{ goodbye British Columbia! }

feeding the animals outside the ice cream parlour

One more photo from just outside the ice cream parlour. Turns out I'm not the only one who likes chocolate ice cream (poor little goat, though!)

We're making our way home at the crack of dawn. Please wish us well on our twelve hour drive home.

See you back in Alberta!

{ backlit }

taken in Seattle's Pike Place Market

Just a little photo and caption for this morning!

I've always loved how light creates natural silhouettes when you're least expecting it. This is an impromptu snapshot from Seattle's famous Pike Place Market. We walked down underneath the walkway and followed this sidewalk to its end where we could look out over the rooftops and see the harbour in the distance. These The first things I saw, however, were the shapes and lines cast by the backlit scene. I snapped away! I converted the photo to b&w back home to emphasize all the shapes and lines in it, not to mention the subtle body language of this gazer.

{ exploring the rural side }

hee-hawing donkeys at a local dairy

So we've been exploring Abbotsford, BC, which we've been calling "home" for the past few days. Definitely not a big city by any stretch of the imagination, I find myself appreciating Abbotsford for its nearby rural outskirts rather than for its urban charm.

A couple of days ago we had the chance to visit a local dairy in the countryside. We saw many little animals in a side pen and were able to have an ice cream cone from a barn converted to an ice cream shack. I chose chocolate, as per usual.

These donkeys, just outside the ice cream parlour, were ecstatic to see us heading their way with the delicious cones. The one on the right let us know just how much he'd like a lick by hee-hawing at us.

We also visited a lakeside village about an hour away. People were flying kites and having sandcastle building competitions. I loved the quaint charm of it all. It reminded me a lot of the quaint old fashioned charm of the town of Radium, near the hot springs, which we will be visiting in three weeks.

Today, so far, we're lounging at home, watching t.v. and doing typically urban types of things. My hope is that we can escape the city hubub once again to head off and see the ocean this afternoon. I can't wait to dip my toes, ankles, and maybe even knees in the salty water!

{ on the move }

alleyway in Seattle, WA

Well, we're on the move. We made our way on Thursday morning to Vernon, BC, where we visited friends in the most gorgeous countryside I may have ever seen. We were greeted with orchards and vineyards and Lake Okanagan, all of which stunned my senses. Visiting with old friends and their new baby was also a complete treat.

One day later, we continued to head through British Columbia and have settled down for nine days to visit family. We have been sleeping in, lazing around, reading books, eating homecooked meals and restaurant-prepared ones. I've been taking fun photos such as the one you see above.

We spent two days in Seattle where we saw the piers, Pike Place Market (my favorite!), many coffee shops, and shopping spots galore. I got a few cute clothing items and a neat funky briefcase for my back-to-school escapades in September. I had a caramel macchiato in the town where it was first made, and we saw sites both decrepit (as above) and futuristically wonderful.

Back in British Columbia today, we'll have a family dinner and do some more lounging. In the days ahead, we look forward to seeing more of the coast and to visiting Vancouver for their huge annual fireworks display. Stay tuned!

{ captured & captioned }

captured at a local butterfly pavillion on Saturday

On Saturday we took a trip with many friends to the local botanical gardens, visiting the butterfly pavillion among other things. The story with this little guy is quite interesting; he was in a plexiglass case, and I've shot him here through the clear glass, from the underside. He is newly hatched and is still in this special hatching case as he sits, drying his wings.

If you look behind him, you can see different varieties of his friends and cousins who are still hanging gingerly in their chrysalis, or pupal, forms, awaiting their future splendour.

I just loved this juxtaposition between what once was and what is still yet to come. It's a universally appealing life theme that, even at twenty-four, it's still good for me to remember.

{ sunday morning wakeup call }

making banana chip muffins

It's 1:34 am, and in approximately 8 hours we have a breakfast date with a couple friends out on our patio. We'll be having omlettes and muffins and other good things, and, seeing as it's a leisurely Sunday morning, I thought you might like to join us.

Banana Chip Muffins

½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (usually 2 bananas)
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating until smooth. Add mashed bananas and blend in. In a second bowl, stir flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips. Add to banana mixture stirring only to moisten. Transfer into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops are browned. Let stand 5 minutes before removing to wire cooling racks. Makes 12 muffins.

{ orange details and a heat wave }

a good find, revealed: the country tractor Derek and I found

Well, this Wednesday night might as well be a Friday or Saturday. We're in the middle of a heat wave and nobody in the neighborhood seems to be sleeping. It was above thirty degrees celsius today, and it is due to go even higher tomorrow. It's 12:13 am as I write, and I can hear my condo neighbors out banging about, too. The windows are open, the fan is on, the lights are low, and our clothing is minimal. I thought now would be as good of a time as any to update with that "good find" that I've been promising for a couple of days.

