cherry

the sky was on fire that night

A few days ago my book lit up with such warm hues that I thought there'd been a fire. I craned my neck to peer out of the large window behind me.

What met my eyes caused me to loose my breath while the world flooded in through my gaping jaw. The sky was alight with the closest hue to gold I have ever seen in nature. It had a smooth and silky texture like carefully steamed milk. After the initial shock and awe subsided I returned to reading my book warm in the knowledge that the reflection from the pages would light up my face.

Periodically I'd turn back to check that it wasn't dissipating too readily, but really, I had no need to because I could still see the glow surrounding the words laid out in front of me.

Ten minutes or so passed and I turned back to look once more and the sky had transformed yet again. I was staring at an intense swirling of clouds that spun the whole red-to-gold spectrum and back again. A small break in the clouds showed a vivid blue sky in the most unnatural hue. I have never seen a sky this colour in my life.

In the damp road the sky's magnificent colour-range was reflected as if from newly poured tar; the silhouettes of the buildings bowing gently out of the view to leave the stage for the sky itself.

I leapt from my seat to grab a camera; any camera I could. If you've been where we live (some of you have) you'll know that in any given room there is probably a pile of anywhere between 3-8 cameras.

I found my polaroid spectra Onyx and fired off a couple of frames. I safely tucked the flimsy photos under my jumper as it was fairly cold that day, even inside. I decided quickly that I wanted this on digital so I could share it with the world as soon as possible. I wanted people to believe me when I told them that the sky was made from a kind of magic we only can glimpse.

My digital camera failed so miserably to contain the tones and hues of the scene. The full spectrum was completely lost in its approximation of capturing light. I was sorely disappointed, and it wasn't the first time digital has disappointed me in such a way.

I sat to watch the sky shift and give way to the moon. My own eyes would have to suffice and I wasn't going to miss this moment pining over a failure in technology. In that sky I saw my hopes and dreams a reality; slowly dancing, swirling, mingling to become the most beautiful scene in the universe.

This polaroid, is the closest I got to saving that moment from the sky, to holding it in my hands and touching and feeling its reality. I suppose some things are not meant to be held inside a camera or a piece of film.

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This story happened after a weekend of heavy (10cm) snowfall followed by 24 hours of 100mm of rain to wash it all away. It was beautiful while it lasted. Both the snow and the sky.

I got to see the beach covered in snow and I have always dreamed of visiting a beach when it has a good layer of snow. It was breath-taking believe me. But, also difficult to capture on film. We'll see how those photos come out though.

Some of you may think that because I'm in Canada the snow in December is really nothing remarkable but believe me when I tell you Vancouver is often "lucky" if it ever gets a day of snow each year. This year has clearly been the exception what with the snow in January almost a year ago, and now this. It's magical, I tell you.

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Yesterday, I had a horrific time crossing the US/Canada border. No, not going into the US but coming back into Canada. I really don't need to go into details here, but I will tell you I spent the rest of my journey home crying and feeling like an alien as the city I'd begun to call home passed by my blurry eyes.

Today in the light of day and a few official calls later I am feeling a little more positive and confident about the whole mess, but it doesn't change the fact that we probably have a bit more stress and a lot more paperwork ahead of us. I just hope once this is all over the outcome is one I can live with. Right now as I was threatened last night of the possibility of being sent back to the UK I am feeling quite unsettled about the whole thing. It'll take time to get back to feeling like I belong, I suppose. I am wondering right now if that will even happen until the last form is stamped and released. We'll see.

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I didn't get any birthday presents on my birthday, but I did get a birthday cake for the first time since I was 8 years old. It was wonderful.



It was also rather tasty, and far more sugary than was probably necessary. That's okay though, you know I adore sugary things.

A few days after my birthday I received a wonderful wee present and card from Moira. It is so cute.

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This is the photo I took during the blizzard falling on Vancouver last weekend. Unfortunately, it does feature one of my dolls. Yes, I have dolls, for those of you that don't know. If you think she's weird/ugly/strange or whatever I'm beyond caring. You can also call me childish if you like.

It's either that or I'm too serious, you decide. Haha. More of her photos are here:

http://flickr.com/a_limited_existence

Yes, she has her own flickr account.

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I feel like hiding from the world again recently, and I am really bad at replying to friends emails again. I am a terrible, terrible friend sometimes.

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P.S! Don't forget to tell Glitch how gorgeous she is:



These are three of my favourite photos: