Ashram....

I know. I know. It's been so long since I've posted. I'm not exactly sure why. I think, basically, I was exausted. And needed a break from everything.

Anyhoo, I'm in Toronto for the summer and it's so strange how the Calgary in me is coming out. Basically, I smile at people. And by people, I mean perfect strangers. And I'm scared to cross the streets here. But, boy, do I love being back at Pusie's (the nickname for Pusateries.) and the fact that I can get a cab in a second.

It's like I'm a whole new woman. A happy person! Maybe Calgary has changed me. The other day, I took The Dictator out to breakfast at Eggs Over Easy on Bloor street. We were walking home (her carrying, no joke, three stuffed animals) when I saw a seeing impaired woman, looking very lost.

Mostly, this was, I thought, because there is so much construction going on everywhere that she had to be super careful. I asked her if she would like me to walk her somewhere. So I walked her all the way to her house, her on one arm, and The Dictator on the other.

And The Dictator was being so good, this woman didn't even know I had a three year old on my other arm, until I told her. Anyway, she was a very nice woman. It turns out she became blind in her twenties. Hopefully, I'll run into this woman again, because she was quite lovely.

And then The Dictator asked why the woman couldn't see. I had no idea how to answer. I think I said something like, "Some people can see, and some people can't." It's hard when your child gets to that age where they ask you questions that you really have no clue how to answer.

I'm also working on my next book. I think I have a good title, which makes me happy, because I'm one of those writers who really has to start at the very beginning. I need the actuall title before I can get into writing the book.

But, right now, I have a new obsession. And, I'm hoping some one out there can help me.

I want to go to an ashram. That's my latest obsession. (And I will admit that a lot of it has to do with the fact that I just read Eat, Pray and Love, which is fantastic. So do pick it up. Or I'm sure you have a friend who has read it and can loan it to you.)

A few months ago, I went with a friend to a spa in Arizona. I worked out three hours a day, ate so friggen healthy I thought I may be in detox mode, because I just do not do well without a chocolate bar in my diet every day, and was in bed by nine o'clock every night.

But now I want to go to an ashram, where I can meditate and clean temple floors and enjoy silence. I do want to find inner peace. Yoga helps. A lot. But I want to take it a step further. But I don't want to go to India. I need some sort of ashram that maybe is in California and for beginners. I can't be half way around the world from the Dictator.

So, please, if any of you out there have been to an ashram, or knows someone who has (Also, I only want to go for maybe a week, as I can't leave The Dictator for longer than that...) please do share where and your experience and any tips....

And I promise to start writing more often....

Hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer!