects in SW Australia through his work with Green Skills & the Centre for Sustainable Living ... I've added a link to Green Skills on my BLOG, I'll have to check on the link for the CSL as well ... thanks for your kind hospitalitiy Basil, it was great to reconnect with you while I was in your hometown!

Margaret Whittle & I in front of Margaret's most recent & most splendid quilting project to-date ..."labyrinth"

It was a real treat to reconnect with Margaret, a fellow Canadian & our lone Seed Mate not surfing the waves in cyberspace, good for you Margaret!! We had a lovely visit indeed & I am very grateful we were able to meet up again before I head back to Canada.

Teresa enjoying the serenity of Wilson Inlet at the base of The Cove ... among the "paperbark", malaleuca trees ... the beach is mostly covered in water now, since the sand bar at the end of the inlet has not been opened up yet.

I saw heaps again on my way back to Bunbury from Denmark (more stories & pic's on this in another posting) & I also had a chance to reconnect with some of my fellow ROMEO's & other OBA friendsat the WW base near Walpole ... more on this in my next posting, since I think that this blog set-up can only handle so many pictures in one posting ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

something odd going on with the pic's fr. my last posting

2007-11-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

Teresa up in Cooleman ... enjoying my morning walk & photo fun in the splendid forests while my OBA friends were buzzing about with their course work at the Cooleman mobile base (Nov. 25, 2007)

... it was a great one day trip to see this area I hadn't yet been to :)

Hello Dear Ones,

I am not sure just what's up with my pic's fr. my last posting ... they were there after I posted it & I think a few days later as well .... no time to sort that out just now ... need some sleep as I continue to wind things down back here in Tharwa with my OBA mates & getting ready to head to Sydney quite likely the morning of the 28th for 3 days.

... then off to Aotearoa (New Zealand for Dec. 1-10

... then, Auckland to San Francisco to Edmonton on the 10th

WOW!!!

Nadia, Dad, & Cecilia, I'll try to connect with you on the phone from Sydney or early December to sort out airport pick up possibilities, etc.

Be well,

Teresa

p.s. It appears that this posting is having success with the couple of pic's I just added in, so am not sure what's up with the other ones ... will sort that out sometime later this week hopefully!

this is the only picture I was able to get that shows what the adorable, little, blue penguins look like ... from my visit out to Phillip Island east of Melbourne ... they are keeping penguins from being harmed by any flash photography ... it was great to see them come ashore & waddle their way up the big sand dune to get to their burrow homes :)

more from Terania Creek ...

2007-11-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Teresa with Nan & Hugh in their splendid Terania Creek home

Hello my dear friends & family,

I have made my way over to Western Australia (WA) again, to reconnect with my Seed Mates & OBA Mates over here, and to visit some of the amazingly splendid coastal regions in the SW.

I finally had the chance to post this update now that I am over in WA, chilling out at Sandra's in Bunbury. We already greeted the sun as it rose this morning ~6:30 a.m. ...

Sandra & Bess enjoying the morning's first rays

walked "Bess" the red cattle dog, and had breakfast before 8:30 a.m. I thought I'd hop into cyberspace before I go do some exploring for the day, ... beaches & dolphins await for my adventures today!

Here's a little more on my Terania Creek fun ...

I also posted a bunch of other pic's on my facebook site ... just click on the link for my Facebook page on the upper right hand corner of my BLOG page to get to it ...

My time at Terania Creek wound down, with a few days to visit with Nan & Hugh after their return from central Queensland. I had the pleasure of helping Nan transport 9 new little "chickens" (what we would call 'chicks' back to their farm, I held them in their little box to make the ride much less bumpy for them.

9 baby "chickens" heading home to Terania Creek

pesky magpie, looking more majestic than when it is diving down at me :)

Tanzia all brushed up & shining in the sun

Solaan cooling down from the heat of the morning

Solaan & Tanzia enjoying their lush green pasture ... what a difference 2 months makes!

waterfall part way up Terania Creek to Protestors Falls

rainforest canopy over Terania Creek

Nan & Tahlo on the "bison" rock

Protestors Falls (fr. behind) ... coutesy of Tahlo's excellent guiding :)

In my next posting ...I'll let you know how the dolphin & beach fun go, plus more on my visits in Perth & Fremantle (Freo) over the past week & the great adventures I had with Bobbi to see Minyon Falls, more beach walking at Byron Bay ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

resting & reading at Terania Creek ... & loving every solitary minute of it!!

2007-10-22T04:13:00.000-07:00

Bangalow Palm Tree silhoutette in a spectacular Terania Creek summer sunset

Hi everyone,

I am truly enjoying the peace & stillness throughout my stay here at Terania Creek. It's been fun tending to the chooks & visiting with the horses who I have been brushing every day as well as removing as many ticks that I can find! Tanzia is the elder of the two horses, somewhere around 30 years of age :) Solaan is quite a bit younger, ~12 although I don't fully remember ... here's a few pic's of my new, lanky friends:

Tanzia

Solaan

In looking back at these pic's from August, I am amazed at the difference a couple of months has made in the grass cover on the ground. I will take some pic's of my cloven-hoofed friends tomorrow to share with you so that you can see how splendid the horses look with their daily brushings & the green grass all around ;) I will also endeavour to get a few pic's of the persistent, swooping magpie who is quite pesky to say the least and one of "Houdini" for posterity's sake.

It's also been fun interacting with the cows, their calves, & the lone Brahman bull ... one morning, I was able to hang around the 6 calves long enough to get a few of the older ones to take grass out of my hand and for them to eventually let me pet their head & even brush their head & neck a wee bit.

This morning, more fun was to be had when "Houdini" as I am now calling him, the adventurous mocha brown calf escaped to join two rogue hefers who came by to create some bovine fun on the road by Nan & Hugh's paddock :)

"Houdini" or his twin brother back in August when I visited

It was the most amazing sight, when these two heiffers appeared from up the road ... N & H's 21 bovine friends were hanging out in two separate areas near the fence by the road but immediately after these 2 young cows got close to the fence, ALL of Nicholson cattle headed straight for the fence & started sniffing at the other two cows. This vigorous greeting was also accompanied by a grand bovine serenade that echoed through the valley :)

I headed up to the house to call Irma, Nan's mother, to inform her of the situation & once I got back to the road after not even 5 minutes, the whole herd had "high-tailed" it to the paddock furthest down the valley in an effort to keep up with the 2 rogue bandits. Somewhere in that excitement, "Houdini" decided he wanted to join in on the fun & somehow managed to get through the barbed wire fence & out onto the road with his two new female friends. With the help of a few of the neighbours who were alerted to the situation by Irma.

We eventually worked out a way to separate the calf from the other two, who by the end of things were already asserting their dominance & putting the little whipper-snapper in place with a few forecful nudges on the side! Nellie, the neighbour's daughter & I finally got little Houdini back in with his mob/herd and the rest is history. Well almost, Nellie had to relive a little childhood trauma back near the nicholson front gate when the diving magpie wanted to swoop down on her a few times as we were shepherding the little guy back to the gate :)

All in all, a very fun start to the day!

Terri, N & H's daughter, Terri's husband Donovan, & their adorable three and a half year old Tahlo and their Australian cattle dog Amber came by to take care of a few of their things. So I had another chance to play with Tahlo and visit with Terri & Donovan.

Terri is a naturopath & after I helped her a few days ago with her herbal collecting & preparing, she gave me a bottle of Tumeric Tincture to help reduce any inflammation in my toes ... not absolutely sure, but I think it may have helped settle things down a little with my tingly toes. But they are still acting up, be sure of that and the good news is that I have only 2 more sleeps until the day I get to finally see Hugh's podiatrist, Dr. Tom :)

So, on Wednesday, I will go into Lismore for this appointment, YIPPEE!! I will go in to town early so that I have time prior to this to finally go visit the Friends of the Koala Care Centre ... http://www.friendsofthekoala.org/fok/

I'll be sure to take a bunch of pic's & if I have the chance, I will definitely see if I can touch or hold one :)

Given that I have been continuing to awake with the first light (~ 5 a.m.), but dozing in & out of consciousness until at least 6:30 a.m., I need to sign-off for now & add a new posting, hopefully tomorrow ... here's a few primo pic's from those early morning times (~5:25 a.m.) that I took from the comfort of the bed in the front corner of the veranda ... this was one of the few overcast mornings that had the clouds still haning around from the evenings rain showers ...

looking up to the north end of the Terania Creek valley

Nicholson's pond (aka. dam) whre the platypus/platypi sometimes go

view to the SE, the chook house is just behind the tree fern in the lower left side of the photo & the cow/horse paddock is on the other side of the trees across the grassy field

... all 3 pic's from exactly where I am sleeping ... I just have to sit up, look around, & breathe in the captivating landscape :) ... truly splendid indeed!!

Until my next posting, I wish each & everyone of you a splendid day & evening wherever you are.

Be well,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. early "Happy Anniversary" wishes Dad & Cecilia ... just in case I lose track of the dates & don't get a chance to call you at a decent hour of the day when I make a call your way ...

Teresa's Cert. IV is "DONE & DUSTED" ... now it's time to rest & reconnect with friends Down Unda

2007-10-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Teresa enjoying a spectacular sunset over Byron Bay

Hello my friends & family,

Sorry it's been a longer than I intended to put this next posting up ... I've been wanting to share more upbeat news about my "paws" but things have been on somewhat of a delay ...

It's taking longer to get in to this new podiatrist than I had hoped (no cancellations last week) and now I am up in northern NSW again at Nan & Hugh Nicholson's farm near Nightcap National Park, which is also a World Heritage Site ... http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/parks.nsf/parkContent/N0062?OpenDocument&ParkKey=N0062&Type=xo.

It's 30 degree weather here during the day now, much hotter than just 2 months ago & the evenings aren't nearly as cold through the night either, staying around 10 degrees or warmer, instead of a few degrees above freezing.

I am now at the top of the waiting list for Hugh's highly recommended podiatrist. Sooooooo, I am requesting ALL of your positive energy to focus on me getting in to see Dr. Tom this week through whatever act of nature or kindness that opens up an appointment for me to see him. There were some pretty serious hail storms last week here before I arrived which led to a few cancellations, but the 31 degree Celsius temperatures today are not likely to cause any similar changes in appointments ... but you never know.

Here's a few pic's from my time here at Terania Creek back in August ...

view from Nan & Hugh's verandah where I get to sleep while I am here :)

more of the splendid rainforest views from the verandah ...

here's where I'll be sleeping each night after moving the bed over to this corner ... where I'll be serenaded by frogs and various other rainforest chirpers and the rustling leaves when the wind comes up ...

At any rate, I managed to persevere with finishing up my Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation, YIPPEE!! I got my last assignment in last week & prior to that, my final practical sign-offs. I did my final abseil & climbing anchor set-ups during the Vision Australia course. What an amazingly keen and inspiring group of young adults. It was a real treat to connect with them on the various days I helped Tanya & Cathy with some of the back-up duties on this course :)

I'll post pic's from this course once I get my 'puter to properly download my pic's ... been having a few small challenges with iPhoto of late ...

Byron Bay sunset (August 2007)

I'll sign off for now, daybreak happens ~ 5 a.m., the sun is up over the hillsides ~6:30 a.m. & the chooks (chickens) will be eager to scurry out of their chook house to do their "free ranging" thing for the day. I let them out at ~ 6:30 a.m. this morning.

More to follow as well on my travel plans for bouncing about the Land of Oz & for returning back to the Great White North.

Wishing an abundance of "hotto suru" ... to relax because you have taken a deep breath to ALL of you ... as I enter into my 2 weeks of "hotto suru" peace here at Terania Creek :)

Be well,

Teresa

p.s. Happy Birthday to you Susan & Tracey ... Sandra D. ... Uncle Jerrold ... Simon A. & Claire D. :)

promising news for Teresa's "paws"

2007-09-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

relief upon successfully completing my ASSESSMENT course with Tom ... I DID IT!!! ... pretty nice charcoal spirals & whiskers on my cheeks in this pic. & one below ... courtesy of Ellen one of our "girls" (September 6, 2007)

Hello my friends & family,

My big roo friend & I have a most excellent update for you on my "paws" ... at least as it pertains to my feet for sure ... following the appointment I had a few days ago with a new podiatrist Michelle Prophet-Pearson, based here in Canberra ... & finally, some pic's from my ASSESS with Tom & the ROMEO's graduation ...

big kangaroo ... our "watch roo" at Link Gully campsite

I am considering it somewhat of a breakthrough in getting this whole thing sorted out. Michelle is quite confident that these tingly/numb sensations can be treated with a pair of orthotics that are meant for my type of foot, as opposed to the ones that I got from the 1st podiatrist, which are too hard, not the full length of my foot, and have added support behind only some instead of all of my 5 toes. She also identified how my posture will be significantly improved by the new orthotics she will make for me :)

Sooo, the next trick is to work out if/when I can get in on an appointment earlier than the next available one on the 26th of October, so that I can get fitted for my new orthotics before my plans to head back up to Nan & Hugh's so that I can housesit for them at their farm near Terania Creek. The potential is high given the higher likelihood of some cancellations over the upcoming school holidays. So please keep the positive energy going for me that an opening is offered to me for as early as possible the week of the 10th October.

Once I muck about between here & northern NSW, I will be making my way back over to WA to visit my Seed Mates & OBA friends in Western Australia (for hopefully ~ 15 days), then over to Melbourne (3rd week of November) to reconnect with Glenda , Ruth, & hopefully Dot, possibly to Tassie to reconnect with the 4 Seed Mates down there before hopping back to Sydney & Canberra briefly before my flight to Aotearoa (New Zealand) on December 1st. I'll update this travel plan once I connect with some of my Seed Mates & confirm travel dates, etc. Lookout Pheebs & kt and all the rest of our Seed Mates, I can't wait to catch up with you :)

If anyone is interested in a splendid vacation in NZ, do let me know, I am planning to be there for the 1st 10 days of Dec. before I fly back to N. America, where I'll land into San Francisco for ~10 days before I head up to Seattle & beyond to Edmonton before Christmas ... phew!

wispy clouds & the blue sky splendour of the Orroral Valley (September 2007)

I am getting very close to winding up my Cert. IV ... only one final assignment to go and a few practical sign-offs, which I will take care of this week when I help out the Staff with the Vision Australia group. It's a great group of visually impaired kids, some of who are completely blind, others with some amount of vision or ability to make out shapes/colours/shadows and a few with the ability to sense things such as large buildings and other objects using echo location!!! I helped out with their climbing wall activity this morning and hung out with them while they had their abseil tower fun this afternoon. What an amazing & special group of young adults and what a privilege to be able to work with them today ... plus a few more times this week when I'll be out with them at NORA for their abeiling on Tuesday & back here when they do the High Ropes course.

