Wrapping up my Lac Louisa time with one last post. This year, I came late and stayed late. I experienced less of the peak summer fun and more of late summer restoration. I feel like my body and soul have rested and rejuvinated in ways I haven’t experienced in years. Peace, solitude, and lake swimming… Read More Wrapping up
I’m having a love affair with Autumn, which, like all good love affairs, makes me feel like I am the first person in the universe to ever feel precicely this way. Has anyone else noticed the change in the light? The sound leaves make when they’re falling in the forest? The scattering of leaves on… Read More Fall
I woke up Sunday morning to see the warmth leaching from the lake and had to remind myself that I love to swim in cold water. It’s actually not that cold yet, or even very cold at all. It was 65° on Sunday, which is about what it was when I left the San Francisco… Read More Chilly
Sheila and Angie came for Labor Day weekend and it was so much fun. Those two have the most positive outlook on everything and experiencing the lake with them brought me a new level of appreciation for the life I have here. We spent long hours in our PJs reading books and pottering around the… Read More Friends
I woke much too early and after vainly struggling to go back to sleep, I got up and made coffee. It was a good idea. Snuggled on the couch in a blanket with my warm mug, I watched the day make its slow arrival. Every time I witness dawn near a body of water I… Read More Sunrise
A very positive outcome of this temperature blanket I’m crocheting is the way it motivates me to swim every day again. I swam a lot in 2023, but it was remarkable how quickly my daily habit from the year before fell away once I didn’t “have” to do it. It feels good to be getting… Read More January in Victoria
Today’s swim was a quick dip as we are starting the long road trip back and had to catch the morning ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles. Leaving this beautiful place (and especially my beautiful kids) behind leaves my heart heavy and a stormy swim was just the thing to fit my mood.
It was another beautiful day with the Cold Water Addicts. The weather was a little bit more seasonally appropriate and the clouds put on a spectacular show. So many friendly swimmers came out. The water was incredibly clear and, though it was hard to get in, I am acclimated enough now that once I was… Read More Coldtober Day 9
Eliza took Kevin and I to a beautiful lake today: Lake Durrance. Just outside of Victoria, it was a gorgeous oasis, surrounded by forest. We brought a picnic and lolled around in the sun, slightly putting off getting into the water because it was a little chilly with a cool breeze canceling out the warmth… Read More Coldtober Day 8
The last three days have been spent happily reuniting with Eliza and Hazel in Victoria. My heart feels whole being back with these two. But I’ve also been swimming. On the 5th we arrived in Victoria and after seeing Eliza’s beautiful house, meeting her roommates, and marveling at this side table she made… We went… Read More Coldtober Days 5-7