Cathedral Area Arts Festival

Sun warm

  light warm breezes 

   music filtered through the air

    vocalists, bag pipes and dancing

Walking, talking crowds filled

    13th Ave and two side streets 

     strolling past tented kiosks

      in front of open shops

All ages and manner of dress

 Loose flowing pants or skirts

  Shorts, big floppy hats

   Strollers with tots, sleeping or curious

   one or two dogs on leash and well mannered.

My only purchases: food.

  First stop - a chicken taco

    Second stop - a spring roll

      Third stop - scuffles, 

chocolate puffed wheat square, 

  and one cinnamon bun

    Last stop: a loaf of raisin sourdough bread

My other interests:

  Pottery  

   Jewellery

Nothing forced money from my wallet!

I walked about half of the entire length of 13th Ave 

  only one short foray into one of the side streets.

Time for home!

“We were a train full of strangers, and they were all the same.”

~ Cherie Priest, Dreadnought

Saskatoon 'Berry' Festival in Regina

St. Mary’s Anglican Church at 3337 15th Ave, was a 20 minute walk under the shade of elms. The sun was warm and a breeze played with my hair. Along the way, I met another woman who was on her way. We enjoyed our brisk walk together sharing stories of our love of dogs.

 Saskatoons have played a part in my life since I was a child. As a family, we picked these favourite berries in a community pasture. Empty ice cream buckets soon were filled with the delicious purple fruit and, once in the kitchen, transformed into pies and containers of frozen saskatoons. I don’t recall if mom made jams, or syrups but I have since enjoyed both. When I saw the poster advertising this Festival, I was intent on attending. It’s been a really great busy summer, so I really wasn’t certain until this morning of my timing. I was told there were line ups before the Festival opened at 1:30 pm. Saskatoon pies advertised were sold out quickly. Many were ordered for pick up. I was unable to get there until after three, so no saskatoon pie for me. I was limited to a spread, chocolate covered berries and a saskatoon powder for use in smoothies, yogurts or baking. The last is new to me!

My disappointment about no pie was assuaged by the vocals of the Empire Associates, a married couple who have been singing and performing together for many years. Husband on guitar, they sang in harmony, their voices strong and beautiful. I was told that many of their songs were their original music. They interspersed their performance with familiar Johnny Cash songs. All in all it was a lovely afternoon.

When I arrived I had seen, on the church lawn, a young girl contributing to a large painting set between supports. On my way home, I stopped to look at the painting. The artist introduced herself and explained that she had drawn the original sketch for children to fill in throughout the day. She indicated certain places where she had painted and pointed out the children’s art. Such a wonderful thing for her to provide for the children!

“The Cree name for this plant is ‘mis-ask-quah-toomia’, 

which early white settlers shortened to ‘saskatoon’. Saskatoon berries were 

the most important plant food used by the Blackfoot peoples of the prairies.” 

~ plantwatch.naturealberta.ca ~ Human Uses

A Lovely Surprise ~ HONOUR~ Theme for December 2022

Horses led the way…..

Ornaments and lights……

Nighttime walk in the……

Once upon a time……

Unicorns and wood fairies

“Reindeer cannot fly!”

What a lovely surprise! Even though this morning I was made aware that Iron Horse Wedding Carriage & Wagon Rides would be part of Light Up the Village, that info had vanished from my mind. Honouring the surprise, the beautifully calm evening, and the joy of a wagon ride, I climbed aboard. For a brief ten minute ride, we had a short Christmas light tour in Regina’s Cathedral Area.

”This above all; to thine own self be true.”

~ William Shakespeare

Treasure Hunting

'Mother and Child' by Samuel Lovi, Accra, Ghana
collage with paint on wood - Date unknown.
(Grandmothers 4 Grandmothers Art Sale)

I set myself up! Ordinarily, my wanderings involve an appointment of some kind: a hair appointment, some kind of health related appointment, the bank, groceries. All important but really very little fun involved. Unless you count a light word or two with professionals or service people. 

Starting at the Grandmothers 4 Grandmothers Art Sale this past Thursday, among all the many paintings and pictures on offer, I found ‘Mother and Child’ - a lovely little collage with paint on wood. On the back, the artist’s name and the price in Ghanian currency ~ I suspect considerably more than the $10.00 I paid for it. 

