Don’t Die with Your Music Still in You!

Wayne Dyer

1940-2015

Maybe its the fact that he was the father of EIGHT.

Maybe it was because his gentle voice exuded love and compassion.

Maybe because it sounded like a nonjudgmental Dad or a kindly Grandfather full of wisdom.

I always enjoyed listening to Wayne, though by no means was I a follower.  I would catch snippets here and there, memes on Facebook or something on Pinterest.  They usually inspired me.

Whatever the reason, I was sad to hear of his passing this past weekend.  However, he was a true example to Don’t Die with Your Music Still in You.

Here’s a couple more videos.

Growing Up with Wayne Dyer as My Dad by Serena, speaking about the authenticity of her father.  And then there is The Shift Movie….Wayne had hoped to live to see 3 million viewers… over a million ((Everette and I were 2 of them!) viewed it before his death and now it is available so that other millions can see it for FREE.

Enjoy!

 

Missing in Action & 30 Years With My Man

I realize its been more than a week since I’ve posted.  Apologies.

Everything is fine.  We’ve been laying low, hanging around the Hotel, watching TV series and movies, planning for Danaka’s trip to Portland and a 2 week cycling trip with Rauchelle and her family.  The count down is on.  She leaves early Tuesday.

This past Monday was 30 Days since Everette and I met.

Well, that could be argued, because back in 1974 our families spent the day at Honeymoon Bay on Vancouver Island just as their family was moving to northern BC.  We were over visiting my cousins who attended the same church as Johnsons and a bunch of people were hanging out at the beach.  So that’s where we first met, I suppose.

However, the meeting didn’t stick in either of our memories well.  Nada for me.  And Everette thinks I was in diapers…but I was EIGHT ….I swear I wasn’t in diapers!!!

The time we officially met was when I went north to Fort St John to be in a friends wedding.  I arrived the week before the big event, and it was the day of my arrival, Aug 24th 1985  that Everette and I actually met and got the ball rolling….

really fast!

So I’ve spent too-many-hours producing a montage for the big 30th Anniversary!  Especially since Everette is away in BC working,  I wanted him to have a tangible way to know how much I care….and I’m sharing it with you all now.  Enjoy.

DIY Home Removal of Skin Tags

Do you grow those floppy flaps of skin on the back of your neck, or near folds of skin like arm pits and the groin?

I’ve had a few.  Not plagued by them like some people.  And they aren’t really bothersome to me, but I came across some videos online about home removal of skin tags and thought I’d try it for myself.

Well, not actually BY myself though.  I needed somebody to help me since it required tying them off and I couldn’t get a clear view nor maneuver my hands properly in some of those places.  Like on the back of my neck.  Or in my armpit.  My neck isn’t long enough and my vision clear enough!

Home removal of skin tags can be done simply and for free.  Assuming you already own scissors and dental floss.  Yes, dental floss.

The gist of it is you strangle the blood supply off at the base of the skin tag by tying the floss around it.   Cut the floss ends short enough not to bother you during your daily activities.  When the tag has died its like a scab that will just dry and fall off.  And its history.

Checkout my short video.  Nothing gross.

Big Family Pictures LOST : Cape Breton & PEI Travel and Hardly Anything to Show For It

We’ve now been traveling more than 1,000 Days but come December this year its actually going to be 3,000 Days since the Epic Trip that changed our lives.  The one that got us over the fear-hump that had kept us from big family travel.

I’ve told the story before of how in 2006 Everette’s sister (& family) and mom lost virtually all they owned in a freak storm that tore their roof right off their house.  And about 9 months later my (Karen) own sister lost her house to a fire.  Well, that was 9 months of us observing what loss of all material things looks like, and what rebuilding and starting over again looks like up close.

Within about 20 minutes of talking to my sister the day after her house burned down Everette and I looked at each other and basically said, “Let’s go help them rebuild!”

Only three weeks later we were driving across the big nation of Canada in 2 vehicles packed with our youngest 7 (of 9) kids….and our life has never been the same since.

We’ve had some wonderful experiences in the past 8 years since then….unfortunately some of the photos documenting those adventures have been lost on USB’s and locked into external drives.  We have memories of much of it, but you know how those fade over time.  And many we just don’t recall without some prompting.

I was able to piece-meal some pictures of our time in Cape Breton to represent some of what we did.  Unfortunately our visits to Baddeck and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, and the Fortress of Louisbourg are gone.  And the incredible first winter at our house in River Bourgeois: the seal that laid on the ice for 3 days (& Everette and Toveli touched!); the red fox running across our property; the catapults the kids built in the forest.  No images of ceilidhs; the girls tap-dancing; Rauchelle sailing in the boat she co-owned with 3 old men!

Even more so, the incredible trip south: explored Pier 21 and climbed the Citadel in Halifax; fell in love with the colorful shops at Mahone Bay; jumped amongst the rock base of the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove; enjoyed Joyce’s chowder at the very southern tip of the province at Clark’s Harbour; to the reaches of Digby Neck and Briar Island; the low-tide mud of the Bay of Fundy; the beauty of Annapolis Valley.

