My Copilot Is A Troll

This summer, my Mom and I went on a road trip for the first time since 2013, to attend a family wedding. Our road trips are usually to the Peace River Country, where Mom grew up. Mom is a great road trip partner. We like a lot of the same things and rarely run out of things to talk about. She likes to be the driver, which means I get to enjoy the scenery (and have control of the maps!) It never fails, when we see a "Pass With Care" sign, one of us will ask "when will we see a Pass Willy Nilly sign?" Some jokes never get old! It's a beautiful drive, I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. I lived in the Peace region for a total of 9 years. On the way up, we went through Rocky Mountain House (breakfast stop at Tim's), and Whitecourt (gas stop). The gas station had the most amazing old fashioned candy store (I got raspberry cranberry salt water taffy) and an extensive gift shop. We both bought some Naked Bee lotions and balms. We made it to Grande Prairie in time ...

Where did it all begin? There is no single starting point, more like a convergence of different events and experiences that led me to this place.  During the Covid 19 shutdowns, I started a massage blog to reach out to my clients and help them to help themselves, when they were unable to get treatment. I discovered a love for writing that I never knew I had. I tried to write a few posts after returning to work, but since I was spending all day with my clients, the inspiration for it was gone. It's a super useful blog though, with a lot of information about common conditions and injuries, you should check it out! https://chinookmassagetherapy.blogspot.com Also between 2020 and 2022, some really major changes happened in my life. I'm not going to go into a ton of detail, but they are significant catalysts. I grew up on a mixed grain and cattle farm in Southern Alberta. It had been in my family for over 100 years when my parents sold the farm and moved to town. Soon after, my fath...