Freedom's Just Another Word

Butterflies are free.

Scarfing down images is free.


Skirting the issue is sometimes unavoidable.

Window Shopping

Looking is free.

Imagining is free.


The unbearable lightness of wool is free.



Leaving comments is not only free but liberating!

Stanley

There's a landmark theatre up Granville Street at 12th called the Stanley. I occasionally saw films there in the distant past but it was turned into a live-theatre venue in subsequent years. I seem to vaguely recall times of waiting for a late night bus in the rain after emerging from seeing a movie. At that time, there were no handy Starbucks or bistros staying open for late-night sipping.

I also remember my daughter and my mother going to see a Star Trek movie there and a dear knitted kitty getting left behind. A phone call the next day to the Stanley let us know that the toy was alive and well and hanging out in the box office, waiting to be beamed up home.

Wikipedia says that "the Stanley first opened as a movie theatre in December 1930, and showed movies for over sixty years before falling revenues led to its closure in 1991. After years of threatened commercial redevelopment, the Stanley was renovated as a stage theatre in 1997–1998 and subsequently awarded status as a heritage building."

It's gratifying to see a little local colour being preserved. I hope no one minds my tinkering with the photographs to add a little local colour of my own (do make them bigger for a closer look).

Speaking of Emily

Well who should I run into on my travels today but Emily Carr with a few of her friends.



I was out visiting the galleries along Vancouver's Granville Street, and it looks as though Emily was out doing some sketching.

Emily doesn't go anywhere without her pet monkey.

Oddly enough, an exact replica of this statue is to be found on Montreal's Sherbrooke Street, in another gallery area. I'm always surprised and delighted when I run into it there as well. (Forgetfulness does have some advantages!)

The sculpture is by Canadian artist, Joe Fafard, who hails from the Prairies. I wonder if there's another Emily sculpture in Winnipeg.

Kitchen Window Sunrise

Not a sight I often see! (from any window)

Raise High the Roof Beams

While out driving around with my sister, I asked her to swing past the twin-spired church on the Squamish Nation reserve. She admitted that in all the years that she had lived in North Vancouver, and she had lived here longer than I, she had never been past this church. If I had been a more brazen soul, I would have at least tried the doors to see if I might gain entry. But I felt a bit obvious and rather like an intruder, so I merely snapped this photo. My brother later told me that had I gone inside, I would have been treated to a view of an original Emily Carr painting. I knew she had drawn and/or painted this church, which was the main reason I wanted to get a better look at it. I can't find a reproduction of that particular piece of art work on the web, though, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Continuing on our drive down unexplored avenues, I noticed this old house being raised to the skies, trying to keep up with its neighbours, perhaps.

It's a gorgeous old thing, perhaps even dating from the time that Emily was alive. It's hard to believe that it's actually being preserved-- at least that's what I think they're doing. Meanwhile, a pigeon is enjoying the view from the top.

Scary Stuff for Hallowe'en?

Saturday morning had some strange sound effects wafting through the air. It sounded strangely like...

ABBA?

I grabbed my camera and dashed down to the little mall on the corner only to discover...
ABBA?


Free pumpkins and ABBA?

Walk With Me

Yes, we're going back to the park. The sun unexpectedly came out so it's the very best thing to do. Don't forget your house key--or your camera! This is the main entrance to the park. I usually sneak in the back way but today I'll give you the grand tour.

Fall foliage, lush carpet.

We're not the only ones to enjoy a walk in the park.
Woof softly but carry a big stick!



This time we go right through the park to the pier. There's no fishing or crabbing allowed for the next few weeks but there are big fish jumping out there! The gulls seem pretty interested.

Let's go down for a better view.


(Just jump over the comments box!)

If we look one way, we see the shoreline of the park we just walked through.

Looking the other way, we notice that this area is less groomed and there is some industry in the distance.

At the foot of this industrial area, on the far right, is a small, bright blue shack where a locally famous poet once lived. My mother loves to tell the story of how she and my father once found him face down in the park, groceries strewn about him, drunker than a skunk. I forget his name, so his reputation is safe with me!

A pier, a tug boat, a barge. Local colour. Like an E.J. Hughes painting. He's one of my favourite artists. His work has become hugely popular since his death a few years ago. Look him up on the web. His paintings are vibrantly colourful and evoke a playful feeling of life on the west coast of BC.

We are looking into Burrard Inlet. Far in the distance is the Second Narrows Bridge which links the north shore, where we are, to Vancouver. We could sail off in the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco...or the Orient...or New Zealand...

But not today. I'm ready to head home for a nice cold, white cranberry BC Cider. Would you care to join me?

Kla-how-eya!

Down at my favourite near-by park there is a totem pole. Near the top you can see Eagle's beak sticking out. At the very top are two chiefs--you can tell by their hats.

And if you look a little closer, you'll notice that one of the chiefs has a real feather in his cap, in the form of a cedar seedling, perhaps planted there by the trickster Crow.

At the base of the totem, we have a human being well-cared for by Bear while a double-headed sea serpent looks on.

Human is maybe not too sure about this situation. You can tell by the look in his eyes and the expression of his mouth.

I took these photos earlier on in my visit here. Lately, it's been raining hard and I've been caught up in family doings and recovering from my ongoing sniffles so haven't been out gathering pictorial souvenirs. In their stead, I offer the protection of the beings in this totem pole to all who come by to visit, whether or not your mocassins leave a trace in the blog.

"Kla-how-eya!"

is a greeting meaning, “Welcome!” or “how are you?” in the Chinook language.

My Room With a View

I'm still enjoying the view from my bedroom window, even though the clouds have rolled in and the freighter that was here during first week of my visit has rolled out.

In the course of a day, the sky changes and, with it, the mood.

