Here is a view of the harbor just a couple of weeks ago. It was a wonderful spring like day . Now we are back in the deep freeze and I'm hating it. It is partly to do with the fact that I have shingles .

 I'm telling anyone who has ever had chicken pox to please go and get vaccinated for shingles. You don't want to go through this painful, itchy, ugly, illness.  It's been over a month now and I'm still covered in a disgusting, sore, red, rash. I have also heard so many horror stories about shingles causing blindness and even death!  So please, please, go get vaccinated. Why the heck don't doctors tell people about this vaccine and why aren't they offering it to their patients as part of a regular vaccination routine?  I found out about it too late.

2013 is going to be a big year for me. I'm taking early  retirement in April, selling off all my possessions, and moving to another province.

 I thought about it for a long time and decided that I need a change in my life. My house is getting to be too much work and expense. I also can't bear to live in my adopted city of Hamilton any longer. I don't know why, but I just never took to this place, never made any meaningful attachments.

It wasn't all bad. This house was affordable and my son had twelve years of stability. You can see from  the photo above that there are some lovely places to go walking. It is also close to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

For the last six months I have slowly been getting rid of my stuff. Giving it away and throwing it out. Every week when I go to the office I wear one of my office outfits, then come home and put it in the donation bag. Wow, has my wardrobe shrunk! It feels so liberating to know I will never wear business casual ever again. I have always hated it.

 Once my house is sold I will have an estate sale and get rid of all  the rest. Yes everything must go!  It isn't worth the cost to ship everything where I'm going and I do like the idea of starting fresh. It will be a minimalist lifestyle from now on. No more collections, knic knacks,  magazine subscriptions,  kitchen gadgets, books, movies,  etc. etc.  All that stuff I thought I wanted, needed, and now I see what a burden it is.


I'll be doing some updates as I go along to map my progress.  Stay tuned, if you like.