Have I accidentally become SOCIAL?

An introvert and an extrovert walk into a bar... and both come out extroverts?

Guys, something odd is happening. When we moved to the so-called "wilderness", I thought I would see less people than before. Equally apprehensive and excited, I was eager to experience a whole lotta solitude.
'I will live a real writer's life,' I told myself enthusiastically. 'There will be so much introspection, I will discover all the secret meanings of life! And the universe! And my strange, complicated brain!'

In my ideal scenario, I pictured that I would stay home for days on end, frolicking in an introvert's paradise. With only my husband (and the animals) as company, I would get all the alone-time I could handle! In fact, it would be so much alone-time, that I would be excited to see other people, instead of hiding in the house as I'm known to do.

Well.

Well, well, well.

Amazon betrayed me

Last Sunday was my oldest niece's confirmation. I couldn't be there, because I'm going to see her next month, and I'm not made of money. This is one of the (very few, in my opinion) downsides of living 10,000 km away from your family, but that's life. 

A series of exploding pants

The first one happened about 2 weeks ago. I was doing morning chores, carrying half a bale of hay in my arms to feed the horses, mini cows, goats and sheep, when I suddenly felt it - a breeze. A breeze in a spot where there shouldn't be one - on my left butt cheek. Huh? How did the breeze manage to get past the layer of denim that ensconced my buttocks?

I put down the hay and reached to my backside. Where my fingers expected to encounter soft denim, they found instead warm, slightly squishy flesh. Damn, my pants ripped! I quickly finished the morning feed before hurrying back inside the house to inspect the damage.

Do you remember Kylie Jenner's butt jeans? I now owned a pair, and I didn't even have to pay an exorbitant amount of money for it! While my rip was not below the butt cheek like on hers, but went down vertically just left of the seam, I figured a ripped butt is a ripped butt. Tomatoes, tomah-toes, right? 

I briefly wondered if I should continue wearing them as a fashion statement, but knew in the end that I wasn't brave enough. Off into the garbage they went.

All the while, I tried very hard not to think of the reason why they ripped in the first place. 'They were old,' I assured myself. 'Old and cheap, and I've washed them approximately one gazillion times. That's the reason, and nothing else.'

I suspected that this may not be the only reason, but in the name of preserving my self esteem, I figured a little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone. I happily went on living my life, and forgot all about the ripped pants.

Until it happened again.

Yoga with goats - do you want to try?

I love yoga. It calms my mind, makes me feel strong, and has taught me that anything is possible. 

I also love living on a farm. It calms my mind, it's relaxing, and also hilarious.  

Combining the two is a match made in heaven. 

Ever since I started my practice, I've taken it outside whenever possible. 

One pet is good - but a hundred pets are better!

Rich and I have been feeling very grateful lately. We seriously pinch each other daily, just to make sure we're not dreaming this life. It may not look like much for some people, but to us, it's everything we've ever wanted: Living where the sun shines most of the year (in Canada! That's rare!), with our dogs, mini-cows, horses, goats, sheep, birds .... it's amazing. We are each other's family, but so are the animals. There's nothing better for us than sitting outside, surrounded by the dogs, watching the peacocks, chickens, ducks, geese, and all the other animals mill happily about. We are so damn grateful to live this life.

Triplets!

Cut off

This morning, I woke up to another gorgeous, blue-skied day. The birds were chirping, the air was still, and it looked like a beautiful, calm day. As I was doing my chores outside, I heard my neighbour call my name. 

"Miriam, have you heard? The highway is closed!"

'Sheesh', I thought to myself, 'the highway has been closed for three days. You just heard about it now?'

I went over to the fence for a little chat. 

"I know, it's been closed for a few days already."

"No, not westbound. Eastbound! We are cut off from town!"

Hi! ✌

It's been a hot second since I've been here. Again. This is becoming a pattern, and I'm sorry. Instead of blogging, I like to sit for hours in front of the computer, thinking about writing, surfing the net "for inspiration" (which is BS), then procrastinating by buying stuff online I don't need, and feeling guilty about it. It's great fun!
But seriously, how could I say no to Chrissy Teigen (I'm obsessed with her, OBSESSED!), or new bed linens (I also ordered these and these), and  a protective suitcase cover?

The suitcase cover is for something very special: I'm going to Paris next month with my sister! It's a chore, but somebody's got to do it.