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

and in other news!

My best friend is getting married and I am lucky enough to share it with her and Mr. Strong!

xoxoxo

Belief makes things real.

It is all fine for Alanis to be singing about being poor and happy... she's quite rich now isn't she?

To say I am discouraged and stressed might be an understatement. I am trying my best to keep a smile on my face and my loved ones convinced I am doing fine and that all is well but I'm getting a little tired.

I was told that living in England was expensive and while I agreed I also said that if you are making the pound to support yourself it wouldn't be too bad. You need to be making that pound though. Truth is I have worked 2 days since September and hesitated on getting a part-time job because I was worried it would conflict with possible work days. I wake up at 6 every morning, eat breakfast, put on my teacher clothes and sit with my coffee and wait until 7am to call into work. Then I wait. Four hours of waiting until I can continue with my day.

My parents have been so helpful and supportive over my adventure and I am thankful for that every single day. Last weekend my brother got in an accident with the family van. He is ok but the van was totaled. Two week before that we found out that I have to start paying 730.00 every month for 9.5 years to student loans. Needless to say I'm feeling so many emotions right now.

I've been living for pay day for six years and while it worked when I was a student I find it's kicking my ass as a person in the "real world". I am about to spend my first Christmas away from everything/one I love and the plan was to throw money at this situation... distract myself from the shock of not being home. AND I can't find egg nog anywhere.... kick me in the face.

So there you have it... stuff I wouldn't normally write on a postcard. As always, things could be worse and I know that. Pray that the travel store calls me back and wants me to work there over the Christmas season.

Every time I talk to my Dad he says "it'll work out, don't worry" of course I cry whenever he says it but he believes so I will believe.

Oh my blueness could be brought on by the beginning of the end, Harry Potter. Seeing it Monday! Wish me luck.

xo

Needs a date for new years

Plan: Dublin for 25ish pounds.

If interested you can apply for a chance to be my date... Might even buy you a fleur.

And to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end.

JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Leicester Square

Getting ready for their arrival!

Harry Potter!

Hermione Granger

The Twins! Fred and George!

Malfoy (who was actually very nice)

How can I possibly explain in words how wonderful this experience was? I can't. If that happens to be my last adventure for a little while I am more than ok with it!

Oh Harry Potter and the gang, I do love you.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

Much love!

might paint something that i wanna hang here someday

I would be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated by not working. It is scary because when I am not in a classroom I get nervous and I question if I should be in there at all. I second guess my abilities to work with kids and if I know my shit well enough. I had a half day on Friday and the mome

nt I walked into the classroom it was like I was meant to be there all along. Mind you the kids were well behaved and kind so that makes my desire to work with them much more stronger. I was more myself! I smiled more, laughed with them, sat and thought out ideas for their assignments. It felt right and I missed it. Overall it was an excellent day on Friday! I didn't even mind that it took me 3.5 hours to get home and I had to stand in the rain for 30 minutes before my travels. If that did bother me I best be moving to a drier countr

y.

When I arrived home it was still raining so we didn't end up going to the

fireworks for Guy Fawkes Day. As much as I love fireworks I was not prepared to stand in the rain to watch them. Hilary and I made curry and ate "it's Friday cake" from waitrose and heard firecrackers going off. What were firecrackers early in the night started to turn into a huge fireworks display ALL over the neighbour and city. My view out my bedroom window is pretty damn amazing and all night the were going off! It was beautiful!! We didn't have to go anywhere at all!!

Saturday greeted us with sunshine so we got out our camera and headed to Clifton Village. If any

of you com

e and visit me this will be one of our big stops. It is the cutest little place in the world! Full of coffee shops, local food, amazing restaurants, little shops, etc. You can always walk through it to get to the suspension bridge! We were trying to make our way to Ashton Court which is a huge estate with walking trails and a deer farm. Yep, just a bunch of deer hanging ou

t enjoying life! Sadly we didn't make it but we had quite the adventure.

