I have arrived ...

Hey everybody out there. I told you I'd pop back in and let you all
know when I get where I was going.

I'm here. But not the "here" where I thought I was going to be. I
am in Essex. As in Essex ONTARIO.

Not exactly Nova Scotia. It's looking like Nova Scotia is going to
have to wait.

Here's what happened. Our unconditional real estate offer fell
through. So we are still stuck with a house which isn't selling. I
would go into the reasons for this but it might be libelous.

And, at roughly the same time the house deal fell through, my
accommodations for the winter in Bear River also fell through.

So right now, the message I am getting from the universe at large is
to sit for a while, don't do anything drastic. Nova Scotia can still
happen, just not yet. And in the meantime, there are lots of reasons
to be down here.

I'm only in Essex temporarily and will be moving to Windsor in a
couple of weeks (which isn't far -- Essex is only half an hour from
Windsor) Right now I'm taking care of my sister Lori's 6 and 10
year old daughters while she is away working for GM doing training in
China. Mike, her husband, is here and he is quite a capable and good
dad, but it's still a lot easier on everybody that I'm here. And I'm
having a good time with the little girls, which is one of the reasons
I thought being down here was a good idea. It's also a really Big
Deal to them that I'm here .. makes me feel real important. It's a
good opportunity to be part of their lives and Lori's. They really
need a cool aunt on the scene, at least until they get their first
tattoo anyway.

And the other reason is that I still have a reasonably intact
personal and professional network of people down here in Windsor.
And I've already been offered a place to live -- my long time friend
Mary Atkinson has asked if I would like to live with her in her very
large and cool house near the university. I lived with Mary and her
family when I was going to university and again when I went out to BC
25 years ago. The whole Atkinson family has been a big part of my
life for a long time and it's wonderful to be able to spend time with
them again.

It's all falling into place. This Windsor move is only temporary, I
promise myself. It's a good solution in the short term also, because
I am planning to do some major travelling next year -- first to
Findhorn in Scotland, an amazing community just north of Inverness.
And my friend Dave is applying for a grant to do another global
issues radio project which he will probably get. If he does, I will
be going to Asia to do some stories for him -- still doing my
research, but I am thinking I would like to go to the Himalayan
region of India and also to Nepal. Once I'm there, it's really
really cheap to stay for a while. So I might spend a couple of
months there. Not until next fall because I want to avoid monsoon
season. Which gives me some time to settle in here for a bit.

I've got some work happening and some interesting projects that will
keep me happy and productive. I'm going to be putting together a new
workshop schedule over the next little while -- so for all the
people who have asked me to do a workshop for them sometime, this
would be a great time.

I'm starting to get my groove back. Or maybe I shouldn't use the
word "back" because it's not at all the same groove it used to be. I
think it's much better even if it is still a difficult transition. I
still spend too much time belting out choruses of " Your Cheatin'
Heart". Or just being sad -- I keep thinking it's going to get
better but it's been so much harder since I got back from Nova
Scotia. Part of me wishes there was some way to pull this back
together again and forget that we ever did such a silly thing as
split up.

But it's done. except for jointly owing a house with a curse on it
... I minimize what a bad situation this house deal situation is
because I can't do a thing about it. I'm doing all that I can.

Happy thanksgiving, all of you. I thank you for being there for
being there for me, and for being the collection of wonderful people
that you are. It is really gratifying to know that I have a very
large circle of friends out there, all the way from Ottawa to
Kentucky. And Vancouver, and Seattle, and Brandon, and Kelowna, and
San Francisco. And all over the place.

You have held me up, and you keep on doing it. I'm here for you too,
getting stronger and stronger all the time. I can take care of you
too. And I want to.

Love
Victoria

PS -- you can still email me at fenner@magneticspirits.com -- I am
picking up messages every day. Would love to hear from you.