The Year of Magical Thinking by John Didion
(Cathedral Community Assoc. Rummage Sale)
Greta Garbo post card from 
(The Cat and the Fiddle Antiques)

At the Cathedral Area Rummage Sale - oh my goodness! Contents of closets, garages, closets, basements and attics filled the same space as the Art Sale two days before. I strolled past all the tables picking up and putting down interesting pieces. Books! Despite my previous culling of my books, they still attract me like iron filings to a magnet. When I saw the book by Joan Didion, I recalled the interview with her on CBC I listened to just last week about this very book. What could I do? Just walk away and let it go. $0.50 later I put it in my book bag and continued on my way. My next stop: the Connaught Branch of the Regina Public Library. A detour into The Cat and The Fiddle Antique Store just to look around. The Greta Garbo postcard ($2.00) was just one of a great stack of vintage postcards. I was careful just to choose one. 

Lunch out and a browse through a specialty clothing store completed my singular Treasure Hunting day. My sojourns into the world of treasures is fun. Getting to know this new community, after over thirty years away, is a joy.

“Treasure comes in many forms.”

~ S.A.Rodriguez, Treasure Tracks

Salt Spring Island She Shed Tour 2018 - She Shed #1

Our first stop on the winding Salt Spring Island roads was at the Thistle Rock Forge. Alison Sparshu is a farrier by trade as well as a blacksmith, window dresser and artist. She welcomed us onto this normally busy farm, where much more goes on than artistic ventures. The forge was quiet for this special day, tidied up in expectation of many visitors. Alison lead us back to her She Shed, where we discovered a work in progress filled with a jumble of materials for art pieces, keeping her art supplies separate from the forge work space she shares with her husband. Two art pieces on display were a life sized sheep used for a Christmas display and a bouquet of poppies for a Remembrance Day. To explain sheep at Christmas - there were two of them that pulled Santa’s sleigh as there are no reindeer on Salt Spring Island.  Outside in the farm yard, a black potbellied pig wandered up and sniffed my leg, much as a dog would, and allowed us to pet him. The shaggy family dog roamed the yard. It was a warm and friendly visit, a lovely welcome to this first She Shed, fundraiser for Salt Spring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse. 

“Be an artist, in whatever little faculty possible. 

For the Earth, without ‘Art’ is just ‘Eh’”

~ Jasleen Kaur Gumber

See more of the artistry and work of these hard workers on their 

Thistle Rock Forge Facebook page and at

Thistle Rock Forge and Design

My Mission: A Walk to the Park

Well, I’m home from Saskatchewan. It feels good and at the same time I miss the family time that I’ve had in the last week. The trip home was pretty good. There was a glitch in Calgary when the lightening chased all of the ground workers in doors. No luggage moved off of, or onto, planes sitting patiently at the terminals. The glitch? Lightening and heavy rain. But enough about the weather. I have one more event that I attended yesterday in Moose Jaw.

Once more, I was tempted to curl up in my room with the good book in my luggage. But I went down to breakfast instead where I saw an advertisement for Broadway in the Park. I didn’t know where the Park was, but I didn’t let that deter me. Used to the short distances in Victoria where walking is normal activity, my legs were in need of a long walk. So, being kind to my anxious legs and setting my GPS, I set out under the wide blue prairie sky, wispy white clouds air brushed across the marvellous expanse.  My first stop was at Starbucks. These coffee shops, so abundant in this Island city of Victoria, are kind of sparse in the spread out cities of the midwest. Tim Horton’s is much more prevalent.

I digress. It was hot, hot and the wind blew with vigor. Arriving at Crescent Park was a welcome respite. And there were memories here for me from my teenage years having visited Moose Jaw with the 4H Home Craft Club. The Natatorium glittered and glistened in the sun. Children and teens splashed, swam and played. Young girls sporting bikinis lounged in the sun. The Natatorium I remember was an indoor pool long past it’s prime. and much smaller. Beside the pool is a playground where children played while parents sat in use or shade and watched.

My mission was to attend Broadway in the Park and I was running up to the starting time, so I wandered in the direction of a grouping of benches, straw hats and sun-brellas (I just made up that word). Then I saw it. A bright yellow trailer - the kind that you’d see in a Food Truck area. I was hungry and thirsty after my walk. A hot dog with all the trimmings and a can of cold coke fixed that little problem. 

Then to the main event. The Crescent Park Amphiteatre is a surrounded by tall trees, with benches up a marvellous slope of green lush grass. I had no idea what to expect. When the performers from Rubarb Production company began their presentations, I was stunned. Opera, Broadway tunes, and selections from movie scores were belted out across the open green space. The acters, dressed in full costume, were absolutely professional and incredibly energetic despite the heat - for an hour and a half. In all that time, under the hot sun and in any piece of shade all of us in the audience stayed and enjoyed every minute. It really topped off my mini vacation.

“Without writers, stories would not be written,

without actors, stories could not be brought to life.”

