Planning and Preparation is 90% of the Battle

I'm heading over to Vancouver today on the ferry. It'll be about 1 hour and 40 minutes and I try to use that time wisely because... there is NO wifi on the ferries!!

Now, in the past, that has really mucked with my plans for working at one of the business stations on the ferry. They have the electrical outlet. They have the desk space. They just can't get reliable wifi out on the open water. Which sucks.

Although it does give me an opportunity to do some planning and preparation. I make sure that I have some Word documents all synchronized in Dropbox, so I can open them on the laptop and work away on them. I know that they will resynchronize the next time I connect on a wifi network. Or I'll bring a book (real or e-book) to read. Or I'll bring some actual paperwork (real paper) to work through, maybe a chapter that I'm reading and editing.

Planning for a Wifi Dead Zone

Today, I had the bright idea of bringing the DVD on the Camino that I picked up from the local library a few days ago. My older laptop does have a DVD reader, so I could sit and watch the DVD while sailing the open seas. Excellent idea! I'm also bringing a real book just to cover all eventualities. And, of course, I have e-books that are available via my smartphone.

Planned and Prepped!!! It's half the battle! Or is it? Perhaps it's actually 90% of the battle? Because if I have planned and prepped... then I've parked myself downhill on a very steep slope and it's really super easy to get started. And I know what happens when I don't plan and prep... I spin my wheels on the ferry and waste a lot of time and kick myself for not thinking ahead! Soo... I am well-prepped for my NO wifi voyage...

Mobile Hotspot!

And then... it struck me... as I was writing this... that I could actually use my phone as a mobile hotspot! That would allow me to actually stay connected to the internet and get a bunch of other stuff done. Although I think the cell reception might get a bit dodgy about halfway through the crossing... but it's worth trying.

I just checked my mobile hotspot usage from the last billing period... 1.28 GB, which isn't bad considering I probably used it four times for several hours each time. I just ticked over into a new billing period so I have a fresh mobile data meadow to romp in!

Planning for Healthy Eating

The other thing I always chew on... but have yet to figure out is... what to eat on the ferry. I could go to the White Spot cafeteria onboard and order all sorts of things, but it's not cheap. I have wondered for a while if there is a microwave somewhere on board where I could heat some leftovers... I have a sneaking suspicion there is one... but I have not really gone on a hunt for one. I think it might be in the smaller cafe on board... next to the sugar station? I can almost picture it in my minds eye... but don't quote me on this!! So that will be my mission on this journey... do they have a microwave on board! Which still leaves me wondering about food... Maybe just a PB and J (peanut butter and jam) sandwich on gluten-free bread... Will have to give it some consideration... or just cave and order butter chicken on the ferry!

How it Actually Panned out

Well... it actually went really well!! I decided to buy some sandwich meat while I did my grocery shop before the ferry trip. So I made a sandwich, peeled an orange and cut up an apple. I was well set for food on board! (And yes... I have gotten a bit lax in my plant-based eating plan - but salami was just an easy choice and better & cheaper than the onboard options).

And my work session also went well. I was glad that I had some tasks lined up because I can get easily distracted and lose my focus but... that didn't happen this time. And I got some good work completed. I did use my phone as a mobile hotspot and it was pretty solid throughout the whole voyage, so that is something good to know!

I also had a poke around the ferry and... voila... they DO have a microwave onboard!! Very good to know as it give me the option of bringing some leftovers that I can reheat onboard the ferry.

Our Carbon Footprint Could be Better... Needs to be Better!

After calculating our carbon footprint last week... I was pretty satisfied with it. 12 tonnes of CO2 per year per person isn't bad! It's certainly better than folks in Alberta who rely on coal powered electricity power plants. Right? Right.

Global Neighbours

Well... turns out, we're not the only ones on the planet. And our carbon footprint in Canada is not great. In fact, it's worse than pretty much any European country. I know why too... distance. We fly more. We drive more. We don't have super-fast trains that connect cities. Our wide-open skies and huge distances mean we do a LOT of travelling and... that's where we are racking up a lot of our CO2 emissions. Not to mention all of our food has to travel long distances, etc, etc. And let's not mention holidays... if we want to flit off to a Mexican vacation, we are talking thousands of kilometres of flight distance... whereas in Europe... those distances are often smaller... just flit down to Greece or Spain or Italy for a winter vacay.

Yeah... except... China has an average carbon footprint of 5 tonnes... and they are a big country too... We are in trouble.

Climate change isn't going to cut us any slack. A recent study confirmed that by 2050, Canadians are going to have to cut their emissions an average of 95%. Eerk... that would mean... an average of 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per year... Ummm... where's my chart??

Basically... we could heat our home, handle garbage and recycling and drive a tiny bit in our gasoline powered car, and eat a vegan diet... Remember... in my previous blog, this carbon footprint didn't include diet at all! 

Yep, it's official... we are in trouble.

2035 and 2050 Targets

Here's what it looks like... There we are at the top of the pack... and there's Brazil and India near the bottom. And we can see our targets as well. The 2035 target is 2.5 tonnes/person/year. But by 2050, we need to get that down to 0.7 tonnes/person/year.

