RV There Yet??

SlaDE~ and I finally took the leap … we invested in our health and well-being whilst here in Calgary and bought a family membership to the local gym. Not only is it convenient and pure luxury, it’s only a 5 minute walk away from our apartment. This is absolutely fantastic! No more excuses to not work out. Not only is the Talisman Centre http://www.talismancentre.com/ North America’s biggest recreation centre, it offers amazing drop-in classes of Yoga (several different forms) and Pilates. SlaDE thoroughly enjoys the diving boards (platforms of many differing heights) whilst I am a bit reticent and hesitant to start diving again into water, with my shoulder dislocation still giving me aches and pains when I least expect.

With every visit, I take advantage of the powerful health-enhancing effects of their searing hot steam room.
In my research about the benefits of a steam room, I discovered this:

The latest research shows steam hyperthermia an effective treatment for:
* Detoxification programs
* Immune system deficiencies
* Pain management
* Cancer
* Arthritis
* Stress and muscle tension
* Increasing body metabolism
* Elimination of toxins
* Blood circulation

I’m hooked!

David Choe spins it best …..

It’s been interesting shopping here in Calgary, discovering the price differences between food back in Ontario vs in Alberta. I’m discovering that the local Community Natural Health Food store has really comparable (and sometimes cheaper) prices for their organic food, compared to that of the normal produce, say at Safeway (god forbid that I should single out this giant chain, which has no need for further marketing). I really like the thought of keeping our money within the local community, supporting our local farmers’ organics and trying to cut back on the GMO foods that fill the shelves (unbeknownst to many) of many a chain grocery store.

Actually, I put in an application for employment at the Community Health a few days ago, thinking that it might be a really great place to work (the workplace is very relaxed and newage-like, focused on natural healthy living). A true positive for our lifestyle and needs.

The job hunt is slow but I’m keeping positive, with an interview scheduled for tomorrow for a part-time position as an Interior Designer / Decorator at an upscale custom furnishings store. Quite different from my design background, but you never know until you try it!

After finishing my morning yoga stretch class at the Talisman, I decided to make a quick beeline to the library before heading home. Prior to coming across the moving image (literally) of a man harnessed to a lone evergreen, I could smell the sweet tangible scent of pine oil, thick and heady (a wood chipper was grinding away the remnants of a chainsaw’s cuttings). Instantly thoughts of my sister Aaron came to mind, envisioning her at work ‘hugging’ and pruning trees, chainsaw in one hand and ropes & karabiners in the other.

Atop a 40 foot towering pine (its trunk thin in diameter but still statuesque and magnificent) was attached an Arborist. At first glance, it looked as if he were trimming the branches of only the 1 of 3 pines standing alone on the property of a Church. But waiting around awhile and watching him work, I was struck by overpowering emotions at the vision of his slow desecration of this healthy tall coniferous … I have never seen a tree felled before, so to say that I was taken aback by the large lump in my throat and the tears in my eyes, is an understatement. The waves of loss were too much as I watched the tree-top fall mercilessly to the ground … that final top cutting could have been someone’s beautiful Christmas tree, it was so big and bushy and lush! But instead, the Yule tree was fed to the chipper, crushed to a pulp with only it’s sweet smell and morbid earth scar left as reminders of it’s existence. A sad day for Mother Earth and for myself.