I neglected to tell you that we had an interesting experience in Poland involving a dangerous highway. Poland has the highest rate of death on their highways because they drive too fast and pass people all the time. It's scary driving on it

so you can imagine my fear when Hilary and I go for a walk on our last day and we come to this busy road that we have to walk on OR take the route we just took. The route itself was a TINY bit scary but only for me. I don't watch horror movies anymore but I have seen enough to know that people come over of corn fields, there are scary things in woody areas, and ponds are filled with things beyond your wildest imaginations. So I had no idea where we were but I was still very much enjoying myself but with scary horror flicks running through my head... Then we get to the highway. It's not like a Canadian highway with 4+ lanes it's a small 2 lane highway still packed with fast cars and transfer trucks. When a car would come towards us we would have to walk on the grassy area which would also be cove

red in poison ivy. Needless to say my heart was racing the whole time and I said some hail marys. I survived and now it is a funny story we remember together. Yesterday, a similar incident happened where I thought a certain road would take us to Ashton Court. Wrong, just took us to the highway. So we chanced it crossed it to a "footpath" with wet slippery leaves and heaved ourselves up the hill with the help of a tree. Good times. Then we came home to the city continuing with the fireworks!

We are alive and have some lovely pictures and I had a grand sleep because I was tuckered out from our adventures!

Well hello November!

It's a cloudy morning in Bristol and I hoping the rain holds off so I can venture to the library at 10 to print off some resumes. There is a new health food/local food/organic/amazing/ veggie friendly store that just opened and they need a part-time employee for Thursdays and Saturdays. I think I would volunteer at that store so if they are willing to pay me I'm very down with that. (The Better Food Company <----- check me out!)

I bought my tickets to go to London on November 11th-13th. They are having the Harry Potter premiere that day and I am going to try out my stalking skills and see if I can see some of my favorite characters! I may have mentioned it before and as silly as it seems HP is a big reason for why I'm here in England. Oh the happiness it brings me!

Halloween was a success! People enjoyed our costumes and we enjoyed getting ready. Halloween itself wasn't a big to do. I called my favorite people to wish they a wonderful evening! Let's just say I would have given anything to hang out with Darth Vader and a motorcycle dude. AND apparently we gained an hour so I am now an hour closer to you (for those across the ocean)

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Much love.

xo

Happy Halloween!!

Today:

I called my mother and she told me to go do something fun because I'm in England.

let the memories be good for those who stayer

Yesterday was a day to be remembered! It was beautiful out and I got a call to work for tomorrow! In celebration Hilary and I decided it was time to go exploring so we went to Gloucester Road. This place is magical, I tell you. Fun little shops, foods from around the world, little markets AND a coffee shop that sells pumpkin spice lattes. Yep, my journey to find a pumpkin spice latte was completed yesterday thanks to Coffee #1 on Gloucester Rd. We sat and felt completely in love with Bristol all over again! I find that happens on a daily basis.

Good days all around!

Miss you! xo

everything is illuminated.

Jonathan Safran Foer wrote a book about a young man traveling to the Ukraine to find out more about his heritage. The man is from the US, vegetarian and can't speak the language. There is a apart of the book where the topic of him being a vegetarian comes up and the people he is with from the Ukraine can't understand this and think it is so unhealthy and continues to push meat on him throughout his journey. It was quite funny in the book and little did I know that when I arrived to the 100 year old house in Poland I was about to have that same scene from the book playing out before my eyes. I went to Poland and everything was illuminated.

I wasn't there for very long (the 12th-16th) but I saw enough to know that I have to go back. I had the authentic Polish experience, staying in a house with a woman who speaks Polish or German. Since I speak neither everything we said was translated. Maria is 83 and has been through more than anyone should. Her stories of living through the war and everything else Poland has gone through would be a best seller if a book was ever written. Maria is the chief of the village and builds parks for young children to play in. She also takes in people who are traveling around whether she knows them or not. Still through everything she has experienced in life there is a light in her eyes and so much love in her heart. If we were all a bit more like that I am sure the world would be happier.