Hot & Cool report on climate change - 1.5-Degree Lifestyles Report | Hot or Cool

Seriously... it seems impossible to go from 12 tonnes/year to 2.5 tonnes/year! And then down to 0.7? HOW???

Reducing Carbon Footprints

The Hot or Cool report offers the most bang for your buck suggestions. And for Canada, a high-income country... we are looking at the following...

Biggest Reduction - 0.5 to 1.5 Tonnes/year per option

• shift from gas-guzzlers to fuel-efficient vehicle
• shift from gasoline car to electric car
• car-free private travel (a vacay with no car??)
• reducing  international flights
• shift from meat-based diet to vegan or vegetarian diet
• shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy

Medium Reduction - 0.25 to 0.5 Tonnes/year per option

• living closer to the workplace
• car-free commuting with electric bikes, ride sharing
• smaller living space
• hybrid car
• car-free commuting with public transportation
• closer weekend leisure
• efficiency improvement of home appliances

Small Reduction - less than 0.25 tonnes/year per option

• food production efficiency improvement
• alternative dairy products
• renting a guest room
• telework
• efficiency improvement of buildings, heat pump or air conditioner for temperature control
• reduction of sweets and alcohol
• reduction of domestic flights
• household food loss reduction
• saving hot water
• lowering temperature at home
• supply side food loss reduction,

The Bottom Line

My sense is that a lot of us are focused on the Small Reduction section. We are trying to save hot water by showering less. We are lowering the thermostat and wearing sweaters. We are composting and trying to reduce food waste. We are installing a heat pump. But while all of these things are good... they aren't making a big difference.

For the biggest difference... we are going to have to address things like our car-culture... gasoline cars in particular. And our preference for individual transport over communal transport.

We are going to have to address our fixation with fossil fuels... whether it's natural gas for heating homes or coal-powered electrical generating plants. Those don't work anymore.

We are going to have to look at our addiction to air travel. In France and Austria, they have banned short-haul domestic flights under 2 hours. You'll need to take a train instead. And that works for them because they have the rail system to support that. Here... our rail system is pathetic. And we like our warm-weather winter vacations too... and flitting off to Arizona for the entire winter. Those things might be a relic of the past in a few years.

Carbon Budget

I wonder what would happen if we had a carbon budget for the year. And no... you can't borrow or trade carbon like you would money. This is a budget that can't be altered. You only have so much carbon money to spend. Once it's gone... that's it.

Of course we'd buy our heating and electricity first... and then want?

Things like garbage and recycling... but then travel? Transport? Diet?

We made the switch to a primarily vegan/vegetarian diet three years ago. Beans... tofu... tempeh... and a bit of salmon here and there for the Omega-3s. It works. It's actually quite yummy. Do we miss milk? Nope. Do we miss cheese? Sometimes. We do dabble in yogurt and butter but minimally. But if we had a carbon budget... and had to cut something... yogurt and butter would be the first to go. But what about eating local? What if we ate some local bison? Makes no difference. Meat whether it is next door, or across the country still has a high carbon footprint.

I'd probably be cutting my daily drives to Starbucks. In favour of walking or biking to another coffee shop. I'd make sure that all of my errands are tied together like a daisy chain. They generally are... but sometimes we make that run to the grocery store for a packet of basil because we need it for the recipe we are cooking. Maybe that's a place to start... track our annual kilometres and make an effort to reduce our daily car use.

As for travel... when my mother immigrated to Canada in the mid-1950s... there were no international flights. Heck there weren't even domestic flights. She took a passenger ship from Bremen to Quebec City. She then boarded a train that travelled all the way across Canada. Took days and days. She remembers a time when there were no cheap and easy flights. They are a luxury. And one that we can ill afford the way it stands.

It's enough to make one's head ache. And yet... it's all pretty obvious.

• Buy local - farmer's markets
• Buy seasonal - don't buy raspberries in January
• Eat more vegetables - including dried legumes... best bang for your buck
• Eat less meat - beef is bad... fish is better
• Walk or Bike more - time for an e-bike?
• Drive less - plan your errands... vacation locally

Right now... we still have some free will and choice in all of this. We can choose to do better. There may come a day when we don't get that choice. When it's gotten so desperate that we have carbon rationing... or a ban on international flights or... who knows. I can't see the future but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the writing on the wall. 

Breaking up with Starbucks

 

Readers of this blog will know that I have a bit of a love affair with Starbucks. We've been together now for... oh... 13 years I guess. Through thick and thin, through hot chocolates and brownies and chai teas... I've attended faithfully, day after day.

One of the reasons why I love Starbucks is the ambience. It's comfortable, it's cozy, it's convenient. I also love the electrical outlets and the free wifi! I also love that they are open early! I am an early bird and like to hit the ground running at 5:00 a.m. The only thing open at that time is... Starbucks. A match made in heaven!

But a few years back, before Covid, all of my favourite Starbucks started getting rid of their comfy chairs... slowly but surely, they all disappeared. All of the locations got remodelled as well, and added extra storage space for refrigerators and the like. So the overall seating declined as well, making it harder to get a spot to sit.

Back in mid-February, 2023, Starbucks also adjusted their rewards program. You get "stars" for every dollar you spend. With 50 stars, I could get a free tea or a free brownie. Yay! Except... they decided to join the inflation band-wagon and doubled the number of stars I would need. So instead of 50 stars, it was 100 stars. Well... that sucks. And... that same day, I walked in there and found that my tea had also jumped in price, another 20 cents.

