Tony Salo

This entry is dedicated to my good friend Tony Salo who taught me to enjoy the day, "because we don't know how many we have", and to never hesitate to tell someone that you love them, "because you might not get another chance". That is Tony on the right, about to teach me a lesson in playing golf. Tony passed away today.

Cy Harrod 1920 - 2011

"And the days fall

finite as leaves from a tree

each curling into itself

like a body

around a pain"

From "In This Room: II"

Gary Friesen 1950 - 2011

This post is dedicated to my cousin Gary Friesen. In my mind he will always be the guy with the great hair, lopsided smile and an old car to work on. My thoughts are with Edna, Pat, Marlene and Diana.

Jan Friesen

This entry is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Jan Friesen (nee Dryburgh), who passed away on Sunday, October 10, 2010. She was a prairie girl who showed compassion and a sense of justice in her life and true grit and humor in her last days. She liked this song. She is missed.

'Prairie Winter' by Roger Friesen

My older brother took up photography a few years ago and has taken many shots that I wish I could say I had taken. This is one of the recent examples. He still lives in Winnipeg.

Birthday Present

As you get older you learn to savour the small traditions and the moments together. Angela, Mike & Alicia on my Birthday

Katherine & A Day With Elektra

I was treated to a magical day with the Elektra Women's Choir to celebrate the career of Diane Loomer who stepped down as co-conductor of the multi-award winning choir. Diane handed the reins over to her collaborator, Morna Edmundson. Katherine and I were the guests of Catherine and Roland Haebler. Catherine is a member of Elektra (she sang the solo in the last song of the afternoon concert) and a good friend. 

It was a treat for many reasons. The concert was sublime. The dinner at the Shaugnessy Restaurant was more than just good food. And the setting in Van Dusen Gardens was spectacular. We had great dinner companions, including Michael Abraham and his wife Johanna. Michael is an artist I have admired since I first saw his work on an afternoon's art crawl on South Granville that Katherine and I were on a few years ago. But the best part was to see my beautiful wife, Katherine (that's her above), in her element, among other musicians. We sat beside Bramwell Tovey and his children during the concert (his wife is a member of Elektra) and Katherine got a chance to talk to Morna Edmundson. They were choir-mates at UBC. It was a fine day.

Vancouver Island Reading

I am lucky to have fallen into the company of a very talented group of writers. They are extended family and friends through my marriage to Katherine. This poster introduces three of them. Katherine's brother, Paul Headrick, and his wife, Heather Burt, have published their first novels, "That Tune Clutches My Heart" (Gaspereau Press) and "Adam's Peak" (Dundurn) respectively. Andrew Brown is a long-time friend of the Headrick family, a teacher and a dedicated poet. They are doing a reading, their first collectively, on Vancouver Island on Friday, March 27th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Mulberry Bush Book Store in Parksville, and Saturday, the 28th, at the Vancouver Island Regional Library in Nanaimo. I did the portraits of all three for their books and publicity. I also edited, and designed the cover for, Andrew's first book of poetry "Crow's First Word" (Gravity Press). It has been my honour.

Forbes Headrick

This is my father-in-law, Forbes Headrick (at far right), among friends at his 80th birthday party last year. He was recently in a serious accident. All positive thoughts for his full and speedy recovery are welcomed and appreciated.

Angela

My daughter, Angela, is the first name I'm going to name in my thank you list. There is a link to her blog in my links bar. If you get an opportunity, and you should make the opportunity, visit her blog http://www.thenewisthetrue.blogspot.com/ and see for yourself what an amazing young woman she is. Her gentle urging has gotten me this far in the virtual world. I love having lunch with her or going to the movies or talking books. She is open and enthusiastic and emotional (in the best way) and I'm going to miss her so much when she goes east to further her studies. I love her more than I can say. Here are some pictures of her in Hon's  http://www.hons.ca/hons_english.htm