Speaking of NORA, here are a few pic's I've been wanting to post from my ASSESSMENT course with Tom ... these ones were up on the ridge before getting to the abseil site ...

Tom practicing his "Atlas" pose

The main activity at a site called "Legoland", which is understood to have significance to the local Indigenous people in the area, is scrambling around in the big cave-like spaces created by a whole mess of very large boulders. As it turned out with our time when Tom & I were there with the Ascham Girls College, we only ended up with 30 minutes, instead of the ~1.5 hours I had intended for us. So, I had the girls enter in silence and we circled up around the fire ring in the center of the main chamber. The girls were amazingly attentive and respectful as we sat there in the chilly, windy, and inspiring space and I read them the Gaia Meditation from Joanna Macy's book Coming Back to Life. It was such a special experience and I am so pleased to have made the decision I did in facilitating our time in this way :)

Gaia Meditation in the main chamber

main chamber at "Legoland"

We had a great afternoon at NORA with everyone doing as much as they were able to at the abseil site ...

Teresa's "comfort zone" briefing

learning & growth happen when? ... when you to go into your "stretch zone"?

abseil briefing (con't)

Teresa's abseil demonstration

spectacular blue sky day amid the greenest I'll ever see these hills along Honeysuckle Creek!

Tom & Tess ... knowing that I have successfully completed the most challenging sections of my assessment course, including the steep 2 km downhill walk the day before from the ridge to our campsite near Honeysuckle Creek ... yippee!!!

The Ascham group were a great bunch of young womyn whom I am very pleased to have had out with me for my successful assessment course. What a treat to connect with such amazing and unique individuals and to be able to bring them along through the 9 days we were together, form somewhat squeamish, hesitant girls to more confident and critically thinking young womyn :) Thanks Carter House "girls", you are truly mahvellous!!

That's enough for this update, I am overdue for getting myself to bed for some much needed sleep. I need to be especialy diliget tomorrow in making great strides on my final assignment so that I can wrap it up by the end of this week ...

I will share a few final pic's with you ... of my ROMEO buddy Christopher & his grandmother Jan from the afternoon at the low ropes course on our ROMEO graduation day ...

Jan on the low ropes course

Chris & his grandmother (she's 76 years young!)

A few more of our ROMEO mob with Mount Tennent in the background on August 28, 2007, our graduation day :) Unfortunately, these pic's are not from my camera or my set-up ... but they still capture us ... THE ROMEO's on our special celebration day

Be well my dear ones, I look forward to reconnecting with many of you in the next few months, YIPPEE!!

Hugs 'n' Bugs,

Teresa

time to check in ... long overdue

2007-09-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

Teresa at Protestor's Falls (near Terania Creek, NSW - August 2007)

Hello my Dear Family & Friends,

So sorry it has taken me much longer to post another update. I've been waiting to do so until I have something more concrete to report on my next steps, but alas, it is taking longer to get these details sorted out ... so here is a little update from me now & a few pic's to fill in the overview I shared about my recently successful assessment course.

Given the state my "paws" have been in since our Expedition Training mid-March, and more significantly since April/May and even more significantly since August ... I am now able to be giving my feet a break from the long hikes with a backpack adding extra weight to distribute over my feet. My feet & hands are not as majorly tingly this week as they were the past few weeks & I have had a chance to get out to my Shiatsu massage therapist, my chiropractor, (once each of the past two weeks) ... and out to the swimming pool (4 times in the past 2 weeks this is expecially excellent since it is not so easy for me to get any decent exercise out walking ... or even cycling just yet :(

Resting my "paws" is exactly what I have been doing for the past 2 weeks & will continue to do until this tingly/numb toe thing finally clears up. Instead of going out on any of the more recently offered OBA courses, I have been diligently finishing up the last half dozen outstanding written assignments that I need to complete for my Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation. Only 1 major assignment left for me to write up, which I intend to do by the end of September, along with a few outstanding practical sign-offs that should be fairly easy to take care of.

The details I am awaiting are pertaining to decisions by OBA on the timing they would like to proceed in moving forward on the proposal I gave them, to rejuvenate OBA field approach with some new facilitation processes such as The Work that Reconnects of Joanna Macy & Molly Young Brown which includes the deep ecology, systems thinking, and spiritual traditions that I have come to be quite familiar with since 2003. Another main body of work I would like to introduce more completely to OBA is that of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) ... I'll post a new note once I know more hopefully later this week ...

As much as I would like to share pic's from my assessment course with Tom, I haven't been successful in downloading this last batch of pic's yet, so that will need to wait until I sort that out. In the meantime, I realize I haven't shared any pic's or many stories from my great time off in the Terania Creek area of northern New South Wales.

So, I will share some of the higlights of this 3 week break with you now ... I will also endeavour to share more than just a few pic's with you throug my BLOG by way of posting them to my new Facebook site ... you can search me out through the "badge" I have added to this blog.

Highlights of my 3 week break go like this:

* similarly, reconnecting with Nan, Hugh, & Teri Nicholson, the friends I made from Terania Creek when I was volunteering at the Womyn, Earth, & Change conference 2 years ago

Nan & Hugh Nicholson in their splendid, sustainable "home sweet home"

* staying out at Nan & Hugh's farm near Night Cap National Park with their chooks (chickens) running across the open grass as I sat every day out on the verandah (of their first house just near their second, somewhat larger but still very modest sized house, where I had the house to myself) ... eating breakfast, working on assignments, & reading ... listening to all the lovely bird songs, watching birds, chooks, & Amber the Australian cattle dog, and just immersing myself in this most peacefully delightful, beauty-fillled place :)

"chicken run" ... chook running across the grass

* visiting with Nan & Hugh (& Nan's mother Erma) and enjoying the stimulating, entertaining, and thought-provoking conversations we had over lunch & dinner ... as we enjoyed fresh veggies, fruits (heaps of bananas & oranges, plust many others), macadamian nuts, pecans, & eggs from their gardens, orchards, and chooks

* showering and HAVING BATHS in the outdoor tub ... what a TREAT!!!

relaxing under the clear, star-filled skies was a most delightful treat at Terania Creek :)

view from "the loo" (outdoor composting toilet) ... of the banana trees in the garden

Nicholson Farm at Terania Ceek

blue skies, lush rainforest terrain, and the tranquility of Nan & Hugh's farm

rainforest solitude of Terania Creek

It was lovely to hear the cows calling out from the section of the farm on the other side of Erma's home
cute little chocolate coloured "calfer"

Nan's delightful Brahma bull

Since I had offered to make myself useful to my Seed Mate Bobbi, she aranged for me to help her good friend Anne with some of the final sorting and cleaning up of things as she prepared to move from The Channon to Melbourne ...

"tea time" with Bobbi & Anne

* reconnecting with my Seed Mate Bobbi (& her partner John) in The Channon, the little town where they live in northern NSW

After spending 3 nights with Nan & Hugh, I hopped over to Bobbi & John's & spent 3 nights with them in The Channon ... on the second day of our visit, I joined Bobbi for a trip out to Byron Bay to pick up her grandchildren ... it was great to finally make it out to this amazingly beauty-full coastal area of Oz again ... & to have access IN & OUT without getting caught up in the tourist side of things!

Bobbi's grandchildren playing in the tide at Byron Bay

Bobbi & her granddaughter looking for whales off the shore of Byron Bay

lone goat still living on the cliffside by the Byron Bay lighthouse

Teresa at the most easterly point in Australia along the shore of Byron Bay ... I waved to everyone back in North America when I was here ;)

It's time I finally post this update ... I'll post pt. 2 of my splendid adventures during my time off in northern NSW much sooner than it took me to finally post this one ... stay tuned ;)

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa's ASSESSMENT course with Tom ... SUCCESS!!

2007-09-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I finished up my ASSESSMENT course with the Ascham Girls College year 8's and I have news of my SUCCESS :) At the end of our final debrief/wrap-up circle yesterday morning, Tom announced to me & our group that he would be signing me off for my assessment course ... YIPPEE!!

So, while I am waiting for Tom to put the finishing touches on his assessment report, I have a chance to share this quick update with you. Once we meet up to discuss his report, he'll also sign me off in the various sections of my logbook pertaining to my assessment course, plus a few other expedition related sign-offs.

Overall, this course went very well, ...

* I was quite comfortable with all that I needed to do to deliver this program,

* we had a great group ... we had 12 young womyn and an excellent teacher, Johann, who had done a few OB courses as a teacher before,

* Tom & I worked really well together ... we were T 'n' T (Teresa/Tess & Tom) ... Tom's mentoring style and his relaxed approach were great,

* we had a few weather related challenges including gale force winds in the Orroral Valley on our first afternoon while we were trying to issue the girls their OB gear and frosty overnight temperatures most of the nights but I/we were able to deal with it in good form and the group was not too phased by these weather challenges, although they likely would have been had we experienced more rain or more severely cold nights,

* I was able to share a few of the Work that Reconnects practices that I have learned from Joanna Macy & Molly Young Brown's work during our Enviro Day (Systems Game, Open Sentences, Mirror Walk, & the Web of Life Meditation) and ...

* on another day when we explored some of the massive boulders that have special significance to the indigenous peoples here in the Orroral Valley ... we experienced this sacred space in silence and circled up in the main chamber (which is quite large, yet under a variety of massive boulders that are all supporting each other above this large space) and I shared the Gaia Meditation with them, separating each section with a few notes from my clay okarina that I brought with me from Canada (if I remember correctly, this was a gift from Evon, thanks friend :) Johann, the Ascham teacher was quite pleased with how respectful and attentive the girls were during this activity, especially with the colder temperatures and winds blowing through this cave-like space. Tom & I were quite pleased with how this activity went as well.

* all in all, I was very pleased with how the course went, the progress each of the young womyn made from the beginning to the end of the course, the connect I had with their teacher, all that we did, and the all the catch up chats I had with Tom throughout the course ...

more soon ...

I'll hop into cyberspace again, likely tomorrow to post a more fulsome update of my course & pic's of course, since what I most need to do after I meet up with Tom & Marcelo the intern training manager is sleep, stay warm, and give my feet a good rest. I am looking forward to catching up with a bunch of you over the phone this week-end, please feel free to post a comment on my BLOG or send an e-mail to my sherpadoginoz@care2.com e-mail address with a time it would work out best to call you.

Tom's just given me my copy of my assessment report, so I have to sign off now & post this update. I'll be in touch again real soon.

Until then, be well,

For the Earth,

Teresa

Teresa's next assessment course

2007-08-30T01:47:00.000-07:00

G'daye Mates,

I wanted to post a quick message to y'all to let you know that tomorrow I go out for my next assessment course. It will be with the Ascham Girls, Yr. 8 (grade 8). We start on the 31 August & the girls go home on the 6th of September. Soooo, I am visualizing success, a full sign off of my assessment sheets, by my assessor Tom, and a very excited Teresa posting an update to you with such wonderful news in 8 days.

I will also update you in just over a week, on the splendid time off I had up in northern NSW ... in the mean time, know that I am thinking of you all & wishing you well as the Summer starts to wind down for you ... All the best to everyone who has more going on in the next little while as school gets ready to start ... have fun with the start of your 4th year Nadia, YOU GO SISTA!!

Early "Happy Birthday" out to Auntie Carol Lynn and my friend Shagufta.

Be well my dear family & friends!

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. Pheebs, so sorry I missed your call last night. I had my earplugs in so I could get a solid night's sleep. Many thanks for your call. I look forward to catching up with you once I am done my course with the Ascham Girls :) :) :)

p.s.s. Cheryl, the timezones have made it a challenge to call you back :( ... but I will definitely call you on the 8th (for me, 7th for you) and I look forward to catching up with you then :) :) :)

Teresa's ASSESSMENT course with Roman

2007-08-10T03:28:00.000-07:00

weary & weathered Teresa with a "stiff" upper lip ... but still smiling ;) ... quite an appropriate picture for this posting as you will you read on ...

my scraped upper lip was a remnant of my ASSIST with Taz ... from when I caught it on the tight bivvy cord that held up our bivvy/tarp ... also one of the last nights I had my awesome Petzl head torch with its red cover before it somehow went missing from my pack during my trip to the podiatrist :( :(

The news I have to share with you about my ASSESSMENT course is somewhat of a paradox ...

Without a doubt, ... it was my best, most enjoyable course yet ... the connections I made with the A. B. Paterson students ... the "Lantana Bashing Pengins" as we fondly came to know ourselves & their teacher Penny , was most excellent!! I taught the group a song that Taz shared with the group on our previous course, ...

I'm a penguin,
You're a penguin,
We are penguins all.
& when we get together, we do the penguin call.

PENGUINS TOGETHER!
PENGUINS UNITE!

... my AB Paterson kids scooped it up ... & in no time, their Penguin identity was secured :)

My Bush Nurse skills were also put to task, predominantly with a variety of blisters and ticks needing to be removed, a rolled ankle that needed wrapping, ... plus a few Papa's who need to get a few things tended to away from the group ... one with low energy/dizziness, another with a sprained wrist, ... then another that had a bump on the side of the head with a rock after falling along a dry creek bed.

All in all, the course went very well, the Papa's were safe, they had a great time, learned heaps about themselves, each other, & the places we explored, plus how to work together as a team, and support themselves as a "penguin family."

mossy logs along one of the many creekbeds we tramped past during our 2 day Rainforest Walk

Typically, most groups get through the Rainforest Walk in one day, usually around 4-5 hours ... but our first full day out on course had us start later due to the medical concerns I had to tend to for one of our Papa's which had our Back-Up staff come pick them up to get rested, be watched, & if need be taken to the Doctor. As a result, we ended up making an expedition campsite in the rainforest just before sunset ... in a location that wouldn't have been a first choice for most folks but our group quick got to work on setting up camp ... & in no time, we had a super bivvy in place over a newly tramped patch of lantana ... and dinner was cooking over our expedition firepit ... "home sweet home"

amazing campsite the penguins made in the rainforest by bashing down a patch of lantana to make space to sleep on the ground :)

hiking up to a ridge before heading down to Bells Bay

view from one of the higher elevations we reached during our circuit around Iron Pot Creek

On the flip side of my assessment course, ... out of the extensive list of competencies that need to be checked off on our ASSESSMENT course logsheet, there are about half a dozen competencies that I still need to show more evidence of ... sooooo, that means I will be doing another ASSESS starting the end of August with the year 8 Ascham all girls school.

