A Reading Week

It's been cold over here. Since Thursday until today, we've had mostly clear skies,sunshine and a decided chill in the air.  It is always colder here when it isn't raining. Last night I felt the deep chill despite having the central heating on. When I woke up this morning, there was a sprinkling of snow on the ground. Enough to cause a lot of havoc on our streets because at a certain dewpoint (in this case zero degrees) we get fog cover and icy streets. The city workers weren't ready for the snow fall this morning for some reason but they should be ready now.  The meteorologist says this weather is expected to continue for a few days.

In other news I've been slowly making my way through two books "Where White Mean Fear to Tread", the autobiography of Russell Means and "Appetite for Life", the biography of Julia Childs.

I have completed the chapters devoted to Russell Meanses' early life and work history and am now in the early days of his involvement with the American Indian Movement (AIM), the sacrifices made by his family and and some of the personal angst he suffered in his early days of involvement with AIM.

I have completed the chapters devoted to Julia's Child's early life, her early work history in India and China, and marriage to Paul Child. I am now at the part where Julia has finished her training at the Cordon Bleu Institute in Paris and is writing her book on French cooking.

These two books couldn't be more different but they are very fascinating since both of these individuals contributed to the contemporary history of the United States.Initially I didn't like the style of either of these books but I got into them as I delved deeper into the books.

Both of the accomplished individuals in these books are now deceased and I  wanted to learn more about them and their huge contributions to today's society. Mr. Means came from an impoverished background, of rough living, drugs and moving from job to job; whereas Julie McWilliams came from a very privileged background.

I didn't plan to read both of these large-ish books at the same time but I'm glad it turned out that way for it helps me to compare and contrast how each of these larger than life individuals developed and became what they became. I found it very striking what each had gone through in their early lives and how they both reached a pivotal turning point in the direction of their respective lives when they reached their early 30s.  For Mr. Means this meant becoming highly active in the AIM movement and for Mrs. Child, this meant, getting married and moving to France to begin her culinary training and career.

I still have a lot to read and am taking my time. If you get a chance I would highly recommend you pick up one or both of these books.

In other news I've been spending some time studying Cree, dealing with things around the house and for my mom. I also have a whole lot of errands and appointments this month; many of which I've had to cancel or postpone due to the leg problem. If the weather ever improves I should feel better all around but I'm glad to make even a little progress. At least the weather is a good excuse for staying indoors and reading a good book.

I hope all of you are enjoying your January.

Blessings.

Journey Home - Part 3

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. 

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

I returned home from my Christmas travels on December 27, 2012. Part 1 of my journey photos can be viewed here.  Part 2 can be viewed here. This is the last installment of this series.  I hope you enjoyed the peek into the scenery around these parts.

We are at Herrling Island just before you get to the City of Chilliwack.

 

I think I was just taking photo of the traffic sign and the red barn to the right of the photo.

Chilliwack is a farming community and in this photo you see row upon row of greenhouses.

A photo for my international readers so you can see what is on the side of the road. I think KFC is now in many countries including Kenya. It is a fried chicken fast food outlet.

 

A scene from the freeway toward one of the many suburbs outside Vancouver. I think this is part of Port Coquitlam.

We are fast approaching the new Port Mann Bridge. You can see it in the distance to the right of the photo.

We are on the new Port Mann Bridge which has only been open about a month and cost 3.4 Billion dollars or thereabouts. It has already been closed to traffic twice due to the bad weather we've been having. They need to find solutions to the problems that have arisen thus far. It's atrocious that the bridge cost that much and can't help move the traffic in bad weather, especially when drivers have to pay a toll fee on top of it all!

A close up view. You can see the posts are designed to join right above the cars below. This was problematic after a snow fall when icy snow bombed cars below causing numerous accidents and bridge closure just before Christmas.

After we crossed the 2nd Narrows Bridge to the north we travelled west on the Upper Levels Hwy. (Trans-Canada Hwy. to Taylor Way and then south to Future Shop at Park Royal Mall). You can take this highway to the Sea to Sky Highway which takes you to the beautiful ski town of Whistler where many locals and celebrities go skiing.

We ended our long journey with a several hour shopping expedition at the Future Shop looking for appliances. It was a busy store that day and my leg was very sore. I was not in the mood for shopping. Thank goodness my brother and nephew were there to do the "legwork".

I was glad to finally get home to Vancouver that day!

This is my submission to Skywatch Friday. You can see the sky was very gray in the last hours of our journey. If you look at Parts 1 and 2, you will see we had a variety of skies that day.

Happy Skywatch Friday!