Falling into Fall

We've had a spectacularly gorgeous summer here in the Canadian Rockies.

Perhaps we'll get a few days of a last hurrah and but Fall is fast approaching. To everything there is a season.


Lately, I've been exploring a contemplative spiritual side, spurred on by a friend's labyrinth experience. http://www.everydaylabyrinth.wordpress.com/ On Monday, we went to walk a labyrinth here in town- an ancient spiritual diagram designed to bring the participant in communion with the sacred. The experience - a new one for me - is very peaceful, centering, calming, unique. Here we were standing right in the middle of a city of a million people and although we could hear the sounds of city life, we were wonderfully removed. As I trailed behind S on the path, I thought. Isn't this what friends are for? Sometimes to be your guide..sometimes to follow your path... not necessarily to always be on the same 'road', but to share your journey, your ups and downs....sometimes just to BE there.

And that brought me into being in gratitude for all the friends and family with whom we were lucky enought to shared time with over the summer. Pondering at La Pensione Pentland.

Hobnobbing with the Higgins Team.

Lounging with Lindbergs and Lenons at a Pizza Party..(see the Vanishing Vinyls post.)

Delta Gamma Dames.

Fun with Foxy Katie Fox.

Meeting in Marietta. (yes... a meeting - obligatory....)

A gaggle of Garrisons. (My cousins who root religiously for Roger Federer.)

Sassy lasses Stampeding.

Muskingum Mavens aka River Rat Residers.

Ta Ta to Tibet Travelers.


Kelso Klan ...oops Clan... at Whetten Wedding.

Lunching with Large Lady (not Carmela - the statue!)

Half a Dozen on Don's Deck.

Munching at Mercato. Fellow Forty-Somethings. (mostly.)

Hugging Hillary Higgins at Hillhurst.

E's eye's on it!

Hanging with the Holdrens.

Get-together with the Goodricks.

Say? Is that Sam y Senora Smith?

Look! It's the Lucky Lebenslust-ers.

Four Females before the Floor was Finished. (see Don's Deck photo)

Jazzercisers at Jacqui's.

Nine Neighbors noshing...(Notice not that it is actually eight.)

Preparing for the Pirate Party on the Plank. ..Arrrr.
Can more fun be had in Canmore? (ok..that's super silly, eh?)

And....Boyz behaving.

Missed seeing mis tres nietos. See ya soon!

Hope to catch up with more family and friends in the Fall. Come on up, y'all!

Labyrinth

Hi there faithful readers. I've mostly given myself the summer off from blogging, but I wanted to tell you about a blog that I love and I think might appeal to you too.

My soul sister, Shelagh, who you've seen before in this space, is blogging about her year-long journey to connect to the sacred using a labyrinth. (it's not the only way..just one way.) It's best if you read the blog from the earliest post forward, and then check back everyday.

http://everydaylabyrinth.wordpress.com/

- j

Sophmoric Silliness (same as before but different)

Trippin' to Ohio: July 4th Weekend.


First stop on the tour to the Buckeye State: My cohort in-college-cavortin, Wendy's sprawling 1950s farmhouse on secluded acreage in the middle of a city. There are more amenities including those little shampoos and lotion than the Ritz. I'm pretty sure there must be a cabana boy around here...

Here we are in a moment of sobriety propriety with two of our sorority sisters who popped over. This is the tame photo so that they'll still talk to me...and pre-cabana's boy's killer slushes made with that special brown liquid from Kentucky.

