Well Traveled Art

Finally! Mary, I can post a photo of the lovely painting you gave me, now hanging up on the wall of my room here in California:

So why do I say finally? Well, in addition to this being a lovely forest painting, in now has a bit of a story behind it....

So Mary left this painting for me in Edmonton, when she had to make a move from there to Winnipeg. Phil hung on to the painting for me, then brought it over to Sue & Brock's place when we had dinner together there one night. I wrapped it up in plastic, and took it with me on the plane back to California the next day.

I got on my first flight, the Edmonton-Vancouver leg of the journey, and placed the painting at the front of the plane, where you keep suits and guitars and things, for safe keeping. When I got off the second leg of the flight in San Francisco, I felt "hmmmm, I should be carrying something else.... OH NO!!!!" The painting was on the plane in Vancouver still!

Turns out there's no phone # to call to report lost items with Air Canada, there's just this web form. So I filled it out, and thought that I'd never hear anything about the painting ever again, and I'd never be able to speak of this to Mary. Eternal shame! This was the first week in June.

BUT THEN! I got a call from an Air Canada representative in Montreal at the end of July, and he informed me that they'd found the painting, it was safe in Montreal, and they'd send it on a flight out to San Fran for me! Hooray! And then a week later, the painting arrived. I was busy hosting Aussies and then going camping, so I said I'd pick it up the day I arrived back from Cascades. After some misunderstandings on that day and another trip out to SFO, I am now the proud owner of a well-traveled Hocaliuk Original.

Thanks Mary!

Edmonton bathroom graffiti

Phil also had a graffiti post on his blog recently. Edmonton has some high quality graffiti man.

Edmonton!

So just got back from a weekend with Sue in Edmonton. As promised, mom, here are some photos of their new place:







We hung out, walked around St. Albert (town just outside Edmonton where Sue & Brock actually live), tried to go the the market, but it wasn't there this weekend so went to an art show instead, plus the library. Then met up with Mary Hocaliuk and walked around in the river valley for a bit:



There's heaps of awesome parks for running and dog walking, and Sue's area will be excellent for cross country skiing in the winter. We also went by the parliament house, where they have an eternal flame, a totem pole, and a lawn bowls pitch. Random.





We also met up with Phil for dinner on Saturday night, which was cool, and I realize now I don't have any photos of Phil. But Phil should have some of Suley's defense party, which happened after dinner and which Mary and I went to as well, so those may turn up on his blog if he ever updates it.

Day 18 - A book you have that belongs to someone else
The True History of the Kelly Gang (sorry Ra)