It was quite a disappointing and frustrating time when I had my mid-course review with my assessor Roman, especially since it ended up taking place very late at night (a day later than we had originally intended it to take place) and my energy of course was very low and my emotions more heightened, ... to find out that there were a number of things that I still needed to show more evidence of my competence.

Needless to say, amid what was quite an overwhelming time, late at night/early in the morning ... I woke up about 3 hours later, for our early wake up to prepare for our rafting day ... & I managed to greet the new day & embrace the challenge of continuing forward, with the reality that my assessment course was over and the remainder of the course would proceed moreso as an assist with the opportunity for various coaching points from Roman as we journeyed through the final two & a half days of the course.

Quite splendidly, the last few days of the course went very well with my group. We never skipped a beat, despite the weary night I had, the great rapoort that I had established with my Papa's & our teacher Penny which carried us forward in a totally wonderful way. We also had a great SERVICE activity toward the end of our rafting activity, where we were helping a fellow named Craig pull up about 71 bags!! of water hyacinth, which is a terribly invasive weed species that is threatening to block up a section of Iron Pot Creek if it is left untouched.

A. B. Paterson Penguins making & moving piles of water hyacinth we pulled out of the ground

After we pulled out our rafts and packed them away, we still had a hike up to our campsite, which once we got to the 4 wheel drive track & the sun was setting, we prepared to road walk in the dark. Our group worked so well together, keeping track of the pacing, keeping the group together, staying paired up as we travelled forward, and keeping in good spirits the whole way along :) We travelled past some embers and remnants of some lantana clearing scrub fires to finally arrive at the campsite we stayed in that night, which was about 500m closer than our originally intended campsite. our course coordinator had us stay at the one lower down to avoid any of the smoke & residual fires that were possibly still going at that time of the evening.

The penguins were pleased to arrive at our new campsite ahead of the one we were originally traveling toward. The next day we had a great time at the Giant Ladder, then waited for one of our penguins to be taken back to the base camp to rest her back muscles that were strained during the last leg of the Ladder. Then, onward ho! ... we proceeded, and finally got the group set up for their Buddy Walk later in the afternoon than originally intended but quite successful nonetheless. The group quite enjoyed finishing up their Buddy Walk in the dark :)

Once we met up as a group ~4km later along the trail, we crossed a little stream and then crossed Iron Pot Creek stepping on a little rock path to get to the other side to then make our way to our campsite after one final cross of Iron Pot Creek courtesy of another small boulder crossing. Roman set the pengins up that night so that they operated completely without my involvement and the night went wonderfully well, ending up with hot chocolate, my reading of "Oh The Places You'll Go!" courtesy of Dr. Seuss, and the penguins connecting with each other with other stories of their own, some of which were quite heartfelt and only possible in the safe space that the group had created where they could feel comfortable in sharing so deeply with each other.

Our final morning together involved breakfast, packing up camp one final time, washing up all the personal & group gear, a final debrief circle which went very well, & quickly "wolfing" down some lunch before heading a couple hundred metres up the road to meet our shuttle ride to the bus turnaround point after getting a group picture for the folks with cameras, mine included :)

All in all, I am very pleased with the course experience I had with the "Lantana Bashing Penguins" from A. B. Paterson ... It was great fun, I learned heaps & so did the Penguins/Papa's, and I know what I need to more fully cover for my next go at being assessed. Navigation, group management, & time management are the main areas that I need to spruce up and I know that I can get these things in line the next time around.

Sooooo, with that, I will sign off and assure you that my own Outward Bound journey continues to unfold and offer various opportunities for me to learn more about myself, how I interact with others, and how I tap into the skills I have been acquiring along the way. There have been numerous occasions where I have wished many of you closer by my side, to lean on, listen to my troubles, encourage me on, massage my sore feet & back, run me a hot bath (oh how I look forward to the next time I can have a hot bath!!!!!), ... & just remind me to keep breathing.

Somehow, even in your absence, I have felt you nearby and I continue to draw upon my own strength and the support I know you are sending my way, and I keep moving forward, stepping along this journey that is my life. Ever grateful for having all that I enjoy in my life ... the abundance of love & support from my family & friends ... my strong spirit & perseverance that have enabled me to continue forward amid the trouble with my "paws" and the significant physical & mental challenges that have been part of my OBA internship adventures ... freedom to be who I am and do the many splendid things I do that make me who I am ... my dedication to making a difference in the world and creatively utilizing the resources that I have within me & around me to help facilitate personal transformations for the folks that I interact with and to help protect this fragile planet we call home ... plus countless other things I am truly grateful for in my life ...

It is now time for me to enjoy an abundance of "Hotto Suru" (to relax because one has taken a deep breath) as I begin this much need time off. I look forward to reconnecting with all of you more often here in cyberspace through my blog but also over the telephone wires & perhaps the iChat waves ... and most welcomingly, through snail mail as well ... it's always a great treat to have mail from home to greet me when I am in my nomadic/gypsy ways ...

I miss all of you heaps, & send big hugs & warm wishes of an abundance of "hotto suru" your way, wherever you are ...

Be well & keep breathing deeply ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. this past course, we saw 3 different carpet pythons & 1 goanna (big lizard) who travelled around us at the Giant Ladder,

carpet python in a big hole

goanna checking us out at the Giant Ladder

... and the bell miner birds kept chirping their continuous bell tones wherever we travelled through "the bush", with the exception of the sections and patches of intact rainforest that have been excluded from the logging operations that have altered the forest ecosystems throughout the Toonumbar National Park area.

p.s.s. I posted another update just below, with more on my July OBA activities & what I am planning to do during my eagerly anticipated big break of TIME OFF :)

frost in mid- July ... who could imagine such a thing?

2007-08-10T03:11:00.000-07:00

frosty morning for Tess & Taz's Papa's who slept out under the stars ... & the morning FROST!

Greetings my dear family & friends!

It's been awhile since I've been able to hop into cyberspace to let you all know what I have been up to ...

As I mentioned on my last posting, my ASSIST with Taz went extremely well. It was a great feeling to be able to connect with the participants as I did. They were a keen, mature group of teenagers from the U.S. who have come down to OZ for about 7 weeks with the big kick-off being their 9 days Outward Bound with Tess & Taz. Their "teacher"/chaperone, Sandi, who was with our group was also great to have with us. She shared stories of the activists doing tree sits up in Humboldt County in northern California where she currently lives and our group travelled quite well through the circuit that we did for their OB program.

abseil briefing by Tess (Teresa)

hoisting Tess up "Tinkerbell" the 27 meter tall Abseil Tree

Tess near the top of "Tinkerbell" ... preparing to abseil down, Yeehaa!

As you saw in my last posting, we also had the splendid fortune to enjoy a stunning sunset over Bells Bay the night before we went rafting.

Rafting our way along the Toonumbar Dam reservoir ...

One of the most excellent rainforest plants we saw along the way was the Staghorn, which is an epiphytic plant (grows on rocks or on trees without having a negative impact on them) ...

large staghorn growing on the underside of this big boulder

many staghorns hanging on & enjoying their shelf-like homes on the sides of the big trees

Part of the OB circuit includes this section of rainforest, we had our AFS participants doing their "Buddy Walk" at this time.

sunbeams lighting up the rainforest

rainforest splendour

So the participants were walking in pairs, getting to know someone else in their group that they didn't know very well (or at all) before coming to the OB course. They were to explore the following questions ... the impact of their OB experience that they felt would carry forward with them in 6 months, 1 year, perhaps even 2-3 years or longer; happiest & saddest moments of their lives, 2-3 values they have. I was at the front of our pack with Sandi, who was my buddy for the Buddy Walk, Taz held up the rear and enjoyed a solo walk through the splendid rainforest.

flowing water fun with my camera

Our "Papas" opted to sleep under the stars, without bivvies overhead ... the result, over this very cold night, was the lovely formation of frost that covered all sleeping bags, backpacks, and anything else that was not under cover ... Taz, Sandi, & I were protected from the frost by our bivvy, that we cleverly chose to put up :)

