Happy times remembered for "Our World Tuesday"

I wondered when I looked at this picture (taken at the end of August) what Bill had said to make me laugh.  I couldn't remember, but what I can tell you is that no one makes me laugh as much as he does, and, what I do remember is how much I enjoyed walking over the Cambie Bridge with him and Black Jack.  We discovered these sculptures by chance.  

The artist is Magdalena Abakanowicz (photo below of her is from this site).  Born in Poland in1930, she lived through both Nazi and Soviet occupation.  You can read more about "Walking Figures" and about Abakanowicz's life here.  She was driven to create art in spite of almost impossible circumstances. The art academy half destroyed, she shared a room with 16 students and managed to complete her studies.  On her own after that, she slept for a while in a railway station until she could find a tiny room with a bed to rent.  The caretaker at the academy would let her into the empty studios at night to paint.

Funny how the sculptures must have been there for a while, but escaped our notice until that day.  Looking at the photos has been a kind of "double your pleasure" activity, triggering happy memories and stimulating some exploration of an artist's life and work too.

I think it was the next day that we attended Die Roten Punkte at The Cultch.  You can get an idea of their humour and music from this video.  It was the second time seeing them, and while I'm not entirely sure we will do a third, I'm a huge admirer of their energy, humour, musicality and comedic talent.  I like their music.  It is far from what I normally listen to, but it is honest, in tune, rhythmically solid and the ensemble is spot on, musically and dramatically. Sometimes, these are qualities that are not consistent, even in some very fine musicians.  

We were probably the oldest people in the audience, and that may have been part of the appeal.  We felt cool :)  But, I do love to see creative, independent people do things "their way" and make it work.  I'm guessing a lot of soul-searching went into the development of their schtick. Note: Photo below taken from this site.

With a little time before the performance, we walked and talked and I took some photos (for a change :)  I don't know why I liked this wall so much.  But, I did.

We also came across this mural.  I found a blog entry that gave me some more information about it.  Here's a quote from that blog entry: “Under the Shadow of 10,000 Crows” is the Nomads latest installment. The mural depicts the daily flight of the crows at dusk to roost as seen from Commercial drive. This wall is located at the corner of Commercial Drive and Venables.  Visit their website for more incredible samples of their work."

On the last day of August, Black Jack and I walked around Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park.  I enjoyed these three racoons (and their reflections) lined up on a log.  The front of the log almost looked like a 4th member of the gang.

This heron suddenly flew by as we were watching the racoons.

Shadows and reflections..

resulted in a kind of..

heron Rorschach.  If you go to this link, you can do your own Rorschach test.

I saw this just a few steps further along the path.  Just loved it..  not sure why.  Maybe thinking of the little girl who surely enjoyed a wonderful walk too.

I saw this turkey vulture on the way to Salt Spring Island (September 4th - two trips ago).  I read a bit about why they have no feathers on their faces (so they don't get messy eating carrion) and I guess that's why many people see them as ugly.  In fact, they are one of earth's great recyclers, and I do love to see them in flight.

Stopped along the way (Village Bay - Mayne Island), I enjoyed these seagulls..

and the turquoise-greens of this cormorant.

When we arrived, Bill was getting out some tools for work, when he suddenly had the idea to put the hammock up.  We each tried getting in it and taking photos of each other, but mostly, only feet showed up, or, in my case, rather unflattering views :)   

My memory again finds and holds onto the laughter.

After our photoshoot, Bill got to work, and Black Jack and I headed down to the beach.

Black Jack had some fun rock-hopping..

and then we walked back up to admire Raven's flowers.

I loved the vibrant shades of red and purple.  

A day or two later, we took the ferry to Crofton to visit blogger friend, Jean.  I took photos while we waited..

and Bill and Black Jack..

communed.

This was the view as we pulled into Crofton.  What a lovely town.  More good memories and laughter and on that note, I stop for now.  Thank you for stopping by to share in the laughter.  For more events in the lives of people around the world, check out Our World Tuesday.