Angela VanWell

Author | Reader | Traveler | Tea and Coffee Drinker

Ramblings

I stood at the edge of the cliff, waiting for the World to end in 2012

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We left our home in Balikpapan, Indonesia, when they transferred my husband to Jakarta. My husband worked offshore, so he was rarely home while he was on shift. And the idea of moving from Balikpapan, on Borneo Island, to the bustling city of Jakarta, on Java Island, was too much for me. I would miss my friends and our outdoor adventures, as it is not as easy to bike around Jakarta. We decided our daughter and I would explore New Zealand and Australia. We lived close enough together that he could fly to see us, while I found a new homeland to explore, from its geography, culture, to seasons.

The best part of moving because you want to, not for a job or family, is you are free to explore until you find a place you want to stay for a while. So we bought a car and headed off on our new adventure. We travelled around, camping, hiking, visiting museums, trying to determine which place felt most like home. It took us a month, but we finally reached Napier, in Hawke’s Bay.

Napier, New Zealand

A wonderful place to explore Art Deco Architecture, vineyards, bike trails, and fresh produce. Our home base for six months.

We stayed across from the palm tree-lined promenade, looking over the black rock beaches and the blue of the Pacific Ocean reaching out into the clouds. There was no land insight, and the Maori name for the country, Aotearoa, “The Land of the Long White Cloud” is suiting. Surrounded by apple, pear, and stone fruit, and grape orchards, it was the ideal place to live. It was the center of the second-largest wine region in New Zealand, a utopia for me who loved fresh produce and great wine. We purchased two bikes and a bike trailer for our daughter and moved in. The year was 2012.

Although we did not have the snowy Christmas’s of Canada, (We were used to it living in Indonesia), we loved camping over the Christmas holidays. For the week between Christmas and New Year, we camped and hiked to our heart’s content. The sun shone down on us and flowers perfumed the air. Like I said, perfect. Yet this New Year celebration was filled with mystery and unease. The Mayan calendar ended in December. What would become of the world? What did it mean?

Mayan Calendar

This is not the long form calendar, but it provides a beautiful example of the artistry of the Mayan calendar system.

The cycle of the ancient Mayan Long Count Calendar began August 11th, 3114 BCE, and ended, the winter solstice, December 21st, 2012. They built their calendar understanding that time was cyclical, not linear. That when one cycle of the calendar ends, another begins. If you would like to learn more about the Mayan Calendars, check it out here. Time, itself, was a deity, and as such, had no end. Yet, they did not predict the world’s end, but rebirth.

The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this

William Saturno

But I was in New Zealand, one of the first lands to pass through to the New Year. And if I exist in the land that faces the New Year first, why wouldn’t I watch for its arrival? So we did. As expected, the world continued to turn, and we all turned a day older. But that took me back to the Mayan idea of rebirth. The stillness at the moment, the quiet away from civilization, alone with the stars. I was one with nature. I use Earth Hour to reach that same level of stillness each year. To consider the rebirth of Earth, my home, and what I can do to make it better.

I managed the environmental department and initiatives in the public sector for years, so considering the environmental impact was intrinsic in my decision making. But after my New Year with the stars, I also considered the cultural, social, and mindful decisions I made. I explored culture more alongside the environment. It is one of the many reasons I collect folklore today.

So as tomorrow is Earth Hour, I urge you to take the hour of quiet and consider what is important in your lives. What will you spend more time with, what is it time to let go of? No matter where we are from or what we believe, there is always something new to explore in our futures. I find creation stories to be a beautiful way to see our world with fresh eyes.