It used to be that I could get a tea there for $2 but now... it's $3. And that just seems a bit too steep for me.

If that wasn't enough... their wifi has gone to the dogs. At my regular location, I usually have to piggy back on the Subway fast food place, two doors over. It has faster and better wifi than the Starbucks that I'm sitting in! At some of the other Starbucks, I have to use my smartphone as a wifi hotspot in order to get anything done. Not cool.

And sooo... after the stars doubled... and my tea went up... I thought... I need another hang-out place. I scrolled through Google Maps searching for coffee shops in my area. I would love to be able to support an independent, locally owned business, but they all open at 8 am. That is too late for me. And soooo... I was left with one option. One that I hate to even mention in this hallowed space. Ewwww... it's... ready for it... yep... McDonald's. I know, I know... ugh!!!!

But here me out... and look at my checklist...

• Open early - check - they open at 5 am
• Free wifi - check - I will have to test it out though and see how good it is
  
• Electrical outlets - check - I scoped out the nearest McD and they had outlets at every single table (better than Starbucks where you have to jockey for tables near outlets)
  
• Tea - check - different flavours and... it's $1.50 (half the price of Starbucks)
• Walkability - check - this isn't even an option with Starbucks which is a good hour away, but the nearest McD is only a 30 minute walk. Perfect
• Ambience - meh - not the greatest... although they do have padded bench seats (which Starbucks eliminated pre-pandemic)
• Convenience - check - it's actually in an area of shops that I often stop at for small things (like cat treats)... so I could kill a few birds with one stone here.

Sooo... as I write this... tomorrow is my Starbucks day... and... as long as it's not bucketing rain, I will be walking to McD... (or driving if it is bucketing rain). And... I'll report back on my experience.

Sometimes change happens gradually... and sometimes... the pressure builds up over time until... it's a big change. Wish me luck.

Small Choices --> Big Results

Every morning when I leave the house to go to Starbucks for my morning session... I drop my pack at the front door and face a choice.

Am I going to wear my Blundstone boots for a chic, woman-about-town look... or am I going to tie on my Merrell light hiking boots?

The Blundstones are super easy to pull on and normally, for a trip to Starbucks, those are the shoes I would wear. But... if I wear them, then it's a guarantee that I will not be able to do a quick little walk around the local bird sanctuary after leaving Starbucks. The option or possibility of a walk is a closed door.

The Merrell's take longer to put on, with all those laces but... if I'm wearing them, then I am prepped to do a little hike or walk if I choose to do it. The option or possibility is still an open door.

And so, every morning lately, I've been pulling on my Merrell's... leaving the door of a hike or a walk open for me. It seems like a pretty small decision but... it's these sorts of things that have let me get more walks in.

Reducing Friction

There's a part of me that says... well... I could just wear the Blundstone's and bring the hiking boots in the car. That way, I can have the best of both worlds. True... except the idea of changing boots in the parking lot of the local trail is just that little bit of extra friction that... when my motivation is already not the greatest, could blow the door of a hike shut.

And in this business... every little bit of friction counts! Even this morning... I really had to talk myself into taking 4 or 5 minutes to get some frozen berries, thaw them in the microwave, dole out some yogurt on top of them, add some walnuts... so that I could bring an impromptu breakfast with me. The friction would be way less if I just prepped the yogurt breakfast the night before and put it in the fridge. That way... in the morning... when I'm groggy and just wanting to get out the door... the friction of taking a healthy breakfast is minimal. Because... if I end up at Starbucks without something to eat... my level of resistance to the whispers of the chocolate brownie is like... zero.

It's all part of the parking downhill idea... or removing the friction that slows down our desire to do the right thing, make the right choices... or make choices that we know are right/best/healthiest for us.

I've tried to think of different ways to reduce the friction of various habits. For my daily journal practice, for example, I bring extra pens in my backpack so that when I'm sitting at Starbucks and my fountain pen runs out of ink... I just reach into the pack and pull out a back-up pen and continue writing. No friction. 

When I want to edit documents on my laptop, using the laptop mouse pad is just an annoyance. One that I put up with for years... but that also hampered me from doing projects because... it's too hard to do with just a mouse pad. Until... late last year, I decided to bring an extra corded mouse that came with my new desktop computer. OMG... having a mouse plugged into the laptop makes life sooooo much easier!!! And then... my partner offered me the wireless mouse... even better!! I also dug out an old mouse pad so that my little mouse doesn't have to skitter across the naked table top at Starbucks.

I have back-up reusable coffee tumblers in the car, just in case I forget mine at home. But on the odd occasion lately, where I've forgotten my regular tumbler... I've also not taken one from the car. Why? Well, it's too much trouble. You see, I have one in the door cup holder of the passenger door. It's too far for me to reach and grab it from the driver's seat. Too much friction. But now, I've placed one in the rear door cup holder on the driver side, so when I grab my backpack from the back seat... the cup is right there, ready to grab. Fingers crossed that works.

