“OH, IF ONLY I HAD MY GOOD CAMERA!” IF I SAID THAT PHRASE ONCE….
ALTHOUGH I AM SO HAPPY WITH THE QUALITY OF MY ‘GOOGLE PHONE’ PHOTOS FOR THE MOST PART, IT REALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE MY LONG LENSE WHEN WE HAPPENED UPON THE EAGLE AND BEAR ESPECIALLY.
WHEN WE WERE DRIVING UP TO MALIGNE LAKE WE SAW TWO ELK WITH HUGE ANTLERS SO WE SLOWED DOWN INCASE THEY WANTED TO BOLT ACROSS THE ROAD. THEY LOOKED AT US, SAT DOWN , AND TURNED THEIR HEADS TOWARDS US AS IF TO SAY,”FINE. TAKE OUR PHOTO AND MOVE ON!”
ONCE AGAIN , THE MISTY RAIN ENHANCED THE BEAUTY OF THE COLOURS EVERYWHERE WE LOOKED. FROM THE FLAME ORANGE AND YELLOW OF THE ROADSIDE WILD FLOWERS TO THE CADMIUM RED CANOE AGAINST THE TURQUOISE WATERS IT WAS YOUR CLASSIC ‘FEAST FOR THE EYES’.
IF THERE WAS A NEGATIVE TO THAT DAY IT WAS HOW ODD I FOUND IT THAT PEOPLE KEPT COMING NEAR US AS IF SOCIAL DISTANCING WASN’T NEEDED ANYMORE. WE HAD TO BE INCREDIBLY CAREFUL ABOUT GETTING OURSELVES INTO A SPOT (LIKE A WATERFALL OUTLOOK CORNER) WHERE WE COULDN’T GET OUT BECAUSE FOLKS WOULD NOT MOVE TO THE SIDE OR ALLOW ONE FAMILY AT A TIME TO LOOK. YIKES!
FOR THE MOST PART WE WERE ALONE IN THE CAR , OUR AUDIO BOOK PLAYING(AMERICAN DIRT), AND JUST LOVING THE INCREDIBLE VIEWS AROUND EVERY BEND IN THE ROAD.
THE RAIN CHANGED FROM A TORRENT TO A SOFT MIST SO AFTER BREAKFAST WE DECIDED TO VENTURE OUT OF OUR COZY CABIN AND ENDED UP AT MALIGNE CANYON. I AM NOT ABLE TO GO FOR A LONG HIKE ..ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE HILLS AND SLIPPERY ROCKS …BUT I AM THRILLED THAT IN THE SHORT TIME WE WALKED AROUND THE FIRST LOOP WE SAW SO MANY BEAUTIFUL VISTAS.
THE CANYON HAS SO MANY STEEP GORGES AND WATERFALLS . BREATHING IN THE WET, MOUNTAIN AIR IS SO GOOD FOR THE SOUL TOO.
FUNNY HOW LIFE REALLY CAN BE SUCH A ‘SMALL WORLD’ TOO. OUR DAUGHTER MENTIONED THAT SHE WAS SOOO EXCITED ABOUT 2 OF HER DEAREST FRIENDS FLYING IN FOR A VISIT FROM VANCOUVER. WE HAD JUST PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT AT THE CANYON WHEN WE HEARD THE HORN FROM A COMPACT CAR BEEPING A FEW TIMES AND THE SMILING FACES INSIDE THE CAR WERE REVEALED TO BE MADDIE AND ALLYSA , THE VERY FRIENDS THAT WOULD SOON BE ON THEIR WAY TO OUR EMMA!
MORE WONDERFUL PHOTOS TO SHARE WITH YOU IN ‘PART THREE’.
WHEN I HEARD THAT ACCOMMODATIONS IN JASPER, ALBERTA, WERE ONLY 40% CAPACITY BECAUSE OF BORDER RESTRICTIONS DUE TO COVID I ASKED TERRY IF HE THOUGHT WE MIGHT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS AND HAVE A WEE CHANGE OF SCENERY FOR A FEW DAYS
A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST AS THEY SAY BUT THIS WAS SO MUCH MORE. WE DROVE HERE FOR JUST THREE DAYS AND IT RAINED EVERYDAY. YOU MIGHT THINK THAT THAT WAS A PROBLEM BUT IT ACTUALLY MADE ALL THE COLOURS SO VIBRANT, THE MOUNTAIN AIR SO FRESH ,AND THE WILDLIFE SO PRESENT.