frosty morning at our expedition campsite near Iron Pot Creek

All in all, it was great to get out with this group of young adults from all corners of the US and to introduce them to some of the amazing landscapes and spaces that the Land of Oz has to offer. They came together very well as a group and connected with each other and themselves in a variety of ways that will help carry themselves through the rest of their adventures and service activities here in Australia and when they return back home to the U.S. Thanks heaps to all the AFS gang, it was great to get out & about with you near Toonumbar National Park :)

~~~

In the couple of days off that I had between my ASSIST with Taz & my ASSESSMENT course, I had the chance to go to the podiatrist in Lismore, who then set me up to see his colleague in Ballina (a town 30 minutes closer to the coast) so that I could get fitted for some orthotics. Just yesterday, I was finally able to pick up my new orthotics and will slowly start using them (an hour or so each day, increasing the time I wear them as the days go by).

Sending big hugs & a huge WELCOME HOME to my traveling, multi-lingual sister Nadia. How awesome that you were able to spend this past term over in Deutschland and to do the studying & traveling you did over there!!

To my twin nieces Roo & Boo, although I couldn't talk to you directly for your birthday while I was in Ballina, it was fun singing "Happy Birthday" to you on the answering machine. How fun that you were up in the Canadian Rockies when you celebrated turning 6 with Dad, Cecilia, A. Evelyn, U. Jerrold, and Schmookie Loo & Mommy & Daddy too!! Sorry I missed your visit to Canada ... I look forward to seeing you on your next visit once I return from the Land of Oz.

Trudy, I hope that you received my special delivery birthday card and that you had a most splendid time celebrating your special day as well ... same day as my twin nieces :) Did you get out for a wonder-full hike or other groovy outdoor adventure??

Margaret, I imagine you were in the thick of winding things down with your work in Colorado & preparing for your big move to D.C. when your birthday arrived. I hope that you were able to take some time to treat yourself to something special and that Jesse took you out for a little time outside to get some fresh air & take some time to stop & smell the roses.

I also have birthday wishes to send out to my cousins Kathy & Michelle, all the best to you in the coming year. I am sure A, A, J, & J & the rest of the Sheptak gang helped make your day extra special Kathy and perhaps Michelle, you had some fun out near the ocean in CA for yours or did you head up to Canada for a family visit??

There's a few more birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions that I am afraid I am not around to help celebrate ... To all of you, I send my best wishes for another great year and many wonder-filled moments with family & friends, including all your 4-legged friends too!

Ollie, it's very excellent to get your e-mail updates and encouragement as I have been moving through this OBA internship. Your support is much appreciated! So glad you received my latest cards and that you have been able to share my greetings to the rest of our DOE friends across the country. Thanks heaps :)

It would be great to hear how things are going for Shelley & your lovely "Bubby Bunch", also, M-F, what news have you to send my way. Cheryl, thanks for your recent note, it was great to hear from you & that you were preparing to go to the Summer Festival. I look forward to hearing about your Dharma adventures in the UK and more on how you, Gleb, & Aidan are settling in to life in Palo Alto.

I still have an update to share with you about my last course, which was my ASSESS with one of the international OBA guys from the Czech Republic. I will post that in a new note ...

But before I sign off from this posting, I wanted to let you all know that I will have a chance to be plugged in a little more often for the next few weeks because my big RDO BREAK has finally arrived, YIPPEE!!!

Soooo, I am now off until I return to Tharwa (where our National base is located SW of Canberra) for August 23rd. In the time between now & then, I will be getting myself organized to shuffle on from our mobile base here near Kyogle & Toonumbar National Park.

1st on my calendar will be spending time with Nan & Hugh Nicholson, some wonderfull folks whom I met during my time in northern New South Wales 2 years ago, when I was volunteering at the Womyn, Earth, & Change conference. They have extended a welcome to me that includes an opportunity to WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) for them (help with their organic gardening activities) while they work on finishing a few big updates on a couple of their Rainforests of Australia books that are no longer in print. I'll also have a chance to rest & work on finishing up some of my Cert. IV assignments.

I am also looking forward to reconnecting with one of my Seed Mates, Bobbi, and her partner John, who are also out in the Terania Creek area near Nan & Hugh, in a town called The Channon. Nan & Hugh live among large tracts of splendid Rainforest which were protected back in the late 70's by their very own activist efforts (those of Nan, Hugh, Bobbi & John, & their kids) plus those of many, many other concerned folks. Nightcap National Park was formed after the peaceful protesting that went on for over a month was successful in changing the minds of the politicians at the state & I believe federal levels to ensure that environmental impact assessments that the government stated in its policies were required before logging of such diveres areas could occur ... the EIA's then revealed how important the rainforest diversity in this area was, especially given the quickly shrinking areas of rainforest in Australia because of the intense logging pressures ... & the government decided to protect this area which then led to numerous other areas in NSW & I believe elsewhere in Australia to be protected as National Parks & other protected areas.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

Ruth Rosenhek & John Seed (directors of the Rainforest Information Centre & colleagues of Joanna Macy) are up in this area as well & it will be great to meet up with them sometime soon.

After spending time up in the Terania Creek area, ... resting, catching up on a bunch of my assignments, reconnecting with these splendid folks I know from my previous trip to Oz, & perhaps spotting a platypus or two in Nan & Hugh's pond, ... I will head down to Sydney (on the ~12 hour train ride) to reconnect with my Sydney Seed Mates & hopefully even Claire in Newie on the way down ... plus Fumi, John, & Julia and some of the Dharma folks in the Harbour Bridge city ... then the fun of reconnecting with my Canadian mates Jilly Peanut & her son Ethan as they wind down their month of adventures Down Unda.

As it turns out, our ROMEO internship graduation day will be August 28th, ... there may likely be preliminary celebrations taking place on the Sunday, August 26th as well. Sooooo, if any of you lovely beings have occasion to be in the Canberra area around that week-end, or want to connect with me via, any of the vast media options available to us, please do so, it would be lovely to hear from you & share this milestone occasion with you :) WOWEE, not long now until this internship really winds itself down ... I just need to knuckle down to complete a few major assignments ... planning & coordinating an expedition (I am doing my in Wilson's Promontory National Park in the southern tip of the state of Victoria, a very beauty-full space!), emerging technologies (I am working on introducing the Work that Reconnect and Non-Violent Communication into OBA's programming ... stay tuned, I will share my paper once I have written it up & handed it in), and a number of smaller assignments that fulfill our Cert. IV requirements.

Lots to do over the next couple of weeks, as well as a bunch of eagerly anticipated time off to rest my paws ...

Know that I am wishing you well wherever you are, ... amid the high temp's hitting Alberta and the busy schedules that are filling your lives with new adventures and challenges in the journeys of your lives. Please take a moment or ten of them, to visit some of the places that you enjoy or that you know I am fond of, ... take some deep breaths and soak up the beauty, peace, stillness, joy, abundance, and whatever other wonderments abound in the special spaces you seek out.

Be well my dear family & friends,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa's ASSIST with Taz (American Field Service) ... the course was GREAT!!

2007-07-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

Syndey Harbour Bridge & the Opera House (June 29, 2007)

... saw them during my 4 hours in Sydney between bus & train trips

HI Everyone,

I had a chance to post a QUICK update while I was in Lismore today, tapping into some free wireless from the nearby cafe ... & here it is ...

The course I just finished (my ASSIST) with the American Field Service went really well.

Tess enjoying the gorgeous sunset at Bells Bay

The kids were great, 16 to almost 19 years of age, very well behaved, keen, respectful, and fun! I even had a young man who is going to Harvard this year, he got 2380 on his SAT, the top score is apparetnly 2400! He was a funy, yet quirky young man who asked interesting questions & was a treat to have on course, along with the 11 other participants from Alaska, Wshington state, California, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan, & New York City.

I went out with an instructor who goes by Whiskey (the phonetic for his last name) but we told the kids our names were Tess (me) & Taz (Whiskey is from Tasmania). They went with it but figured those weren't our real names & we told them our names on the last night ... they figured they liked Tess better than Teresa, how funny!

Sandi (AFS chaperone), Taz, & Tess after the Buddy walk in the rainforest

I will add more to this update when I am back in Lismore on Friday for my podiatrist appointment.

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa's paws ... plus Mt. Tennent under snow ... & a rainbow

2007-06-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

Mt. Tennent under a light blanket of snow (June 26, 2007)

Hello my Dear Family & Friends,

That's right, it has been cold enough lately that we have had snow accumulate on the top of Mt. Tennent, which is basically in our backyard here at the national base ...

although as you look at the whole "mountain" ...

... you see that it was not a major snowfall by any Canadian standards ;)

Then two days after the snow, today, that is ... after waking up, stretching, showering, & then looking out the window to see a glorious rainbow over Mt. Tennent ...

splendid spectrum of colour & part of the FULL rainbow over Mt. Tennent (June 28,2007)

arc of colour to help me greet the new day (June 28, 2007)

Then, after returning, to get a different car that had all the tires fully inflated, instead of the flat back tire that I discoverd 1 km along the way ... the rainbow was a great sign that the day was going to be fine, even with a flat tire to add a twist to the start ... I had a full day of appointments starting with Dr. Marshall the only Canadian chiropractor in Canberra ... she's excellent! After lunch, to the neurologist, Dr. Andrews & the nerve conduction test the nurse did on my left hand & foot ...

RESULTS: the peripheral nerves in both my arms & feet are ALL GOOD!!!

The tests were pretty cool ... after the nurse hooked the electrode nodes on my hand (or foot) & somewhere along my forearm (or calf muscle) ... she sent an impulse through to check on the speed which the nerve transfers the impulse ... Dr. Andrews even got in on the testing midway through the ones with my foot. All in all, as he had indicated earlier in my appointment with him ... he didn't think there would be any kind of peripheral neuropathy & the nerve conduction test confirmed that, RIGHT ON!

All in all, my spirits have been lifting since a few days ago (I started listening to Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now on CD, which helped shift things for me ... what AWESOME insights & teachings!!) ... & I have set my mind on making the best of whatever situation was to arise with my "paws" ... I'm looking forward to getting more physically active with my two upcoming courses & our water training ... the tingliness & numbness are still persisting & I look forward to when thigns subside & go away with these sensations ... Brett gave me another great shiatsu treatment today after my appt. with Dr. Andrews ...

I'll keep up with my stretches & keeping things spiraling around the positive & the upcoming full moon & it's glorious presence that will help me reconnect out with my Seed Mates & everyone else I hold close around this dear planet we call home.

If any of my Seed Mates could help me get word to Bobbi, that I will for sure be up in Kyogle starting Saturday, June 30 until ~August 21 ... as well, I have a fairly big chunk of RDO's from ~ Aug. 3-18 ... the rest of my schedule from a few postings ago should be fairly reliable still ... not sure if I will still have the whole 15 days in August but I hope so ... it will be a great chance to get caught up on more assignments & visit my wonder-full friends up that way.

Jill, please let me know if your dates for Sydney are still firm & what they are ... I can still plan to meet up with you then ... I just need to plan my travel down by train ... it's a fairly big trip but well worth it to reconnect wtih you & Ethan :)

Time for me to sign off & get some sleep ... I have to be ready for 7:30 a.m. to get my ride into Canberra ... I'll be on the 9:00 a.m. Murray's bus to Sydney & then on the 4:20 p.m. Country line train that arrives into Kyogle at 4:15 a.m. the next morning, YIKES!!

Sooooo, I won't be in touch for awhile but if I get a chance to hop on the Internet on some of my RDO's in July, I will let you know how my ASSIST went & whatever updates I can fit in to the time I have to post a new note to you lovely beings :)

Be well my dear ones,

mini-update on Teresa's "paws"

2007-06-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

Teresa enjoying her morning walk in the woodlands of Namadgi (June 25, 2007)

Hello again Everyone,

I've finally added pic's to the posting titled "Reconnecting with my Sydney Seed Mates" ... so scroll down 2 postings & you can see the splendour of the Blue Mountains & the splendid Seed Mates who I reconnected with over the Easter long week-end ...

It's only a few more days until the appointment I have with the neurologist (Dr. Andrews) ... here's the update I have for you from other appointment I had last week (June 18th) with the Occupational Therapist.

The main advice the OT Doctor (Dr. Wharfe) offered was for me to search out some orthotics to help support my high arch, which will help redistribute the weight acorss my whole foot, instead of bearing the majority of the load on the front part of my foot. He didn't have anything extra to offer up to help my fingers, but encouraged me to keep doing the stretches I have been doing for the past couple of months. He figures I am experiencing some carpal tunnel syndrome in my wrists as a result of using my trekking poles while wearing a heavy pack ... this is really unfortunate since my "sticks" have been so instrumental in helping me negotiate my way down the steep hillsides that we have been trekking down.

At any rate, according to the folks I have been consulting, ... physiotherapists, massage therapists, & doctors, ... the tingly/numb sensations that I have been experiencing in my toes & fingers will likely persist for some time (months) even without doing any major backpack hiking. Soooo, lately, I have found myself waivering between moments of despondency, frustration, helplessness, just to mention a few of the challenging minds that have been arising for me ... On the more positive side, I've also been of the mind that I very much want to at least push forward to complete my Certificate IV requirements ... with the idea that after I go up to Kyogle to do my ASSIST & ASSESSMENT courses (the plan is for me to head to Kyogle on Friday, the day after my neuro appt. ... not sure yet if the neurologist will have any opinions that may alter these plans, we'll see ...). I could then back off of the major backpacking after these two Kyogle courses, until I can get things back on track for my tender little tootsies/paws. We'll see what's in store for me once I have my appointment on Thursday ... if I need to just really back off of the heavy pack trekking, then I'll figure out the best way to cross that bridge.

The past couple of weeks here at the national base have had me keeping busy with odd jobs for folks here at OBA ... revising/editing a new aspiring leaders journal for course participants, photocopying, cooking in the kitchen on the week-ends ... baking cakes & muffins for a couple of courses that have run over the week-ends has been the best part ...

Teresa's specialty ... Never Fail Chocolate Cake

NFCC all served up & ready for the Aspiring Leader participants

... of course, another culinary highlight was making perogies & lazy holubchi (cabbage rolls) with the help of Vilas, Bianca, Lisa, & Radu, with Bjorn cooking them up in the big pot on the industrial size gas stove). Everyone enjoyed the perohy, even though some of them were a little on the less intact side of things, they were still quite tasty!

"many hands make light work" ... thanks heaps, Radu, Vilas, Bianca, Lisa, & Bjorn :)
finishing off the reemainder of the perogy dough & getting ready to eat them!

everyone enjoying the Ukrainian "feast"

Vilas has been in on all the fun with me baking up cake & muffins & the Ukrainian food too. Yesterday, Radu decided he also wanted to be a "Muffin Man," so he made the banana muffins & I made the apple cinnamon ... they smelled awesome & tasted quite delicious ... thanks guys, for being my Muffin Men" :)

Radu's banana muffins

Despite this additional time on base ... my main accopmlishments for my Cert IV were during the first week here, when I did the 3 written driving exams. The bulk of the rest of my time here has been allocated as work time ... & eventhough I asked for today to be an RDO so that I could make more progress on some of my assignments, I have not made much headway on anything in particular, just a few little things. I have been very diligently doing my stretches & getting some swims in & one bike ride ...

Some highlights of my time here at Tharwa in the month of June has been my visits, swimming excursions & DVD movie watching with Vilas, plus the fun we've have cooking yummy food up in the kitchen & tasting Vilas' excellent Indian dishes ... as well as reconnecting with Lisa now that she has returned from her month long yoga retreat in Bali, and ...

this morning, going out for a walk on the little interpretive trail at the Namadgi National Park Visitor's Centre where I came across TWO mama kangaroos & their little joeys having breakfast with their heads fully tucked into their mama's pouches ...

breakfast time for the little joey ... how cool!!!

curious joey checking out the 2 legged observer, while Mama munches on her own breakfast :)

wood ducks on the pond behind the Namadgi N. P. Visitors Centre

Missing all of you heaps and looking forward to sorting out my path forward as I learn more about how I can take care of my "paws" and still do the active things I enjoy doing ...

I will add a little update note on Thursday night after I return from my neuro appt. and my Shiatsu massage appointment (I've had a couple of these treatments so far & they have been very helpful ... thanks to Brett, I started exercising my hands with some Chinese meditation balls, & I now know 3 Qi Gong movements to help with my tingly "paws."

I'll be in touch again soon ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Teresa's OBA ROMEO training schedule 2007 (part 2) ... & update on Teresa's "paws"

2007-06-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

feathery clouds moving aloft on a sunny day in the Blue Mountains

Here's a splendid poem I've been wanting to share with all my northern hemisphere folks back home who are enjoying the onset of summer ...

We welcome summer and the glorious blessing of light.
We are rich with light;
We are loved by the sun.
Let us empty our hearts into the brilliance.
Let us pour our darkness into the glorious , forgiving light.
For this loving abundance, let us give thanks.
And offer joy.
Amen!

~Michalel Leunig, The Prayer Tree

...

Hello my dear family & friends ... & early HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes out to Laurelie!!!

Back here in Tharwa, the changing of the seasons means that "winter" has set in with colder temperatures and shorter days while preparations for heading north to slightly warmer temperatures have been ramping up. It is time for the ROMEO's & much of the OBA staff to be heading north for the mobile season up near Kyogle, in northern New South Wales. I am looking forward to exploring the new landscapes up around Kyogle AND to reconnecting with a few of my Seed Mates & other folks I know up that way from the Womyn, Earth, & Change conference that I volunteered at a couple of years ago (Bobbi & John, Ruth & John, Terri, Nan & Hugh, Jill, Elaina & Jess, ... perhaps Pauline from Maleny. My dear friends Jill & her son Ethan who will be enjoying their big Aussie adventures around the time that I have my big RDO break in August, YIPPEE!!

bogong moth ... a master of transformation & physical changes :)

Bianca holding this magnificent moth

...

JUNE 11, 2007 ...

I have quite a full schedule for the next couple of months, which culminates with my ASSESSMENT course in August ... yet change is ever present in this world, as with the day-to-day goings on of my life with Outward Bound ...

here's a roo with an update on Teresa's "paws" ...

From the discussions I had with Chris, my Canadian physiotherapist, this past Friday, he is not satisfied with the tingly/numb sensations that are still persisting with my tingly/numb toes & fingers, despite the physio work he has been doing with me, and the stretches he has had me doing since the first physio appointment I had ...

Sooooo, Chris wants me to see a neurologist so that we can get a better understanding of what is going on with the nerves that go out to my "paws" ... my feet & hands that is ;) Although Chris thought it would take a couple of months for me to get in on such an appointment, it turns out I was able to get an appointment for June 28th. As well, the Dr. I saw to get the neurologist's referral wants me to see an Occupational Therapist to assess & document these challenges in my paws for the purpose of Workers' Compensation diagnoses, etc. I managed to get an OT appointment earlier than perhaps possible on a cancellation that had opened up a spot, & that appointment is set for June 18 ...

All this said, in discussing things with the OBA folks here & given the 700 km (~14 hours driving time) between Tharwa & Kyogle, I have opted to hold off on heading up to Kyogle until after my June 28th appointment. I'll be able to head up there on my RDO's on the 29 & 30 in time for preparing for the Amercian FIeld Society course that I'll be ASSISTING on. Unfortunately, I will miss the first 2 weeks of the Kyogle season, but I'll help out around here wherever I may be needed ... otherwise, I will have time to dig into more of my Cert IV course work and exams & get that much closer to completing my certificate ... and I will get a solid routine going with my stretches. So, this morning, I sent the ROMEO's off on their 2 day road trip to Kyogle with some treats (biscuits ... or cookies as I know them in Canada) to enjoy when they need a sugar hit ... it will be great to meet up again in 19 days & see how they've done with the first course that some of them are involved in with ( a mix with some on BACK-UP, ASSIST, & about 4 of them on their ASSESSMENT course) while others are on some time off ...