While the pool boy was busy servicing elsewhere, (this is a blog for of-age readers..kids..go text or play your X-Box), I decided to make MY favorite adult beverage, mojitos. Of course those of you of legal age may have made mojitos and you know that there are multiple and very crucial steps to making the perfect one. Note to readers: Do not attempt if you have or may have any issues with alcohol as alcohol is an addictive substance and ruins lives. Seriously. Stop reading this kids and go outside and play on the monkey bars. Auntie Jane and her girlfriends behaved like total Ya-Yas but they are 99% of the time fine, upstanding citizens individuals who know never to drink and drive..all things in moderation..usually..most of the time.. nearly all of the time.. yeah... that's it.
Anyway, now that the kids are gone eating popsicles... Mojito making is complex. You have to make simple syrup, slice and juice the limes, muddle the mint, add the ice, put in some..not too much... vodka and I was trying to do ALL this AND keep up amiable bantering. So our bar owner/tennis pro friend, Cathy, said, "I could have had those done an hour ago!" Note to self: Prepare mojitos BEFORE guests arrive and BEFORE slushes.
Here's to Life's challenges. They may not have skipped us but we wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe to have gotten together more frequently. Wendy's youngest and most compliant child, Andrew, did saunter by our locale in the poolhouse... Oh..Andrew!! Another slushy please! I am definitely putting my bid in to retire to her carriage house. I have shamelessly bribed her dogs, so if they have a vote, I'm a shoo-in. Do you think I should advertise now for a pool boy in say, 2030?

Next day, after detox, Wendy and I drove up to the OWU campus. We gave the place quite the beating back in our day but it's still somehow looking mighty fine. This metal thingy was put up by some class with more class than ours.

We even drove by the old Phi Psi house which barely belies all the many forms of debauchery, I mean debonair-ness (the English language can be tricky) that took place within its walls. and of course the DG house where absolutely NO debauchery took place, darn-it. No need for photos - Insert stock footage of any fraternity and sorority from any college campus in the USA and you got it.

And of course the requisite stop to Butsy's, which is now called the Backstretch, in a homage to the Little Brown Jug (you HAVE to google that if you don't know what it is) It's still a very divey bar that would have curled our mothers' hair and had them yanking us out by ours if only they'd known we were hanging there. The regular "Norm!s" get their seats early..as in a.m. (oooh hey..it IS afternoon isn't it?)

Pitchers used to set us back $2, or a toonie for you Canadians, although neither Wendy nor I can remember ever having to pay for one. We invented the game of Quarters here - I'm sure of it. And our schoolgirl rendition of Stevie Nicks' Leather and Lace in 3- part harmony, still echoes from the walls. Might have been the year we were nominated for a Grammy. You can google that too. Aforementioned Regular Bar Stool Ocupant seemed relieved that we didn't reprise our roles.. he was here for the first time around, as what is passing for paint. I do believe my gray hair is a NEW addition, or RBSO might have recognized me.


I would love to share the visit to Wendy's dad's with you but I was so enamored by his wit and charm that I totally forgot to photo-size him or his hot-dog eating cute little rescue wanna-be pit bull pup, Lady..Missy..Bugsy..Sissy..Sassy... something... Ok...had tooo much fun at Wendy's.

Now, drive thee in a southeasterly direction towards the foothills of the Appalachians and the Class Reunion of Marietta High School Class of 1979. The biggest, most athletic, smartest, best all-around class ever. Source: Who's Who in American High Schools.

First stop: The old homestead @ 331 and my mom's resting aka haunting spot. Oh yes..but she's a friendly ghost.


When I hit her beloved brick streets, my heart skips a beat and then a wonderful sense of peace..the kind that comes from being back on familiar turf, descends. ahhhhhh.....


But only a brief time for wallowing in nostalgia. Time to head straight over to Party Central: my homegirl, Holly's, house. Let the Reunioning begin!

Here's the in-crowd..minus Sarah and Lauren. We were the popular ones.. oh yeah..the "it" girls. the co-eds on the go, the hostesses with the mostesses, the prom AND homecoming queens, the girls who can't be caught..that was us...Oh, whatever! That's the great thing about a 30th reunion...no one cares who you 'were'... heck, we didn't care that much back then! Or is it that we can't remember?

This dress-alike decision was extremely last-minute - as in we were nearly walking out the door, and Pam didn't get the call. She did have Black and Pink so we included her..cause we are all nice girls like that. But watch out Pam! Holly Hobensack's hovering hands can NOT be trusted!

