Kyla drawing words

One Year....

2008-02-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

So today marks one year since I left the snowy, cold Albertan prairie to begin my adventure in Europe. And I couldn't be happier.

Nic and I woke up at 6:30 this morning (voluntarily!), meditated, and enjoyed a perfect, slow coffee morning. A trip along to the post office and then a laughter-filled phone call, some guitar and handstands rounded it all out. We enjoyed lunch with Libby at Chez Vero's, the only (but really good) resteraunt in Congenies. Then I napped off the 2 glasses of wine and my full belly outside in the sunshine, woken up by Nicole singing in the garden. Now I'm at the computer to do some work and later will work on some drawings...

Like I said, I couldn't be happier.

I'm in awe of my life right now and so grateful that I have had the opportunity to spend the past year travelling. Thanks Mom, Dad, and everyone who have offered their support and love. I'm sending warm sunshine thoughts across the ocean to you all.

big love
kyla

such a beautiful day

2008-02-02T03:46:00.001-08:00

Again it's been a long time, so there is an awful lot to write about, so instead of trying to explain it all, here are a few photos.

Here's Nic and I on our bike ride home from the Sommiers market. It was a beautiful day and we stopped several times to do handstands and cartwheels on the voie vert and laugh like mad.

This is my favorite part of the markets - the spice stands.

Here's a photo from Berlin, where I spent the last 2 weeks. Flo, a beautiful man I met there, took me to an abandoned amusement park and this is one of several amazing images from that day.

Ok. So I realize that this update does nothing to explain my last month, but the overall sentiment is :

"life is amazing"
- Nicole from across the kitchen table

bonne fete

2007-12-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Happy almost new years and belated xmas to everyone! Thanks for all the kind wishes from all who sent them along. Christmas in France was a bit bizarre, it being +20 outside and not being around the family, but we made the best of it anyhow. Nicole and I got to open 2 stockings each, care of some loving mothers back home, and we spent the day at our neighbours house.

There havn't been any new developments on the olive front, and I'm beginning to wonder if they will even be done before I leave! Aside from olive tending (which I don't do enough of), we have been having a lot of fun going on hikes, creating fantastic soups and pizzas, and meditating each morning. I've also been busy practicing hand stands, and making embarassing mistakes in french :

meant to say: I need to wash my hair
actually said: "I need to wash my ponies"

meant to say: Our house is a little messy right now
actually said: "Our house is a little satly right now"

There have also been a few mistakes that are a little less PG, the seemingly innocent words 'kiss' and 'excited' meaning far more than intended.

Tomorrow we're going to Uzes, a beautiful city about an hour from Congenies, to go skating and check out the sights. I hope everyone is well at home, sorry this post isn't terribly entertaining, I'm lacking inspiration. Hopefully the pictures make up for it!

Love!

Olive Update, Day 92305981

2007-12-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Olive enthusiasts, and Kyla supporters

This whole olive thing is getting old. it's now day 92305981 and the olives are still really bitter and awful tasting. Even despite the hard work that madre is seen doing in the above photo!

So, Madre came and Madre went. She was here for the coldest week this year... it was freakishly cold. We even had frost one morning! When asked what to pack, I had given the wise advice of "hmm... maybe a pair of shorts". Mom now thinks that I am a liar. It warmed up exactly the moment that she caught her plane, and I reminisced fondly over the lovely week we had, but only after I changed into a pair of shorts.

Also my dear friend Nicole came to visit and is currently staying with me. We are having a lot of fun, but when asked exactly how we spend our time, or what is specifically so hilarious, we very rarely have an answer. We spend a lot of time singing songs, riding bikes, hosting imaginary cooking programs in our kitchen and persuing the perfect cup of french coffee (café créme? café alongé? avec lait sur la côté?).

December 1st in Congenies was a curious evening for the two of us. A nighttime bicycle tour revealed the newly hung Christmas decorations around town (5 strings of blue and yellow lights, and a 2008 lighted sign near the tabac, the 8 not yet lit!). The Christmas decorations were pleasant enough, and really no suprise, just a bit odd to see them without snow on the ground. The strange thing was our second discovery of the night...

