my heart is full to bursting because of tiny jewels, of happy accidents: chance encounters, random crazy moments of what-the-fuck-just-happened, feeling my heart change beat to sing in time to the drummers in the park, noticing the sound of the tap in the kitchen dripping and the hum of the refrigerator in the corner, finding the best coffee in the neighbourhood and making new friends of strangers.

magic lies in places like this. the discovery of a new friend via the blog world that leads to a meeting, then a trip to her fair city. i`m referring specifically to the lovely jeanine, whose house i sit in as i compose these first few lines to you.

i have so many photographs of this trip and a feeling that, even if i wrote for days, i simply could not portray to you just how much fun these few magic-filled days have been.

so instead of trying, i shall simply share some glimpses with you:

wandering the mile end streets

canon 5d mkII, diana+ lens

(i walked by the day after i’d taken this photograph to see the guy polishing his unicorn)

quirky shops, filled with interesting assortments

canon 5d mkII, diana+ lens

an amazing garage sale find. i mean who could resist the temptation to buy the polaroid spectra close-up stand duplicator for only $2. WHO? (i suspect this one purchase alone now qualifies me as a camera junkie of the strangest kind)

crossing to the other side of the tracks (loving the discovery that my jeans were folded up to different lengths)

to visit the fresh food market

interesting locals

tam tams in the park

the montreal jazz festival

great shop windows (yes, i did buy the moustache)

and gardens bursting with colour

a visit to beautys luncheonette: a montreal institution (for a full diner breakfast experience – including the crap filter coffee)

then to another for sodas

renting a bixi bike and cycling to the top of mont royal in the evening to see the city

the exhilarating ride back down the hill through the cemetery and a beautiful encounter with a raccoon

the BEST vegan food i have ever tasted in. my. life.

back streets and alleyways full of surprises

pizza and wine in the back yard, complete with tiki lanterns (which prompted this post by jeanine)

canon 5d mkII, diana+ lens

and a photobooth session for the finale – the results of which had me laughing so hard that my sides hurt & i had tears running down my face. i still need to work on my photobooth face!

there has been life, love & laughter in spades.

with love to you, wherever you are
-leonie

p.s. more photographs up on flickr (with more to come as i slowly sort through them all)

i am back in a place where my heart is full and my head is empty…
…because i don’t have any words to adequately describe the weekend i’ve just had with seven glorious women.

so, in lisa’s words…

the realest of real women gathered this weekend. shed, nourished, clear, expanded, relieved, and ready to give voice and take action on all possibility.

emma, jo, lisa, megg, penny, sas and susannah… i love you more than crumpets toasted over an open fire.

it’s a small word that really doesn’t adequately define the feeling…

… the one where I go to meet a friend, perhaps for the first time, perhaps one I have met many times before. it is the quiet moments before the encounter, where I am opening my heart, readying myself for the moments we are together.

it’s when i wonder if i am spiritually presentable; whether the gift that i bring of myself, my heart, my willingness to meet and be seen is enough. i wonder if i am about to be caught out somehow, shown up as being a fraud, an impostor, coversationally or spiritually inept.

yet, to my surprise and [often] delight, i discover that the people i find myself gathering with are a reflection of where i am in my life…

this friendship.
this conversation.
this meeting.

… these are perfectly timed, beautifully orchestrated moments that exist because of all that has gone before.

i let go of wondering how on earth it was that i got to meet this person, or that person, and trust instead in the magical way that life opens up to me in all it’s glory simply because I show up and am willing to be met, wherever i am, however i am, in this moment.

these moments exist because i am ready for them;

this friendship,
this conversation,
this meeting…

… and they are ready for me.

do you remember that feeling… the one where you have butterflies in your stomach… meeting someone new for the first time? someone you have ‘met’ through blogging and feel close to but you’ve never met in person?

we had a friend come to visit. one i have struck up a friendship with since a book swap we both participated in about 2 years ago. we’d never met before and i had quiet moments of anxiety, wondering if this person i only partly knew would be someone to call a friend in real life…

i needent have worried at all. she is beautiful, playful, adventurous…

she came bearing gifts of fabrics and coffee beans (i knew we’d be friends from this moment – hehe). she also brought with her my new polaroid camera (found on etsy).

we took her to mudchute farm for a picnic lunch

then, took her on a mystery train ride – a daytrip to paris on the eurostar, eating croissants and drinking champagne for breakfast on the way over. we visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery,

merci store,

and had a picnic supper of bread, cheese and wine under the eiffel tower

us girls went shopping at my favourite girls dress-up store (two floors of pretty things), where my alter-ego had a ton of fun and bought two dresses; then we met nic for a good british sunday roast lunch

we took a trip to kew gardens to see the bluebells in bloom (#2 in my 101 things in 1001 days list)

we laughed, we drank, we spent time in quiet companionship.

we had the *best* of times.