Mid-week random ramble 005

Image by b1ubb via Flickr

1.  It’s smokey again… yesterday afternoon the sun took on an orange haze and the light levels dropped drastically… there’s this eery quiet that comes with that. Reminds me of 2003 Firestorm… remember those days… sounds of water bombers directly overhead our house, swooping low for another load of lake water. Sirens, always sirens. And then the night the knock came on the door and we had to leave. We returned to our home 5 days later, others were not so fortunate.

2. Sleeping in is becoming over-rated. I’m looking forward to the early mornings and scheduled days again. While summer is fun and laid back, it can also become aimless. That’s when I know I need to take on a task or think outside of my own needs and desires. Have someone over to the house, do a deed of service, plan something bigger.

3. When people go to the beach they bring towels. When people come to swim at our pool, more times than not, they forget their towels. I keep a lovely basket on our porch filled with towels most of the time. And they are available for everyone to use. So I’m not begrudging the use of the towels… just noticing an interesting phenomenon. I’m also noticing that I have a couple of towels that didn’t originate with our family. A poolside perk for us!

4. Emmy (our GSP puppy) chewed on played with my little 4 year old friend… just a little bit… and she cried, and then I felt terrible. The little girl’s mother, a dear friend, didn’t freak out… and there being no physical evidence of the encounter playdate, we dried her daughters little tears, got her a drink of juice and carried on. That’s true friendship… grace under fire!

5. Going through some bins in the basement I came across my high school report cards. Embarrassed to admit that my marks are slightly less than I remember them being. Malcolm suggested we post them on the fridge to establish a baseline for their report cards. Funny guy!!!

6. Enjoyed a lovely Tuesday evening (Aug. 17) at the Caravan Farm Theatre with Claire. We arrived early… she was the very first one at the box office when it opened. We spread out a blanket on the ground (carefully staying clear of evidence of large horses in close proximity) and enjoyed some sushi while we waited. We played a board game, ate some chocolate, laughed until we peed our pants cried, chatted to the other theatre goers that had also arrived early, and that was the first two hours. What followed was another two hours of magic! If you live in the Interior of B.C. and have never taken in one of the Caravan Farm Theatre productions near Armstrong, you really should. Their summer production, ‘EVERYBODY’ is a modern morality play in 7 acts… each one written by a different theatrical company from the Lower Mainland. The audience sits in a rustic wooden amphitheatre, and each one of the acts incorporates horse (large work horses!!!) drawn wagons of actors and stage sets which come and go in front of the audience. Dusk falls, temperatures become more moderate, lights and music and audience participation ensues… and it’s just magic.

Our only disappointment was the lack of conclusion after the miriad of virtuous and vice-like decisions were presented… but that’s postmodernism at it’s very best. Nothing definite, nothing tied up in a neat little bow… draw your own conclusions… don’t want to have any moral absolutes, do we? But, we Evan’s girls had a great time anyway… a teaching moment on how one can enjoy without having to agree on everything!

Keep your eyes open for their Christmas production… in which the audience is borne on horse drawn sleighs (complete with jingle bells, hot cocoa, and cold noses) through the night-time countryside to each of several stage sets. It might become a tradition if you try it.

As Porky Pig so eloquently says… “That’s all folks!!!”

Lesley-Anne

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Mid-week random ramble 004

1.  A full moon out tonight, we picked up ice cream and headed to the beach for a sit. Came upon a wonderful sight… 15 swimmers, dressed in wetsuits, strung around with glow stick necklaces, bracelets, headbands, and in some cases, earrings, heading into the lake for an evening swim. It seems they were celebrating a birthday as they indulged in a little cake just before taking to the water. A magical happening for us to watch from the shore.

2. God is all around us, putting on magnificent shows every sunset, serenading us with bird songs in the garden and froggie quartet’s at dusk, swirling the cumulus clouds just so, filling our hearts until they ache with a desire that only God can fill. If we could only see, hear, feel him. He is an infinite mystery and yet he is relational. He is more than our human minds can comprehend, and yet he is near, with us. He speaks to each of us in uniquely personal ways. Do you hear him?

3. Planning a Christmas holiday with the extended family is quite complicated but there must be a way to make it work…………

4. Made two runs to the dump today, and one delivery to our community ‘SHARE’. What a wonderful feeling to come home to a clear driveway and a less cluttered mind.

5. Summer isn’t over yet!!! Tomorrow we are expecting a high of 31 C. Sounds like a good day to head to the beach!!!

6. “The Time Traveller’s Wife” was an OK movie… 6/10 on my scale. We watched it tonight. Not as bad as I expected, but not as good as it could have been. Cinematography redeemed it somewhat. Didn’t read the book. Don’t think I will.