On another trip we crossed the Confederation Bridge and explored the red earth of Prince Edward Island, counting more red foxes than ever in our life.  And that incredible hawky-hawk that Everette spotted (private joke, sorry!)  We ate lunch at Summerside; saw more Anne’s than we could count, & the iconic Green Gables (though the season hadn’t started yet); played in the sand at Cavendish Beach; mulled around Charlottetown before taking much of the coastal road back to Cape Breton.

All of our excursions in Atlantic Canada were fabulous.

Unfortunately I can’t show you the beauty.  Almost all that I have left are our home-based photos of our time there.  But in the end, isn’t it the people that we share the adventure with truly what matters the most?

And so I share what little I have of those 2 separate years we spent on Cape Breton.  You’ll see how little the kids were when we started this nomadic lifestyle.

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Meeting Someone You Met Online: Risking Her Own Capture and Murder

Have you met somebody in real life that you first connected with online?

Back when the internet was new to all of us and we were wading around in its depths trying to figure out safety parameters, it was advised to never meet up with somebody you had only met online.

Yes, undoubtedly there are horrific events that have taken place after somebody met an online acquaintance in real life.

I know people are still very apprehensive, and there are certainly reasons for concern.  However, I personally believe in expecting things to work out rather than living life in fear of all that can go wrong.  There are tips to take to make meeting an online contact in real life safer.

Personally our family has now met a handful of other traveling families in person because we or they have discovered the other one online and we chose to make our paths cross.  All of them were safe and fun encounters, and some of them have remained friends.

Two of our daughters have met up with people they met online by various means.  The younger of the two met other teens in a closed online writing group, and our family stopped in to meet her on our travels thru Colorado way back in 2012.  In 2013 she caught a ride with the same girl to attend a writing camp with others from the writing group online.

The elder of our girls has befriended a few guys online thru playing games and after extended times of being friends she has actually met several of them in real life.

And then there’s online dating sites.  I personally know several people who not only used the services, but married somebody they discovered via the online dating site.

It’s a new day!

Back in June Everette and I spent Father’s Day in a whirlwind weekend away at a conference with SFM (love that community!!) We ended up with a sucky 10 hour layover at DFW airport.  Fortunately for us my online friend Cindy was willing to risk her own capture and murder by suggesting that she pick Everette and I up and take us for a break for a few hours.

She was given warnings on her end that we might not be trustworthy, that ‘Karen Johnson’ could easily be an alias.  Cindy’s biggest concern was that we would kidnap her and force her to Mexico to be with alllllll our kids!

No, Cindy didn’t seem concerned at all.

Doesn’t mean she didn’t take any type of precaution.  And so should you (and me!)  If you are meeting someone you met online there are a few things to consider.  Note: these will vary depending on if your ‘meeting’ is for a transaction, or you’ve established more of a personal relationship online.

• Always meet in a public place.
• Let your friends and family know what’s up.  Share what information you have about the person you are meeting along with your scheduled meeting place and time.  They can even be discretely present 🙂  like sitting at another table nearby in a cafe or restaurant.
• If you’re making a transaction such as selling/buying off of Craigslist, then having a friend go with you is appropriate. Maybe not so much if its an actual date 🙂 But consider this:  instead of your first meet-up being officially a date, why not arrange for the potential to meet up with you and some friends instead?  Then if you all get along and its mutual, go alone for a date.
• Have your cell phone charged and easily accessible.  Set up your phone with an app like Moby that allows you to purposely share your location with your trusted friends/family.  The app isn’t as safe as taking somebody with you, but not all situations suit a third-wheel.
• There’s no reason to reveal too much information about yourself online.  However, at the same time its good if you can gather as much information about the other person as they are willing to share.
• I always snoop FB profiles and other social media to see what type of person they AND their friends are.  If their friends seem unsavory then I am less likely to pursue any friendship.
• Its also highly recommended that you speak with the person on the phone before ever agreeing to meeting them.  Even for those of us telephobians you can easily discover whether the supposedly 20-something chick is a forty-something dick.  And for those who can read vibrations better, it can be a telltale to stay away.  Or not.  Skype is another option.
• Never get into a vehicle with someone you don’t know to be trustworthy.  That’s an obvious.

So, Cindy and I arranged on short notice for her to pick us up from DFW airport and take us out for lunch.  We had never talked on the phone, not over Skype either, but we were involved in a few of the same business opportunities, had had many online chats over a couple of seasons and felt very comfortable about the arrangement.  I also had Everette along for the ride.  Yes, we went in her vehicle to some unknown destination….a whole lot of Don’ts.

And I lived to tell about it.

Now, I don’t mean to be smug.  It could have all turned out bad.  But here’s how it turned out….

 

 

Cindy took us to Grapevine, a western looking town of course because this is Texas!  We sampled a kazillion flavored balsamic vinegars and olive oils (like in Tubac, AZ) as appetizers before she treated us to lunch at a cute place filled with Eiffel Towers that served up yummy food.  You can tell we were under tons of stress meeting up!!!! Fear written all over our faces.

So Cindy….it was great meeting up with you.  Thanks for the ‘date’ and all the laughs.  Thanks for being a real friend in spite of it starting online. Your daughter is always saying how wonderful of a person you are, and I see it for myself now.  I’m glad we met up for real.