The hill up to my friend Monique’s home, where I am currently staying, is long and steep. The first couple of weeks here, I never made it more than a quarter of the way up the hill before my heart was racing and I was out of breath. Then one day I decided to stop and take a […]

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As I sit at the airport about to leave Mazatlan, I am definitely filled with gratitude mingled with a touch of sadness.  I can’t believe that it was almost 6 months ago that Greg and I arrived, white-skinned and tired!  Today I am leaving brown-skinned with a far more laid-back approach to life.  It has been such […]

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I remember when last December I told you that I was moving to Mexico, I wrote that Spirit would lead and I would follow.  I had visions of days sun tanning by the pool, reading delightful books, learning my Tai Chi and sipping some exotic drink.  A sabbatical in the sun…how appealing!
I can barely stop […]

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The rat ran across the road in front of the vehicle.  Pat, the woman sitting next to me, covered her face and shrieked.  I was fascinated at how different the rat looked from the rats I had seen running around my cabin in Vancouver a few years ago.  This one looked more like the Hunchback […]

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As Greg and I sat in the thermal pools in Harrison Hot Springs last month, I grabbed both his hands and said, “let’s set an intention for our few days together. I intend that we have a relaxing time, great food, fun and laughter, a good time together AND” I added with a twinkle in my eye, “that […]

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There was nothing redeeming about the house. It was dirty, disorganized, and could hardly be said to have four walls and a roof. Built from scraps from the dump, the chickens and ducks had free rein of the abode.  There was dirt everywhere and the smell of pigs permeated the warm air. It was all I could do […]

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The only noise I can hear is the ocean. Sitting on the 11th floor of the condo I am renting this week in Mazatlan, my earplugs have come in handy for sleeping. The ocean can be incredibly noisy!

My partner Greg and I had a wonderful two weeks together, despite the unseasonably cold weather in Mexico this January. He […]

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As Carol walked out of the condo with a jewellery credenza in tow, she looked at me and said, “I realized Jan as I watched you sell everything, that it’s just stuff.” ”Yes, Carol, you’re absolutely right”, I replied. ”It’s just stuff.”
As I wrap up another amazing year, it is a time of change. Two months ago, I […]

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I drove home from Seattle to Vancouver about 10 days ago.  I had just returned from a Caribbean cruise and now was on the last leg of the journey home. As I approached the border, I could see the line-up stretched for miles. It was a good two to three hour wait to get through.  The joys […]

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The women all around me at the Step Class seem so proficient. They know all the moves and have the choreography down pat. Meanwhile, I am fumbling through the “gallop”, the straddle”, and trying to remember the difference between the ”three knee” versus the ”three step”. The perspiration is streaming off of me and I am going at 10% of […]

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