~ Angie-Marie Delsante

Saturday Evening in Celebration

Our Canada. An evening of symphony and literature celebrating Canada’s 150th Birthday was an evening shared with friends. Alix Goolden Hall, a historic former church, was a fitting venue for this grand display of Canadian talent. The music was crashing and mellow, expansive and focussed. Between each piece authors charmed with readings from their works. It is a treat to hear brand new music, and even more satisfying that it was Canadian talent entertaining us with story, poetry, music and song. 

“I love Canada. It’s a wonderful political act of faith 

that exists atop a breathtakingly beautiful land.”

~ Yann Martel

Women’s Rights March - Victoria, BC

I’ll be honest. I was not going to go to the March for Women today.  I’ve never been to a march. I’ve never had any desire to attend any march. Today was different. Today, I wanted - no, needed - to see and feel this march. As I walked downtown, I expected to see women and men streaming to Centennial Square. But there didn’t seem to be much action. And then I saw them. Pink placards - Rights for Women! And pink hats - ‘pussy’ hats, and just ordinary - but pink or purple - winter hats.

There were, apparently, about 4000 people gathered with some peering from the tops of buildings. This march was organized by five different groups, spearheaded by the Raging Grannies. There was music by local musicians and, in chorus, many of us sang along. Speakers included Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, Carole James, MLA for the Victoria-Beacon Hill electoral district and Lisa Helps, Mayor of Victoria.

I could see the hundreds of people around me, but the crowd spilled down Douglas Street to Pandora a distance of several blocks. When the march began, we edged slowly out onto the street, filling it, blocking traffic on the cross streets as we wound down to Store Street and back to Centennial Square. Workers and staff coming out of their places of employment clapped and cheered as we passed.

I'm uncomfortable in crowds, especially big noisy crowds. This big noisy crowd did not scare me. The big noisy crowd told me that women, men and children in Victoria, as everyone south of the border and around the world, are paying attention. Paying attention to the threat to not just women’s rights, but to human rights, from the new leadership in the United States. People willing to stand up for their principles and to the source of these threats. Another disclaimer - I have not been clear about how a march will provide the resistance needed for change, however today I saw a critical mass of power. Visible and tangible. The power of citizenry that translates into votes and continued challenge to those who believe they hold all the power.

“I raise up my voice - not so I can shout but so that those without a voice 

can be heard…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”

~ Malala Yousafzai

Author's note: Edited February 03, 2024

Summer Sunday Decisions

Which celebration to honour on this marvelous Sunday?

Fathers Day
   International Aboliginal Day
      Summer Solstice - The Longest Day of the Year
         Victoria International JazzFest
     International Yoga Day
        Car Free Day, Victoria BC

So I went downtown 
Through Beacon Hill Park - past a baseball game in progress
Down and up Douglas Street - closed to traffic

• absolutely thronged by families, children and dogs
• aromas reminiscent of a midway wrapping around us all
• music on stages strategically placed at intersections and at Centennial Square

A Side trip past the Inner Harbour following the drumming

• dancers in heavy (so hot!) costume stepping and slow spinning
• drummers and singers intoning the dance.
• Aroma of fry bread missing! - I was too late!

Time to go home
        But…..stop at the Museum to listen and watch more drumming and dancing ~ complements of the Aboriginal Cultural Festival ~ always a toddler in each crowd dancing to whatever beat or music played

Back through Beacon Hill Park where children ran, laughed and played
Parents visited and relaxed, slyly watching their kiddos
Heron fledglings raucously called to their parents for more food.

Did I see any security in the form of police?
Yes - ensuring safety at certain intersections or once taking a break from watching the crowds.
I really never had to make a decision about which day to celebrate……

“We take thousands of decisions in life; the very best ones 

are often the ones taken boldly and unhesitatingly!”

~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

An Evening with Tom Jackson - The Huron Carole

Beginning the Christmas season with The Huron Carole was a delight. Tom Jackson, Winnipeg born Canadian actor, singer, producer and activist, and his singers and band entertained a full house at the Royal Theatre on Broughton Street with familiar carols in innovative arrangements. He took the stage for the first half of the evening, joined gradually by the remainder of the cast. The last half of the evening was shared by the rest of the cast, including two west coast girls, Britt and Carly McKillip. The energy and talent of all the entertainers was joyous and moving.

The entire evening was a fundraiser for the Mustard Seed Society a local and very vital organization for the homeless and hungry in Victoria. The Huron Carole is a project to support organizations of front line workers with the homeless and hungry in Canada. He and his troupes have raised over two hundred million dollars in their musical Christmas travels.

