Hibernation

This is the time of year when I like to crawl into a hole and not come out until after New Years.  Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year!

Sheepdogs

Last night my friend and I traveled to Halifax to see "The Sheepdogs" perform.  Everyone I talk to say they've never heard of them, they are a great Canadian band, who have recently had some success, making it onto the cover of Rollingstone.  It was a sold out concert, standing room only, well there were no chairs.  That was a first for us, we perched ourselves on the balcony.  We had a great view, a people watching paradise.  Yukon Blonde, a Vancouver based band opened for them.  The Sheepdogs were true to form, CCR meets Lynyrd Skynyrd.  They totally looked the part, they are a bunch of hairy dudes!  We went wild when during the encore, Matt Mays jumped on stage to join in.  It was cool!!  We keep saying to ourselves that we are such lucky girls, this weekend we are staying close to home and enjoying some homegrown talent, The Hupman Brothers Band.  They have their CD release in Wolfville this Saturday.  It's so awesome to be surrounded by such talented people, right here where we live.  We are truly blessed!

Deadlines

Sometimes I wake up, and I think that I'm still in university and I've forgotten to go to class for a few months and I wonder if I'll fail, or do I have time to drop out before the deadline.  Deadlines...life's deadlines never seem to end, I set goals, organize my schedule, like failure is right around the bend if I don't go to the gym, clean the house, walk the dog, really? because in the end we all end up the same organic mulch, feeding worms in the ground six feet under, or ashes saved on the mantle until you're forgotten.

Jian Ghomeshi

Saturday night I traveled to Halifax to see Jian Ghomeshi, he is on a tour promoting his best-selling book "1982".  Jian is a CBC Radio host, he has a long list of other accomplishments, but I mostly admire his ability to bring Canadian culture to Canadians.  He has helped us realize our distinctive Canadian identity.  In my opinion Culture is the key to keeping us unified, it makes us who we are as a country, sets us apart from our more homogeneous neighbours in the world.  He is a very interesting character, very witty and charming.  It was nice to hear him speak with pride about being a Canadian and what that means to him.  His book isn't just about being from an immigrant family trying to fit in,  it's about the desire to belong.  A basic human need.  The book is presented in a way that would appeal to all ages.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage

I just finished reading, "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce.  What is it about first novels?  My favourite book sellers explanation is that it's been taking shape in a writers brain for so long before it's written, it's fully formed.  I like that explanation and I think that it is so true.  It was a wonderful book, about a journey that a seemingly ordinary man makes for reasons that become clearer to him and the reader the farther you get in the book.  The ending is perfect, like it was there all along, hidden between the lines.  I cried and laughed through out this book.  It's a book I've been looking for, needing to read for awhile, but I didn't realize it until I read the first chapter.  It reminded me of so many journeys I've made physically and figuratively.

What is the Reason?

I spent some time with friends today, it's Guy Fawkes night, which means a lot to my Newfoundland friends, and I was happy to share a bit of it with them.  It made me think about traditions.  My friends and I seem to be grasping on to our old traditions, resisting the urge to conform to the standards of today's materialistic societal values.   It's hard because I feel the need to conform, but am resisting so much almost too far in the other direction, skipping holidays I would have enjoyed as a younger person.  I've become jaded, by what I see around me.  It makes you question your own values, and what traditions you've kept from childhood, does it mean anything now? Is it worth it?  The expectations are sometimes overwhelming, especially if you're a women, whose duty it is to make your family happy.  Keeping things simple, makes you look like a failure these days in our commodity driven culture.  Where will it end?  But, I will try again this season to give Christmas some meaning. Wish me luck.