Night Night Rudolph - hello Swans!

See ya Rudolph...be good!

And so it goes again - this winter was tied up to the Claus events - and so after finally recovering from all sorts of germy virusy crap, Santa has hung up his suit.  Yup, you read it here first.  Santa has left the building.  Done.  Finito.  Adios.  Ta Ta.

Regrets? Nope!  He's called his usual clients said his farewells, alerted stand in Santa, and now - we
are thinking of HOW to spend next Christmas! This is big news people, for a jolly elf who did 59 gigs in 2016.  Pneumonia be dammed!  He's had a great run - and I am happy albeit surprised he came to this decision.  I think he's just had enough "busy" season. He loves the kids, at times the parents maybe not-so-much. He'll still get called Santa since the beard is trimmed but still white.  But we can live with that.

What this really meansfor our home? Oh yippee!!! We can have Seasonal Celebrations! Christmas Parties with drinky's and appy's!!! Woohoo!   Our large and traditionally festive home will be rockin' round the Christmas trees!Yippeee!!  Do we still believe? You know- the bell still rings for us, and always will - just that this year, the big elf is officially off duty.  Time for his stand in to make an appearance.

I still adore Christmas - it's a wonderful, warm, loving time of year.  I do not love sitting at home alone while the rest of the world is celebrating that much! So this is a good thing.  MAYBE we'll even have a chance some year to go - dare I type it - somewhere WARM at Christmas!! Oh fingers crossed!

Hundreds of  trumpeter swans are back.

In the mean time, Spring has arrived! Sort of - come on let's be realistic, it's Alberta and winter is sneaking up on us to BAM snow and blizzard any time between now and June. But the robins have returned, swans are a'swimming, geese are grabbing prime real estate for their nests - all good!

Yes, tis now the time for all good unemployed (for now) EDO's to get the rake and take care of all the leaves!  And perhaps load up the fire pit, for a bundled up evening of hot dogs, warms drinkies and watching the stars on the weekend!  Yup this is a busy time of year - requiring lots of energy, and ambition.

So I  take a minute now and then to put my feet up, have a cup of coffee in the sunroom with my old cat Mr Big, and just reflect how things happen in life.  At the very least, these few months have given me new determination, tried my patience and faith in myself, a chance to catch up on things I've been putting to the side. Next?  Well perhaps a trek to the far north to see my mom - I mean, no time like the present!

Seems like a long since I rock and rolled...leggo my ego.

Another morning upon us in now thawing Albeeria - and yet, I remain unemployed.  A  hausfrau who's main excitement these days is trying new recipes.  COOKING!! I can't fathom it.

You see - after 7 months, still no jobs in the bag - However the Polly Anna in me is still hopeful and still getting interviewed - two more this month.

On the way to California in the
rain on the Sporty.

Job hunting is somewhat demoralizing tho.  It's a tough slog - tweak and reformat the resume, review and amend the cover letter, find a job you think -  nay you KNOW you'll excel at, send in the forms, follow up with a cordial email, interview and essentially expose all your work history to the panel and then...BAM you come in first loser.

That's the hardest part.  The part where you look in the mirror, in your best interview outfit, hair done nice, makeup subtle but it's there - and you are old. You are not 30 anymore, and the one who got hired is.  Where they say oh you interviewed well, the board just thought.....blah blah blah.  Does it hurt? Is my ego wounded?  I'm gutted!

North Cal wineries - the best!

So what to do?  Me needs a job - no job might mean no bike. No bike means no joy, no rides with Macdaddy, no face pushing through the air for thousands of miles -- it is too hard to consider!
Motorcycling has been my life for over 40 years! From the first time I got on my friends brothers Bultaco and groined myself badly at age 15, to my first ride to the Black Hills in '83 on the back of a 750Bonneville to partywith over 20,000 bikers  - I've been hooked!

 This Dyna is my 5th motorcycle - the one that I swear was made for me. Fast, sleek, nice wide cushy seat, great handlebar set up, forward controls...oh yeah it's the one.  And I can keep up to Mac on days that I feel particularly brave and wild.  No problemo!

So in order to maintain this love affair with my Dyna, I need to make some dough.  It ain't cheap!

My Dyna - best bike EVER!
See me smile!

I've considered other career paths - too late in my game to become a lawyer or doctor , so that is checked off the list.  English teaching in a foreign land? Hmm too much weird food and I hate big bugs.   Perhaps a life of crime? Good grief, that would require a lot of stealth and sneakyness - not my biggest assets.  Nope scratch that idea.

I thought it was all over when I sold my beloved softail the year we moved to the NWT. I was overwhelmed with a profound loss of who I was. If you haven't been through something like this, it's really hard to understand.  Motorcycling is what defines me - more than anything.  I crave it - I yearn for it -I dream about it - Mac understands.  So I admit, now first thing I check out when job hunting - Are the Roads Paved???

For now, business counseling and consulting is my route - and without several successful consulting gigs under my belt, that is becoming a slimmer and slimmer option. Now my daily routine is get up, coffee and breakfast, kiss Mac as he heads out the door, then an hour and a half scouring the job boards.

We've talked it over - we'll move - no fear here - let's see where we'll end up.  The two old smiling farts, with big bikes, big dreams and lots of country left to explore!

And hopefully a paycheque at the end of the month!

Hugs from the highway y'all!