I will also have a chance to get back into some kind of cyclng & swimming routine which will be great for my body & mind :) Vilas, my OB friend, who is also one of my new "pod mates" (we are in the same accommodations now that the ROMEO's have moved out of the apartments), .. Vilas is cycling into Tuggeranong every second day to practice his swimming so that he can do his Bronze Medallion, so I look forward to joining him for most, if not all of his trips in for a swim :) I've also been helping Vilas in the kitchen a few times, since he has been our week-end chef as of late & treating us to many delightful & tasty Indian dishes that are completely veggo (vegetarian or vegtabelarian as I like to say) and not too spicey :) :) :)

I imagine that the 16 day break I have scheduled in August may be impacted by the additional RDO's I will be having in June, but I will request leave for the first part of that RDO break so that I can meet up with Jill & Ethan for sure. Jill, I hope to connect with you over the phone while I am still here in Tharwa so that we can make some plans for the beginning of August.

...

Here's how my schedule has been planned out for the next 3 months ...

JUNE

1-3 RDO's
4-5 All Staff Symposium
6-7 4WD (4 wheel drive) training
8-9 RDO's
10 pack up day for transport to Kyogle - northern New South Wales (NSW)

11-12 transport to Kyogle
13-15 touring begins at Kyogle, NSW
16 preparations of Kyogle mobile base
17 & 18 RDO's
19 prepare for Hunter Valley course
20-26 Hunter Valley (BACK-UP)
27 deissue & maintenance day (D & M)

NOTE ... June 11-28 ... instead of the above schedule, I will be here in Tharwa at the national OBA base, awaiting the above mentioned medical appointments

28-30 RDO's
29 & 30 transport to Kyogle

JULY

1 prepare for American Field Society course
2-9 American Field Society (ASSIST)
10 D & M day
11 RDO
12-14 Core Modules 3
15 & 16 RDO's
17 prepare for A. B. Patterson course
18-26 A. B. Patterson (ASSESSMENT)
27 D & M day
28 ALL Staff Day
29 RDO
30 & 31 River Training

AUGUST

1 & 2 River Training (con't)
3-18 RDO's ... YIPPEE!!! ... meeting up with Jill & Ethan hopefully :) ... this break may end up beint shorter but I'll book off time so that we can meet up still :)
19 & 20 pack up Kygole mobile base camp
21 & 22 transport back to Tharwa (National Base near Canberra)
23-25 Core Modules 4 (wrap up Cert IV as well)
26 RDO
27 8 Month Review
28 RDO
29 --> ...

Since I'll be around the national base for awhile now, I'll be able to add a number of new postings in thetime I now have before I head up to Kyogle & before I am "in communicado" for all of July & a chunk of August. Once I am up there, I'll try to make a few phone calls on some of my RDO's & if I am able to hop onto an Internet connection I will do what I can to post a brief update ...

Until then, enjoy the warmer, 27 degree Celsius summer temperatures that Laurelie & my Dad & Cecilia have been telling me about. You can bask in knowing that it is much warmer in Canada that where I am ...

sun bathing lizard (back in January when it was hot outside)

I am feeling rather lizard-like with these colder temperatures & temperamental paws of mine ... they seem to be feeling the cold much more than usual for me, especially in the winter months back in Canada ... and/or they seem to become much more uncomfortable in the colder temperatures we now have. I need to wear pants & jackets these days & have the heater on in my room if I am hanging around for any length of time. Only some afternoons can I have my shorts on for a little while ... then warmer clothes are needed for the evenings for sure. We even had frost forming on the under side of our bivvies/tarps when we were out for our Safe Leadership field time & this morning on the windshields of the cars!!

I hope all is well for each of you and that there is an abundance of light blessing you as you enjoy the seasonal transition into summer ... and for those of my friends Down Unda, I wish you time to nurture and take care of yourself in this time of decreased light while we are positioned further away from the sun for awhile. I will make the most of this convalescing time and keep you posted on how things shape up with my Cert IV course work, my stretching, cycling, swimming routines, and what I learn from the OT & neuro appointments.

Be well,

Hugs 'n' Bugs,

Teresa

p.s. I will still be able to receive mail up in Kyogle (my address is below), it will just come by way of our National Base near Canberra ... so if you get a chance to send me a note, I'd love to hear from you & find out what you've been up to lately :)

Naas Road (OBA)
Tharwa, ACT 2620
Australia

my new telephone # is:

(02) 6235 5738 (Murray cottage/pod)

or while I am up in Kyogle, if an urgent message needs to get to me, you can call the OBA reception desk ... it will still take time to get a message to me but this is likely the fastest way to get a message to me

(02) 6235 5700 (Sandra at OBA reception line)

... Tango Charlie (Romeo #13) ... OUT

Reconnecting with my Sydney Seed Mates in the Blue Mountains for Emma's birthday :)

2007-05-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

Arie, Emma, Simon, & Claire in the Blue Mountains having fun near the top of Wentworth Falls :)

Hello there dear friends & family,

note ... pic's to be added once I can get the picture uploading to cooperate for me ... hopefully in the next few days for sure ...

I finally got on top of collecting my thoughts and a few pic's from my Easter long week-end visit in the Blue Mountains with a bunch of my Seed mates for Emma's birthday ...

It was soooo very splendid to reconnect with Emma, Sue, Claire & her sweetie Michael, Simon & his sweetie Viv, and the ever mischevious Noel. It was also nice to see Emma's friend Arie who was also in on the birthday visit, ... I had met Arie during my visit two years ago.

Most of us went for a hike to Wentworth Falls, one of the places that visitors to the Blue Mountains are able to enjoy. It was a very, very steep hike down, including a number of steep staircases and a few skinny tracks along the steep rock walls.

Arie, Claire, Emma, & Simon heading down the steep rock stairs to the base of Wentworth Falls

amazing sanstone walls of the Blue Mountains

The falls themselves were quite splendid and equally splendid, we enjoyed a nice quiet time at the base of the falls once we finally got to the small pool area after our steep descent.

Wentworth Falls

Emma sitting on a big rock at the base of the falls

peaceful, flowing water

It was nice to do this with only a light pack on my back and in the company of such wonderful friends.

enjoying the Blue Mountains with my Sydney Seed Mates ... Claire, Emma, & Simon :)

After we made our way back up to the top, we enjoyed some ice chocolates and ice coffees at the tea house, then we headed back to Emma's where Michael & Claire set themselves to making Emma's birthday celebration dinner. Sue took me to the grocery store to get the extra fixings I needed to cover the treats we would have for dessert.

Dinner was absolutely fabulous and everyone enjoyed the ice cream, cookies, & Grand Marnier chocolate chili sauce that I had brought (a treat I had bought back in SW Australia with Margaret Whittle's encouragement).

Emma & her birthday treats

Emma opening her b-day present from me ... the chocolate chili sauce :)

We all slept overnight at Emma's after a leisurely visit after dinner that included a fun game of "In the Manner of the Word", where one person has to guess which adverb you are describing when the person guessing asks different people in the group to do x, y, or z, "Teresa, shake Noel's hand ... in the manner of the word," OR "Claire, please hug Michael ... in the manner of the word." The adverb could have been anything from gently, to confidently, to despondently ... It was heaps of fun and a great way to spend the evening with my dear Sydney Seed Mates.

Simon & me ... trying to catch up on our hugs :)

Sue & Noel ... two very splendid Seed Mates

Simon & Viv ... what a delightful pair

Unfortunately, our dear Bec had to be in Sydney for the Easter Show, so we missed seeing her ... and I didn't get a chance to connect with Mango Man, Graeme either. As well, since I didn't actually spend any lengthy amount of time in Sydney, I wasn't able to reconnect with Fumi, John, or Julia, or any of my Dharma friends there. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit with them the next time I have a chance to spend a few days in Sydney.

The next day, everyone scattered in the directions they needed to go ... and I was able to have the pleasure of spending the day ... & overnight hanging out with Noel (Noel has also been living in the Blue Mountains, so it was handy for me to catch up with Noel as I did :).

Noel and I went out to the same tea house & sniffed out some ice cream cones which we enjoyed as we hiked along one of the shorter tracks near tea house.

That night, Noel treated me to some tasty Vietnemese food for dinner that night & then after some deliberations, we ended up getting a few groceries and making eggs & toast at Noel's before he dropped me off at the train station ... phew ... we managed to get there in time ... after realizing that we were late in heading out from Noel's place :)

As it turned out, the friendly Aussie that chatted with me on the train ride out to the Blue Mountains we on the same train for my ride back ... he invited me to join him in the seat beside him ... and we continued to visit and share what we had been up to for the week-end throughout the ~2 hour train trip.

After I got in to Sydney, I had time to go search out the Khatmandu outdoor gear store and got a couple great deals from their Easter sale ... I now have a pair of trekking poles (which have been the most valuable gear for my OB hiking endeavours), a pair of fleece socks to keep my feet warm at night, and a lightwieght sleeping bag (for the warmer temp's when I don't need the extra insulation that my OB sleeping bag offers) and it packs up to 1/2 or 1/3 the size of my OB bag :).

Before I knew it, it was time to head back over to the train/bus station to catch my bus to Canberra.

It was soooo very wonder-full that these plans worked as splendidly as they did ... to catch so many of my Seed Mates for a visit AND to be able to get in on the fun celebrations for Emma's birthday!! It was a much needed first break away from my OB apartment & outdoor instructor training mode, ... plus a huge lift to my spirit to reconnect with some of my Seed Mates and finally meet Michael & Viv.

Thanks heaps for having me over Emma ... & all the best to you with whatever adventures await you in the upcoming year.

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

ROMEO's River Rescue Training on the Snowy River (April 12-15, 2007)

2007-05-21T02:22:00.001-07:00

misty morning over the legendary Snowy River

Greetings Relatives ... my dear Family & Friends,

I haven't yet had chance to add a few more details to my Expedition Training posting ... but when I do, you can just scroll down to that posting & read more then ...

Meanwhile ...

Our time in the Snowy Mountains included exploring the Snowy River by canoe as we undertook 4 days of River Rescue training (April 12-15). Among the highlights of our adventures ... we learned ways to rescue canoes that got jammed up against rocks & then filled with a few hundred kilograms of water, plus how to rescue people who have had their feet/legs trapped underwater against a rock or fallen tree trunk/branch ... also known as a "foot entrapment" ...

Vilas, one of my OBA friends from India ... standing in front of my tent at the mobile base in "the Snowies"

me in Melbourne ... after getting a great deal on my new waterproof digital camera case, I finally searched one out Ollie!!

Thanks HEAPS to my colleagues at Environment Canada ... I finally put your kind contributions to my OBA Aussie adventures to add to my outdoor camera gear :)

I will add some pictures & stories to this posting later today ... but I wanted to put the posting up so that I could get a few other updates up on my BLOG as well. So, do check back in on these new ones to see whatever other pic's & stories I add to them.

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

middle of May ... & missing all of my mates "back home"

2007-05-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

enjoying the view from the NORA abseil site where I had the chance to do a few more abseil set-ups (& get that signed off :) while I did my BACK-UP back at the end of March ... the Orroral Valley in behind me is quite a spectacular site!

hello again dear ones,

it's a funny thing, this concept of time ...

one moment, it seems like I've been "Down Unda" for heaps of time ... & I realize it's been almost 6 months since I last saw all of you back on Turtle Island (North America)

... the next moment, I come to realize that I've packed a zany number of new adventures into the past 6 months and I am spending even more & more time away from the confines of walls, roofs, & flushing toilets ... all this outdoor fun and learning packed into what seems like a really short space of time, it's mind boggling!

maintaining contact with so many of you through my BLOG, ... e-mail, ... and a phone call here & there has been really great ... it's awesome hearing from you and reading the updates you have sent along ... hmmmm, reflecting on some of your more recent updates ... here's a little overview of the fun y'all are having while I am away ...

* little miss Lotus has entered the world of Erin & Scott (Erin is my Environment Canada colleague who filled in for my when I was "Down Unda" the first time)

* little miss Scarlet has turned 1 ... I know Rhea & Grady are having heaps of fun as this little toddler gets closer & closer to being mobile on her own 2 feet

* Madame Claudette is preparing to bid "adieu" to Environment Canada after a few decades of dedicated service ... I would love to be around for your bon voyage party, sorry I am not able to join in on the celebrations ... please share a few pic's from your farewell bash, it will be great to see the fun you have & the huge smiles you have for the camera as you enjoy the company of the friends, family, and colleagues that gather to celebrate YOU

* many folks have been enjoying the pic's & stories I've been sharing & sharing my blog with other folks who don't even know me but are enjoying the pic's none the less ... thanks for your comments & e-mails Mom, Laurelie, Nadia, Katrina, Xenia, Andrew, Deanna, Dee, Liz, Nadine, kt, Phoebe, Jill & Ethan, & everyone else who has been keeping up on my adventures & posting comments or sending e-mails ... Dad & Cecilia, Ollie, Maureen, Elizabeth, Margaret, Cheryl, Colette, Irene, A. Evelyn, ... thanks heaps!! it's great to stay connected across the km's & to hear how you are doing :)

* Laurelie & the SACB (St. Albert Community Band) had a great special event with the "Pre Tenors" back in March & they are gearing up for the final concert in 4 weeks & a "band geek" get together on Laurelie's birthday (I use the words band geek in a most endearing manner, given that I have been a chief band geek most of my adult life :)

* Corporate Challenge is coming up real soon & my Environment Canada colleagues are gearing up for the fun & games ... I know you'll all have heaps of fun and EC will prevail in many of the competitions ... LET"S GO EC LET'S GO!!

* Lori, my elephant/snake charming friend has returned from her AMAZING year of adventures abroad ... zipping around SE Asia on the back of a motorcycle, meditating for days on end, spending time with the orphaned Sri Lankan elephants again & selling more elephant paintings as fund raisers, helping wayward sea turtles (how COOL!) and creating other splendid projects along the way ... welcome back to Edmonton my friend!

* many of my Seed Mates, bodhisattva buddies, and enviro friends are busily working on the many projects and campaigns that they are deeply committed to ... keep up the great work!!

As much as I am enjoying my time being "a place apart" ... and out of the loop of everyday news & goings on (the onslaught of the excess of information and material things) ... I am trying to keep current through the newspaper and a bit of the Internet when I can ... it seems like many folks are finally waking up to the realities of Global Climate Change and the implications vast array of climate change effects that we are already facing and which we will be seeing more & more of ... the City of Canberra is facing all time lows for their water intake and will be severely cutting back on outside water usage ... the Snowy River was only around 0.35m to 0.39m, while we were in the Snowies, I also heard that Tony Blaire is finally stepping down.

It sounds like all kinds of transitions and transformations are still trying to be sorted out within the federal government since I've moved on from Environment Canada. My thoughts are with you as you try to keep doing the good work you are doing amid the difficulties of working within the slow, bureaucratic government machine. It seems like my timing was quite good for moving on, although I still worry about the little non-profit organizations and the challenges they face in obtaining the support they need to do their good work ... do take care my friends! I look forward to hearing about your latest efforts & to reconnecting with you over the cyber waves.

I know there's heaps more going on & that I'm not fully in the loop on what you're all up to (please catch me up on any tidbits that you would like to share) ... I am grateful for the updates you are sharing and I am also missing not having more frequent contact with so many of my dear friends and family ... it's a challenging paradox ... getting in on all the great adventures and awesome outdoor leadership and training opportunities but also being away from the folks and places that I care about ...

It won't be long now before I will be preparing for my ASSESSMENT course and finishing up any loose ends for completing my Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation ... WOW, what a thought, there's still quite a bit to do & get signed off but we're definitely coming in closer to the home stretch! By the time August is over ... Outward Bound Australia will be offering contracts to folks that are deemed competent and a good fit for the available positions. Any of the ROMEO's (myself included) who are offered contracts would then switch into full time Group Instructors or other positions that might be up for grabs by then ... that's still heaps of time away and I'll cross whatever bridges need crossing once they appear ... until then ... I need to keep up with my practical reviews and assessment preparations, studying for a few more exams, and pulling together a few more assignments. In order to do this, I need to get my rest ... so I will sign off for now & will promise to add more on the picurte side of things during my next set of RDO's (days off) that we have during the 21-23 May.

In the meantime, please know that I am missing you all heaps & that I would be connecting more often than I am but my schedule is pretty jam packed.

Next week, I'll catch up on the additional BLOG updates & pic's that didn't get covered in this 3 day break which is now coming to a close ... darn it! I thought I would spend my time with all of you with this little reminiscent blog entry instead, to let you know I am thinking of you and wishing you well, whatever you are doing, wherever you may be ...

Enjoy the warmer temperatures, the barefoot weather, and all the fun that you get to have out in your gardens, at the duck ponds, enjoying outdoor concerts and performances in the parks or on the streets, and anytime you can take to slow down, & enjoy the simpler things in life ... like a glass of lemonade after weeding the garden, ... or a bowl of ice cream after walking your canine friends, ... or a quiet evening with yourself or with a few friends after a long, challenging work week.

Time for me to call it a day & get ready for sleep after I get a few things organized for our 2 day Facilitation Training block (which will be followed by our 2 day Expedition Assessment block). The FULLNESS of time is something I am definitely getting more familiar with during this internship ... something that is made quite rewarding and positive because of all the great activities and training we are immersed in. I much prefer having full-ness in my daily life, instead of the busy-ness that had me "beetling" about in a 9 to 5 kind of way.

Wishing each of you the comforts and rewards of the full-ness in your lives that will sustain you & nurture your core as you share your gifts and skills with those around you.

Be well & happy,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

Happy Mother's Day ... & I'm back from the Snowy Mountains

2007-05-14T02:08:00.000-07:00

amazed at all the colours of Autumn outside the Buchan Caves in the Snowies ... courtesy of all the non-native trees planted in this park ... definitely a taste of "home" for me :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you splendid Mama's out there :)

I am sending my warm wishes of peace & love out to each & every one of the Mother's in my life ...
... Mom, Cecilia, ... Baba B., Baba R., ... Xenia, Tammie ... Nancy, Mrs. C., Gail, Mrs. Dec ...

... plus my many spendid friends & family who are wonder-full Mama's of your little ones (& Grand MAMA's too), whom I enjoy extending my Auntie Teresa fun & energy with ... Erin, the newest Mama in my circle of friends, Jill, Shelley, Mary-Frances, Evon, Cheryl, Sheri, Kristin & Claudette, Antonia, Joan, Karen, Shagufta, Tracey, Michele, Kerry, Lori, Mair, Ollie, Claudette, Mary, Sheril, Lara, Colleen ... my cousin Kathy, A. Carol Lynn, A. Sharon, A. Shirley, ... all of my Seed Mate who are Mama's and the rest of my friends who have mothered, birthed, and tended to the little, growing beings in your lives

I know there's heaps more of you whom I have not named above but you know who you are & I am sending my love to you as well ... please forgive me, my head is spinning a little & I don't want to miss anyone but is likely that I have. You are all special and I'm grateful for ALL of you MAMA's who are in my life, for your caring, patience, guidance, fussing and support that you shared with me over the years ... and for all of you who have shared your little ones with me ... I do miss getting together with you & my little (& no longer so little) buddies, please send me a few pic's and/or an update on how you are doing :) BIG, BIG hugs to Alexis, Bailey, & Carissa, ... Aidan, Eva, Gavin, Alisdair, Ethan, Isabel, Andrea, Izaak, Kezia, Sydney, Ryan, Kodi, the newly arrived Lotus, one year young Scarlet ... Brent, Jamie, ... Alex, Adam, Jarrod, & Jenna, Matthew, Simon, & the rest of my merry "little buddy" mob! Included in this list of precious little buddies are all of the furry, four-legged "babies" that many of you have been spoiling & I've enjoyed playing with such as You-Jean, Lucky, Piccola, Moby, ... Guinea ... Jesse, Jake, Yarra, Carly, ... Birch, Ladybug, Maseo, ... Basil, Ginger, ... Iris, Charles, ... Sheeba, Cashmere, ... Pixel, Kiai ... ;)