See? ... Do not even ask what is going on in this photo. Looks like Hot Hands Holly has her hands on her Hunk. At least it's her own hunk. It, the photo, not the hunk, will self-destruct after viewing.

We are all much more mature now, like maybe 15 minutes more. Yet, it seems that Class Clowns mature a little more slowly perhaps. Kathryn and I are not holding hands with Hot Hands Hobensack. We are holding them down!

And here we are behaving ourselves in the manner befitting our puritanical, white-bread upbringing. Believe it or not, this picture is not alcohol- induced even though the American Legion's drinks are only $2.50. A whopping .50 increase in the last 20 years. Gotta keep those veterans in high spirits! I stuck to good ol' tap H20'cause I am all dignified like that. That, and I had to be sober to have blackmail material at the 35th reunion.

Some of us were able to get ourselves upright the next day and went to hang out at Le Weir de Wesel near the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers.


Meanwhile, one or more of us may have been shocked to see photos from the previous night..

one was sentenced to hard labor:


and one had to hide under a grass hat... oh wait.. I think she's a little young for our class... that's Wendy's 2nd youngest and not very compliant child. (just kidding, Foxy.)


After coralling enough fun to last another 5 years, I saddled up my horse and trotted back to Calgary just in time to join the yeehawing at Stampede!

Had a blast, but it's good to be Home.

Burn the Bum Off Bike Ride

Spring has arrived in Calgary so we enrolled in Bike Boot Camp 101. Goal: To burn off bum (that's butt in American.) Assignment: Get off bum, put bum on bicycle, sit on bum while moving legs until legs or bum fall off. Ready, set, Go!

Pedal out of downtown on aforementioned bum,noting key sights along way. This is Calgary's Official Bird: The Crane. very small joke. Seems like the Bike Bum Boot Camp admits just about anyone.

Pedal past dangerous wier... usually there are a flock of pelicans fishing here, but it must be Pelican Party time at the pier instead. The signs say "DROWNING HAZARD. MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED HERE. GET OUT NOW! NO SWIMMING!" They should have added "Can you read, you stupid dolts!?" There were kids jumping from the bridge right above the sign. Oh well, maybe it will clean up the gene pool? This innertube just kept going up and down..flopping scarily... trapped right at the edge. Eeeeghhh....keep pedaling!

We pushed up hill and down dale ...oh finally, a real DOWN....to a brand-new off-leash doggie park! huge...fenced in..giant..free-ranging.. tons of space for dogs to be dogs..and the bike riders are separate but equal.

HEY! Someone is trying to steal my water bottle! I'll phone in a description. That Maui Dive Shop shirt should make him easy to spot.

Have you seen him polar bear dog??

Have you seen him Mrs. Duck?

Did he sneak past you while you were napping, Mr. Hare?
No sighting yet. After pedaling up a giant hill - time for a mandatory rest stop. Is there oxygen at this altitude? Where IS that dang water bottle thief? I need some H2O! I swear I was AHEAD of him on the way up..but maybe my brain is oxygen-deprived? At this rate, I'll never get the yellow shirt.
Hey! Did that white-legged guy in the Maui Dive Shop shirt sneak down there to the driving range? Seems like 1/2 of Calgary is down there. Look how far we are from home ... cool... much more to go! Pedal on!

Hey! There's the THIEF!

I finally caught him at the lemonade stand..trying to refill the bottle to hide the fact that he drank all the water. Cost us $5 for 2 cups of lemonade. Smart kids had no change and cute smiles and they wanted to be part of the photo journal. We saw the one girl's New York shirt and I told 'em Charlie was born in NY, and she said, "I want to be born in New York City!"... uh...too late, sweetie.

Ooooh, we're back by the Zoo .. next time this will be the destination!

Reward time! Coffee frappuccino!


and other reward: gorgeous sunset off the balcony at nearly 11pm... beautiful end to another very blessed day.