new things to look at

I've updated my sidebar links.. look left.. to have a lot of the websites that I linger around trying to stir up the inspirtation ot open the craft cupboard. I hope you like them.

feeling a bit neglected

I'm sorry about that. It's shameful how time has passed while I mulled over an update and then said.. oh tomorrow. Suddenly tomorrow was a long time ago. Which is kind of been my feeling lately. I'm plagued by thoughts that I'm not having as much fun.. I'm not enjoying myself as much as I should be.

Just the other day I was testing gravity and my clumsy factor by jumping between garages behind my parent's house. Talking about the Cult and having water fights with friends.

Friends- I was throwing parties in my parent's basement and hiding the booze and waving the pot smoke away. I was throwing parties. I think the last time I did that was in junior high or early high school.

I think about my childhood alot lately and how far away it was and how I used to think.. one day I'll be all grown up and I don't know.. something *magical* would have happened. Something would have fallen into place and the phase I was "going through" would be over. You know and life would look like it did on TV. I'd be an adult and it would all make sense.That doesn't really happen. I think we just forget what we thought was so confusing.

So.. yeah time is slipping away every day. I'll try and start documenting it again.

I've missed you too.








 

Dorothy, Alberta

prairie landscape, originally uploaded by jilly71.

She said.."he whispers to you in your dreams." I suspect that's why I like to go to sleep.

July 8 1965, originally uploaded by jilly71.

i took this photo from a parachute.. wha? TOTALLY AMAZING

DSC00400, originally uploaded by jilly71.

bird's view

I jumped tandem out of a plane today. We went through a cloud and then I saw the ground 10000 feet away. It was incredible. Then I got to take a photo of my feet. That circle.. that's where we landed. Totally amazing.. totally exhausting.

Tweets

Tweets, originally uploaded by jilly71.

Location of the best Eggs Benny I have ever had.

Lovely little coffee shop/ cafe/ art gallery in Edison.

Edison Washington was found by accident when driving back from the Skagit Tulip Festival with my sister 2 years ago. I've been back 6 times since. Highly recommended.

Galloping Gertie

We went on a little trip (I'll tell you a little more about it later). We were driving along and I had that inexplicable sense of "wait a minute. this isn't right". This was supposed to be a weekend adventure. Traveling down the highway, one can come to the conclusion it's one of those places that you're bound to see exactly what is right in front of you- the ass of another car and not too much else. You can pretty much guarantee you're going to get to where you are going in an allotted amount of time and you'll get there without too much going on. You can also pretty much bank your bets that you'll be bored out of yer mind doing it.

My suggestion, especially if you have the time (and maybe a GPS or a laptop that will pick up random wireless connections in Casino parking lots) is to take that random exit off the highway. Make an attempt to find the side highways that pass through the bizarre little towns and stop for coffee if you see something random and possible interesting. You know.. support the local economy and take a photo.

And that's what we did. "Hey take that next exit. I have a feeling."

It was a good moment and it turned into an adventure. (I'll tell you more about it later.)

All of a sudden we were going across a GIANT BRIDGE. Not just any bridge though. As we start to traverse the span..he says.. "did you ever see the footage of that suspension bridge that twisted" and he moves his hand in a motion similar to a pageant queen waving on a parade float.

"Ya, what about it?"

"This is that bridge."

It was a bridge with history. Behold the Tacoma Narrows bridge disaster of 1940.

scooterific update

Its been a week since my random and spontaneous purchase of fuelled transportation. I've travelled over 200 km around the city of Vancouver. That seems like a lot, but it's 10k to work 1 way.. so before I know it.. boom- I've traveled to Seattle on side streets.

So I burned through a tank of gas. What did 200km cost? $5.00. That's less like $0.025 a km or $0.45 a commute to work and $3.60/day in insurance. So ya, it's cheaper than the bus by $0.75. Good lord. I'm surprised there's not a zillion scooters on the road.

I went grocery shopping and pack 2 bags into my little top case. I brought home a big bag of cat food. I went through Stanley Park and stopped to watch a cricket game. I've zipped out to the beaches and ran off to meet a friend for dinner.

I need to get back on my bike though so one more day and then I'm parking it for a few days.

scootedly

Here...

and then gone...

Thanks to the lovely Sonia Sangha for the photos (and for dinner)!

scoot

I had an offer for a car allowance at work. It set me off on visits to car dealerships and test drives and alot of stress. Do I buy a car? Do I lease a car? Do I finance a car? Why do I want a car? What do I need a car for?

Maintenance..Insurance..Gas..stress..stress..stress..

No. I don't want a car. I don't want to own a car and get parking permits and insurance and gas and pay for all kinds of things just so I can have the luxury of *maybe* driving somewhere like Seattle. Otherwise, you drive around with alot of space around you.I have the Vancouver Car Co-Op for my car needs.

But.. I did want some more freedom than my bike. I wanted to be able to go places and take photos. I wanted to be able to pick up some groceries. I wanted to be able to zip around the city a bit easier than transit and my bike..