A loud chirping from the bush in front of the parish fountain in the middle of the town. Loud. It could be heard all down the street. Granted, these are pretty quiet streets. It sounded like... a cricket?

We discussed the feasibility of a lonesome cricket lost in the middle of Congenies on December first. I brought up the (rather clever, no?) point that the cricket's chirping was a mating song, and we decided that certainly it's inappropriate for crickets to mate in December.

Going out last night on another nightime tour revealed the cricket to still be singing near the parish fountain. And we began to think... maybe this is some cruel French joke - to hang the Christmas lights and place a fake cricket chirping machine at the same time. This seemed like the most likely senario. But upon closer inspection the cricket (or cricket chirping machine with built in censor) stopped chirping as soon as we approached!

Any thoughts on this?
Dad, I'm counting on you here...

Olive update: Day 13

2007-11-11T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo to show what's going on with my olives. On the left we have a not very happy looking olive. On the right, we have a pretty-happy looking olive. In the middle? The olive monster. I don't know why the unhappy olives are unhappy. I think they may have been exposed to air. I bit into the happy olive after taking this picture, to see what it tasted like. It was awful, and I had to rinse my mouth out after to get rid of the bitterness. Fingers crossed that things improve...

Olive Update: Day 11

2007-11-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

Something stange is happening to the olives.

I think that they are mutating and are changing into a strange, pickled olive monster who will rise out of the brine one dark night...

Actually, there is a funny smell.

I got super sick with the flu this week and wasn't able to change the water for 3 days in a row. Perhaps this is the reason for the funny smell? Are my olives ruined? The smell... it smells like olives. So maybe it's okay. But it's strong. Hmmm...

Stay tuned for updates.

being there

2007-11-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

hello hello

...it's been a long time and a lot has happened. To try and re-hash it all would be boring for everyone, so let's start fresh.

I'm in France, being the friend in resident at the Quaker Meeting house in Congenies. What's a quaker and why am I hanging out with them? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quakers There you go.
Right. So I'm living in this gorgeous tiny town in the south of France. I sunbathed yesterday and today. Full on sunbathed. It's November. I love this place.

In other (very important) news, I am making olives. On Sunday we picked the olives (there are 3 trees on the Maison's property), and put them in 2 separate piles: those olives that are bad (riddled with worms) and those that are not-so-bad (only half riddled with worms). We took the bad ones to an olive mill (moulin d'olive) today in exchange for a future 2 liters of olive oil. The not-so-bad ones... the "good" ones, we'll call them... I'm processing to turn into delicious green edible olives! This involves soaking them in water and changing the water every day for around 20 days. Heavy work, but hopefully worth it.

So here's some photos of the olives, they are so pretty that I had to post a few different pictures. Also, I'm posting a series of my "nightime" friends from here in Congenies.

Big Love everyone!

level out

2007-08-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

So I survived the sharks. Barely.

No... happily there were no sharks, and no jelly fish either (apparently jelly fish stings hurt pretty bad). An excert from my journal in regards to the sailing adventure reads:

" i love sailing. its the perfection of the in-between, the road amplified. Infinate direction and more leg-room. "

I think that sums it up pretty well.

After sailing I caught a bus to Barcelona and enjoyed a debaucherous week with Mary. Im suffering from a cold now, and I think it could be related to the incredible amount of fun that we had. Pictures will be posted once I get back to bonnie bonnie Scotland!

Next on the menu is a week at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram south of Paris. Following that, on to Amsterdam to meet up with... pretty much all of my favorite Canadian friends (except for you and you and you too of course). Claire, Jessica, Vikki, Kalin and Everette and I will be staying at an overpriced (but likely riotious) hostel in Amsterdam for 4 nights. Then Im catching a ferry back to Edinbugh to pick up my bag and quickly down to London to catch my flight home to Canada!

Ill be home on the 6th, in time to attend Jodi and Tims wedding. Im feeling pretty excited, and have started compiling a list of things to do while Im home. Tim Hortens, Garneau and camping are the highest priorities.

