Rock Sculptures at Interlakes Campground

Male and Female Created She Them

At Lower Kananaskis Lake rocks of all shades, shapes and sizes challenge the walker. Craggy granite boulders rise amidst smaller rocks, many of them schist pieces split by winter’s grip. Speckled granite, grey limestone, striated feldspar all reach with jagged edges and ponderous presence.

She walks purposefully over the rocks, her ankles twisting then righting. At water’s edge she sees a cleft boulder, its sides split in three large chunks. Into its centre V she places rocks to create a stable base. This is the first stage. She searches for one large rock with a smooth side. She places it atop the base for the second stage.

She looks around and finds a large grey rock with two flat sides. She adjusts the fledgling tower to ensure no rock wobbles. This is the third stage. The fourth rock wasn’t large or stable enough to support future levels so she finds a similar one and places both side by side. This platform now supports a fifth rock, a piece of sandstone with two flat sides. Sixth comes a cube-shaped rock that definitely moves the tower up a notch. Seventh is a round rock. The eighth rock is wedge-shaped and leaves a gap. She plays with the balance point and moves it slightly. Ninth is another wedge-shaped rock to complement the lower one. The tenth rock is rusty-coloured and round. It sits precariously on the ninth, but she secures it well. The eleventh rock is smaller than her hand. She places it on top. The tower reaches to her waist.

She rests. She knows it is good. She photographs it from several angles. The tower of balanced rocks stands at water’s edge, a marker for those paddling on the lake.

She stirs, restlessly eyeing the shore. A black rock the size of her head is marked with a large white spiral on one side with a band of white opposite. She takes it toward the tower, but this new rock does not belong there. It is too large, too heavy, too special to be one of eleven rocks standing as a sentinel. This rock needs its own space.

She finds a less cluttered patch and places the spiral rock in its centre. Three feet out she builds a ring of stones to spread protectively around the centre. She raises the rock by placing a larger rock beneath it. Now it is easier to see. She places a flint shard between the spiral and outer ring. The shard bows to the centre. Quickly she places other narrow pointed rocks within the inner ring. It is complete.

The balanced rocks would guide paddlers to the shore. The spiral rock and ring of stones show mother earth’s riches, and would guide travellers to the core.

It is good. She rests.

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Preparing to Move # 14

I found a condo to move into – by August 18 no less!  Prayers and positive energy from friends and family must have paid off.  Plus I knew the criteria I wanted, and Marilyn had previewed my list of 20 condos, and narrowed it down to 7 to view on Saturday.  We went to one in Indian Bluffs first.  I had walked by it with my friend Del a few weeks ago, and thought “I could live there.”  However once inside I thought it was too beautiful and too pricey and too much for me.  I didn’t think I needed all that.  It was nice, but a bit over the top.

When we went to the other six condos however, I saw nothing I liked as well as that one.  By the third viewing I was feeling quite depressed.  They were too small, too dark, had too small galley kitchens, and the ones in the 55+ building were way too small.  Besides the general atmosphere in that building was old — old people, old lifestyle, old-fashioned.  I wasn’t ready for old.  I thought, “What have I done by selling my house?… my house is light, roomy and airy.  I have everything I need there.  I am happy there.  What was I thinking?”  Marilyn noticed my demeanor and asked me how I was doing.  I told her my thoughts.  She threatened to kill me there on the spot.  However, I asked to return to the condo in Indian Bluffs for a second look.

We went back, and the owner left with her Kindle under her arm.  We looked again.  I told Marilyn I would think it over.  Marilyn drove me home.  I was exhausted.  This whole process has been exhausting.  I laid down on my bed, and my cat Mystic came and curled up beside me.  I slept for twenty minutes then got up.  I thought.  I phoned my son and daughter-in-law in Kelowna.  They advised me, and I thought some more.  I phoned my daughter in Prince George.  No answer so I left a message.  I phoned my friend Diana in Victoria and told her about the condo.  She listened, and said it seemed a good deal.  Why didn’t I want it?  I had to admit that I thought the condo was too nice for me.  For most of my adult life I have been too broke to afford the best.  I have settled for second best and good enough.  I have made do.  I have been resourceful.  I work hard… always have.  I have managed my money frugally and I hate to spend it.  I don’t like to owe money and one good thing about selling my house is I can pay the bills that have accumulated this past year.  My Visa bill is uncomfortably high (for me) and I want to pay it off.  With the sale of my house I can do that, plus pay my bills, realtor, lawyer, mover, Big Steel Box, dentist, and  miscellaneous.  I won’t have as much money left over as I would if I bought one of the other condos.  However, I don’t want to live in any of the other condos I saw. The only condo where I would be happy for a long time is the one in Indian Bluffs.

