by Heather Plett | Oct 15, 2008 | Uncategorized
I took a day off work today and went on a little pilgrimage – to some of the places that hold pieces of my past.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPaG6hyCYzM]
(“Tonight I am the Wind” by Kerri Woelke)
Update: In case you’re wondering about the places in the video, here’s a list:
Clip 1 – on the highway between Winnipeg and Arden, my home town
Clip 2 – the farm where I grew up (this is the back view where you can see the dilapitated buildings that used to be my dad’s barns. The front view of the house is no longer visible because the trees my mom and brother planted have grown so big they’ve obscured the view.)
Clip 3 – the pasture that used to hold my dad’s sheep, where his sign is still leaning against a hydro pole
Clip 4 – driving through downtown Arden, past the post office, the grocery store, and the municipal office
Clip 5 – walking across the White Mud River on the swinging bridge in Lansdowne Community Park in Arden (where we spent many a happy summer afternoon and where my siblings and I were all baptized)
Clip 6 – my dad’s grave in the Arden cemetery, perched on top of Arden Ridge (he’s got the best spot in the cemetery, next to some of the only trees in the cemetery)
Clip 7 – my dad’s grave
Clip 8 – the ditch where my dad died, crushed by his tractor and bailer
by Heather Plett | Oct 10, 2008 | Uncategorized
After a cloudy day, the sun peeked out just before it lowered itself beneath the horizon. I was drawn outside by the stunning glow of the glorious poplar tree down the street.
(Click to enlarge.)
by Heather Plett | Oct 8, 2008 | Uncategorized
“Mom, we should go on a picture journey,” she said, when we got back from the playground.
“Girl, I like the way you think,” I said and grabbed my camera while she hopped on her bike.
As the fading light stretched shadows across the fallen leaves, we journeyed, each doing what we love to do. The bittersweet knowledge that these carefree t-shirt-wearing journeys are slipping away with the seasons lingered with me while I snapped the pictures.
(Full size versions of the pictures available here.)
by Heather Plett | Oct 6, 2008 | Uncategorized
The lyrics that are playing in the elevator of my mind today are “rainy days and Mondays always get me down”. But what if it’s a rainy day AND a monday? Sigh.
by Heather Plett | Oct 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
1. My bookworm daughter Julie is having her dream come true this afternoon. There was a flood in the school library which ruined lots of books, so this afternoon the librarian is taking her along to Chapters to spend the afternoon picking out $7000 worth of books.
2. While Julie is thrilled with the prospect, Nikki’s comment was “I’d be too distracted to buy books, because Chapters is SO CLOSE to Garage, and Stitches, and all those other cool clothing stores!”
3. Julie promised to pick out some good biographies for her older sister.
4. Nikki found out recently that she gets to go on a French language exchange program, which means she’ll be spending a week in Quebec. I’m excited for her but… Yikes! 2300 kilometres away, for a whole week! Gulp.
5. When I asked if she wouldn’t be just a little nervous about spending a week with a family she doesn’t know, she practically scoffed at me when she said “No!”
6. My risk-averse daughter is growing up and getting bold.
7. Maddie will be going for surgery soon (tubes in her ears). I don’t like to watch the tears well up in her eyes every time someone says the word “surgery”.
8. I spent about an hour last night flipping channels between the American debate and the Canadian debate. I’ll venture a guess that most of you south of the border didn’t even know we were HAVING a debate, let alone an election. (No offense meant or taken – it’s just interesting how much more fascinated we – or at least our media – tend to be with you than vice versa.)
9. The American debate was more interesting, but the Canadian debate had its moments.
10. Sometimes I wish there were a better alternative than partisan politics. I get sick of everyone having to prove how right their party is and, more frustratingly, how wrong everyone else is.
11. Why do we put up with worse behavior (name-calling, lying, passive aggressive jabs) from our politicians than we do from kindergarten kids?
12. When I hear about leaders slashing arts programs in favour of bolstering the economy, it seems to me it’s a little like a doctor deciding to cut out a heart in favour of the muscles.
13. I am so uninspired by any of our leadership candidates this time around, although I found Elizabeth May a little intriguing last night. (Ha! I’m picturing my big brother chuckling when he reads this and considers his tree-hugging little sister voting Green. Though I didn’t say that’s what I would vote, just that I liked some of the things she said.)
by Heather Plett | Oct 2, 2008 | Uncategorized
If you’re interested in seeing a shortened version of the film I produced about the trip to India and Bangladesh (with stories of several of the people we met there), here’s a link. Watch for my favourite tiny clip – just before the end, I’m walking away from the camera hand-in-hand with Kabita Arang, a lovely young schoolteacher on one of the Sundarban Islands. We bonded almost instantly, and though we only spent a few hours together, we both got a little emotional when we parted ways. My last sight of her was when she was standing on the dock waving, with tears streaming down her face, as our boat pulled away.