Many appologies for not keeping in close contact these days, my internet access is unpredictable and constantly with a frustrating french keyboard.

big love

kyla

reasons for the road

2007-08-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Where to start...

I've been staying in the tiny village Congenies (pop. 1200) in the south of France for the past 2 weeks, with a Quaker couple, Dennis and Francoise. I've been volunteering building a shed and working in the garden at the Maison Quaker, a historical meeting house in Congenies. That's the backbone of my story anyhow, and the lovely bits might take a while to write out because there are so many. So... I'll try to condense into some Highlights:

Weather: Hot. Sunshine. Perfect bathwater-warm nights.

Vegetation: So many wonderful trees! Pomegranet, cherry, apple, mirabelle, olive, cyprus, bay trees... Everything is so fragrant: there is lavender growing in gardens!

Good company: Kind people with inspiring stories and lives, this is why I like the Quakers.

Food: OK, this is serious: Fresh tomatoes. Olives. Grapes. Cheese. Wine (cheap!). Peaches. Bread from the Boulangerie first thing in the morning. It really doesn't get any better than this as far as I'm concerned.

Other wonderful things: Seeing the stars again (Scotland was cloudy constantly and I was in the city too often). Practicing yoga with dedication. Swimming outdoors. Practicing French... I can occasionally say things in the present or imperfect tense now! Surviving my first wasp sting: No tears even! Lizards crawling on the walls in the afternoon. There's an awful lot to say about this place, it's magic and I am incredibly happy.

I have been invited to go sailing for 3 days, starting tomorrow morning! For a prairie girl who's used to canoeing, this is pretty damn exciting. I'll update with stories of mediterranian sharks nibbling my toes when I get back...

so much love

xoxoxox
kyla

cheers scotland

2007-07-18T07:15:00.001-07:00

Here's a lovely photo of Leah (from Nova Scotia, lived in Edinburgh) and I from Canada Day this year. I think our "costumes" were really great. I'm off to Paris in the early hours of tomorrow morning, and doubt that I'll have internerd very regularly from here on out... so cheers and love to everyone at home! xoxoxox

sketch

2007-07-11T07:13:00.001-07:00

Hello!

So here are some little sketches that I did during my time in Rome and Florence. I'm a bit too lazy to properly add them to my website at the moment, but one day they'll be there too.

I'm having a great time during my last week in Scotland, spending as much time as I can with the wonderful friends I've made here. Yesterday I got all of my camping "kit" together, complete with 2 person tent, tiny tiny sleeping bag, led "torch", pocket knife and yoga mat. It all fits nicely onto my backpack, and I feel invincible wearing it. I'm flying out from Glasgow to Paris next wednesday, where I'll get to see Sam for a day, and then catch the train to Nimes, in southern france. I'll be down there working on a Quaker volunteer project until the beginning of August. Later next month I'll be spending a week at a yoga ashram, and then to Amsterdam to meet up with Jessica and Vikki! I'm really excited to say the least.

Other news: I might be flying home a few days earlier than expected, to attend Jodi and Tim's wedding (yay!). The other big news is that I'm seriously considering returning to Scotland, probably to live in Glasgow. I feel like I'm just starting to get into this whole Scotland thing, and I'm really not ready to leave it yet!

I hope the summer is going well for everyone. So much love to you all!

xoxox
kyla

8 days in the sun

2007-06-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

hello again!

So here's a wee photo update on my trip to Italy. With scottish slang apparently.

Sunset in Florence. Firenze. Beautiful city with 60% of the UNESCO's recognized historical art works. Or something like that. It's impressive anyhow.

Roman Type... in Rome!

Claire and I in the streets of Rome with our brand new "genunine" rayban sunglasses.

Silly art-kid photo. Wish I knew what all the taped on signs said.

Okay! So now what? I'm sticking around Edinburgh enjoying work and my friends until the 19th of July, then heading to France for an indefinite amount of time, with a tent and a backpack! I'm excited to see the sun again...

the highlight of haggis

2007-06-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

So... it's been a while, hey?

