More crowded gatherings tests

30 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by shewrite63 in Art, community, Mythology, writing

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anxieties, crowds, exploring, festivals, Ottawa, pysanka, pysaty, Ukrainian Easter eggs, writing

Last weekend I attended the Capital Ukrainian Festival.

I was looking forward to music, cultural crafts and … perogies.

I was also challenging my aversion to crowds, spending hours in the hot sun and lining up for food.

Capital Ukrainian Festival – dancers

The musicians and dancers certainly entertained the visitors in the hot afternoon sun. There were all kinds of vendor tents and scheduled tours of the church.

Capital Ukrainian Festival

I abandoned my quest for perogies and other tasty treats due to the long lineups in the hot sun. The shaded merchant tent was more appealing for my delicate complexion and conducive to locating inexpensive, practical items. I found some colourful, blank greeting cards for sending to family and friends. Yes, I’m one of the people who still do that.

I was attracted to the watches displayed by one of the merchants. I was also curious about the symbols on the watch face.

Ukrainian festival – watches brochure

Coat of arms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ukraine

It was the Tryzub Cross. I was curious to learn more. The Tryzub Cross is simply a cross-bar on the middle tine of a tryzub.

But what is a ‘tryzub’? And why should it have a cross-bar? ‘Tryzub’ (тризуб) is Ukrainian for “trident” and is one of Christianity’s earliest symbols. A trident with a Cross is associated with St. Vladimir the Great (980–1015).

The merchant explained the history and practices of the watch manufacturer plus let me try on a couple of the ladies’ models. I didn’t commit to purchasing one right away yet accepted the brochure for something to look at while I digested the price! If you have the means and time to learn more about these beautiful watches, you can visit the vendor’s web site at http://kleynodwatches.com/

Eventually during my wanderings, I came across plenty of Ukrainian Easter eggs.

Did you know…? The word pysanka comes from the verb pysaty, “to write”, as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax.

Read on here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pysanka

Pysanka souvenir egg

That appealed to me. Pysaty. To write.

This weekend I also wrote (well… typed) in my other blogs. Drop by if you have the curiosity and time. It won’t cost you much.

Paying your kids to move out: https://shewrite63.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/paying-your-kids-to-move-out/
My pen name wrote about memories of growing up Catholic: https://florencetlyon.wordpress.com/2017/07/30/memories-of-growing-up-catholic/

Thanks for dropping by.

Wherever you go – it may be raining

06 Saturday May 2017

Posted by shewrite63 in Art, Food and Cooking, Health, pets, therapy, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

air travel, anxieties, British Columbia, cats, family, flooding, Ottawa, Pacific Ocean, photographs, rain, relatives, spring, tourism, travel, Vancouver island

Spring travel whisked me away from the rainy Ottawa Valley to Vancouver Island.

It rained there too.

My objectives were made months in advance:

Travel somewhere within Canada
Push my air travel anxiety limits – further than before
Visit with family
Do touristy things
Do not think about work

My destination was Vancouver Island, just off the coast of British Columbia. The long stretches of flying, sitting, waiting, flying, sitting, etc. tired me out. At various destinations I welcomed opportunities for walking tours and restaurant outings. Soon that tired me out too!

I practiced mindfulness as much as I could, savouring moments and reminding myself to breathe.

One family member took me for a drive up the east coast of Vancouver Island, humoured my request to stop where I could dip my toes into the Pacific Ocean.

Theresa dipping her toes into the west coast ocean waters

Pacific Ocean (well… some inlet) I am in you!

Soon I was on a bus then another bus to the beautiful city of Victoria. I was happy and comforted that relatives were waiting for me, extra umbrellas in hand to provide an escort to my hotel.

While in Victoria, I was treated to sufficient walking excursions, visited a castle and tried food from different restaurants. We had one sunny, windy day.

I spent one rainy afternoon by myself, enjoying bright flower gardens and inhaling the scent of trees in full blossom.

A rainy tourist outing in downtown Victoria

A wet bench and colourful flowers

Soon one of my adult children joined me after his own cross-country tour by train, ferry and bus. He got to meet one set of cousins for the first time. He accompanied me for a walk by the docks, an appropriate lunch and a walking tour up to Emily Carr House.

Lunch at Red Fish Blue Fish – Victoria

As with my tour of the castle a couple of days earlier, we exited through the gift shop and I picked up a few souvenirs.

Blonde Lady sitting at tea table in Emily Carr house

A chance to sit down during a tour of Emily Carr house

Did I achieve my objectives? Yes! I practiced mindfulness moments wherever I was, taking in the experiences, breathing in and breathing out.

After a long day of travel east, I returned to Ottawa in the rain. I observed the local news about severe spring flooding in our region.

I was glad to be home, to have the chance to do laundry and rest in my creature comforts.

Snuggles was glad to see me too and perform his morning routine of waking me up to serve breakfast and read the online news together. Creatures of habit…

“Good. You’re back where you belong – with me!”

Thanks for dropping by.

When you were ten

09 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by shewrite63 in Art, Health, philosophy, writing

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childhood memories, children, colouring, drawing, growing up, innocence, learning, play

What did you enjoy doing when you were a child?

Did you like to run and play ball in your big backyard or in the park with other kids? Did you like to colour, to play in the dirt or puddles? Did you try to run away into the nearby forest but return home in time for dinner?

I think that the age range between 8 and 11 years old is one of innocence, adventure and discovery.

This deep thought has been brought to you by page 106 in a book of daily inspirations. I think it is a good reminder for ambitious, jaded adults.

Good advice: observe babies

…except for the part about pooping in your pants.

When I was ten, I enjoyed playing in big puddles, engineering canals and small towns. I enjoyed playing with Barbie dolls, playing school with my siblings and friends. I enjoyed drawing pictures. As I matured, I had dreams of creating greeting cards or children’s books.

I didn’t care about fashion or boys. I didn’t know our family was poor. I was oblivious to the inhumanity happening in our country, in our world.

I didn’t even know I was fat until it was pointed out by a friend’s older brother.

The jerk.

Deep Blonde Thoughts

~ Emitting thoughts, tongue-in-cheek observations on life and lifestyles

Category Archives: Art

More crowded gatherings tests

Wherever you go – it may be raining

When you were ten