I never in a million years would have believed I’d move so far away from home…and a home yoga practice

I’ve been thinking lately about how we identify with place. Last year at a gathering in Whitehorse, I was introduced as being from Salmon Arm, BC. Which, I suppose, is true, since that’s where I’m living right now. I had, after all, flown in for the event.

But at time, we had only been gone from Whitehorse for one year and I still very much identified myself as a Yukoner. So when the introduction came over the sound system, I had a very visceral reaction. A little twinge of adrenaline shot into my heart and I actually caught my breath. It felt so wrong! I felt, suddenly, like an outsider, a stranger in a place that was was so dear to my heart that I could still taste the air just by thinking about it.

I still can.

I’ve been living here in the Salmon Arm area for just over two years, now. And while I definitely feel more at home now than I did at first, I still don’t know my way around very well.

Forget directions that involve the name of whatever business was previously located next to the one I’m searching for. “It’s next to where the old yoga studio was before it moved up town.”
“And where is up town, exactly?”
“At the top of the hill, by McDonalds.”
Oh.

Or how about this one: “It’s on 18th.”
(Avenue or street? West or Nortwest? I believe there are four streets that begin with the number 18 in Salmon Arm. there might be more, I’m not sure.)

When we spent a year in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, I met an elderly woman who took me under her wing a little bit. She lived in a nice little house in a nice little neighbourhood of “newer” homes in town. “Newer” meaning built in the 1950s.

“Would you like to see where I’m from?” she asked me one day.
“Is it far?” I imagined a day trip to some other small Manitoba town, maybe an hour or so away.

We got into her car and drove about six blocks to the other side of town, and parked in front of a beautiful old heritage home.
“My nephew lives here, now,” she said, pointing out the dormer window that had been her childhood bedroom.

We walked up the street and down the alley behind the house, admiring the gardens full of tomato plants, rhubarb, and peonies while she reminisced about her childhood.”I never in a million years would have believed I’d move so far away from home,” she said, sadly.

It’s funny, isn’t it, how we can live quite happily in one place and yet still yearn for another. I don’t know if I’d move back to Whitehorse. I like it here. And yet, I identify myself as a Yukoner living away.

And every time we visit the coast and I get a whiff of that salt air, I yearn to live by the ocean again.

If home is really where the heart is, then I guess one can be at home in several places at once. And that’s a good thing, eh? Because the moral of the story is that home resides within us. We carry our homes inside us like turtles carries their on the outside.

HHome Yoga Practice

There are many ways to set up a home practice. If you’re interested in having one like mine, all you need is a space big enough to roll out your mat, a few uninterrupted minutes and a place to set your laptop (or a TV with a DVD player).

I currently practice with the Dianne Bondy on-line videos and with my Rodney Yee DVDs.

Here are some links to get you started. Have fun and choose what fits your style and your body. ♥

You can enroll with Dianne Bondy at Yogasteya. You can also check out her YouTube channel. Here’s a short sample:

There’s Curvy Yoga on YouTube:

And there’s Curvygirl Yoga, too:

My Aunt Margy recommends Jane Fonda’s yoga videos, which can be found on YouTube:

Last but not least, my all-time favourite  DVDs are by Rodney Yee. Especially his Yoga for Beginners series. Here is a sample:

Alaska Highway, Whitehorse to Watson Lake one year ago today

One year ago today I drove away from Whitehorse, embarking on a solo journey down the Alaska Highway in -30 something temperatures. I stopped along the way to take some photos and jot down some poems. Here is that post.

Day One: Whitehorse to Watson Lake (December 2, 2013)

This is the Alaska Highway: 037

 

 At 10:45 in the morning my car’s thermometer is pegged at-30: as low as it will go. I do not know how cold it really is, only that it is colder than 30 below. After an hour on the road, there is still ice on the hood of the car and the clutch is still as stiff as tar.
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I am driving East, into the rising sun, with everything I own.
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Poem:

When the road ahead
is drenched in molten gold
I know to raise my hand
in anticipation of being blinded,
until
the road slides west
and sunrise
falls

behind me.

044Haiku:

outhouse in December
someone has left the seat up
amber icicles

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Poem:

Driving east,
sarah brightman
eases the pie jesu
into the rising sun

as brilliant bursts  of liquid bronze and gold
splash champagne,
while shadows
chase the sweetness
of the melody
across the hillsides.

