Summertime Delight!

It's hard to believe the year is almost 2/3 over, isn't it? As I spent another couple days outside this weekend, what sunk in for me was the fact that I am delighting in my freedom this year, particularly this summer.

After spending the previous three years at a job where summer was the 'crazy' season, I am now getting the chance to enjoy a summer - and I am! What surprised me today is how tanned I have become. It's been quite a while since I've had this much colour, especially on my legs (which normally remain quite white) and my feet.

This year of delight has not been what I expected, but it has been good - very good! In fact, it's delightful!

#28 - Explore Regina's Backyard - see what's just outside the city limits

I've wanted to check out what was just outside the city limits for years. And it's not that I never leave the city, but I don't usually drive for less than 30 minutes when I do. When I see a sign for something that captures my interest I tend to think, "That looks interesting. I'll have check it out another time." But you know what? I never have. If I don't write it down or make a plan, then I don't seem to do those things that would be fun and yet somehow never make it to the top of my to-do list.

Thankfully I have good friends who are either up for adventures or invite me along on theirs. That was the case this time. My friend Melinda recently discovered an area called Wascana Trails just northwest of the city and invited me to go with her this time. I said yes and am so very glad I did.

Wascana Trails is located in a portion of the beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley in southern Saskatchewan, and it's so peaceful and quiet you'd never know that you're only about 15-20 minutes from the city limits. I'll let my pictures do the talking now, and I encourage you to see what's just outside 'your normal area' as well. You never know... You might just find a gem like I did!

2015 Vision Board

I've been thinking I should share a little something with you. Back in January I made up my first [what I'll call a] vision board. On it I included my verse for the year, some things I wanted to do, and a few things I was hoping might happen.

Truth be told, a lot of the things on my vision board aren't happening, or aren't happening the way I thought they would. But just like my '40 Things & More' list, if I didn't have it, I most certainly wouldn't be accomplishing much of anything. :)

2nd Quarter Update

It's that time again... Another three months have gone by and a quarterly update is due. I haven't crossed that much off my list yet this year, but there's still time. I wonder what the next three months will hold for me?

The '40 Things & More' List!

1. Go snowshoeing.
2. Serve a meal in a soup kitchen.
3. Eat something I've never tried before.
4. Visit a town in Saskatchewan that I've never been to before.
5. Plan my dream 40th birthday trip.
6. Start running again.
7. Visit a US state I haven't been to before.
8. Read a classic novel.
9. Create and complete a scrapbook for one of the trips I've taken in my 30s.
10. Do up a will.
11. Complete one of my cross-stitch projects.
12. Go kayaking.
13. Get my website business off the ground.
14. Take a self-defense class/course.
15. Go horseback riding.
16. Visit a museum or historic site in Saskatchewan that I haven't been to before.
17. Give blood regularly.
18. Attend a Victorian Tea.
19. Ride my bike in the city.
20. Stop and smell the flowers at a garden I haven't been to before.
21. Try an activity that's new to me.
22. Walk a portion of the Trans Canada Trail that I haven't been on before.
23. Learn more about my family history.
24. Visit a park in Regina I haven't been to before.
25. Participate in a fundraiser that involves a physical activity.
26. Simplify some area of my life that needs simplifying.
27. Learn how to change a tire on a vehicle.
28. Explore Regina's backyard - see what's just outside the city limits.
29. Learn more about Canadian history.
30. Visit a natural site in Saskatchewan I haven't been to before.
31. Learn to play the guitar.
32. Visit a Canadian National Park I haven't been to before.
33. Climb Wascana Hill in Douglas Park and watch a sunset.
34. Visit the observatory at the Science Centre.
35. Attend Mosaic - a multicultural festival held annually.
36. Play my first solo concert on the bells.
37. Attend an outdoor movie event.
38. Go fly a kite!
39. Play a mini golf course I haven't been on before.
40. Go on dream 40th birthday trip!
41. Attend a Regina Red Sox baseball game.
42. Visit Saskatchewan's only lighthouse.
43. Run a 5K.
44. Visit the Great Sandhills in Saskatchewan.
45. Visit a Canadian province or territory I haven't been to before.
46. Attend the annual kite festival in Swift Current.
47. Visit a major US city I haven't been to before.
48. Watch a sunrise.
49. Try another activity that's new to me.
50. It's a surprise (even to me!) - I'll know it when the opportunity presents itself.
51. Take a ballroom dancing class.
52. Watch an old black & white movie I haven't seen before.
53. Experience a WARM birthday!
54. Experience a WARM Christmas! (not necessarily in the same year as the previous item)
55. Attend the annual Dickens' Village Festival in Carlyle.
56. See the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba.
57. Visit the east coast of Canada.
58. Jump out of an airplane! (in tandem, of course!)
59. Experience a 4th of July in the United States.
60. Visit a US National Park I haven't been to before.

