Bits

Have you driven on the freeway this week? 

Between Abby and Chilliwack?

OH. MY. GOODNESS. 

The wild lupine are incredible. 

Especially as the sun is setting.

B r e a t h t a k i n g.

So pretty.

So purple.

So perfect. 

So unexpected.

That was the best part; the surprise aspect of it.

I knew there would be a good show at the Mt Lehman exit, but I wasn't expecting to be so overwhelmed on the rest of the drive. 

Oh that God. 

So clever with the colours. 

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Other than my upcoming trip to New York (for 5 days at the end of July) I haven't planned any vacations. But I still have vacation time to use up, so last weekend I added on another day, (because it was sunny) and I'm doing the same this weekend. I wonder if I'll feel, at the end of the year, that I wasted my days off by sitting in the sun, reading, by myself, at the lake? 

Should I be exploring? Exercising?  Entertaining? 

Maybe I should be serving somewhere? Helping someone? Cleaning something? Organizing stuff? 

Nothing like some old fashioned guilt to suck the fun outa a day off. Haha. 

So what've I been reading?

This one was for my upcoming book club meeting:

Plum is the oldest daughter. Her dad died of Alzheimers 13 years ago, and her 93 year old mom dies at the beginning of this memoir. Her parents left them (her and her brothers) everything. Their house in Oakville, Ont, (on the lake) was packed with furniture and collectibles and memorabilia, and decorations and lists and papers and books and books and books. She thought it'd take 6 weeks to clean it all up. It took 16 months. Hahahaha. 

Oy.

Finished this book:

I recommend it, if you're interested in global humanitarian aid and want a transparent look at how it works. 

Also read this one:

Which apparently has been made into a movie. 

It's a memoir, written by a stunningly beautiful, very confident, 27 year old woman who worked as a producer on 20/20 with Barbara Walters. She very openly, graphically, emotionally takes us on the journey of detecting a lump, to having a breast removed to having it reconstructed. Apparently 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer (WHAT?!); this was a 99 cent Kindle purchase that turned out to be more informative than entertaining. 

And this one...

Heather is an obituary writer in Haines, Alaska (I've been there! It's just down the road from where Karm is a border crossing guard...) This lil book is a lovely read; each chapter is a stand-alone story about a lesson she's learned from someone who's died. Haha. It's not at all morbid, it's very uplifting and fun. 

And I read this one:

Twenty-four-year-old Timothy is far from his home country of Canada (Victoria BC) when his new wife dies in childbirth. Stunned, he finds himself alone with his newborn son in the mountains of North India and no idea of what it means to be a father, and begins a journey through India with his baby, seeking understanding for loss and life and the way the two intertwine. 

Set among the stunning landscapes, train tracks, and winding alleys of India, A Traveler’s Guide to Belonging is a story about fathers and sons, losing and finding love, and a traveler’s grand quest for meaning.

The thing about reading, is I always investigate the writer. Follow them on twitter. Check out their pics on Instagram. See if they have a Facebook page. This gal, Rachel Devenish Ford, is from BC, but is now living in India with her husband and 5 kids. They all have dreadlocks. Haha. Seriously beautiful family...

Can't say I'd recommend this book, but it did give me a glimpse into what life in India is all about. As well as what a 'traveler' is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Books. Writers. Stories. Memoirs. Lives lived. 

2. Peaches. 

3. Osculating fans.

4. Weeds.