Dreaming Of Plum Blossoms

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Eight inches last night... in like a lion. I know this is Canadian and all, but I am not very good with this cold. Sometimes I pretend I am an Inuit, or that I live in the high steppes of Tibet, and this subzero thing feels absolutely right.

Who am I kidding? Am headed for some hotsprings soon and I hope this is all gone by then. I have a reservation. Will tell you all about it. In the meantime, thank goodness for yellow tulips. 

Being snowbound, I have found this lovely poem which I thought I would share. It is cheering me up this morning as I dream of snowdrops and plum blossoms. 

"Quiet is peace.
Tranquility.
Quiet is turning down the volume on life. 
Silence is pushing off the button. Shutting
it down. All of it.
                - Khaled Hosseini

Sunday Thoughts

 By Maryanna Gabriel

"Every dead body on Mt. Everest 

was once a highly motivated person,

so maybe calm down."

- J.P.Gowinder

Out on the town.

It's Sunday today. Free parking in this town in the Kootenies where I live. They use these old-fashioned meters that require actual money. Really different. Am amazed by the number of coffee shops. Salt Spring Island, with the same population, had a third the number. One of my goals is to visit every single cafe, and so today is a big day because I save a toonie with the meters when I go out on the town. 

There is one point of friction amid all this caffeine bliss and goal setting. The bodies on the street. Not like New Delhi in India or anything, but as on Salt Spring, the number of people taking drugs and whatnot is out of control. And like Salt Spring, there is food given to help support those "less fortunate". Meanwhile, vandalism increases to an alarming degree as I sidestep angry youth talking to the air, or passed out in store doorways. It is a problem that is nation wide, judging by the news. We give our youth heroine, meth, and fentanol. For free. Really? And how is this progressive, again? Statistic. Canada has the second highest death rate for drugs in the world.
Oh, Canada. And did I really hear this correctly on CBC radio? In British Columbia, seven to eight of our youth are dying on a daily basis.

Portland, in Oregon to the south of us, is in an epic state of unpleasantness, so I'm guessing it is widespread in America as well. This morning I listened to a podcast on Reuters about the traffic of drugs from Peru and Uruguay, and how these drugs travel the globe. By the sounds of things, more are reaching Europe than North America. What does all this despair say? Seems to me addiction is best dealt with by not enabling it. By not feeding into it. Hello. By not feeding it. 

Me - I notice that I am unconconsciously avoiding places where the drug tribes are thriving on the sidewalks in clumps. When it comes to real estate and purchasing a new home, I don't want to feel worried about theft.

I do know one has to find joy in the quieter humble places. Like the blossom of spring flowers, a passing smile during a lakeside walk, peaceful bird calls, or quiet moments with a good book. Somehow we have to make our way as best we can. Onto my next latte. What a wild woman. 

Two Favourite Teachers

 By Maryanna Gabriel

One of my passions is archaeology which includes anthropology. 

I am taking an online course on the Dead Sea Scrolls from Dr. James Tabor, a specialist in this field. It has taken a long time for the world to translate the scroll information and I am curious to know more. He is very knowledgeable as he has worked at the Qumran cave site.

About 150 to 200 years before Christ, a group of approximately 150 people lived on the lowest point of earth (the absolute opposite of Mount Everest), on the Dead Sea, and quietly went about their business. Something about preparing the way for their teacher yet to come. Apparently, there were a lot of rules. I don't think I would have liked that much. We know this because of the discovered texts. It seems awfully strict. Bathroom etiquette was also specified. Strictly off site, for one. In other words, no convenient ensuites. 

One edifying piece of information I have already learned. Archaeology has revealed these good denizens partook in a ritual of purification in the mikvah, or ritual communal bath. Someone had tape worm which they gave to one another in the water. Dr. Tabor feels it may be the reason many did not live past the age of 40. Yikes. See how much I'm learning?

One of my favourite go to authors when I need escapist literature is Kathy Reichs, the anthropologist who is responsible for the film series Bones and who is a prolific author. She teaches at the same university as Dr. Tabor used to, in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are great friends. She wrote a book, Cross Bones, in part inspired by Dr. Tabor's work, a compelling whodunnit set in Israel. I loved that two people who have given me so much are connected in this way. I never knew. It would have been a lot of fun and most interesting to have gone to their classes back in the day. 

Winter as a West Coaster

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Behold. My winter fashion line. 

It's all coming back to me. The persistent piles of dirty snow melting in the rain. The puddles of wet by the door as one comes to terms with snowy boots. How to sweat uncomfortably in stores, or car, only to experience a bone chilling bitterness once outside as layers are alternately applied or removed, too soon or too late. 

Feeling inspired by an environment where I look longingly at earflaps, I have made progress with my winter fashion line. Note the hand knit sweater, the open fingered gloves, the charming matching scarf. I have not been idle. 

The other day, I found an informative scrap of paper tucked into my writing binder. It was from a time before this all began. An innocently written travel plan. Something about Spain and being a hospitero and a bit of a European explore. That was before. Before I understood the inflated housing market, or learned rentals have increased 22% in the past two years, and that there is a 1% vacancy rate. Before terror struck my wame, as the Scottish say, and I grasped I had sold and was caught in an inflated economy most of us could not have foreseen.

 Such a good word, prudent. Knit. Pearl. Yes, best be prudent.