I will write your blog posts

I am now offering my blog writing services on Fiverr.

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I currently write for and manage 2 blogs (other than my own), so it's nice to expand this work. Hoping to get travel related topics!

Discovering Huacachina

Located near Ica, Huacachina is a tiny oasis town surrounding a small natural lake and itself surrounded by towering sand dunes. Once a playground for the Peruvian elite, these days Huacachina mostly attracts international tourists. The big draw here is the opportunity to sand board and taking dune buggy rides on the sand dunes.

Something I came across while foing research for a client. Fascinated. Would be interesting to visit...

23 Top Tourist Attractions in Peru
Haucachina, the desert oasis - Haucachina.com
Huacachina - Wikipedia

Monday morning

Here it is, my 2nd week of not working Mondays, and I am .... working. Sleepy-eyed.

It's not a big deal, as I volunteered because the office was short, but boy am I appreciating that this is no longer my schedule!

The doodle above is made up of the image below, in miniature. It's something I do on my iPad. I suppose it is a mashup, of sorts.

MashUp 1+2

My mashup of MashUp pics

It is so hard to believe that it has been more than 3 years since I have been off the rock.

Sitting on the ferry, it feels so natural, yet it also feels like a bit of a time warp. A definite prelude to what I will feel in downtown Vancouver today. As I am going to be within 2 blocks of where I last lived (7 years ago!), it will be so familiar, yet also slightly off kilter, as so many little things will have changed, let alone big ones.

I am headed over to Vancouver to see the last day of the bottom 2 floors of the big MashUp exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Late last night I happened to notice that today is the last day of the exhibit on these 2 floors, so off I go.

. . .
Later

On the ferry home. Tired but not exhausted. Filled up with art, and the breath of Vancouver on my skin.

Vancouver wasn't as different this time, as it was when I came home from 7 months in Europe, as the city was gearing up for the Olympics. Aside from the new Compass Card for transit, it was still my Vancouver.

Lots of reflecting on missing the city. Vancouver energizes me, makes me feel alive. I could downtown again, in a heartbeat, if I could afford it. Little matter, I'm fresh into a 1-year lease on my apartment, and sick of moving. And busy building my travel business. But it makes me think.

Got myself a Vancouver Art Gallery membership again, and will be back and forth. There are still 2 floors of that exhibit to see, and I might enjoy a visit each. There are Picassos on the 4th floor I haven't seen! Then a juicy Picasso exhibit starting not long after.

Picasso Exhibits 2016

An enlargement of Picasso's 1934 sculpture,
The Bust of Sylvette
(read how I tracked it down in NYC)

Late last night I happened to be scouting about for Picasso exhibits this year, thinking I may travel to one, if a destination appeals (yeah to being able to travel again soon!). Imagine my surprise and delight to learn about the PICASSO: The Artist and His Muses exhibit coming to the VAG June 11 to October 2, 2016. FANTASTIC!!!

I have followed Picasso on my travels, visiting special Picasso exhibits in Aix-en-Provence, Barcelona, and New York.... I have visited Picasso museums in Barcelona, Berlin and Paris.... I have also tracked down Picassos in the permanent collections of museums in Madrid and several in New York (and I'm sure I am forgetting some!).... I do love Picasso!

PICASSO: The Artist and His Muses
June 11 to October 2, 2016
Vancouver Art Gallery
PICASSO: The Artist and His Muses Exhibit info
Muses explored in Picasso exhibit coming to Vancouver Art Gallery

Elsewhere...

The Barnes Foundation Premieres Major New Picasso Exhibition In Philadelphia

Picasso: Genie Without a Pedestal
Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille
April 27 to August 29, 2016

Picasso – Shape Transformations, 1895-1972
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
April 21 to July 31, 2016

Picasso Portraits
National Portrait Gallery, London
October 6, 2016 to February 5, 2017
A brush with Picasso: rare portraits to be displayed in London

------

So sad I missed these:
Picasso Sculpture, September 14, 2015–February 7, 2016 at the MoMa
Picasso Exhibit at MoMa

Some of my Picasso experiences

Trip Reflections: My week in Aix-en-Provence with Picasso

Trip Reflections: Paris, Picasso and Heartstrings

Picasso Museum in Paris is inspiring... and closing!

In the Big Apple: Leaving New York

Drunk on Picassos

Today at the Guggenheim

Hello Monday!

Today I return to one of my favourite Mondays.

I am "off" work, meaning I am not scheduled to be in the office. I may still very well work part of the day, but I can do it at my pace, when/where I want. And this is how I'll be living my life going forward. Yeah!

I developed an affection for Mondays back when I first began working for myself. It became a day when I'd ease into my week, with no meetings, lots of free time for planning, errands, prep work, creative endeavours, and so on. I loved "my kind of Mondays" because they'd work for me, no matter what was going on for me.