All of these small friction-reducing actions do help me to make better choices and ultimately lead to big results. And lasting habits... because once the habit is ingrained... sometimes you can handle a bit of friction. The habit is so self-perpetuating, that it just blows through little friction speed bumps. Doesn't mean I can totally neglect friction-reduction but... it's nice to know that there is a bit of leeway!

Update on the Virtual Camino

As regular readers of this blog might recall... I started a Virtual Camino (one of The Conqueror challenges) in late January. As I write this, it is late May... so 4 months since I started the virtual 800 km trek to Santiago de Compostela. I'd like to be able to say that I am further along than I am... but I am not!

I got derailed from my virtual Camino in late March. Came down with a cold which completely knocked me out. And then we went on a road trip and... and... and... I've only been doing one walk a day and that might net me 3 km or so... at this rate... I'll be inching my way along the Camino 4 months from now!

As it stands though... I am 45% of the way to Santiago, which isn't bad.

And, so far, I'm not going to run out of time either, although I could definitely speed it up a bit.

When I passed the 40% mark, a tree was planted by Eden Reforestation Projects on my behalf!! Which is kind of cool... I think I get another tree at the 60% mark. I also received some virtual postcards as I inched along...

Atapuerca is sight of some ancient neolithic remains (1,000,000 years old), which is kind of cool.

And then I received one from the city of Burgos. It sounds like a beautiful city and all I really know about it is the role it played in the Peninsular War in the early 1800s! Thank you Bernard Cornwell and the Sharpe book series!

I had this idea that I would be clicking off 10 km a day here at home and that I could do the virtual Camino handily in 3 months but... that's obviously not the case. Life has gotten in the way. Or I've gotten distracted by life.

I could definitely add in an early morning walk, especially as it is now almost the height of summer and the days are long and start early! Perhaps I'll get myself in gear. Even walking to a nearby coffee shop (30 min walk) and back would work. Although... I did try the nearest "coffee shop" that opens early (McDonald's... ick) and although it says that it opens at 5 am... nope. It was not open at 5 am! So I need to rethink that... 

Anyhow... one step at a time. Every step counts and that's really all that matters. I'm moving forward slowly and that's OK too. It's the journey that matters... not how fast one gets there.

Hashimoto's Fatigue after a Gluten/Sugar Binge

I'm writing this on a Monday morning and I'm dragging my butt around. I have this yucky fatigue that came on me yesterday. All my zip and energy that had been coming back in the week since I gave up sugar... vanished. I was doing so well! What the heck happened?

Well... I think I got glutened.

I know... gluten isn't a verb... but out in the Hashimoto and Celiac Disease world... it is. It describes the fatigue and brain fog that happens when you eat gluten.

And it's a direct correlation to what I ate and drank on Saturday... the day before the fatigue hit me like a brick wall. I had a beer around the campfire as we roasted some sausages at lunch time. And then I went out with a group of colleagues for an appy dinner and... I threw caution to the winds and had another beer (gluten) and then munched on several appies... all of which apparently had gluten.

The lady next to me was only eating the salad and when I asked why... she has Celiac Disease. But can't she eat the yam fries? Nope... because they are all fried in the same oil as the gluten appies... Great. But I thought to myself.. "Ah, it's just a bit of gluten"... and now I am apparently paying the price for this.

I keep bumping up against this and I keep thinking I can have a bit of gluten and be fine. But I don't think so. Every time I do this... I pay the price. My TSH was fine in October 2022, but by January 2023, it was out of range again. Why? Because we went on vacation to Mexico for 2 weeks over Christmas and I ate whatever I wanted... all sorts of things with gluten in them... lots of beer... lots of baked treats. It's a direct cause & effect.

I don't want to face this though! I really don't! It's just too hard right now to admit that I should be eliminating all of these things from my diet:

• sugar
• refined foods
• gluten - wheat, barley, rye and maybe oats (they get contaminated)
• beer and probably all alcohol (converts to sugar)
• soy
• dairy
• eggs
• legumes

And those are just the worst offenders. If I cut out the first 4 though... I'd probably see a marked improvement. But I'm really struggling with all of them. The thought of no sugar (ever), no junk food or sausages or bacon (ever), no cake (ever), no beer (ever)... just crushes me.

And I see the impact of all of those foods on me... when I let things slide, I pay the price. I can't keep ignoring that. But it's too hard on my body.

So, it's time to pull up my Big Girl Panties and grab the steering of wheel of my life away from my cravings. I can't keep giving in to them. The cost is too high. The benefits too low.

Our Carbon Footprint Could be Worse

I got sucked down the carbon footprint site the other day and it was a fascinating journey!

I had been taking an Instagram course for our short-term rental, and the instructor had a post about how to calculate your carbon footprint. He was in the UK... so the site he used wasn't ideal for us.

 But no worries... I found a Canadian one - Carbonzero Calculator

Carbon Categories

There are all sorts of categories...

• Utilities
• Vehicles
• Flights
• Transit
• Fuel
• Shipping
• Waste

There is a whole section on calculator methodology and I leave that to you to read... As a caveat, I'm not sure how to calculate Shipping so that category is going to be empty for us. I presume that would be for people who do a LOT of shopping on Amazon and Wayfair... which is not us... so going to leave that for now...

We also don't use Transit so that is going to be blank for us...

Carbon Footprint - Utilities

The first step is to calculate Utilities - which includes Heating and Electricity. Given that we have electric heating with the heat pump - we only had one category here... 

The calculator asked us for total kwh and I got that off of our BC Hydro Account - May 1 to May 1. It also asked what province we are in... which is British Columbia.

So, 0.14 tonnes... that seems ridiculously low? Is it because of our hydro-electric power gird?? Let's check Alberta with it's coal-powered electricity generators...

Oookaaayyyy... well... that answered that question. Don't move back to Alberta. Ever. 

Carbon Footprint - Vehicles & Fuel

Let's go through Vehicles. We have a little 2011 Kia Soul that we drive about 10,000 km a year - mix of highway and city driving. And... we get 0 tonnes? That's weird... but I did a little test and chose a 2022 Ford F-150 pick-up truck... same distance, same type of driving and it's pushing 3 tonnes... so this must have to do with the age and type of vehicle...

I chose a 2022 Toyota 4 Runner and a 2010 Toyota 4 Runner as well - the 2010 had 0 emissions and the 2022 had over 3 tonnes.... so it must be an age thing.

As for fuel... this is where it gets scarier! I calculated that I generally put 40 litres of fuel into our little Soul once a week, so 2000 litres of fuel a year, give or take...

Yikes!!! That's almost 5 tonnes of carbon emissions... this is where the rubber hits the road. Drive less... better fuel efficiency... hybrid... electric vehicles... bike more... all definitely options.

Carbon Footprint - Waste & Recycling

This section wanted to know the weight of our waste and recycling... I went to our city's website and pulled up the average weights for a household in our city. I tend to think we throw out less garbage than the average household but... let's run with that... So 200 kg of garbage per year and 150 kg of recyclables (mixed).

Well, that's not too bad either.

Basic Carbon Footprint - no Flights

Right then... so our total greenhouse gas emissions for the year are pushing 5 tonnes. Which isn't bad. You can see that gasoline is the biggest generator of CO2. If we had an electric car... we'd be smiling... although then our vehicle emissions (probably from making it) would be higher than 0.

Carbon Offsets

After calculating your carbon footprint... you can then choose to purchase carbon offsets. On this site, they run about $30 per tonne... so we would be spending $150/year on offsets. There are other sites which have cheaper offsets. And since all of the projects on CarbonZero seem to be "completed"... I'm not sure of the benefits of purchasing an offset here. The Gold Standards website on the other hand is highly recommended by the Suzuki Foundation... and there are tonne of offset projects here - some at $15/tonne, and some higher. The Gold Standards site recommends that, if you don't know your carbon footprint, you choose an average for your country. For Canada, this would be 2 tonnes/month. Ergh...

But then... I haven't added flights into the mix... so let's do that!

Carbon Footprint - Flights

This is the scary part I think... so let's just bite the bullet and do it. The site makes it easy... all you need to enter is your starting airport, destination airport, class and whether it's round trip or economy... Here we go...

Now... here's the weird thing... distance wise, Cancun is 4500 km while Mom is 700 km (one way). So it's a bit odd that Mom's flights are more tonnes than Cancun... but maybe it has to do with the size of the planes... bigger planes mean the carbon footprint is spread out over more people. Maybe...

But... these flights have turned into scarey-ville!

Carbon Footprint - with Flights

It's the gasoline. It's the flights. If we didn't drive or fly, our carbon footprint would be miniscule. But we do... so it's not.

Now... divide this by two as well... some for me... some for my partner. And still... 12 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year... that's a bit dismaying. And yes... we could just buy some carbon offsets but... ideally... we would move in the direction of less gasoline and less flights. It's those vacation and family flights that are the kicker.

Oh, and this calculator doesn't even include diet in there! A meat-eater diet has twice as much carbon footprint as a vegan... 

Another Carbon Footprint Site

That's where the Carbon Footprint Calculator comes in handy - it has a bunch of different secondary categories that can make a difference. Although it doesn't include the Waste/Recycling category. But then... when I do that one... I get this. 

I'm not sure about all of this... The car bit includes gas and yet... it is way less than the CarbonZero calculation. And the flights are much less as well. The Mom flight is 0.21 tonnes!  Although, it does add the secondary bits - things like food (makes a difference if you are vegetarian or a heavy/medium meat eater), also pharmacy and clothes and furniture. 

Ugh... I can see why some people just go with the average for their country! But let's just say our household is running at 24 tonnes/year (added in those secondary bits to our CarbonZero total). So that means each of us is about 12 tonnes/year or 1 tonne/month. That is in line with most European countries. The average for Canada is 2 tonnes/month/individual. But as we saw above... Alberta is VERY different from BC in terms of electricity footprints. Soooo... I'm going to run with 1 tonne/month and leave Albertans to fend for themselves.

Carbon Offsets

There are a LOT of places out there that sell carbon offsets. Some are legit... some less so. The David Suzuki Foundation has a pdf that can help you navigate where to purchase your offsets (https://davidsuzuki.org/science-learning-centre-article/purchasing-carbon-offsets-a-guide-for-canadian-consumers-businesses-and-organizations/). The other site is the Gold Standards site mentioned already above... (https://marketplace.goldstandard.org/collections/projects).

I'm going to have to look through everything and choose one to use as my offset. And look at ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint. It's the hydrocarbons (gas, jet fuel, etc) that are the high ticket items.

I Now Know How Long I can Run on a Fully Charged Internal Battery

Soooo... those who follow this blog know that I have been struggling sometimes with my internal battery. I'll go gang-busters and then crash when I run out of oomph. My emotions go in the toilet, my productivity falls off a cliff, I get completely overwhelmed and I wander around morosely in the Swamp of Confusion and Exhaustion.

I eventually find my way out of there by realizing that I need to put self-care first... not my work, not the Airbnb, not anything else.

So I'll start walking in the mornings and meditating and journaling and writing this blog. After a few weeks... everything is tickety-boo and I am happily motoring along again.

But then... I get cocky and I think... I'm doing soooo good!! I'll just start doing other stuff in the mornings and get caught up on this and caught up on that. So I'll drop the journaling (just for a "while"). I'll skip the blogging (just for "a day" or so). You know how it goes.

And things do continue tickety-boodle... I am feeling uber productive... getting tonnes of stuff done and feeling burbly and bubbly and then... slowly... that feeling starts dissipating. And I'll end up back in the Swamp of Confusion and Exhaustion.

Rinse. Repeat.

Sooo.. in the latest iteration of this... here's what I noticed.

I'm writing this on May 25... and I would say my battery is at maybe 5%. I noticed the drained feeling at least a week ago... let's say May10-14. I started thinking... hmmm... it's been a while since I journaled or wrote a blog... But I let it slide because I was still feeling pretty good. Just a mild bit of overwhelm... nothing to worry about. Yeah. Whatever. Anyhow, I would say my battery back then was maybe 20%?

Yesterday I had a look in my journal and my task tracker and it seems that April 10 was the last day I journaled or blogged. Not sure what happened after that but... there are a few sporadic journal pages but definitely not the regular journaling and definitely no blogging.

Sooo... with a full battery on April 10, I could run along happily for about a month before I started noticing I was getting low. I then ignored that early warning indicator and continued on my merry way for another 10-14 days... until yesterday when I realized... this is NOT good. So, 6 weeks before I crash.

Low Battery Indicator

You know how your laptop or phone sends out low battery warnings? It usually seems to happen when it's gotten to the critical point - like 5-7% battery remaining.

You need to drop everything you're doing and find the charging cord NOW and plug into an outlet. It's most annoying when you're traveling and electrical outlets are in short supply... like the airport!

It'd be nice if the devices would give us a notice at 25% and 10%, etc. Although... we'd probably just ignore it. "It's not critical... I've still got time."

But the older the device gets... and the older its battery gets... the quicker it will drain. My new laptop or phone could hold a charge forever! Now... I can't even get through one day before my phone screen is dimming at 5% battery left. What the heck? 

Maybe we're like that too? When we're young... we could hold a charge forever. It seemed like we just ran on air and sunshine and play and a bit of food. There was no talk of the Swamp of Confusion and Exhaustion (and overwhelm). But as we get older... that battery starts going funny on us. We need to recharge more often, with intentional things like journaling and nature and exercise or whatever it is that jazzes us up. It becomes non-negotiable... otherwise, we are just bopping around at 5-10% battery and never really getting to a full charge.

So... what's the lesson in all this for me? I can't ignore the 25% low battery warning. I have a better sense of what it feels like... and what I need to do about it. I'm hoping that I've recognized the 5% battery warning early enough that I can come out of this nose dive.

I did some journaling today. I'm writing a blog. I'll get out into the garden. I'll need to do this for several days... maybe even several weeks to really build up that internal battery charge.

And then? Well... I don't think I need to plug in for a full charge every day... maybe every second day? It's obvious that if my battery is fully charged, I can run for several weeks off of that. Not that I want to. So maybe journaling every day and blogging every second to third day? And an adventure hike every second or third day too?

I wish we had an indicator light for our internal battery. But we don't. So maybe I need to do a check-in every day. I need to do an internal assessment and ask the questions.. how am I doing? what's my battery feel like? how much do I need to re-charge? what could I do to re-charge?

It would be nice if I could actually learn this Life Lesson finally! And make a change in life that sticks and not keeping wandering mindlessly into the Swamp of Confusion and Exhaustion (and overwhelm).

Slower Mornings Just a Fact of Aging? Or Wisdom?

I don't know about you but when I was in my 20s... I moved FAST! In less than 30 minutes, I could go from a sleeping start to out the door! And I did stuff too!

20-Something Me's Morning Start

• get up
• toilet
• jump in the shower
• get dressed
• eat breakfast
• make lunch
• brush teeth
• pack bag
• head out the door

30 minutes. What the heck?? How is that even possible???

50-Something Me's Morning Start

• get up
• toilet and check phone for news
• brush teeth and wet down hair (no shower to speed things up)
• get dressed
• give cat her treats (a ritual)
• feed cat her dry and wet food
• do some stretches and meditation
• cuddle cat in the chair for a few minutes & scroll through phone
• pack office bag
• head out the door

That's a good 30 minutes AND there's no shower or breakfast in there. Nor a packed lunch.

