Will You Celebrate With Me?
Where were you on May 27, 2009?
I remember landing in Vancouver International Airport and the first thing I noticed was how sweet the smell of the air. My flight was straight from Manila to Canada and one of the first things I did after getting off the plane was call my parents and I told them, "it's cold here like I am inside the refrigerator!" I made it safely, my dream of moving came true and I am over the moon for a brand new life in Canada.
Eleven years after, I am still eternally grateful for the opportunity to move to a new country. I have made so many memories, experiences and valuable life lessons in those years. I also met some of the most incredible Canadians who are now my new family, friends, acquaintances, peer and colleagues. Thank you for including me in your life with big open arms. Some of them I look up to for living a life that is evidently pursuing beauty and creativity. To those who have also shown their vulnerability, I especially admire you.
As a way to celebrate this milestone, I put together goodies sourced from this province and is the prize for my Instagram giveaway. Manitoba has such a great community of artists, makers, farmers, creatives, curators and bloggers who make living in the heart of the continent a dreamy ride. I feel blessed, honored and privileged to have come across with so many of them. They have been a source of inspiration and motivation for my own artistic endeavors and today, I cheer on them as well!
Floral painting from @sandboheme
Wax candle from @barlettabeeswax
Marbled 2-ply worsted yarn from @longwayhomestead
Undyed single ply yarn from @fermefiolafarm
Dwarf tomato plant and dye plants: indigo and marigold from us
Soap, bathbomb and mud mask from @craftedbathwinnipeg
Bamboo toothbrushes from @theecoistcollective
Cap from @thepegauthentic
Handmade bag from @springatet
Painted flower vase from @peg_citythrift
Couture mask from @cwiebeclothes
Upcoming book from CBC editor, @boiledhippo: The Lesser Known
Illustration from @fraserandfern
Coloring illustration from @cyndisueann
If you like to participate, head over to my Instagram account for the mechanics. Contest is only open to residents of Winnipeg and surrounding areas and will end at midnight, May 28th. Winner takes all and will be contacted via DM to arrange pickup or home delivery of the package .
If I haven't said it yet, thank you so much for following along my journey! And lastly, I end this journal with this quote:
“Being naturalized to place means to live as if this is the land that feeds you, as if these are the streams from which you drink, that build your body and fill your spirit. To become naturalized is to know that your ancestors lie in this ground. Here you will give your gifts and meet your responsibilities. To become naturalized is to live as if your children’s future matters, to take care of the land as if our lives and the lives of all our relatives depend on it. Because they do.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants