It feels like I should say "Happy New Year" , my favorite time of year is just around the corner and so, in my nature of always looking forward I am already getting into the mood of Autumn. The Fall Equinox will happen on September 22 this year, an event that inspires change and growth, a new season, a new beginning. I know I've said it before, so I will repeat: I love the Fall!
I have no idea what happened to Summer. The last time I wrote I think I was still complaining about the cold and rain, then somehow overnight we were immersed in sweltering 32 degree heat, a temperature that makes going to work in an air conditioned building something to look forward to. Peter and I went on a Road Trip to visit my sister in Boyle, Alberta, a little town an hour and a half north of Edmonton- if you know how to navigate Edmonton. I did not know how, so it took us 2 hours to get to Patti's house from Rush Hour in the Big City. It was a long way to go for the best Roast Beef Dinner and hugs, but totally worth it. Unfortunately, half way home the A/C died in our car somewhere around Valemont. It was 37 degrees. We stopped and swam in the North Thompson River, Horse Lake, Fraser River and Lake of the Woods. And ate a lot of Ice Cream.
The highlight of my summer, actually my year so far, was my trip to Haida Gwaii. A decade long dream has been fulfilled. I think that will take up its own blog.
This week I have cleaned out my closets and clothing bins, bought new bedroom curtains and bedding, picked out paint chips and started to prep the walls, changed my hair colour and cut it, started swimming again and rearranged the furniture. Did I mention that I love the Fall? It is a time of change and renewal.
Since my trip to Haida Gwaii I have been making very slow progress on a very special painting. Sgaang Gwaii is an historic site on the Anthony Islands in Gwaii Hanas. On a calm grey morning we paddled on smooth glassy long rolling swells in the company of a humpback whale and puffins to this magical spot hidden at the end of sheltered lagoon. We walked a winding boardwalk through old growth forests to the Watchmens' cabin where we introduced to our guide Vincent. He led us down a steep path, through a crack in a boulder the size of 3 story house, that opened into an ancient village site, the ground soft grass and moss, a crescent beach protected from strong winds and waves by a small island, a hill sloping upwards to the forest. Above the high tide mark on a smooth plateau stood a row of weathered totems; house poles and burial poles in different stages of decay, carved imagery still decipherable, majesty still apparent. Vince told us the stories of each pole, giving us a history of the times, a sense of the people who had lived there. It was a deeply moving experience.
For 3 weeks I have been stealing moments to work on this painting. It's starting to come together, but it's far from complete. Like me: It's still here.
