Preparing for a big move

Many times - likely more than I could begin to recall - throughout my life, the skills and lessons I learned during my years in Guiding have served me well and helped make a wide range of situations easier to navigate.

Few circumstances drill home this point better than when I'm getting ready for to move houses, which I'm very pleased to share with all of you, my husband and I will be doing at the end of this coming February.

After nearly six years of living in Ontario, following a great deal of thought, planning, and consideration, we recently decided that the best step for us at this point in our lives (for a number of important reasons) would be leave Toronto and move to my home province of British Columbia.

Though I grew up (and enjoyed all of my Guiding years) in B.C., this will be the first time that my European born and raised husband will get to call Canada's most westerly province his own.

As anyone who's ever prepared for a cross country move (in which you pack up all your belongings) knows, there's a significant amount of work involved with such a major life change. From detailed checklists to weeks of packing, finding a new home, organizing transportation, and following a budget, a long distance move like this requires careful preparation and well coordinated efforts on everybody's parts.

At times like this I think back to days spent planning for Girl Guide camps, several of which involved weeks or even months (as in the case of SOAR 1998) to prepare for. Then as now, there was planning, budgeting, task division, and plenty of packing involved. And of course, you have to be as prepared as possible for the unexpected - one of the cornerstones of the Guiding philosophy for sure.

When we arrive in B.C. we'll have about 7 to 14 days between then and when the moving company delivers our belongings, so for a little while (though we'll be graciously hosted by some of my relatives) we'll be channelling a campout vibe by living out of our suitcases (in a nod to camping packsacks) and adapting to a different environment than the one we're used to.

Fortunately we see this move as a positive one and we’re both extremely excited about it - as well as  for the many prospects the future holds in store for us in British Columbia.

As there's only about a month left until our moving day, this is likely the last post I'll be sharing here for the next few weeks. Once we're settled into our new home and have the internet set up (sometime in March), I'll be sure to let you know how things are going.

During this time, though you can always email me with your patch trading and other Girl Guide/Girl Scout related queries, please be aware that I may not respond to you as quickly as usual and that I won't be able to send out any patch swaps (as my all of patches have already been packed up for the move).

I appreciate your understanding about this and hope you'll join in my excitement regarding this exciting new chapter in my life.

Until we chat again, Guiding and Scouting friends, may you all have a wonderful rest of the winter – and lots of terrific patch swaps!

Merry Christmas wishes to one and all!

What a whirlwind, unpredictable, often trying year it's been on this end. Never dull for the tiniest of moments, 2011 has been one of the rockiest years I can recall throughout my adult life.

Yet, I’m the first to admit that it could (goodness forbid!) have certainly been worse, and I'm immensely grateful for those moments that did go right and the special people in my life who have helped make this year more bearable.

All thoughts of the past twelve months are but a distant memory this morning though, for Christmas is here and with it the invaluable gift of the unwritten future that lies ahead for 2012 and beyond.

While things for many, myself very much included, continue to be quite slow on the patch trading front, there too lies the prospect that perhaps one of these days our beloved hobby will see a resurgence of activity once again.

 

{A wonderfully charming vintage image of Canadian Girl Guide and Boy Scout who were helping Santa Claus deliver Christmas gifts to needy children during the 1920s. Photograph by way of The Glenbow Museum on Flickr.}

 

For the moment though, all is calm and right in the world on this frosty winter morn. Neighbourhood lights twinkle like fireflies in the pale morning light as a bitingly cold wind rustles through the air, while deep inside the recesses of my little apartment, the kitchen is already starting to heat up with activity for today's feast.

Soon present will be opened, laughter shared, smiles passed around the room, and holiday songs played for the soundtrack of another beautiful December 25th.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish each and every one of you a truly, incredibly lovely Christmas, holiday season, and New Year!

Let us all raise our glasses in a collective toast to the inspiring, important, and downright wonderful spirit of this most glorious time of the year.

♥ Jessica

Interviewed about my love of patch collecting

Recently I was contact by a young gal named Lilly from the States who wanted to interview about my interest in patch collecting for a school paper she was writing.

I was deeply touched that wanted to do so and instantly agreed to conduct an interview by email. Once it was completed, I asked her if she'd be ok me publishing her questions along with my answers to them here on this site and she said that was totally fine that.

Though I've been interviewed before by various blogs, publications and radio stations in relation to certain interests and aspects of my life, this was the first interview I'd had pertaining to patch collecting, which makes extra special in my eyes.

Long time readers of this blog may already know some of this information about me and my history with patch collecting, but as I haven't done a post on the specifics of what got me into swapping and gathering Girl Guide and Girl Scout patches in quite a while, I thought that this interview would make for a great post on that topic.

Without further ado, here's the lovely interview that Lilly and I held last week.

 

1. What was the first girl guide item you collected?

Technically the first Girl Guide item I collected with a Girl Guides of Canada Brownie program book and small number of Brownie badges that had belonged to one of my aunts in the 1960s. My Grandma gave me these items to play with for fun when I was little, however I did not become a member of the Girl Guides of Canada myself until a few years later when I was 12 years old. Once I was part of the GGC myself, I began to ardently trade and collect Girl Guide patches at camps and other Guiding events (in my home province of British Columbia) and have been hooked on collecting GG items ever since!

 

2. Why did you decide to collect girl guide insignia?

I've always enjoyed collecting a wide array of items (I have pretty eclectic tastes), but for me as an adult now these days, collecting Girl Guide items is a way to keep the wonderful memories I have of my years as a youth member of the GGC alive and in my heart. I've been chronically ill for the past decade and not well enough to be an active member of the GGC, so for me collecting is also an especially important way to not lose the connection I loved so much when I was younger with Guiding.

 

3. What is your favorite item in your collection?

This is a very tricky question to answer, because I have so many favourites, but I would have to say that my favourite item is the red and white, tasselled Canada Cord which I earned myself when I was a Pathfinder.

 

4.) How or where do you get your pins/badges/patches from?

When I was a youth member of the GGC I collected all of my patches and pins with other girls or adult members at camps and other Guiding events, however since I began collecting again a few years ago (in 2007), I've connected almost solely with fellow collectors online and arranged trades by email (with the items themselves going out and arriving by postal mail). Through online trading I've connected with people as close as my own city and as far away as places like Australia and South Africa - some of whom have since become good friends (as tends to happen when Girl Guides and Girl Scouts connect anywhere!).

 

5. Was there anyone who inspired you to start collecting Girl Guide insignia?

No, not specially. I started collecting out of my own interest in Guiding as a girl and collected the whole time I was with the GGC. In 2007, wanting to reconnect with my Guiding roots, but not being in good enough health to be an active member of the GGC, I started collecting again and have been doing so ever since (and certainly plan to collect for as long as I possibly can).

6. How long have you had your collection?

Unfortunately only a few (perhaps six or seven) items from my childhood collection survive any more (nearly all of my first Girl Guide collection was lost during a move many years ago), however I've built up a wonderful collection over the past four years, which is the duration for which I've been collecting again for as a adult.

 

7. Why did you start your blog for girl guides and girl scout?

I started my Girl Guide and Girl Scout blog primarily for two main reasons. One, to share my love of Guiding and patch collecting with the world, and secondly as a means by which to connect with fellow patch collectors online.

--------------------------------------

I want to sincerely thank Lilly for finding me, this blog, and my patch collect interesting enough to interview. Doing so was a total joy and I very much hope that my answers helped her get a great grade on her school assignment.