farewell.

Well, I am home in Cape Breton and I just couldn't be happier. The journey home was almost more than I could bare in my emotional state. With 13cm of snow holding me back from a Christmas at home that I desperately needed you can imagine I had everyone praying, wishing and sending good vibes across the ocean. Thankfully after dragging my stuff around the largest city more than I should have I was on a plane to Canada to hug my mom.

Needless to say it was one of the best Christmas vacations I have ever, ever had. Just being home safe and sound with my family and not sleeping in Heathrow airport with angry people.

So here are a few thank yous, i love yous and i missed yous that I would like to share!

Happy 2011 everyone! Make it a good one!!

xoxoxoxo

Dear England,

How can I ever thank you enough for what you have given me? I find myself completely awestruck by your beauty and overwhelmed at the comfort I have found here. While I am sure many could move here and never return home I am having somewhat of a Dorothy Gale experience. It has been six and a half years since I have lived in Cape Breton and the moment I put an ocean between us this feeling came over me. I don’t know what it was but I knew in my heart that it was time and more importantly that I was ready to come home.

I can’t say I envy people who want a fresh start. What about everything you have done in your life? What about the pain that made you the person you are today? The love that made you realize that there is nothing else like it in the whole world? The life you spent so much time building? I don’t want a fresh start I want to continue living the life I was meant to lead.

So here I am packing my bags, saying so long and finding myself happier, healthier and that much more Tara Coombs than when I arrived.

Dear Brenna,

Remember that time I asked you if you wanted to move to England with me and you did? We make good life choices. Thank you for your friendship, love and laughs. See you soon.

Dear Morgan,

Who is beyond happy she sat by the coolest girl in the room 6.5 years ago? I am.

Dear Wolfville,

I used to think I couldn’t survive without you. Silly me, but it was the people that made you so special along with the memories. You are among the blessings I count every day but I am glad we are doing our own thing now.

Dear Mom & Dad,

Everything I need to say will be said with hugs and maybe a few tears.

Dear Hilary,

This is just the beginning.

Dear Canon G11,

You make me see the world in a different way. Thank you for being the best travel companion a girl could ask for. Let’s do artsy things when we get home.

Dear Emmy,

I miss you every single day.

Dear Harry Potter series,

Most think I have some sort of obsession with you and they are probably right. I don’t think I ever expressed to anyone how by coincidence I have always read the series when going through the roughest patches of my life. Nannie passing away; I finished the book just after, Ellie passing away, leaving the Valley, leaving England, etc. I never plan it... I don’t think “oh I feel a heart break coming on, must read some HP” I think it’s just there, helping me to see that things are rough, things are not always as they seem, you shouldn’t hold people up on pedestals because they are human and bound to fall, thank God (or whoever) for your friends every day, laugh whenever you can, cry when you need to, be thankful for those who have been there for you and all you need is love. Yeah, yeah... I’m corny but don’t you think we need a little more corn in life?

Dear Julie,

I’ll never forget the email you sent me when I was in Rome. I am so happy for you.

Dear Cristina,

Oh England.

Dear Hopkins,

I was surrounded by family growing up. Aunts, uncles and cousins lived literally a stone throw away from my house and I never knew how hard it would be not to have them when I moved to Acadia. Then you guys came along and I felt like I had family close by. I miss you all very, very much and I am thankful for every single one of you!

Dear Jennie,

You’re the best and I promise to hang out with you.

Dear Tyler,

You’re my happy thought.

Dear Deb,

Thank you for hiring me, thank you for hiring me again for the other job, and most importantly thank you for being one of the greatest friends I have ever had.

Dear Ally and Nicole,

Enjoy yourselves and do as much as you can.

Dear Kirsti,

I see many fun adventures for us.

Dear Ashley,

I guess the United Kingdom isn’t meant for us? Maybe our ancestors left for a reason and headed to Benacadie Pond. I plan on spending a lot of time there this summer, care to join me?

Dear pen pals,

I have very much enjoyed writing you letters! I hope to continue when I get home because everyone loves snail mail.

Dear Stephanie, Whitney and Robert,

I love you all with my whole heart.

Dear Heathrow,

Get a fucking snowplow.

Dear Cape Breton,

My one true love, I am ready to come home.

Dear Tara,

You cried more than you ever have in your life, seen some of the most beautiful sights, prayed at the Vatican, wished for love in Glastonbury, ate pizza and drank coffee people would die for in Rome, saw the Harry Potter characters on the red carpet in London, read lots of books in six months, saw the London Symphony Orchestra play Mahler’s 5th, learned that living with less is ok, writing letters is the way people should communicate and you can’t go much longer without music in your life, saw Stonehenge twice, lit candles in every cathedral, drank lots of tea, enjoyed red wine, woke up early, when to bed early, used less internet, cooked better and amazing meals, watched wonderful movies, took care of yourself, survived devil children, talked to the neighbourhood dogs while walking through the park, finished the Harry Potter series and loved every part of yourself: the musician, the teacher, the happy, the daughter, the sister, the friend, the gay, the wanderer, the adventurer, the single person, the artist, the sad, the giver, the wanter, everything. You are stronger, better and wiser after all of your experiences. Never think you failed, never think that going home was giving up.

You did good, kid.

