Our motorbike ride yesterday was a fulfilling trip that made me remember why I love riding so much. When we got home we walked into a strange odour. Further investigation made us think the smell was septic. I looked in the storage room where the smell was strongest and thought it must be our septic system backing up into the sewer pipes. Chagrined I called a company that pumps out septic tanks. They can’t come for ten days. Ten days Read more…
Sunday again, I feel like I am tracking life on the number of Sundays since time stood still. Time can’t stand still no matter how much we would want it to. Time is the most precious thing we experience and yet none of us can truly own it. I never used to have enough time, now I look to find better use of it. Our Sunday morning lazed again, we had big plans, things to do; fishing, biking, yard Read more…
After yesterday’s adventure I was ready to hang low and stay home today. I made my wife a gourmet breakfast; scrambled eggs with chorizo. I have often thought about starting a actual bed and breakfast. Krista thinks I’m crazy. I’m a pretty good cook so I think it would be a fun way to entertain. We started out our day by walking down to the nursery and getting our veggies for the garden. Peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce, we were getting Read more…
Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a city nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. I lived the better part of thirty-six years in the city by the Bow. I still love Calgary and it will forever own a piece of my heart. It was home sweet home. Until I escaped. Nineteen-seventy was an epic year – I was born! So I think that was a pretty epic year in the life of Victor Calvin Barr. The average cost of a Read more…
My day really started at three-o’clock in the morning. Sleep was eluding me and my mind was racing. I knew I had to go to Vancouver today. I was feeling a mixture of emotions: excitement for a road trip, trepidation about leaving home, and a feeling of release because I had something new to do when I got up. I felt a bit like a kid at Christmas wanting to look under the tree early. My lovely wife whispered into Read more…
Signs or premonitions… Floods, we worried for those affected Fire, smoke and fear Famine in Africa a world away The climate is changing she screamed; you have failed us We can’t see the climate change; we can see the hurricane The pestilence The flames of the raging infernos We can’t see this virus Yet they warn it will overwhelm The very systems we cut. Now a reset. A new world order? Or more the same? Flowers grow toward Read more…
March 23 we closed the condo at Big White and prepared to leave the mountain for the last time. That was not the way we thought the season would end. We were having one of the best ski seasons in memory. Over 300 cm of snow base, I had 42 days on skis and there was so much more to come. Then it ended. So much has changed in that lifetime that was only a month. At that time we Read more…
Yesterday it started, The Netherlands announced no getting together until August 31. I have known for a while we probably weren’t going to go to Europe in June for our celebratory adventure. Today the reality struck like a hammer on an anvil. I awoke to an email from AirBNB; our accommodations in Paris July 12 to 14 was cancelled and I would be getting a refund. Today I began the process of cancelling the rest. Westjet is offering a twenty-four Read more…
I Woke up early today, actually showered and blew dried my hair. I sure need a haircut. I guess I can find another piece of my youth reclaimed. As a teenager and as a young man I had shoulder length hair. My hair hasn’t been this long since those days. I brushed my hair and figured I should try to look my best for our Zoom meeting. Zoom is a new innovation in online communication and meetings. It is something Read more…
Staying in one place, after moving all our life Reorganizing societies Re-evaluating priorities Overcoming fear, avoiding all strife Into a strange new world, we find a new reality Filled with fear Is the enemy near? In this new world full of unanswered anxiety Kindness is what can save humanity our discord it heels Uniting our ideals Being kind to avoid calamity