CaptainOrange

I felt pretty powerless as a little kid. I was terrible at crossing the street. Even if my mother started crossing, I would rip my hand free of hers and stubbornly wait if there was a car within two blocks. I think the only reason I ever crossed, is that she began leaving without me and the only thing I feared more than being struck by a car was being lost and alone. Example: When I was a pre-schooler, I once cried while holding my mothers hand on a crowded stairwell (in church) because I had momentarily lost sight of her. Maurice Sendak acknowledged the utter powerlessness of children, but still gave them power. It made a big difference to me. I took comfort knowing that Max was a tiny kid and on a time-out, but still able to stare down the ferocious Wild Things. Sendak is dead. If you are wired, you already know this, so let's not rehash(tag). There are already fantastic stories in the New York Times and tributes on NPR . If you are a fan and have an hour to spend,...

Vin, James and I went to P.A. last Wednesday. It ties in with Vin's Project '88, but I thought it would be nice to tag along (and drive, as it turns out) and take some pictures to go with the many memories I have there. 8th Street Duplexes After getting into town, we headed down to where it all began for me. This is where I lived from age of 1-4.75 years. Government subsidized housing  that has been since torn down and then rebuilt. In the original structures, we would have lived somewhere near the middle of this photo. Didn't know it at the time, but Google maps tells me this house was only 1.5km from Dave Aschim's house, if you were willing to cut through Cooke Municipal Golf Course. I never actually met Dave until I moved to Saskatoon to attend the U of S. Just before my younger brother James was born, we moved about 5 blocks to the NE. 836 5th St East I've made a little Google map with a couple of my memories from the neighbourhood when I was a ki...

 We don't do a lot to celebrate Easter in our house. But, we do like to have an egg hunt. Since Wendy is going to Waterloo this week (to help look after baby Darwyn), we kept things pretty simple around here. I thought you might like to see some of my favourite egg hiding places from this years hunt. Tomorrow, the girls have plans to dye eggs. Pretty hard to guess who's room this was taken in. Anwyn hid this one. Extra points for style :) Anwyn's Room Gollum's Cave (My Room)

I spent the entire day preparing a dinner for some of Wendy's work friends. It was also cleaning day and one of the invitees has cat allergies (needed to do an extra good job of vacuuming the furniture). The first thing I did was get a really good playlist going in iTunes. I prepped some materials for my dessert. I decided on a Greek style, which is to say it has no crust and is only a little sweet. I made a honey glaze and topped it with heart-shaped strawberries marinaded in lemon and sugar and a few mint leaves that are growing on our windowsill. Above is the salad that I made. It is an awesome recipe that Jodi introduced us to this winter. Celery, walnuts, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. It's hearty, crunchy and zesty. Veggie lasagne was the main course. It's a modified version of a recipe from the Looneyspoons cook book (mine has a bunch of great mushrooms and fresh tomato). Apparently, it is out of pr...

I've been completely beside myself with envy whenever I notice a new post on Dave's blog . There is a really great chance that he has been somewhere excruciatingly beautiful, learning some crazy new survival skill, or just enjoying the opportunity to appreciate skiing under the full moon . Despite living in Canmore, a city where people are always ready to leap into an extreme adventure, it seems as though there is a shortage of people who will just wander into the mountains (and I use the term wander  very loosely) if there isn't some obvious and lofty goal to pursue. That leaves a niche for someone like me and a couple of others who simply enjoy the journey -- that struggle of getting from one spot to another -- to go along for the ride. But, not this time :( Dave spent the spring equinox learning advanced glacier survival skills (his blog, again). With the crevasse of learning between us, I'm sure he would have never consider taking me on this kind of journe...

I had a great sit in session at Tim Horton's on 8th and Cumberland on March 17th. I sat, read and wrote for well over 2 hrs. on my own and then for another 2 hrs. with Vin and James.  In attendance: Mike, James, Vin Regrets: Dave Absent: Geof I hope all Questers managed to find the renewal that we all crave. I was suffering from serious lethargy, due to cold. I still managed to have a fine evening and stay up until 1:30am. We mostly reminisced and drank coffee (I broke a very long dry spell by winning a free coffee -- despite the stated 1:6 odds). I am still hopeful that we can get together for a more formal gathering if/when Dave makes it to Saskatoon. What follows is a peek into my brain while reflecting on the celebration that is Quest New Year. My thoughts aren't well edited. I've mostly included them as part of my need to archive my thinking. ******** I don’t know what the Quest Era is. Traditionally, we have kept track of Quest bi...

A long time ago, Wendy and I came up with an axiom of our relationship. I'm sure it's been "discovered" countless times throughout history. The thing you most hate the most is the thing you love the most. Ben would probably add, "from a certain point of view." We have seen this countless times during the course of our marriage. Wait! Don't go. This actually isn't another boring post about my relationships ;) No, really, it's not. I was just thinking that the same can be said for the weather. We had a minor ice storm last night. It made driving frustrating and dangerous, it made shovelling snow difficult and it made cleaning my windshield this morning near impossible. If I had remembered the relationship axiom (and remembered that it applied to weather as well), I would have brought my camera with me as I drove my kids to school. Serves me right :) I had been on the road for all of 2 minutes when I sensed my error and whined to Leora ...