Earth Hour: Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 8:30pm local time (20:30)

As I have spent time back in Canada, I am reading more of North American creation stories. Let me leave you with the creation story of the Cree as recorded by David Thompson:

At the beginning of time, the Creator made the animals and the people. The Creator told Wisakedjak (a trickster figure) to teach the people how to live good, peaceful lives, and to take care of them. Wisakedjak did not listen to the Creator, and soon, the people were fighting and hurting one another. The Creator was disappointed and threatened Wisakedjak with a life of misery if he did not obey. Still Wisakedjak did not listen, and still the people continued to be violent with one another. The Creator decided to flood the lands, washing out everyone and everything. Only Wisakedjak, Otter, Beaver and Muskrat survived. Stranded on open water, Wisakedjak had an idea — if the animals could help him dive down and collect some of the old earth, he could expand it and start a new land. This was not an easy task; Otter and Beaver tried many times to get to the earth below, but both failed, almost dying in the process. Muskrat was the last to try. He stayed underwater for a long time, but when he resurfaced, he had wet earth in his paw. From this mud is where the earth as we know it today came.

Here is another version of the Creation story told by Norm Wesley, shared by Stan Wesley.

Happy Reading

Camp NANO 2021: Let the Outlining Begin!

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I was writing a twisted retelling of a fairytale shared by W. B. Yeats when I realized today is Friday, March 19th. The date itself is not significant to me personally, but the fact there is only a week smack between two weekends left before Camp nano is. There are two nano camps, one is in April and the next in July. It is a personal writing adventure where each writer chooses their own project, the length of it, and share the experience with friends. So if you are feeling the need to get some words down on paper, electronically, or on papyrus, by all means, join us! You can find the website here.

I haven’t finished rereading the three manuscripts in the series that come before this outline. And, last year being 2020, I spent most of the year between houses since the house we rented was in one country, our household goods somewhere on the ocean, and my family in a third country. It was a challenging year. My paper drafts were somewhere over the ocean, my electronic copies with me, and my ability to concentrate stuck somewhere between them all. We moved out of the Netherlands in December 2019 and to Texas, in the United States of America. My family, including our two cats, arrived within weeks of leaving the Netherlands, while everything else took a leisurely cruise across the ocean.

I was editing the first manuscript. It is amazing how much I forgot and my notes were not with me. I spelt one name four different ways and I really couldn’t remember which way was my original plan. With no home (we were in a temporary apartment in Houston) and no office, I was relying on my memory. And it was not helpful at all. So writing and editing at the beginning of the year was slow. We went to Canada for spring break when the border closed. Once again, I was separated from my books. I only had a few sets of clothes, but it was my books I missed.

In June, I had been without my library for 6 months. It was painful. I have many ebooks, but all of my nonfiction and personal journals are all handwritten. I’d reach for a book, usually found on the shelf beside me, and there was nothing there. It was like losing my best friends. I couldn’t replace my personal journals but some of my resource books I would buy second hand guilt free. With the pandemic shut down occurring, I only had one trip to a Half Price Books and one trip to Barnes & Noble.

I must write my outlines down on paper. I have tried writing them electronically, and I was less creative. I can’t wait to bring that creativity back this week.

Finding books filled with folklore from different countries was much harder than I expected. Local ghost stories, no problem. Modern fairytales, you bet, original folklore and fairytales, sadly missing. I rebuilt parts of my collection with new editions and local flavour. I editing my first manuscript and had a friend read through the draft and offer feedback. It sat again. Mostly because I flew back to my new host country to finish unpacking the house and my wonderful journals and books. I then scooped them into my husband’s car and drove them up to Canada. Now I, my old journals and books, and new books were reunited. I had no more excuses and continued to edit. All was well until my daughter’s computer died and I gave her mine during the day for school. It was great for reading, terrible for editing.

Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!

Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Life happens. There is never the right time for anything. Expect now. Now I must reread all the manuscripts, as once again I am in a different country than my outlines. So this time, I will read through, try only to take notes to create a new outline, not edit. I will carry my new outlines no matter where I go. I will be like Sheldon on the Big Band Theory carrying around his emergency kit, except mine will be filled with my prized pens and notebooks. Never shall we be separated again. I will see how it goes!