We've had some good downpours lately. I love the sound of the rain beating on the roof above my bedroom during the night, or the fading wail of a train passing on the other side of the inlet.

These pictures from my old room are as close to the outdoors as I've gotten these past two days.

By the way, that little island you see in the second picture is for sale. There's a house on it as well. I believe the asking price is $2,000,000.00 CDN. Anyone want to chip in with me and get it as a bloggers and friends refuge? And by chip in, I basically mean buy it for me!

Hot Breath

A Burning Bush speaking in fiery tongues.

I hope its comments aren't too inflammatory for you.

There and Back

Seattle
Kubota Gardens

Vancouver

I left Friday in torrential rain, bound for Seattle on a Greyhound bus. I was met at the station by the Photographer, rallied at home with the Fibre Artist, then spent the weekend visiting with them, and eating and drinking exceedingly well. We talked, laughed, teared up, went for a walk to the nearby gardens, drove on the freeway with death-defying manoeuvres in bucketing rain to get to a wool shop, shopped for yarn and patterns, meds and groceries, and sat in unexpected Sunday sunshine in the backyard, drinking tea, eating homemade cookies, and listening to a hummingbird's chirrup.

Unfortunately, on my first morning there, I awoke with a very sore throat so was not at my best the entire weekend. I blame this sad state of affairs for my pathetic lack of photo-making activity!

Aside from my friends, do you know what I love best about the U.S.A.? Australian wine for sale cheap cheap cheap at a pharmacy! Now that's what I call good medicine!

It was a wonderful tonic to meet up with two of my oldest, dearest friends.

The Writing's on the Wall

This graffiti (2 f's or 2 t's, I can never remember) was found in the women's washroom at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design (my old alma mater, under a different name). I think it's a rather poor showing for art students!

But the real message on my blogwall tonight is that I'm going to Seattle for a few days to visit my dear friends, the Fibre Artist and the Photographer.

I'm not on a sight-seeing tour. It's strictly business: eating, drinking, talking, laughing, going for walks, and probably making something deliriously crafty!

Feel free to leave me bouquets, bon mots, dark chocolate, poems, or personal cheques on my blogstep! My welcome mat is still out and I've left the key under it and some ciders chilling in the fridge for you all. (Saj, there's some harder stuff in the basement--I'm sure you'll sniff it out!)

Lonsdale Quaytime

On a sunny day in North Vancouver, it's a nice little excursion to go to the Lonsdale Quay. We take the bus everywhere, which sometimes takes longer than one would like, but we can look out the window and eyeball all the unusual people that clamber on to ride along.



"From ski to sea" is one of Vancouver's bragging points. Obviously this boarder is heading for the slopes.



But we're heading for the waterfront. This is where the tug boats hang out. I love tug boats. Maybe because of some kids' story about one that I read when I was wee. These are the little tough guys that come and hustle the freighters out of the inlet that we see from my bedroom window at my mother's house.
The N.Van. waterfront is being revamped to house yet more glass-fronted unaffordable condos. Does nobody worry about the predicted earthquake/tsunami slated for the coast sometime between today and 200 years hence? Well, obviously not today.

Some people solve the problem of where to park their helicopter by parking it on their yacht. I've never seen yachts parked by the quay before. It's getting pretty toney around here. Maybe those glass buildings act as magnets for the flashily wealthy.
But the quay is mostly for ordinary folks. It has a large food market with fresh produce and varied take-out counters.
It's great to get some lunch and sit outside to eat it, like this fellow in the bright orange sneakers is doing. Just how sneaky can sneakers be when they're so bright, I wonder.

While shoppers roam the food courts and clothing boutiques inside, or rush to catch the sea bus to downtown Vancouver, others stop to admire the city view across the water, or sit and relax with a smoke, listening to a lone Peruvian playing the panpipes to a canned back-up band.

How sweet it is, life in Lotus Land. How sweet it is!

Science Worldish

One of the landmarks in Vancouver is the Science World dome. Inside are all sorts of activities and interactive gizmos for "kids of all ages." A good way for families to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. But we weren't about to conduct any science experiments; I was taking my mother there for her first Omnimax experience. There are several presentations on this huge, curved screen but the one we went to see was about Vincent Van Gogh. Imagine, Vincent's paintings 20 feet high! (I don't know the actual measurement of the screen, but that seems like a good figure to bandy about).

While waiting for showtime, we sat outside (so my mother could smoke a cigarette) and watched the omnicrows perform their own routines, scavenging for cold fries and ketchup packets. Crows are supposed to be very smart and adaptable. They mate for life and can live up to 20 years, but most don't make it. They're also excellent mimics and are good at human face recognition. And they LOVE hangers for nest building, bending them to the female's body shape. Problem is when they decide to build the nest on live electrical wires. But I digress...

The Omnimax theatre is on the third floor of the dome. Shades of the Guggenheim, without the view as one plods ever upward. Getting up the 300 metres involves a lot of huffing and puffing. There are encouraging signs along the way, as well as dire warnings to not attempt the climb if you suffer from any heart or breathing problems. Did I mention my mother smokes? I feared I might be disinherited after making her go on foot rather than waiting another 20 minutes for the elevator to open. Metres and measurements are pretty meaningless to me, I'm afraid. There were a few model planes wending their way upward as well, but we were too big for them.

This is the film we saw. In the end, my mother was very impressed with the Omnimax film experience, but she was more interested in seeing the upcoming one on the life of beavers. Its tagline is "the biggest dam movie you'll ever see!" While the Van Gogh picture was entertaining, I don't really see the need to experience his painting as 20 feet high!

All around the city are cast fibreglass sculptures of whales and eagles that have been decorated by various "celebrities". This is an orca showing her true colours. Did I mention that magic mushrooms grow on people's front lawns here??