28 August 2012

Writing Wanderer: none but ourselves can free our mind

27.08.2012

with the sunshine through the screen door, the writing continues:



what are we going to write about?

you tell me

no no this is supposed to be us together - what do you want to talk about?

i want to talk about time in London

i entered a new style of life in London. Now I am difficult to be at home because I want to travel

where do you want to go next?

You decide.

but what is it that you like so much about travelling, or about being somewhere different?

Unknown days, but it's good when its somewhere they speak English, because I want to understand! [laughing]

I want adventures

but what defines adventure?

you tell!!

ok, so it's basically like not knowing where you will end up, who you'll see, where you will walk... it's interesting, exciting and

different

but can i ask you something about 'disability'?

yes

some people just assume that, like some people with Autism, that you are more comfortable with routine

[laughs] autism is different, I need change!!

what is the first thing that pops into your head when you think, i have a disability

Not talking

I understand things, everything, but when my head wants to instead words never come out

so you have words in your head

all the time

i love wondering about if i could talk, all the parties i would arrive at, all kinds of parties, i want jewellery and wicked dresses

if you could have a hobby or something that includes what you love

I love hearing about peoples' life

but when you move and can't control your body movements, can you still hear or are there times when your body doesn't let you listen?



Look, I can move and listen! Multitask

and listen to music at the same time? [laughing]

Yes!!!!

"And there's people like you, oo, people like me, people need to free. There's a place in the sun, where there is love for everyone... We can carry on"











memories and magical moments

Since the last post, Omega and Alpha have continued their adventures through the daily grind of work, therapy, appointments, visits... but highlighted with a beautiful extended weekend in Minden and Georgian Bay.

Canning Lake Minden, is home to the cottage of dear friends. Omega and Alpha have been visiting this cottage since before Omega was born!! It is, as Alpha noted on the drive up the winding road off the motorway, the one consistent place that we have to return to from our childhood and Omega's infancy... all other houses and homes we used to know have changed in one way or another...

from left: Alpha, Mama, M., Olya
from left: Alpha, M., Omega with Mama


Alpha & Omega: present day





present day

Alpha w mama & Olya, 1988





And then there was Georgian Bay... paradise...





16 August 2012

the very simple things

some times, things just aren't going well...

But then the sun comes out




and we are happy


 with a new haircut 


and of course

our soundtrack, thanks to Great Big Sea, and the current collective favourite song, "... we were far from the shores of England, far from our children and wives... to play our hand in the newfoundland where the wind cuts like a knife...":



14 August 2012

Writing Wanderer

13.08.2012

Notes from a posh cafe (today: Death Valley's Little Brother - Alpha's new find in Waterloo that may actually mean she leaves the house...)


[when asked why we started this blog - about travelling]

Travelling is not what is difficult.
Each of my yells, I want to talk to every person I meet

[does this make you want to stay home?]

No. I love watching the world.
People working are so mixed [so much difference?] Yes.

[what is it about travelling that you like?]

Totally different days
Money is too important because won't leave without money. We are lucky.

I love moving [trying new things?] Yes. [seeing new things?] Yes.

[isn't travelling difficult?]

No.

[is every day difficult?]

No. Depends on my body. I try to control my movements but it's not possible. So I am angry at you and at my body.

[If there was some thing, among many things, you could change about your experiences travelling what would it be? We can add something new every day?]

I wish people spoke with me.

Quit.


(Omega... too wild and beautiful for the neat orderly lawns of Waterloo!)



11 August 2012

days of motion and calm

"Relaxing by the pool" (pre or post swim) has become the favorite past-time/ down-time for Omega and Alpha the past week. So long as Canadian summer holds, and is not overtaken by the rain now drumming on our rooftop, we can enjoy the warmth of the sun on our skin, the coolness of the water lifting us from gravity's hold, and the pressures of body and daily life washed away by the effortless flow of water



What have we two sisters been up to the past week? aside from feeling the gap left to be occupied by M., our days are a calm mix of work and holiday: Alpha stealing away to the upstairs room, only to become ridden with angst and frustration caused by the realities of PhD writing, and Omega fighting for spaces, moments, of calm and relaxation away from routine and from pain. The pool is a sanctuary, the house a retreat. Away from the world, while at the same time always inviting in visitors, family and friends ... makes for a fairly consistent stream of events and socialising in spite of the retreat! (And an excuse to really take a break, swim, dig into the dwindling supply of Boreale imported last year from Quebec ;-) )

The days calmly pass by, and each morning we do not know what the day will bring? Who we will become by dusk? What thoughts, what emotions, what interactions will shift and shape the day? The infinite unpredictability, even in this summer cocoon, can unfold to calmness only within the thankful acknowledgement that each and every day is lived, and is beautiful. 

... but in spite of loving the home, the traveling bug has not ceased, and Omega is aching for more international travels and adventures to come in future months ...  




the heat wave of this Canadian summer


what a wonderful welcome for Alpha, arriving through the sky to land in Pearson Airport, picked up in the steamy, humid Toronto climate by Omega and co. 




08 August 2012

summer distances

Too much technology, not enough real time!!

(M. in Dakar, Senegal; Omega in Waterloo)