a few photos from the train ride down to california... it was a beautiful slow and steady ride. scenery floating by, the greens and blues and greys and browns mixing together in a blur- in that train way. 

soul still on tarmac?

... i remember a scene in a william gibson book- pattern recognition. where the amazing main character ponders how when she flies across continents she always feels that upon arrival she is without her soul, and imagines it bobbing as a kind of shadow-blob on the tarmac at the airport she took off from... then it takes a while for the soul to catch up with the body. i feel something of the sort, even though it was a short seamless ride from LA to Seattle... but this rapid travel is so- rapid. one second i was in california. i closed my eyes and then suddenly awoke to "we are approaching our destination of seattle, please put your seat...." this is on the other spectrum from train travel. when you feel so ready for the arrival, have so much time to ponder the present, imagine the future, process the journey. fast forward to airplane, where i can barely get a grip on my thoughts, and then suddenly i am in weather that is 15 degrees colder than where i was 2.5 hours ago. how is this possible? then i board a bus that would carry me across the border and drop me at 41st and granville. that leg of the journey at least provided me with a few hours of thinking- that time i need for re-entry.  now back in the city, it's still cold air- but spring is here. rhubarb is growing at a fast and furious rate, but that's about it. water the seeds, hopefully the sun will shine down and help them grow. 

thrifting.

moving through the racks of clothes at the goodwill, sally ann, boutique. a sea of colours and textures and cuts and styles. a gem here, a throw away there. another keeper. and another. a maybe- ok, yes, i'll take it. cashmere cardigan. lots of wool, in the heat. lots of linen. that's my kind of thing. want to just collect it all, and then share it back home. but it's a small backpack that i'm carrying, and only a bit will fit. new racks of clothes coming out every 15 minutes, announced over the loudspeaker. "and remember, all children's clothing is 99 cents this week. thank you for supporting the goodwill." what will i find tomorrow?

heat wave.

...although this is probably normal for Santa Monica, i am experience a heat wave in my insides. it's incredible. this is going to keep me going til vancouver summer summer time. the air is hot, the sun is out, the sweat is dripping. AMAZING.

this morning, miche and i went for a scramble up the Santa Monica hills, and for some reason we thought that 11.00 am start was "early." not so. we were dripping with glorious salty sweat within minutes and frequently took breaks in the bits of shade to catch our breathe. conversation ceased. after a couple of lovely views of the beach and city, we decided to call it, and headed back down into the welcoming shade of some vast tree. ate yummy sandwiches and lay around for a couple of hours. that is what this trip has been all about. lying at the beach, lying in a park, lying in another park, lying on the couch. what a life!

we hopped into the hot hot car, with the steering wheel almost unbearable to touch, and hit the beach for a quick dunk in the ocean. salty sea on salty skin, bringing the body temperature back to bearable. beauty time.

i am back at the library, alas without camera, and who knows about adding pics from a public computer? it will have to wait until i return home later this week.

now, i am going to venture out into the heat to check out the wicked thrift stores and get a cool beverage, while miche is at work.

until later. xo

santa monica sunshine...

sitting in the santa monica public library, frustrated that my mac mail isn't compatible with this version of the browser, and hoping that parents think to check this to see that i've written...
miche at work for an hour, me, a little time to wander and delight in this lovely public library. california is like what the mind's eye imagined. sunshine and vast flat beaches, flowers and succulents. yesterday was a day of cycling along the beach, with miche, venice beach. lying in the sand, the wind breezy blowy, some dude juggling 3 frisbees into the sky. the venice beach strip full of people and eats and plastic stuff. tall palm trees, gulls soaring, trying to grab people's lunches. out on the pier, fishermen with hopes of a catch, fishing rods lined up in little holders along the rail. miche and patrick (and elliott the cat's) home is lovely. bright and simple. that's all for now, pictures sometime soon. i'll remember to write about the train ride at some point soon. x.

heading for LA la land...

the term has concluded. completed two-fifths. three more terms, then 100% nurse. to celebrate, to take a time out, to feel a bit of warmth, i am boarding the train and heading down to Santa Monica. looking forward to seascape, landscape, trainscape. check out what miche and trik have going on in SoCal. 

until then... 

although my neighbourhood doesn't quite look like this photograph, it wasn't long ago when there was white on the ground and early evenings. days are getting longer, ground is getting warmer.