For the Love of Camping

We went camping for my husbands 30th birthday this past weekend. You have no idea how happy we were to be able to go camping in March. I'm still excited about it, and we've been home for 2 days. For me, there just isn't anything more relaxing, and re-energizing than sitting in the forest around a camp fire drinking beer with your friends and just taking it all in. Which is probably why I was okay with living in a camper in the bush for most of last year.

I fell in love with camping as a teenager. My first camping trip ever was over May Long Weekend when I was about 15 years old. My dad drove his truck and camper out to the lake for a bunch of us girls to use for the weekend, and our parents made sure we had all the supplies we would need.  I think it was the first weekend away from our parents for most of us, and we were actually pretty well behaved. We drank some beers, burned breakfast and let some cute boys come to our site and hang out, but that was about it. Still, it was empowering, knowing that if worse came to worse, I could start a fire and fry myself some eggs. I was all grown up!

Every year since then, I have spent my entire winter planning for camping. I try to get out no less than 3 times in a summer, and have mostly been successful. I was (and am!) lucky enough to be friends with many people who shared the same obsession  interest in camping, and in the late 90's myself and a friend accidentally on purpose started a tradition of camping every July Long weekend together. We promised each other that no matter what was going on in our lives, we would get together that weekend at The Lake.

We kept our promise, and then some. That pair of friends, expanded to over twenty campers the year I got married, and spent the wedding and honeymoon camping with our friends and family. About 6 years ago, the group of people interested in camping with us got so big, that we just couldn't be accommodated in the regular campground any more. We were too loud, and too large, so we started planning other alternatives. We camped in group sites, we camped in the overflow, we camped at a lake down the road with no services. Anything to have our privacy, and do our thing. Our meals evolved from chips, hot dogs and beer, to deep-frying turkeys, home-made wine, and gourmet breakfasts. As we got older we needed mattresses, and better shelter, and propane stoves. We needed more than a weekend, we needed a week, and then ten days. We needed WAY MORE BEER. The original vibe was still present throughout the changes, which was to be with your friends, be happy, have more fun than you will have all year, relax and make memories.

This winter, I haven't been planning the group camping trip. I'm breaking my promise, and it breaks my heart. Living two provinces away makes it hard. I am still saving money, and if people back home decide to keep the tradition going, I will do my best to be there.

What keeps me from being a blubbering mess about it all, is the fact that I live somewhere where camping is easy. Although we can if we want to, we don't have to drive more than 20 minutes to get to a great camp site. We can camp on the beach, or in the bush, or in a Provincial Park. We can pack up in 15 minutes, hit the liquor store and be on the road in no time at all. We don't have to plan for months in advance, and the weather is nice enough that our camping season has just been extended by about 4 months at the very least.

I am so grateful to my parents for letting me go on that first camping trip, and I am so grateful that I found a husband that loves camping just as much as I do. Even though I can't be with my friends as often, I can always twist his arm and get him out to the forest. Even in March.

Grace in Small Things #43 - Thank You Edition

Thank you, Mom and Dad for knowing that a degree in university isn't everything, and that the world needs plumbers, computer gurus, truck drivers, retail workers, cooks and nurses, as well as writers, artists, musicians and politicians.

Thank you, for never paying me for "A's" in school.

Thank you, for never making me feel stupid if I got a bad grade, when I tried my best, and thank you, for giving me shit and/or encouragement, to make me try harder, when you knew I was slacking.

Thank you, for supporting all of my extracurricular activities, and for finding the money to support me, even though I knew you didn't always have much extra to give.

Thank you, for being proud of me, and the work I do now, even though it didn't take any "education" to get here. Some parents would not approve, as I didn't have to take a class in Greek Mythology, Women's Studies, Basket Weaving or fail Logic 101 four times, to put myself $40, 000 in debt to get where I am.

Thank you, for being willing to help out, if your child's education did cost that much.

Thank you, for teaching me from birth, that it doesn't matter how much money a person makes, they can either be a nice guy, or an asshole.

Thank you, for moving back to Small Town, and raising us on our acreage, and teaching us, ( although we weren't always grateful), that you have to work hard to survive sometimes.

Grace in Small Things #20

1. Being the supper guinea pig, and getting to test out Smyrish's new lentil/rice/turkey bacon creation. YUMMY!

2. Heading out to The Pub after supper, and seeing the smiling faces of my lovely lady friends, and the Palinode.

3. Hanging with Schmutzie. We always stay out way too late, and drink way too much, and have a great time doing what we do.

4. Listening to my brother talk about his new girlfriend, and how wonderful she is, and how happy he is when he's with her. He made me think that maybe its okay that he is dating my sister-in-law, which in turn, makes him my brother-in-law.

5. Coming home to Smyrish with a bag of Burger King, and laying on the couch together to watch The Wonder Years.

6. Learning that while I was out at The Pub, Smyrish took in my new bicycle with the blown tire, and brought home a whole new bike, tires intact.

Life is good right now.

Pig Spleen Guy's Son Predicted This Blizzard.

It is days like today, when I feel the need to thank my parents for making me grow up on a farm, and thank all the small town boys I hung out with as a teenager for teaching me how to drive on the snowiest, muddiest, ugliest grid roads in the world without getting stuck.

Why? Because I would be down right embarrassed if I didn't know how to drive through 3 feet of snow and ice, in blowing snow with zero visibility. It is a skill, that I have mastered and am grateful for. Especially on days like today, when I am forced to drive all around the city multiple times.

Etsy Shop

My Etsy shop is up and running!
( www.abigailroad.etsy.com)

I still need to add quite a bit of items, and re-take some photos, but at least I've got it started! I also realized today, just how much I sold this summer, and I need to get sewing on my new machine, and get some bags made, as bag-making is my forte. I truly have no stock to sell.

Big thanks to Knuckle Toes for posting my goods until now, and to B-Rock for taking the time last night to give me some photography tips, and thanks in advance to The Cookster for being my model.

And now, I'm off to have a nice bath, and get this icky flu feeling off of my skin.