Teresa has "taken off from the Great White North"

SAN FRANCISCO 1:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time

Hello my friends & family,

I did it!! ... We did it!!! ... I managed to get myself packed up and out the door to the airport early this morning ... thus the new adventures will really start to unfold. I am a pretty tired pup ... but as I am able to catch up on my rest/sleep, the knots of excitement and anxious anticipation in my stomach that were so very present this morning and yesterday afternoon/evening can begin to transform into wells of positive energy and sheer delight!!

I would not have been able to get everything done that I was able to pack into the past few months without the help of soooo many of you. In particular, Laurelie and Colette, thank you sooooo much for all that you did to help me get moved out of my basement suite and boxes shuttled out to my Dad's & elsewhere! I am so blessed & truly grateful for all the wonder-full people in my life, it was especially lovely to see how all of you stepped up with offers of help, transporting items away from my home, and all of your words of encouragement and support. Dad & Cecilia, thanks again for building the shelves in the garage that helped me store the smaller boxes in a dry, secure place. It was great to see & talk with all of you as I was winding down my time in Edmonton. Thanks also to everyone for coming out to my gathering on Saturday and/or your phone calls and other visits.

I will add a little more for this update now but I need to rest my eyes & mind more in the quieter space I have found in the SFO airport to wait out my 10 hour layover. I head out tonight at 7:15 p.m. PST (8:15 p.m. AB time) for Auckland,NZ (Aotearoa) and then on to Sydney.

So far, the highlights of this first leg of my 2nd trip "Down Unda" are ...

1. the help & kindness of the United Airlines gate person who charged me only $50 CDN for my bike to accompany me (the amount I was told by Aeroplan, United/SkyWest apparently charges twice as much) ... & of Laurelie for getting up before the sun to take me to the airport ... we managed to fit my boxed up bike, 2 checked bags & my 2 carry on bags all in Hylda the Hybrid, WOW!! Now Laurelie & the cats can enjoy the larger expanses of space that has been freed up in her home again. Thanks Laurelie for enabling me to stay with you & the "livestock" while I was in between places to rest my head after I moved out in November.

2. the great Mexican burrito I had for lunch YUMMY! ... as I did some resting and people watching ... we are really quite a lot like ants scurring about in such big numbers and at such quick paces ... I met a womon who came to share my table who works of a works for a company that makes family board games ... "Simply Fun" I believe was the name of the company ... but who knows, I think that is what the womon told me, it just came back to me ... here's a website I searched out on the Simply Fun folks http://www.simplyfun.com/

3. the overwhelming surges of love that have come over me a few times so far & will likely arise more as my journey continues ... as my emotions now have a chance to catch up with the scurrying around that I have been doing (of which the activities and visits have been truly rich and full in many great ways) ... when I start to burst with overwhleming gratitude for all the truly beauty-full, caring, and supportive friends and family I have in my life ... the tears that arise are filled with the love & joy that I have for the bounty of ALL of YOU. Eac of you are with me as I journey forward and as I share back news of my latest adventures ...

"Mahsi cho: ... thank you very much ... as the Dene people of the Northwest Territories would say

I will try to add another post before my flight boards this evening ... until then, I wish each of you a very splendid day and many blessings of compassion, kindness, & sunshine ... it's an overcast day here in San Francisco but apparently 7-10 degrees Celsius. I will go step outside for awhile before I check in and do the "security check" thing ... I'll just need to wind my way around the many people I have encountered walking along & seemingly talking to themselves ... then I notice the beetle sized ear piece that is plugging them into a whole world of connecting through wireless technology ... something I am doing this very moment, as I finish posting this note to my blog through the SFO wireless network :) Oh yeah, there have been numberous annoncements of how we are in the Department of Homeland Security's threat level ORANGE and others invites to military folks to enjoy the hopsitality of the USO lounge.

I'll sign off now, more time to reconnect with you again later (and to play around with my new Apple 'puter) after I have rested & more likely on the long plane ride ...

Be well,

Hugs 'n' Bugs, love,

Teresa

p.s. I would like to encourage you to add a comment to any of the notes that I post ...

REMINDER: these comments will be able to be read by anyone who visits this blog ... & that's the fun of this electronic bulletin board type of journaling.

I look forward to the interactive connections and conversations that may arise as you share some of your insights or questions or funny stories that may come up as you read the notes that I post :) Cheers!

p.s.s. once I figure out how to get pictures downloaded onto this blog site I will share some ... it seems to be taking a long time to download even the lower resolution files that Maureen A. created for me ...?