Camp Counsellor

Today I sorted through a huge box of letters and notes that I had stored at my parents' house. I figured it was time to get them out of there and get rid of some of them. You can see the bag full of recycle next to me, and the consolidated letters sorted into shoeboxes.


Of course in the process a few gems were discovered. Like this picture, drawn by Tash. She hates cats. The sketch below is a cat being run over by a truck that says "devil patrol" on it.


I threw away most of the letters from people I have lost touch with totally, and a lot from summer camp friends. But I couldn't bear to get rid of one letter...most of you know that at one time I was a summer camp counsellor. Those were some of my glory summers, and one of my favourite campers was a 10 year old girl who came to the 'roughin' it' camp out at the tipis, where we lived away from the main camp and cooked our meals over a fire and played in the creek and all that good stuff. Anyways, this letter wins points for cuteness. Click on each page to view it larger - it's much more readable that way.

Our very own town troubadour

ALL CAPS UPDATE: HE PLAYED 'ALL AROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH' AGAIN THE OTHER DAY, AND THEN LINDA FREAKING DUNCAN WALKED UP AND GREETED HIM LIKE AN OLD FRIEND. I STARED. AND MISSED MY FRIEND KERRY.

One of my favourite things about Churchill Square on weekdays is the busker on the corner who calls himself "The Electronic Busker". Most days he's out there with his silver sequined suit jacket and his flowing grey hair. He is often playing familiar riffs from classic rock or whatever he feels like. One time, two or three days after I had a conversation about the song "Ghost riders in the sky" with Lewis, he played that very song as if he knew. Today it was "All around the mulberry bush". Made my day.

I didn't know this, but I just checked and he sure does have a website, with an entire album available for download. Check him out.

Decidedly not

Do you ever go through a phase where you find a new hairdo and it works perfectly for a couple of weeks, and then all of a sudden one day you wake up and it's impossible to get it to do that ever again? It may not look that fabulous to you here, but I was having some seriously fabulous and huge messy buns just after my trip to Europe with Joel, and now they are gone. The fabulous hugeness has disappeared, which is decidedly counter-intuitive since my hair is longer and huger now than it has ever been. Sadness.



Speaking of Joel, there is a rumor floating around Kings-land that we are engaged (we are not). Here is a cute picture of him lying on my sidewalk though. Is it wrong that I am amused and almost pleased to know that I am being discussed among the peripheries of my acquaintances? Maybe we are not supposed to admit it when we get pleasure out of such a narcissistic thought. But I just did. Don't judge too harsh.

That's all folks.

Think Big

Above: Joel and Tash looking conspiratory

JK thinks big when it comes to gift giving. He thinks big a lot of other times too, but I'd say this feature of his personality is really highlighted around holidays such as birthdays and Christmas. You may recall the thoughtful the handcrafted ampersand as an example. Well, this year for my birthday he FLEW MY FRIEND NATASHA HERE FROM SEATTLE TO SPEND THE WEEKEND WITH ME. It was the best conspiracy I have ever benefitted from. He sent us off to spend the day together with his polaroid camera. I PROMISE to scan them in so you can see them. Just not tonight.

Beth and Tash on their way to Capital EX



Beth making out with a corn. And twirling his silk in her fingers.

Ha ha.

London: The Last Europe Installment

• First meal in London: theme song from Notting Hill plays in the empty pub.
• Sushi and Starbucks on Shaftsbury Avenue
• Letterpress extravaganza at Covent Garden
• Fish and chips and disgusting gravy. Also, room temperature beer
• British Museum of Natural History Gift Shop: Should I buy a miniature bust of Charles Darwin?
• Awww, Joel loves little birds
• Flashback to Paris: thirsty pigeon falls into the pond
• Hunting for peacocks in Holland Park. We find the most boring peacock of all time
• pints of cider over ice at the Churchill Arms. No celebrities spotted.
• Hey, remember that trip to Europe when Bethany ate meat salad twice?
• Jamie Oliver's restaurant: when the appetizer comes on a cutting board you know it's going to be good
• Tate Modern: big table and chairs make me feel like a little kid
• Millenium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral
• 20 pence for a toilet. Don't tell Kaeli!
• Camden Market feels just like Whyte Ave
• Coffee at Flat White in Soho
• Harrods London - I mistook it for Buckingham Palace
• Krispy Kreme donuts in Harrods? Weird. But tasty.
• Cruising on the double decker night bus
• Three o'clock in the morning at the bus stop Joel discovers the yogurt has spilled all over his cameras.
• It's not white. It's oat.
• 4:15 a.m.: 30-something man walks past in a plaid suit and orange dress shirt...is it Elton?
• Soundtrack of 4:30 a.m.: "Sugarlumps" for JK, "Ain't no Sunshine" for BB
• Apparently other people are awake at 4:30. Who knew?
• Joel drinks 5-hour energy followed by a latte. All before 4:30 a.m.
• Free breakfast on Eurostar first class trains
• Joel loves butter
• Joel: "I am the world's best traveller! Oh wait a minute...where are my boarding passes?" Bethany: "Over there on the floor of the airport".

Status Updates from Europe continued

The Paris Installment

• Spotted in Paris: man with shoulder bag containing dog with pink highlights in its fur
• Falafel in the Jewish quarter involves big beards, black hats, and tasty tasty-ness
• Oo! Oo! Look at the dancer on the stairs! She's dancing!
• Dancing, singing French man sells umbrellas and other delights
• Coffee in France is not as good as coffee in Edmonton. Consolation = finding the archetypal donut in a "Beignet de creme"
• At the Pere Lachaise cemetery we see a concerned locfal proceting Oscar Wilde's tombstone from getting any more kisses from tourists with red lipstick
• The super sleuths find free toilets at Starbucks in Paris
• Role reversal as Joel navigates the appalingly large department store like an old pro and Bethany freaks out because it's too overwhelming
• Collette: wealthy hipsters of the world unite!
• Lawn chairs for all at the gardens of tuileries palace
• Free bathrooms at McDonalds
• My Paris shopping consists of one pillowcase
• Meet me at the Eiffel Tower. Wear white. All white. And bring your friends.
• Man dangles cherries over his ears and yells en francais from behind his fruit stand at the Paris market.
• Man dances with a goldfish bowl on his head
• National day of music in France is more like cover bands playing "Proud Mary" all over the city. We heard it three times!

The Mont-St-Michel Installment

• Not enough seats on the train ride to Mont St Michel. I stand for an hour
• Settling nicely into tourist mode, we contemplate purchasing a likeness of the abbey that is made of chocolate
• Train ride home from the Mont takes 3 hours. We pass the time by turning up the iPOD volume to MAX and putting the earbuds in Joel's nose to test the vibrations

An interlude in the status updates

This is a video that we recorded in Annecy, France. We love Kerry!