Saturday Snapshot: Walk to Fight Arthritis

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly meme hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. The guidelines are to post a photo that you or a friend or family member have taken and then link it back to Alyce's original post for the week. Photos can be old or new and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see.
 
This past Sunday I participated in the third annual Walk to Fight Arthritis, sponsored by The Arthritis Society. Over $2 million has been raised the past two years with around $1.6 million raised this year. Of that, $80,000 was raised in Edmonton by 300 participants. Yeah us!!

What I like about this particular walk is the "virtual walk" option. This is for people who do not live in a location where a sponsored walk is taking place or who are unable to physically take part. Because I was not sure where work would be taking me this year (for awhile looked like I was heading across the border) I signed up for the virtual option. I ended up staying put in one of the sponsored locations but decided to map out my own 5km walk route in the river valley. Least anyone think I flaked out on the obligation, fear not! I took some photographic proof for your enjoyment.
(Pictures from the 'official' walk location)

I started out around 7am and headed to Enzio Faraone park, which is the starting location of most of my walks. Sky was overcast but no rain thankfully. Decision: go left and cross the river or go right and stroll around Victoria park.

And the right side wins (Royal Glenora the white building on the left)!

Coming up on one of my favorite parts of this trail; the trees form a canopy over the trail and feels like walking through a 'nature' bridge. 

A view out across the river valley and Victoria Park golf course.

Now, what would a walk in the river valley be without tackling some stairs? Probably a lot more pleasant but I did this set five times. Luckily it was not raining or it could have been a bit treacherous.

And after wandering through the trails around the park and up the hill, I came upon a favorite exit point:

One last burn to finish the walk!

And one last shot heading home. For those of you here, I'm beginning to think the crane by the science buildings at the UofA is a permanent fixture. It's been there like 10 years or so now, right??

A huge, gigantic THANK YOU to everyone who sponsored my walk. I am happy to say my arthritis did not make itself known throughout the walk or the day. This is always a bonus when the weather is overcast and chilly. Until next year.....

Book Mark: Danuta Gleed Literary Award

Courtesy CBC.ca:

Toronto writer Ian Williams has won the $10,000 Danuta Gleed Literary Award for his debut short story collection Not Anyone's Anything.

The Writers' Union of Canada named Williams the latest winner on Thursday. He divides his time between Toronto and Massachusetts, where he teaches at Fitchburg State University.

"The writing in Not Anyone's Anything is fresh, funny and intelligent," the jury said in its citation.

"This is a solid first book with gripping, convincing dialogue, a fluid sense of urbanity and structural innovation that doesn't come off as trickery. You see the poet here, in the crisp choice of language and even in the line breaks, as Williams uses typography and unusual layout to suggest a split-screen view of life.

Williams told CBC News he was "thrilled" to be recognized. Though short story collections don't often get same attention as novels, he said he loves them because they are "just the right amount to be digestible."

"I think Canadians do the short story better than anyone else on the planet," he said on Thursday.

Not Anyone's Anything is a collection of short stories set in and around Toronto. Its characters include an aspiring pianist who asks her brother to mutilate her hands, an MBA who builds a science fair project with a nine-year-old to avoid a family crisis and a woman hunting for a breakthrough for a terminal disease.

In the collection, Williams experiments with non-traditional formatting. For example, one story has two narrative threads and the page is split horizontally: the intruder in the basement tells one story along the bottom, while the drama of the couple upstairs is told at the top.

"I wanted to create a book that really celebrated print," Williams explained, adding that his publisher, Freehand Books, "really took a risk."

The author is a fan of short fiction and longs for the day when readers download short stories in the same way they download music.

In addition to Not Anyone's Anything, Williams has published the poetry collections Personals and You Know Who You Are. The two runners-up for the award — Jessica Westhead (And Also Sharks) and Daniel Griffin (Stopping for Strangers) — will each receive $500.

The annual literary prize was created as a celebration of the life of Danuta Gleed, a writer of short fiction who died in December 1996. Her first collection, One of the Chosen, was published posthumously.

Saturday Snapshot: The Emerald City

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly meme hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. The guidelines are to post a photo that you or a friend or family member have taken and then link it back to Alyce's original post for the week. Photos can be old or new and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see.

Going through my phone storage to free up space and came across this photo taken last year. I managed to score a front row seat to Wicked and took this photo before the show. The seat was a bit too close for someone short like me but it was delicious to finally hear the soundtrack live and in-person (and unencumbered by my croaky voice piping in periodically). Live theatre always makes me feel alive and full of energy, especially musicals. I just wish the feeling would last longer than a couple days!