I remembered when I was 13 and the neighbour had a silver one and I thought it looked so cool. Then the Mods in high school had old Lambretta's and they were the cat's meow..I think I've always kind of wanted one, and I figured I could afford one..so I decided to buy a Vespa. Tomorrow, I pick it up. It's black. I got a deal on it. Yes, Catherine- I will add a reflective vest to my accessories for night time rain riding. Don't worry.. I'll be safe. I'm excited.

a typical shotgun

IMGP0060-1, originally uploaded by jilly71.

I would so live in one of these..

"Shotgun houses consist of three to five rooms in a row with no hallways. The term "shotgun house", which was in use by 1903 but became more common after about 1940, is often said to come from the saying that one could fire a shotgun through the front door and the pellets would fly cleanly through the house and out the back door (since all the doors are on the same side of the house)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_house

transportation

IMGP0046-2, originally uploaded by jilly71.

I'll be home in a few hours. It was a fabulous trip. I wouldn't do anything different. Thanks New Orleans.

corner of St. Peter & Royal, New Orleans

IMGP0054, originally uploaded by jilly71.

I hired a poet on Frenchman St last night.

New Orleans- Stormy Weather

New Orleans sleeps under the river,
And the lake that hug her shoulders,
In a no- time, clothed in clapboards,
Strewn with colored beads of many years.
Promising to drown one day,
Already inhabiting our memory.

I remember our first rendezvous
With this dreaming candy- woman.
The night in the pink parking lot,
Gravel gleaming on the pavement.
Moisture gleaming on my forearms.

A part of me was struck by storm,
Checked and reeled and thirsted,
Grew mold, decayed, and marched
Its family to the afterworld,
And came back after the storm.


We both grew in these 5 years.
I brought my boots to wade through
More flooding. But the sky was washed.
The moon chiseled the outlines
Of epic, monstrous clouds.

A storm is brewing now to see me off.
There's talk of oil rain,
There is colling in the air
Unseasonal and sweet, while swirling.
Hysterical winds slash their way

Towards this nodding shore
When they get here
I won't be here anymore.

Erin Lierl
Poet for hire
New Orleans
June 28, 2010

painted pony

IMGP0059, originally uploaded by jilly71.

a walk through St. Louis Cemetery #2

Red Beans and Rice Postcard recipe

1 pound dried red beans
1/4 cup green onion tops
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
Onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp dried basil
1/2 pound smoked sausage (Andouille or Chorizo)
Boiled rice

Soak beans in cold water overnight. Drain and add enough water to cover beans in a large soup pot.. Add all ingredients except the sausage and rice. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 3-5 hrs. Add more water if it gets too dry. Stir occasionally. Cut and brown 1/2 inch slices of sausage in a hot skillet. Add 1/2hr before serving.. Serve over cooked rice with French Bread. Serves 4-6.

Jambalaya post card recipe

1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 pound of ham, cubed
1 cup onions
1 cup bell pepper chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup green onions chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 16ounce can tomatoes, drained, reserving liquid
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup converted rice
1 1/2 cups stock or water
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 pound peeled shrimp (optional)

Saute sausage and ham in heavy Dutch oven until slightly browned. Remove from pot. Saute onions, bell peppers, celery, green onions and garlic in meat drippings until tender. Add tomatoes, thyme, pepper and salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in rice. Mix together liquid from tomatoes, stock and Worcestershire Sauce to equal 2 1/2 cups. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and add raw shrimp, ham, sausage and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes or until rice and shrimp are done. Serves 12.

Do Not Demolish

IMGP0023-1, originally uploaded by jilly71.

I woke up early this morning; my bike rental was going to end at noon. My destination was the 9th ward. The 9th ward was the area most destroyed by Katrina. I wasn't too sure what I was going to find. You have to ride over a bridge to cross a canal that dumps into the Mississippi River. Once across the bridge, the 1st house I saw was pockmarked with gunshots. It was not going to be pretty, I thought.

It wasn't as bad as I imagined. There were definitely some pretty bad looking houses. I'll admit, this was an area that I had no interest in checking out the insides of these houses. I haven't gone into any abandoned houses in New Orleans. You still see alot of Katrina markings.

Houses would be checked and an X was spray painted on the front of the house. The north quadrant would have the date the house was checked, east would identify who was there, west would identify if there were animals, and south would identify entry or no entry (or some version of this). In some neighbouhoods, they just knocked on the door.

I rode around and I saw people mowing lawns, sitting on porches, walking around, ,fixing cars. I said hello to anyone I passed and kept on riding. I rode past a dead dog, which was pretty grim. I don't think it had been there long. When I noticed the car with the blacked out windows more than once, I figured my holiday in the 9th ward was over.

It's a poor neighborhood, but I saw a transit bus. No businesses seem to be open, but people were there and living and trying to rebuild. I hope New Orleans makes it.

IMGP0017-1, originally uploaded by jilly71.