CURRENT MISSION

Write songs. Explore. Be curious. Kayak until it hurts.

ABOUT ME

I will probably like you. I'll try anything once, or seven times; That's how I learned to love olives.

I'm a singer-songwriter/kayaker/artist/stage manager person. I like bodies of water more than almost anything, and if we meet I'll probably end up talking about kayaking for at least a little bit. I tinker a lot - I leave remnants of projects in my wake, drawing and sewing and making paddles and recording and eating massive magnificent salads with everything in them. We'll probably have to clear the table if you want to eat there though.

I think art, creation, imagination and dreaming are the most important things we have.

The kettle is always on. We've got a pretty decent record/CD/tape collection and a grassy roof to picnic upon, or cozy couches.

PHILOSOPHY

You can never play too many games.

There are few hardships that can't be cured by kindness, smiling, and a hot cup of tea.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

While traveling I have found great solace in the couchsurfing community through remarkably hospitable hosts, lovely fellow travelers, events, random encounters, and some damn good times.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've surfed when I've gotten my act together in Vietnam, Nepal, India, Turkey, and a little in Canada. What a truly wonderful way to bring stragglers, meander-ers, and open-armed people together!

Interests

Kayak/canoe/hiking/camping trips, songwriting, potlatches, lentils, picnics, cribbage, cardinal directions, theatre, whitewater or bodies of water in general, prairie sunsets, singing around campfires, ultimate, being barefoot. Music festivals. Wrapping mic cables. I built a kayak a year ago, and now I want to fashion an entire fleet.

I'm also really interested in food systems and our relationships with meals, and I like the idea of trying to live simply and considering my place in the system of consumption and production. Most things we can make ourselves or get from someone who doesn't need it anymore.

• dogs
• arts
• singing
• music festivals
• festivals
• dining
• recipes
• picnic
• boating
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• woodworking
• music
• guitar
• piano
• cycling
• fishing
• hiking
• canoeing
• kayaking
• camping
• skiing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Singer-songwriters, folk, rock, roots, instrumental, etc.

Books by: Tom Robbins, Barbara Kingsolver, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Pollen. Momo by Michael Ende is one of my favourite books of all time ever.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sitting on the roof of a bus after a 3 day kayak trip on the Seti River in Nepal and watching rural life go by while talking about the genius of Tom Petty and The Who with a member of the Nepali Whitewater Kayaking Team.

Motorbiking through rural Laos for 4 days with such side adventures as a blown spark plug, a hike over a mountain, a village rice-wine party and cotton ceremony, army-style crawling under thick bamboo, some magnificent waterfalls, and a huge cave or three.

Sleeping in a cave in Northern India with a bunch of street dogs and a little fire.

3 day mountain bike trip through the Cambodian jungle where we got really lost without water and thought that we were going to have to sleep in a random shrine that we found in the middle of nowhere. Saved by the sound of chickens.

Harpoon fishing (wetsuit, snorkle, goggles, gun, flippers) off the West Coast of Turkey out of a tiny sailboat. Also saw an octopus, stingray, and eel in the process.

Living at my non-electrical pluming-free cabin for 1.5 months alone in the winter, access only by train, nearest person 8 km away by ski. Discovering massive wolf footprints. Watching a bald eagle try to pick up an otter. Watched the lake freeze over and the sun rise and set every day.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to:
- understand Shakespeare
- kayak
- canoe
- silk paint
- pack for a month in the wilderness
- skinny dip often
- make a paddle
- make body care products, hell the internet can teach you, but I've got the supplies
- sew
- drink 4 litres of tea a day

I want to learn how to:
- more whitewater boating
- carve soap stone
- develop film
- rock climb
- sew/knit better
- piano/guitar/mandolin better
- woodworking joinery
- canning

More recipes! Always!

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, India, Laos, Nepal, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada