Making life simpler. Read my about me to know all about me.
“of life, simplicity, the free spirit, abundance, perseverance, strong-willed, strong-minded, blessed with good family and friends, renovator, doer of much”
Simple life
About me and Family
I grew up in a family of 6 girls and 1 boy.
My dad loved the outdoors and was an avid fisherman. My parents both liked to garden, always did their own repairs around the house. Mom was a sewer, knitter, and loved crafts. She made jams, jellies, and pickles. We joke now that we benefit from her being a hippie before being a hippie was cool. She would get Harrowsmith and Mother Earth News magazines and follow their suggestions. She tried many gardening methods, composted, and even grow her own mung bean sprouts.
To this day all us kids have skills that would easily allow us to survive a sustainable, off-grid, self-sufficient lifestyle if we chose to. Skills of preserving, freezing, baking from scratch, growing a garden, sewing, knitting, crocheting are skills still used by most of us.
About me and Children
Now I am a mom myself and have raised my children similarly. I am a proud mom of one son and three girls, all of whom are adults. No grandbabies yet, hopefully soon. They all live in different parts of Canada, are all very diverse in their interests and hobbies and all have interesting jobs.
Back in the day when they were between 7 and 15 their dad and I went our separate ways. This was the first time I experienced downsizing and decluttering. Their dad and I split the household goods and personal stuff. This first time was extremely emotional but also time-consuming. You really cannot appreciate how much 6 people acquire over time.
Becoming my own person
After 2 years, I decided to move back to my hometown. I did this so that my children could benefit from being around extended family and I could have the much-needed support.
I quit my job, finished the renovations on the house, sold it. Once again the need to declutter and downsize everything possible. We moved only what we had to. With the 4 kids and the van packed up and I drove 2600 kilometers from Alberta to Ontario.
New town, new house, new future
I bought a house and completely renovated it over the next several years. The reward of completing this huge task can certainly NOT ever be underestimated. There was the ongoing yard work, kid’s activities, and school staff, and my own employment that made those some very busy years.
I was once again blessed with having a significant other in my life. We each had homes at this point and realized that we spent time together at one or the other place and it was time to have one place. I once again decluttered and downsized when I moved in with my now-husband. We then did the declutter and minimalist process again when we moved from a home to an apartment to be Superintendent.
The next move brings us to Boquete, Panama. That move included doing all the legal visas and criminal checks. This required a more permanent need to dispose of “stuff” and was a far more reflective and emotional process than the others. When we arrived we had two large suitcases one carry-on and one personnel bag. We stayed for 1 year.
About me and An offer of experience
My choice to share my experiences and skills through a blog after retirement has evolved over the past three years. Simplifying life by going back to lifestyle basics and being healthier through good food and fitness more tuned in, and being a happy homey has far more appeal at this stage in life.
If I can share anything, any tidbit or memory, of my experiences that could help someone else experience one of the many parts of living and help make life a little simpler, productive, positive, and less complicated then I sure would enjoy the pleasure.