IT ALSO ENCOURAGED US TO STAY INSIDE OUR COZY, WONDERFUL CABIN AND CREATE! WE USHERED IN OUR GUITARS WITH THE INTENTION OF TRYING OUR FIRST CO-WRITE BUT ENDED UP JUST HAVING FUN REHEARSING INSTEAD. WE BROUGHT OUR PAINTS AND WE WILL BE BRINGING 4 PAINTINGS HOME TODAY ; TWO FINISHED AND TWO NEEDING MORE LOVE.(I DID THE ‘EUROPEAN WINDOW’ AND OLD CAR PAINTING. I LOVE TERRY’S MADE UP ‘JASPER VIEW’ AND A TURBULENT STREAM PAINTING FROM A PHOTO HE TOOK WHILE HERE.)
ALL OF OUR DINNERS WERE FROZEN LEFTOVERS FROM PREVIOUS DINNERS AT HOME SO ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS REHEAT ….EXCEPT WHEN WE MADE FRESH BISCUITS TO GO WITH THE STEW. YUM!
SITTING BY A DANCING FIRE IN THE HEARTH , A CUP OF TEA ,A GOOD BOOK, MY HOMEMADE BANANA BREAD NEARBY , AND LOOKING OUT AT THE MASSIVE EVERGREENS PROTECTING THE WINE COLOURED MOUNTAINS….SIGH. WORTH THE TRIP RIGHT THERE.
OUR PARENTS? OUR FRIENDS? ENVIRONMENT? ALL OF THE FORMER FOR SURE.
SOMETIMES WE ARE FORMED BY HARDSHIP. SORROW CAN MAKE US HARD. LIKE A ROCK WE CAN HAVE OUR SHARP EDGES AND HURT THOSE CLOSEST TO US BECAUSE OF OUR FEARS AND FRUSTRATIONS AND ANGER TOO.
IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE THIS PANDEMIC WILL NEVER END. AND WE FEEL HEAVY IN OUR BODIES AND HEARTS TOO. WE LOOK BLAND AND FEEL DEAD INSIDE SOMETIMES.
DO YOU FEEL ALONE? IMMOVABLE IN YOUR OPINIONS? HIDDEN OR IN A DARK PLACE?
WHY NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE AWASH WITH HOPE? LET IT WASH OVER YOU AND BRING COLOUR BACK TO YOUR WORLD. YOU WILL NOTICE THE OTHERS IN YOUR STREAM AND THEY MIGHT HAVE COLOUR AND PATTERNS IN THEIR LIFE THAT YOU HAVE ENVIED.
LET HOPE SMOOTH YOUR ROUGH EDGES AND SOOTH YOUR FEARS. WATCH THE RIPPLE EFFECT THAT YOUR OWN HOPE WILL HAVE ON OTHERS. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER AND WE ARE NOT ALONE AS MUCH AS WE NEED TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE. ASK FOR HOPE TO COME INTO YOUR HEART. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU WILL SOON FEEL LIKE THE WATER INSTEAD OF THE ROCK.
WHEN WE HAD TO CUT OUR TOUR SHORT THIS PAST MARCH DUE TO COVID WE STILL HAD THE ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE OF PERFORMING IN EVERY SINGLE PROVINCE IN OUR CANADA.
WE STARTED OFF IN OUR HOME PROVINCE OF ALBERTA FOR SEVERAL SHOWS THEN FLEW OFF TO THE EAST COAST TO PICK UP OUR VAN (WHICH WE BOUGHT SIGHT UNSEEN , WITH HOPE AND A PRAYER…HA HA),AND STARTED OUR JOURNEY HEADING WEST UNTIL WE FINALLY MADE IT TO VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA(WITH A FEW BREAKS IN BETWEEN BECAUSE OF ESCAPING WINTER).
CANADA HAS THE MOST AMAZING DIVERSITY IN BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES FROM THE FLATLAND PRAIRIES, TO WATERFALLS, LAKES, AND OF COURSE, THE MOUNTAINS.