7. Speaking of reading books, for some reason I haven’t been able to read a novel all summer. A friend lent me “Little Bee,” by Chris Cleave. Can’t seem to open the cover. I have, however, read a couple of  non-fiction books and some poetry. And I’ve purchased several books of poetry, including “Belonging,” by Sandy Shreve, and “Blue hour of the day,” by B.C. poet Lorna Crozier. When we were in Tofino, staying in the winter home of local activist and long time resident Maureen Fraser, I dined daily on her prolific collection of poetry… and somewhere I have a list of poetry books that I would like to add to my own collection. I have to say that part of the attraction of Tofino for me, are the late nights spent up alone reading from Maureen’s collection of poetry chapbooks. Pure magic!

8. Selected a colour for the walls in Malcolm’s bedroom. A warm grey called ‘Seattle’ by General Paint. Hummm, I can feel the moodiness settling in already. Now a little bit of spackle and the transformation begins!

9. My parents arrive next Tuesday! We are beginning to make some plans, including compiling a list of possible eating establishments, entertainment venues, and a general buzz of preparation is growing. Jam making is part of this, as it gives me great joy to serve my Dad homemade jam. I’ve made both Raspberry and Blackberry Freezer Jam. They’ve both set well and have been test tasted with positive results. Maybe I’ll even manage to can some peaches too. Those little canning jars all filled and sitting in a row appeal to the ordered part of my personality. Does that make me anal?

10. Another poem is brewing… and because the time to write is at a premium right now, that little poem seed might have to stay in my journal for a few more days. Hint… (it’s about a tow truck and a fire truck…)

11. Things are very quiet around here with 2 out of 3 kids away at camp. The solitary child seems happy enough, but I’m going to be very glad to see the other two on Saturday morning!

12. Still no word the Mink 2 Go (M2G) experiment Claire and I initiated in Tofino. Sadly, perhaps she’s lost at sea, or swamped and sunk? Maybe another launch is in the future… here in a Lake in another bottle… with a lid that’s been waxed shut? I had hoped for some contact, but alas, nothing. Goodbye M2G.

UPDATE!!!!! Just in from our M2G facebook group, M2G is now in San Francisco, CA. She will be launched in the Bay tomorrow! Very cool… yes, indeed!

13. Bedtime…

Peace, out!

Lesley-Anne

Photograph of surfside M2G, taken by Malcolm Evans

Photograph of night swimmer borrowed from here.

Vacation randomness… (hereto known as Mid-week random ramble)

Things of note this week, in a rather random manner;

1.  The carton of eggs that I purchased from the Co-op, has only 11 eggs in it… a first for me. Usually I check for broken eggs, not for less than a dozen inside! Hmmm… one short of a dozen…

2. Our beach fire was stolen from us. We set out our chairs, put wood in the fire pit ready to light, set extra wood and axe at the side, went for supper and presto… the space was taken over by our ‘neighbours’ who moved our chairs and wood out of their way. Bob tried to reason with them, but they would have nothing to do with it. When Bob suggested this was not appropriate social behaviour, they said, “What are you, German?” Huh?

(After some seething, jaw dropping, perspective getting discussions amongst ourselves back at our place, we went back down to the beach and recreated our intentions in another location… it was lovely.)

3. The front tires on my car were deemed by KAL Tire in Nanaimo to be worn out with about 2 weeks of life left. Enough to get us back home and that’s about it. My car is less than 2 years old! Looks like I’ll be having a conversation with the Ford dealership when we get back to Kelowna! My car is the family vehicle… about 30,000 km on it.

4. The kids are reading books. The kids are talking to each other. The kids are walking on the beach, in the forest, in town. The kids are enamored with sea shells, rocks, logs, and water.

5. We are eating candy, chocolate, ice cream, and we don’t care what anyone thinks about that!

6. We are sleeping in, staying up late, and napping, and we don’t care what anyone thinks about that!

7. Dollar store glow sticks are most fun when joined into big circles and used as frisbees on the beach after 11 pm.

8. 3 kids and 2 adults can fit into a 2 bedroom townhouse. 3 kids can fit into one bedroom.

9. It is possible to sleep with the door wide open to the sounds of ocean waves crashing, as long as you have a down comforter on your bed.

10. Having a new chef every day adds a lot of energy and creativity to vacation eating!

11. Someone elses collection of books, magazines, artwork and music is often more interesting than your own.

12. Culture changes can be found by driving several hours away from home, not just by travel to another country.

13. Local restaurants recommended by locals can be the most satisfying to test out.

14. Two European men were found staring at my car (Ford Flex) in the Co-op store parking lot. We gave them a tour, highlighting what we love about our vehicle, smiles were exchanged and we went on our way again.

15. Patterns are everywhere when you are looking to photograph them. Textures cannot be photographed, only touched.

16.  God is everywhere, but most evident in big and wild places like the Pacific Rim.

17. God is everywhere, but most evident in the small and intricate places like tidal pools when the tide is out.

18. Blogging is still a mystery to me, who is reading, why, what effect my words have on them.

19. Firsts, like getting a poem published in a literary magazine such as Lake = Journal of Art and Environment, mark places in a journey where I can look back and say, “God did that.”

20. Vacations are times to relax, reflect, regroup and prepare for what is to come. No matter how much I plan and anticipate what I will do on vacation, I always do ‘less’ but in fact ‘more’ than what I had in mind.