Can you believe that 2023 is almost over? Looking back over the past year I have to say I did enjoy discovering new places, visiting old favorites and going on new adventures.

Some of those new adventures weren’t just traveling adventures, but more of trying new things, seeing life in a new way, stretching beyond my comfort zone in different areas of my life.

At the beginning of 2023 I set the intention of New Adventures. I don’t do resolutions, or goals or any of those guaranteed fails. I prefer finding an idea or intention and be open to how everything unfolds during the year that comes from my intention. And the first step into that New Adventures intention in January, I volunteered to create monthly paper craft challenges for my large Stampin’Up! team. A huge out of my comfort zone step. I prefer to stay at the back of the class and watch everyone else shine.

2023 definitely saw me moving forward to the front of the class, so to speak, from my crafting hobby and in other areas of my life, by moving things on my “someday” list into reality of now, like signing a publishing contract for my first novel, In the Dead of Night, to be released in early 2024.

In April my son, Tim, and I said goodbye to his best bud. Tidbit was 22 years old and just couldn’t keep going. In the photo above was our day to take him to the vet to help ease his way. Both my son and I were bawling. My son was 2 when we found Tidbit on the side of the road. So young, vet guessed about a week old. Someone had just dumped him there. Tim learned to feed his kitty with an eye dropper, wipe his bum with a tissue like a mother cat would to teach the cat how to go to the bathroom, then as Tidbit got older he taught him how to use a kitty litter, eat out of a bowl and drink water from a dish. They were best friends all their lives, sleeping together, exploring the backyard, reading, playing, you get the idea. Best friends. Tidbit has been very missed in our house, this past year. Watching my son go through the grieving stages, wasn’t the kind of new adventure I had in mind when setting my intention, but we did go through it, together.

This summer I was able to borrow a kayak and went exploring on different lakes and even the Kettle River for the first time. Dad decided that he’d like to try too as he’s never been in one. What fun we had this summer with friends and even just the two of us.

I got out almost ever day and most weekends, alone or with friends and Dad. It was a wonderful adventure for all of us, I think.

Not all of my adventures were fun. Sadly, this year, I lost family members, and my Dad lost a very close mentor and friend. They will be greatly missed, and helping my dad through this loss wasn’t easy, but we experienced it together.

On to brighter memories.

Beginning of the summer Dad took me on a motorbike ride and we headed to the states for an adventure. We came to Chesaw, WA. What a neat little town and the people are so friendly.

I don’t know if you remember me saying that my son had to have shoulder surgery since 2019 because it would pop out with just a sneeze or when he’d try to go feed the cat, or even pet the cat. It really kept him from enjoying different activities, like mini golf, bowling, driving a vehicle, etc. Well, July 2023 finally saw him heading down the hall to have that surgery! He’s like a new man now. The sky is the limit, now that he is able to use that arm without worry.

Most people know how much I love hiking and exploring nearby woods, trails and just basically being outdoors any chance I can. Especially while I’m deep in writing mode. I need the outdoors to help keep me sharp. Well, Dad and I went to Qualicum Beach later in the summer to help his dear friend move from his house. Glen’s wife had passed a month before and he sold the house to downsize to a condo. Glen is the one that passed away in November that I mentioned earlier. I think he just couldn’t go on without his dear lifetime bestfriend and wife, Laverne. I will miss our visits with them. She and I chatted weekly on the phone since my mom had passed in 2017. Laverne missed my mom’s phone visits. I’m glad I could carry on that tradition with her till the end. We even exchanged letters through snailmail which I’m sure you know by now, is my favorite mode of communication.

Anyways, while in Qualicum Beach, I left dad for the day to visit with Glen and headed to Comox to do some research for book two. I explored the town, beaches, museum and even took a peak at the airforce base. What an adventure I had that day! I definitely want to go back. If you get the chance to go to Comox. Go!!!

This place is the main attraction in my next novel, Wings of Deception, to be published hopefully later in 2024.

On our way home we stopped in a cafe for lunch before boarding a ferry and I felt like I’d gone back in time. I loved the ambiance in this place. Food was fantastic too.

Of course what is having a new adventure without trying at least something new in foods or drinks?

I don’t drink very often, sometimes it’s nice to have a glass of wine, but with the heat of the summer, I keep being told a cold beer is more refreshing. However, because of my allergies, I can’t drink anything with barley and honestly I don’t like the smell of beer. So when I went in to my local liquour store, to find something low alcohol and refreshing, the gentlman at the counter suggested I try this beer. He said that it’s a really nice, low alcohol beer (5%) and doesn’t taste like regular beer. I thought, “New Adventure? Why not. $3 for one can. If I don’t like it, I can toss it.” So I bought it and brought it home. Holy Moly it was good. Light, tasted yummy and didn’t bother my allergies. It was a wonderful surprise.

This Fall, I was visiting Dad in Midway. Yes, I spend a lot of time here but that’s because it’s such a beautiful area of BC and I actually get more writing done here. I’m even looking at buying a house here now. New year? New adventure? We’ll see. Anyways… Sorry, I got distracted again.

I mentioned to my dad one morning, while having coffee with him that I was thinking of getting a bike. I haven’t been able to ride a bike since I was 9 years old, when I had polio, which affected my leg muscles for the rest of my life. It’s why I don’t do extreme sports. But with getting run over in 2019, I’ve been seeing a brain specialist and other specialists as well as a physiotherapist. I’ve had a couple of them suggest I get a bike and put it on a stand as part of the rewiring of my brain, plus they feel that my leg muscles could stand to get reprogrammed too. Being on a stand, my balance can work itself out and I’ll be safe, rather than just throwing me on the bike on the road. Yikes!

Of course I’m all for that adventure! So as I was saying, Dad and I were talking about my bike idea and what type of bike I had in mind. I wanted a classic style bike. 50s or 60s, nothing fancy. He glanced outside and saw the neighbor putting a table out with stuff on in and a couple old bikes sitting there with a “FREE” sign on the table. He told me that it looked like one of the bikes was exactly what I had described. I look out the window and seeing it, I headed over to take a look closer. Sure enough it was the right style! Rusty, tires flat and needs TLC but I am up for the challenge. Winter project.

I brought it back and showed Dad. We took it apart and removed all the chrome parts from the frame. I can clean everything up and paint the frame. It’s going to be the same color as the ’65 Barracuda we have.

As I close this blog out I want to say thank you. You, my reader is why I love what I do. Writing, exploring, sharing and creating because you keep coming back and reading, telling me how you like one thing, how I should improve something else, you keep me going.

I hope that as this year closes out, you can look back on 2023 and see all the wonderful things, no matter how small and insignificant you might think the thing was at the time, made your year pretty special.

Take the good and the difficult and wrap it up in the intention idea, New Adventures and move forward into 2024 fresh and ready to discover what more you can see in your world.

After 2023 and experiencing every adventure I did, I came to realize that I’m no longer the same person I was in my 30s, or even 40s. I’ve lived these past few years, for my Mom. 2023, I chose to seek out new adventures, new experiences for myself. For 2024 I decided that I need to seek out the Authentic me. 2024 is going to help me know who I am, in my 50s, what do I like to do, who I like spending time with, where I like being, what I like to wear, and whatever else Authentic Me needs to know. I am going to leave Authentic Me intention open in 2024 and enjoy stepping into who I am without trying to fit into someone else’s mold.

Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2024.