Monster Mushrooms

It's been wet this year which is light years different from the past two summers where the woods became dusty and even the moss turned crispy and dry.  I find this weather far more reassuring though we're all relishing the warm sunny weather of the past 3 days, which so far represents our entire summer.
Mushroom season has arrived early and it probably shouldn't be a suprise that I encountered what may very well be the biggest mushrooms I've ever seen.

Tulips!

It's a new painting!  Three feet by four feet,acrylic on a crappy warped canvas bought at the dollar store (never doing that again) completed just before all the death and uncertainty of the past week or so.  I'm not normally a floral painter, or if I am I've found an extreeemely narrow niche because:
a.  I only paint tulips (more rarely poppies or other cup shaped flowers)
b.  apparently I wait for this precise moment in the life and death of a tulip.  Found a sketch from several years back which looks like this very composition.  But it's not.
Even stranger is the fact that another artist I know through the art club, likes to paint tulips in this same state. 
Maybe I's more common than I thought?

Memorial #1

The Rod & Gun was filled to capacity this afternoon with coworkers and students who had appreciated Betty's passion for music and teaching.  Many of us hadn't realized that she was essentially a very quiet and reserved person...she must have found her niche in Kitimat because we knew her for her exuberance, sarcasm and dry humour.  She's seen here in the late 60s with her beloved clarinet which she went on to play professionally in several smaller city symphonies before turning to teaching.  The high school band program quadrupled in the 7 years under her direction.

There is a Memorial #2 pending with a possible 3rd following a fatal highway accident on Saturday that took the life of another high school teacher.  Her husband, also a high school teacher, has since been in a coma.  She was on my facebook since we have that special bond as Mothers Of Crazies.  TwinB sent a message of condolence to one of her daughters; they dealt with many of the same issues at the same time.

I discreetly mentioned to a good friend at the memorial that I felt a little paranoid at the moment - that it felt like we were being stalked by an invisible force.  She told me that everyone felt the same way, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Hope we're done with death for the summer.

Today the Music Died...

Betty the Band teacher was a member of the group organizing the Arts Festival and she energetically coached her many students and attended concerts through the end of June.
Now she's suddenly gone.
Last Wednesday - one week ago - she was taken to emergency where she was diagnosed with cancer and we knew she didn't have long but who could expected her death on the Wednesday following?
I keep seeing her face at one of the recent meetings we attended. 
Doesn't seem real and it sure isn't right.

Huckleberries! Hurray!!

There is no plant/tree/shrub that is more West-Coastie than the huckleberry.  They're the first thing to send out their incredibly delicate blooms in spring; hummingbirds count on it and this bush is so pretty in every season.  Spotted these on a walk today and harvested a few.  Prematurely it turns out.  They were almost good so I guess they'll need a few more days.  I noticed some ripe looking raspberries in my oh so neglected raspberry patch so will check that out now.

Evidence of Heading North

See the feast laid before me?? This is the cuisine that Air Canada dishes out for their short haul flights.  A 14 gram bag of mini pretzels (half an ounce for those still in pound mode) delivering a whopping 60 calories worth of energy.  Fork out $6 for a crisp white wine to wash it down and you have a lovely pairing to occupy your restless self for about...15 minutes if you really stretch it out.

Then...what to watch...what to watch...
Apparently the only thing 'on' right now is an episode of The Dog Whisperer.
Cartoon curtesy of TwinB
I wasn't even aware that airplane seats normally come equipped with media screens until about 2 years ago when I finally flew east on a standard plane rather than just south to Vancouver.
And we get to pay about twice as much too.

Little Gems

So, like, here I am in Calgary...those are the Rockies as I flew in a week ago.  Whatta week!
Celebrated my birthday:

My ersatz son-in-law purchased this lovely cake seen here in the morning light but couldn't attend my little birthday event as he was working a side job after hours last week.

No Photo Available *

TwinB 'n me attended the annual Poetry Slam on Thursday where she opened the show being the first person to read for the Open Mic portion of a very intense and jam packed evening. She got a rather good response from a completely cold crowd (not warmed up) and I suspect folks would be surprised to discover that this was her inaugeral public reading.  Ever.

I's a proud Mama. 

*no chance to record my baby since she suddenly went on first and all I could do is enjoy.  She asked them only minutes before so they were very gracious to give her any spot at all.



The following morning mah boy and I travelled to Grande Prairie to put in an appearance at my Uncle and Aunts' 60 anniversary.  For some reason I figured on about 6 hours of travel...wrong!!  Between construction, getting lost and it being 800 kilometers in total we were on the road for 11 painful hours.  This is from the trip back a mere 38 hours later.  Travelled through a massive thunderstorm; this would be the end and look what's at the end of the rainbow!! 

Stampede is coming up so the Ctrain stations are alive with the sound of buskers.  Threw a loonie in guitar case then decided I liked his sound so told him I was sticking around for a whole song.  He did an amazing job of singing about divesting himself of various household goods in order to move to Victoria. Haunting even.  We then chatted for quite a while: so, please meet Tyler Cameron, singer/songwriter heading to UVic to take sports psychology. 

I however am hoping that his musical career takes off. 

Look him up online at cbc radio 3