Milestones and McGregor Camp

Well, July has come and gone, and a lot of really wonderful things happened. We had the last of the kids get married as our son tied the knot at a beautiful ceremony at Belle Acre’s Golf Course north of Winnipeg. We were able to spend time at the lake with friends, venturing out to Sportsman’s corner at Westbourne, and Delta north of Portage. We even tried golf for ourselves for the first time, although people are telling me that shooting 100 on a par 39 course is not the same as getting 100%...I still had fun! I’ve decided that it’s not one of my strengths, but is still a great way to put in a summer morning! There were a couple of other really notable things that happened in July I want to share as well.

Me 50 years ago!

That’s me! Can’t believe I reached the day…the big 5-0….wow, it’s been something to wrap my head around. Although looking at the picture of me 50 years ago, not that much has changed I guess. Still have short fingers, chubby arms and still have that smile (although today it’s fortunately still equipped with a full set of teeth!). Wow…fifty years. Who’d have ever thought…we the children of lead painted cribs, and cars with no baby seats…we made it in spite of everything that is considered to be so unthinkable in today’s world!
It was kind of a hard day, and was a bittersweet milestone. Knowing that there are more years behind then are likely to lie ahead, thinking of all those that aren’t here to celebrate this day, reminiscing of those that didn’t get to make this leg of the journey. There were lots of mixed emotions to be sure, but upon returning home from a birthday lunch in Treherne, I was greeted by a surprise party and all my family and friends. Suddenly the sadness of what’s been lost was overridden with the appreciation for all that I have, and it was a marvelous day of celebration with the people that matter most in my world!

The beautiful birthday cake designed by my daughter Bianca

July offered another opportunity for which I’m still on an adrenalin high from. It started with an email I received back in December from Faye Mc Gregor in Switzerland, asking how she would go about getting several copies of my most recent CD. She also wondered if I’d be available to come out to Lake of the Woods to perform at the first McGregor Leadership Camp that she and her husband Mark were going to be hosting there come July. I’ve known Mark and Faye since high school, and was thrilled that they’d think of me for this opportunity! I was honored.

Our Hosts, Mark and Faye McGregor

Mark and Faye are one of those amazing couples that seem to have accomplished so much in their lifetime together! They’ve taken the lessons learned in pursuing their own goals and passions, and have turned them into a career focusing on leadership trainings that have taken them around the world, opening doors and changing the lives of the people that come to the sessions.

At home in the cottage

Although Mark is the front man, a former professional hockey player, coach and manager, he has taken his message to the public forums that have supported him to become one of the most popular management-trainers, coaches and keynote-speakers on an international level, there is no question that it is a family team effort that has enabled so much success. (for more about Mark’s offerings go to http://www.markmcgregor.ch/1_frameset_eng/frameset_eng.htm )

Explaining the activity to be accomplished during

July 201o's McGregor Leadership Camp

One of their family dreams had been to finally have their own place to hold the leadership camps and trainings, and McGregor Camp on beautiful Lake of the Woods was the summation of that dream!

So on July 8th, my wonderful friend Dixie accompanied me as I headed off towards Kenora for a evening of friendship and singing. The first McGregor Leadership camp involved 5 remarkable people from Germany and the Czech Republic, who had come so far to focus on developing their leadership skills, and enhance the quality of their personal lives through the tools and lessons that Mark shared with them. We also got to meet another terrific couple from a little closer to home who share my passions for writing and photography, so there was never an end to great conversation! My participation for the evening was to perform a house concert to entertain their guests for the week, and give them a bit of a change up from the work that they focused on during their days. At the last minute, during our phone conversation earlier that week, Mark had thrown something out about a sing-a-long…so not knowing what to expect, we went prepared for the unexpected! I put together some songbooks of songs that I hoped even folks from across the big pond may have been familiar with, and Dixie and I stopped at the Dollar store on our way through Portage to stock up on tambourines and other assorted percussion instruments, so that even if the singing didn’t work, everyone could participate!

McGregor Leadership Camp on Beautiful Lake of the Woods

Upon arrival I realized that the cottage at the centre of my vision board was not in fact on Falcon Lake, but right in front of me! They’ve built a beautiful place there, that seconds as a learning camp, as they’ve developed a second building on the site into a center that has a large seminar room for trainings, an exercise facility for down time, and even a space for massages or experiencing the yoga that Faye teaches. They really offered a little bit of everything to those that attended!

Off to explore Lake of the Woods with our new aquaintances!

Shortly after arriving, we were all treated to a boat ride to explore a bit of Lake of the Woods, heading out from the sheltered bay that their camp inhabits. It was beautiful! The night was perfect, and the company was wonderful!

Dixie and I enjoying our evening boat ride.

The view of the Lake from the boat dock at McGregor Camp.

Upon returning from our ride, we were treated to an amazing dinner prepared by our hostess with the help of her Mom and her friend, shared a glass or two of wine, then moved into the veranda to share an evening of music. With Dixie as my supporting manager, I shared an hour of my music, and then we switched up the evening into a campfire sing-a-long (without the campfire, or the bugs…but the sensation was the same!)

Dixie and I with our host and friend, Leadership trainer Mark McGregor.

It was one of those evenings that absolutely filled my spirit with joy, a feeling I haven’t been getting enough of in the past many months. It was a very welcome reprieve! It was a wonderful evening for me, and I think everyone else enjoyed it as well. Mark ensured that the attendees all received a copy of my CD, so that my music has now had the opportunity to spread a little further…and I’ve ended up with a great new circle of people, many of whom I’ve remained in contact with since!

Evening House Concert and Sing-A-Long

One of the most amazing things about the night was Mark’s suggestion that he and I collaborate together on putting together a collection of presentations to take out to educators and various other community and business sectors here closer to home, combining his expertise and my music. It was as if he’d reached into my mind and picked out the idea that had drawn me home from Salt Spring Island all those months ago…the notion, or rather the knowledge, that I need to find a way to keep sharing the story, and the message and the lessons learned! That opportunity to perform has led to so many possibilities, that my head is still spinning…but in a very, good way! I’m thrilled about the potential, and excited about it every day. That is such a wonderful place to be each morning, especially after the pain of the past many months. I feel like my stars are aligning, and life really is very good! I’ll keep you all posted!

Lake of the Woods sunset from McGregor Camp deck

Till next time!

Lynda

http://www.musicwriter.ca/

An Amazing Series of Blessings....

I realize it’s been a month since my last update, and I’m looking back at the past 4 weeks, knowing that the time since should have been the worst weeks of my life. There were so many tough firsts that came clustered together in that period, and although there were many, many tough moments, there has been a continual stream of small miracles, and unexpected opportunities that have allowed me to come out the other side of the tough stuff, feeling supported, loved and confident that the universe is conspiring to make it okay again. Even the creatures of nature seem to be in on the conspiracy offering me opportunities and glimpses of their majesty that continually remind me of how beautiful the world outside our door really is. I don’t know where to start with all that’s been happening.

....waiting for the Fulford Ferry, Christmas eve Morning, 2009

Maybe the first of those occurrences would have to be the beautiful Christmas Rose that appeared on the tree outside the house on December 23^rd. If you read the November journal you’ll understand….as I was steeling myself for the holiday season one more beautiful pink rose appeared, so we added it to the wonderful bouquet that Cecil got me for our holiday center piece and it graced all the days of the holidays, travelling with us to the mainland and back again. My brother and his family provided us with a place to celebrate, and we started some of our own new traditions.

My beautiful Christmas rose, amongst the Bouquet of Roses Cecil got me.

A wonderful friend who has helped me through much of the last year because she’d gone down this road before me suggested that we light candles to represent those missing from our holiday table this year, and that helped. We took time away to go take some amazing pictures, went to a movie in an actual theatre for a change, and just did whatever we had to to get by…..and it worked. Friends and family near and far connected closely to ensure that I made it through, and for that I’m forever grateful.

...a candle for Shane, a candle for Dad and a candle for Mom turner.....

We took time away to go take some amazing pictures, went to a movie in an actual theatre for a change, and just did whatever we had to to get by…..and it worked. Friends and family near and far connected closely to ensure that I made it through, and for that I’m forever grateful.

A beautiful reflection taken from the new Golden Ears Bridge.

Another amazing thing that happened was because of a friend I’ve never personally met, but who has been an integral part of my support network over the past many months. Tom Mortensen stumbled across my website several months ago while exploring country music. What he found was a life very different from the one he enjoys in New York City, working out of Manhattan. But beyond the differences, we’ve also found commonalities in our love of music, of writing, of family and of what matters most in life. Among other things, Tom writes for a local magazine called “Forest Hills Celebrity & Entertainment”, and asked if it would be okay if this year he did an article about Shane and our journey together, celebrating both Shane and my music, titling it “Just One Life”. What an honor! And what a great job he did of celebrating Shane once again. To see the magazine and article in its entirety, you can go to http://www.foresthillscelebrity.com/FHC_Issue_20.pdf . Thanks Tom!