A lot has been going on, and it seems like a bit of a chore to properly describe what I've been up to. For the sake of brevity, I'll keep it to a few highlights.

Load's of visitors over the past month:

Vikki and mike came from Belfast, Mary from London, and now Claire Claire. Visitors mean going out for veggie Haggis, which I'll do at any excuse.

Great music:

Got to see Mogwai play an anniversary show at a prominent Edinburgh venue. Also went to Glasgow to see DoMakeSayThink with a fellow Canadian friend. It was probably the most intimate DoMakeSayThink show I'll ever get to see, probably the worst sound too. One more thing; on Saturday Claire and I went to a great little venue called Octopus Diamond and watched 4 local bands play. 3 were astounding.

Work:

I'm working at a lovely little cafe called Simple Feast. I make and consume a lot of coffee. Finally have mastered getting decent foam on semi-skinned milk. I also ...was... working at a really upmarket grocery "boutique" near my house. Maybe work isn't a highlight?

I'm off to Italy tomorrow for 8 days. When I get back I'll have some new sketches to put up!

I hope everyone is doing well, I'm missing the warm Alberta summer!

xoxoxox
kyla

Boots Boots!

2007-05-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Before I left Canada I said that I needed a bike and some wellingtons. Well, now I've got both. Check out these beauties! They make rainy days fun. For real.

Beltane

2007-05-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

So I started out May on Calton Hill with 9000 other Edinburgh-er's for the annual Beltane party (pagan celebration to mark the start of summer). It was a beautiful evening full of massive correographed fire preformances, loads of incredible costumes and a fair share of naked hippies.

Pictures are more fun that words

2007-04-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

A poorly reconstructed panoramic view from the ferry of the harbour in Wales.

Family photo after Derek & Lorraine's wedding in Clemmellon, Ireland

View from the castle in Trim (where mom went to school and they where Braveheart was filmed)

Dad climbing the hill to the Loughcrew Cairn: http://www.loughcrew.com/cairns.html

Self Portrait w/ Brother by little Anna

Gaints Causeway, Northern Ireland (for all you geology buffs out there... all two of you)

Eire, the condensed version

2007-04-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

hello!

So it's been a while, and Kirsten's promptings have encouraged me to write a quick update:

I'm in Ireland now! And incredibly glad to be here. Didn't really plan on coming this week, but after meeting Mom and Dad at the airport in London last week, I decided it would be a good time to do a quick tour.

I arrived by ferry on Wednesday and then went to my cousin Derrek's wedding on Thursday, which was really fun. It's great to see all of my family and meet some of the younger ones for the first time.

The weather has been really amazing... so warm and sunny. It's not what I was expecting! This country is beautiful and I've seen some really amazing things (neo-lithic cairns, fairy trees, castles, pubs in mullingar, ect) which I'll write about more when I get the chance.

much love to everyone

kyla

new website

2007-03-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

So I've just spent the past 3 hours uploading my re-designed webpage via wireless internet at the Forest Cafe. Check it out. If there are broken links, I would be grateful to hear about them... The only unfinished part is the ">>learn more" under the some of the logos. I should have it all done for my interview on Friday. I hope everyone is doing well, miss you all big time.
xoxox
kyla

www.kylajohnson.com

Photographique

2007-03-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

So here's some photos that illustrate what I've been up to in the past month, starting with:
Chris and I in Barcelona with Estrella Damm. When the bars and stores are closed you can buy these for a euro on the street.

Harbour view of Christopher Columbus pointing to... Africa.

Stencil University

Oh Sagrada!

oh Girona!

Proper creepy-kid photo of graveyard in Montmarche, Paris:

And some photos of Shakespear and Co.

Erin, Hortense, and Olya

Now onto Scotland, with it's 300 year old pub and the taxidermist's dream:

View of the Glasgow School of Art from the teachers cafeteria, that I snuck into on a few different occasions:

And last, but far from least, the view out the kitchen window from the flat in Edinburgh:

Crow's Landing

2007-03-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

So things have changed a lot since my last entry. I'm now staying in Linlithgow with Mom's friend Eileen, and I am going to be living in Edinburgh for at least the next month. I've got a job interview (thanks to Anne!) at Scotland's biggest agency, Leith, next Friday. I'm catching the bus down to London tonight to pick up some more of my belongings, which will allow me to post some photos as well, so check back soon.

