A little update about life on the home front...

WHOA - I mean Whoa!  Things have been very busy here over the past few weeks.




Had the opportunity to travel with Ike and the Nelson Speed Skating Club team to Vernon for the winter games...hard to believe that's already a month ago! Ike did beautifully well, and we had tons of fun and many tales to tell when we came home.  Honestly, it was the best skating I've seen live in my life...with the added thrill of being in the coach's box and feeling the wind as the skaters flashed by.  It was inspiring and exciting!



We came home from the games to finish out our own club skating season.  Every year it's a bittersweet thing...the time we gain back from the arena each week is much appreciated and enjoyed, but it means that we can't skate for another 6 months.  Sigh.

The ShelterGuides pilot finished and was a great success.  I'm grateful every day for that project, the opportunities and people it has brought into my life.  What an absolute joy.

Since the last post here I've been working and playing, and often both at the same time.  Work for the school district continues to be a joy - I'm so grateful for the school community that I get to be a part of, for the students and staff alike. As the Teachers' job action escalates, I'm hoping for a good outcome.  I know that the teachers have our schools' and students' best interests at heart, and wish them all well in their continuing negotiations.

I've finally launched a new site to promote the other business that's been marching alongside my regular job for the past year+, at lisathiessen.ca .

Please take a peek over there to see what has been happening lately.  You'll find that some of the work on the 'Fine Art' page looks familiar if you've been reading this blog for any length of time.  Please bear with me as I get the pages fleshed out and play with the layout a little.  It will all settle into something useful and easy to navigate before TOO long, I promise.

I had the great fortune of joining a team last weekend for the CBT's Columbia River Treaty Young Leaders' Conference.  The recording was exciting and interesting, and I came away with a much greater understanding of just what is happening with the CRT, and a passionate belief that all residents of BC should be aware of it and the future ramifications of possible changes in the Treaty.  I loved the 'good neighbour' parts...how we really do scratch each other's backs (BC and the USA) in so many ways.  We are shared stewards of this water, of this land, of the industry and resources that spring from it.  We need to continue to work together, for certain, for the future.

I guess that sort of sums it up right now!I'd like to have more eye candy for you, but most of what I'm working on hasn't gone public yet.

Cheers,
Lisa

Watching the grass grow...among other things...

 My fellas are all still away, camping up in Nakusp with friends and family.  I'm here at home, watching the grass grow...and writing like a madwoman.


I'm working on something kind of special, something that I've been involved in for over a year and half...and before that there was at least 1 and maybe 2 years of background consultation and research done by one of my colleagues in this endeavour (who is also my friend).


There are 6 of us writing and preparing a training course that will be offered through Selkirk College this fall, in their CE (Continuing Education) catalogue.  It's a Home Share and Respite Care course to train people who would like to work in those capacities with people who have disabilities.  The Province is moving away from group homes as a housing model, and toward Home Share which is a really good option for many people.  At this time there is not a lot of training available for people who would like to do this type of work, to share their home with a person who has a disability and support them in their daily endeavors, and we are hoping, respectfully and humbly, to fill that gap. We've formed a small company called ShelterGuides.  We're in the process of building our website, and of filling the Moodle (teaching/learning content management system) with our coursework.

Writing the curriculum is an interesting experience.  We're doing everything collaboratively, mindful of the different draws and claims that exist on each other's lives.  We initially joined together not knowing each other, or not knowing each other well - but through this process have become friends.  I'm amazed by the intelligence, strength and experience that each of these women brings to the table.  It's phenomenal.


 So, I'm sitting here, out on our deck, with my dog and the crazy hummingbirds.  There are so many birds right now that it feels dangerous sometimes to sit here...I realize that I have a lot of faith in their reflexes, that they won't actually skewer me with their little beaks (at high speed)!  There have been a couple of moments that have felt (to me) like close calls...those pesky birds are probably buzzing me for fun, then going off to laugh about it...

It's pretty peaceful.  I mean, aside from the crazy birds.  The grass is growing, the dog is snoring.  I'm typing.

Yesterday I took time out to go and get rocks...thanks to our neighbour and his kick-ass trailer.  We moved a ton...yep a ton of flagstone from the rock yard near Salmo to here. 

This morning I went and bought a mason's chisel and maul, and tried my hand at splitting one of these bad boys...and, although I definitely have lots to learn, I think I'll be able to split some of the thicker ones down to approximately the same thickness as the others before setting them in to the patio area.

But I'm being very good, very disciplined.  I'll get my piece of the writing done before going out to play with the rocks.  I promise.

:)
Lisa