Smithers, Voting, Fall, and Crafts

The countdown to leaving for Smithers is getting really small, and I'm getting really excited. We're planning to leave on Friday and at least shave off a few hours from the trip, which means we're leaving in just two more sleeps! We've got a big week planned of doing a whole lot of nothing, drinking gallons of tea (possibly gallons of wine as well?), sitting, sleeping, relaxing, chatting, and uh....that's about it. It will be fantastic!

In other news, Brad and I exercised our democratic rights on Monday and went to the polls to cast our votes in the advanced polls. I really hope that everyone heads out on Tuesday and votes. I've heard a lot of people say that they don't want to vote because they hope if the turnout is really low it will encourage the government to change the process...sadly I think this will backfire. Why would a government who gets voted in (even if it's only by 50% of eligible voters) want to change the process and risk not having the same level of power in future? I hope that more people will vote for the simple fact that they can. We are allowed to speak up and say who we want to represent us, so why wouldn't we? Maybe the "first through the gate" system is flawed, but the only way to change it is to show that we actually care...by voting. That's my two bits. I don't care who you vote for, just do it. I also find it distressing when women don't vote. Think about it, there was a time when we weren't permitted to have a say. Hundreds of women fought tooth and nail for the right to be represented, for the right to make our own choices and not be forced to follow the decisions of our husbands and fathers. Ok, I'm a little passionate about it. But encouraging people to vote is as far as my opinions will ever stretch into the public ear.

Moving on to more light hearted topics...I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I love this time of year. I love fall. Crunching through the leaves when I walk just brings a smile to my face. I love scarves, and gloves, and fall jackets. Don't get me wrong, the heat over the past couple of weeks was nice...but it was hard to enjoy when no one was acclimatized to it. It just felt...hot, and misplaced. But now fall has arrived, along with Thanksgiving and the prospect of dressing up for Halloween...well, I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not dreading this winter like i have in previous years. I'm sort of looking forward to it. Go figure.

Fall also brings the Fall into Christmas craft fair at the Stockade, which happened last weekend. I went with Ashley and her Mum and we walked around and viewed the literally more than 100 booths. It was incredible. There were lots of amazing gifts and crafts for sale and it was really hard not to buy anything. Instead though I dropped $5 on raffle tickets for SouthWest Crisis Services, and it paid off when I got a call on Sunday night saying I'd won a set of handmade mugs! Yay!