I had thought I might go to Calgary FolkFest.  kd lang was closing the evening stage, and I wanted to see her.  However I had no energy.  Deciding about a condo was a priority.  I looked up a few more condos on realtor.ca, and queried Marilyn about them.  She responded by sending me their links and details and most of them were beyond my price range.  I prayed and waited for my thoughts to gel.  Marilyn said the realtor for that condo was having an Open House the next day.  If I wanted it, I had the power to put an offer on it now.  That cinched it for me.  The condo is so lovely that it would get a buyer at the Open House.  So I decided to put an offer.  It was higher than the price my son suggested, but it was still affordable for me.  It is a beautiful condo – and fits all my criteria.

So Marilyn phoned the realtor, and after some dickering back and forth on the price, we have a deal.  The amazing part of this all is that they are OK with a possession date of August 18, the day before my buyers take possession here.  Marilyn arrived an hour later with the condo documents.  The only condition on the sale is my approval of the condo documents.  It took me all yesterday to read them, and today I’ve delivered them to a condo document expert for review.

So I have a place to move into.  Last night when I wrote in my journal, it was one of gratitude.  When I went to church on Sunday it was to give thanks to the powers -that -be that guided Marilyn and I in the search.  I showed my friends the listing description and photos, and felt as high as a kite.  I did Tai Chi Sunday morning and felt more grounded and connected than I have for months.  I didn’t realize how ungrounded I was during the whole house-selling process.  Now that I know where I will be living, I can relax and just be.

I have some work to do here of course.  Like more cleaning, packing, recycling, and throwing out.  I have to get more estimates from movers.  Yesterday evening I trimmed back the flowers in the bed by the garage, cleaning up the straggly stems and deadheading the peonies.  I watched TV for a while, trying to calm down and just ‘be’ for a little while before bed.  I slept well.

So, Spirit, thank you for seeing me through this process.  Stay with me as I continue the preparations.  Remind me when I need to speed up the steps.  Support me when I get tired.  Nudge me when I need to ask a friend for help.  Help me say Thank you to my friends who help.  Thank you for being with me — now and forever.  Thank you for accepting my “not good enough” attitude, and telling me to phone Diana.  My daughter also said, “Mom!  Of course you deserve to have somewhere nice to live!”  I am blessed. May many more blessings follow.

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Preparing to Move # 13

Well, the buyers financing was approved, and on Friday, five days ago, my realtor called to say the deal went through.  We made plans to go condo-shopping on Saturday.  We would have gone that day, but I had an appointment with an oral surgeon to remove the root from a tooth that had broken off.  Since the tooth took priority, and I had to wait 3 weeks for that appointment, I wasn’t going to cancel it.  I did send Marilyn another list of condos I wanted to see on Saturday.  Thank goodness for realtor.ca.  I was able to look online and do virtual tours, limiting the listings to where I wanted to live and in my price range.  If you haven’t used realtor.ca to help you with a move, do so the next time you need to house shop.

Something I did do while waiting for the dental appointment was tackle the flower beds.  I also turned the compost box out and moved compost onto the bare patches in the front lawn.  Since people were coming to live in the house, the lawn and flower beds need attention.  Yes, this is why I decided to move.  I’m tired of doing lawn work. So this is a huge hurdle.  My house is sold!  I sent an email to most of my friends and family to announce the move, and asked for their prayers and thoughts to help me find the right condo.

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Preparing to Move # 12

I’ve been so busy the last few weeks that I haven’t had time to write.  I’ve had two more offers on my house.  I thought for sure the offer from the realtor/developer would be firm, but it fell through.  It seems the bank didn’t like the business structure of the development company, so couldn’t get financing.  That’s not an angle I considered possible at all.

I was so annoyed with that offer falling through.  Because it was a developer I stopped working on my yard and flower beds.  After all, why would I keep them up if the place was to be torn down? So I visited with friends more frequently for a week.  That was fun.  I also enjoyed the peonies blooming, and shared them with friends at will.  I decided to go camping July 15-17, to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and also just to get away from the stress of selling my house.  I definitely needed that and will post something from the camping weekend as well.

When the developer’s offer fell through,my realtor contacted the competing bid, and they wanted to get a house inspection.  Marilyn (realtor) told them to get the inspection first, then decide if they want to proceed.  So here I was, trying to pack food to take camping, and a house inspector and potential buyers came to my house.  I left them for two hours, which I thought should be long enough.  They were still there when I got back, and I finished packing food into a cooler while answering questions about the house.  I know I wasn’t supposed to have direct contact with the buyers, but – what the heck – I no longer cared.  I was fed up with the process.

They were a nice couple, with 3 kids.  I was surprised they would buy it as is, but when I got back from my camping trip, Marilyn said they approved the inspection and now were looking at financing.  I thought it might be too soon a possession date, but accepted the offer.  If the deal went through, I needed to find a condo to move to in three weeks. A little stressful.  I had to wait for four more days to find out.

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