This means I must choose wisely my inspiring author of the week next week as I will spend most of my time reading my own books. It will interest to see who I choose.

Can you read new books when you are working on a project? Or do you reread books you know will get you in the right mood and frame of mind?

I found this quote when I was reading W.B. Yeats last week and it has stuck with me. Happy Reading!

It is only the spirits who are too bad for heaven, and too good for hell, who are thus plagued. They are compelled to obey some one they have wronged.

Lady Wilde, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

Folklore and Fairytales, W.B. Yeats and his exploration of the Light and Dark in Irish Fairy Tales Part 2

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What do you do when you come upon a Fairy ring, Fairy mound, or Fairy fort? If you put your clothes on inside-out, do you fix them or wear them? Have you ever placed a piece of clothing on a rag tree? Today’s talk by the National Library of Ireland shared the impact of Irish Folklore and Fairytales on Yeats and discussed superstitions that are alive and well today.

I took a trip to Ireland several years ago. Our home base was in Dublin. There are many wonderful reasons to visit Dublin, but our primary focus was exploring its fascinating history. From Vikings, monastic sites, to fairies, there was a lot of history to explore. We visited the National Museum of Ireland, the Clontarf 1014: Brian Boru and the Battle for Dublin exhibit was the highlight. The exhibition of Clontarf, the best-known battle in Irish History, explored the myths and evidence of what really happened in the battle of the pagan Vikings versus the Christian King, Brian Boru. The battle ended with the Vikings leaving Ireland. It was the most exhilarating exhibit; I am grateful we explored it while we were there.

When we entered the Albert Bender Irish Artistic Connections collection, there were correspondences with J.B. Yeats. This was the first time I understood the importance of W. B. Yeats to the historical preservation of Irish history, specifically folklore.

Having since read both Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry and Irish Fairytales by Yeats, the world of historical and modern Irish folklore and superstitions emerged. W. B. Yeats took Irish fairytales seriously and is most likely the reason people shared their personal stories of interactions with the Gentry with him.

The National Library of Ireland shared how their belief in fairies helped the peasants deal with the harsh realities of life. They shared fairytales to learn about morals and instructive for life’s challenges. How Irish fairytales different from many fairytales we are familiar with today, it that the Irish fairy or the Gentry should be respected and feared.

For as Yeats said:

Fallen angels who were not good enough to be saved, nor bad enough to be lost, say the peasantry.

Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

While the hour-long talk included many of Yeats’s poems, the one I was most interested in was The Wicked Hawthorn Tree. A poem I was not overly familiar with. Hearing it with the Irish accent was beautiful. He wrote the poem originally for a play to be performed in a Japanese-style theatre, intended to be sung. Yeats believed he should write poetry like music, creating a trans-like atmosphere for those watching the play.

The Wicked Hawthorn Tree

O, but I saw a solemn sight;

Said the rambling, shambling travelling-man;

Castle Dargan’s ruin all lit

Lovely ladies dancing in it.

What though they dance; those days are gone;

said the wicked, crooked hawthorn tree;

Lovely lady and gallant man

Are cold blown dust or a bit of bone.

O, what is life but a mouthful of air;

Said the rambling, shambling travelling-man;

Yet all the lovely things that were

Live, for I saw them dancing there.

Nobody knows what may befall;

said the wicked, crooked hawthorn tree;

I have stood so long by a gap in the wall

May be I shall not die at all.

W. B. Yeats

Irish believed the Hawthorn tree to be the meeting place of fairies and the portals into the fairy realm. Current superstitions believe they must protect solitary Hawthorns. Farmers build stone fences around the trees to keep the cattle from tearing at their leaves and bark. The trees are good luck when left alone, but plucking their flowers or cutting them will bring misfortune. The theory that stuck with me was the Hathorn tree, believed to guard the portals to the fairy realm, was discussing the passage of time with one of the Gentry. Mourning the brevity of life while the Hawthorn tree guarded what remained: The belief in fairies.

So, if you see a field filled with Hawthorns or a fairy mound, what would you do?

Happy Reading!

An té a bhíónn siúlach, bíonn scéalach

He who travels has stories to tell

Irish Proverb

No Water, No Heat, Lots of Learnings

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I learnt the importance of waterproof-leakproof tape and the necessity of a gas stove over the last two weeks.

It started with a warning. Houston, along with much of Texas, would experience below normal freezing temperatures for a week. Please cover your pipes and gardens and lets hope for the best. So, the company covered the outdoor pipes, and we brought out our winter sweaters and quilts. After all, I grew up in Canada and knew how to deal with below freezing temperatures. In Alberta, I would snowshoe in the Rocky Mountains and winter camp in a tent. I loved it. Houston was different.

While a winter tent has minimal insulation, it does not have water pipes. Our Houston house has water pipes, but limited insulation. No biggie, we will keep all the cupboard doors open to provide the pipes in the kitchen walls with heat. We were okay at first. We still had running water. The power was still on, and so we had heat. But then, on the coldest night, the cold water pipe in the kitchen froze.

We were still okay. We had heat, power; we had to turn the water off, but we had tubs full of water to deal with the emergency. We invited friends to stay with us since they had none of the above for the last 24 hours. The eight humans, two cats, and the dog celebrated warmth at nine pm after we finished making up guest rooms for everyone. The beauty of the air mattresses is that any room can become a bedroom. We celebrated in the kitchen, wearing our winter hats, (most of us had not showered yet and the hats had duel purpose of hiding greasy hair while keeping us warm), and waiting for the first person to admit they were tired. After all, we had our heat turned down to conserve energy, as suggested by Harris County. Then the power went out.

I think it was a troublesome time for our friends. They had their own house without heat, water, or power. Why stay with us? But they stayed for the night because at least, at that point, our house was warmer. So we all called it a night and went to bed. The power turned on again, along with the furnace, at 2:30 am, but then turned off again at 5: am. So three humans and the dog retreated to their own house.

We are fortunate to have a gas stove. So breakfast was pancakes for all! Warm food after a chilly night’s sleep feels decedent. We also boiled water for coffee and tea so the meal was complete. Carbohydrates to insulate ourselves against the cold and caffeine to remind us the day had just begun.

Our remaining guests stayed through lunch for a second hot meal before they headed home. We played games in front of the fireplace and created a mountain of blankets to read from. We had splendid company, entertainment; it wasn’t so bad! Uno was the favoured game, but they played many others. I snuck away to read and drink coffee. I knew if the power did not comeback on, I would have no light, so I prioritized reading for a couple of hours:) Then our remaining guests left and we were back down to three humans and two cats. We prepared an early dinner; we didn’t want to cook with head lamps. As we love backcountry camping, we have all the supplies; so we repurposed the headlamps to deal with the dark. Then the power came back on!

The heat was welcome. Even more important that the lights and internet. Well, to me. Our daughter celebrated when the internet kicked back on. With the heat came an additional side effect. The pipe burst in the kitchen.

Behold! The frozen pipe after we took off the wall boards. At first, we knew the cold froze the pipe when the water stopped running. Fortunately, I was in my office next door when I heard the rumble of water escaping the pipe. I yelled for my husband as I reached the kitchen and found a wave of water pushing out from beneath the kitchen counters. He turned off the water while I started the towel trench, followed by mopping.

Even with the pipes warmed, we were waterless. And so grateful for the pool. Eight people use the toilet over three people. That is just a fact of life. There is only so much water in a shallow tub. I redirected our recycle bins to focus on water containment. One per toilet. Refilling involved a jaunt outside the house. I needed the exercise as I switched to hibernation mode under the covers.

Wild cats taking over the backyard and having a party

This is where we spent all of our waking time while the power was out.

