Ordinary Moments at The Moss Street Paint-In

An ordinary Saturday morning
Gathering my thoughts in my morning journaling
With remembrance and activities of the day, I checked my time - not wanting to be late for the sun and walking with friends - maybe spending money.
(I slept in)
Activities of the day - 
The Moss Street Paint In - an annual event on Moss St. from Dallas Road to Fort Street - showcasing and highlighting all sorts of artists

• painters, - from small canvases to large; whimsical to outrageous, floral to grand landscapes or portraits
• Jewellers - necklaces pendants, earring, rings  - (deep breath - I chose not to purchase the slim silver band dotted with tiny sapphires) 
• Potters - oh, I do love pottery - the colours, the shapes, sizes, skill  of watching a piece being thrown on a wheel (that was quite fun - children were asked to come and touch the wet clay as it spun - at least 6 little fingers tentatively touched a wet spinning vase shape and then eagerly pushed the clay back into it's original puddle shape.)
• Musicians - I did purchase a CD by Ted Tanner, a local musician who played for the us - acoustic guitar and harmonica backing his lovely mellow voice floating in the sunshine. He has been performing for over a decade as mostly a solo artist. 

Relaxed, fun and interesting…...

Lunch time called from Big Wheel Burger. Each of the four of us acquiesed and chowed down ~ in a gentile fashion ~ on burgers and fries. Great music from the ’50’s and ’60’s in the ordinary burger joint.

Delicious!…...

Our last stop was over to the Cameron Band Shell in Beacon Hill Park where a dance band, the KingMixers, was already in progress. (The burgers made us late)  We not only heard renditions of well known artists such as B.B.King but we also had a history lesson traveling through the jazz, blues and rock and roll world. Band leader, Gary Preston, was a wealth of storied information. The KingMixers are a four piece band ~ Gary Preston, vocals, keyboard and harmonica; Anita Bonkowski, drums; Ron Lukawitski, bass; David Schade, guitar. They play throughout the Island and on the mainland.

A rhythmic trip into a time of back seats, crinolines and jiving….

There was a time when ordinary somehow seemed not enough. Believing in the rhetoric of the marketing world where everything is always bigger and better, supersized and amazing, my belief had become that ordinary was flat and boring. 

“Often in life those seemingly ordinary moments 

hold the most extraordinary meaning.”

~ Ken Poirot

The Heart of the Matter

Oral tradition brings stories into clinical settings.
The changing of traditions vying with the changing of technology ~
yet within the tasks of nursing,
surrounding each interaction with an individual in care,
underneath the science of research and medicine is a kind voice, a supportive hand, education about self care ~
belief in, not only the science of nursing, but the art and spirit of nursing.
It is always practicing the art and the spirit of nursing that heals and encourages health.
Oral tradition tells us to share our experience with students and young nurses to tell where nursing has come from, where it is now and pass the next step on to them ~
stories start with our own experiences from when we were students and young nurses hearing stories of experience from the senior nurses of the day.

 “Our stories matter...Your stories matter...For you never know 

how much of a difference they make and to whom.”

~ Caroline Joy Adams

To Mend or Not to Mend

Belinda sat down in her favourite chair and picked up her mending.
Every evening she threaded the needle the way her mother, and grandmother before her, had taught her.
Letting go of the busyness of the day, she took in her hands the gently worn clothes that needed re-purposing, believing in the sturdyness of the fabric and the deft skill of her hands.
Individual pieces of clothing that many would throw on the scrap heap but that were still useful, and more importantly, precious to her.
Emerald greens, royal blues, deep rusty oranges, patterns of red and green ~ colours and fabrics that each had their own meaning and worth to her.
Faithfully she stitched together memories of special times, special friends and the culture of her family.

“Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend.”

~  Jewel

Sweet or Sharp

Speaking ones beliefs ~
certain ephemeral ideas from the heart
against walls of negation or disbelief
shaped like cotton candy confections or
harsh hammers pummeling relentlessly
begin to weaken the fabric of belief
unless in one’s quiet core the belief is unwavering.

“Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.”

~ André  Gide

Flight of Fancy

Another blank page!

Flying towards me like an - I don’t know -

Unwritten story

Unsung song 

Unrhyming poem

Each one with words waiting..waiting..

holding space for a line to draw amazing pictures in words

But Oh no!  They will just have to wait ~
believing in another day

another time.

“The world is full of magical things 

patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”

~ Bertrand Russell

Guidance

I walked tonight
on cement sidewalks
through the trees on a cedar path
new eyesight in one eye sharp and clean
the other still fuzzing edges of the scene 

I thought to myself ~
This must be like growing up ~ rather unbalanced but not...
wandering or racing on paths that others have made
Belief in only their stories for guidance.
My youth and their age fuzzing edges of past and future.

I looked all around ~
the evening filled with children’s play
couples and families walking hand in hand
cars, vans and bicycles sharing the road.
The scene came into sharp focus as I passed.

“People take on the shapes of the songs and the stories that 

surround them, especially if they don’t have their own song.”

~ Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys

Visual Acuity

Glassy ripples wrap around the  soul ~
wrinkles and rumples from distorted life lessons
smoothed with belief in family, friends and each moment.

Inner wisdom rises from the depths of the soul.
Faint traces of old distortions remain in ancient memory.

“Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.”

~ Walt Whitman