Saturday, November 24, 2012

Thankful...

...for a day of sunshine, even if I was indoors most of the day and didn't see it...

 ...and for the reason I was indoors: because I was performing with this theatre company, doing this

I was up here, on a teetering scaffold, surrounded by a bunch of my instruments:
 And below me, some surrealist children's theatre was happening:
Creating theatre in a few short days, seeing magic unfold and being part of it. It's been a long time since I've done a project that was so simply fun from start to finish. I think I really needed it right now to remind me that life isn't all about school. It's also about simply playing.

It's about working with lights and cushions and costumes and hazers that fill up the space with beautiful smoke:
It's about working with a 9 year-old who can't help chasing the smoke. And also getting to work with someone I haven't worked with for too long and someone else I've wanted to work with for almost twenty years!
And at the end of the day, it was about cream pies and plastic sardines. As all theatre should be. Yum.


(The show was A Place Called Whisper, produced and created by pi Theatre for Obstructions. What can I say? It's American Thanksgiving, a holiday I've always thought is ridiculously close to Christmas, poor Americans. But I find myself thankful this weekend, holiday or not.)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Hi. How's your weekend going so far? I am a bit embarrassed to admit that mine began on Thursday afternoon and is still going, but in a calm, reflective, restful way, not a four-day-party kind of way.
Actually, it really began with some hard work, as I decided it was high time I reclaimed my front door from the graffiti "artists" who clearly prowl my neighbourhood late at night with nothing else to do but tag my door over and over and over again:
 
A couple cans of red spray paint, some stick-on letters and numbers and a light head from all the paint fumes, and...
Isn't that nice? It probably won't stay that way for long, sadly. But I'm determined to stay on top of it this year.
My tiny attempt to make east van prettier was done. I was looking at a few days without work, homework or school, believe it or not. It was time to escape for the rest of the weekend...
There is someone new in my life these days.  We are still working on how to fit "us" into our busy and very different lives: School! Work! Kids! Exes! Friends! Family! Some people have been enthusiastic and accepting. Others hang back warily and wait to see how it's going to go and if it will last. There are a lot of things to figure out. But basically we try to keep things simple on the days when we can meet up. It helps that he lives in a beautiful neighbourhood. It's not close to where I live, but I'm learning to make the travel time enjoyable. We eat bread and cheese and stay in out of the rain, or brave the elements and head to the beach.
Today he went to work and invited me to stay and wait for him to return. I was determined to get outside for a while, but even a borrowed rainjacket was no match for the elements. By the time I got to the beach I was soaked through.




It was NOT a very smart day to leave my bus pass behind, but at least that forced me to get some exercise. And the almost-deserted beach was still lovely, in a grey sort of way.

I walked past cafes, stores and late-autumn roses, still blooming. Oh this mild climate of ours!
The leaves this year have been amazing:

Finally, I decided that the only sensible thing to do was to go back to the apartment, get dry, and spend the rest of the day reading and listening to music. But first, there was one more stop to make...
I'm not seeing this person because he lives so near this bakery, but it certainly IS an advantage. Tucked away unassumingly on the side of a building with a dry-cleaner, a coffee shop and a couple other stores, this place is a sort of bready heaven. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is one of the best bakeries I have ever been to. And their granola is without peer. Get yourself down here and check it out for yourself.
As I was buying their incredible lemon-rosemary loaf, I felt a drop of sweat begin its excruciating trickle down my lower back. Ugh- soaking wet and sweaty.  I slopped home. It is doubtful whether my boots will ever recover from this walk. But I do have some very nice things to snack on this afternoon.
Have yourselves a great weekend and stay dry!