~~~

I am back from a month in the Snowy Mountains where we had 4 days of River Training to kick things off for us on the Snowy River ... this was followed by one day off & then the next two Course Experiences opportunities for all of us interns to have more time mixing it up with participants (Papa's as we also call them, since P in the phonetic alphabet is PAPA) out on course with two different schools.

For the first of these two courses, I had my OBSERVE with yr. 9 students from Beaconhills School, Nick from New Zealand (from April 26-May 6) was my mentor instructor for this course experience. The second course I did my ASSIST with my mentor Jay, another instructor from Canada, we were with yr. 10 students from St. Fancis Xavier (which is in the same area east of Melbourne as the Beaconhills School). My OBSERVE was quite a lot more satisfying since I was able to connect with the kids as the primary instructor from the "get go" and they responded with a level of maturity & respect that was quite welcome that they were able to maintain for the first half of the course before they got caught up with being the 15-16 year olds they are. All in all, I had a very good course experience, heaps of learning and great experience to build on in the next course.

I'll share a few more tidbits on my OBSERVE & ASSIST over the next couple of days (we have 3 RDO"S in a row), it's already evening today & somehow this first RDO has filled up and I am already in winding down mode. Today I spent getting laundry going and sorting out a number of loose ends and getting a few things organized so that I could meet up with my Seed Mate kt in Tuggeranong after the appointment I had with the physiotherapist there ... to help me figure out how to deal with the tingling/numb toes & fingers that I have been struggling with since our Expedition Training back in mid-March. I've got another appointment for Wednesday and some stretches to do as my "homework" to help loosen things up with my feet & hands.

It was really great to reconnect with kt & catch up with her over the little picnic lunch we had near one of the man-made lakes in Tuggeranong. Thanks again for such a tasty and enjoyable picnic my friend! Both of us had bikes to transport us about, so once kt headed off on the bus, with her borrowed bike on the front of the bus, I headed back to Tharwa on my nice 48 minute bike ride. It was also really great fun to be with you when you had the exciting phone call about the potential 2 month music gig in Hong Kong later this year. Please keep me posted on how these plans shake out ;) Also, I know you will have a great time reconnecting with our Seed Mates up in Sydney, please pass along my hugs & love to all of the Sydney mob while you are up there and with the WA mob once you are back in the west.

A bunch of us just got back from dinner ("tea") in the dining hall a little while ago ... soooo very nice not to enjoy fully the meal we had ... no cooking or supervising of the cooking was involved ... much more relaxing and appealing to the taste buds!

I am slowly catching up on the e-mail that built up while I was out of touch this past month ...

CONGRATULATIONS Erin & Scott on the arrival of your splendid, smiling, and very adorable little Lotus Elizabeth!!! What a treat to be able to see pic's of the three of you so very close on the heels of Lotus' arrival on the 29th of April ... what a mighty fine Mother's Day gift for you to have your new bundle of love arrive with such splendid timing! Thanks Ollie & Irene for sharing the news & pic's/blog address with me :) I've added Lotus' (the McAnsh's) blog to my Canadian Lynx list on my blog as well. If you can try to search out a copy of "Oh Baby, The Places You'll Go" ... an awesome spin on Dr. Seuss' original, you'll love it! (I may have given a copy to Shelley & Steve, see if you can borrow it to read to Lotus if the Edm. Public Library doesn't have it).

Potluck Pals, I trust you had a lovely April potluck gathering, do let me know how things are going Maureen, Mair, Catherine, Colette, Laurelie, Laura, Joy ... sure do miss those get togethers and am glad to hear that thigns are back in the swing of things for the poltuck evenings.

Xenia, I'm sorry I wasn't able to connect with you over your birthday, I'll be trying to connect with you over the next couple of days to catch up and to share my birthday & mother's day greetings with you. Looking forward to catching up with a bunch of you, so hopefully I can reach you during the more optimal calling times across the time zones for us.

And WOW, WOW, WOW, ... Nadia, 21 years young now ... what great fun for you to be able to celebrate this birthday over in Germany ... I hope you were able to find some fine German chocloate or black forest cake to make the festive occasion that much more memorable!

Also, Happy Anniversary U. Billie & A. Shirley!

In the meantime, I wish all of you a splendid Spring time and heaps of sunshine and all things green as you prepare for the coming of Summer. We've been experiencing some fairly cool/cold evenings this past while although the days are more often than not quite sunny & warm. I wore shorts into Tuggeranong today and had a great bike ride to get back to the national base. No need for more than shorts & T-shirt :)

Looking forward to hearing how you are doing, so please send me an e-mail when you can or snail mail if you like :)

Things are really building toward the big finish ... our ASSESSMENT course that will take place sometime in June/July/August while we are up in northern New South Wales at/near Kyogle ... so lots to keep on top of, prepare, and do to get the remaining assignments completed and to be on top of our game for the remaining training blocks we have coming up. I will do my best to get some pic's posted on my blog over the next couple of days along with a few more details of the past 2 course experiences and the awesome water training we did along the Snowy River. If you are curious about some activities that I have mentioned before but haven't posted pic's or stories, just let me know, I'd appreciate the reminder :)

Jill & Ethan, it will be great to meet up with you in August when you are Down Unda for you big adventures. Let's connect sometime soon to talk about where we'll meet up given that I'll be up in northern NSW instead of down here near Canberra during your time here in the Land of Oz.

Time for me to sign off for now, I'll be in touch again soon, likely tomorrow. Time to get ready for another cozy night's sleep in my bed ...

Be well my dear friends & family & thanks for being you, ... I miss you & trust you are keeping yourselves, happy, healthy, & at peace,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. for anyone that wants to try to catch me over the phone over the next couple of days, my number is (02) 6235 5743 or 5764 ... I believe I am 16 hours ahead of Alberta time ... I'll be up by 9 a.m. my time for sure, likely even 8 a.m.

Happy EARTH DAY & Teresa's Team ORANGE Expedition Experience

2007-03-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

ROMEO's Team Orange ... end of Day # 7 ... Mikie, Chris, Amy, Benny, Pecky, & me

... what a GREAT team!! ... WE MADE IT!! ... RIGHT ON!!!

Happy EARTH DAY Everyone!

I had hoped to post this update before a bunch of us headed away from the national base to do our Water Training on the Snowy River & the 9 day course we finished a couple of days ago with about 150 students (year/grade 9). I am finally able to post it here at a shopping mall in Melbourne that offers free wireless. I headed to Melbourne on the train with 7 other Outward Bound folks, so that I could meet up with my dear friend & Seed Mate Ruth for the 2 day break we have in between courses. We met up yesterday & had a lovely visit as well as catching an enviro film festival ... where we saw The Last Valley (a documentary about the East Grampians Old Growth forests that have been getting chopped down by clearcut logging operations, we also saw Who Killed the Electric Car (very excellent!) ... & Baraka (WOW, what amazing cinematography & music!!). I'll meet up again with Ruth for lunch & to visit in the afternoon before I head east on the train back to Bairnsdale & then onward to Buchan, the town closest to our mobile base at VS (Victoria Snowies).

My OBSERVE course experience was full of all kinds of learning ... predominantly insights on how year 9 kids operate, a variety of things for me to contemplate, and challenges to sort out in order to connect with the students at a level they can relate to and that encourages them to work together & with me. I also got to see how Nick (my mentor instructor) covers the numerous aspects of delivering an Outward Bound course over the 9 days we were out with the year 9 students.

I'll try to collect more of my thoughts from my OBSERVE & my upcoming ASSIST and will share more details with you once I am back near Canberra. Nadia, as it turned out, for Earth Day, we were out on the Snowy River, paddling & dragging our river rafts amid the splendiferous steep walls of the Snowy River gorge ... the reflections of the gorge walls, trees, sky, & clouds on the water were a most glorious sight that I enjoyed on Day 2 of our rafting expedition when my raft was at the front ... & we were able to see the river in its stillness and reflective beauty! I had the participants in my raft singing a couple of my favourite songs that I learned with my Seed Mates (O Maley and In Na Ney Capuwona ... not sure about the spelling on these :) ... & we also sang Happy Earth Day to You, to Me, & to Gaia!!

It was great to talk with you last night Nadia & be able to finally wish you a Happy Birthday ... WOW ... 21 yrs. eh? ... I am soooo glad you are able to enjoy this b-day over in Germany :) Be sure to find some Black Forest Cake & some excellent ice cream to celebrate your special day ... you deserve all kinds of yummy treats and delightful experiences ... I wish all of this for you & more as you go forward with your 21 years and the wonder-full adventures that still await you in Germany, Spain, & wherever else you go while you are in Europe!

Happy Earth Day & Happy Earth Month everyone! Wishing you peace and warmth wherever you are and the time to get out & enjoy some of our Dear Gaia's glorious landscapes and beauty-filled places. If anyone can get out to Elk Island or the Rockies anytime soon, I'd love to hear from you & what you saw/did while you were out there :)

That's all for my mini-update and now for the start of my Expedition Training update that I had written up before I left for the Snowies but hadn't been able to post until now ... ENJOY!

~~~

Teresa's Team ORANGE Expedition Experience

The biggest news on the EXPEDITION front is that I MADE IT ... despite my very, very sore feet & knees and weary body, ... I WAS STILL STANDING !!!

We had 7 days of major hiking/bush walking, the last two days were especially FULL ON! The last day our ORANGE group navigated our way for ~ 18km to arrive at our final meeting up point.

Definitely the most gruelling endeavour I have undertaken in my life!!! ... & with the help of my ORANGE buddies ... Mikie, Chris, Benny, Pecky, Amy, Margot, & Elle ... digging deep ... dwelling in my heart, ... breathing through to be free from suffering, ... seeking ways to be healed ... and be at peace ... I/we prevailed over all the challenges we undertook :)

Day #1

low clouds/fog in the valley below as we started out for the first leg of our Expedition (March 8, 2007)

Teresa on day #1 of our Expedition

splendid green landscape of National National Park

on our way to Hospital Hill ...

feathery clouds dancing about in the beauty-full blue sky

Benny & Chris using their excellent naviation skills to sort out features in the landscape to get us to the top of Hospital Hill

Mikie, Amy, & Claire Peck "Pecky" resting for awhile before we ended up evacuating Margot down Hospital Hill

Mikie, our cool dude in his light blue "sunnies" ... Mikie helped me in many ways through the course of our Expedition , thanks heaps Mikie :)

ROMEO orange team ... sunset at top of "spot height ####" one of many spot heights that we ascended to reach our Expedition check points and move on from knoll to knoll (hill to hill)

splendid sunset over the mountains in Namadgi National Park

sunset splendour ... Team Orange's colours radiantly revealed

sunset pastels

Day #2-7

I'll share more of the nitty gritty once I am back at the National Base near Canberra ...

