We're still going strong in our third week of summer vacation - and I did indeed experience a few new things this month (remember, I declared 2014 my year of new experiences).
Here we go:
I took my first solo road trip. At least it was my first solo road trip since we moved to Canada. I used to be all badass and drive all over Europe by myself, but that's a different story...
So - I went to Echo Valley Ranch & Spa and it was a good thing I went by myself, because my husband would have not been happy that I stopped about 38 times along the way to take pictures... but how can you not take pictures when you drive through the Fraser Canyon?!?
The trip went well and I'm now officially the Echo Valley Social Media and Marketing Manager - on a freelance basis (because freelance, baby!).
What else? I'm going through my day planner right now, wondering what else I did - I knew I should have taken notes along the way... I blame summer!
Really, June was kind of a blur, so busy and so much going on - but apart from my road trip (did I mention the king sized bed I had for myself?) two other things stand out:
Marius was chosen as one of the recipients of a grant for the first ever Merritt Junior Venture Program!
As you might have seen in my Instagram feed before, he's been creating things out of duct tape for a while and he applied to the program with his "Auer Duct Tape & Design" business.
He received his grant and business license last Friday and set up shop at the Farmer's Market on Saturday - and he sold quite a bit of stuff! He'll be at it all summer, at the Farmer's Market. He's also planning on selling at a few other businesses in town and via a yet-to-be-created Facebook page.
Needless to say, I'm pretty damn thrilled!
The other things that really stand out this month (and that might just be because it was last week and I can't remember anything beyond that...) is my involvement in the Legacy Merritt Program. It's a new experience for me as well.
Everyone who knows me, also knows that I don't like being around children. Being a teacher or working in a daycare would positively be the end of me - and I like my kids much better now, that they are older. Anyway - I thought I would give it a try to work with older people, and it turns out I do enjoy that. I'm doing some volunteer work for the Legacy Merritt Program, which is just launching in Merritt.
Goal of the program is to get seniors and elders involved in the community and for them to pass on their vast knowledge and wisdom by teaching short courses.
Let me give you an example:
Meet Gerlinde Goerlitz.
This 92-year-old amazing woman is one of the seniors of the Legacy Merritt Program.
She has an incredibly interesting life and story and she's more than willing to share it.
She has a pretty good-sized garden, filled with veggies and herbs. And she will be teaching courses about the medicinal use of herbs and about companion gardening.
When I talked to her last week to get the info for her bio, she told me many stories about her youth and her love of herbs and natural medicine. She must have done something right, because at 92 years old, she's still going pretty strong!
Anyway - you get the point, right? I think Legacy Merritt is an amazing program and opportunity to bring generations together and I'm happy to be a part of it.
That's it for June - I need to take notes throughout July to be a bit more coherent at the next round-up... But now I want to know: What's new and exciting with you this month?