Asha Anujeeva

Ginny has asked me to move to Edmonton with her. I’m really not sure that I want to go; this is a big decision to make. My father is encouraging me to take a leap of faith and go up there – saying that I can always come back home again if it doesn’t work out. Ginny is my best friend, and I agree that it would be quite an adventure; we could scour the Edmonton rentals for the perfect place for two young single ladies to share and to call their home base and be each other’s “wing man” when we go out to paint the town red.

I’m just not quite sure if I want to move that far away from my parents; it would be very strange to not be able to just hop in my car and drive for an hour to go see them whenever I want to go see them. Sure, we could keep in touch by telephone, but that would be very different.  I think that I’ll agree to go with Ginny for a week’s vacation to check out the area and see if the area appeals to me at all.

Well, our country’s 235th birthday just passed.  It was not  particularly spectacular for me.  I guess I was disappointed in our parade down Main Street.  It seemed a bit too short;  there were no marching bands or baton twirlers (like there were in the fireman’s parade around Memorial Day – that parade lasted for 2 hours!) and it seemed like it was mostly for the political venue.

I remember celebrating the 4th  of July back when I was a child.  It seemed bigger, better somehow.  But then again, things you remember from your childhood always do seem that way, at least for me.  I remember the fireworks and how big and beautiful they were and how long the show seemed to go on, and then there was the big family cookout.  But, as we grow up, I guess reality sets in a bit and things just aren’t the same.  The wonder of childhood is gone.

But, my niece did come to visit and she is in the military and stationed about 5 hours from here.  It was so good to see her and spend some time with her.  This will probably be my last chance to see her before Christmas because next month she is being transferred to Florida and will not be able to just drive up to see me any time she wants to.  So, that part of the holiday was great!!!!

It is always nice to hear from my grandmother, who retired and moved to Florida about 10 years ago. She is living the dream of so many people from her generation – making a good living in an East Coast urban area, then retire and move to Florida. She has an open door policy about visiting her – if we ever get the chance to get away for a couple of days, her door is always wide open to us. All we need are a couple of last minute flights and a quick phone call to let her know we are on our way.

So, the surprise when she called is that the open door is not quite as open any longer, but that is good for her. She has made friends in her new neighborhood who love to travel, and she told me that she there is going to be a chance that she has found a last minute accommodation at some exotic location, and might not be home if we are thinking of popping in.

In fact, she just got back from a quick trip to the Pacific Rim. She and her friends found some bargain rates on Qantas and decided to go for a week to New Zealand. After all, the weather is perfect there now – it is their autumn and the temperatures are not too hot, so hiking and exploring the coastline are very stimulating without the excessive summer heat. She loved it!

Jean has invited me to come visit her and her family this summer.  I haven’t seen Jean in at least five years, so the thought of traveling to Scotland to meet her family and visit with her is a really tantalizing thought!  Although Jean told me that I’m welcome to stay with her family, I think that I might want to see what other Edinburgh accommodations options are available.

I’ve always wanted to do something romantic like stay in a Bed and Breakfast in Scotland for a few days.  Even if it’s just me, I’d like to have the experience.  I’ve found a website that helps people book Edinburgh apartments and other accommodations, so I’ll start looking around and seeing what the options are.  I think this is going to be fun!

One of the things that has always fascinated me was how so many people got caught up in the frenzy of digging for gold “back in the day.”  People were killed over the rights to a parcel of land that they were trying to extract gold from.  I think that it’s funny that nowadays people actually pay money to go on “gold digging” vacations – where they pay to go somewhere to pan or dig for gold.  Shaking a gold pan?  No thank you!  I’d much rather take my vacations at DisneyWorld!  Or maybe relaxing on a beach somewhere.    I just can’t understand the draw to pay money to do that on a vacation; I can’t imagine anyone makes any decent money finding any gold doing that sort of thing!

As for me, I would think that the smarter way to make money digging for precious commodities would be to invest in mining stocks and let someone else take the risks and do the digging while I stay in the comfort of my own home and/or office.  My sponsors seem to think so too! Since the price of oil is bound to continue to climb, coal mining will continue to do well and make money as the world looks for other ways to energize our lifestyles.