PHOTOS INCLUDE: TERRY ATOP NEWFOUNDLAND’S CABOT TOWER, PEGGY’S COVE IN NOVA SCOTIA IS A ‘MUST SEE’ TOO. IT WAS FUN TO VISIT THE HOMESTEAD OF ‘ANNE OF GREEN GABLES‘ AND NEW BRUNSWICK ALSO HAS GORGEOUS SITES LIKE THE HOPEWELL ROCKS IN THE BAY OF FUNDY.
WE HOPE TO SEE THE ICE HOTEL IN QUEBEC SOMEDAY . WE WERE THERE IN THE GORGEOUS FALL COLOURS AND LUCKILY THOSE ‘BLED’ INTO OUR ONTARIO VISITS AS WELL. THE VIVID PALETTE WAS REFLECTED IN THE MANY LAKES WE VISITED. AND NIAGARA FALLS IS A MUST SEE FOR ALL ‘TOURISTS’. SO BEAUTIFUL.
WINNIPEG SAW US PERFORMING AT ‘JOE BLACK’S’ …SUCH A VIBRANT ARTS COMMUNITY THERE.
THE SOFT, SASKATCHEWAN COLOURS AT DUSK WERE SO PRETTY AGAINST THE SNOWY FLAT LANDS. IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE TO VISIT ALBERTA’S ‘COLUMBIA ICE FIELDS’ GO! AND OF COURSE THERE ARE THE STUNNING MOUNTAINS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.
FINALLY, THE BEST PLACE TO SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS..IS IN THE NORTH! WE DIDN’T MAKE IT THAT FAR NORTH ON THIS TOUR BUT WE HAVE SEEN THE LIGHTS MANY TIMES. GORGEOUS!
OH CANADA! I AM SO HAPPY TO CALL YOU MY ‘NATIVE LAND’. HAPPY CANADA DAY!
I HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS ON MY LATEST PAINTING.
A FRIEND OF MINE POSTED THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH ON FACEBOOK AND I ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD MIND IF I TRIED TO PAINT IT. I AM SO EXCITED TO SHARE MY FINISHED WORK WITH TODD. HE CALLS HIS BOY “TEEN SLOTH” BUT I DIDN’T HAVE THE HEART TO USE THAT FOR THE NAME OF THE PAINTING ..HA HA.
I HAD SO MUCH FUN TRYING TO GET THE SKIN TONE CORRECTLY AS WELL AS THE MANY FOLDS AND TEXTURES IN THE CLOTH OF THE BLANKETS, PILLOWS AND SHEETS. I LOVE THE COLOURS THAT WERE IN HIS ROOM TOO AND THE TYPICAL THINGS YOU MIGHT SEE IN THE TEEN OF TODAY’S BEDROOM …LIKE A CHARGING CELL PHONE ON THE BED AND HIS JEAN JACKET AND SOCKS ON THE FLOOR.
I PAINTED OVER AN OLDER PAINTING OF TERRY’S SO I HAD THE BLESSING OF THE PIECE ALREADY FRAMED WHEN I FINISHED THE WORK.
IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGER PAINTINGS I HAVE ATTEMPTED AT 30 X 40 (ACRYLIC ON CANVAS) AND I HAD TO TAKE MANY BREAKS BECAUSE I WAS SO SORE FROM REACHING OR BENDING OR STANDING FOR TOO LONG. I’M REALLY HAPPY WITH THE FINAL RESULT.
FOR FATHER’S DAY THIS YEAR TERRY DECIDED TO WRITE A SONG.
MY FATHER-IN-LAW IS AN AMAZING MAN . SMART, SELF-MADE, FUN, A WONDERFUL HUSBAND AND FATHER AND HANDSOME TOO. YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW THE TRIALS THIS MAN ENDURED BEFORE HE BECAME THE MAN HE IS TODAY.
THIS ORPHAN BOY WAS FOSTERED OUT TO FAMILIES TO BE THEIR FARMHAND BUT SOMETIMES NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO EAT WITH THEM. HE WAS OFTEN NOT TREATED WELL AND RAN AWAY MANY TIMES BEFORE HE WAS FINALLY BROUGHT BEFORE A JUDGE WHO GAVE HIM A FINAL WARNING : ‘ONE MORE TIME BEFORE MY COURT AND YOU WILL BE LOCKED UP’.