One more thing: yesterday Eileen and I cycled to the Falkirk Wheel:

The Old Firm

2007-03-13T02:51:00.000-07:00

Went to the football game on Sunday with Craig. We drove down to the stadium, it's in a really sketchy part of town where you have to pay a guy a few pounds to watch your vehicle while you're at the game. We got there about an hour early and watched the stadium fill up... sat in really great seats, not too far high up and just off the middle. The noise was incredible when everyone started singing for the players to enter the field.

The entire game was thrilling... I hardly know how to describe it. The crowd was amazing - everyone holds up their scarves in unison (first picture) and sings. And curses when the players dissapoint... Which was unfortunatly the theme of the game. Celtic's played really well in the first period, but didn't score. About 4 minutes into the second half the Rangers got lucky and scored, and we couldn't recover. So the Ranger's won the game, which was extra terrible because it was in the Celtic's stadium. It was pretty sad to see, but I had an amazing time regardless.

I've been having a great time in Scotland. We went for vegetarian Haggis, neeps and tats (?) on my first night here at an amazing restraunt in Glasgow. Drank too many beer in the afternoon at the Wee Howff in Paisley, while watching rugby on Saturday. Old Firm game on Sunday. Toured the Highlands with Anne yesterday and we stopped at a pub that's 300 years old. Amazing. All of it.

I'm staying a few more nights in Glasgow at a hostel so that I can see the city a little more. I'm enthralled with this place - the music and art scene in Glasgow is really impressive, and the Scottish people are loads of fun. If only the weather was a little nicer...

!!!

2007-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Staying at my cousin's Anne and Craig's house right now outside of Glasgow. Just got the amazing news that I will be attending the Old Firm game on Sunday, Celtic vrs. Rangers. Wow. I'm So Excited.

So for those of you not familiar: We're going to watch the opposing Glasgow teams... (like an Oilers vrs Flames play-off game, with some religious history mixed in) in a 60 thousand capacity
stadium sold out... One of the oldest and biggest football rivalries in world football. We're cheering for Celtic, who's stadium is hosting the game.

I'm being taught the Irish National Anthem and we're discussing clothing options at the moment.

Like I said, I'm So Excited.

One Month, One Day

2007-03-07T03:02:00.000-08:00

So yesterday marked my 1 month departure from Edmonton, and on reflection I've got to say that it's been a remarkable time so far.

Spending the past few days at Erin and Hortense's house has been really wonderful - Yesterday I got to chill out and read for most of the day, which felt great after having every day packed with visiting galleries and walking around.

A few highlights of the past few days include:

- Watching the total lunar eclipse on Saturday night walking home from the Fleche D'or

- Visiting the centre Pompidou... and seeing work by Dubufffet, Soto, Matisse, Wols, Giacometti, Rothko, and most importantly perhaps: Paul Klee. My journal/sketchbook is being filled up with notes and drawings at an incredible pace these days.

- Cafe Creme, 86% dark chocolate, goat cheese, wine, oh my! life is luxurious in this country.

Tomorrow I catch a plane to Scotland to hang out there for a little while. Photos... soon...

much love
kyla

#16 Rue Plissant

2007-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

So I'm siting at the above address enjoying one of the two cheap things found in Paris... wine (the other one is cheese... which I've taken advantage of equally). I arrived in Paris on Friday and spent the afternoon hanging out in a fabulous cemetary, taking pictures like a proper creepy-kid, then went to the Lourve in the vening. I speant one night at a hostel in Montmarte and am now staying with Erin, who is studying french in Paris and who kindly leant me her couch for a few nights.

Olya came over last night and we has some wine and went to a great live music venue, where the band was... not so great. Today was speant at the market and then again to the Lourve, where I could go everyday for the next 3 months and still not see half of the artifacts inside. Tomorrow I'm off to Centre Pompidou.

