The next new thing
Oh throughout all the ideas and moments and "things, I'd like to do" throughout 'The Plan ®' there are links between them, a natural evolution and as much at times like I feel like I'm drifting and not sure what the next new direction is there are these moments of 'epiphany' ... and I think "YES! That's it! That's what I should be doing." and sometimes some of those stick and sometimes they don't and sometimes they evolve into something else.
Back in 2010 when this particular next adventure started, oh there were one or two properties in Nova Scotia that captured my imagination and fueled some of those "YES! That's it!" moments. We'd already concluded that really the whole Newfoundland B&B idea wouldn't work for us - we like company, but not enough to open our doors to random strangers for 6-9 months of the year. We knew we wanted to go further out, James knew he wanted to be working creatively, I knew I wanted to be working sustainably, we both wanted to be doing stuff. With raw materials, building a life, DIY. We knew we wanted to surround our life with animals, not just the dogs, and cats, but sheep and alpacas and ponies and pigs and..... for meat and otherwise. I knew I wanted to be growing, and cooking and preserving and crafting. We knew we wanted to be doing with and for people and the world - putting something back in. We talked about writers and artists retreats and doing classes and workshops in creative stuff and surrounding ourselves with creative people. I knew I wanted to keep working with the animals. I'm not a dog trainer, I could be if I wanted to, but I'm not sure that's where my drive is going. I love my glorious newfoundland dog, and the water element, and my interests in carting and water training hasn't changed or dissipated, just wasn't sure where I was going with it until I discovered dog hydro therapy and courses I could take in such things. And I *knew* I wanted to be doing that. We'd talked about rescue work, it was something important to me, and James learned and came to through me. But no matter where you are in this country rescue is full of politics and intrigue and cliques and who's playing in whose sand-box and .... I am so done with that in my life. We'd talked, about if we won millions of dollars how we'd buy a place and 'save all the things', from old unloved houses to old unloved dogs.
Last night I got talking about one of the properties that inspired some of that 'Nova Scotia Dream' of an art and farm and creative and animal heaven by the ocean where my dog could swim' - it has recently come back on the market, and my heart still says "omg! it's perfect!!" And I still want to save all the things, to bring some kindness back into the world. And a place in my heart, that means something *personally* to me. You see - I've been homeless. I've faced the hard choices of what happens when you're facing homelessness as a pet owner. I've been an abused spouse, and looking for a way out, and I know how hard those choices are, and protecting the ones you love in the process often is what keeps you in. James and I have talked about the importance of keeping pets with their families in the past. The pain of elders going into care homes and giving up beloved pets.
So it is that the current evolution of "The Plan ®" is 94 acres by the sea, in a out of the way and hard to find little corner, with a lovely old house, and 5000 ft of sheltered ocean frontage, and beautiful barns for the workshops and ponies and sheep and pigs and alpacas. A beautiful doggie wonderland, sleep away camp, sanctuary, water training and therapy facility, that provides a super secret location for abused spouses to send their beloved family members to be safe while they get their lives back. Non judgmental, non charging, non advertising. Protection.
Of course like all moments of evolution in the process my brain is fixating today on "How do I make this happen?" And the answer is to keep doing what we're doing, and we'll get there one day. Of course digging ditches when you want to be building castles in the sky is always a bit, frustrating, still it's the grunt work that gets you there.Of course little by little the $1/2 million it will take to make it happen will come, but this leonine lady as always chews at the constraints of little by little and would really rather have the $500,000 right now!
I will have my castle and it will be; 'Haven Sent"
And this would be a lovely place to do it.
Originally posted to: The Plan® comment there or here
Back in 2010 when this particular next adventure started, oh there were one or two properties in Nova Scotia that captured my imagination and fueled some of those "YES! That's it!" moments. We'd already concluded that really the whole Newfoundland B&B idea wouldn't work for us - we like company, but not enough to open our doors to random strangers for 6-9 months of the year. We knew we wanted to go further out, James knew he wanted to be working creatively, I knew I wanted to be working sustainably, we both wanted to be doing stuff. With raw materials, building a life, DIY. We knew we wanted to surround our life with animals, not just the dogs, and cats, but sheep and alpacas and ponies and pigs and..... for meat and otherwise. I knew I wanted to be growing, and cooking and preserving and crafting. We knew we wanted to be doing with and for people and the world - putting something back in. We talked about writers and artists retreats and doing classes and workshops in creative stuff and surrounding ourselves with creative people. I knew I wanted to keep working with the animals. I'm not a dog trainer, I could be if I wanted to, but I'm not sure that's where my drive is going. I love my glorious newfoundland dog, and the water element, and my interests in carting and water training hasn't changed or dissipated, just wasn't sure where I was going with it until I discovered dog hydro therapy and courses I could take in such things. And I *knew* I wanted to be doing that. We'd talked about rescue work, it was something important to me, and James learned and came to through me. But no matter where you are in this country rescue is full of politics and intrigue and cliques and who's playing in whose sand-box and .... I am so done with that in my life. We'd talked, about if we won millions of dollars how we'd buy a place and 'save all the things', from old unloved houses to old unloved dogs.
Last night I got talking about one of the properties that inspired some of that 'Nova Scotia Dream' of an art and farm and creative and animal heaven by the ocean where my dog could swim' - it has recently come back on the market, and my heart still says "omg! it's perfect!!" And I still want to save all the things, to bring some kindness back into the world. And a place in my heart, that means something *personally* to me. You see - I've been homeless. I've faced the hard choices of what happens when you're facing homelessness as a pet owner. I've been an abused spouse, and looking for a way out, and I know how hard those choices are, and protecting the ones you love in the process often is what keeps you in. James and I have talked about the importance of keeping pets with their families in the past. The pain of elders going into care homes and giving up beloved pets.
So it is that the current evolution of "The Plan ®" is 94 acres by the sea, in a out of the way and hard to find little corner, with a lovely old house, and 5000 ft of sheltered ocean frontage, and beautiful barns for the workshops and ponies and sheep and pigs and alpacas. A beautiful doggie wonderland, sleep away camp, sanctuary, water training and therapy facility, that provides a super secret location for abused spouses to send their beloved family members to be safe while they get their lives back. Non judgmental, non charging, non advertising. Protection.
Of course like all moments of evolution in the process my brain is fixating today on "How do I make this happen?" And the answer is to keep doing what we're doing, and we'll get there one day. Of course digging ditches when you want to be building castles in the sky is always a bit, frustrating, still it's the grunt work that gets you there.Of course little by little the $1/2 million it will take to make it happen will come, but this leonine lady as always chews at the constraints of little by little and would really rather have the $500,000 right now!
I will have my castle and it will be; 'Haven Sent"
And this would be a lovely place to do it.
Originally posted to: The Plan® comment there or here