Ok. Here. I. Am. Again. Follow me here. If you want to.

http://rednecksfigsandcoconuts.blogspot.com/

Detoxing Facebook

I am detoxing from Facebook because I found myself checking on it every second, like it's an itching wart in my scrotum. Well, maybe not scrotum but you know what I mean. The pull to continually check the feed or posting every thought that comes to my mind and post pictures of foods or things I've seen started to become a mind numbing obsession. Not to mention the times that I'd want to punch some people in the throat for posting stupid stuff. If I don't like them, they must be stupid.

The true value of something is not how much it costs, but rather how much it cost you. If anything costs you your faith, your family or your health, then the price is too much.

 I didn't want the Redneck to go back to work full time because a full time job would cramp my vagabond lifestyle; we won't be able to just pick up and travel. But then, without money we can't just pick up and travel,(at least no farther than 1.5 miles.) There's a price to everything. But I've found that the more a person works, the more stress he has and the more debt he has. What time is it now? oh 930 a.m. I think we'll get up in a bit and drive to La Madeleine on Rue 15th for coffee and crème brulee.

I had to make a choice and the choice is not good when it comes to my blogging. I decided that I don't want to live with my heart racing all the time and feeling anxious that is almost disabling. So I am now religiously taking Lexapro. And the result? I am so calm, I could care less about anything. Nothing and no one can impress me more than 2 seconds. It's like walking dead to the world around me. Which follows that I find nothing worth writing or talking about. In a month or two, I will be moving to my own apartment. This would help me a lot in stabilizing my thoughts and feelings. And I am hopeful I will do again, what I've always loved to do----write and read.

A Farm for the Future 01

I was born to parents who farmed; it was not their choice and not mine either. I hated being born to poor farmers, and I hated more working on the land. But as I got older, I find that the only thing that gives me the pitter patter is watching plants grow. The good Lord has blessed me with lots of land in the Philippines to plant anything I want, and the Redneck also has a good sized land here in the US for us to cultivate, enough to sustain us. We are planning to start homesteading not because we have to, but we just want to be ready when we need to.

My life here in Calgary. This was Saturday. I took the Canadian for a stroll after an early morning sun exposure.

Two days later. This is what we had and Kalya's dad and sisters are acting like this is the first time they've seen snow. At 7 in the evening making snowman, mind you.

Here's my 4 year old and 4 month old grands.

I will not be leaving the US the next two and a half year, because I need to be close to Kalya during this period. While in the US, I plan to cultivate the land of the Redneck and it's just the right size; a wooded 2 acre property in Louisiana. Although I am not ready to have a Louisiana address, I will use it as a camping property while I cultivate fruit trees and plant veggies for our use. This will at least help me use my energy to do something productive in the US instead of waiting for the time when I could stay put and develop my farm in the islands.

This is the only clear area of the 2 acres. The rest is wooded. It will be a lot of work and requires money, so it will be a slow process. I plan to plant figs and plums, I love figs with blue cheese and I love it preserved. I don't really care for plums, but it makes me "regular." Yeah. Right.

While Chat has their lake and boat here in Calgary,

I also have my yacht

And on a low tide I can dig clams.

On high tide? I look at it because I can't swim.

Chat had friends from Dallas flew up here in Calgary for the labor day weekend.

One thing I love about Calgary is the food choices; every ethnicity is very well represented here. And talking about food, I happen to think that Malaysian food is the bomb--but then I was told that, most of what I ate when the Redneck and I were in Malaysia  last month was mostly an Indian dish.

Our first day in Kuala Lumpur, this is our breakfast...Indian roti

We crossed to Penang and on to Thailand

Seven years ago I turned 50, and  I got fascinated with the idea of being a "vagabond" ( one of the perks aboard the menopausal train--quirky thoughts).  I pursued the idea and made it a personal experience. The whole endeavor filled that hole which was created by the "change of season in a woman's life". But I am now seriously tired of the movement, of the phase, and saying hello and goodbye to friends and family from one end of the globe to the next. I want to stop moving. Now.

The last two months I was in Cebu, Malaysia and Thailand, then went back to Dallas for a week and now I'm in Canada spending time with the grands. Another 4 weeks and I will be back in Dallas, but not for long because the Redneck will be working outside of Dallas. I want to stay put and buy groceries for my pantry that's good for more than 2 months, cook and shop and have lunch with friends without  a schedule to leave. I need to stop moving. Now. But more than ever, I want to have a home I can call my own, a place for Kalya to come for a visit or to stay and I miss Dallas more than ever now. Old age, grand kids--- it has a way to warm your heart and settle the voices in your head.