Endless winter

Release the light within, February 2013

Never buy a house in the winter, February 2013

I dare you to lick it, February 2013

Pull me some spring, February 2013

Some January colour

No boy left behind, January 2013

No tracks, January 2013

Snow ninja, January 2013

Some January colour, January 2013

Highway 53, just driving

Highway 53

Highway 53 closer

Mmmm, butter

Look, look, (look at the lookers)

Dusty coulee near  Donalda

Summer scenes

A beautiful end, June 2012

We spell it SOME MORE, June 2012

Unkept and proud, June 2012

Don't look inside, June 2012

The clouds on my knees, June 2012

Road shots

Nerd alert, April 2012

The box store at the end of the rainbow, April 2012

Ordinary beautiful

Lots of room in the middle, April 2012

Ordinary beautiful

Spring snow (transience), March 2012

No demons in sight

My head has been down these past few weeks. Working mostly, but also meditating, cuddling under blankets, eating moderately (a challenge), and yoga. I'm into the first of two weeks off and as usual when I'm on vacation, I'm anxious. It seems that work is my anchor in life (no time to face my demons) and whenever I have a chance to stop, I start my existential squirming. I'm faced with a small block of time and my mind freaks out because it doesn't know what to do. Install the new dishwasher, re-install it because it has to be perfect, put new tires on my motorcycle, shovel snow, finish reading this book so I can start that one, catch up on my movie wish list, sleep, do the taxes, meditate, exercise, take my vitamins, visit friends, finish and submit that story, arrgh! Time off is stressful! Why? Why can't I just relax and enjoy the time? Not sure about that one, but I think I'm getting closer. It has something to do with wanting to make the right choice and do the right things with the time I have. When I'm working, I don't have to make those choices. I just show up, do my best, and forget.

How's it going? It's been a while since I've said hi to my virtual friends. Here are some photos from this past Monday. We took the boys to the big city to spend their Christmas gift cards, hiked in Edmonton's gorgeous river valley, enjoyed some yummy Vietnamese food, and grabbed a bubble tea for the drive home. It was fun to be moving, laughing, seeing, consuming. No demons in sight.

Tires? Yes. Roads? Not even close, February 2012

Big dreams, February 2012

North Saskatchewan River: it flows underneath, February 2012

Leaking pipes = winter fun, February 2012

Rosehip tea, February 2012

University of Alberta, February 2012

Patient, February 2012

Take my hand, February 2012

Listen to them rustle in the wind, February 2012

Lost, unwanted, February 2012

Red wedge, February 2012

May peace prevail on earth, February 2012

Fleeing peace, February 2012

Mask of light, February 2012

The glowing mansion on the hill, February 2012

I don't need a knife, February 2012

Bubble tea holds us together, February 2012

Many (will) (have) walk(ed) our path

Many will walk the path, August 2008

"Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it." ~ Ram Dass

I like this very much. My twist on the theme: "Everything changes once we identify with being a watcher of instead of being the star in our own play." It could be simpler: "Everything changes once we see ourselves in the audience as well as on the stage." I like the plurality of "as well as."

I want to let go of that idea of being alone in a theatre of empty seats or being alone under the spotlight. Because we're not. There's a feeling I've been trying to capture in my art for years that everywhere we go, everything we do, we are with others. Others have lived our lives, walked in our footsteps, felt our pain, our loneliness, and reveled in our joys. Our experiences in this life are not unique. The isolation we feel is self-induced and all these experiences past, present, and future overlap in a timeless place of acceptance.

Right now I feel like there are two of me. The solid me and the ghost me. The ghost me is trying to pull itself away but the gravity of my "self" is too strong to let it go. I'm not sure if I'm going in the right direction and I'm pretty sure the harder I try, the stronger the gravity will be. Best to let it be and see what happens. I have a story to witness.

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Golgotha of Mundare

Skip the giant sausage the next time you go to Mundare and drive up the road to visit the Golgotha of Mundare instead. Way more interesting.

This fascinating structure is designed so that the faithful can visit in order to pray and meditate privately. Although it has a main outdoor altar that is occasionally used to celebrate Mass, the Grotto is essentially a combination of chaplets, prayer stations, and catacombs designed to convey and emphasize the element of mysticism in the Ukrainian Catholic religion. The idea to build the Grotto was conceived by Reverend P. Bodnar. Construction began in 1932, with the Basilians actively taking part in the project. It took approximately a decade to complete. Constructed from a combination of fieldstone, masonry, and concrete, the Grotto is crowned by an 8.5 metre steel cross that lights up the night sky. Much of the Grotto's beauty stems from the carefully-tended vines and shrubs that drape and surround it. [Source: http://www.ualberta.ca/CIUS/religion-culture/c-alberta/tour/p6.htm]

Compassion flows, October 2011


Seeds just waiting for a favorable wind, October 2011


Imprisoned, October 2011


Repose, October 2011


Nature wins, October 2011


Rising from flames, October 2011


Walking meditation, October 2011


Irony, October 2011

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A whisky story

Come down the path with me, July 2011

Whisky descriptions follow a narrow path. Writers probably have a list of words they can select from: peaty, robust, subtle, hints of chocolate, cocoa, and caramel, etc. Kind of boring and kind of arbitrary. Really. Are our tastebuds that similar that we all taste the same thing? I think not. Here's an example of a description. Quite minimal by Scotch packaging standards:

The GlenDronach Allardice, Aged 18 years Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky "Matured in the finest Oloroso sherry casks -- the GlenDronach is a perfectly balanced, smooth, creamy, full-bodied single malt Scotch whisky."

Yawn. The website is a wee bit better:

Appearance
Bright deep gold with a tawny centre.

Nose
Sweet aromatics of fudge and muscovado sugar. Fruit compote and glacier morello cherries provide added complexity.

Palate
Rich dark and seductive. Remarkable flavours of stewed fruits and all-spice marry together with classical aged Oloroso and toasted walnut bread and chocolate orange.

Conclusions
Tremendously complex and long.

Better, but it needs more story. This is how I in all my arrogant wisdom would do it:

She returned at dusk as I was splitting wood for the night's fire. I missed her spicy cooking, her carefree accent, and the curve of her neck under her August black hair. She didn't want me to take her to the airport last week so I passed my time today, the day of her return, outside working and waiting for the sound of her car. I felt its low growl before I heard it. She revved that perfect V12 through the stillness of the valley before steadying it on the long drive up to the estate. I felt alive and whole as I put down my labours and strolled across to her. At that moment I didn't know who I loved more, that glorious car or her. When she stepped out from behind the wheel, copper sun catching her Oloroso hair like a halo, I knew it was crazy. It was her. It would always be her. We embraced and I disappeared in her arms. I was no longer of this earth.

Hyperbolic? Perhaps, but it really is good whisky.

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A little bit country

Slow unwind, August 2011

That's about right, August 2011

Small planet, August 2011

Grand entrance, August 2011

Red clay road, August 2011

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