It’s true! I have been ‘on the road’ once again, this time scooping up my son Noah and driving 14 hours from Vancouver to Edmonton to spend the weekend with my lovely friends Darlene and Duke. It was a ‘whim’ which means literally from one day to the next I called Darlene asking if I might spontaneously drop over for the weekend (Yes! Of course, Yes!) tossing a vintage turqouise cooler into the back of the car filled with sandwiches and hummus, falafal chips, apples and bottles of water…towels (for bathing in the mountain lakes and hot springs at Jasper National Park) camera’s (my last package of expired Time Zero film) and lots and lots of music naturally. Oh, and dark chocolate covered cranberries as well ~ I refuse to embark on a roadtrip without chocolate. (You can see a little gallery of photo’s from my trip here….)
“The air was soft, the stars so fine…that I thought I was in a dream.”
Every now and then all these emotions begin to fill up to overflowing in my heart and a roadtrip through the mountains is just what a girl needs to bring her back to herself and allow inspiration to run rampant ‘neath abounding, billowing, most spacious skies. We woke up at the first breath of dawn and hit the road which graced us with the most ethereal morning light through the mountains and a stunning glimpse of the moon and sun passing over one another in one blinding moment of startling glimmering magic.
And for just a moment I had reached the point of ecstasy that I always wanted to reach, which was the complete step across chronological time into timeless shadows, and wonderment in the bleakness of the mortal realm…”
~ Jack Kerouac, On the Road ~
Weaving past jade green lakes and mist shot mountains, fields painted with splashes of golden yellow cradled with undulating landscapes, I experienced visions and wanderings as my soul dialed back to myself once again. I rolled the windows all the way down, inhaling the hypnotic mountain air and let me tell you this is invigorating tonic to behold. If you ever have the chance to embrace this euphoric, saxophonic drive I urge you to do so ~ you will be blissed out and trust me, I never use that word lightly ~ and oh! make sure you stop at the hot springs in Jasper national park ~ soak your sorrow and aches away in those pools of rejuvenation and then fling your body into the ice cold pools for a splendid shock of awakening only to slip once again into the heat of the detoxifying baths. Yes! Do it! The spiritually uplifting road to the hot springs is a wonder of re~emergence all by itself and my son Noah kept a keen lookout for bears.
‘we be jammin’ ~ Darlene and I jammin’ away in a stream of consciousness rhythm on the djembe drums ~such pure joy!!! (gorgeous photo by Duke Paetz)
One of the serendipitous moments of the weekend with Darlene ignited when a friend popped over with a brand new Djembe drum (a surprise gift for his wife) and he very generously allowed me to try it out with some very fine coaching tips from Duke. I am now officially smitten with drumming and determined to find myself a drum of my very own which I will bring up to Lizzie’s retreat in a few weeks to inspire everyone else by the evening campfires. I love to share my new enthusiasms and excavations with anyone who will put up with me.
Isn’t this just the darlingest little video? The other evening we bought some red wine which turned out to be quite lackluster in taste to say the least, bitter almost actually. So we simply cut up a handful of ripe rosy plums and plunked them into a glass jar with the wine and some fresh squeezed lime and popped it into the fridge to chill for an hour or so. Add a spin of beautiful 45′s played on the front porch and the wine became an elixir for the gods ~ and those wine drenched plums were plumlicous to spoon into your mouth afterwards as a little extra treat.
Last night I arrived home after being away and was greeted with sooo much love I practically cried for all my blessing in my life. My daughter and her best friend baked me a platter of angel food cupcakes decorated most magically, my son had cleaned the fish tank and stacked firewood for autumnal evening backyard fires and my dog ran around me in excited circles until I leaned down for her wet cuddly kisses.
Today I am so enthused to tackle a zillion things ~ shopping for fresh vegetables for green smoothies, cleaning out the little red cabinet in the kitchen for a fresh improvisational decorating and even popping over to the local thrift shop to see if I can find that very special ‘something’ I have ‘always wanted’.
