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...":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTrF8ROCWZ0&feature=related

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!)

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. 

summer distances

Too much technology, not enough real time!!

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

"That is why I have laid so much stress on money and a room of one's own"

Since the incantation of our wanderings in Spello

we have spent the past three months, once again, dispersed; scattered in our individual realities, tests, struggles: Omega taking on the heat of the Canadian summer, Alpha with backpack and bike shifting between London and Tewkesbury, and M. inhaling deeply the fresh air of Tewkesbury only to launch onto a new unknown in Dakar, Senegal. 

Tewkesbury... (view from Alpha's running path)

With the help of Omega's visit, M. (and Alpha) have made a home here (complete with birthday celebrations, dinner parties and cycling trips...)

What is it that builds a home? This Tewkesbury flat, with the infusion of Omega's presence in April, and every day adding memories to our collective experience in this space... this is now one of our many homes that holds a piece of us, a part of our memory and our beings

In about 10 days, Alpha and Omega will reunite under Canadian skies, and will be updating the blog here more regularly. M. is in Dakar, working too much, but relief with some beach and friend time is awaiting her in the horizon... stay tuned :-) 

   

dreaming of Spello