tumbling down

The Craft on the Loose exhibit is over now, but before it ended, I shot photos. Here is a photo of the river...with bright knitted things right out in front. The plaza was full of people and I caught this spot at an empty moment. You might remember that red pylon? It looks like this in the winter time.

I found my rug, hiding in plain sight. I was surprised by how well it hid on this concrete pylon.

This summer, I realized that when I need to get a lot done, I find an intense focus. I organize the heck out of things, I keep my head down, and I just keep plowing through. I knew that I'd had it in the past, but I'd sort of lost sight of it. I think it was hiding inside of me--in plain sight.

The Professor and I happen to choose old houses in neighborhoods that can be "on the edge." This was the case for us in 3 different neighborhoods. Our families encouraged us to look for something a little less transitional when we moved to Winnipeg. We did...I'm sure you've seen the photos of the tall elms in our neighborhood on the blog?

Well, the way we could afford this neighborhood was by buying a house on a busy corner. It also happened to be right across from this house. It was a nice house that had seen better times. In 2008, a year before we even bought our house across the street, we knew it would be torn down--some day--so that someone could build new "green" condominiums. We thought that seemed reasonable, given that this formerly lovely home once housed squatters, its foundation fell in, and it had a few other difficulties. (Our house was on the market in 2008 and we happened to see it when trying to decide to move to Winnipeg. In 2009, it was on the market again and we bought it.)

This year, we saw that the builders were thinking about tearing the house down. We waited to see what would happen. Yesterday, I was grading papers at home. Meanwhile, directly across the street, right out my office window, this was happening.


The wind blew towards our house, so I had to shut the windows. There was some dust. I kept grading. When next I looked up, it looked something like this.

Oh. Right. No house. Huh, I thought. When did that happen?

I had no idea that it took only a day to tear down a 100 year old house. I also had no idea that it was so quiet. ("Quiet??," you're thinking? "She must be nuts.")

Well, when I did look up and think about it, I realized that the noise that bothered me all afternoon was a jackhammering sound. It was road construction in the opposite direction. The demolition happened --rather quietly--right in front of me, with a minimum of fuss.

Funny thing how that happened. I found a whole new vista right in front of me, when I least expected it. I think maybe that intense focus allows creative people a chance to look up at the ordinary...and maybe see something entirely new.

At least, I hope that's what is going to happen to me in a week or two, when the teaching ends and I get to go back to creating again.

Geri said kind things about my radio interview and asks if I am going to Rhinebeck this year. As you probably know, Winnipeg is pretty far away from Rhinebeck, New York, and I don't think I'll be getting there this year...it's a long distance and a big expense. Sorry about that! The good part is that I love where I live, so I don't mind staying home...:)