Jesse Cook x 2

What a treat.  I saw Jesse Cook twice this week: Thursday night here in Saskatoon, and last night in Regina.  That's worth celebrating...

He released his latest album, One World.  Musically, he tries to combine music from a number of cultures, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and then adds some modern elements and sounds.  I like the result much more than his last album, but I much prefer his stuff from 10+ years ago, like Nomad or Frontiers; even The Rumba Foundation has more appeal to me than his new stuff, but still, Jesse is Jesse, and whatever he tinkers with in the studio usually comes out sounding like genius.  And he's such an amazing musician and performer.

He played the same set on both nights, and it was something along the following lines:

Cafe Mocha

Gravity

Taxi Brazil

Once

Bogota by Bus

Incantation

Gaita

Havana

Baghdad

Intermission

Shake

Bombai Diner (or was it Bombay Slam?)

Azul

Luna Llena

A lengthy medley (Mario Takes a Walk, Closer to Madness, Air, Jumpstart, Matisse the Cat, Gipsy, and I think there were at least 3 or 4 other mixed in there)

Fall at your Feet

Cecilia

Saskatoon pictures:

Regina picturres:

I am thankful that I got to see this wonderful performer not only once but twice in the past few days.  I find that his music inspires and calms me in a way that little other music does.

Here is the ending of one of his best songs, in Regina: Fall at Your Feet.  This was the second to last song they played, and they came out into the middle of the crowd to sing it.  Wonderful.

A Warm Day in Saskatoon

Finally...my seeds are sprouting!  Ten days after short cold spell, my plants are on their way up and out of the ground.

Corn's up.

Patatoes are up.

Beans and zucchini too.

No carrots yet, though.  And tomatoes are struggling...I planted them too early.

Today I did some weeding and watering, and it was nice not having to leave home to do it.

I'm really enjoying my front porch and back deck.  Friday night after the memorial service at work I had some coworkers over for some drinks on the deck.  This morning I sat out in my front porch and did some reading before the sun got too hot.  And once it got too hot I just switched to the back and continued there.  Now, as I'm writing this, it's too hot in the back so I've switched back to the front.  Later on I plan to bbq some beef kabobs and grill some veggies.  

Someone once told me that I'm a home body (it was a compliment), and at the time I wasn't sure she was right, but I think she was.  I love being at home. Of course sometimes it'd be nice to have more company but overall, I'm content at home.

 It's safe to say that spring's here to stay (or give way to summer) now.  Today's high is around 26, yesterday was 25.

Spring And Fall

Here are my two latest paintings, about half/three-quarters done.  I should be able to finish them up in 3 weeks' time.

I almost bought a painting to put up on one of the many still-empty walls in my house, but I just couldn't do it.  It was $900, and that with a 35% discount.  I can swallow $500, but that's about it.

Hiking Saskatchewan Landing

One of the biggest adjustments for me over the past 2 years has been the lack of hiking in Saksatchewan.  Because of the flat terrain, extreme weather, and sparsely populated areas there's just not much of a hiking culture here.  And compared to BC, there just aren't many established hikes around.

On the other hand, there are some interesting factors that make one think hiking would be more  popular here.  People don't freak out over the extreme weather - extreme is normal - so weather's not really an excuse.  People love driving - cars are a huge part of the culture: people have no qualms about driving long distances by car to go camping or "to the lake" - and so going on a day or weekend hiking trip by car shouldn't really be a deterrent.

Anyways, whatever the case may be for the lack of hiking culure here, today was Victoria Dy and the weather's warm and sunny (albeit a bit windy), so Eric and I got into my Jetta in the morning and drove south today, towards Swift Current.  We wanted to go explore this beautiful province on foot.  About 35 minutes north of Swift Current we stopped at Saskatchewan Landing for some great hiking.  We stopped at the local information centre but they were closed (another sign of being in Saskatchewan - why on earth were they closed on basically the first hot weekend of the summer!).

It was a rather short hike, only around 6kms, but still, we enjoyed the surrounding scenery, had a good chance to catch up, and the hiking was good.  Below are a few pictures.  I like the contrast: dry hilltops, lush valleys, blue water in the distance, and of course, the main character of any prairie setting, the sky.

When we first began hiking, after 11am, there was still a cold breeze around us, so we wore long sleeves.  But by 1pm it was hot.  It was a clear day, not a cloud in sight.

We finished our hike around 3pm, and afterwards we stopped in at a golf clubhouse nearby for dinner.  The food was decent and with a variety of choices - sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and burgers - but unfortunately they all fit the "fast food" category.  How I'd have loved to have a nice pasta dish with a glass of wine....

What salvaged the clubhouse experience though was our waitress - a girl in her late twenties - friendly, talkative, a great sense of humour, and very easy on the eyes.  She'd just moved here from Vancouver, full of life, enthusiasm, and optimism.  Eric and I didn't want to burst her naive, innocent bubble, but we did feel it our duty to gently inform her that moving to a new place is exciting, until the novelty wears out and you have a few experiences that bring you back to the real world.  Still, her enthusiasm was contagious and admirable.  I left the clubhouse with a smile on my face.

We arrived back in Saskatoon around 7pm, tired, but energized by a good day trip, solid hiking, and some thought-provoking conversation.

Tomorrow it's back to work.  The next 3 weeks are quite busy, highlighted by a tour to the cathedral with our residents and an anniversary party for the Monsignor in early June, and a memorial service this Friday.

Gardening Day

Yesterday I planted my garden.  I got outside around 10:30am, after sitting on my front porch and reading Pope Francis' The Church of Mercy for a while.  It was enjoyable reading, sipping my coffee, soaking and in the warm rays of the sun.

It took me awhile to work out the garden layout.  I wanted to make it a beautiful space, not just a functional place.  To accomplish this I planted some pampa grass, sunflowers, lavender, and an Asian lily in the corners.

I also incorporated some walking space, so that I have a place to stand on when tilling and weeding the ground.

Below's the layout.

The weather's still rather chilly, particularly at night.  I trust that in the coming days it'll warm up.

After finishing the garden I mowed both my front and back lawn.

Then, Amanda - my newly found neighbour-friend - and her friend Dan dropped by for a bbq.  I cooked up some burgers and put some veggies on the grill too.  Amanda brought a salad, and together we had a nice evening meal and conversation.

Thank you Lord for the simple pleasures of life.  I pray for a grateful heart to recognize more of these moments.  Amen.

Forest Scenes

I went for some more painting classes in Moose Jaw yesterday.  I find I'm getting faster, more comfortable "in my skin" when holding a paint brush.

I'm working on 2 paintings at the same time, both of a forested scene; one is set in the spring, the other in the fall.  I'll go back in 3 weeks' time to continue working on them.