From work woes to rest and relaxation.

It 's been an intense week at work with the server that hosted both our e-mail and website going out of business with no notice. Not that big a deal if every thing's backed up - which we do a minimum of three times a day. Proper big deal if you don't back up the data on your website, which we left to said company that went belly up.

My friend Bill used to say there are three options with every job, cheap, fast and good. You only ever get two of them, so choose wisely. The scramble for our rebuild was fast and good......the bank balance took a hit for the team!

Suffice to say for the second week in a row I've not had my mid-week day off and let me tell you I've missed it.

This was long overdue.

My friend Ian and I went for the proverbial Sunday morning whale hunt. The ocean was as glassy as it gets, but after 90 minutes of paddling out the ultimate sighting was still elusive. Still - the joy is in the journey and it was impossible to ignore the fact that in late February we were cruising on the sea under our own steam on a gorgeous day, when we could be in England!

Going up! We finally converged with a mother and baby who swam gently and slowly along. After they dove we waited about 10 minutes before I said "I think it's wishful thinking that they'll surface in the same place", seconds later the mother exhaled a loud breath so close to us, that it took ours away.

These two are the result of an very successful Anglo-French accord.

Luckily for some, grasshopper was not on the menu.

A seed was planted months ago to give some attention to my yard and finally the plans are coming into fruition. Behold-before.....

.....and after.


And finally this week I'm super excited that I bought a new used surfboard. I'm hoping this declaration from the shaper means that despite the ineptitude of the rider - my new board will dispense what it says on the tin!

Weekend reflections.

It's late February and I was long overdue for a whale watch. While the rain drizzled down in Makawao, I headed out in the early morning to Kihei with the hopes of finding both the sun and the giants of the winter water migration.

The whales breached alright, but were way too far for off for us to paddle out and meet them. Meanwhile, Nancy and I had a close encounter of a smaller kind. Unfazed by our presence, a pair of big turtles breathed heavily on the surface and floated alongside us for a while.

......before diving gracefully into the depths below.

Meanwhile on the North shore, the gusty east winds blew and I expressed gratitude for my diverse home in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

As I sat at Sugar Cove with a friend sharing the ups and downs of life, her small son boogie boarded with confidence in the sloppy surf. All of us getting our needs met, lightening up with support of nature and each other.

Earlier in the day a friend asked me "do you cook for yourself"? "I do", was my reply.....cauliflower pasta anyone?

STAR.

When I'm challenged I always turn inward and look at my part in the events that are currently causing me to feel _________ (fill in the blank). At the ripe old age of 51 I'm pretty clued in to my thinking patterns, but there's always more to learn, and the time felt right for a big dose of new understanding. So I took myself impatient self off for nine day retreat in the desert with the hopes of fast forwarding my personal knowledge.

As I moved into my casita, this wise chap sat in mediation by my front door and I looked upon him as a comforting omen that all was as it should be.


It takes courage to walk through new doors and into the unknown. But as the alternative was a snails pace momentum, (lets face it) the choice to fully immerse was easy.

Tuxedo, doing the cat walk.

The days were full on. Our breakfast bell rang at 7:30am and we pushed through daily until 9:00pm with lectures, guided meditations, emotional release, surprises galore and plenty of laughter, tears and homework. There was not much time to enjoy the scenery, but between the big room, the dining hall and my casitas, I got to enjoy the changing light on the distant mountains.

When you're in process you have to have hope. Trust that despite everything you're on the right path and that bigger, brighter more amazing things are coming your way. My time at Kenyon Ranch more than reinforced my belief that life is a rich journey made all the more meaningful by those beautiful souls you connect with along the way.

Case in point, batting practice was extremely satisfying by myself, but it was never more healing, profound, freeing, funny and empowering than with these amazing women. The local Sheriff had to check there was nothing untoward going on as our collective foul mouthed decibel levels reached an all time high! GO GIRLS!