Over the weekend, Derek and I took a country drive; he spied this decrepit old tractor on the side of the road, so I pulled over to capture some of its intimate charm. I love the bright colors--don't you? The rust only serves to add to the already orange beauty of the antique machine. I love old things like this!

Well, I've started my new coffee shop job, and today was day three of the new environment. Things are going well--I'm getting along with my [much younger] co-workers, I'm getting free coffees and teas and iced lattes, and the pay--and tips--are not bad at all. Every little bit that I earn will only serve to make things go more pleasant when we pay tuition, go on holidays, and gear up for our big move.

Speaking of the big move, things are being finalized this week. Last minute errors are being checked and re-signed, realtors and lawyers and buyers are being confirmed with, and I'm beginning to haul up the packing boxes that have been hibernating in my car for a few weeks. It will be both a pleasant and daunting task to pack; I can't believe how much we've acquired in a period of four years!

Our house is coming along nicely. I will post pictures of it sometime soon, when I actually visit the site with my camera. All the duct-work, plumbing, and electrical work is done. The windows and doors are in, and whole flats of shingles are sitting in bundles on the roof, just waiting to be nailed down. I'm excited! We are expecting the house to be done around December-ish. Until then, we will be living in our little country trailer home, with peace and quiet, but limited internet. I'll have to do a great deal of updating photos and stories and such before then (August 15th).

But, for now, heat exhaustion and restlessness are taking their toll on me; I'm off to make some late-night lemonade!

{ today's top three }

another shot from my mailbox photoshoot

As stolen from HappySilly, the top three things that I am happy-silly about today:

One -- a potential summer job opportunity developing resources for the "No child left behind" initiative in America (at $30/hr!)

Two -- a seven o'clock teahouse date with a girlfriend of mine

Three -- a cryptic package making its way to me through the postal system

And of course, I've not included it, but my Canon Digital Rebel and decrepit rural objects continue to make me happy. Derek's mystery find is still to come--stay tuned tomorrow! Sorry for the brief interlude!

{ tag-teamin' it }

antiqued mailboxes found just outside the city limits

Here is my latest photo that I am most proud of. Derek and I have been going on many photo-journeys lately (he is good at humoring me). I've been realizing lately what a good team we are. As crazy as we can drive each other sometimes, we compliment each other well. He is zany and spontaneous, I am sometimes reserved and over-cautious. We worry about different types of things, or about the same things, but at different times. We can both stitch together a brave face in the instant of each other's weakness.

Right now we're tag-teaming workloads. We're on a bit of a come-and-go schedule; today I started my new summer part time job; I'm working at a small coffee shop within walking distance from our place. Derek's working some days, some nights, writing essays, and doing community health nursing presentations. I've been seeing old friends sometimes while he's in and sometimes when he's out. Last night he was in and I was out; tonight I am in and he is out. It's a bit strange, but it's a rhythm we've gotten used to in our four years of being married throughout multiple jobs and multiple college and university experiences. Today I came home to a shiny sink and a cleaned kitchen, care of my main squeeze. Conversely, Derek had to leave his laundry behind on his way to work tonight; I'm going to ensure that he'll come home to clean, folded nursing scrubs and a tidy bedroom. It's a nice thing, being a team.

Two days ago he took me for another photo spin in the country. He worked the horizon on his side of the car, and I worked the one on my side. Suddenly he came to an intense stop and threw the car in reverse.

"What is is?" I cried, thinking something was direly wrong.

"Look at this scene!" he said. "Now, I'd bet you'd just love to take a picture of that!"

He was right ... it was an amazing photo op. What treasure did he find for me on a dusty dirt road? The mailboxes had been my find, five days earlier. Stay tuned for Derek's keen-eyed find tomorrow! I'll be playing around with the new photos tonight, once the blankets and towels are washed ...

{ connotations of loneliness }

a lone mailbox in the countryside

So, I had a very lonesome kind of day. As of yesterday I finished all my work with the schoolboard; I had to stay an extra three days past everyone else to do some marking downtown, but it's all done now. I woke up bright and early and continued my summer job search that I had initiated on Wednesday. On Wednesday I found out that no Starbucks wanted to hire me because I would be going back to school in September, so I applied at a Second Cup location not far from my house. I went in this morning to follow up, and the manager hired me on the spot. So, my summer job will begin on Monday. Tonight I get to do online modules of training and take an e-quiz. Intriguing!

Once I got home from the coffee shop at 11:00 am, I realized I would have a long, lonely day ahead of me. It's interesting, because I've been teaching my grade 7 and 8 kids about the word "connotation" and about how connotations throw emotional baggage onto normal words. I felt the impact of connotations today. I came home, the house was quiet, Derek was at school and then work, and I would be by myself for a full twelve hours. It was my first day of vacation, and I wanted to do something! It was a Friday, for goodness' sakes! But I was alone. I phoned two friends, but they were busy with other things. My mom and my sister were out of town.

