Tag Archives: romance

Oh! those summer nights

14 Sunday Aug 2022

Posted by in Art, education, Health, photography, therapy

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This post contains scenes of nature therapy, art therapy and memories of teenage love.

First, let’s pay tribute to a talented actress and songbird, Olivia Newton-John who recently passed away at the age of 73 after a long battle with cancer.

The summer of 1978 was one of adventure and romance for me and my best friend. We met cute boys whose families owned cottages on Georgian Bay. The days and nights were full of giggles, kisses and hopes. I remember exchanging letters and pining for my American boyfriend months after his family returned home and everyone fell back into weekly routines. I held onto the sweet memories for months until they were buried and cooled by the winter’s snow. We saw each other the following summer, only in passing, exchanging polite greetings.

Olivia Newton-John sings Hopelessly Devoted from that cult classic, Grease

Fast forward to summer nights occupied with glamorous household chores, mellowing out with TV sitcoms, and adjusting fans to cool off my sweaty, menopausal body. Some of the perspiration is caused by frustrations with a geriatric Cat.

Closing off a well-appreciated vacation week, I recently joined members of my Rotary club and a dear friend for a forest therapy guided tour of nearby woods. It was refreshing to get outdoors plus meet people whose faces I had only seen on the screen during Zoom meetings.

One tree endured ten minutes of my sensory attention during a forest therapy exercise
The author appreciates the sights, sounds, and aromas during a forest therapy guided tour

I admit to hugging a tree during this event. I struggled to quiet my busy mind that constantly needs to identify and classify my surroundings.

You can learn more about this forest therapy practice at https://www.foresttherapyottawa.ca/.

One daily activity this past week was to evolve a piece of art as homage to one of my favourite, underappreciated artists. It also provided me with mindless dotting of colours while watching TV or listening to music with a really good beat.

Night forest – a study in pointillism, markers, August 2022 TAJ

I think one can appreciate the final result after viewing the progress. Let me know what you think: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5ZQ2dW3kx5P7FhX99 .

Now it is Sunday, a day of reflection, household chores and preparing for the return to the downtown workplace. Let us pray that the Busing Gods will be kind.

Thank you for dropping by, especially if you are a real person and not the creator of a made-up blog.

T

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

25 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in Health, reading, therapy, Travel, writing

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I recently travelled alone yet had many people in my thoughts.

It was one of those journeys that you need to take solo, comforted in knowing that someone who loves you will be waiting at the other side. 

The geographical distance wasn’t far, yet the detours down memory lane were deep and murky.

Air Canada flight above the clouds

Above the clouds

I intentionally left my travel companion and anxiety relief at home. It was my turn to fly again and embrace small bits of adventure.

Before take off and at times during the flight, I kept my mind and hands busy by reading snippets from the Mindfulness on the Go book. I tried to ignore that apparent crack in the engine casing below me…

Mindfulness on the Go book and tabby cat

Mindfulness on the Go meets Tabby approval

The visit with family was relaxing and a welcomed change. Although it rained most of the time that week, I enjoyed the company and reacquainting with the lovely city I knew a lifetime ago.

Church of our Lady Guelp

Church of Our Lady, Guelph, Ontario

My relatives and I wined, dined, toured the city and got in some meaningful conversations.

I met up with an old flame from a lifetime ago. We lunched, walked, talked and drove around the city in the rain. He only ran one red light. The fact that it was next to a cemetery only affected me a bit. Just a bit. We survived.

Church of Our Lady at sunrise

Church of Our Lady at sunrise

Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye. I was whisked away to a bus to Toronto so I could catch a train back home in time for dinner with friends.

CN Tower Toronto ON

CN Tower Toronto ON

While trotting through downtown Toronto with my suitcase, I made sure to get a picture of the CN Tower.

There just aren’t enough pictures of the CN Tower  ;-^ 

Timing was perfect for purchasing a Business Class ticket home. The price for waiting too long was high! 

VIA Rail Business Class

VIA Rail Business Class

I don’t travel often or far but when I do, I like to travel in comfort.

ViaRailLakeOntario

Lake Ontario from the VIA Rail train

ViaRailTracks

Train tracks and parallel journeys

I love trains. They are featured frequently in my novel “The Year of the Rabbit“.  Read it sometime, won’t you?

Lessons learned on this journey:

  • Book your train ticket home earlier to save money. Damn!
  • Don’t distract an old flame with memories and hurts while driving through a rainy city;
  • Enjoy the journey down memory lane, as foggy and slippery the road may be;
  • Let some memories fade into the distance as you move forward in your newly created life. Anticipate some forks in the road.

Thanks for dropping by and joining me on this journey.

T

Speculative Fiction

01 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in reading, writing

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Imagine writing a story where you change a character’s choices so that the outcome wouldn’t include your own birth.

What if?  What if?

This could come from existential anxiety, lapsed Catholic guilt or continued disgust over religious views about birth control.

At times I wish my Mother had a happier life with less poverty and mental health strain. Would I be willing to forfeit my own existence if she and her humble carpenter husband had the courage to defy church rules?  I remember her stories about attending mass with a batch of clean but raggedly dressed offspring and observing other couples with their one or two well-attired children in their pews.

During sentimental moments, I wish I could travel back in time to help her.

Of course, we know time travel doesn’t exist else some crazy genius would have done this by now to prevent world wars, horrific abuses on humanity, environmental disasters and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. What a fucked-up world. Thousands of years of evolution, diplomatic exchanges, technological improvements and we still have this mess to hand over to our children. No wonder we have disillusioned youth. 

I digress.  

When reading about or discussing time travel, my pretty blonde head spins and nearly implodes.

Back to the Future was one of my favourite movies with Michael J. Fox. The Huey Lewis and the News soundtrack rocked my world during my own time of young love.  I got confused in attempts to follow the sequels.

 

I am intrigued by the statements of the creepy yet insightful Über-Morlock in the 2002 movie version of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine:“And what is time travel, but your pathetic attempt to try to control the world around you? Your futile effort to have a question answered? You think I don’t know you, Alexander? I can look inside your memories, your nightmares, your dreams. You’re a man haunted by those two most terrible words: What if?“

 

At dinner with writing friends recently, I described plans for a summer vacation trip to my Mother’s home town and my ideas for a creative non-fiction story.  Some of the questions and thoughts are outlined in blog posts and Tweets from May and June.

I don’t know how far the story will go.  I don’t know if I’ll end up doing some speculative fiction, time travel version to convince the single, younger version of my Mother to reconsider her decision and continue her life as an artist – or perhaps a nun.  If so, would that spin off an alternate reality or that my siblings and I would not exist?

If I didn’t exist then how could I finish writing that story?

Thanks for dropping by. Post a comment about writing or time travel reading suggestions if you wish. Any that are off-topic will sent into oblivion.  

T