If I was having a hard time getting motivated after the weekend, I'd pick up my business mail, hit Starbucks to read the paper, journal, plan my week, and so on. I would frequent several different coffee places wherever I lived, but I'd usually pick Starbucks for my Monday mornings. There was enough of a work-week buzz with people picking up their morning fix for me to catch on, and get in the flow.

If I'd been working full-tilt, and having more trouble slowing down than getting motivated, my Monday routine would create room for me to pause, catch my breath, reflect and re-prioritize. Mondays worked because they gave me the confidence that I could ramp up my week, and manage my commitments.

As someone who resists routine, I find it interesting that I created rituals that gave me structure. At the time, I would have told you that the days was open, with no plans - and I needed it to feel that way - but in reality I'd have these things I'd like to do, places I liked to go, rituals that nourished me.

I think it was one of my secrets to being successful working for myself. And whenever I took on full-time work for a few months or years, it was the first thing I'd re-create for myself as soon as I had the opportunity to scale back my days.

So looking forward to my new form of Mondays here, at the same time I am setting up my home office again, in yet another new place (in more ways than one).

Hello Monday morning!

Discovering Pietrasanta

I first heard of Pietrasanta when I was reading about tours to Carrara, where there are marble quarries. I never really thought about visiting a quarry before, but when I think of all the amazing marble sculptures and architecture in Italy, I became intrigued. More about that later, but when I stumbled across references to Pietrasanta as "the city of sculpture" I was hooked. I wanted to learn more... [read what I learned on my Travels with Roberta blog]

Landed

Not even crash landed, but close. The chaos continued to the end. "Just cleaning" and loose ends turned into an all-day affair, with me barely functioning. As I thought I wasn't needed - aside of picking up my sister and a few last things (we had cleaners for the big chores) - my body went into exhausted relaxation and pain Sunday night, finally letting go. We both (my body and I) got quite the shock when I learned I was needed at the house early Monday afterall... and instead of being done noon-ish, it went on until late afternoon. I think I would have been ok if I hadn't prematurely let myself feel the relief of letting go, but as it was, I was in agony. It was also a hot day, up to 24c I gather. At one point I thought I was going to pass out. With no furniture left, I retreated to the rather unpleasant garage to sit on a stair. Later in the day, I had a couple naps in the car (parked in the shade). It was an odd day, as I was needed, but also needed to keep out of the way, as my sister was directing the cleaners, and wanted to go through and pack the remaining things herself. Maybe it was harder to ok at half-pace than full tilt... Anyways, the day was a pseudo form of torture... I just wanted to throw the last things in the car, trash the rest, and just go! It's exceedingly hard to force oneself to be patient and forgiving when impatience is surging in one's veins.
While I stayed there for 6 years, my mom's home had been my sister's second home for much longer than that, and at one point there was a thought of her staying there, so it was a much bigger deal or her to leave than me. She'd also found a cool cleaner who finished with a smudging ceremony, which can't be rushed.
Anyways, barely survived, and drove away with an overfilled car, even leaving a couple things with neighbors. Gack.
But it is done.
A nice sense of closure was still there, despite my exhaustion.
Oh, and the dumpster bin was overloaded!
And today began a new phase in my life. Hmmm.

Robins, hummingbirds and moving on...

The end is near. Today the last load of straggler boxes and random stuff will get moved over, thanks to a generous neighbor. That's not the only neighbor gesture today... two are coming to disconnect appliances and haul them into our dumpster bin, along with yard stuff (part of our sale criteria).  A late ah-ha was that although the house wull be orn down, we still need to clean it. So cleaner in the morning.
Anyways, thse are the surface things.
What's important are the special moments over the past few days:
My sister, brother and I hanging out Friday, sorting, laughing, storytelling, remembering and goofing around. At one point, the big coloured dots used to organize boxes ended up on our foreheads. After the joke was done, I noticed we still all wore them for an hour or two, each in our own way, holding ono the moment, cherishing the connection.
Just being in the house ~ really so cute ~ listening to the birds, enjoying the trees, feeling mom's energy.
Enjoying the back deck my brother built with cedar from his own sawmill up the coast, sharing memories of how much mom loved it. She and I sat there many nights, drinking hot chocolate under the stars...
My sister and I watching the wee hummingbird yesterday, sitting in her nest just outside oupr front door. So tiny, so precious, so hidden, so still, so miraculous, amazing.... We will leave a note for the new owners... hopefully they can keep the tree safe until they are done with the nest.

Singing to the robin that keeps visiting, like mom would when we were kids, "Robin, Robin red breast".., which she also sang to me (Robin aka Roberta). I kerp feeling mom's presence when rhe robin is around.
Ok, time to get out the door...