Yes, there is a cat in there... but I think the bigger thing is the phone. When you don't have a phone... it's easier to focus and stay on task. The stretches and meditation also weren't there in my 20s

If I were to add in breakfast... a bowl of oatmeal with berries and nuts, that would add at least another 30 minutes to the whole thing. Ya gotta love PB&J sandwiches for their speed... both in making them and eating them.

Sometimes I think... "I should be able to get this done faster!" But maybe faster isn't better. Maybe it's good for me to have a slower start to the day... and take some time to interact with the cat... do some stretches... ease into the day with some meditation. It's not all about speed, is it?

Savouring vs Speeding

Perhaps... just perhaps... rather than trying to cram as much stuff as I can into a day... I could consider that it's about savouring the moments that are there. Less is More?

Take the little cat for example. We won't always have this little cat and she is a precious little being. I've had several cats and none have been as interactive as her. She loves to chase the treats that we throw for her. She loves to find them hidden in the same spots every morning. She coos and chirps and runs around the house with an excited curly tail. She wants... nay... needs... her morning cuddle time in the chair. But me? That chair cuddle time has become a rare thing. I'm too much in a rush to get out the door before 5:30 am so I can hit Starbucks just as they open and sit down and journal and blog and get some work done. Would it be so horrible if I took 10 minutes to just sit with the little cat and... not scroll the phone... but cuddle her with consciousness and intention? Might be a good thing for me. Because in a few years... the little cat will be gone. I could actually take the time now to savour those moments.

There's a word in German... Genießen (or Geniessen). It translates to enjoy, savour, relish. I experience that word as a slow word. To sit in the chair and soak up the experience of a cat cuddle. To savour it, enjoy it, embed myself in it. Without the constant natter in my head that says "gotta get moving... gotta get moving"...

In German - Das Leben lebt von liebenswürdigen Kleinigkeiten,
die unserem Herzen Freude bereiten und unsere Augen staunen lassen.
In English - Life is made up of lovely small things
that bring joy to our hearts and amazement to our eyes.

And it's true... there are so many small things in life that bring joy to our hearts - a bumble bee in a flower, a dandelion pushing through the pavement, a sunrise, a cat cooing. And it is good to stop, pause and savour those small moments. But first we need to be aware of them. We need to actually see them.

When I'm moving fast... so many of these small things pass by and I barely acknowledge them. And savouring the moment doesn't mean I have to stand there and commune with a butterfly for 10 minutes. But I can see it, recognize it, and savour the moment before moving on.

Although... it is good to sit and savour as well. Something I could definitely practice more!

Sooo... back to my morning routine... maybe it's not about aging and moving slower. Maybe it's about wisdom and moving slower in order to savour those small moments?

The Bicycle Lives!!

Yes!! I did it!! I took my bike in to the shop (it fit in the hatchback). Win for me! Now... when I got there, the guy said they were booking for June 22 but... but... they could probably squeeze me in if I just left it there. Yes, please!

And then... less than a week later, I got the phone call that it was ready to pick up. I got a new gear shifter thingie and... I got tested for my sit bones. Which means I bought another bike saddle. They think the one I have is a bit old, worn out and a bit too soft. Your sit bones push down into the softness which then rebounds and pinches the soft tissue which... leads to sore butt.

OK... well... the saddle has a 30 day money back guarantee so I am going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. Apparently, a saddle that is too soft is not a good idea... so that is good to know. 

I am very proud of myself. I actually did it. Something that I have been meaning to do since last year... and the year before. Get the bike tuned up and get a new saddle. I now have no excuse. I can get on my bike and go for a bike ride. And if my butt hurts... then off to the bike shop I go for a new saddle. Fingers crossed that this one is the ticket!

It's always amazing to me how it is these small things... just figuring out if the bike fits into the hatchback... that keep me from doing things. It's a small thing to have a conversation with the bike shop staff and ask about getting my sit bones measured. And yet these small things keep me from doing so many big things

Because now... with a bike that works, I can pedal off to Starbucks in the mornings and:

1. get some exercise
2. reduce my carbon footprint
3. reduce my gasoline ($$) usage
4. get some exercise

It's a win-win-win all the way around. Fingers crossed it actually works!! So... yet another small step that yields big results.

... Recalculating... Recalculating...

You know how, when you're using GPS... or your phone's map feature... and you're driving... and it tells you to go left and you go right... it then pauses, frowns at you (you can just feel that)... and in this prissy voice says "recalculating... recalculating..." and then gives you a new route? Well that happens in real life too...

Except there's no prissy AI voice to tell you that you've gone off course... and that you need to pause and stop and figure out how to get back on track. There's no voice from the heavens that says "recalculating".

And it's easy to get off track. A few brownies here... a few chocolate bars there... and suddenly you are 5, 8 or 10 lbs off your ideal weight... you know... the weight where 80% of your clothes fit you. Especially your jeans...

For me... it's my jeans... and my belt... that start me muttering that dreaded phrase... "recalculating". All of a sudden, and it really does feel that sudden, the belt no longer fits so well at hole #4... but we are now having to use hole #3... and then, sometimes... it just feels less constricting at hole #2. Uh-oh!!! Recalculating!!!