20 strangers arrived at the start of the process and 20 deeply connected friends expressed collective heart ache at having to leave each other at the end. I'm no stranger to personal growth, but I've never experienced more love in one process than at STAR

If you look up the word 'inspiring' or 'compassionate' there should be a picture of Barbara Findeisen! What a woman-what a program-what a gift to bask in the emotional and physical safety that she and her team create for the excavation of your psyche. If the option to slip her a fat check and stay longer had been on the table, I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Oh.....and in case you're feeling old, Barbara is going to be 84 years young next month and has more mojo than most people half her age (present company excluded)!

Peace-out.

Flowers, fun and felines.

I got a message on my cell phone saying " Sharon, I have some beautiful flowers and I want to give them to you". My friend Kanara wasn't kidding and I so appreciated her donation of 'function flowers' into my home.

Talking of donations...I'm guessing most people won't know they've contributed to this collection.

Early Saturday morning I went to Kanaha and while I knew it was too big for me, I figured there had to be something I could play on. I figured wrong! It took 45 minutes of falling before I called it quits.

And lets face it no one wants to see this in the line up!

But I wasn't done so headed to the harbour sure it wouldn't be breaking, but for the second time in an hour I was wrong!

Good grief woman get up, up, up on the lip!

I was still falling but having sooooooo much fun.

Let me tell you - we've all done it, you come in off the water, go to grab the key that's around your neck only to discover it's still in the door. I went from panic to elation in one second when I discovered everything was still there. Phew!

And it's always nice to come home to a friendly face.

January so far......

January 1st 2012 and I'm greeted with a little rainbow for the start of my early glassy Kanaha session.

Wave one, dry hair and looking a little unsure.

Now that's better, clearly a good mental enama washes away all that ego nonsense and makes way for pure unadulterated fun.

This was without a doubt my biggest wave of the day!

I must have been out longer than I thought as I've grown a beard!

When Kanaha is too big for me, I know the harbour will be perfect.....and so it was for January 2nd 2012.

The harbour wave has a very distinct personality. It's flat, flat, flat and then an upwelling of energy shows up like someone has flapped a piece of silk. The watery step builds rapidly and it doesn't take much paddling to feel the push. I try to stay high on the lip for as long as I can and then swoop down to the right and then back up to the shoulder where (with luck) I repeat the manouver twice. Technically they call that a cut-back, but mines more of a loose swervey thing that thrills the pants of me!

After you... turtle crossing.

Posing with my favourite #8 buoy.

Charging Paley style which in truth is terribly relaxed.

These last few days the sweet water energy has given lots of smiles, yelps of joy and uplifted the spirits.... and that's just the people around me. Now imagine my feelings, the Yorkshire girl who couldn't swim until she was 39, got her first surfboard at 43 and made her first (and so far only) windsurf jibe at 50 (and three quarters).

Life is full of surprises.

Transition.

"Can't speak, struck dumb, inspiration won't come".....that's how I've been feeling for a while now, hence the sporadic posts of the past six months. I'm in transition and with that comes a lot of introspection and re-calibration, so I just keep taking the high road and being good to myself......fark let's hope it pays off!

Luckily I know from prior experience all the emotions line up eventually. As I look at this picture of myself, I know I'm getting there as I see the twinkle of my new and improved vibrant self and I don't mind telling you.... I've missed me!

Now that's a cracking good downward dog.

I'm happy to report that my spiritual/mental/physical/emotional practice is not just in the yoga studio, but also on the water. My turbulent windsurfing journey thus far has given way to me and my gear consistently blowing and flowing. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a mediocre sailor, but I'm really enjoying my emotional shift which is now enthusiastic, willing and curious .....oh and the tea really helps!

Let me explain the tea bit.....this thermos is my new best friend. I am a woman with cold extremities, ridiculous in this hot climate I know, but there it is. This predisposes me to not like getting colder, but back in September Mel introduced me to the luxury of pre and post session tea. Ladies and gentlemen this has been nothing short of life changing! I take a quick nip before dawn patrol to brace myself and on the water I always know when it's time to come in as my mind turns to what's waiting....a piping hot cup of divine chai green.

Collective groan (ribbit).

And let me leave you with the latest edition to the back of my truck. With thanks to my mate Jules for the inspiration..... pass the salt and vinegar would ya?