Forest Hills Celebrity Cover, Holiday 2009

About a week before Christmas I also got an email from Kevin Mills who hosts CRFY Radio’s “Made in Manitoba “series. I’d tried to connect with him prior to coming to the coast in the fall, but was unsuccessful. When he emailed he said we could do the piece over the phone as I wasn’t going to be available personally for a time. My understanding was that the segment was going to air on January 24^th, so I didn’t say too much to anyone, but then on January 16^th I found out that it was being aired the next day! The bad news is that it didn’t give me too much of an opportunity to give folks the heads up that it was going to be on the air, but the good news was that it was aired the day before what would have been Shane’s 18^th birthday, and helped once again to celebrate him and his lessons…also the really good news is that CFRY radio now has podcasts of the “Made in Manitoba” segments that they do, so for anyone who’d like to catch it and didn’t get to hear it on the air, you can listen to it by going to http://www.portageonline.com/images/podcasts/lynda.mp3

Another miracle happened in late December. Maybe some of you remember the story of how I connected with a gentleman in Lavenham, Suffolk, England. Tony was writing a book about his Lavenham, and wanted to gather information on other Lavenhams of the world and stumbled across my website. I was able to help him gather information for the book he was writing, and in turn he was able to get my music played on BBC radio in England. We’ve continued the friendship, and when my new cd came out in September, Tony said that if I ever came to England, he’d love to organize a concert for me in the beautiful old church in town that was built in 1530!

This year’s happenings didn’t make it look like that was going to be possible for some time to come, because running away from home can be expensive to put it mildly, but the week before Christmas we were at a friend’s house and said that our next trip would have to be to England when we could manage it. I’d looked up the airfare and it was going to be about $1900 for the two of us to fly, so it was something we’d have to work towards. The next day I went to the local grocery store and checked out my lotto 649 ticket. It won $1993.70! I took that as a very clear sign that maybe we shouldn’t be putting off this trip any longer. When we contacted him to tell him that things could work we found out that things needed to happen sooner rather than later, so we’re off to England on February 8^th! Serendipity keeps stepping in and connecting us with people in such a way that the majority of our trip is being accommodated by people that have offered us places to stay and opportunities to tour! It’s been amazing, and the most amazing part is that I’ll get to meet this man who has been such a strong supporter for so long from so far away! What an honor!

http://www.discoverlavenham.co.uk/charity-concert-in-the-church-i212.html

Lavenham, Suffolk, England Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

As I mentioned, nature is also conspiring to offer me gifts for the spirit. We go out walking for an hour every morning here, and many times I’ll take my camera along. Last week we walked past a tree where an eagle just sat and posed for as long as I wanted to snap photos.

Bald Ealge posing on Walker's Hook.

The next day a hummingbird who has been spending the winter in our yard decided to simplify my picture taking and perched on the feeder for ages while I snapped away.

The Anna Hummingbird who has made our front yard her home this winter.

Last week a great Heron posed for me when we were touring around Sayward.

. However, Tuesday night offered the most wonderful gift of all! Cecil called me to bring my camera down to the water in front of the house and take some pictures of the star fish that were visible as the tide was out. It was an incredible, still evening, and every rock we looked at had star fish, rock crab and all the other sea life that becomes exposed when the water recedes. As we sat at the waters edge my ears started picking up a subtle ‘piffffttttttt’ in the distance…and I thought to myself “that sounds like whales!”, but everyone has told us they’re not usually around this time of year, nor do they frequent the channel we live on. But as I listened, the sound continued to increase in numbers and intensity…and as we squinted across the channel towards Galiano Island we saw them….a pod of orca’s making their way south. I cannot adequately express my excitement! It was the one thing that I’d wished to have happen all winter…every time I sit at this computer looking out the window, or every morning when we walk down to Fernwood pier as part of our daily ritual….Mother Nature must have heard my silent plea, because there they were in all of their majesty. For anyone that has ever tried to photograph whales, you’ll know that the chances are slim of getting a good picture from that far away, but I did get a picture of one dorsal as it went past across the way…luckily I have dozens of pictures from going out whale watching last summer to refer back to. For this time….I have the memory, and an experience that many who’ve lived here for years have not been graced with. I truly am blessed!

Pod of whales off the coast of the San Juan Island, seen while touring with
Outdoor Visions Whale Watching out of Salt Spring Island in July 2009.
If you want to see the whales, make sure you call Ian of Outdoor Visions!!!

One of the pictures I'm most proud of....didn't even notice the breach until
reviewing the pictures later!!

Till next time,

Lynda

www.musicwriter.ca