Category: Toy & Trash cameras

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Five great things from the week:
1) Monday afternoon’s long vigorous walk in Pacific Spirit Park with Christina. We were treated to hints of golden light through the trees near the end of our walk, and the sun followed us as we drove home.
2) Dropping by Jamie and Maja’s for dinner on Sunday evening after our long ferry ride from Salt Spring Island. Unsurprisingly, Jamie makes really delicious cookies, but did you know he also barbeques a delightful pork skewer? (Meat cooked by a vegetarian….yum!)
3) Getting sucked into a really good book and reading the whole thing in a few short days.
4) An unexpected trip to Daiso with Hendrik, and laughing with him over the hilarious hamster stationery.
5) Savouring the tantilizing taste of White Truffle Chevre on Leslie Stowe raincoast crisps purchased from Salt Spring Island Cheese for our snacking pleasure. It was to die for.

The view from here

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The view from here

You are made whole again in silence.
Solitude shatters the illusion that you
and I are separate.
~ Nana Veary

There is a great difference between loneliness and solitude. In loneliness we feel cut off from other people, from the whole of creation, and from our inner wisdom. With solitude we have the opportunity to reach beneath conventional reality to a deeper truth, that of the interconnectedness of all beings, of all life.

Our education has taught us to actively seek out information. We’re taught that growing and learning is a process of acquisition and expansion. We have not been taught to simply be or to sit still and listen. Silence can feel so frightening we rush to fill it up rather than sitting and listening to it. We all need periods of reflection, time to integrate and absorb. Otherwise we become like a filled glass to which water is still being added. The glass overflows, unable to hold any more.

Let’s begin now to stop and empty our mind of chatter. Sit quietly and observe the breath. Don’t allow thoughts to disturb you. Just watch them come and go. With practice the thoughts will slow down, become further and further apart. Maybe then the still, small voice of the spirit will be heard. It is always present. We must learn to listen.

Taken from, “Open Mind: Women’s Daily Inspiration for Becoming Mindful”

I read this passage shortly before going to work this morning, and immediately thought of posting it here for Neil.

Life & laundry

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Laundry

As I came through my front door on Tuesday afternoon I was greeted by the latest issue of Ascent Magazine and its headline on the cover, “the yoga of everyday bliss: finding contentment in life & laundry.” It was a well-timed line for me to read as I was stopping by my apartment to pick up my clothes and head to the laundromat.

The article is a very good read, focusing on finding contentment in everyday moments rather than seeking out a short-lived happiness based on particular circumstances. This is refered to as Samtosa, “a state of contentment that relies on no particular situation….unlike the happiness, joy or elation that (I am) more familiar with, is a constant state of mind…. No matter what is happening in life, the state of contentment is possible.”

Right now I feel…content.

Waiting for the bus

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Waiting for the bloody bus to come

In the mornings when it’s not raining, I love to watch all the overhead avian activity, as the sun comes up and I wait for the bus. None of the birds I see are very exotic but I take pleasure in witnessing how they make a start to the day just as their human counterparts do the same.

Often there is a large flock of pigeons gathered together along the telephone wires near where I stand, and I watch as they jossle for position or preen their feathers, letting loose ones fall to the road below. Sometimes there are tiny sparrows sharing the wires, and if I listen carefully I can hear their shrill cries above the noise of cars zooming by. There are also gulls flying overhead, on their way to somewhere, and many crows returning to their daytime territory after a night in Burnaby.

The birds have shown me that humans aren’t the only ones with a busy morning commute. And I wonder if they sometimes feel as we do, like staying in bed just a little longer and hit the snooze button.

Autumn red above my head

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Autumn red above my head

Two things I have enjoyed very much lately, and think everyone else should check out:
1) Watching every episode of the wonderful shortlived series Firefly. Bloody hell it was a good show!
2) Eating a delicious Japanese-style hotdog from the “Japadog” vendor at Burrard and Haro Street. It comes loaded with things like terriyaki sauce, shredded daikon, dried seaweed, Japanese mayo, and other things I can’t remember.
Two thumbs way up to both of these things.

Dear internet:

Due to a staggering amount of emotional events over the past few weeks, I’ve decided to take a little break from my internet obligations for awhile. I think I may be back in a few days, so until then please enjoy this photo from sunnier times.

Siamese kitten

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Siamese kitten
I took this photo at the end of August when I was visiting the Sunshine Coast with Gail. I can’t remember the kitten’s name, but she was a sweet one. I sometimes miss the feline company, the furry cuddles and happy purrs, but there are always cats I can visit for that. 😉

Five great things from today:
1) A long overdue talk with a friend about our friendship
2) Conversation over homemade hot chocolate and apple crisp
3) Remembering how to reach out
4) Accepting that today was just not going to be the productive day I wanted it to be
5) Giving myself something creative to look forward to

Balloons

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

On Friday I went to Radha Yoga and Eatery with friends, and the salad I had there was so good I was inspired to replicate it for thanksgiving dinner. It consists of mixed greens, goat feta, small chunks of apple, toasted walnuts, and a homemade lemon and sesame dressing*. It just might become my new favorite thing to make.

[*The dressing recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.]

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Taken with the Pop 9, nine lens lomo camera.

The relaxing I wanted to do this weekend, mentioned in the previous blog entry, is really coming along nicely…

I took myself out for a “me lunch date” this afternoon and wandered around fourth avenue going into shops I hadn’t previously visited. I skimmed quite a few clothing stores and spent a surprising amount of time in the Kitchen Corner Superstore (1955 West 4th Avenue). I’ve walked past countless time without ever going in, until today. It reminded me of the “Ikea experience” with it’s shelves and aisles chock-a-block full of household items, some useful and some not, all filling me with the desire to buy more, more, MORE!!!! I managed to stick to surveying the shopping landscape and walked out of there only with what I needed.

I think there must be the same amount of stuff packed into this place as Ikea, but with much less square footage. Don’t miss the basement if you go. I felt like I was the last person on earth down there, just me all that wicker.

Angles and light

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001008
Holga 120 CFN, cross-processed fujichrome T64. From the same roll as the previous two blog posts.

Taken at the Plaza of Nations a few weekends ago when Kirsti and I went to check out the Portobello West fashion and art market. I really enjoyed wandering through the stalls in the open air space of the Plaza of Nations, as there was a lot of great merchandise by the local creative people, ranging from clothing to pottery, to hangable art. The market is on-going and happens on the last Sunday of every month in the same location. The next one is October 29th, from 11 to 5pm.