last sunday

spring has sprung

A few weeks ago:


This week:


Shorts, flip flops, rollerblades, bikes, patio sitting, sun basking, lake walking - all re-emerged this weekend and everyone is so happy.

6am through my windshield

Woke up to snow and going to bed to snow. In between, even more snow and the world became beautiful.


Today was one of those days when all kinds of things fell into place at once. Life is positioning me for something, subtle but eventful. So curious.

Love this from J. Scott: "Your body is your instrument. Dance to the song of your breath". Can't wait to dance tomorrow.

plans bad, last minute good

So many plans this weekend, I should have known better. Plans make me itchy, I cancelled them one-by-one.

It was a gorgeous weekend capped by the most beautiful Sunday with the kind of weather that makes it impossible to stay inside. Brunch was canceled to join the rest of the city basking in the sun along the lakeshore. So glad I did because look what I found when I stepped outside tonight:

obviously

grenadier pond

The pond in High Park has frozen over. The pond was packed with people walking, skating, playing hockey, figure skating, sledding and playing fetch with dogs on the vast white field of ice. Everyone was happy. Taken by the bright sun, the novelty of walking where water should be, the joy of weather cold enough to remind you you're alive but warm enough to let you enjoy being outside. Splashes of the reds, blues and yellows of winter coats stood out against the white and the mood was the kind of happy that comes from the real things in life, a gorgeous winter day. It was good, wholesome fun, I stayed out for hours. Seriously, my city is a great city.

ice is pretty

Today was the first day in weeks I didn't have to rush to make plans after practice. It was gorgeous, I made the most of it. Awake early, quiet moments with tea, opening, teaching, then the longest practice in the world followed by an even longer savasana, pranayama and meditation. I floated out of the shala.

Coffee at my Sunday favourite, conversation with a bunch of strange strangers until company came and we set off to enjoy the freezing but amazingly sunny day. Say what you want about my city but the fact that I can spend two hours hiking along the waterfront just minutes from downtown is the best thing ever. My lake has been busy, the rocks, trees and debris along the shoreline have been coated in thick layers of ice. It was pure beauty.

minus twenty

-20 gorgeous degrees today, so cold it takes the breath away. Am thankful for warmth and shelter.

curiosity

...and a gorgeously quiet night

hiking

exhale...

happy

Today couldn't have been a better day.

sunday morning, early hours

saturday

Coffee, teaching, coffee with friends, playtime yoga at the other place, more coffee with different friends at a different place, dinner with a different friend at a different place...a good, meandering Saturday.

In between, vibrating with caffeine and craving trees, I went for a walk winding my way through parks and down back allys looking for beautiful things. Twinkling christmas lights, bright splashes of colour, townhomes hidden in a dodgy ally, the setting sun over a parking lot...there was lots of pretty.

It's freezing out and I've been housebound so I don't have a whole lot of interest to offer. Instead, a picture of where I spent the weekend cuddled under my electric blanket and a sample of what, stuck inside, I resorted to doing to entertain myself between naps...







When I did venture out, here's what it took: tights under jeans, undershirt under wool sweater under fleece hoodie under vest under winter coat, then the usual scarf, hat, gloves.

I was warm. It made the cold pretty.

yoga, snow, coffee, cozy

Assisted, practiced and taught today, a whole lot of yoga. There was also a whole lot of snow, gorgeous to look at, cold to be in. It made restaurants with fogged up windows, whirring espresso machines, funky music and long couches in front of large windows for people watching very attractive. So attractive that we left one brunch just to skip a few doors down to my favourite place for more. Two brunches makes a good Sunday. Check out the final words on the receipt below - best receipt ever.

2009

2009 began in London, brought me to Vancouver, and found home in Toronto. This is the longest I've stayed in one place in years. Less moving on the outside allowed for movement on the inside. The process wasn't always easy but life responded with magic. It was a very good year in every possible way.

When the door opens, walk the path
where abundance awaits you,
where anything old becomes new
and never look back ~ rumi

Have a wonderful 2010, wherever you are.

birthday hike