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Poem:

Telephone poles stretching
one after the other,
t-braces white with frost,
a thousand messiahs
with knees and feet of alabaster

and frosty brows bowed down,
connected by living wire,

carrying my whispered voice
from christ jesus
to christ jesus

to christ jesus
until it reaches
your
ears.

This is a short video of the road, shot holding the camera on the dash as I drove. It’s beautiful. Click here if you can’t see it.

Little Sister: A Quilt Finish!

You’ve seen glimpses of this quilt over the last couple of years as I worked on the hand quilting.

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.
“Little Sister”. Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

The pattern is called “Chinese Coins” or “Stacked Coins”, whichever you prefer. I made it for my sister, Heidi, and named the quilt “Little Sister”.

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Her favourite colour is purple ♥

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

The last few months I was working pretty fast because I wanted to have it finished before I left Whitehorse at the end of November.

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

I don’t know, it just seemed…fitting somehow. Tying up the last of the loose ends before moving.

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.
“Little Sister”. Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

I stitched in a few surprises:

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"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

Plus, I really, really, really wanted to do the photo shoot at the S. S. Klondike.

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

Really puts size into perspective, eh?

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

I had fun with my “helpers”, Heather and Tammi. They were great quilt holders on a cold day!

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

I used a “lemonade’ Bali Pop with Kona Cotton purple for the top. The backing is a pansy print on a yellow background. Binding is green checks from the same collection.

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

Every time I took the quilt out to work on it, Jade and Halia would sit and watch me stitch. They were full of questions, observations and comparisons about the quilts that I had made for them last year.

Quilt Models Halia & Jade Pealow

5-year old Halia wanted her picture taken with the quilt. 7-year old Jade liked to look at all of the fabrics, and also liked to walk tight-rope style on it.

Quilt Models Halia & Jade Pealow

Which I thought made for some interesting photographs!

Quilt Models Halia & Jade Pealow

Even Crook the Cat got into the action.

insert "Jaws" soundtrack here!
insert “Jaws” soundtrack here!

It took me about 2 years from start to finish, I think. Maybe not quite…I don’t remember exactly when I started it. But that sounds about right.

"Little Sister". Machine pieced & hand quilted by Nita Collins.Photo taken at the S.S. Klondike National Park Site in Whitehorse, Yukon. November 24, 2013.

…Doing the very important job of keeping Heidi snug and warm during those long Montana winters.

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And of course, Little Sister was tested and approved by the resident quality assurance inspector (which he had to do before the quilt was finished due to time constraints).

this quilt tested and approved by Samson.
this quilt tested and approved by Samson.

Random Thursday & Beni wa Benak

Today is Random Thursday. Since I don’t have any quilting news, I thought I would finally get around to posting this choreography. This is my former dance troupe, Saba Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble, performing Beni wa Benak at the Yukon Arts Centre in March 2011.

I originally choreographed this piece as a tool for the advanced class to learn and practice particular movements & combinations (among other things such as being aware of facial expressions, theatricality, embellishments etc).  The choreography itself is not performance art, but it has its place. As a performance piece it is best suited to an outdoor event such as a street fair or other event where the audience is milling about and stopping to watch the dancing for awhile before moving on. In this type of venue it is a perfect piece. Lots of movement, lively music, flash & glitter and the audience loves it. However, I included it in the Rockin’ the Casbah show mostly because I needed a filler piece. I adapted the dance to suit the theatre stage as best I could by having dancers join in from the wing mid-way through, adding variety and interest. Someday I’d like to revisit this piece with a troupe – I have ideas for the choreography that I simply didn’t have time to play with when getting ready for this particular show.

These costumes were well-suited to the piece and I love the way the skirts flare out when the dancers twirl.  And get a load of Doug, our MC in the beginning of the piece. The audience loved him!

Linking in with Random Thursday over at Live a Colorful Life.

Walking in Whitehorse: the Millennium Trail

Take a walk with me today!

The Millennium Trail is my favourite Whitehorse walk. Starting at the S.S. Klondike, it follows the Yukon River in a 5 km loop, crossing the river at the Whitehorse Dam. It takes about an hour to walk the dog, depending on how active the “pee-mail” message boards are. 🙂

If you’re reading this on your tablet, you will need to go directly to the website to see the slide show as movies don’t seem to work on tablets or phones.

Music by The Big Band (and you can clearly hear me on bari sax, lol!) Enjoy!

Linking up with Lily’s Quilts Small Blog Meet