the woman of the games!

love the winter olympics
think i watched a bit of almost every sport showcased
canada has some amazing athletes
and this one may inspire me to skate faster along the canal than my usual snail pace!

winterlude ou bal de neige si vous voulez

february isn't so bad in ottawa
it is a "mild" winter meaning you can get snow freezing rain sun or rain at any moment
winterlude...bal de neige is a fun fest here
and working part of my time in the market means being able to take in a lot of the festivities

the photos show how busy the canal can get when it is actually cold enough to be safe to skate on

beavertails are a winter institution here and you can skate to one of the shacks or walk to one in the market


and the sculptures are one of the beautiful highlights of the festival

sometimes all you need is a push in the right direction

or hopefully...
lots of packing up
looking for space
trying to get my clinic up and running this year
just need to keep pushing myself
and hopefully get the nudge when i am too tired

crossing the floor - from red to blue

let's see
supposedly harper opposes the style and corruption of the liberal mandate before him
and yet he rewards emerson, a liberal, with one of the top cabinet positions in a tory government...international trade
trade you liberal red for tory blue
and then tries to defend the indefensible
funny
i first became disillusioned with the whole process when i was a page in the house of commons
mp's of different stripes and affiliations would cross over the floor to chat during debates or in the adjoining lobbies to "negotiate"
farce
but not surprising
the year i was a page
the bloc quebecois formed
the first reform member and bq members were elected
the gst was pushed through after lots of filibustering by the senate
canada declared war
a little known liberal in new brunswick resigned so that a better known one could assume power in a by-election...chretien
the whole experience was incredible both the history-making, and eye-opening aspects that came along with it
made me believe more in the power and importance of municipal politics, rather than federal talk

interesting that one of the long-time conservatives, garth turner knows that he will be punished for openly opposing the way emerson was given his new job in his new party
turner suggests that emerson resign and run as a conservative
and speaks of his seat-to-be being positioned in a place where only a lunar eclipse will shed light
for an entertaining read from a frustrated tory...

it's winterlude in ottawa

well the first weekend was a wash-out
literally
too mild for the ice sculptures
too mild for skating
but that all changed this weekend
so if anyone is thinking of winterlude
this is a link to all of the events, most of which are free
and a photo of the canal...ready to be skated on
fun
photos to come since the blogging tool ain't working right now

maybe it is the cold weather returning

but i am having some really crazy dreams
yep the kind that wake you up at night
the latest was a plane crash
and i was hanging out with the crew, cordoned off
emergency announcements were just to get back to the seats
i had no seatbelt
and then we crashed in some area of asia
i think laos or vietnam
and things were on fire all around
and i kept telling those around me we were going to be okay
and as i got off the plane
intact
all i could remember was i left my purse on board
and how would i get home
and would the airline take care of me since i was travelling standby
some would worry about getting away from the plane
but mine was whether i needed my airline id to get home!
it was cold meeting airplanes on the tarmac last night

moving on

so steve and i have begun the unenviable task of packing up the life we have had in ottawa for 5.5yrs

we are moving on and on the hunt for a space where we can both live, and where i can start my clinic

decluttering and sorting and boxing up and storing and cleaning
hmmm remembering again why i detest moving
but it is necessary to clean house and start career number...what is it now...approaching 10...this time as clinic owner (hopefully by the end of this summer!)

not a really small wonder why i am so spent these days

these real changes in the 30s

what i have noticed about myself is that i stand up for myself, for what i think is right
am ready for confrontation if required
am confident in my beliefs and my growing wisdom...the benefit of experience...am starting to get it!
it is shedding all of the stupidity of facades, self-fabrication, substitutions of what's real with bravado
those are all shells
and these i think are the real growing pains in my life
and i understand why the demographic shift doesn't happen until one is well into the thirties
good bad polarities
not really noticing them
now that i am seeing what is real honest true
and sometimes disappointed by it all as well
but grateful that the focus on the insignificant is falling away
and i am progressively slowly and constantly awakening
and knowing more about myself
and how liberating that is
and i am celebrating sorrow and joy and really feeling them
unlike anything i thought i knew before