Chop Chop

Pinch me!

 

My two favorite things in the whole entire universe are going to the hair salon and having a beer.  To my delight I have discovered a salon in Vancouver that serves you beer while they cut your hair!! 

 

 

I’m not making this up  I promise – heck, I could never lead you on about something so delicious.  Aww...sigh....I always thought that was what heaven was - a never-ending someone running their fingers through your hair while you sipped a never ending beer.  But now I find this is something I can do before I die!  You can imagine my excitement!!

 

You know, I’ve been to Kathmandu and Marrakesh and Ebenezer, and that was all nice…but let me tell you it’s going to be surreal to scratch “Go to heaven” from my bucket list!

 

 

.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

I have an interesting friend…wait…HAD a friend.  My balcony in my summer home in Vancouver, has a glass exterior.  So a few weeks ago, a, slightly-on-the-larger side, yellow-y, black spider built a web on the outside of the glass.  I hate spiders.  They scurry on eight appendages, they lurk, they are gross.  So of course, my first reaction was ‘EEEWWWWW, how do I get him away?!’  Then I thought about spending the summer indoors.  But then I thought, ok, logically, I’m bigger and more dangerous to him then he is to me and he’s on the other side, so if he stays there, then it’s ok.  Plus I’m grown up, I’m mature, he’s just a spider...

 

So after much deliberation I let him be. 

And I have to admit, it was pretty cool.  I did spend a little time out there observing the little fellow as he patiently waited for dinner and then scrambled over in a flash to grab his prey, bring his supper back to the center of his finely crafted web before devouring it.   I watched him expand and repair his beautifully symetrical web.  It was good - my own discovery channel.  He stayed on his side of the glass and I stayed on mine.  I actually came to be pretty proud of my buddy.  People came over and I’d show him off.  He had it pretty good there for the longest part of August. 

 

And then the rain came.  Washed the spider away.

 

And being that it’s Vancouver, the ‘out comes the sun and dried up all the rain…’ part never happened.

He just disappeared.  About a week went by, until a friend from Calgary was in the city and stopped by for a visit.  I was showing off my summer home, and even took him out on the balcony and said, ‘sometimes I sit out here and read or there was this spider over here, he was my buddy… ‘ and as I pointed to where he had resided on the outside of the glass, my finger felt something sticky, stringy….oh GROSS!!!  A spider web!!!  EWWWW.

 

And then.

 

I saw him.

 

Tucked under the railing on MY side of the glass!!

 

I screamed as I ran into the condo and locked the door.  My poor friend on the other side.

 

 

How could he?  I mean you didn’t see me coming over the glass on his side while he called it home.  Yes, I had thought about it.  But I didn’t knock down his web.  Ok, sure it was cause I was scared that he’d panic, or I’d panic, and he’d fly into my face somehow, but the point is – I left him be and we got along fine!!  Quite neighborly in fact.

 

And to think - I even shooed poor stupid flies his direction!

 

 

So, it turns out – spiders are gross.  They are evil, they lurk, and they definitely can’t be trusted.

 

 

Only time I open my balcony door now is to let in the poor innocent flies.

 

That's right Mr. Spider-Pants...I won't be shooing any dinner your way anymore until you get off my property!!!

 

.

Pass the Soup

Is it because I'm getting old that I have these thoughts?

Today I went to grab a coffee and the coffee-ista, or coffee artist or whatever it is they call themselves, had two fairly large metal ball piercings. One through each of her cheeks. 

All I could think was, 'when this young lady eats soup, does it leak out and drip down the sides of her face? ...well, if it doesn't now, it sure will when she realizes that she has outgrown her rebellious years and removes the metal balls, for you can fill in a hole in the ground, but however will you fill in a hole in your face?'


I'm not intolerant or particularily judge-y. People make their own choices and I say all the power to them, but I just wonder sometimes how well people think things through.

But then, who knows. Maybe she doesn't even like soup.



.

September Musings

Ah, and another September begins.  I’ve always loved Septembers.  They feel fresh – like the start of something new.  I guess it stems from years of starting another school year in September.  It’s amazing how certain things stick with you over the years.  

Anyhow, I had a lovely summer vacation!  Well...technically, minus the 'vacation' part – although living next to the ocean made it feel a lot like a vacation, even if I was working through the majority of it.

Vancouver had an amazing summer and enjoying the sunshine from its beaches made me realize how lucky I am for the opportunity to have lived in such different places – growing up on the Saskatchewan, prairies living amidst the Rockies in Calgary and now on the shores of the Pacific in Vancouver.  Each place unique and boasts its own pluses.  But I’ve also noticed that as the cities get bigger, one’s space in it gets smaller.  I find myself fascinated by the fact that children can be raised inside of apartments.  Growing up on a farm, one takes for granted that the outdoors is your playground – acres and acres of it!  I used to explore the ‘forest’ in our backyard, build snow forts out by the bins and catch tadpoles in the marsh.  I was free to ride my bike for miles or disappear for hours.  And I thought that was how the world worked.  Children roamed. 

But I have since learned that this is not always the case.  In truth, we are a small, privileged few.  We may not have grown up with swimming pools, corner stores and movie theaters just down the street, but we grew up with something few people have – space.  Space to run and stretch; space to hide from traffic noise and light pollution – to see hear silence and see stars.  Movement not limited to a sidewalk, play not determined by the availability of supervisors, and views not obstructed by skyscrapers.  To be able to swing your arms and hit no one and no thing isn’t something everyone can do in this world. 

I take nothing away from the city; in fact I enjoy a lot of what it affords.  The people-watching is incredible, the array of dining and entertainment options are only feasible because of its size.  The architecture of its buildings is beauty in and of itself.  But one thing I will never again take for granted is a place with space.  There is a finite amount of land on earth and when you get a lion’s share, soak it in!  For far too few people know the true value of having a great deal of space.

.