By the end of the week, temperatures warmed up outside. Most of Texas had power again, and a lot of us were looking for more permanent solutions for fixing our busted pipes. Once again, we were the lucky ones. I was in the next room over when the water pipe blew inside. We contained it right away. So far, we limited the damage to the kitchen wall and under the cabinets.

In the first house we bought, we had a ceiling fall in. The roof had passed inspection, but the water worked its way. One day I was sitting in my dining room, looked up and noticed the ceiling was bulging. In the past year, I had dealt with many leaks in my work building and the remediation that took place after it. I knew what I was looking at. A big bill. To mitigate the size of the bill, I pulled the garbage can under the bulge and stabbed the ceiling directly above it. Water sprayed out, much like in the top picture in this blog post. I stabbed several more holes before the water switched to pouring instead of spraying me and the room. I brought in another garbage can. The storm rages outside for a week and I spent four days alternating garbage cans and dumping them out the back door until the storm ended. I saved the floor. But the roof, ceiling, and wall all needed to replacement. I wasn’t going through that again.

But then my husband inspected the outside of the house and found the lovely shower from the irrigation pipe. He contained it with self-fusing repair tape as well. We were now out of tape. But, as far as we know, the leaks were temporarily contained. This week we finally found a plumber available to fix up the house. The plumber repaired the kitchen pipe, including a new, stylish, insulative jacket. As does the irrigation pipe. Unfortunately, the large metal piece was not replaced as Houston is experiencing a shortage of plumbing supplies. But the house has water and boy was my first shower in a week amazing.

The plumber fixed the pipe and insulated it. The big metal piece is cracked and needs to be replaced.

My lessons from the last few weeks:

  • Always keep a roll of self-fusing repair tape that is waterproof and airtight in the toolbox; duct tape can’t fix anything (this was new to me as a Canadian)
  • Wrapping a pipe in an insulated jacket is not enough
  • Teenagers feel the worse part of power loss of the loss of the internet
  • Always have a secondary means of grinding coffee beans not requiring power
  • A gas stove means warm food, water drinks, and the ability to boil contaminated water
  • Camping supplies are just as fun to use inside the house
  • I prefer camping outside to roughing it in the house. At least then, I am expecting the conditions.

We were lucky in so many ways. I also learned to appreciate that infrastructure has different weaknesses depending where I am dwelling. The best news is that I now have justification for upgrading some of my camping gear before camping season begins.

Have you experienced a local natural disaster? What learnings did you gain?

Oh Winter, Let’s Be Friends

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The past week has been an unfamiliar experience for my family. We are avid outdoor campers, but this would be the first time we stayed at home and ended up with no water, power, or heat. Though, we are the lucky ones. Our power held out longer than most which meant we only experienced 24 hours without heat and power. Unfortunately, several water lines burst at our house.

I have to admit, this week has been surreal. I was not expecting such a winter in Houston. I am from Canada and assumed, naively, the winter would be as mild as the last one where 3℃ was cold. Not freezing and certainly not with such side effects from the cold. And, although we have not been completely resilient, we have a few lovely lessons from the week, so far.

I enjoy having a gas stove under normal conditions.. The control of the heat and the ability to toast red peppers, chapati, marshmallows, whatever, over a flame right in my kitchen. But now I LOVE my gas stove. All we needed was a lighter and voilà, a full time cooking course and water disinfection facility.

The Boil Water Notice. Expected and Understood. Not only do I get to use my wonderful gas stove to boil the water, I now have the opportunity to use my old backcountry water filter too! My new filter — it’s lighter, rolls up smaller, and filters 3 litres of water at a time — is in Canada, so this poor filter has sat, neglected for years. But today is its day to shine.

To be clear, we have shut off the water. But there is an issue with the shut-off valve. So, once we found the busted pipe, we created a lovely drainage system. The good news, we now had a source of water to boil. The bad news, it fills the bowl, and then upgraded bucket, in 30 minutes. So my husband found emergency tape to seal the pipe, temporarily.