My studio is calling to me ~ I am tired of the pictures on it’s wall and all are coming down today ~ going to leave it bare like a blank canvas until some new magic presents itself. Oh and I can feel a tiny tingle of ‘fall’ in the air today in the sparkling sunshine promising cozy strolls along the beach with snuggly sweaters and fingerless mittens (so I can take pictures of course)
My heart is very full ~ filled with pure offerings I am longing to share and my creative nature is feeling utterly improvisational these days. I am thinking I will peruse Emily Carr’s schedule for a creative class in something completely new to delve into this fall ~ perhaps a glass blowing class or silversmithing as I have been sketching ideas for rings I would love to make.
you can measure
the change, shifts, growth
in your whole and beautiful soul
on a small roadtrip
this is the real poetry
those unresolved inner longings
are so pale and distant, nonexistent
spinning along the bends, drifting landscapes
summerscented pines towering majestically above
i know who am I am until the next turn in the road
and then it changes…
Neil Young sings along with his moonshine voice
(‘when you’re lonely, heart breaks’ for the purest ache, ‘slowly burning’ shimmering homespun exaltation)
and I feel so utterly beautiful
slipping my warm body into a clear cool mountain stream
washing away the dust of a day’s disquiet
contentment swims into my lap
I emerge reborn
to embrace the reverence of this summer’s night
the pull of the moon and an abiding sense
of ‘enoughness’ for this gift you have given me
xoxo
maddie
Today I am wishing you drifting dreams in clearwater streams, a bowl of golden watermelon and a nap beneath the summer stars…
‘words to shoot by’is perfectly ‘open’ this week and the ‘four’ percolate a little rebellion and this image has given me the idea to start a new journal illustrated with my polaroids ~ any excuse to buy a new moleskine makes me happy…not to mention fabulous interviews
listening to 45′s on the porch chosen most perfectly by an enthusiastic dj ~ which is beyond magical and I am on a quest to buy some 45′s of my own now ~ and perhaps a sweet little box with a nifty handle to carry them ~ don’t you just love that adorable vintage toy record player?
Well I am humming along summer’s way this week exploring the billowing corners of my heart, lime snowcones and drive in movie theaters (with 98 cent onion rings no less!!!) Not to mention splashing in pools of sunlight while flirting with lots of girl and boyness.
I feel like such a quivering vessel as inspiration runs rampant in my mind and am over the moon counting the days to teaching at Liz’s retreat (which is almost full, YAY!!!) ~ as well, my first run of the ‘art of living cheerfully’ course was a brilliant success, and I am presently wading through a waiting list and preparing to add a second class in September to be the most accommodating I can be. I feel positively grateful for all your enthusiasms, support and wonderfully kind emails so thank you so much for being such sparkling gems in my life.
Here is a fabulous dose of heavenly heaven for your listening pleasure ~ Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio show ~ download them all ~ they are beyond wonderful although I particularly cherish ‘love’ and ‘laughter’ and ‘dance’ of course. Who doesn’t love dancing after all?
Wishing you pinpricks of magical summer days, skipping stones and spinning freshly cast dreams with some renovating gusto:)
getting a few of my favorite things ready for my trip ~ a very special and wildly expired box of time zero film for my sx70 polaroid camera, my holga and some most fabulous film for that (fuji reala 120) a book, some pustifix bubbles because you just never know, and my alkaline booster water drops …and sunglasses so i don’t squint
this weekend
I swept floors
washed windows
hung sheets out to dry in the sunshine
(smelling like the sea)
made avocodo green smoothies
and lemon squares
along the way (sunshine alley)
I found a yard sale
tablecloths with roses, silver spoons and eggcups
lace napkins ironed just so
two green depression glass containers
with delicate tin lids
perfect for my earrings
and also
a Christmas elf made of china, chipped,
which I brought home for 25 cents
and there was pie
at the farmers market
(raspberry rhubarb)
which I scooped up
wearing a vintage skirt
on sunday of course
i have new freckles
and sunkissed skin
and a summer smile
wider than the widest sea
the other day
i left a gift on my best friends porch
windchimes made from recycled glass
I pulled the chair under the beam
and stood on tiptoe to hang them up
the sun spinning on the crystals
(this made her so very happy but
not as happy as me)
and now
i am packing
my wild open heart
into a satchel
with film and cameras and
paper umbrellas
(just in case we have drinks on the porch)
looking forward to roadtrips
waterfalls and campfires
collecting seed pods and feathers
reading books by the lake,
good mornings and ignoring clocks
which is always most important