SOMEWHERE IN THERE HE MET BEAUTIFUL JOAN WHO WAS 13 AT THE TIME. THEY SAT TOGETHER IN SCHOOL AND SHE WAS THE FIRST PERSON WHO ACTUALLY TREATED HIM AS A PERSON. SOON AFTER THE JUDGE’S EDICT, EDWARD DECIDED TO CHANGE HIS LIFE AROUND.
YOU COULD IMAGINE HOW LIFE COULD HAVE TURNED OUT DIFFERENTLY AFTER THIS KIND OF LONELY UPBRINGING. ED COULD HAVE TURNED TO ALCOHOL, DRUGS, HATRED,OR CRIME. INSTEAD HE TAUGHT HIMSELF TO BUILD HOUSES AND HIS BUSINESS,”BACHYNSKI BUILDERS” IS STILL GOING STRONG TODAY UNDER THE NEW LEADERSHIP OF HIS SON, TED. HE HAS BEEN MARRIED TO JOAN FOR OVER 66 YEARS AND THEY HAVE 5 CHILDREN (A NURSE, 2 BUSINESS WOMEN, A LAWYER BY TRAINING, AND TED, THE BUILDER). THEIR FAMILY LINEAGE NOW INCLUDES 13 GRANDCHILDREN AND 19 GREAT GRANDCHILDREN !
TERRY SINGS A BIT ABOUT HIS FATHER’S LIFE IN HIS NEW SONG, “LIFE CAN BE MAGIC” AND IT BRINGS ME TO TEARS EVERY TIME I HEAR IT. BECAUSE LIFE CAN BE MAGIC DESPITE ALL THE HARDSHIPS IT THROWS AT US SOMETIMES.
LOVE IS A POWERFUL GAME CHANGER AND JOAN’S LOVE HELPED HIM HEAL.
“FOR IN SELF-GIVING, IF ANYWHERE, WE TOUCH A RHYTHM NOT ONLY OF ALL CREATION BUT OF ALL BEING.” ( C.S. LEWIS) AND IT FEELS SO GOOD TO GIVE.
‘LOVE IS A VERB’ AS MY HUSBAND LIKES TO SAY. LET’S NOT WAIT AROUND TO RECEIVE LOVE ….LET’S GIVE OUR HEARTS OUT TO OTHERS AND BE SURPRISED HOW MUCH WE RECEIVE FROM THAT!
THERE IS SO MUCH ANGER GOING ON RIGHT NOW BUT AREN’T WE REALLY ON THE SAME SIDE ? WE ARE ALL HUMAN!
I LIKE WHAT SERENA WILLIAMS HAD TO SAY WITH HER ‘YOU DO YOU’ COMMENTS :
THIS MORNING I READ ABOUT LIGHTENING STRIKES KILLING OVER 100 IN NORTHERN INDIA. (APPARENTLY THIS IS COMMON DURING HEAVY MONSOON RAINS!) ALTHOUGH WE ARE ENDURING A WORLD WIDE PANDEMIC THE OTHER ‘USUAL’ ATROCITIES CONTINUE TO OCCUR : TERRORISM, RACISM, RIOTING, HUNGER TO NAME BUT A FEW AND IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER OF IMPORTANCE.
I THINK IT’S NOT JUST A MATTER OF SURVIVING PHYSICALLY BUT GETTING THROUGH THIS TIME MENTALLY AS WELL. ADD LONELINESS, ANGER, AND FEAR TO THE EVER GROWING LIST OF THINGS TO BATTLE.
MUSIC AND ART HAVE ALWAYS HELPED ME FIND THE BALANCE IN MY OWN LIFE. BUT FOR ME THESE THINGS ARE CONDUITS TO A ‘CONVERSATION’ WITH GOD, A JOY THAT FILLS ME WHEN I CREATE THAT CAN ONLY COME FROM THE CREATOR.
YOU WOULD LAUGH IF YOU SAW HOW I WRITE MUSIC. I CANNOT HAVE ANYONE IN THE HOUSE ( WHICH WOULD BE DIFFICULT AT THIS TIME IF IT WASN’T FOR THE GOLF COURSES OPENING UP…HA HA) AND I OFTEN SIT BY MYSELF, STARING INTO SPACE FOR HOURS. MY MIND IS ALLOWING THE TUNE TO REVEAL ITSELF TO ME AND AFTER I PLAY IT AND AM SATISFIED WITH THAT PART THEN I SIT THERE AGAIN THINKING ABOUT THE LYRICS. MY BODY MIGHT BE STILL BUT MY MIND IS SWIRLING.
