Elizabethtown

Jeff and I went to see the movie Elizabethtown last night. It's the movie with Orlando Bloom and Kirstin Dunst. It was a really cute film. Orlando Bloom's character Drew has a series of bad things happen in his life. He loses his job after losing his company close to a billion dollars and then as he contimplates suicide, he finds out that his father has died. He flys to Kentucky where he meets an eccentric flight attendent Claire (Kirstin Dunst ) and the story goes on from there. Overall the movie was fun and the music in the film was great. My kind of music: Rock, alt-country, and folk. I have to give Jeff credit for sitting through a so called "chick flick" with me. I think he liked it but that was probably due to the Tom Petty songs in the film or the hilarious version of Free Bird. I would reccommend this movie if you are in the mood for something light and funny. You may not want to rush out to the theatre to watch but it would be a great friday night movie to watch at home in your PJ's.

Rochelle's Reads

Please Visit my new blog Rochelle's Reads to find out what I am reading.

http://rochellesreads.blogspot.com/

The West Coast Trail? Why?

I am not certain why Jeff and I chose to hike the West Coast Trail or why we attempted such an adventure. Jeff had been hiking for years, and was in good physical shape. Me on the other hand had just started to get interested in hiking and was not in such good physical shape but was up for a challenge.

I believe we decided to hike the West C0ast Trail because of me. One evening while at home, Jeff was browsing on the Internet. I entered our study to see what he was up to when I saw on the screen beautiful pictures people hiking on the beach. I quickly asked him what he was looking at and Jeff stated that he was looking at pictures of the West Coast Trail. The West Coast Trail is a 77 kilometers hike from Port Renfrew to Bamfield or vice versa. I was mesmerized and curious. After Jeff had left the computer I decided to do a Google search to find out more information about the West Coast Trail. The first website I found was a wealth of information and was probably the reason why I decided to challenge myself and take on the goal of training and planning to hike the West Coast Trail.

Curious about the website I wrote about above. Go to http://www.i-needtoknow.com/wct/. This is a wonderful website that will give you good picture of what to expect if you want to hike the West Coast Trail. It will also be an invaluable guide to planning your trip if you decide to be brave and take on the adventure!

West Coast Trail

When Jeff and I came back from hiking the West Coast Trail in June 2004, we thought about starting a website about our trip to show are family and friends our adventures. That never happened. I started a travelogue on our hike to document our trip but never typed it out. It is still lying around the house somewhere waiting to be picked up and documented elsewhere. Anyway, I thought that this blog might be a good place to document our once in a lifetime hike. So look for upcoming posts in the future. I will include pictures.

I was wandering aimlessly around the house today and I picked up my copy of An Anthology of Canadian Native Literature. I came across one of my favorite poets E. Pauline Johnson. I thought I would share a poem with everyone.

The Song My Paddle Sings

West wind, blow from your prairie nest
Blow from the mountains, blow from the west.
The sail is idle, the sailor too;
O! wind of the west, we wait for you.
Blow, blow!
I have wooed you so,
But never a favour you bestow.
You rock your cradle the hills between,
But scorn to notice my white lateen.

I stow the sail, unship the mast:
I wooed you long but my wooing's past;
My paddle will lull you into rest.
O! drowsy wind of the drowsy west,
Sleep, sleep,
By your mountain steep,
Or down where the prairie grasses sweep!
Now fold in slumber your laggard wings,
For soft is the song my paddle sings.

August is laughing across the sky,
Laughing while paddle, canoe and I,
Drift, drift,
Where the hills uplift
On either side of the current swift.

The river rolls in its rocky bed;
My paddle is plying its way ahead;
Dip, dip,
While the waters flip
In foam as over their breast we slip.

And oh, the river runs swifter now;
The eddies circle about my bow.
Swirl, swirl!
How the ripples curl
In many a dangerous pool awhirl!

And forward far the rapids roar,
Fretting their margin for evermore.
Dash, dash,
With a mighty crash,
They seethe, and boil, and bound, and splash.

Be strong, O paddle! be brave, canoe!
The reckless waves you must plunge into.
Reel, reel.
On your trembling keel,
But never a fear my craft will feel.

We've raced the rapid, we're far ahead!
The river slips through its silent bed.
Sway, sway,
As the bubbles spray
And fall in tinkling tunes away.

And up on the hills against the sky,
A fir tree rocking its lullaby,
Swings, swings,
Its emerald wings,
Swelling the song that my paddle sings.

Great Big Sea: The Hard And The Easy

Great Big Sea has released their new album and it is pretty good. I listened to it last night and was pretty impressed. The whole album is made up of traditional Newfoundland music. There are a lot of songs that were foreign to me but I am definitely willing to learn them.

My favorite song on the album is Sweet Forget Me Not. It is such a beautiful and poetic song. I remember my grandpa singing it when I was a child. This song made my eyes fill up when I heard it again, making me feel home sick for Newfoundland. Actually the whole album did.

Anyway, I would recommend this album to anyone who loves Newfoundland music or wants to learn the songs. The Mermaid song was great! It made Jeff and I laugh out loud. Many Newfoundland songs can be humorous. Like the Old Cod Fish song. Hey Olivia and Laurel! That was a song that I learned to sing as a child. My college friends took a liking to it, so I taught it to them. We had many laughs singing that one.

Some of my greatest and happiest memories are singing with my family. The O'rielly's can throw one good party and have a lot of fun. That is what I miss the most about Newfoundland. The family closeness and the quality time we all spent together. I am predicting that summer 2006 will be a blast!

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

It is one of those crisp and cool fall days that make you want to curl up on the couch with your PJ's on, read a good book, and drink hot cocoa. I just love fall! It is my favorite season because it is neither stifling nor frigid. I love the feeling of a cool fall breeze on your face, bundling up in warm sweaters, and going for walks among the leaves. Everything is dying and there is a certain beauty to it, one often hard to put into words but leaves you with a feeling of peace.

I hope everone had a great Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey! Jeff and I went to Revelsotoke to visit his family. Jeff's grandma came from Ontario and it was great to see her. We had a great time.

Jeff, Harrison, and I have had a crazy week! Harrison was sick and we had to take him to the Vet frequently. After a diagnosis of a stomach infection, pancreitis, Lyme Disease, and finally Panostetitis, Harrison's health appeared to be improving. We went to Kelowna last Friday to see a holistic vet who was great and spent lots of time going over Harrison's case. She believes he has panostetitis which is a disease that affects puppies when they are growing. She described it as being similar to growing pains in children but much worse in dogs. Harrison could not walk for 2 days! Anyway Harrison is on the mend and doing well. We changed his diet to a raw diet (aka BARF-bones and raw food) and he seems to be improving. Harrison is eating like a king and loving it.

Here is a recent picture of Harrison and me at Bijoux Falls on the way up north to visit the folks. Harrison is definitely one brave puppy!