Joyful

Things I've done recently that make me feel joyful (because today I feel like I need a reminder):

Jumping on a cold spring morning, and taking a picture that makes the front page of flickr's Explore (and is currently sitting in the #2 spot out of all photos uploaded today).

Putting art on my walls. Mostly it's my own art, some photos and some paintings, and it inspires me to continue making more.

Getting my taxes finished under the deadline and sharing orange slurpees with my roommate to celebrate.

Hanging out alone in the CCE archive, digging through boxes and discovering treasures.

Drinking tea and reading Mary Oliver's poetry with Sergei curled up on my lap.

Riding my bicycle as fast as I can on the trail along Saskatchewan drive so that my eyes tear up from the wind.

Composting, recycling, and realising that I now live in a home where every day is Earth Day.

Practicing yoga in the warm, orange, sunny studio at the Yoga Loft, surrounded by friends.

Playing music and singing with friends.

Things I'm enamoured with:

The North
I love the idea of the Arctic. Stories about the Klondike keep my absolutely rapt. Today I picked up a book called The Klondike Quest by Pierre Berton and I'm so taken by the photos of men (and a few women) who tried their luck trekking through great expanses of frozen land only to find that their camp had disappeared under 50 feet of snow when they return, and other such stories.

I also love the idea of the seasons in the North. I hope some day to experience the thrill of the first sunrise following 6 weeks of dark...

China
I'm not sure why, but I eat up everything I can find about contemporary China. For years now I've been deeply fascinated by their politics and economy and culture. Mostly I read magazine and newspaper articles, of which there are no shortage. It all just seems so magical to me, the scheming and control and planning and the way the people react to it all so positively in many respects.

Lamps
I have five lamps in my bedroom. I have to skip past the lamp section during my Ikea visits with my gaze to the floor or else I risk coming home with two or three more. I love how different lamps create different types of light, and how I can combine them to get it just right.

Jump shots
As in photos of jumping. They are so fun to shoot, and I love how each shot is totally different from the one before it. I like them all, from the stills where the subject could be floating up or just suspended, to the ones with lots of blur and motion.


There are many more things, but now it's bedtime. Tonight I'm enamoured with my warm flanel sheets, pillows, hudson bay blanket (that's a whole other story because I'm deeply enamoured with the idea of the Hudson Bay Company as part of Canada's history), and a warm kitten curled up on my legs.