end of the year

ink and flowers on paper

Last day of the calendar year, December 31, a social event, New Year’s Eve. Nature doesn’t care. The sun rose yesterday. It rose this morning. It will likely rise again tomorrow. Lohbado’s feet were cold and damp... clammy, that’s the word... clams. Cold damp flesh in damp socks. Change your socks.

Cold feet, the thought of clams, or sea shells, Lohbado daydreamed about walking barefoot in salt water of the ocean. Do the best you can. Smile. Take a breath of fresh air. Gaze towards the horizon. Keep going.

after the snow fall

A snow plough woke Lohbado at 4 AM. He had breakfast of oats and coffee then went for a walk to clear the lungs. With all the snow that came down yesterday in Montreal, on every street motor vehicles were stuck and struggling to get unstuck. People with shovels cleared snow from around the wheels. Spinning wheels turned snow to ice. Snow ploughs ran up and down sidewalks and streets to make it easier for people and vehicles to circulate. This time it looks like winter is here to stay, at least until the end of March.

infinite good morning

Good morning. Welcome to a fresh downfall of snow in Montreal. A natural way to get fit: go for a walk on the snow covered sidewalks before the snow ploughs clear a path. In some ways, it's just another morning. One follows a routine. In other ways, it's infinite, depending how you look at it. On a relative level, one goes through various phases of life from birth to death. Each person has a sense of self and feels unique. Each person wants to survive, to avoid pain and to be happy.

santo cloose

boxing day fun

Instead of going shopping on Boxing Day, Lohbado visited Louis and Tiff for a friendly late night fiesta at his place in the plateau of Montreal. Lohbado paused to say hello to the cats and to enjoy the many cultural treasures from the collection of Louis and Tiff.

holiday gathering

Winter is the perfect time for people to get together for friendly conversation and dinner. Wesley Willis summed it up best in his song, Merry Christmas: "It is a fun time every December/ It is also a joy month/ I like this holiday a lot..."

Moronovian fiesta towers

Ooo cha cha is a common dance beat suitable for friendly gatherings during winter celebrations. When it gets dark and cool outside, then it's time to get together and have fun.

Let the fun begin

The Moronovian season of celebration blew in with rain and strong gusts of wind. It's time to relax and have fun.

broken sleep

speedometer

smashed

It's been a strange week in Moronovia, with warmer than usual temperatures, changes in air pressure. Lohbado suffered insomnia and headaches for several days in a row. As he relaxed during the turbulence, various images flowed through his mind. Strange details surged in memory, for example, the damaged old vehicles in Kangirsuk, Nunavik, or a rotting chair on a balcony where he lived over a decade ago, or walking down the street and gazing at a visual texture, without being quite sure what it was.

The holiday festivities are about to begin... song, dance, eating and drinking. May everyone be happy and of good cheer!

Moronovian Holiday Dinner

Moronovian Lamb

canned preserved vegetables

preserved vegetables and pickled cabbage

curry gravy

The Chief Nomroh is preparing a celebration dinner at the Moronovian Tabernacle, since feasting has become what many people do at this time of year. The above photos feature basic ingredients, before they get mixed into a pot and cooked into a gut wrenching stew. Actually, the ingredients were expired canned goods donated for use in a photo shoot. A lot of people buy food, shove it to the back of the shelf and forget about it, until it's ripe for Club Morono. One of the cans had swollen from putrefaction. Juice spurted out all over the place when the swollen can was punctured with a can opener.

Gospel Birthday Hootenany Brasserie Beaubien, Montreal

Another fun hootenany hosted by Randy and Dana at Brasserie Beaubien in Montreal, good music, a pleasant social atmosphere and a good excuse to order another beer... It was also an occasion to celebrate the birthdays of Randy and Dana.

Edgar and the dog

taken near Ungava Bay 2007

Kangirsuk, Nunavik

Lohbado searched for the road to Edgar the backwoodsman. This was in the twentieth century, early eighties. Edgar bought crown land, built a shack, lived off eggs and coffee. He had a chicken coup, about a dozen hens, a bunch of chicks plus a rooster. Some were layers and some were breeders. Edgar loved to stick his hand under the hen about to lay and catch a warm one in the palm of his hand, an egg straight from the hen’s body.