Putting Things on Hold

Well, it has been a time for me, I’ll tell you what. I am coming out of my haze, a little worse for wear, and not really sure what day it is, but I’m coming around.

I haven’t really written anything in the fortnight I’ve been away, so I have a lot of catching up to do there. I’ve also not kept up with my other work. At all. I’m not that concerned about it, to be honest. I’m not so far out of my haze that I find myself concerned with much at all. If you know, you know.

The rest of the year will be spent in recovery, I think. Not just emotionally, but financially as well. There were a lot of things I was hoping to do this year that I will not be able to do. At all.

The funds I had set aside for my adventures this year have been eaten up, I’m afraid. The visit to the vet, and then the unexpected funerary costs that immediately followed have killed all my plans.

I had hoped to head over to When Worlds Collide in Calgary this year. I cannot afford that trip now. So, short of some kind of immediate significant financial windfall, it’s not going to happen. I’ll put that aside for now and try again next year. A shame, really.

I will still be doing Can-Con. It’s local and more affordable. And I really would hate myself for missing it.

I was also supposed to go on my first overseas trip in years this year. I had been invited out to join my lovely cousin and her hubby on their trip to Scotland and Ireland happening in a couple of months. I was making preparations to join them (and head off on my own to visit Shara Brae, which I’ve been wanting to do FOREVER), but there’s absolutely no way I’ll be able to swing it now. I’m really sad about that one.

There’s nothing for it, however, but to shrug and trundle on. I’ll see if I can’t make it next year. I really do want to visit Skara Brae (and Maeshowe, and so many other sites), and since the invite came, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. So I will go. Just not this year (Sorry, Sherrie!). Maybe I’ll make it a whole thing and visit a lot of Neolithic sites all over the UK. Just kidding. I’m not made of money.

But that doesn’t mean exciting things aren’t happening this year. My mum will be visiting from Australia. So that means I still get to use my holiday days for awesome things. She’ll be here for a couple of weeks in October, and might possibly join me at Can-Con. If she does, it will be her first ever convention of this type, and I’m really excited to introduce her to this world that I love so much.

I also plan to take up to the Gatineau Mountains for some lovely fall hikes, maybe out to Upper Canada Village for the pumpkin carving displays, and I’ll check out what’s going on with the museums around town, too. If you have any experiences in or around Ottawa that you know of, let me know, and I’ll see if I can’t drag my mum out to them.

So, I might not be able to do the things I planned to this year, but other cool stuff is definitely happening. And maybe next year will be a better one for making plans and keeping them.

I just need to ensure I have the funds. Death is expensive, apparently. [insert despairing laugh]

Okay, there is much to be getting on with today, so I shall leave it here. I hope you’re all well.

Slán go foill!