WHEN I PAINT I FIND THAT HOURS AND HOURS CAN GO BY TOO AND I HAVE FORGOTTEN TO EAT ( GOSH! I JUST REALIZED THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD DIET PLAN FOR ME…HA HA) OR DRINK AND I AM JUST IN THE ‘MOMENT’ . IT IS A PEACEFUL , JOY-FILLED TIME. I CAN SHUT OUT THE WORLD FOR A WHILE AND JUST ‘BE’.
AND ALTHOUGH I LOVE THESE 2 THINGS; MUSIC AND ART, I LOVE MY QUIET TIME IN PRAYER EVEN MORE. WITHOUT GOD I WOULD BE LOST. I WOULD BE AFRAID OF THE FUTURE. I WOULD BE NOTHING. THIS GIFT OF FAITH ALLOWS ME TO FIND PEACE TO BE ABLE TO READ ABOUT ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS GOING ON IN THE WORLD …(ROMANS 8:28)I SANG MY NEW SONG, “THAT’S HOW WE’LL WIN” AS PART OF OUR SET LIST AS WE TOURED CANADA WITH OUR MUSIC THIS PAST 2 YEARS.
THAT’S HOW WE’LL WIN
You speak to my heart more than music and art but you’re leading me there today. How can we fight all the terror and fright that we seem to face every day? How can we feel your peace? When will the fighting cease? Let’s keep creating, celebrating, find the beauty in every day. Let’s keep on laughing and praying and meeting our neighbours’ gaze. That’s how we’ll win the game. That’s how we’ll win the game.
At a Paris café some had seen their last day but the world’s seen it all before. So many lives lost for an ungodly cause and another excuse for war. How can we feel your peace? When will the fighting cease? Let’s keep creating, stop hating, see the beauty in every day. Let’s keep on laughing and loving and meeting our neighbours’ gaze. That’s how we’ll win the game. That’s how we’ll win the game.
It’s so easy to fear . It’s so easy to hate . But it’s hard to admit that we’re lost. Let us look to the cross . Let us cry to the King for he loves us at any cost.
Let’s keep creating, celebrating , find the beauty in every day. Let’s keep on laughing and praying and meeting our neighbours’ gaze. That’s how we’ll win the game. Love’s how we’ll win.
HAVE YOU EVER WALKED THROUGH THE ALLEYS? I ENJOY THIS AS A DIVERSION FROM WALKING ALONG THE BUSY STREETS.
I AM ALWAYS DISTRACTED BY HOW MUCH BEAUTY I CAN FIND IN THE SCRUFFY ALLEYWAYS. EVEN THE GARBAGE CANS LOOK INTERESTING TO ME WITH THEIR BATTERED OUTSIDES AND RUSTED EDGES.
I LOVE THE CARE THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE PUT INTO THEIR LOTS …EVEN NEAR THE TRASH. MANY PEOPLE HAVE PLANTED FLOWERS . BRIGHT GREEN VINES CLING TO OLD , WORN FENCES GIVING THEM A SHOWY SUMMER ‘COAT’.
I NOTICE CIRCULAR MANHOLE COVERS WEARING TOUPEES MADE UP OF THOUSANDS OF FALLEN SEEDS. PUFFY TOADSTOOLS POP UP HERE AND THERE IN THE MOIST GRASS LIKE FANCY BUTTONS.
YESTERDAY I LOOKED UP AND SAW A TREE THAT SEEMED TO BE LOOKING BACK AT ME.
AND I NOTICED A LONELY BASKETBALL NET LOOKING SAD . NO CHILDREN AROUND.
I AM SO THANKFUL THAT I CAN WALK AND SEE THESE SIMPLE BEAUTIES.
WHAT FORMS US? 
(ROMANS 8:28)I SANG MY NEW SONG, “THAT’S HOW WE’LL WIN” AS PART OF OUR SET LIST AS WE TOURED CANADA WITH OUR MUSIC THIS PAST 2 YEARS. 
