Category: Cross-process

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A bit of colour to brighten the day

Life is a vast and intricate conspiracy designed to keep us well supplied with blessings. What kind of blessings? Palatial homes, attractive lovers, lottery winnings, career success? Maybe. But just as
likely: interesting surprises, unexpected challenges, gifts we hardly know what to do with, conundrums that force us to get smarter.

Novelist William Vollman referred to the latter types of blessings when he said that “the most important and enjoyable thing in life is doing something that’s a complicated, tricky problem for you that you don’t know how to solve.”

excerpted from the book
“PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings” by Rob Brezny

Lost in prayer

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Lost in prayer

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better or happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face , kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.
~ Mother Theresa

Water

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Water
A few weeks ago I mentioned an article in Ascent Magazine on Finding Contentment in Everyday Life. It has now been partially published online, and I thought I would quote the first paragraph here. I love Eileen Delehanty Pearkes description of water as a metaphor of contentment.

I often dream of water. Water breaking up after a long hold in winter ice. Water rushing gently with me in a canoe, swaying across its current. Water pooling to rest, then tumbling downward again. Clear water. Weed-choked water. Burbling water. Deep blue, aquamarine, glacial-green, summer-brown, snow-melt white. Water takes many forms in my night wanderings. Always, the water is moving, changing and transporting itself, mirroring my own efforts toward self-realization. Always, and strangely enough, the water seems contented to be in whatever state it is. It moves with acceptance along a varied path.

My weekend was a mixture of good and bad. It was a very busy and social couple of days, but underneath it all I was feeling quite upset (but not depressed). An unresolved situation was back on my mind after weeks of feeling like I’d moved on, and I realized it was time to deal with it properly in order to find closure. And I did.

(Sorry internet, you don’t get to hear more about it than that, unless we talk in person.)

Ten Great things from the weekend/week…
1) Meeting Chris for dinner and conversation on Friday evening. She is back in Vancouver after a year long absence in the UK.
2) Hanging out at Kai’s place on Saturday morning for our semi-regular creative projects session. I started making origami Christmas decorations for my apartment.
3) Getting Bill and I back to the aquarium to use our memberships almost eight months after we bought them. (When my sister was here!!!)
4) The unexpected gift of beautiful weather on a Sunday that was supposed to be stormy.
5) Walking with Zoe along the seawall and through the Arbutus Corridor on Sunday, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.
6) Finally hearing the sultry tones of Stefanie’s voice coming over the line from Germany, after months of trying to coordinate a phone call between us. I wish we could’ve talked for hours.
7) Laughing and crying on the phone with Kathy.
8) Walking along the Main Street strip with Kirsti on Saturday evening, after checking out the Petri Dish one year anniversary event.
9) Deciding to reach out and having my gesture openly and willingly accepted. It was a relief to my overwrought emotional state on Monday.
10) Making the most of the brief bits of sunshine on Sunday by taking pictures with my holga.

Hendrik was framed

For the past few days I had been spending the long weekend away at a rented cottage on Salt Spring Island with Hendrik. We had a wonderful time exploring, relaxing, and just hanging out. The weather was mostly good on Saturday, and our walks on Mount Maxwell and then later in Ruckle Park were well timed to be rain-free. Both places have stunning, wide-angle views – Mount Maxwell overlooking part of the island, and Ruckle Park along the water. I’m hoping to do another trip to Salt Spring, this time in the summer because I’d really love to visit artist studios and the famous Artist Market.

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Red leaves
This shot is from a few weeks ago, taken with an Olympus Pen EE half-frame camera and cross-processed slide film.

It has been a really good weekend, despite the almost constant downpour that may soon require us to start buidling an ark. I like listening to the rain outside my window, especially when I am warm and cozy inside.

Five great things from yesterday:
1) An absurdly early breakfast with Jamie at Patisserie Labeau, and a walk in the rain that soaked us despite our umbrellas.
2) Cleaning and organizing someone else’s workspace. (I should do this for myself too…)
3) A quiet afternoon of hanging out at Mandy’s place and working on my laptop while she made food.
4) A long walk with Kirsti after dark to get fresh air and a thorough soaking.
5) The definate pleasure of spending quality time with the above mentioned three people. I am very thankful for their thoughtful and intelligent conversational abilities.

Carousel

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Carousel

After a very full day of wandering, shopping and eating, Mandy and I went to experience the Ghost Train in Stanley Park. We both loved it because it was such a festive occasion, with colourful lights everywhere making it feel like a carnival. The B-movies theme for the train ride was fun, and we rode slowly through the dark and foggy forest passing by giant killer bees and mad scientists. It was the perfect evening to go.

Chalk art

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Chalk art
Taken with the Holga 120 CFN, using cross-processed Fujichrome T64.

With the possibility of the last bit of sunshine disappearing for awhile after today, I decided to make the most of it photographically. I broke out the Fuji Instax 200 instant camera that I have on loan from Kai, and used up the rest of my film. I’ve been disappointed with the results from this camera so far, but today I was able to get some shots I’m happy with. I will post them another time.

Five great things from this week:
1) Long walks in the sunshine and fresh air
2) Enjoying a delicious dinner made by Kai
3) A productive visit to an art supply store
4) Getting over being angry and learning to let go
5) Two good mail days in a row.