This evening was the first of their annual Canadian tour which Tom Jackson began in 1987 in Toronto at a ‘dark time’ in his life. They will be travelling through western Canada with their next stop in Lethbridge, Alberta on December 2, 2014. Go to huroncarole.ca for more dates that continue through December 18, 2014 for a total of twelve dates.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we 

have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

~ Albert Pike

Re-post with addition from Oct. 22, 2012 - A Question of Politics

Politics is a funny thing....
Not an amusing sort of funny, but curious.

Today (Oct. 12, 2012) in Victoria, there was a protest of thousands giving voice to the local grassroots concerns about the Northern Gateway Pipeline.
On tap on TV was the third and final U.S. Presidential debate.  
Topic?  Foreign Policy and all the nuances of two disparate party policies. 

This week of October 2014 in Canada, terrorism came brutally to Ottawa………..

The political layers for both of these sorts of events
weave throughout our societies via
personalities
principles

Where do the layers start ~
At the grassroots and grow up
Or at an economic top and trickle down
What about those folks in the middle who live and work whether
someone wins or someone loses?

Which issues come first ~
personal and daily 
local and scheduled
regional and broader
national on an even broader scale
global and beyond my limited understanding?

And whom do we believe ~
politicians
developers
protesters
media
colleagues
neighbours?

What parts are played by ~
culture
religion
gender
education or illiterate
housed or homeless
illness or health
art, music and literature?

Behind the images and reflections that we are given to look at,
what events have already occurred below the surface?

Curious isn’t it?
I wonder ~  is there a principle to guide all of these things?

“In dwelling, live close to the ground.  In thinking, keep to the simple.

In conflict, be fair and generous.  In governing, don’t try to control.

In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.”

~ Lao Tzu

Author's Note: Edited December 29, 2023

A Gentle Evening ~ 2

Walking in the quiet evening around Cook Street Village
there is music all around, spreading through cool summer air from the Symphony Splash at the Inner Harbour ~
And now I hear plaintive bagpipes playing ~
A sound that I love and that connects my heart to some distant longing ~
And now a choir, their voices full and strong

musical messengers through trees and grasses

to strolling lovers and families in far flung Beacon Hill Park.

The evening shivers with the classical melodies in the air

while fireworks spread coloured notes high over the water.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, 

flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

~ Plato

Symphony Splash is an annual event with the Victoria Symphony held the first weekend in August each year. On stage on the water at the Inner Harbour in Victoria, it closes with a grand musical finale and fireworks.

Skating, Books and Good Food

After a lovely morning and a short drive into Calgary, my sister and I made a quick stop at Pages Book Store in Calgary for a browse and a purchase each. Then it was on to the Olympics!?

A quick tour of the Sochi 2014 room, in the Olympic Oval building, after doffing skates and helmets then it was on to lunch with Tom at Eidelweiss for some delicious German cuisine. On the road again, Betty and I stopped in the town of Airedrie to tour the ‘Where Did You Get That?’ Antiques.

Finally, in this last full day of this wonderful visit with Betty and Tom, I have experienced one of the values of the Olympics. The buildings and programs that were established for and following
the Olympic competitions in 1988, are still used today and leave a lasting legacy to the host city, to the residents and to the country at large.

“The Olympic Games must not be an end in itself,

they must be a means of creating a vast programme of physical 

education and sports competitions for all young people.”

~ Avery Brundage

Going Public

There was a lot of communicating going on today in Victoria at Centennial Square. I was very disappointed to have to miss this second annual Recovery Day in Victoria. The communication today was about and by recovering alcoholics and addicts going public. Speakers at a podium in the open air and sunshine. Public about where they have come from, where they have been, how they got there and that they are here, walking among us as ordinary members of the community. With a difference. The difference is that recovering alcoholics and addicts have learned to live life on life’s terms despite the strangely normalized use of drugs, whether prescription narcotics, illicit narcotics or the wide, and widening array of alcoholic beverages.

These men and women have stepped up, sometime very many times, and asked for a sober life not really knowing the incredible changes that would entail. Changing attitudes, friends, residences, places or types of employment, sometimes staying away from still drinking or using and dearly loved family members....and the list goes on and on.

I have been honoured and pleased to care for many folks in these situations as they try one more time, or for the first time, to find stability in sobriety. 

Thank you to each and every one of you brave enough to try first or one more time until you find what you need to do, what attitude you need to change, what life changes you need to make. You are all awesome folks.

And a special thank you to the Umbrella Society - Gordon, Sharlene, Chris, and Amber. Trevor, you as well - you are missed but we are glad you are continuing your work in another venue. You have brought many into recovery and the facilities available, walked through life situations with our mutual clients, and cheered them on into sobriety.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”

~ George Bernard Shaw