My favorite place in Paris is a lovely bookstore that Erin took me to yesterday. It's called Shakespear and Co, and has a wonderful selection of new and used english books. The best part is the interior - 2by4's sagging in the middle from the weight of all the books - from the floor to the ceiling. the store allows writers to sleep upstairs and has a fabulous history of hosting famous writers as well as publishing works. Inspiring, to say the least. And they have cats.

I'm enjoying reading and listening to all the french, but am a little hesitant when speaking it. Hortense, Erin's roomate, laughed at me and said that I was cute the first time I spoke in french around her. but listening is great.

i've got to pay attention now, we're having a mini french lesson.

Nueava Entrada

2007-02-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hey all...

I´m in Barcelona now, and happy as can be. The weather here has been incredible... Shorts and t-shirt kind of temperatures as far as an Albertan kid is concerned, but everyone else wears scarfs and winter coats. I´ve been spending my days visiting some of the many attractions in Barcelona- Picasso Museum, Parc Guell, and the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is absolutely incredible, amazing light, architecture and history. I´ve brought along a small watercolour set and am getting good use out of it. My journal is being filled with little paintings and loads of writing. The food here is good too... There are a few big markets really close by to get bread, cheese and fruit at every morning. If I spoke Spanish I don´t think I would ever leave this country. I´ve been hanging out with some kids from Prague and may have a job lead through them. Everyone I meet has suggestions on where to go and what to do, it´s a little overwhelming. I´m off to Paris on Thursday anyhow, and then on to Scotland. After that... who knows?

xoxox!
kyla

Rising Sun to Quorn and back again

2007-02-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

So I've spent the past week staying with my Aunt Alacoque in the small village of Quorn. Catching the train out of London was pure magic, I took delight in watching the city disolve into misty green hills dotted with sheep. I rode a bike into the nearby city Loughborough and found the equivalent of the Sugarbowl there - the Orange Tree, where I spent some of my time. Got to hang out with a 6 year old (cousin Daniel) and color a lot. Also, I read Neil Gaiman's 'Anansi Boys'. I spent the past weekend in Leicester at a Quaker Youth gathering and met some great people and possible leads on future places to live.

Today I met up with Chris at Liverpool Station. Note for next time: Saying "hey, let's meet at the costa at liverpool" is equivalent to saying "hey, let's meet at the starbucks in downtown vancover". Anyhow, we found eachother after a bit of a wait and proceeded to visit 2 very different, but equally awesome bars in centralish london. We then came back to my Aunt Olive's house (in Edmonton Green), and had dinner. Chris charmed the entire family, and we ended up going to the local pub "The Rising Sun" and drinking a few more pints.

So now it's time for bed, only a few hours to sleep before I get up. We've got an early start tomorrow morning and will be in Spain tomorrow afternoon. I plan on hanging out in Spain for a week or so and then traveling up to France. I hope everyone is well, much love and goodnight!

xoxox
kyla

2007-02-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

It snowed "the most in 10 years" in London on Wednesday. Yesterday I went to the British Natural History Museum and then to London's Science Museum. Got to see the Apollo 10 Lunar Landing Capsule. My cousin Mary took me to a fantastic vegan resturaunt run by Hare Krishnas... delicious, cheap food in central London. After dinner we went to Camden Town (the 'alternative' part of London) and went to a pub called "The World's End", and my inner geek shone again this time to the tune of Neil Gaiman. We then went "clubbing" at an indie-venue called the KoKo club, where The Switches played and everyone danced to brit pop all night long. The building was a beautiful old theatre that has been converted- everything was incredibly ornate and there was box seating. wow. Tomorrow night I'm going to go see Bonnie Prince Billy play. there's too much to do in this city...

departures/arrivals

2007-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

highlights thus far:

- 2 hour delay at airport means 2 periods of hockey and really expensive pilsner
- sleeping most of the plane trip
- waking up and seeing dawn on the horizon of the atlantic
- everything (really everything) in London is interesting to look at
- delicious dinner and kind family
- weekend nightlife already planned out
- the bath I'm about to take!

I hope everyone is doing well this week. Much love from London!

xoxox
kyla