I ate like every meal was my last, perogies (my all time favorite), soups, bread, cheese, fruit, etc. Everything tasted better in Poland! Maybe it was because I was on vacation and I had nothing to worry about while I was there. Not only was the food amazing but the people we were with. Ursula, someone who I have known forever, treated us so well! On our first full day Ursula, Ella (her sister-in-law), Ursula's daughter Ursula who they call Ula, Hilary and I all went to the local market. People, I died and went to scarf heaven... May have purchased three but they are beautiful and weren't expensive! Then they took us

for lunch and I had myself some perogies. Every Christmas Ursula makes them and it's one

of our suppers throughout the holidays. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss them as much as Christmas morning, yes folks they are that good. SO! I has real Polish perogies and my god they were amazing!!

We spent all of our evenings visiting with their family, drinking wine, telling stories, watching Polish tv and understanding "yes, no, thank you and very". (One night a newer season of House was on and I couldn't understand what they were saying but House was totally dancing with Cuddy and I could hardly stand it... I'm only on season 3 and Hilary and I can't get enough of House and his witty humour!) Sorry for the sidetrack. It was so relaxing just to sit there and hear about the history of the house and village.

Hilary and I went to Wroclaw for a touristy day! It was beautiful, sunny and full of fun things to do. I think one of my favorite parts was our couple of hours spent in the gardens.

Think KCIC gardens x 5! It was beautiful and peaceful. The trip came together so fast that we didn't really research too many things to do so we went on a whim and saw things that caught our eye. We also bought some souvenirs and postcards. Once lunch rolled around we walke

d to the town centre. It is one of the biggest centres in all of Europe! That is impressive since Wroclaw was destroyed right after the war and then the aftermath and communism, etc. It is beautiful! Where did we go for lunch you might ask? A Vegan/Veggie Polish restaurant. Yep! Again we had perogies but they were a bit different, still amazing though.

Our last day in Poland was absolutely beautiful! We spent the day chatting, eating well again, going on walks, taking pictures, and just loving everything about the experience we were having. So if you are pondering where you would like to visit in Europe I would highly recommend putting Poland on the list. If I can and I will go back for su

re.

Yet again another European adventure full of history, laughs, smiles, beauty and love.

"It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past. It is always along the side of us...on the inside, looking out. "

— Jonathan Safran Foer

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend with great people!

I am thankful for you!

xo

October

If I haven't mentioned how much I love October then I apologize to one of my favorite months. I think it's my reflection month (yep, still feel a tad barf-y over the word "reflection"). What have I been thinking about?

-The two months I haven't worked. Last summer I didn't work all of August and took me forever to bounce back. I guess life is testing me again to see how far it can push me. I'm stubborn, I know that and the thought of getting a part time job while waiting for teaching to pick up makes me angry, sad and confused. Didn't I just send six years becoming a teacher? Lame. Oh well, I am going to get over myself and apply for a few places. Who knows! Maybe I will like them. I know there is one place I would like to work. There is a stationary/art/craft/etc. store close by who needs someone to work on Saturdays. I would work there forever if I could. Screams my name doesn't it? Yes. Here's hoping. I think that I should be paid to watch tv. I so that VERY well.

-Trying not to get worried about the travel alert put out by the Canadian government... Mom and Dad aren't worried so I guess I shouldn't be. Mom said "just don't go on that London Eye thing for a while". Thanks, Mom :)

-Life. I would really enjoy living in the woods in a nice little house making art. I would have to be close to the beach because I need to get drift wood for said art. I don't know what I am going to make yet but maybe I can make some money and be one with nature. (that doesn't sound corny when I say it in my head...) I also want to open up a veggie sandwich shop. Stay tuned.

-Making a tofurkey for Sunday. I don't care if I am broke I am making a goddamn tofurkey to enjoy with my Canadian friends and I will be thankful for everything... even this "free time".

-Today I am going to take my camera on a walk. It's been a while and I have yet to discover Ashton Court. There is a deer park thing and you can walk around and see 100's of deer all around!! Sounds magical.

-House. I have an addiction to House and it is so, so good.

-Poland in a week from today!!

Happy day! xo

Quick update

-No work yet
-It's raining so I am staying in and reading HP 3 with lots of tea
-The ensembles at the university are for students only... lame
-I bought some things at Ikea yesterday!
-My parents are the best
-I'm going to Poland on October 12th to the 16th! Woo!
-If you are reading this, I probably miss you

Hope you are well!
xo