Pirate on Stilts

Had an encounter with  a pirate on stilts, which was also one of those things that makes me love Halifax. I love Halifax! Jugglers and pirates, schooners and navy ships (we saw one exit the harbour a few minutes ago), there’s always something to see, and, of course, the sea.

But yes. Pirate on stilts, making balloon animals. I asked him about his shrunken head necklace and he told me about his whole costume, which he made himself. Right down to the wee baby shoes at the end of his stilts! I think the street entertainers who are starting to gather think I’m one of them, because of my striped coat .

I mean, really. Who wouldn’t want to live in a place where a walk to the library involves a dozen people with hula hoops, and a balloon blowing, juggling, 3 meter tall pirate?

Intentional 2010

Beth gave me a wonderful compliment yesterday.

“I am very intentional about it. You know, like how you do things.”

I’m so utterly flattered by this comment. 2010 is my year for being intentional, but it was a silent resolution and I didn’t think anyone would notice!  This year I am striving to be aware, present, and deliberate in how I create my life; set up systems and habits that can carry me forward to my more ambitious goals. Not reaching for anything lofty quite yet, but carving a very firm foundation that my later years can rest on. If I choose, (as I do!) to live my life fully, with zesty, juicy, heady experiences,  masses of adventure and growth, I need this time to set up key areas that can help me stretch, and grow, and enlarge. Without toppling over.

Of course I have many goals, dreams, and plans, but that is always the case and certainly nothing new. What I want now is a set of habits that are automatic, self sustainable, and entertaining, while also pushing me inevitably in the direction I want to go.

Maybe it’s the result of too many self-help books when I was younger (no such thing!), but it is so important to me that I live my life deliberately, with clear awareness of what I’m trying to accomplish. I have business goals, and life goals, and all of that, but the one overarching is that I want to be excellent. In art, in music, in business, in stamina, in discipline, in life. I don’t care so much what I accomplish in my life, but I care very much who I am while I am living it.

Kaizen. Polish the mirror.

Helpful Hostel Habit

I am becoming organized in spite of myself.  I just made a delicious, simple lunch of Thai rice, fried egg, green onion and avocado, without any intention of cleaning up after myself. There were  already dishes left over from last night’s amazing dinner, (fiddlehead ferns,  unpronounceable and meltingly tender white fish with rice and a raspberry orange-mint liqueur from Tangled Gardens) which was cooked by wonderful roommate Beth. In addition, we still haven’t finished cleaning the kitchen thoroughly since the move, so a dish here and there isn’t a priority.

Yet, five minutes after the rice was done, I realized that I was automatically cleaning all the dishes, and had a beautiful expanse of clean counter to my right. How amazing! After three months of living in a hostel, where there are no less than seven signs festooned around the sink telling you to do your dishes, cleaning up in the kitchen has become not just a habit, but  a helpful habit that is completely unconscious, and resistant to interference!

Thanks, HI Halifax! You were a civilizing influence!

We’re IN!!

Saturday evening, my two new roommates and I moved into our new , quirky, amazing apartment.  Because we’re subletting, there has been delays and miscommunications as we tried to coordinate with our subletter, her roommate, and the superintendant, but at last we are here.

Yesterday all three of us cleaned for nearly 10 hours. Our stuff isn’t unpacked, and there’s at least 6 more hours of cleaning left. However.

Our furnished apartment contains a digital piano.

I am sitting at our kitchen table, looking out across the balcony, at tugboats in Halifax Harbour.

Tugboats. From my kitchen.

Life is very, very good.

Finland: Summer 2009

Mushrooms. While in Finland, I became fascinated with them.

They only appeared in my last week there, popping up overnight  after a rain.

Look at this pair…a ready made illustration for a children’s book . They have such personality!

In fact, I was so inspired by these cool fungi, I startes a series of 100 sketches about them. Well, it’s really an excuse for me to identify my favourite media and techniques, but the mushrooms are a wonderful subject to explore.

Art adventures await!

So I’m in Halifax.

 It is pure awesome.

See for yourself!

Cultureshock

While I was in Finland, I initially found the similarities between Thunder bay and Valkeakoski more startling than the differences. The landscape was familiar and soothing, as were the long roads, granite outcroppings, and  abundance of trees.

Then I encountered things like this:

There’a- a-shield around my burger! Why is it there? What is it doing? What purpose does it serve?

And this….

It’s pourable yogurt. Why is it pourable yogurt? In a carton? Granted, I’m used to stiff, Balkan style yogurt, but still. These are the things that remind me I’m in another country, no matter how familiar it may seem.

I love it.

Well, I Crashed and Burned at Tortuga…..

..also known as Heathrow Airport. Where the REAL adventure began. Further stories of my time there, my eventual relocation to Finland for the summer, and my ultimate return to Canada are on their way. If anyone’s still paying attention, that is.

One thing about living your life for adventure; you never quite end up where you thought you were going!

Departure Day!

It’s the 23rd! I’m leaving! I’m actually going! At 9:00 this evening, I will board a plane bound for England and adventure; I feel like I stepped into a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Power

One of the reasons I am going to England (in 13 days!) is to tap into my own power and resiliance as a person and as a woman. Recently, I came across this video and was reminded how very powerful women can be when they sing.

MeNaiset is a Finnish folk group whose songs are based on Finno-Ugric traditions, melodies, and language. It’s quite startling for someone who has never heard this style of music before; many of the singing techniques used in FinnoUgric folk songs are related to breath (like Inuit throat-singing), and mimicking animal calls and tones. I don’t know what the lyrics for this song are, but from an outsider’s point of view, it reminds me of Ojibway drum circles, where tones are used instead of words to convey the message. Every time I watch it, I am left with a feeling of the strength and power of women. What do you think?

It is an old video, and I’d like to share before it goes missing.

ETA-I have since been informed that the lyrics for this song are rather frivolous, but my point still stands. The topic of the song notwithstanding, it still sounds powerful.