We were never being boring

I'm always baffled by people who complain about feeling bored. As a friend of mine says, complaining of being bored is really just admitting you're so boring you're not even capable of entertaining yourself.

There has been little danger of feeling bored around here lately. Quite the opposite. If anything I am in danger of being so busy having adventures that I don't have the opportunity to write about them.

First there was the Cultural Expressions Festival at Officers Square celebrating Fredericton's growing diversity - two days of impressive performances and delicious food!

Then across the street to Regent Street Wharf to enjoy a lovely Saturday sail on the river. The fact that we were on a converted lobster boat made this island girl feel right at home.

Sunday night brought our first attempt at seeing Bard in the Barracks production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Odell Park. See how happy and dry we all look? We are so ready to see some Shakespeare in the park... Mmhmmm...

As we were making our way to "A wood near Athens" for the start of Act II, we were caught in a Midsummer Night's Downpour... Show was cancelled and we were drenched but happy.

Tuesday night we fared better. Luke ruined a pair of Italian driving shoes, I fell in mud and my hair smelled like bug repellent but it was worth it. The Bard in the Barracks company delivered an entertaining and imaginative interpretation. I'll never see the woods in Odell the same way.

Wednesday was Canada Day. And for the first time in 15 years, I was in a parade. I joined dozens of members of Fredericton's arts community for 'Art on the Move' in celebration of the city's designation as a 2009 Cultural Capital of Canada.

Lori was one of the organizers. Here she is putting Leon's football socks to good use.

As you can see, Luke could barely contain his excitement.

Fun vantage point on the parade and really fantastic to see so many people turn out to celebrate.

My favourite part of the parade happened after it was over when a spontaneous multicultural drum circle broke out in the parking lot.

So that's just a little of what's been going on plus gallery-hopping at the Culture Crawl... hearing this guy ... and making these. The weather's been dismal but Summer 2009 is still off to a terrific start.

Ladies Who Lunch

The only real downside about leaving my old job is that I don't get to see these lovely girls every day. There was a time when we could gather each morning in M-A's office and discuss headlines and lovelives over coffee. But things change and now our catch-up sessions are less frequent but more meaningful.

Today we opted for lunch in the sunshine in Officer's Square. And we all had the same reaction: "We've worked mere blocks away for years - why didn't we come here before today?!"

I love the sort of things that make you say those sort of things.
And so - hopefully! - a new ritual is born.

In the meantime, some summery shots from the heart of my little town.

Our Little Corner of the World - The Owl's Nest

ser*en*dip*i*ty ~ noun: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also: an instance of this

I love order. My library is divided up by genre... the literature shelves are arranged chronologically. (Yes, I considered doing it by author. Chabon and Chaucer could live nicely beside one another but I prefer to see the evolution of literature at a glance). This website is my new guilty pleasure. And if I could create a card catalogue and make my friends sign out the books they borrow without seeming totally insane, I would.

I love order. But I also love the Owl's Nest.

I can't get enough of Fredericton's sprawling used bookstore. Confine yourself to the front room, where the classics and fiction sections generally abide by alphabetical order, and you might fool yourself into thinking it not so different from any other book store. But keep going. Like Alice down the rabbit hole, things get curiouser and curiouser as the store goes on... and on... I think I'd been going there for well over a year before I discovered the second floor room straight out of Funny Face (complete with rolling ladder but minus Fred Astaire).

While I occasionally make a quick stop with a particular book in mind, the Owl's Nest is best experienced on a Saturday afternoon, preferably rainy, when you have no where else to be. Meandering in and out of rooms, navigating around piles of books, these are the moments that yield the best discoveries. I've come home with favourite childhood classics to pass on to the children in my life and out-of-print books for boys I loved. I've unearthed a long-forgotten volume of James Thurber's memoirs of his New Yorker years and a whimsically illustrated 1951 guide to Paris with a preface by Jean Cocteau. Just today I picked up a 1946 Penguin edition of Shaw's Plays Pleasant; a great find for the iconic Penguin cover design alone.

The Owl's Nest isn't for everyone. Those who don't like dust, boxes or the occasional cat strolling past should probably stick with Chapters. This is not a place designed for efficiency but for exploration. It's a place for people who, every so often, like to let go of order and surrender to serendipity.

GG

Our Little Corner of the World

Not long ago I read something to the effect that when visiting a city, you should experience it like a local but in your own city you should act like a visitor.


Yesterday I was at the Charlotte Street Art Centre to celebrate a milestone birthday for a dear and inspiring friend. This is one of my favourite spaces in Fredericton; a great mix of people of all ages in a beautiful space that's alive with music, dance and visual arts. Every time I'm there I'm reminded of how many hidden gems there are in our town.

Several years ago a friend and I had tossed around the idea of putting together a book of our favourite, lesser-known spots in Fredericton. The book idea went by the wayside but this blog seems like an ideal spot to resurrect the idea and celebrate our little corner of the world.

I'm looking forward to rediscovering some favourite haunts and hopefully uncovering some new ones!


For now I am off to quench my new chai latte addiction before my mom and I take Henry for a walk in Wilmot Park.


GG