~~~

Teresa's & her ROMEO Team Orange tramping mates at the end of the Expedtion ... we're still smiling & still on our feet :)

Mikie & me ... my best hiking buddy :)

Christopher & me ... my other great hiking buddy :)

ROMEO's Orange team ... HARD CORE!! ... & looking GOOD after 7 days & ~90 km's (not sure what the finally km tally is, I will figure that out & update my numbers after I am back from the Snowy Mountains).

I'll be in touch again after May 12th when we return from the Snowy Mountains down here in the state of Victoria ...

Be well my dear friends & family,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

ROMEO's White Water Rafting adventures (March 6th)

2007-03-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

ROMEO's white water fun on the Murrumbidgee (March 6, 2007)

Hello my dear family & friends,

I have enjoyed a restful couple of days off & it was great to catch up with a few of you over the telephone today ... I went to the "tip shop" yesterday with Benny & Jean-Michel... to the store called Revolve, the place at the Canberra landfill where they sell reusable household items that people drop off instead of sending them to the landfill ... Revolve is run by a non-profit organization. I found a couple of small tables/shelves to use in my room for nightstands for $13, plus a couple of small lamps for $5 ... and it turns out that both of the lamps actually work :)

Also, I have great news on the Bronze Medallion front ... Benny & I did our timed tows back on the 21st of March after our second day of Search & Rescue training. We were both successful in doing our timed tows within the acceptable 3 minutes & 15 seconds :) YIPPEE!! Another competency success and a great affirmation of the improvements in our swimming abilities. Krisette, our Bronze Medallion assessor was quite pleased with the improvements in our swimming strokes and our ability to lower our swim times for the timed tow & the 400m swim.

There's been a few other assessments that I have been signed off on ... for setting up a Rock Climbing anchor system and belay set-up and almost all of the same for the Abseil set-up ... I'll be working on a few small details for the Abseil set-up during the upcoming Year 8 Course Experience that I am on Back-Up for the next 11 days ... it also looks like a few of us that are stationed here at the National Base during this Course Experience will be able to work on getting our Driving Qualifications (Provisional) signed off with the 4 wheel drive (4WD) "Troopies", also known as Land Rovers, by the 6th of April as well :)

We have a total of 3 Course Experience sessions that will provide us with opportunities to do our Back-Up, Observe, & Assist internship activities. This first session takes us from March 26 to April 6 (I am on Back-Up with Chris, Elle, Amy, and we have Owain/"Frodo" and Krisette as our mentors, along with Belinda, our Course Coordinator (CC)). Our second Course Experience happens April 17-27 (I'm scheduled to do my Observe at this time) and the third runs from May 1-12 (I'm scheduled to do my Assist at this time). For both the 2nd & 3rd sessions, I am scheduled to be down in "The Snowies" and will have my RDO's April 28-30 down in the state of Victoria as well. I'll be connecting with my Melbourne Seed Mates to see what kind of plans we can make to meet up & reconnect over those last 3 days of April ... looking forward to meeting up with as many of the Melbourne mob as I can. So Ruth, Glenda, Dot, Hans, and perhaps Basil who I have heard is out that way for the year ...? if you are reading this posting anytime soon, please send me a note & let me know if you are around and able to meet up during my days of April 28-30.

~~~

FINALLY ... a chance to share my update on the whitewater rafting adventures we had a couple of weeks ago ...

As you already saw a couple of postings ago, we enjoyed a great day on the water with the canoes & our instructors Eva & Owain/"Frodo" on March 5th & then on March 6th, we headed back out with them on the Murrumbidgee River & the rafts ... Here's some pic's of the fun we had with the white water & the big rocks that added to the challenge of navigating/negotiating our way along the water ... we often had to bounce around, push off of the boulders in the river, and even hop out to get our rafts unstruck and out of the jams they got into with the big river rocks and the moving water pushing us against these rocks & other hard places ;)

simple raft inflating technology at work ... this technique actually works rather well & everyone can get in on the fun!

Ned, Teresa, Kate, & Zohara paddling along in the Blue Dolphin

... here we go, trying to avoid the big river rock in the middle of the river ...

oh no! ... we're jammed up against/on the rock ... time for Teresa to hop out & pull/push the raft away from the rock ...

... the raft is free to float again ... time for Teresa to get back in ...

no more rocks in this stretch ... now we can paddle all together again!

Owain ... "Frodo" ... one of our moving water instructors

Ned using his hand to push us away from another rock

lean back & keep paddling everyone! ... thanks for your help Frodo :)

in the clear & paddling along the deeper waters again :)

the rowdy rafters (Jean-Michel, Emily, Chris, Margot, & Pecky) having fun IN the rapids after their floatila of backpacks was carried away with the current ... our Blue Dolphin crew got the packs out of the current & onto the nearby shore for them :)

this group really put the new self-bailing rafts to the test ... there goes Emily in the white water rescue position ... feet first down the river ... Pecky must have already headed downstream ...

Mikie & Eva (our instructor in the yellow life vest) leaning back while "Clare Bear" (aka Saunders) & Tanya have fun trying to keep paddling as the water splashes up on them in the front

paddling together to get past the rocks

here they are again ... paddling hard & staying focused ... nice close-up Benny!

portaging with the rafts to get past the big sink hole boulder (to portage = to carry the rafts & our gear on land to get around the big obstacle)

last pack sails down to the water to be loaded up after portaging ... all our packs were thrown down to the water where Owain/Frodo loaded them onto one of the rafts, we loaded ourselves into the rafts a little further down the slope where we could access the shore directly ...

That's about it for my white water rafting picture update ... thanks heaps to Benny & Chris for all the pictures they took during our flat water & white water adventures ... their pic's have helped me share our ROMEO white water stories so much more clearly than words could ever have done. I figured it would be too difficult to get pic's with my camera since it is not waterproofed & because our days on the white water especially have been quite full, with not a lot of time to muck about with taking pictures from shore. I did manage to get some pic's when we were on the flat water but it's sooooo great that I have these other pic's to share with you from our excitement on the moving water FUN!

I'll be in & around the national base during our first Course Experience session that runs March 26 to April 6 and then we have a 3 day break over Easter, YIPPEE!!

Coming up on the evening of April 6th, I am looking forward to going with some of the OBA gang to the Cirque de Soleil's "Veraki" show that has just come to Canberra ... then it looks promising for me to meet up with a couple of Seed Mates over the long week-end during the National Folk Music Festival that happens in Canberra, YIPPEE!! ...

kt & Marie, please give me a call or send me a note so that we can firm up these plans :)

(02) 6235 5764 (phone room in our apartment) or
6235 5743 (apartment kitchen phone) or
6235 5700 (main reception, Sandra can try to search me out during office hours)

I'll be in touch again a little later on in the week. Until then enjoy the coming of Spring back up in the northern hemisphere & please add a comment to my BLOG or send me a note to let me know how you are doing ;)

Be well my dear friends & family,

Teresa

p.s. I'll try to get my Expedition update onto my BLOG sometime this week ...

p.p.s. Belated Birthday greetings to you Shelley ... so sorry I missed you in my earlier b-day wishes ... I had also hoped to call you yesterday but alas time got away from me & the time difference had me able to call you when it was already too late to catch you up ... I'll see if I can squeeze in a call at an appropriate time sometime this week as well ...

White Water Rafting & Expedition updates (coming soon) ...

2007-03-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Happy St. Patrick's Day ... & Happy Birthday Mr. Dec!!

Just a quick note to let you know I finished off my posting from the tail end of the Climb & Abseil sessions we had at the end of February, plus the Super Hero fun we had for Chris' birthday. I also included some pic's & stories from our flat water canoe fun in Canberra & a few pic's from the Murrumbidgee River here near the OBA national office.

Soooo, scroll down a couple of postings, ... have a read & enjoy the pic's ...

I'll be in touch again tomorrow with the white water rafting & expedition updates. The biggest news on the EXPEDITION front is that I MADE IT ... despite my very sore feet & knees and weary body, ... I WAS STILL STANDING !!!

We had 7 days of major hiking/bush walking, the last two days were especially FULL ON! The last day our ORANGE group navigated our way for ~ 18km to arrive at our final meeting up point.

Definitely the most gruelling endeavour I have undertaken in my life!!! ... & with the help of my ORANGE buddies ... Mikie, Chris, Benny, Pecky, Amy, Margot, & Elle ... digging deep ... dwelling in my heart, ... breathing through to be free from suffering, ... seeking ways to be healed ... and be at peace ... I/we prevailed over all the challenges we undertook :)

I'll be connecting with you again tomorrow during the day ...
... in the evening, I have my "timed tow" for the Bronze Medallion assessment ... do pass along your positive energy my way for this final swim assessment :) I'll let you know how it goes after I've done the tow.

Gotta go see if I can catch a ride into Tuggeranong to get another swim practice in tonight ... Benny & I went in last night ... Despite the major fatigue we were both feeling from our 7 day Expedition workout, we managed to have a good swim & I actually felt quite refreshed after immersing myself in the coolness of the swimming pool water for half an hour :)

Be well,

Teresa

Teresa's 400m Bronze Medallion Swim results ...

2007-03-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

splendid image of a "Julia Set" ... which is part of a Mandelbrot Set ... which is a mathematical formula that reveals a great deal to us about the patterns of living organisms

~~~

March 7, 2007

Hi there Dear Ones,

I've got great news ... ... I DID IT!! I managed to swim the 4 x 100 m of the freestyle, survival backstroke, sidestroke, & breast stroke in the required 13 minutes for my Bronze Medallion!!!!!!

YIPPEE!! YAHOO!!

What makes this news even more amazing is that Benny & I did our swims under some compromised conditions. Upon arriving at the Tuggeranong swimming pool, I learned from Benny that a swim meet "Carnivool" was going to be on from 10 a.m. onward, & when I looked around the pool, I also finally realized that the pool was set up as the full length competition pool ... that's 50 METRES LONG, instead of the 25 metres that we have been practicing on!!!!!

A few minutes later, ... Krisette (our OBA Bronze Medallion assessor & instructor for many of our other courses so far) arrived ~ 9:30 a.m. & we basically had to get ourselves ready to do our swim assessment right then, which meant no warming up for Teresa. Soooo, ONCE I made a quick trip to "the loo" ... I hopped into the pool, in the lane to the right of Benny, & Krisette got us started ...

... THEN ... about half way through, after I finished my 100m of freestyle & 100m of survival backstroke, the lifeguards were lifting the lane dividers across the front end of my lane but I was able to keep swimming along ... diligently keeping myself a short distance from the lane divider as I did the siedstroke. It wasn't until we were done our swim that I learned that Benny acutally had to swim under the lane dividers that had been pulled across his lane & that I had swam along a huge diagonal of the pool since I was keeping the divider on my left as I did the sidestroke!!

For the remainder of our swim, I found myself swimming in the middle of this competition-size pool in lane #5, with a significant mob of people gathering as they awaited the start of the "Carnivool." At one point, I actually had this exact thought & wondered how bizarre it must look for all these onlookers to see only a couple of people swimming in the middle of a pool ... I think I even considered the notion of how cool it would be if they were to start cheering us on :) Then, I snapped out of this thought when I heard Benny cheer me on as he was swimming back to the end we started on & I was swimming in the other direction ... I cheered him on as he went by ... It wasnt' until after our swim assessment was over that I was able fully realize how bizzare that situation was ... since Ben had started out in lane #2 on my left but when he swam past me, he was in the lane to my right, & then as we were finishing up, he somehow ended up back on my left!!

FORTUNATELY, despite the challenge of spanning each 50m stretch (& the mental challenges that went along with that for me), I was able to keep pushing forward ... my saving grace was the beautiful "mantra like" song called "Metta Sutra" which I have been singing to myself during swim practice since our first Bronze Medallion timed swims ...

Metta Sutra

May you dwell in the heart ...
May you be free ... from suffering ...
May you be healed ...
May you be at peace

May I dwell in the heart ...
May I be free ... from suffering ...
May I be healed ...
May I be at peace

May we dwell in the heart ...
May we be free ... from suffering ...
May we be healed ...
May we be at peace

THANK YOU ... THANK YOU ... THANK YOU ... Kristen & your Threshold choir mates ...
... for sharing this most splendid & healing song with me at your choir rehearsal that I came to in Santa Cruz last November :)

It was extremely helpful to have this song to focus my attention on ... amid the laboured breathing & mental challenges that arose as I sought out a glimpse of the wall of the swimming pool or the change in the painted lines on the bottom of the pool indicating that I had made it to that side :)

Singing "Metta Sutra" to myself was also a life saving stratey for me when I did the 3.3 km run for our Fitness Test ... it helped me continue forward without stopping & kept my mind from convincing my body that it would make more sense to stop & let my lungs keep up with my heart, instead of pushing forward. How amazing, the way the mind works!!

By the way, I included the picture of the Julia Set above because it has a very similar affect on me visually as does the singing of "Metta Sutra" does for my whole being .... & because I wanted to share it with you to ... ENJOY!! All of this is part of Fractal Geometry, one of the very splendid topics of conversation & DVD watching that I got plugged into at the first monthly potluck I went to with my dear friend Mair. Hey there my Potuck Pals, I hope all is well for you back home & that you are enjoying some warm, comfort foods at the monthly potlucks during the winter months :)

~~~

BRIEF ASIDE ... also, Maureen & Mair, you may want to watch one of the following 2 Google Videos I came across last week at one of the next potlucks ... they are both ~45 minutes ... I haven't actually watched both of them yet but the first 15 minutes of the first one were most excellent & I thnk the second one will be quite interesting & thought provoking as well ...

1. The History of Oil (Robert Newman) ... one man theatrical production with a great comedic delivery all kinds of interesting & thought-provoking views of historical record keeping, as it pertains to oil ... all lighting for the production is provided by a couple of stationery bikes near the front of the stage!!

2. Global Dimming

I can't quickly relocate the link for either of these videos but you can search them out on Google ... but once I do, I will add them as links on my blog :)

~~~

As for the Timed Tow ... Benny & I weren't able to get that one done today, since we had to be out once we finished our 400m swims, but Tanya did hers Tow while we did our swims, since that's all she had to do ... sooo, Benny & I will do our tows in the next week or so. Which gives us a few more opportunities to practice & work on our towing :)

Today was a most excellent day because of our swimming accomplishments ... it would have been quite a deflating thing to deal with a non-competent time while also being quite tired & lower in energy following our 2 big days out on the moving waters. It's been great to share my story with folks here & I am very pleased to finally be sharing it with you too!!!

