Monica Update - April 9

It's been awhile now that my voice and vision have been absent from this blog. I just wanted to post an update to let you all know I'm alive and well and working my way back to being present here. Michael and I spent the first two months of 2012 traveling across the country and down to Mexico before we returned to California at the end of February to begin the transition into our new life as General Managers at Wilbur Hot Springs.

It has been a particularly challenging transition for me thus far. I've been experiencing a sort of culture shock all around: moving to a remote off-the-grid location, learning to manage a big operation, living out of boxes indefinitely, and generally feeling like there isn't enough time in the world to do everything that needs to get done. It's all very new to me and a huge shift from my relatively predictable and tranquil life in Mendocino. Thus, in all of the upheaval of this transition, my camera has been gathering dust in a corner.

I realize that I need to maintain some kind of creative outlet in order to keep my sanity, so I've dusted off the camera and have been taking photos again every day since April 1.  I'm doing my best to maintain my practice and being kind to myself when I just can't do it. I am still very much in a state of adjustment to this new life and trying to figure out how to keep my balance.

Thank you, dear readers, for your patience and support of this little blog. And thank you, Evelyn, for keeping up the blog on your own while I've been learning out how to ride these waves of change.

~ Monica

P.S. The above is a photo I took of the Wilbur valley from a mountain above. Isn't it lovely?