Rainstorms From My Balcony

Although this rainy weather is putting a damper on plans to enjoy the Jazz Festival this week, this afternoon, I'm enjoying it. I enjoy watching sheets of rain come down on the streets below from the safety & shelter of my balcony. I enjoy watching rivulets stream down nearby rooftops. Part of me wants to run out and enjoy it fully, simply feel it pour down on me, but for now, I'll enjoy the cool spray coming in with the wind - a perfect respite on a humid, sweltering day.

Things That Make Me Smile

There's a baby bunny rabbit that lives in a large city planter downtown. It seems to have found a home amongst the shrubs and comes out once & a while to greet passers-by. It can't be more than 6" long, and it's the cutest darn thing I've ever seen. Every time I walk by there are people watching it, talking to it, or kids trying to get right into the planter for a closer look ...

That just makes me smile. :)

Look Mom ... I'm On The Web!

I never thought I'd ever say this, but check out a picture of Yours Truly on BARSHOTS.ca (if you're patient enough, on the orange menu bar at mid-screen, click on Photos; scroll down to June 24 and click on Velvet Room; immediately below the picture, on your right-hand side, click on End - it's the last photo).

I'm sure it would make a mother proud to know there's a picture of her daughter out there on a Web site that just posts pictures of people hanging out in city bars. The really sucky thing about the picture though, is that it doesn't include 3 other friends that were there with us. We got gypped!

We spent the latter part of the night at a great bar called the Velvet Room. I'd never been, but I definitely will be again. It's gorgeous, sumptuous and for 25+. We danced and laughed all night - a wonderful way to spend a Saturday with friends. And as a bonus, now I can say "Look Mom ... I'm on the Web!" :)

Ribs & Hypocrisy

Warning: This post is not for sensitive vegetarians, vegans, or anyone with a special affinity for pigs in general.

I checked out the International Chicken-Rib Cookoff this afternoon at the Sparks Street Mall. I was craving protein, had heard about it, and thought it might be fun. It was packed! It seems every person working downtown decided to take advantage of a glorious sunny afternoon to get a taste of the best. 'Cause these vendors had the credentials to prove they were the best: Best Ribs in North America, Winner of the Harley Davidson Rib Cookoff - Daytona Beach, Winner Summer 2005 ...

Aside from the crowds, what struck me the most though was some of the marketing, and how it rubbed me the wrong way:

"Eat our ribs or the pig gets it!", posted next to a picture of a pig with a gun to its head. I think most of the pigs there already got it - bad.

"Who let the hogs out?" No really???

And what's with the pigs everywhere? Miniature pigs that oink. Pictures of pigs on signs. Pig statues sporting ball caps. Why do meat vendors or meat companies insist on showing me the animal I'm about to eat, in human-like attire or carrying out human-like activities? It just doesn't do anything for me.

That being said, did I have some ribs? Yes. I feel hypocritical but in the end, hunger and curiosity won out. I tried Camp 31's ribs from "The Heart of Dixie". They were ok - but the coleslaw was awesome!

Jazz Update

The evening was perfect: a park full of people, a gorgeous summer breeze, and sweet Sinatra music filling the air. I think my favourite part of the evening in the city is at dusk; the sky turns a wonderful indigo colour and if you don't pay attention, you miss it. Luckily tonight, I caught it.

Tomorrow, I look forward to the gospel sounds of Mavis Staples and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Ready For Jazz

In the spirit of my aspirations to become a festival bum this summer, this afternoon I picked up a festival pass for the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, that runs from June 22nd to July 2nd. I was hesitating, but then thought to myself: "You love jazz, you live downtown, you're on sabbatical - why on earth would you NOT go?"

Live jazz on a hot summer night ... I'm ready for it!

Addendum To Nature's Retreat

Another treat from Mother Nature this past weekend that merits a spot on the list: the sight of fireflies in the night. Magical. I can't believe I forgot it.

Nature's Retreat For The Senses

When I moved downtown, the country girl in me knew she'd have to find a way to get her nature fix once in a while. This weekend, I got one.

