the beginning of winter

i hosted my annual solstice gathering and was delighted to have about 20 people come by to enjoy the longest night of the year together. all the usual suspects were on hand as well as a few "newbies" - which included sara, jon, eliot, and irfan (who is a resident of phoenix). here are a few pics from the firepit - which was witness to the sacrifice of jesse's old snowboard. it was a beautiful night - no wind - not too cold and a little snow around adding to the ambiance.









the next day a few of the gang headed down to the ship and anchor for the open stage jam and some second breakfast (or lunch). this afternoon is one of my favorite things to do - i can have andreas with me, eat, listen to live music and enjoy a pint of the ship's finest. we were stoked to hear the bownesians were to play and they eventually played their hit - "she's from montgomery and he's from bowness".

good times.

the end of autumn in calgary

in a word - beautiful.

my day began with my son jumping on my head at the crack of dawn (as he does every morning) and demanding i do this or that immediately. my usual strategy is to tickle and kiss him for as long as i can to delay standing up and facing the day. standard morning. as the sun began to poke its familiar oranges and reds out from the horizon it became clear that today was going to be a beautiful day. next up was second breakfast at the galaxie with my fabulous nadja sugarpie - mmmmmmm! eggs, bacon, endless coffee and morning sun on our table as we slowly woke up to the end of autumn. this city is incredible and never stops revealing its secrets to me. i was able to get out on the fixie after lunch and toodled along the river to the zoo and back. it was so nice out - people strolling along smiling, a tailwind, and smooth pavement. down near the inglewood bridge i spotted a bald eagle standing on the ice at the edge of the river. he was huge - looking to be 18" tall and a wingspan that had to be 4' across! amazing animals!

tomorrow winter arrives. i am looking forward to celebrating the longest night of the year and the beginning of the climb back towards summer. ahhhhh - summer. bad tan lines, sunburns, mosquitos, and warmth. i cant wait.

take it eashhhh!

i'm back.

i have decided to restart the blog and begin spewing more random nonsense.

stay tuned...