I’m really loving this getting up early and doing my Wonder Woman Challenge tasks first thing in the morning. This morning, even though I got up a couple hours late, I went out and walked along the river for a bit. And of course I couldn’t go without taking a few photos. :)

Oh, and if you’re wondering if it’s as cold as it looks, the temperature according to the radio station when I got out of the car was -17C, which works out to about 1F.

So, it’s been a few days. I guess I still have a lot of lessons to learn about communicating and being part of a community. To everyone who emailed and sent messages, thanks for thinking about me, and I’m sorry if I caused you to worry.

For the past few days I’ve found myself in withdrawal mode. I had absolutely nothing to say, and no desire to find something to say. So I did what I’ve done best for the last few years… went into isolation mode. I didn’t check email, didn’t write a word, and didn’t turn my twitter on. It’s been a very reflective few days, and a time for gathering energy to get ready for the changes that are coming.

Today was the day for playing with my creativity as part of the Wonder Woman Challenge. Last week I mentioned that I wanted to start doing something with my photography again but couldn’t find any of the software. I looked for the stuff for hours and finally gave up in disgust. This morning I decided to try again and sure enough, the files were on the first cd I opened this morning. Gotta love the way the Universe works sometimes!

Once I got started there was no stopping me. I spent the better part of the afternoon and evening playing around. Here’s a sample of my first efforts.

I still have to figure out a caption and a quote for it, and it needs some alignment work, but other than that, I’m pretty pleased with my efforts. Not only did I create something, but I kinda worked my way out of the funk I was in. And hey, it got me writing again too!

Sometimes playing at home really is better than going out!

It was way too cold for me to venture outside today. Frigid temperatures and my angina-riddled heart really don’t get along and I’ve learned to be respectful of that fact. So in order to have my play-time today for the Wonder Woman Challenge, I ended up spending an hour alone in my room with the door shut. Just the act of physically shutting out the rest of the house and saying I didn’t want to be disturbed was really freeing for me!

I had been going through more boxes in the morning and shredding stuff, and had come across a cedar box filled with my Sacred Path cards. I hadn’t touched the cards in almost ten years, and when I opened the box and saw them and smelled the cedar there was a real sense of homecoming. I couldn’t believe that I’ve lived in a city for so long that I’d forgotten what cedar smelled like, and how much I loved the smell.

So when I went in for my hour of alone time, I took the cards from the box and decided to spend my play time getting reacquainted with them. That I hadn’t touched them in so long is a real testament to just how far I have strayed from my right path. (No, that’s not a good thing, just in case you were wondering.) I can’t tell you how much joy I felt when I picked up the cards to do a reading and felt the familiar tingles of energy in my fingertips. And the messages I got from the reading were right on too!

After I finished the reading and recorded it in my journal, I sat quietly and meditated on what I’d learned. Of course, I fell asleep during my meditation and had the best, most restful sleep I’ve had in awhile. All in all it was a wonderful afternoon that opened up another piece of me to be set free — one that had been shut away for much too long!