I felt lonely. I hate feeling lonely. I fear being lonely. However, I talked to Karel, who told me that I should just have fun by myself. I retorted with a sarcastic, embittered remark, "I'm no fun, obviously!" I remembered another friend that I had in high school, though. I would often call her on the weekend to do something on a Friday or Saturday night.

"Can't!" she would chirp. "I'm busy!"

"Oh ... what are you up to?" I'd snoop.

"I have a date! With myself!" she'd say mysteriously but happily, and then hang up.

She had these dates with herself quite often. She would rent movies and do her nails and read magazines in bed with candles lit--or something. She'd often say, when asked about friends, "I'm my own best friend!" She was popular and everyone wanted to be with her, so she wasn't a loser, but she just liked being alone.

Thinking of people like that, I think less and less that I'm personable and more and more that I'm just dependant and needy. I don't want to be that way! I stopped around 3:30 today to ponder the connotation of the word lonely.

"I'm lonely," I thought. Then I corrected my lexical language. "No ... not lonely. I'm alone." That was slightly better, connotation-wise, I thought. "I'm on my own!" I thought. Wow, that sounded empowering. I wasn't too sure if I believed it, but at least it sounded better.

On my own, I quit pouting and I got in my car and drove to an Indigo bookstore. I had a Starbucks frappucino and sat reading technical photography magazines for an hour and a half. I actually learned a lot, too. Then I got a call from Derek, who was on his nursing shift dinner break and wanted to know if I wanted to meet him for dinner at a restaurant. I drove my car there, he drove his car there, and we had a half-hour sushi and dumpling date. Then we got in our respective cars and parted ways.

I felt independent! I met someone (granted, he is my husband, but whatever) for a date, then drove off to do my own thing. Now isn't that what empowered, confident young women should do rather than mope!

I went shopping on my own. At first it was a drag because I had no one to chitter chatter with about the things I looked at. However, by the time I got in the dressing room, it felt like a blessing since I was taking forever. But who cared! I was on my own! I could take as long as I wanted. And that hideous dress I tried on? I could shroud myself in the confines of my little booth without having to emerge, embarassed, to show someone how terrible I looked!

I bought one pair of skinny black capri jeans for my new job, because I needed something like that. They were only $9.99! What a cheap thrill. Then it was back to Indigo across the street to finish up reading those magazines I had left in a sneaky little pile. I read two of them in about two hours (I'm so cheap, but they were fifteen bucks a piece!) and finally learned some technical details about how to use aperture, ISO, Photoshop levels, etc.

I came home early from my fun little solo date in order to tweak some of my photos from last Saturday. I've been saving the best till last, and I plan on revealing them tonight, if all goes according to plan.

I'm not sure if I can say I'm my own best friend after all of that, but at least I had a good night, and I'm feeling very far from lonely. I'd highly suggest swapping out the words that have negative connotations in your life and replacing them with more empowering, positive words, too.

- - - - - -
Other interpretations of loneliness:
- see LensEnvy, wizzlewolf

{ in honor of patriotism }

Taken July 1st, Canada Day

Before it's too late, happy [belated] Canada Day, or happy Fourth of July, if that's what you're celebrating instead!


I took this picture with my new Canon while using a tripod and a delayed shutter speed. I'm so glad it turned out!

{ daintee dinner }

dinner diptych

A diptych is a set of two photographs (hence the di prefix) that compliment each other well or that portray different aspects of similar things. So, here is my dinner diptych: a dinner for one, before and after.

Other interesting "D" information, or material to read while you munch, can be found in the Wikipedia entry for "dibs", an expression that I use often, but that I frequently get strange looks for. If you know me, why don't you read up on my favorite expression so you can stop being so weirded out! I even added a couple extra tidbits to the wiki.

Or, if you're more for viewing than reading while you eat, I can give you a "D" photoblog, too; it's about time to remind you all of Durham Township, anyways. It's my personal daily escape.

Mmm, delicious!

{ no words }

rural Alberta, July 1st

I have no words today, only a well-liked, recently-taken photo from a little rural adventure that Derek and I took on Sunday before the Canada Day fireworks went off.

Hope you can enjoy the breath of fresh air, too.

{ prairie sunset }

one of the first photos taken with my new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi

Well, I know some of you are completely enamoured with these big ol' Alberta skies, so I thought I'd throw you a different type of bone and let you see a sunset from my part of the world. Naturally, as with any sunset, a photo could never do it full justice. It must be said that these greens, teals, oranges, and indigos can instantly take my breath away, particularly when silhouettes of graceful clouds are suspended atop such an elegant palette.

I've been having fun with my new Canon camera, but not too much fun. Opportunities for photos have not jumped out at me in the last 24 hours, but with celebrating Canada Day tonight with good friends and fireworks, I'm hoping I'll find some snap-worthy moments. Stay tuned!

Happy Canada Day!