No water equals no showers?? Not anymore! We welcomed this morning with leak number two! You can spot my husband’s arm, in the black sleeve, as he valiantly attempts to close off the leak with the same tape used inside. When asked how his shower was, his response was a flat look while he striped off his clothes directly into the dryer. I might boil some water and take a sponge bath instead.

The bottom line is, the week has been challenging. But in the end, I am grateful for the books I have to read while we deal with the challenges the winter storm has brought us. I can disappear into a book, then peak out and see if there is a new challenge to face, or even a new positive — we now have had power for 48 hours straight — then read another book. I am fortunate to have power so I could write this blog post, many don’t. I also have a novel experience I can put into a book, or empathize with characters in dystopian stories. So I hope everyone stays warm & dry and enjoys their favourite warm beverage as we finish the week.

Happy Reading

Valentine’s Day in Sci-Fi: Firefly No. 2 from BOOM! Studios

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Valentine’s Day arrives this weekend, along with it the expectations of romance. However, romance in our house differs from most. I prefer sarcasm, action, and a bit of romance. Episode 2 in the Firefly comic series has a few scenes that exemplify the love and romance between Zoe and Wash. The firefly series is full of little quips and scenes shared by the love birds.

Zoe is a strong veteran while Wash is a snarky pilot looking for adventure. Zoe needs some peace in her life and Wash appreciates a powerful woman who stands up for what she believes in. They are an outstanding example of opposites attract. To me, their relationship sparks and they quibble like any healthy couple does. It is through their mutual respect and love they can live and work together.

In the Firefly TV Series, there is jealousy, differing opinions on decisions made by their Captain, and conflict over whether to start a family. What there isn’t is dark secrets, affairs, divorce, and love triangles. It is a breath of fresh air. The couple is solid, no matter what is thrown against them and how much they disagree.

Zoe: I know something ain’t right.

Wash: Sweetie, we’re crooks. If everything were right, we’d be in jail.

Firefly, Serenity

Kaylee: Look at the pretties!

Wash: What am I looking at? The girls or the clothes?

Jayne: The girls.

Zoe: The clothes, please.

Kaylee: Say. look at the fluffy one!

Too much foofaraw. If I’m gonna wear a dress, I want something with some slink.

Wash: You want a slinky dress? I can buy you a slinky dress. Captain, can I have money for a slinky dress?

Firefly, Shindig

They published the comics after the television series, so their relationship shows through even deeper than in the show. Not said is the depth of their love and how they show it. No. 2, takes place on the desert moon of Bethlehem. Serenity requires repairs after being shot at by an Alliance warship, Zoe is on the ground with Mal, escorting the Pilgrims of Moriah to their holy land on the other side of the valley.

Wash worried about Zoe when he knows they are being chased as war criminals by the Unificators, Federal Deputies

Even though they each have their strengths, they still support each other in their separate rolls when needed. As Zoe is the warrior and Wash the pilot, it seems pretty clear cut. The inversion of the traditional gender roles adds to the flavour of their relationship. They are both equally important to the crew and each other. Both the best at what they do and they respect each other for it.

Even when their decisions are a bit in conflict with what is best for the crew, they do it with love! So if you are looking for some romance, but you want nothing too mushy, maybe Wash and Zoe have what you are looking for. There are loads of options available, but this is the one I have been enjoying this week.

Do not despair though, we do have a romantic Romeo and Julietesque story planned for this weekend. We are streaming Warm Bodies, a zombie Romeo and Juliet. A lot of sarcasm and snark I enjoy along with some action. One of the love birds will be shot at as well! Love, is so much fun:) So grab your chocolate stash, mine just arrived in the mail, and your movies and spend time with those you love. Even if you are not in the same house, we can stream the movies we love together. Snark translates well by text.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Reading!