from whirlwind to some silence

Another year drawing to a close and Christmas is upon us. M. and Alpha road an empty bus along a familiar busy route, noting the deserted streets and silence of the City. Someone asked M. if she was "into Christmas"? How can we not treasure a time when things slow down, if not shut down completely... a time when for once, for an instant we are confronted with a different norm, a divergent structure of organising ones day. When family, suddenly, gains a prominence rarely acknowledged in conventional, contemporary day-to-day life ... perhaps especially in London.

Yet what of this time of year when the family that is missing, that is gone, or that is too present, or strange, unknown faces us head-on? How do we negotiate the pressures, emotions, needs and desires, for family, friendship, connection, for community...? Perhaps if nothing else, this time of year brings these questions to the fore. And they are questions of the real raw emotions we cannot grapple with on a daily basis. They would surely paralyse us with their unconventional, non-production-oriented, emotional force.

Too many thoughts.

Coventry Carol (Mediaeval Babes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUFQoNW7NPs

To be continued...

adventure 1

And thus life continues, after Omega left M. and Alpha were thrown back into the midst of transitioning jobs, wrapping up the term of teaching, and packing up the flat... But after some hiccups and painful hours, M. is settling into life in the shire of Glouster.

packing and moving

Our road-side dinner in between Stroud and London

M.'s new retreat

... the madness continues...

In a moment of distraction, M. turned to Alpha and said:

"I would like our politicans to sing, rather than speak to us. Wouldn't that be better?"

Yes. Love it. I believe Omega would agree... especially if they sang to the tune of Rant and Roar.

:-)

oh, just so we do not neglect Omega, another archival treasure:

when shall we three meet again?

when the hurly-burly's done; when the battle is lost and won

There is an early memory, of a familiar tug of hair, the feel of a comb parting the hair into conforming sections to complete the task of braiding our long, wavy locks. M. and Alpha grew accustomed to this daily ritual of hair braiding (although not without some reluctance at times!), Omega developed impeccable dodging abilities, writhing artfully to try and avoid the swift skilled hands of our mother.

Why this memory now? Weaving three strands seems a consistent trope in our moving, grooving, revolutionary molotov juicebox lives:

3 strands, at times tightly woven into careful, clean beauty. Then unravelled -- one strand may escape, fall loose out of the weave to move independently in the wind, (or the touque pulled over our ears every Canadian winter). All three strands may move their separate ways, or loosely hold together, in a relaxed yet connected, braid.

I'm not sure how to further this metaphor to the bread, but this is our Christmas bread for Jan. 6th, we have been making those braids together since we can remember...

And... cannot resist breaking the poetic motif with another archival treasure:

We would like to call this one, "the original hangover" (only too bad that the cider-lover is missing from this photo... but this was before the time of Omega)

On that note, we thank you for sharing in our adventures along with us: M. overseeing Alpha and Omega.

We will try and maintain the magical movement of these Molotov Juicebox memories as much as possible -- so check back soon!

oh Canada grrrrls

Dec. 2

And thus day came onto us, when the adventures shared by the three-sisters once again drew to their temporary conclusion. One to the airport to journey back to Canada (and it was, apparently, a very successful comfortable flight), one to the rail station to venture into new and unknown territory in her new job in Stroud (Gloustershire), and one to explore north London rental agencies in search of the next cozy London home...

How quickly we adapted to being together, how easily we worked and moved hand-in-hand! It's a quiet, empty flat, and a less exciting city when one is left alone...

"If cosmo makes you sick and pale -

- you know what you need to do? Molotov --- (juicebox)!

Dec. 1

ah! memories!

Thursday was the great convergence of travellers -- the parents plus aunt arrived at our little flat, laden with excitement (and beautiful gifts!) from their travels and adventures.

We went together to Borough Market, had a beautiful lunch at Elliot's,

and then split into two groups -- Alpha and mother headed to teaching and university; M., Omega, aunt and father walked along the Thames to Trafalgar Square.

But by evening, we were all together and enjoyed a too-brief evening together...

More photos to come...

This one is from the following early morning...