#24 - Visit a Park in Regina I Haven't Been to Before

Would you believe I have been trying to cross this item off my list for two full years? It's not that there aren't a lot of different parks I could visit in the city and haven't in the meantime, but I have a friend who has a special tie to one of the newer parks in the city. It's been all about schedules conflicting the last two summers that prevented this visit from taking place until now. But without further ado, I present Krahn Park!

Krahn Park is located in the very northwest part of Regina in a fairly new neighbourhood, and the park was named after Evelyn Krahn. Pictured here is one of her granddaughters Mira, who was my host and tour guide for our visit to Krahn Park.

If you'd like to visit a park that's new-to-you in the city, check out this new resource I recently came across: City of Regina Parks Map. On this map, you can type in an address and parks near that address will show up, or you can also search parks by name or an activity available at a park. 

Now go explore! There are so many parks to choose from in Regina - and a number of new ones. Don't forget to comment and tell me which parks you've visited!

#44 - Visit The Great Sandhills in Saskatchewan

Visiting the Great Sandhills has been on my list of things to see for a number of years, so even though it hasn't been on my '40 Things & More' list very long, it has been a long time in coming. It was a recent visit from my sister that spurred us on to cross this item off my list next.

The morning began early; we had a long drive ahead of us. It would be 4 hours plus to reach a little place called Sceptre, Saskatchewan - the gateway to the Great Sandhills. We had a pleasant and uneventful drive, arriving in Sceptre right around 12:30 p.m.

Our stop in Sceptre was at the Great Sandhills Museum where we planned to get a map and eat our packed picnic lunch before heading to our destination.

We were impressed by what we could see just inside the museum and paid our admissions to do a quick tour. The museum was very well done, spectacularly well thought out and organized, and truly a pleasure to look through. We walked back in time on boardwalks in front of the train station mural and set, and explored everything from a classroom to a hospital room to a barn with horse stalls - all inside the museum. Really, it is a must-see and well worth your time to go.

After our museum visit we wolfed down our sandwiches in my car instead of the lovely picnic area because it had gotten cool and very windy (read: not nice). And then, map in hand, we headed off to find the sand dunes.

The map was accurate in mileage, although not to scale. We managed though and found it very encouraging to see a sign saying "Sand Dunes" and pointing that-a-way at our last grid road turn. Soon the gravel roads turned to sand and we knew we were close.

Ta-da! We've made it! Now to climb that first hill and start exploring...

We got to the top, stuck our toes in the sand and were hooked! We had to see and experience more and a short hike rewarded us with this fun and this view.

After some fun poses and picture-taking, I pointed out to my sister that there were other people 'way over there' exploring even more and bigger dunes. "We have to go over there," I said. "We've driven so far to see this!" My sister wasn't so sure, so I pointed to a midpoint and said, "Let's go to that spot, see how long it takes us, and decide from there." That worked and off we went.

Once at that point we realized it really hadn't taken us all that long, so we decided to press on, follow the sandy trail and reach our goal - those big dunes in the distance!

It was worth it! We ooh-ed and aah-ed and climbed and climbed and climbed those dunes!

All we needed was a beach umbrella and the sound of lapping waves and we would have thought we were at the beach with all that sand. Alternatively, we also only needed a camel and could have been on the set of Lawrence of Arabia!

A certain someone (my sister) really enjoyed herself and might have thought she was on a beach vacation for a short time. She didn't want to leave...

The views were fabulous and although it was windy and cool (and rain was approaching), we were thankful for the cloud cover while on the dunes. And we did come away with slight tans... See, we must have been at a beach!

We are so glad that we went, explored, and enjoyed the Great Sandhills. We had a wonderful time!

It's My Annual Un-birthday Post!

Happy May 28th! I'm 41 and 1/2 today!

You may wonder where this 'un-birthday' thing came from... Well, I read about it in a book. I no longer remember what book, but I know it really struck me as a great idea when I came across it. Maybe it was the fact that it would be possible to have something to celebrate in a much warmer month of the year than my birthday month of November - in Canada. Yep, that was probably it. :)

I wish I could tell you that I've crossed off a number of things on my '40 Things & More' list since the last time I posted, but I cannot because I have not. Not yet. Stay tuned though. Summer's coming and I plan on crossing off some more items real soon!