Or... I'm going through my closet, trying on pants and... a few years ago... I was actually able to slide down into a 12 (or a 32) which was amazing!! I mean... normally I'm a 14/34 but... a 12/32 felt great! But then I went back to a 14/34 and I was cool with that. But now... all of a sudden... those 34s are feeling a bit too tight. Especially when they are fresh out of the laundry! Ugh! I feel like a sausage!!... and then... there it goes again... "recalculating"...

But it's not just the weight thing... there are so many ways to get off course. Like... during the winter months, it's dark and cold and wet and... I don't walk as much as normal. And then as the days get longer, come February and March, I get out walking more and I feel like a total slug.... "recalculating"...

Or I let the meditation habit slip away... cause I'm feeling soooo good! And then the days and weeks go by until final I have a complete meltdown and lament the state of my life and my emotions and... "recalculating"...

I know that if I neglect my daily writing habit... or my daily walk in the forest habit... I can coast for a while without them... getting further and further away from my ideal path... but eventually... I'll have one of those meltdowns.

The thing is... the GPS informs me pretty quick that I am off course with her prissy "recalculating". That doesn't happen in the analogue world. In real life... you don't realize you're off course until you're well and truly lost! It's not like a quick u-turn is going to get me back on the path quickly. Nope... for any of these issues... it's going to require me to put some serious effort and concentrated focus into getting back on track.

When you're driving a car... and you're on the straight stretch... yes, you can take your hands off the wheel for a moment or too... or even for a long moment and the car will just keep going straight. Unless you hit a pothole or a divot in the road. If that happens, all bets are off... But I wouldn't dream of taking my hands off the wheel when I'm on a winding, curvy or pothole-y road...

It's kind of like that in life. Everything is going great!! Life is smooth and straight and... I'll just take my hands off the wheel for a moment. I can ease up on all the habits of my life. I can have a brownie... or skip a walk... or skip some writing... for a day... or a week... But very quickly, I forget that life is not always straight and smooth and a pothole (life event) comes out of nowhere and... boom... I'm off course... maybe even in the ditch!

Soooo... the life lesson here is... don't take your hands off the steering wheel. Pay attention to what is going on in life... maybe a brownie once in a while (once a month) is OK... maybe not. Listen for those whispers of "recalculating"... before it gets to the point where you're lost in the woods and it's a major struggle to get back on track.

Dusting off the Bicycle

Every spring I think... this will be the year I get back onto my bike! And... for the last few years... that fizzles out very quickly. I'll get back on my bike, go for a few 5-10 minute bike rides and... lose my umph. Part of it is the dreaded "bike butt".

You know what happens... you get on your bike, you feel all pumped and excited. You go for a bike ride, a short one... and all is well. But the next morning... you wake up with the sorest bum bones (the sit bones) in history. The idea of getting on that torture device of a bicycle seat is... like... nooooooo!!! So I'll wait a day or two until the bike butt calms down but... then I'll dread the next session for the next bike butt.

And the bike just stays in the shed. I don't understand it. I used to ride my bike a LOT! I'd ride to Starbucks, I'd ride around town, I'd go on adventures. And then... somewhere around when my Dad died... it just fizzled. Or I'd wait too long. The ideal time to get back onto the bike is in March here... but then it would already be May or June... and I'd figure... "what's the point"... Sigh.

Cause part of it too... if I'm honest... is that I feel like a complete slug when I get back on the bike after the winter. My legs feel like jello and I have no umph for all of the hills. And we have a lot of hills... or gentle gradients. All of them seem to be uphill when I am coming home after a ride and that is just depressing.

Yes, I know that I could get an e-bike... and we have thought about it. But the dreaded bike butt then rears its ugly head. What's the point of spending $3000 on an e-bike if it just gives me bike butt and then I don't ride it?? I need to get over the bike butt hump first.

There are other tips... get a padded bike seat or wear padded bike shorts. But I've ridden this bike, with this saddle for years and always gotten over the bike butt after about a week of riding. My sit bones (which are the ones that get sore) just get used to it!

Every year, I tell myself that this WILL be the year. Last year though... we had the wettest spring on record and that would have been no fun.

But what about this year? It's possible... I am writing this on February 9... so the timing is kind of perfect. And yesterday was a nice sunny day and I saw a tonne of cyclists out there getting their bikes on the road.

I thought about getting mine on the road, but it needs a tune-up. The gear shifters always get out of whack during the winter... so it's time to take it in for a tune-up. Which raises another issue... how to get it to the bike shop... I used to pack it in the back of the 4-Runner but we got rid of that vehicle over a year ago. I don't know if it will now fit into our little hatchback. Which means I'd have to walk it to the bike shop - 45 minutes. And then walk home... or get my partner to pick me up. It's not impossible... but it does raise the friction level for getting this done.

I'm trying to think... when did I last ride my bike? Pre-covid likely... so this is going to take a bit of getting used to but... small steps... that's all I need to remember... just small steps.

Step 1 - See if the bike fits in the hatchback...
    Yes? Then drive it down to the bike shop for a tune-up
    No? Then walk it down to the bike shop.

And I just checked (always good to do that) and the bike shop I normally go to is closed!! But... there is one that is only 30 minutes away from home (walking)... so will try that one.

One small step at a time...

Except... this is getting published in early June and... will I actually get the bike done by then??