I spent Saturday night and most of the day Sunday at a friend's campsite a few hours northwest of Ottawa, close to Barry's Bay. The campsite is a clearing in the woods off a little "cottagey road". Across the road, my friend owns waterfront on a small lake. Gorgeous. She has a tent trailer, a latrine & no running water. She calls it her little piece of Heaven; I call it a retreat for the senses. Here are just a few reasons why:

• the smell and taste of wild strawberries - I picked and ate my first one since childhood; the sweet taste brought me back home, where I'd spend hours picking them with my mother and grandmother as a kid
• the sight of stars, stars and more stars
• the sound of birds, birds and more birds
• the sound of bullfrogs, other frogs, and beetle-like creatures in a nearby marsh - bass, baritone and tenor
• the sight of a smoky, misty haze over the lake
• the sight, smell and sound of a crackling campfire
• the sight of two gorgeous dogs, a black lab and a golden retriever, jumping off a dock and swimming side by side to their master
• the smell of two wet dogs :)
• the sound of something lurking in the woods at night
• the sound of the loon - I heard one for the first time early Sunday morning and am forever enchanted
  

These thing are now engrained in my being. I'm already looking forward to my next retreat.

A First For Everything

I just got invited to a keg party. Granted the keg wasn't presented to me as the main purpose of the party, but there are plans to get one. I can't go; I have plans of my own. But who would've thought that at my age - let's just say university is a few years back for me - I would get invited to my very first keg party? How fun is that!

There is indeed a first for everything.

Urban Musings

This afternoon I sat sipping coffee outside my favourite coffee shop, taking in the world around me: the architecture of surrounding buildings - I'm fascinated by the details in the pillars and rooftops, purring motorcycle engines, pigeons doing a mating dance. What struck me the most was the variety of people coming & going, just doing their business on a weekday afternoon. What do these people do for a living? Are they students? Shift workers? Nine-to-fivers on a mid-afternoon break? Perhaps they're like me, on sabbatical. I look at them and a lot of them seem so young. I feel a little old for a split second, like an outsider to this vibrant urban community. Then I remind myself that I feel younger now than I've ever felt. I remember the sense of community I feel each time I say hi to Video Store Guy on the street, to Grocery Store Guy and to Flower Shop Girl. I also remind myself that there's really no pre-requisite for fitting into this community, only my self-imposed criteria.

Just a few urban musings on a Wednesday afternoon ...

Snare Drums and Tubas and Bagpipes, Oh My!

To steal a phrase from my sister, this morning I decided to "let God wake me up". I had no clue he'd decide to do it with snare drums and tubas! Apparently there was a firemen's parade going past my building this morning. I got up, watched it from my window, then promptly went back to bed. And the bagpipes? Well those were just a bonus as I ran along the canal. Some sort of military or cadet-related boat was sailing along with a young kid standing in the middle playing the bagpipes. Cool.

Oh, The Places I'll Go

"And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)"
- Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll
Go!

When I graduated from university, I received Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go! as a gift. Little did I know I'd be reading it several years later, sitting alone in the middle of the floor in my downtown Ottawa apartment, tears streaming down my face. As I flipped through it this morning, I was amazed at its relevance throughout time. Although the book is commonly geared towards young graduates, the message speaks to anyone ready for new beginnings. Sitting at the helm of a much awaited year long sabbatical, in circumstances I never would have imagined out of university, how timely for me to have stumbled upon it today.

When A Heart Feels

"It is only with the heart that one can see
rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Have you ever felt physical pain in the area of your heart when you feel extreme emotion? I have. I've felt it with extreme sadness, and I've felt it with extreme joy. Recently, in a few unrelated articles and books, I've read about living through one's heart, as opposed to living through one's head, or eyes. Is that what's happening when we feel a tear in our chest in response to emotion? If so, I suppose I'll take that as a good thing, pain and all.

Passing Moments

A wise person told me that when times are tough, we comfort ourselves by saying "This too, shall pass" so when times are good we may as well enjoy them fully because those too, shall pass. I've been living an incredible high for the past few weeks. Sunday, I felt content. Last night, I crashed. Today, I've been everywhere in between.

Perhaps life is just a series of moments passing through. Perhaps the key is not in the moments themselves, and watching them go by, but in accepting them and living them fully - good or bad. For eventually, each one shall pass.

Urban Critters

"There's a bat in your house."

"A what?"

"A bat."

"A what?"

"A bat", she says and points to the floor.

"Oh sh-t!"

Sure enough there it was: a little brown furry critter draped across a stone bookend sitting beside my TV stand. Nice. I live in the country three years and never even see a mouse. I move downtown and there's a freakin' bat in my living room.

There were three women and one man in the room. I reluctantly admit that us three girls jumped back and immediately looked at our friend Dave to do something. Luckily he was game (thanks Dave!). I can only guess the thing came in with me when I was hanging out on my balcony at night during the heat wave. What concerns me the most is that I hadn't been out since the previous day, which means it kept me company during the night. Eew.