I'm writing you from the train - somewhere in the middle of Manitoba en route from Vancouver to Montreal. Now, I have hopped from coast to coast across this country so many times, but never traveled from the coast of BC to points east via the ground. It's a whole different experience to watch the topography change - from the Fraser Valley through BC and the Rocky Mountains and the fields of Saskatchewan to the rolling green plains of Manitoba. Well, that's as far as I've gone so I have no flowery descriptive words for the rest. All I can tell you is - I'm feelin' the love for Canada! Cue the emotional patriotic music. Truly. As a person who chose this country, to experience it in this way is very moving.
Read MoreThis is the point in winter when I start to think it is always going to be like this. Wet, grey and cold. I did finally learn several years ago (after a mere 40 years of living here) that the trick to surviving and even enjoying Canadian West Coast Winters is all about condom-izing oneself in proper waterproof clothing. And when one has a dog, this is imperative. So I don't really mind the daily walks in the elements, but "chilled" is not my favourite state and it does wear me down a bit. But as with all trivial complaints, I remind myself daily how fortunate I am that I live in a place where there are no bombs dropping or soldiers pillaging our homes - where there is food and clean water and the basics that we all take for granted. To say nothing of the spectacular beauty of this place. So I guess the whine fest must cease.
Read MoreFirst of all, though I always apologize for the long silence, this one was LONGER than usual. Fortunately it's only due to life being so full. But still...I've been trying to get to this letter since the summer, which is kind of pathetic! And now I'll be hard pressed to even remember everything I wanted to tell you...also kind of a sad statement.
Maybe I'll work my way backwards....which means today's news is:
Okay - I know some of you are literally roasting in oven temperatures across the country, and if I had
to choose between that and the perennial grey fall weather we're having on the West Coast, I'd rather
be cool. So I guess whining is out of the question. I'll refrain. And those in the east - you have my
sympathy.
Julia and Ted and I spent the last couple of weekends touring the gulf islands - including with UHF
on Mayne Island and a house concert with Julia & Ted on my old stomping grounds on Saltspring
Island. Touring the Gulf Islands in the summer is my idea of gig heaven. It's always a strange and
wonderful feeling to return to Saltspring.
I am writing from the home of lifetime family friends of Julia's McGill pal and pianist Ted Littlemore in Patricia Bay on Vancouver Island, looking out over the Bay as the rest of the house sleeps. I love getting up before anyone else and writing and planning and ruminating over the last evening's show.
We had a house concert here in this lovely home last night, where Ted and his brothers spent every summer since they were born. His Grannie Annie and our host went to school together. There were about 60 people in their living room for the concert, and love hovered everywhere. It was the first show Ted's parents and brothers had attended and it was delightful to see their reaction to hearing their Ted in a musical ensemble unlike anything he's ever done. Hey, it's unlike anything I'VE ever done!
Life just has a way of relentless rolling on, doesn't it? Better than the plethora of alternatives of course, so I'm not complaining. It just seems to be more crammed than ever with a whack of random and disparate projects and obligations and time sucking computer work. I know, it's not just me! It seems to be the way of our lives in this part of the world.
Spring has brought lots of rain here on the Wet Coast - a few glorious warm days - none sequential and just enough to torment and tease us. It also marked Julia's return to the nest from McGill. Man, this growing up thing is GREAT! She's a GREAT cook! Whoo hoo! Her presence also forces me to Step Away - go for a bike ride, or just cuddle up and watch an episode of Modern Family. I need that.