Monthly Archives: October 2008

“So being frugal could be the new chic. And stretching a buck? It really comes down to deciding not what we want, but what we can do without.”  Judith Timson

Judith Timson is a freelance writer.  She often writes for The Globe and Mail my favourite Canadian newspaper. You can read her complete article about embracing frugality by clicking on her name.

I enjoy and admire her writing immensely.  I think one of the reasons is because she writes what she thinks and does it in a conversational, often humourous way.  No holding back or worrying about popularity contests.  

I think it’s good to seek out people who aren’t afraid to state their viewpoint in a positive way.  Enough with negativity.  ¿Si, or No?

Raise your hand if you are old enough to remember the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. written by Richard Bach. This was a 70′s book that those of us who remember, embraced as we were “finding ourselves.” Oh what a time this was and I’m not being nostalgic, it really was.  It was a time of change, changes that made a big impact on the world.  

We fell in love with Jonathan a seagull who lived passionately, refused to conform and shunned meaningless materialism.  This bird was my hero. I hung off every word (this is how we talked in the 70′s) about this seagull who flew for the love of it and was propelled by his desire to learn.  It’s good to remember the love of learning. I’ve moved on from the 70′s but I’ve never lost my love of being with people who feel passionately about what they do. What a gift! What a treat to know so many of you! You can still find copies of this book.  Jonathan Livingston Seagull’s spirit lives today.

We are still in the crisp north and moving at a brisk pace.  It’s a beautiful time of year to visit and especially nice knowing that we don’t have to stay for the cold snowy stuff that comes soon after the beautiful fall leaves fall to the ground.  And, I’ve heard since Hurricane Norbet passed by us in Mexico the yucky humid weather went with it.  Life’s good.  We go home tomorrow. It’s been a wonderful trip, seeing family and friends, taking in the musical Jersey Boys and We Will Rock You and eating lots and lots of food we don’t readily find in our part of Mexico.    

Spying this good stuff isn’t nearly as hard as I thought it might be when I decided to make a habit of it.

I haven’t posted for a few days.  I have a good reason.  For a couple of weeks we plotted to surprise my family and show up to spend Canadian Thanksgiving with them.  So while we anxiously watched Hurricane Norbet and Tropical Storm Odile approach and while I waited for my passport renewal that was stalled in Mexico City, we spent our evenings thinking about how much fun it would be to show up unexpectly when my family sat down for thanksgiving dinner, and believed it would happen.  The surprise has exceeded or fantasies.  

But, at the moment I’m away from my computer, north of Toronto, with no high speed computer access and no way to download some of the brilliant maple leaf photos in their glorious reds and yellows. 

Please stay tuned.  I’ll be posting this weekend when we get back to Mexico. 

Life is good!