Summer is over. Perhaps not in the UK where record temperatures have kept the thermometer above 30 for the past seven days, but here in Canada I have put jeans on for the first time in months. September is my new year, a habit left over from decades of this being the beginning of a new school year for the girls with all its changes and challenges, and I often make a new year's resolution.

I have, however, realised that for it to have any actual effect, I need to examine what I'm really looking to do. A resolution to learn something new, read more books, write every day or drink less wine won't work unless I shift something.

A small change, acted on regularly, can have a dramatic transformation of habit patterns and outlook. I know I'm know good at the large changes - renting out my house, buying one-way tickets to various countries or, looking farther back in time, studying in France and eloping to New Mexico, but the little ones matter, too.

So my new year's resolution this September is all about intention. I want to live more intentionally. I will use a notebook to jot down my plans and ideas, and will make time in the evening to reflect on how my day went. I feel this might work, and I'm writing it here as sometimes it helps to create accountability. 

I watched the premiere of Swan Song yesterday afternoon at the Toronto International Film Festival. This documentary is a deep dive into the creation of Swan Lake by Karen Kain, one of Canada's top ballerina and former artistic director of the National Ballet. She's also known as Canada's Princess Diana.

Well-made, emotional films such as this light a fire within me. I want to create like that. I want to push everything aside and focus on my writing. I want to own being a writer in a bigger way.

My amazing sister, one of Canada's most sought-after post-production professionals, was the Sound Designer on the film which meant we were invited to the post-screening cocktail party. Watching friends or family in their professional world is always eye-opening, and I was happy in her orbit. I also - fan girl moment - met Karen Kain, and I told her what a thrill it had been to live on the same street as her in the 1980s. 

Going forward? After a quick visit to Chicago, I head to Portugal on Saturday for two weeks of the Portuguese Caminho, which goes from Porto, along the coast, to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I'm doing it with five women I met through the Baja workshop in March, which adds to the fun. We're all in similar places in life, with similar outlooks, but we don't know each other well. This is an opportunity.

After that, I plan to settle in Switzerland for the remainder of the autumn. I'm ready to unpack and be in one place. To write and read, to visit with the surprisingly large number of friends I have in that country and to hike in the Alps as the weather shifts. If anyone knows anyone with a house, flat or caravan to rent near Lake Leman and Geneva...

This entry is more of an update than an exploration, and lacks any sharing of the wonderful trip I took to Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington, DC a few weeks ago. That was a time of reconnection and learning and fun, again with people from the Modern Elder Academy workshop I went to in March. Have I mentioned how much of a hinge that was on this year of discovery? My untethered year has been everything I hoped for, and more. What will the autumn hold??