Also today, I was able to successfully connect with a few of you over the phone ... YIPPEE!!

Jill & Ethan ... I am soooo happy to hear that you have firmed up your dates for your adventures Down Unda!!! It was great to catch up on the phone with you today Jilly Peanut, I am soooo glad you were also able to pick up the phone in time while I was leaving my message on your answering machine!! I am really looking forward to seeing you both down my way in August :)

Cheryl, it was great to reconnect with you over the telephone as well. I am ever grateful for dear friends such as you & JIll, & the many other dear, sweet, kind friends & family I have in my life :) All the best with your writing and navigating yoru way through the big statistical maze that you have to sort through for your dissertation. You can do it ... "just keep swimming", "just keep swimming", "just keep swimming" :) Enjoy your week-end in Santa Cruz & please pass along big hugs to Kristen, Claudette, & Isabel (& Gabriel too) if you are able to meet up with them!

Laurelie & Colleen, sorry I missed connecting with you on your cell phones & at home today ... hopefully I'll be able to give a call at a decent hour over the next two days ... just not sure how long our Expedition Technical Training will go ... I'll do my best :) Know that I am thinking of you & looking forward to hearing how you are doing!

It is now time for me to get ready for bed so that I can get a FULL night's sleep. It's been great sharing these latest updates with all of you ... thanks heaps Nadine & Liz for your encouragement for my swim today ... IT WORKED!!!

Over the next couple of evenings, I'll try to add the update & pic's from our rafting over the whitewaters of the Murrumbidgee River ... we have 2 days of EXPEDITION training here at the OBA National Base & then we are off for an 8 day Expedition through the Namadgi National Park area. SO, I won't be plugged into cyberspace or on the phone during that time.

Be well & please let me know what you are up to. It will be great to see your e-mail notes after our return from the Expedition on March 17th, when I have the 8th & 19th off :)

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY in advance Brent, Uncle Alvin, & Mr. Dec ... I'll call you during my time off after the Expedition training to share my birthday greetings over the telephone :)

Moving Water & WHITE WATER Fun on the Murrimbidgee River (March 5 & 6, 2007)

2007-03-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

Guess Who Had Great Fun Out on the Murrimbidgee River over the Past Two Days???

... ALL the ROMEO's & our Instructors ... that's who!

March 5, 2007 6:50 a.m. ... I downloaded pic's from Chris' waterproof digital camera last night & here's a few to give you a tast of what our day was like yesterday on the moving waters of the Murrimbidgee River with the canoes ... I've also got Benny's pic's from our day on an upper stretch of the Murrimbidgee for white water rafting ... We had AWESOME FUN & GREAT CHALLENGES to stay in our boats and steer clear of the many rocks throughout the river channel :)

Claire Peck "Pecky" & I navigating through some rapids :) (March 5, 2007)

the BIG challenge for our group during yesterday's canoe fun, was getting past "the boiler" drop off!

Here's Elle & Margot attempting the big drop ....

they ended up capsizing, just as Pecky & I did about 20 minutes earlier!!

The past two day have been ... great fun!! ... & full of all kinds of water :)

After lunch, there was more canoeing fun to be had with my next paddling buddy Zohara ...

the really big rapids ... we played in these for the rest of the afternoon :) (March 5, 2007)

... Zohara & I handling the really big rapids in great form :)(March 5, 2007)

we handled all 3 runs very well ... but at the end of our 2nd run on the big rapids, we ended up tipping over on the right ... I got video footage with Chris' camera of the water getting into the canoe near Zohara's right knee before we tipped over!! (March 5, 2007)

... both days have been absolutely AWESOME & GREAT FUN!! I found myself doing things out in some very fast flowing water that I never would have imagined being able to do before :)

March 6, 2007 ... ~11:50 p.m. ... I am going to be doing my Bronze Medallion swimming assessment tomorrow morning with a few other folks & tomorrow night, perhaps attempting another redo if need be, depending on how I do with my times ... keep the postive & happy thoughts going for me to swim within the times I need for success in these two timed competencies, so that doing it tomorrow won't be necessary.

I must finally get to bed, I am pretty tuckered & the very tasty chocolate birthday cake that Jean-Michel baked up for Elle's birthday (which is tomorrow) was quite excellent & the sugar high has worn off enough for me to finally feel more of the weariness in my body. All in all though, the past two days have been totally excellent. I am feeling amazingly comfortable in the canoes & rafts, despite my anxious moments in the pool swimming for extending periods of time in deep water ...

Missing you all heaps & happy to share some of my whitewater fun with you before heading to bed. We had another full day today, with even bigger water, WHITE WATER to be sure ... & river rafts!!

More pic's & stories from today's whitewater fun sometime tomorrow on my day off ... :)

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

more Climb & Abseil fun ... plus Chris' "Super Hero" 20th b-day, & Flat Water Canoeing updates (Feb. 22-March 3, 2007 update)

2007-03-03T03:02:00.000-08:00

Teresa up at the Northern Orrorral Ridge Abseil site (Feb. 23, 2007)

~~~

Hello my dear family & friends,

I had started this update a little while back, I have finally been able to finish it off & can now share it with you ... then, once I have some lunch, I will work on the whitewater rafting update & of course all the nitty gritty about the 7 day Expedition that we just finished on the 16th of March ... ENJOY!!

...

Feb. 22 & 23 Climb & Abseil days ... I already gave you an update on the climbing session we had on the 22nd of February & here is a little glimpse from our abseil session the day after that ... a pretty relaxed day, where we got to practice setting up aseil anchors and the belay/abseil rope systems ...

view of the Orrorral Valley (Feb. 23, 2007)
close up of some of the great rocks in the hillsides

Orrorral Valley continued

Teresa enjoying the great view from up high (Feb. 23, 2007)

Also, here are a couple of pic's that Benny Kaiser got of me doing my "cut away rescue" on our High Ropes Course assessment day ...

we had 4 min. to get "clipped in" to our patient in order to be deemed competent for this assessment ... I was quite successful with a "clip in" time of 2 min. 54 sec. & was back on the ground 4 min. & 8 sec. after I had first headed up the ladder (March 4, 2007)
Teresa on her way up the 15m pole to get hooked on to the top line

~~~

Feb. 24 - super hero day for Chris' birthday which was on the 23rd but we were away from the national OBA base for our training at Booroomba Rocks & NORA that day ... here's a few pic's of the ROMEO Super Heroes that we created ...

ROMEO's in our Super Hero attire :)

"Poodle Girl" (Tanya), "Super Amy", Zohara, & "Turtle Girl" (me) with my Super Hero sidekick, who else but ... "Sherpa Dog"

"SUPER CHRIS" ... the birthday boy

"Rainbow Girl" (Pecky) & "Zinc Man" (Mikie)

It is truly amazing how easy it was to create a Super Hero costume ... the main items you need are thermal long underwear or other tight fitting long leg wear and underwear or shorts that you wear over top, plus a cape of some sort, I used my torquoise turtle sarong that I brought with me ... any any other accessories that you add to make the costume complete :)

Mikie, Chirs, & Jean-Michel ... with the birthday cake creation J-M & Mikie whipped up this time ... I helped a little too but mostly offered moral support :)

It was a tasty cake enjoyed by ALL!

~~~

Feb. 25 & 26 - I ended up with two extra days off last week over the 2 days training Environmental Management training block, since I have the background I do in ecology and impacts on the natural environmental of various user groups such as campers, hikers, etc. This is what is known as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

So I enjoyed the extra time ... On the 26th I went for an early morning swim with Kira & Belinda, two of the OBA staff who have been keenly training for various swimming events. I had a great swim, it was an excellent way to start the day energized & ready to get things done. Although, by the afternoon, I was kind of tired & should have had an afternoon nap ... so the day wasn't nearly as productive as I would have liked.

I was able to study for & do my Caving Exam, one of a couple of exams that we can take whenever we choose ... I also managed to figure out a few things with my computer & the music I have on the external hard drive I brought with me. It turns out that the Macintosh computers don't have the same set up for Real Player, but I have now figured out how I can listen to more than one tune in a row without having to search it out each time :) Once I can sort the same thign out for Windows Media Player, then I will be very pleased since Nadia (my younger sister) had so diligently saved a bunch of my CD's as wmv files ...

Feb. 27 & 28 - FLAT WATER CANOEING out at Lake Tuggeranong (25th) & Lake Burley Griffin (26th)

We got out on the water on a lake in the suburb of Tuggerangong, which is one of the closest to where we are here in Tharwa for our first day of flat water canoeing.

Our second day took us into the center of Canberra to the west end of Lake Burley Griffin ... thanks to Chris' water-proof digit camera, I can share some pic's with you from these times on the water :)

Flat Water Canoeing on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra (Feb. 28, 2007)

Chris & I heading toward the big fountain (Feb. 28, 2007)
another canoe of ROMEO's having fun under the fountain!
Chris & I making our way to the fountain's falling waters (ours is the canoe clsoest to the fountain... what a GREAT way to cool off while paddling about!

playing "Tug-of-War" with our canoes, I am at the back end of the canoe on the left, Tanya is at the front (notice the Parliament building in the distance, with the white metal spire)

enjoying the mid-day thunderstorm & the big rains that fell upon us in the middle of the lake, I am in the middle with my blue rain jacket :)

Chris & I contemplating the finer points of flat water canoeing ...

~~~

In addition to the great fun we had out with the canoes, I went for a float down the Murrumbidgee with Lisa, Pecky, Tanya, Jean-Michel, Megan, Ali, & Peter last night ... what a great thing that the river has risen so much and we could do this ... from when we first arrived until about mid-February it's been so dry & the river was so low that you could walk across it & only have water up to your knees at most as you crossed the small stream running through the middle of the river channel. For the first half of this float, I moved along with only my kick board & motored myself along with the current ... it was a little precarious making my way over the small rapids we came across, fortunately, I only ended up with a little scrape on my knee. I made sure I got a hold of the small inner tube that Ali had been using to tote the little cooler that was brought along, this helped me float over the next patch of small rapids without rubbing up against any of the rocks below :)

March 1 & 2 - RDO's ... into Tuggeranong with Claire Peck to get things, I finally got the outback Aussie style hat that I had wanted to get my previous time "Down Unda" & then for a swim. It was nice to have lanes to ourselves in the middle of the day as we did ... we also stopped in at the "Op Shop" or "Salvo's" ... that's the second hand or thrift store that the Salvation Army operates. I found a couple of pairs of "board shorts" and some fairly new bedding for my bed plus a wool blanket now that the evenings are somewhat cooler than when I first arrived.

Lastly, here are a few pic's of the Murrumbidgee since the rains have been filling the river ...

we were able to walk across this point with water barely over our ankles just a month or so ago!!

... & the very excellent spirals of rocks near the Murrumbidgee River that I had discovered on a quiet little walk to the Murrumbidgee to see the higher waters & finally get pic's of this splendid rock art ...

... plus a spiral like flower blossom of a local weed species ...

... & another work of river art by the same folks who created the rock spirals (& the medicine wheel that I saw between these two pieces of nature art

~~~

More to come tomorrow since it is another day off & I have heaps more to catch up on with sharing of my OBA adventures ... from the more recent white water rafting fun we had over a week ago ... & the BIG seven day Expedition that we got back from 2 days ago ... which we have been recuperating from since then to let our bodies rest & heal from the very big days of hiking, navigating, bush walking & bush whacking, as well as getting more familiar with the nuances of OBA expedition practices ...

Big hugs to you all & hoping you are all well & happy wherever you are,

Teresa

update posted for February 19 ... scroll down to find it ...

2007-03-03T00:46:00.000-08:00

Hi there my dear friends & family,

I finally posted the update I had started back in the middle of February ... so hop down to the High Ropes Course posting & enjoy the update & the heaps of pic's I just posted ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs,

Teresa

Teresa's new OBA phone number(s) ... & mini-update on Climbing & Thunderstorm Excitement :)

2007-02-22T01:35:00.000-08:00

Teresa's mini-anchor set-up for rock climbing ... the real thing uses 25 or 50m ropes & the anchors go around big rocks or trees, not the blue straps on my climbing harness :) (February 22, 2007)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Everyone ... & early birthday greetings Pops!!

Hey Dad, I'll call & try to catch you after you are back from your dinner out on the 23rd ;)

It turns out that we got switched over to a new phone number system which will enable direct dialing to reach me in my living space at the ROMEO apartments ...

* for calls from overseas you need to dial 011 61 2 6235 5764 or 6235 5743
* within Australia, it's (02) 6235 5764 or 5743

... more often than not, I am around here between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. on days we are here at OBA.

I am 18 hours ahead of Alberta's Mountain Standard Time (not 16 as I had indicated earlier) ... so, NOON for me, is 6 p.m. back in AB & 6 p.m. for me is midnight the day before, etc. ... another way to look at it is that I am 6 hours behind but alread in tomorrow ... I'll let you think that through :)

I have access to some pretty inexpensive international calling card rates ... so am happy to return calls if the rates you are getting are not so good. I haven't quite found the most reasonable callng card for calling withing Australia so if anyone of my Aussie mates can suggest something I'd appreciate it!

I'll write up another update for everone after our current CLIMB & ABSEIL training block is over in a couple of days ... I should be able to get things caught up during the time I have off on the 25-26th Feb.

I need to tend to a few things before heading to sleep, we meet up at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning to head out for our ABSEIL training pt. 2 out at the Northern Orroral Ridge Abseil (NORA) site.

Today we went back to Booroomba rocks to practice setting up anchors for rock climbing sites ... it was great fun watching the big storm clouds roll in and to hear the amazing thunder & see the lightning that cracked over the not too distant hillsides/mountainsides ... it was VERY EXCITING to be sooooo up close & personal with such storm activity :) We were preparing to move away from our higher vantage point & keeping an eye on how close the storm & lightning were getting to us ... and did not have to worry about being in harms way since the storm moved on & we headed to the base of the climb site to do some climbing :)

ominous clouds gathering nearby

storm clouds advancing our way at Booroomba Rocks (February 22, 2007)

I was able to do one of the climbs that we kept intact before we called it a day ... it took a little work but I found my way up along the rough, steep, granite boulders :) ...

Teresa ... mid-way up "the flake" (February 22, 2007)

"I made it!" (February 22, 2007)

Spectacular view from another part of Booroomba Rocks ...
quite a well known climbing site BUT not the place where we were practicing :) (February 22, 2007)

More in a few days ...

Be well,

Teresa