Home. Bellingham Style.

I was talking with my dad last night. Blogs came up. Well, blogs started the conversation and then lead to other topics. We were talking about 'continuity' and I thought I would give that a go now that I'm home. I don't mean that I'm going to update every day. But maybe once a month. Maybe less. Hopefully more.

So. My one year visa for Australia expired on January 8th. Consequently, I left the country. To postpone my entrance into the Northern Hemisphere's winter, I hiked around New Zealand for two months with my friend, Ya Ya. I spent an enjoyable week in San Diego with my grandparents, feasting on cheap Mexican food and root beer floats. The abundance of SUVs, freeway lanes, and large meal portions took some getting used to, but were offset by reconnecting with a dozen cousins, uncles and aunts.

And now I am in the place I have labeled as "home." Bellingham, Washington. Very northwest corner of the United States. No, not anywhere near Washington DC. And you know what, its pretty okay.

For one, I get to see this on every clear day from my parent's driveway: That's Mt. Baker. Which holds the world record for the most snow fall in one year (95 feet/29 meters).

And, I finally got to meet this little guy, who was born one day after I arrived in Australia:
That's Aidan Maloney. My 14 month-old nephew. People keep asking me if seeing him in all his smiling, giggling, peek-a-booing adorableness makes me want to have one of my own. "No." And "No." But aunt-hood is suiting me just fine. It helps that Aidan seems to like me. Similar to my relationship with my cat, Spike, I think I will be his play friend. He's got Grandpa and Mom for cuddles, but Aunt Kelsey and Aidan have got tag and outdoor exploration covered.

And I've got a lot of exciting things coming up in the not too far off future. I have a week bike ride around the San Juan Islands planned with my soul-gardening friend, Rachel. My Dad and I are taking the RV (American sized campervan (don't tell the eco police)) and our bikes down to the Oregon coast in April for some wild beach walks and scenic coastal bike rides. Ya Ya is coming up to visit later in April when we will eat copious amounts of Mexican food and ice-cream and watch all the movies we talked about watching while hiking in NZ. And this last thing is big. I get to go work in North Carolina (East Coast USA). Taking kids on nature walks, searching for birds, and leading creative writing workshops. Yay. But, that is not until May, so more on that later.

I have made a few goals in order to keep myself feeling happy and productive during the next 6 weeks of unemployment.
-Build my parents a functioning compost bin.
-Learn how to play Ultimate Frisbee.
-Compile my most likable and meaningful (to me) poems to consider putting in a Zine or some other self-published form of distribution.
-Ride my bike.
-Go on walks.
-Dance.
-Pet the cats.
-Cook and bake.
-Read.
-Write.
-Yoga.
-See friends frequently.
-Play games like 'balderdash' and 'in the name of that adverb.'
-Sleep. A lot. Because I missed a lot of hours during the last 14 months somehow.
-Reacquaint myself with North American flora and fauna.

I think that is about it for now. Its a sunny, chilly day. I think I will work on my reading and cat petting goals.