Five Short Stories About August

Here we are in September already!  I've been home from the latest round of travels for 4 or 5 days now, and I'm just starting to get my feet under me.  The two weeks on the road were go-go-go, and I'm exhausted.  Not that that will stop me for long!

Here's some of what happened...

1.  The Boyd family gathered to say goodbye to our patriarch, Bill.   The three siblings, Steve, Mike, and Pat, interred their father's ashes, then we went back to Bill's house for a day of food, talk, and play.  The day was remarkably joyous, with family reconnecting, new discoveries and a whole lot of goofing around.

This is the first time that my three babies and all of their cousins have been together since a family wedding nearly 2 years ago, and it was wonderful.  The phrase "I'M IN MY ROCKETSHIP"  will live on in infamy.

2.  We had flown Lexi up to Edmonton to join us for the interment and family celebration, and since we were driving out to Gibsons that weekend, we all crammed into our Crown Vic and headed westward.  Every family car trip we've ever taken has been more of an adventure than anticipated, so, by comparison, this one was pretty tame.  True, cramming 3 adults, or near-adults, into a back seat for 1500 kilometers is no picnic, but everyone held together pretty well.

Of course, we took plenty of breaks to stretch long legs.  And play.  It makes me rather happy to see that my kids haven't lost their sense of play, and that they have finally learned to play nice with each other.

After all, you know what they say about the family that plays together!

3.  When we got to Vancouver, I did something silly.  Okay, sillier than usual.  I got a tattoo.

Miss Arabella Spider is now permanently spinning her spiral on my left shoulder.  I've been planning this tattoo for months, and finally got to the Eastside Tattoo Parlor, where the magnificent Jessica Pare etched this beauty into my arm.  Spiders mean a lot to me, for a lot of reasons, and I'm pretty happy to look at my shoulder and see one spinning away.

4.  After a couple of hot, sunny days in Vancouver, we headed up to Gibsons for the Gibson's Landing Fibre Arts Festival.  I have to admit that I absolutely adore the community and the festival, and this visit did nothing to change that feeling.  I taught, I shopped, I visited with friends old and new. I ate my annual crab at Smitty's Oyster House.  I may or may not have "liberated" a yarn bomb into the possession of a street musician...

...though there is no proof that I actually removed anything.

The Festival is taking a year off next year due to manpower (or should I say womanpower?) problems.  It's a tough job to put on a festival of this calibre, and some of the board is getting a little weary.  They plan to revisit the way things are done and recruit some fresh blood and be back again in 2012, and I sincerely hope that they do.  This festival is a wonderful thing for all fibre folk, and it would be a terrible shame to have to lose it.  Send your good vibes their way!

5.   Back to Edmonton.  Lady Gaga.  There are no words to describe this concert.  Part theatre, part concert (complete with a massive live band, and a harpist!), part motivational speech, part modern art.  Brilliant!  And, may I just say, that regardless of what you think of her music or her wardrobe, that lady can SING.  Holy cats!

The best part of the whole evening for me, though, was the crowd.  There were the obvious fans, with their Gaga looks going on.  And then there were the seniors.  There were more people in their 60's and 70's there than I have ever seen at a concert.  And a lot of them were up on their feet, dancing with their "paws up".  Awesome!

So, now I'm home.  We picked up some fresh fruit and veggies on the way home, and I spent the weekend  pickling and preserving.  The larder has been stocked.  New purchases have been stashed.  Miss Julia is settling into school.  It's time to spin.  And plan for the next trip...