Thank you all for following my adventures. I had more fun than you could possibly imagine.

Merry Christmas and I hope 2011 finds you and your families well.

Much love,

Tara

I'm home.

londontown

Here I am in London, it's 3:00pm and I'm on Morgan's cozy couch with hot chocolate (... found it in the cupboard! it was asking to be used!) and watching Terminator! There are so many things I could be seeing and doing but my feet just aren't working. The past few days I have filled them with walking and sightseeing. Today, I just can't. I am saving my energy for a pretty party of the grandest kind! Nicole and Tegan are coming over for a slumber party which will be VERY exciting!! I have a feeling there will be lots of laughs, pretty smiles and lots of love!

Tomorrow will be a busy day full of fun things!! I will update when I can!

Lots of love from London!!

xoxo

Gaga tickets sold out?

heartbreaking.

but we will see about this....

Hello from sunny Bristol!

Again it is a spring day (ok... it feels like it) here in Bristol! Beautiful, sunny and not too chilly! I can't remember what my post was about last time... something tells me it could have been angry. I can't view my actual blog because I am at the library and they have a internet block on websites with profanity... Coombs! I'm shocked.

It is safe to say there have been an arrange of emotions in my life the past six months. Yes folks it's been six months since I have arrived here! Sometimes it feels like longer, other times it seems like I just greeted Brenna at the bus stop in June.

Christmas is in full swing here in Bristol! Lots of little markets, amazing smells coming from the city centre, hot doughnuts being the one that follows me around! We don't have much snow like everyone else but we had a little bit earlier in the week. It looks so pretty here and odd! The ground is still so green here not brown like home! I must say I have been feeling pretty homesick since Christmas Daddies last weekend. I'm dealing though.

Last night I went to see Johnny Flynn with Hilary!! Amazing! If you don't know him you should!

I'm going to rent some movies from the library tonight and hope the sun continues for the next couple of days so I can enjoy it then.

Hope you are well and that you are getting excited for the Christmas season!

xo

Merry Christmas Daddies!!

This is the 2nd time I have missed the Cape Breton Christmas Daddies Telethon. I'm watching it online which I am thrilled about! I'm also glad that Hilary decided to go to Glastonbury today cause I have bursted into tears at the sight of familiar faces... I'm homesick.

What do I miss about not being there:

-The music & musicians

-My lovely friends and family. Some people I see once a year and it is always wonderful to see them!

-Endless supply of egg nog and we don't drink it all during the say which means I leave with arms filled of my favorite beverage.

-The after party.

-Watching my aunt Mary Christmas Murphy jump up and down with happiness at how wonderful and giving the Cape Bretoners have been.

-The best part, watching Papa tear up when he sees the final total and feeling proud of his daughter Mary who changes people's lives.

I don't think I am made for this distance between myself and the people I love so dearly.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day! Do something fun!!

xoxoxoox

Lo! How A Rose E'er Blooming

We have snow!! I was working on Friday and the kids were so excited with the idea that they might get 5-8 cm, funny. Friday was the day we were going to go dancing, we watched Harriet the Spy and drank some cider and wine instead. We thought we would push it to Saturday instead we went to the Christmas Market in Bath, bought AMAZING cheese, wine, cherry pie, something really pretty for me to remember England (stay tuned for pictures) and just had a wonderful time in beautiful Bath! We rented Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Love Actually. Watched the first movie while eating bruschetta, cheese and wine. All in all it's been an amazing weekend.

The other week poor Hilary got a cold and I made some vegan non-chicken noodle soup! We are going to make some today, eat our pie, craft from xmas cards, and watch Love Actually!

Tip for those who are cold before going to bed! Last night I was shivering like I was outside in the cold! So I thought "how can I quickly warm up my bed before getting in it?!" I came up with the idea to iron my bed!!! I may have looked crazy but it helped a lot. Try it sometime!

Hope you all had a wonderful and happy weekend!

ox

Off to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I've never had hard feelings towards Mondays like a lot of people I know. In fact I like them quite a bit! My Dad has always has the "barber's holiday" and since he works until 6ish every night I really enjoyed seeing him at home on Monday afternoons. That alone was the reason I liked Mondays but I also loved going to school, not lying. I loved seeing my friends after the weekend if I didn't get to see them, what we were going to do in class for the week, etc. I don't mind Mondays.

Yesterday was a whole different story. It wasn't that it was Monday, hell I was thinking it was later in the week to be honest... Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, even with Hilary! Of course the only thing that did go right was Harry Potter. After a long day of worrying, stressing, and yes crying I packed up my computer and my sorry self to go to the library to wait for the 4:30 showing of the movie. Because of the awful day I didn't get the chance to get excited about the movie and what I usually do before HP didn't need to happen: stand in line for an hour, it wasn't midnight, I wasn't acting like a 12 year old... things like that. I sat with my popcorn (God bless Hilary for buying me a treat) and I started watching the movie I have been waiting to see for the longest time.

It was everything I could have hoped for! It made me feel better because at least I am not roaming around the UK in a tent without showers, contact to the outside world, hanging out with your two best friends... actually that sounds appealing right now. Anyway! I loved it and surprisingly I can wait for the last one, as it is the very last one.

Hope you are well.

xoxo